IVF vs. Reversal...Ghost or anyone, HELP!!

[jharris12]

I have a question that I am hoping someone can help me with??!!

To start at the beginning, 3 years ago, my first husband died. We had a 3 yr old DS, and I couldn't imagine having another child lose a parent so young, so I decided to have my tubes tied. Now, 3 years later and having met the most wonderful man, and getting married, we decided that we wanted children together. So we made an appt with the RE to discuss our options. My DH is diabetic, and the 1st RE we saw said IVF was a great option, and we moved ahead with it instead of a reversal. My DH has poor morphology (97% abnormal), so they said we would need ICSI. With our 1st cycle, I ended up on the max dosage of Gonal-f (600IUs), they only retrieved 10 eggs, of which only 6 were mature, and after ICSI, only 3 fertilized, and those 3 weren't that great. We transferred all 3, but got a BFN. So at our follow up with a different RE in the same clinic, he asked why I didn't have a reversal done. It's cheaper with a higher success rate. We told him about DH's diabetes, which is all in the charts, and he said that we would have to have ICSI so IVF was our only option. OK, so I go in today to get my pills and I see the same RE we saw at the follow up, and he is back to thinking we should do a reversal!!!! He says DH's analysis came back fine other than the morphology, which was only 1% worse than they like. DH is now taking fertility vitamins, and an acai juice blend that is supposed to help, so the RE says we should have another SA done and if it all looks better we should proceed with a reversal instead. OK, why didn't they tell us before our 1st cycle?? We could have saved a lot of money with a reversal instead of the IVF cycle. But we won't know until the SA which option the RE will use. So he gave me a pack of pills to start day 2 of my next AF, and DH is going Wed morning for another SA, and I guess we won't know until next week what we are doing.

So my questions are
1. Have any of you had a reversal and not been successful?
2. Or had a tubal ligation but told by your RE that IVF is the best option?
3. Can we be successful with a reversal if DH is diabetic?

Thanks for any insight you can give me.

[My2LnT]

OK I will tell you what they told me,,it will only help a little wish it would help u more
1st neither DH or I had any problems both of us have had children from previous relationships
I had tubes clamped and like you ended up with a wonderful man.. I went to my ob-gyn who said that said in my case..where i has lost a part of one of my tubes that IVF was the best option. Not really believing her (just a little pig headed)I went to another gyn who also said that IVF was a better option because after the reversal I would face a higher chance of etopic pregnancy. So I finally said OK and went to see the fertility Dr who also agreed that IVF was better... They said that it should only take the one try and we should get preggy well they were wrong.. It was the 3rd try but yes it did work. I do hope no matter what you end up doing that you are very blessed with a wonderful little addition to go with your wonderful new life

[IndieBlue]

I've also been faced with this decision. I went with IVF as well but it was negative I'm going to wait till next year to decide whether to do another IVF cycle or go with the reversal....which I'm really not leaning towards just because of all the complications that can happen with that procedure.

There is a really really good doctor in KY though. He's got a lot of great feedback and even a Yahoogroup that discuss the procedure and their success/experience. You can do a search on Dr. Levin to read more about him.

[jharris12]

Thanks ladies for your responses!

My2LnT: I had my tubes clamped as well, and DH has never had kids, so we don't know if he is able or not. They say clamped tubes are the easiest to reverse. I have also heard about the increased risk of ectopic, and completely forgot to ask the RE about that yesterday!! I will have to ask him about that at our next appt. My 1st RE also said I should have a great chance of it working the 1st try since my problem was clamped tubes, but it didn't work. At least at my clinic, if the reversal isn't positive within a year, they give me a discount on IVF!

IndieBlue: Thanks for the info about the doctor. I will definitely have to look that up. And best of luck to you on your decision. I just want to make my decision this year so that whatever we decide can be used as a medical tax deduction along with my 1st IVF cycle. Hopefully we can get something out of paying for all of this out of pocket.

[turtlesonastump]

Jharris - I don't know anything about reversals, but have had an ectopic. Make sure you ask about what the chances are for one. My tubes had scar tissue and I ended up with an ectopic that blew my right tube. It is a scary, very painful situation. Just make sure you ask your doc about it. I wish you lots of good luck!!

[SDtrying]

hey jharris! what a tough decision! I don't know anything about a reversal, however I do have a ton of patients with diabetes. In general, diabetes does not have an associated with infertility.

[ariredeagle]

I CANNOT recommend Dr. Levin in KY. His follow up care is antiquated and cost me my left tube because he diagnosed me over the phone (I live in CA) as having a miscarriage. By the time I finally had the ultrasound, the OB/GYN I saw was appalled at what had happened (I've never seen a doctor get so angry) and I went in for emergency surgery to have my tube removed with the huge ectopic pregnancy. I'm just grateful the tube didn't rupture! I have a lot more info about him if you are interested...

More than 3 years later, I am still not pregnant and my current OB/GYN says IVF is our best option. My right tube is open, but that doesn't mean it is fully functional. The muscles in the tube need to be able to push the fertilized egg along otherwise you end up with an ectopic. I am quite healthy and 33. DH is 51, but his sperm is OK. I even worked with an acupuncturist who specializes in fertility and still no baby.

Especially given your other obstacles, I would highly recommend sticking with IVF.

Blessings and Baby Dust!

[Ghost]

The dilemma between IVF and reversal of tubal ligation goes on.

One recent study suggested the reversal made more sense in patients under 37 years old, otherwise IVF.