Great Beta Then Terrible Beta - What Happened? (Ghost?)

[Hpfl122]

A little about me:
2 natural pgs (in 2006, low heartbeat & blighted ovum)
1 natural pg (in 2007, chemical)
IVF w/PGD (in 2007, all 5 embryos T21 and worse)
IVF w/26-yr old proven donor (in 2007, 2 blasts transferred, chemical)
1 natural pg (in 2008, T21 diagosed at 13 weeks)
IVF FET (in 2008... pending)
Heterozygous for Factor V Leiden and MTHFR
Age 42

On Sept 26 had 3 blasts thawed and transferred. I was on an 18-day protocol of estradiol followed by pio during the last 5 days plus antibiotic and medrol. (also on Lovenox)

Beta #1 17dpo (11dp6dt) 296
Beta #2 19dpo (13dp6dt) 381
Beta #3 23dpo (17dp6dt) 466

I've been through enough to know that this is not going well. We were so encouraged by our first beta, and our other two chemicals posted such low, low numbers. Is this just more bad luck? This will be our sixth loss, which just sucks.

Should I do anything differently during next FET? We know that FET success rates are statistically lower. We're already on the adoption list, and we are also considering donor embryos.

Thanks! We're so hopeful that something will work out, someday!
Eliza

[Ghost]

A little about me:
2 natural pgs (in 2006, low heartbeat & blighted ovum)
1 natural pg (in 2007, chemical)
IVF w/PGD (in 2007, all 5 embryos T21 and worse)
IVF w/26-yr old proven donor (in 2007, 2 blasts transferred, chemical)
1 natural pg (in 2008, T21 diagosed at 13 weeks)
IVF FET (in 2008... pending)
Heterozygous for Factor V Leiden and MTHFR
Age 42

On Sept 26 had 3 blasts thawed and transferred. I was on an 18-day protocol of estradiol followed by pio during the last 5 days plus antibiotic and medrol. (also on Lovenox)

Beta #1 17dpo (11dp6dt) 296
Beta #2 19dpo (13dp6dt) 381
Beta #3 23dpo (17dp6dt) 466

I've been through enough to know that this is not going well. We were so encouraged by our first beta, and our other two chemicals posted such low, low numbers. Is this just more bad luck? This will be our sixth loss, which just sucks.

Should I do anything differently during next FET? We know that FET success rates are statistically lower. We're already on the adoption list, and we are also considering donor embryos.

Thanks! We're so hopeful that something will work out, someday!
Eliza

Were these thawed blasts from your 26-year old egg donor?

Did you ever try donor sperm?

[natashamom]

I was thinking,is your lining thick enough?

This might be the reason...

Hope you`ll find out,don`t give up.


Natasha.

[Hpfl122]

This was our first FET with thawed blasts. We thawed three, and all three were hatching at the time of transfer. Lining was at 13mm. (we have two more frozen)

We did a FISH test for DH's sperm and results were excellent. Maybe his sperm and donor's eggs didn't suit? DH doesn't care about biological link, that's why we'll try donor embryos next.

Thanks,
Eliza

PS Final beta tomorrow and I am not hopeful.

[Hpfl122]

And yes, thawed blasts were donor's eggs and husband's sperm. Sorry, didn't make that super clear.

Eliza

[Ghost]

And yes, thawed blasts were donor's eggs and husband's sperm. Sorry, didn't make that super clear.

Eliza

The common factor seems to be your husband's sperm.

[Hpfl122]

Yes, that is the only common factor. However, his FISH test came out very well (maybe I am confused as to what that test actually looked for). We're moving on to donor embryos after the next FET in any event.

I am just disappointed that we keep failing with our parenting goal, and the knee-jerk reaction to all circumstances being perfect, is that the failure is somehow my fault.

[Ghost]

Yes, that is the only common factor. However, his FISH test came out very well (maybe I am confused as to what that test actually looked for). We're moving on to donor embryos after the next FET in any event.

I am just disappointed that we keep failing with our parenting goal, and the knee-jerk reaction to all circumstances being perfect, is that the failure is somehow my fault.

It is not your fault, unless you've been bungee jumping and whatnot during each pregnancy.

You tried fresh autologous. Failure there can be from bad eggs, bad sperm, or a non-receptive endometrium (can be caused by ovarian stimulation).

You tried autologous FET. Failure there can be from bad eggs or bad sperm. The endometrium is pretty reliable in these cycles, given the absence of stimulation.

You tried egg donor cycles using a proven donor. Failure here can be from bad sperm. We can generally rule out a bad egg cohort because it's a young, proven donor. And the endometrium is just like in the FET.

Of course, there are random failures in any cycle type, but your pattern does not look like the random failure.

I'm suspicious of the sperm, given the above. Another common factor is your uterus. I know one doctor who asserts there is such a thing as an incompetent endometrium. He has developed and now markets an "endometrial function test", found here:

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=3033

http://info.med.yale.edu/obgyn/kliman/i ... lcome.html

Well, everything else can go wrong in reproduction, so I suppose that is possible, too.

But whatever it is, I promise you it's nothing you've done wrong.

Maybe watch that scene from Good Will Hunting, where Robin Williams keeps saying "It's not your fault" to Matt Damon. Great scene, and very pertinent to women repeatedly going through IVF. Unless they go bungee jumping during implantation, then it really is their fault.

Best of luck.

[Hpfl122]

Beta down again to 386, so we're stopping all meds and will make sure the drop continues with more blood on Monday. The blasts looked great according to RE, so this is so upsetting.

We'll do the final FET in December with our last two blasts (if they make it) and discuss why this failed with our RE in a few weeks. Maybe the last pregnancy which was terminated at 13 weeks due to T21 caused immune issues?

We're willing to do at least two donor embryo FETs as well, so we'll see if taking DH's sperm out of the mix does the trick.

Thanks for your post, Ghost, about the endometrium study; I will mention to my RE.

Kindly,
Eliza

PS 13 months out with our "Dear Birthmother" letter with one failed match. Hopefully, another is right around the corner.