IVF - Need as Much Info as Possible Please

[Berko]

Hi Everyone. So here's an update on my ttc soap opera. I went to the dr. on Friday and he feels that we should go to the next level of ttc - IVF - yikes!! I have such mixed feelings about it - it's just unbelieveable. He feels that even though i've gotten pregnant (twice, both m/c - once on own and once with letrazole and iui)that this would be the best choice for us now as we have been trying for a while and my dh's sperm count keeps getting lower. he feels that we'll have a very good chance (G-d Willing) with the IVF and this will ensure at least the sperm to get where it needs to go. my dh went to urologist and has no explanation as to why sperm counts are getting lower. no vericole or anything else blocking and no infection or anything like that. my dr. said it's common to have unexplained and feels we should go to the next level. I know the basics of IVF, but am looking to hear and find out in as much detail as possible all about it. What it entails and so forth. i would appreciate anyone's input and pieces of info. I'm going to a class on August 22nd at my dr.s, but would like to know as much as possible now. Thanks so much for anything and everything.

[low22]

I have no insight on IVF but want to wish you the best of luck!!  It will all be worth it!  My sister has a friend whose dh's sperm count was too low so they did IVF and got a BFP on the first try!  She had been ttc without IVF for two years.  I wish you the best of luck!

[Berko]

thanks so much!! I really hope it all works quick - this month is an off month -  i mean we can try on our own, but not ivf - dr. wants my ovaries to calm down from all the meds. i'm not going to go crazy this month - whatever happens, happens and then i'll probably pricking myself with needles - Ugh!! i'm so petrified of needles, but it'll all be worth it G-d Willing!!

[brynn03]

If you dont mind me asking how old are you and your DH? And is you DH on any type of medications? I have also had 2 friends that did the IVF and both ended up with BFP after 2 x!! Good luck

[apeacefulme]

I hope you don't mind me jumping in.  I saw your post and had to write.  My husband and I have done two rounds of IVF.  First did not work.  Second did, and resulted in our wonderful boy/boy twins.  They are two and a half now and are a true blessing.  Things have changed since we did the IVF in 2003.  But we are going to try again and have spoke to the RE and other current patients about the new protocol.  The shots have been cut down quite a bit from what I understand.  They now come "mixed" if you will, together in one portable ready to go shot.  No mixing on your own and no multiple shots at one time. I chose to give the shots in my thighs, left one day, right the next.  It wasn't too bad.  The needles are small and it's pretty much like a pin *****.  The meds do burn a bit going in, but it doesn't last long. Don't hesitate doing it though.  Just...aim and go.  You'll get it down in a day or two. The progestrone shots are the dusies.  They burn quite a bit.  We decided to go with the - ice down for ten minuts, shot, low heat heating pad routine.  It worked out pretty well and you don't feel the shots when your iced up. My mother ended up doing the shots for me everyday.  Husband is military and not home all the time, plus, he got queezy trying to do it.  So it was just easier to plan it with my mother doing it every day and it was taken care of.  They have that, "It's for your own good, attitude" that makes you just get it done and overwith.  The retrieval is easy.  The transfer is nerve wracking.  You have to have a full bladder for a couple of hours and it's uncomfortable.  The actual transfer just makes you kind of crampy.  Not bad.  I chose to not go with the catheter (release urine) and opted for the bed pad.  The catheter is an issue for me and I think it caused the first one to fail because I tensed up so much.  The bed pan was not bad at all and much more comfortable.  But that's my opinion.  Hope this helps.  Feel free to email if you want.  

Good luck and *~sticky thoughts~*

[Berko]

twin boys!! what fun!! thanks so much for giving me all the info you did, but of course i still have a million more questions. i'm wondering if you could tell me more in terms of how long the whole process is - appts. and things, from when do you take the shots and for how long. how long do the appts. take (retrieval and transfer...)? i'm going to take a class on august 22nd so i'm sure i'll learn more there, but i'm so curious and nervous now. i don't know if i'm going to have dh give me the shots or not - i'm think i'm more nervous for hime to give it - he'll shake and get nervous - he's all manly right up until he has to deal with it - ha :)!! my mother's not alive, but my aunt (i grew up in her house) offered to give me the shots if i'm scared to give them to myself. it's amazing my mother was a diabetic and she spent half her life giving herself injections, and here i am... (she didn't die from diabetes though - brain tumor). dh and i will go to the class together and if i decide i really want my aunt to give me the shots i'll take the class again the next week with her. i really can't believe that this is what we're doing, but it'll sink in. I just thought of another question: about how many eggs usually fertilize and they remove for the ivf? and how many embryos do they usually put in? thanks again for all your input - it's really so much appreciated.

[Harley-girl]

Good luck with the IVF. My good friend did that due to unexplained infertlity and on the first try she had twin girls.

[ima1]

i know several women who have had success ttc with ivf, all three of them took a few times, and one - my aunt - had triplets.  She stopped trying after that, said her family ws complete with one try:)
About the unexplained low sperm count, have you looked into food allergies?  An undetected wheat allergy can wreak havoc on a mans sperm, as well as causing erectile dysfunction.  I am speaking from personal experience here.  If your husband is lethargic all the time, has stomache pains, eats a very small or a very large ammount at each meal, or has chronic back pain, it could be he has  sensitivity to wheat/all five grains.  I got pg after my husband went off all five grains, nd he slowly introduced them into his diet, although he has had to go back and forth for years now, not eating/ eating grains, depending how he feels.  Also, marijuanna use, even recreationally, can greatly reduce the numebr of sperm in an otherwise healthy man.  Good luck to you and I hope you get your bfp soon (((HUGS)))

[Berko]

i'm 25 and dh is 27. we've been married 4 and a half years and have been trying on and off, gotten pregant twice and m/c both. but there really was a pretty big gap (about a year) in between the first and second pregnancies with no real explanations. last m/c was in march and have been trying with meds and iui for 2 cycles since i had to wait for testing why m/c (turns out i have mhftr mutation - blood clotting disorder and now on extra vitamins and baby aspirin for it). now the sperm counts keep getting lower and dr. wants to up the chances with ivf. hopefully i'll get my bfp soon after just like with your friends. i've also heard plenty of stories of women who were doing ivf and ended up getting pregnant on own - in between cycles or right before going to start so you never know.

[Berko]

that's so interesting about the wheat thing related to low sperm counts. maybe i'll tell my dh to try going off all grains this month - who knows what he'll eat, but.... it happens to be he's always tired (and i mean always), gets stomachaches a lot. don't know about the eating thing though - sometimes he eats mor and sometimes less - guess depends on if he likes what he's eating. i wonder if it has something to do with what you're talking about...interesting... he's taking echinachea now to try to boost his immune system - someone told him about it cuz he never feels well (again always tired), but dr. said this wouldn't cause any issues. there's no marijuana use so don't have to worry about that, but back to that wheat thing...i'm gonna speak to him about it tonight and maybe my dr. too - see what he says. thanks.

[Berko]

Thanks!! Twins runs in my family - my mother was a twin - and her twin sister had twin boys (natural - no meds)so even though i know twins from ivf doesn't need to run in the family - it's still nice to know that if i would have twins ( G-d Willing - anything - just healthy!!) it wouldn't automatically be - "oh, she had ivf..." if you know what i mean - not that there's anything wrong with it - i'm just having such mixed, weird feelings. i'll do anything at this point anyway!!

[mammasita]

I will be heading down that road soon I believe. My first appt. is the 17th. Did you go on Clomid first? Is that the protocol?  Clomid IUI and then IVF? I had my M/C in December and still tryng.(Im 39)
Best of luck to you!!

[Harley-girl]

I know exactly what you mean about the twin thing.

I was scheduled to begin Clomid with IUI and I got my BFP so maybe you will also get pregnant on your own and carry the little rascals to term with no complicattions. I have never miscarried but my heart goes out to all of you who have. Good Luck and please keep us posted.

[apeacefulme]

Let's see...
We started the process in Oct. 2003 - HSG in November.  Nothing for a couple of months because of holiday season.  started BCP in Jan.  started meds and retrieval in Feb and transferred on March 1st.  That was first cycle...tests and all. ~ There are alot of tests for both you and DH.  I don't know what all you have done, but the quicker you have them done, the quicker you can start.~ I had a total of 10 good eggies, and out of those 6 fertilized and out of those we had 2-A's 2-B's and 2 C's.  They transfered the two A's which didn't take.  Then we had to skip a cycle (March AF) to make sure I was still on track.  Then second round of meds started in April and we transferred on May 1st. Then the two-week-wait and we tested BFP on May 13th.  I can't believe I remember all of this! That cycle we had 8 good eggies and out of those 5 fertilized.  2-B's and 3-C's  They transfered the 2 b's and 1 c and we got the twins.  I had some bleeding during the first few weeks and they believe (because my HCG levels were so high) that we were actually preg with triplets and lost one by the time the 6wk ultrasound came around. But...
They give you a schedule along with all of your paperwork.  And they pretty much keep you on track with appts and all.  

I hope this helps.

[Berko]

i'm sorry for you loss. maybe all you'll need is some meds to help boost ovulation and the dr. to monitor your cycle to know exactly when you ovulate or maybe  that with iui. i started out using clomid (3 cycles) but didn't work so dr. moved me on to letrazole (femara) and then with iui - that cycle worked - got pregnant (2nd pregnancy - first was just with monitoring of cycle year before) and then that one ended in m/c. since then i've done 2 cycles of letrazole with iui, but b/c of the low sperm counts dr. wants to move on to ivf. i would say definitely go to dr. let him test you and dh and see what's doing - maybe you'll just need something simpler. and if you do need ivf i'll be right there with you. and if you don't i'll be right here for you. good luck with everything!! hope everything goes as easily and smoothly as possible and you get your healthy bfp soon!!

[Berko]

WHOA!! I'm so confused. i think i'm gonna write a list of questions for my dr. and for the class so that i can ask everything. what's a, b, and c? is that how good or viable they are? does the process entail a lot of in dr. visits - days off of work and such? i'm going to have to speak to my boss about this, but would rather say as little as possible. i'm sorry for bombarding you with so many questions and again thanks for all your answers.

[kris123]

I am so sorry that af has showed up.  You and your dh are so young.  It is hard to go through a m/c and ttc and not get a BFP.  I hope that everything works out for you.  I have had two pregnancies that I went to term.  I have one child and the other was placed for adoption - as I was young and there was another issue as to why I had to do this.  My daughter is going to be 11 and I am 28.  I m/c as you know in June.  I do hope and pray you get a BFP in a couple of monthes.  I would like to stay in contact with you because you have been such a support for me.

[Berko]

thank you for your support and your kind words - G-d Willing soon we'll both be yapping about our bfps and healthy pregnancies!!

[Mikeal'smom]

Hello again!  I just wanted to wish you the best of luck with IVF.  Dh and I will do another 3 rounds of clomid and IUI (that will make five total tries with IUI)and if we are still not pg after that we will also be on our way to IVF.  If you don't mind, if it comes to it for us, I would like to hear about your experiance with it- no one around me has ever gone through anything we have so we really don't have anyone to ask about it.  Again good luck to you- I really hope this works for you the first time.

[Berko]

thanks. i really hope that you don't need to do the ivf and that you get your bfp on your next cycle. so you've done 2 rounds of clomid and iui? remind me, please. i would say if the next cycle with clomid nothing happens to speak to your dr. about trying another med - letrazole/femara. my dr. had told me originally that if clomid was going to work usually the first three rounds. he then switched me to letrazole - it worked on second try with iui (but then m/c). how are your dh's sperm counts coming out? i'll probably be writing about my experience on here to vent as i go through it, but if it comes to ivf for you i'd be glad (for lack of better word) to share my experience with you and walk you through it. i do have 2 friends who have gone through it. one ended up getting pregnant in between cycles. she tried it, it didn't work, was getting ready for next round and found out was pregnant already. my other friend is still going through it - she's gotten pregnant twice on it but m/c both. i'll probably speak to them about it to get more info, but i thought i'd first try on here and see what i could find out. i really hope to hear your good news soon!!

[nikita2477]

Berko, I think you should go for it, I really do. I have no experience with this, but most of the women I have heard about having it have had a pretty positive experience. Atleast the month you have it done, you can relax in a way knowing you did what you needed to do and don't have to worry about all the bd'ing on all the right days and all that tedious stuff!! best of luck to you!

Erin

[Mikeal'smom]

My dh's sa was fine, motility and numbers were perfect, morphology was a little low but my RE said that in the grand scheme of things it's really not a big deal because the other numbers were good.  I'm not sure why he wants to do three more rounds, maybe because we took a couple of months off and got pg (and m/c).  I told him that if I was going to have to give myself a shot everyday than we are going to do IVF because if I'm going to go through all of that I want the best chance of a positive outcome.  I don't want to go through months of shots every day (after o) for a few months to discover we need to do IVF anyway, and possibly have to go through a couple more cycles of that just to get pg.  Any experiances you could share about your situation (the other meds and IUI) would be appreciated.  Maybe it's not as bad as seems in my head, I'm sure you can understand that with what your looking into.  The best of luck to you!

[Mikeal'smom]

I should also add that I have been on clomid since about January.  150 mg for 2 months with IUI took a month off and went back on (due to possible luteal phase defect) at 50mg.  I got pg at the end of June, m/c in july, and on this Sat. I will start another dose of 100 mg. I think so far I have done a total of 5 rounds of clomid (before this month)and 2 IUI's.

[1twinmom]

Hi, sorry I just realized that this was your post. You obviously know that IVF worked for us! There are a lot of Dr. appointments and blood tests. Is your clinic in town? We had to drive to this hospital where I am now so that was time comsuming. I know your worried about work. I only had to tell a couple of people what we were doing and they would cover for me with the bosses and other coworkers.  Let me try to remember the time line for our last fresh cycle. I think I started on the pill (for a month) in December. Started the first shots the last four days on the pill. Continued with the shots through Jan and did the embryo transfer early Feb. Then after the embryo transfer did progesterone shots until the pregnancy test and since it was positive, kept doing prog. shots until 12 weeks. It's intimidating at first but you get used to the shots.
Ours was male factor infertility too and they couldn't find a reason for it either. My husband did have testicular cancer but they don't think that's what caused it.  One thing to keep in mind is what will you do if you do get pregnant and you have a lot of embryos left over?  It worked out perfect for us because we only had one embryo left but I know someone who did IVF got pregnant, doesn't want more kids and has 6 embryos cryopreserved.  I don't want to scare you away from IVF but it's something that we never thought about before we started.

[latina_love_goddess]

I had IVF...perfect timing b/c they wait to do a lot of testing and such 1st day after your menus.  12/28/05 went in for consult, blood work, etc.  1/1/06 (sunday) I had my mensus and they check FSH, estorgen, all those labs.  I think they want your FSH to be under 10.  Over 10, some clinics won't touch you b/c its a waste of time and money.  Infertility in us both: undefined.  My #'s were great.  They then asked me to come in for a consult/plan.  My ins covered anything up to 10k.  Why bother with the small stuff, insemination, clomid, byopies, etc.  If you are thinking IVF and your ins covers it, BE AGGRESSIVE..don't waste time.  You've waisted all this time up to this point ttc on your own.  Went in, had injections class, and yes, they have the already injectable pens...convienent...be careful not to waste your injections, I had to order another Gonna-F pen $250 for one pen..luckily my ins paid it, wasted a few injections the first time and urg anyhow they give you just enough for 2wks....started injections on either 2/24 or 2/28 cant recall...really only for like 7-10 days..goes by in a flash.....i'll make another post if i can before I run out of room

[latina_love_goddess]

Ok...at time of injections you will go in maybe 1-3 times a week for u/s to monitor growth of ovaries, blood work etc...and mostly if your clinic is generous they are open 7am before most have to be in to work...I had to tell my supervisor, so he would understand....my u/s would like 10-15 min and its something you can do over lunch, IF you are close.  Luckily I was 10 min from this clinic.  My overies were not quite ripe enough so that is when I needed 1-2 days more of progesterone oil and gonnal-f.  Then on 3/8 was retrieval..they only expected to get 12 eggs and got 19...on this day they took my bf sperm sample.  They put me completely under.  I went to work the next day..I was sore for a week.  It was not pleasant.  They did a ICSC, where they manually put the sperm/egg together only b/c at that time he started his diabetic meds and they did not want to take any chances comming this far along.  Next day of the 19 eggs, 17 fertilized.  Day 5 there was 15 and 10 usuable embys.  They froze I think 5 in and implanted on the 5th day which is always the GOAL, only 1 egg.  If I chose not to free they would have implanted 2 but he told me odds were in my favor we'd have twins if he implanted 2 and only recommended one.

[latina_love_goddess]

So on 3/13 I went in for transfer...they gave me a valium, and I was relaxed.  I got to see my little embryo in the big screne and they gave me a photo.  I cried.  For someone waiting so long to get preg. this is a miracle.  Its the most beginnign stages of life.  So beautiful. Not many people at all get to see their baby in this most beginning stage.  I was out of work for 3 days in bed rest.  I took my 3 sick days.  I knew I was planning for IVF so my out of pocket expenses I took a big chunk of money out of each paycheck for my flex spending acct.  Very wise to do.  Then, the waiting period.  On 3/24 I was to go in for a blood test.  That Wed. I wiped and had light pink blood.  I cried.  I paniced.  I thought m/c.  Didn't work.  I went home and got a cheap test from CVS.  Immediately I got a positive.  I was still in denial. That morning I called the clinic she told me to come in.  She did not want to get my hopes up or worry me.  Blood test.  That day she called me....BFP.  I started to cry.  I was so excited.  I was officialy 4-5 wks.  Crazy huh?  My HCG levels were 455. and kept growing after that.  I'll be 23wk this Thurs and have a healthy baby boy...I got married on 7/22 and felt him kick for the first time.  We couldn't be happier.  If you have any specific questions please ask as I know from first hand experience.  Great luck to you.

[latina_love_goddess]

Sorry forgot to mention...I am was 30 and my now husband, 33, but then has my bday in April so finding out at end of March was like a big bday for me.

[Berko]

thanks for your words of encouragement. yes, we are going to do it...unless of course we get pregnant on our own this month :)(G-d Willing!!)

[Berko]

well it does sound like the clomid worked for you so then hopefully it'll work again real soon. the other med i took (letrazole/femara)is an off label med - the use for infertility is off label. don't even ask what i went through trying to find it in a pharmacy and then once i did they didn't want to release it to me cuz it actually says right on it not to take if pregnant and here i was trying to use it to get pregnant. my drs. office had to call TWICE in order for them to finally let me have it, but they still sent me off with a warning to check more into it before taking it. i was a nervous wreck by the time i had the med and was so confused what to do. when i called the nurse the second time on call (saturday night) when i was trying to pick the med up she just laughed and couldn't believe what they were doing to me - she kept telling me, "believe me, it's fine, they've been using it for this for a long time - it's an off label use and sometimes the pharmacies aren't as up to date." anyhow in the end i took it the same way took clomid - two tablets before bed for 5 nights. and after one try without iui my dr. decided time to up the ante. the next round with the iui i got pregnant and then after m/c had to wait a month for testing and then did letrazole and iui two more times and now i thought he was just going to give me the shots with iui to boost ovulation even more, but he feels with the low numbers our best bet would be ivf so here we are. so really i haven't done much different than you in terms of the meds and iuis at this point. (except for using a different med) - ask your dr. about it and see what they say. i'll be in touch to let you know the next steps i'm taking and i hope though that it'll just be for me venting and not because you need to know the process - that you'll be pregnant through what you're doing now and won't have to see the point of a needle.

[Berko]

thanks for sharing your experience. G-d Willing it'll work that quick for us too. that's an interesting question about what to do with extra embryos. i'm not sure how that works actually. i was asking my dr. if i'd always have to do ivf or if i could try naturally again and he said everyone's different. plenty of people do ivf and then get pregnant on their own. but if there are extra embryos then it would make the most sense to use them. i'm not too worried about feeling my family's complete after one ivf - in my community we tend to have large families and i'm hoping that G-d Willing i'll have one too. i've been waiting a long time to have a family all of my own. my family situation is a little complicated. i lost my mother when i was young and am probably looking to still fill the void. but thank you for bringing up that point i'm definitely going to have to discuss it with some people.

[Berko]

oh wow - your story really touched my heart. thank you so much for sharing it and giving over so much information. as of right now my insurance does not cover ivf, but my husband is going to speak to his boss and see if they have a better plan he can join. we asked the insurance co. about adding a rider and they said then the whole group has to add it. my husband thinks though that there is a better plan that some in his office have so he's looking into joining that one (if possible). his bosses are pretty nice and it's a small business so i'm hoping they'll help us out, otherwise we'll have to look into getting our own insurance on the side. i'm so glad for you that everything worked out quickly and that you've moved along so far in your pregnancy. here's to a continued healthy pregnancy and you holding your handsome baby boy in your arms very soon.

[latina_love_goddess]

If you have Flexible spending on your account that is something you can look into..it covers out of pocket expenses that you may incur medically....too bad  your ins does not cover.  I know some that cash in 401k plans and take out a loan..some clinics even offer a Shared Risk Program with grants you liek 70% of the money you have invested IF you're not successful w/in like 6 attempts but it can get costly some 30k for multiple attempts...we chose to freeze in the even that we want to try IVF again and have a 2 child 2-3 yrs from now.  I have 5 frozen embroyos. They rest they felt were not worthy and they discarded them.  Its a bit sad.  But if you have a FSA account that is the best way to go b/c if you are paid weekly or bi-weekly and you opt to take out some 3000k to cover some expenses then they take a portion out of each pay check.  I opted to ahve 2500 taken out.  I used every cent.  Should I consider IVF again I'm only looking about aprox. 2-3 thousand dollars vs the 11k that my ins can pretty much paid out.  Great luck to you.  Keep looking for fincial means. About 2 months ago I was in the doctors office and was reading in a magazie that they have finacial assisted programs to assist those that dont exceed a certain level of income..reduced rates....keep your hopes up.  Let me know how I can help with any questions.   I'll do the best I can.

[Berko]

thanks. my dh spoke to his boss and he's looking into getting into us into a better insurance program that will cover it. he said not to worry that we'll work it out. also my dr. did tell me that there are certain meds for it that sometimes they have extra b/c people who haven't used all their meds and don't need them anymore and they're completely packaged and before expiration date they give out if insurance doesn't cover. also i know of organizations that help with costs if can't get it covered so i think we'll be ok. we're not due to have the ivf for at least a month and in the meantime i'm hoping we can get onto a better plan. thanks so much again for all your info.