New to IVF with so many questions

[beefjerky]

I'm new to this, and I have a few questions for you all. First here's my story:

Married three years and 4 months. We've been trying the whole time, and I've used ovulation tests to time it right most of the time.

We had two IUI's that obviously weren't successful. I've never been to a fertility clinic or on any meds for fertility. My husbands sperm rate is low with low motility.

Here's my questions:

1) I really want to do IVF because my state covers in on insurance. Once I go in for a consultation, do I need to be the one to ask them all of the questions about meds and options, or will they bring all of this up? The reason I ask is because I've read about so many pre IVF meds, and "tricks" that I am dizzy. I just want to make sure that I know what is best to do. I don't want to take the lazy route. I am not afraid of having twins...I'd actually welcome it given our circumstances.

2)
I've read different statistics on the success of IVF. What's the real statistics? Does it vary from clinic to clinic? I am 29 and healthy, so I'd appreciate hearing what the statistics are for me.

3)
How long can I expect to have an IVF after the first consultation? Do they drag it out, appt. after appt.?Will there be a long period of trial and error before they are willing to try the IVF on me?

4)
I've read about people having their eggs fertilized and sometimes only one or even none make it to a healthy embryo. How much do you pay if they are not able to do the IVF due to no or only one healthy embryo?

5)
Is there any mega clinic out there that seems to be the BEST? I planned to stay close to home...but not if it really matters.

6)
I am so tired of crying every month and imaging pregnancy signs only to be be let down. I tell myself to stop getting my hopes up, but I do every month. I really want to be pregnant so bad, how did you all cope with the stress of waiting after the IVF? I just can't imagine being able to concentrate on a single thing once you've invested so much money and HOPE in the procedure.

7)
How many of you got pregnant on the first IVF? It seems like most people on here got preggers on the 2nd or 3rd time.

Ok, thank you for answering any or all of these questions in advance. I'll check back in tomorrow.

[SilverAngel679]

You and I could be the same person as far as fertility issues go. I also am 29 and healthy, my husband is 28 with a low sperm count and low motility and we tried the same amount of time you did doing the same things minus the IUI's.
My journey is in my signature and as you can see, we where sucessful. Our twin boys will be here in the spring and we just started painting our house for their arrival and I'm sure that once you get the ball rolling you'll be sucessful too.
Our clinic gave us 60% of getting pregnant based on our age alone, and keeping in mind that you have no egg quality issues, I don't see why you shouldn't have those odds as well. Good luck and please keep us updated!!

[sprouthaus]

Hi - I just wanted to say welcome to the board and good luck on your IVF journey. You are young - so the odds are very much in your favor. Most of your questions vary from clinic to clinic - so you should be prepared to discuss these with your RE.

As far as coping, I do yoga, meditation and acupuncture to help me stay relaxed. It has made a big difference in my mental and emotional states between my two IVF cycles (both BFNs, but we're not giving up yet!).

Baby dust...

[Sara30]

Hi

Good luck with starting your journey, you will get lots of help and advice from this board there are a lot of experts here. As for coping sprouthaus gave a few examples, everyone does it differently but once you have started you will find a way. I talk lots, mostly to people on here!

Ask all the questions you feel you need to when you have your appt and then ring them back and ask all the ones you have forgotton.

Take Care
Lee x

[to_have_fun08]

If your insurance covers IVF, I would say go for it. IVF is not a pleasant thing to do but if you want a baby then it might be your only option. Go see an RE, they can give you a lot of information. They will plan your protocol and the drugs for what they think is best for you. Your first cycle will be hit and miss, sometimes they get the right combination of drugs other times they don't. Yes, some people do get PG on their first cycle but don't get down if you don't, your RE will have more information for your next cycle and will be able to adjust your drugs accordingly.
As far as the wait for consultations and to cycle, that would depend on your clinic. Some clinics only have 1 or 2 RE's and there might be a couple of months wait. Other clinics are larger and can get you in quicker.

My best advice would be to do some research. Get an idea on how IVF works. Then find an RE and have a consultation. Some RE's give consultations for free. If you don't like an RE go try another, find one you are comfortable with and go from there.

Good Luck,
Chris

[Warren Dew]

Here's my questions:

My answers:

1) Once you are approved for IVF, the RE (reproductive endocrinoligist) will go through all of the details. It's good to be aware of what's going on, and to ask questiopns when you don't understand, but most of the time you may just accept the recommendations, at least on the first try.

2) The chances are probably somewhere in the range of 30-40% per try for you. It varies slightly from clinic to clinic within that range, but that's often dependent on the patients they take on rather than on how good they are. Clinics that take on the severe or difficult cases will have lower success rate statistics, even with the same or higher expertise - but they may be just as good or better for you.

3) You will probably have several appointments - maybe a couple of months. It's a significant procedure and involves surgery - egg retrieval is basically a form of minor surgery - so it won't be as quick as IUI.

4) The majority of the cost is egg retrieval, so you or your insurance will not save much if things are cancelled after that point. Cancelling before egg retrieval, for example if your ovaries didn't respond to the medication, saves a lot. Some clinics offer other payment arrangements, but if you're covered by insurance, you don't have to worry about them.

If you get even one healthy embryo, they will usually transfer it, because the transfer procedure is quick and easy - comparable to an IUI.

5) There are some clinics that are more highly regarded than others, but the differences are not major.

6) Just take it one day at a time and try to stay calm. A supportive husband helps a lot, especially since you'll be on all sorts of hormones that will affect your emotional state.

7) It took four tries for us. I'm interested in the results of your poll.

[CT_Michele]

first off, beefjerky- i love the username, i am making beef jerky in my dehydrator right now as we speak.

Ok, your situation sounds similar to mine. I was 26 at time of first cycle, dh was 31, low sperm poor motility, my eggs and health were fine. We went to see RE in early sept. of 07 and were planned for cycle in late october, so turnaround was not very long even though my clinic only has one RE who does all og the ivf's. Unfotunately, we ran into some snags, dh had no sperm and had to go through surgery himself to extract it, so we were backed up until early december. Our first try was successful and our little girl is just over 4 months old.

I find that my clinic does not drag out the process and was fairly quick with the whole thing. I am going for baby #2 now, and althoug I do not have a consult scheduled until the 22nd, they are having me come in for prelimary testing before that so I don't get stalled and can catch februarys cycle.

If you are going to use dh's sperm, ivf with icsi with probably be what you have to do, especially if the count is really low. We also knew nothing about ivf, and our clinic was helpful and guided us through the first time. They answered all of our questions and I trusted their protocol since again, I knew nothing about it. but we were lucky, it worked first try!

Where do you live? I bet you get get some great suggestions as far as clinics go on these boards. There are women from every state here who can probably give advice. These boards are amazing, my best tool for coping with ivf.

Keep us updated.

[beefjerky]

Ct Michele, I'm glad you like the name!

Ok, I want to thank you all for the quick and thoughtful responses. It makes me really excited to go fourth with this. I am about to call a couple of fertility clinics to schedule an appointment for a consultation!

I'll probably be on here with lots of questions after the first visit. Thanks again!

[kerpupples]

Good luck! You can see my history below.

Your chances are really dependent on your clinic, as is your drug protocol as that will vary not only per clinic but per doctore. I will say that based on your age and condition I'd say 30-40% per cycle is low. At 34 I was given 60% odds per cycle by my doctor, but that was based only on her own success rates. I did hit those odds too, though I had a m/c on my second cycle.

Where are you? I bet there are good clinics in your area. This website will give you nationwide success rates but they aren't the most recent. You can also use it to determine what clinics are in your area and go to websites for each clinic. They will usually publish more recent success rates on their own websites.

Once you talk to a doctor they will be able to give you better answers.

http://www.cdc.gov/ART/