Starting IVF 39 - scared

[mommaforthe4thtime]

Oh Laura I'm so happy for you! I can only imagine who you both must be feeling right now. Our appointment to meet with the RE is on Monday. If my calculations are correct and we can start the birth control portion right away, we should be starting around the 20th of this month since that's the start of my next cycle. I hope it can start then. I'm so excited to finally get this ball rolling. I'm one of those people who likes to do things quickly and waiting is killing me . I've read alot about the birth control portion and it does make sense and my husband is pushing for that protocol given my age. From what I was told when I booked my appointment, the first appointment will be very similiar if not exactly like yours. My husband and I have been concerned about the number of embrios to transfer given age and all. We are ok with the idea of twins but would prefer just one and it seems that you had 3 transfered and one stuck. That makes the idea of tranferring 3 not so scary. Triplets? OMG! Please let me know when you have your second u/s. I so want to know what's going on with your pregnancy and I want to celebrate with you! Hopefully we will celebrate together.

[MamaBoo]

I think that the decision on how many to transfer will depend on how well you respond to meds and the quality of the embies. If you have 3 very good quality, I don't think most would recommend transferring all three. The risks of complications with triplets is significant. Even twins ups the risks a good deal.

[Happy Bunny]

At my clinic, the decision on how many to transfer is made just before the transfer, while I am literally lying on the table about to take a Valium. The doctor comes in, discusses with me the number and quality of the embryos and tells me what my odds are. We talk about it and a decision is made. My doctor doesn't discuss transfer until the embryos have grown.

My first transfer was a Day 5 transfer with great embryos so we transferred 2 which is what is recommended for my age group and embryo quality. My second transfer was a Day 3 transfer with great embryos but we transferred 3 because less is known about the viability of Day 3 embryos. Both times I became pregnant with a single baby.

[mommaforthe4thtime]

What you both say makes total sense. I guess I'm just getting ahead of myself. I guess it's normal. I'm so excited and scared all in the same breath. Our meeting with the RE is Monday morning. He will do the initial tests and then we will move from there. Please keep me in your prayers that I will be able to join you IVF mommies.

[LauraN]

Just wanted to let you know, I just had my second ultrasound and there is no longer a heartbeat. So, we are opting to have a D&C on Tuesday and then have genetic testing to find out what was wrong. Hopefully it will give us some answers and we know how to move forward. We aren't giving up just yet, but I am also not saying that we will move forward with another round of IVF, it depends on what the tests show. I will still be lurking on the board stalking you guys and hope things work out for you. Good Luck with it all!

Laura

[mommaforthe4thtime]

Laura I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. My heart just breaks for you and your DH. How are you feeling today? I would like to tell you that you are in my prayers, both you n your DH. Will you try again? Please count on me for a shoulder to lean on. All the ladies on the boards seem so supportive and you are truly among those who love you. Our first appt. is this Monday. I hope that it's ok if I share with you what the doctor says. Please take care of yourself and enjoy a big coffee. Awww the simple pleasures in life.

[LauraN]

I cant wait to hear how your appt goes with your RE...I will be expecting details, so take notes as for what our next steps are, well, I will have the d&c and they will do genetic testing on the baby. It will take about 4 weeks to get the results back. Then, if they find something genetically wrong, they will test my dh amd I to see if one or both or neither of us are carriers. So, if they.find something and both of us are carriers, then game over, but if only one or neither is a carrier, then if we xan come up with the money, we will do another round, but do pgd all of the embryos before transferring them back into me.

[mommaforthe4thtime]

Hi Laura, so we met with the RE yesterday. (I tried to reply yesterday but my phone went all weird and I had no time at work.) This RE used to be an OB GYN. He delivered my daughter 16 years ago and is the one who tied my tubes. He reviewed his notes and said that he only put a clip on my tubes and if we remove them then it's like it never happened. It appears that they were not cut. My right tube was badly damaged 12 years ago because it twisted and they removed a large portion of it. He suggested that we just remove the clip. He is of course still going to test me for all of the other things that could stop us from conceiving naturally and said that if we remove the clip we can still use fertility drugs to stimulate ovulation since I would be working from one ovary. With all that said, I did some research yesterday and it appears that the chances of getting pregnant at our age after a tubal reversal and only one tube is higher than IVF. What do you think? Was this ever mentioned to you by your RE?

[Happy Bunny]

Momma: WOW! What an awesome discovery!

[mommaforthe4thtime]

Isn't it though?! My husband was near tripping on his feet as we left. We knew we wanted a baby but he always sighed at the fact that we couldn't do it naturally and this whole IVF process, while he was happy to do it to have a baby, he said he wished and prayed every night that God would resolve this naturally. Of course, we still have all the tests to do and see if it will work by the RE is very confident that this will be a no brainer. The IVF with meds was going to cost around $10,000 per try and this will only be around $4000. We could only afford one try of IVF so this whole other option is a wonderful blessing that only the God who is above all things could have made possible.

[LauraN]

I think that option is fantastic. We looked into it, but although I was a good.candidate to get them untied, only.one of my thetunes would be repairable and because my husband has such a low sperm count they didnt recommend it. And that came from a doc that does reversals, not ivf. So that is why we didnt opt for that. We are paying all of our ivfs self pay too and it sucks. I so hope this way works for you....that would be awesome. So, when are you considering the surgery? Is it outpatient? How long after repairing can you start trying? I am so excited that this an option for you.

I just got out of the d&c. I feel growgy and ready to go crawl back into bed. I am not in pain, thank goodness for the good drugs they give you now a days.

[mommaforthe4thtime]

It's funny, the RE was my OB GYN and the one who tied my tubes and could do reversals before he became an RE. In our case the doctor said 6 weeks and I can get the surgery provided my DH sperm count is good and there aren't any factors there. Of course we still have my tests to finish which should be this weekend as AF is just about to start and we have to follow the same protocol as for the IVF. You know 3rd day of menses tests etc. So provided all those tests are good we should be able to have the reversal done for end of February. He said one month to heal and then do your thinkg
I can't wait.

How are you feeling? I mean both physically and mentally? Are you waiting for the results from the testing before you try again or have you even discussed that? Do you know when you could try again?

[JacksMom2012]

I was 37 during my first cycle and 38 for my successful cycle. They always retrieved a good number of eggs, but usually only half fertilized and I only had 2 leftover (out of 3 fresh cycles) that were high enough quality to freeze. We normally ended up with a couple high quality embryos for a 3dt.

We did the long lupron protocol each time (gonal f & menopur) with ICSI. The change made for my successful cycle was they transferred 3 embryos and I opted for the PIO injections instead of the vaginal progesterone (the vaginal gave me horrible yeast infection). The PIO is not supposed to make a difference, but I can't help but think it did in my case. The only time I did acupuncture was a BFN and the only supplement I took were prenatal vitamins.

It's definitely a tough and scary journey, but hopefully you'll be surprised and have lots of great eggs! Even if there are egg quality issues like in my case, you only need a few good ones for success!! Stay strong!!