questions about IVF..plz help

hi every1. well me and dh have been talking about IVF and i am wanting to know some info about it from women that have gone threw it.

does it work better than IUI? (i already had 1 failed IUI)

any1 no how efective it is? (i can only afford 1 procedure and am affraid it wont work)

is it a good procedure to use for low sperm count? (this is the whole reason that we are looking to infertility treatments and i want to make sure this is the best procedure for us)

im just really affraid of going threw this and then it may not work and both me and dh will be back to square 1 disapointed and still no baby. i really want to try the best procedure that i can for us and iui didnt do it due to the fact that after the sperm was washed  a lot of them didnt survive and made the count even lower. am just really hoping that some1 out there can give me a little info on this procedure since i no a few of you have gone threw it. have any of you had success the 1st time you did this? my infertility dr. isnt covered in my insureance so its all out of our pocket and the reason im asking questions here is bc dh is worried the dr might say anything to get us to give him our $$. so hopefully you knid ladies can give me some info and advice. thx for listening and also thx in advance for any comment, advie, and answers. :)

[Allexa]

i also wanted to ask if any of the process is painfull at all? i did a little research but didnt find much that really answered my questions.

[Silvee716]

Hi there.  I have done I fresh IVF cycle and 3 Frozen embryo transfer.  I am 33 years old and I did all of this for two years.  I have never done the IUI, the problem is with me, I have Endo and I had my tubes removed because of huge cysts that damaged both my tubes.  When you start the first IVF you have inject yourself everyday to start making your ovaries produce a lot of follicules (eggs).. I remember that I felt like I was going through menapause, I was feeling also a lot of presure on my abdomen because of the hormones I was injecting myself to produce the follies.  You have to take prenatal pills, baby aspirin, and another little pill to make your lining thick for when they transfer the embryos.  I know that out of everything that I did, the thing that really hurt were the progesterone shots (oil base) my husband had to give me everynight.  You start about a week before the transfer and if it is successful you have to take it for almost the entire first trimester, but I know that at the end they give you progesterone capsules to insert in your vagina.  All the doctors are different.  My husband and I paid the Fresh IVF cycle, and two of the Frozen embryo transfer.  I know that when the first IVF failed, we were worried that we werent going to be able to do the FET, but it was actually $2,500 for the FET, plus the medications that we had to buy.  I actually became pregnant on the third attempt with identical twin girls, but lost my precious angels at 24wk gestation.  The last FET we did, I was told I was preggo after the two week wait, but my HCG levels dropped and I was told that I had a bio-chemical pregnancy.  This is only my experience with IVF/FET.  A lot of ladies here have been lucky enough to get preggo on their first attempt with IVF.  I think that is a little more when your husband sperm is really weak because they have to inject the sperm inside the egg to become an embryo.  Good Luck to you on this beautiful journey of becoming a mom.  Right now I would do it again, but is my husband that wants to take a break for while.  Good luck again and GOD BLESS YOU.

[keepthefaith]

I just had my first IVF cycle done.  I am in my tww (two week wait).  It is very costly.  My insurance does not cover it either.  I have had 8 IUI's done (which costs around $10,000) and now the IVF cycle is 15,000 for two cycle try.  I wouldn't waste your time doing the IUI's anymore since your husband's sperm count is low.  We have unexplained fertility so we thought we might have some luck with IUI's.  I wish we would have gone straight to IVF.  I think IVF is your way to go.  Good luck to you.  Don't hesitate if you have any more questions.  It is a difficult decision but I think you will be happier in the long run with IVF.

[ama67]

I did 3 IUI none worked and then 3 IVF the 3rd worked I wouldn't try IUI either the stats are that procedure has a low success rate IVF success rate is higher there are special procedures they do for certain problems with a low sperm count IVF is the best way to go and they have assisted hatching with IVF which just helps the sperm if it's to weak I believe but the doc can go over all this with you.  If you go to a fertility clinic they will go over all your options and you have to commit to the schedule and bedrest after transfer.  The average is most take on 3.2 tries or something like that so a lot do take on the 1st try.  Best of lock to you on you journey.

[Silvee716]

Hi there.. Is so weird that my doctor never had me on bed rest after they transfer the embryos.  They would transfer the embryos would tell me that I could leave right there.  I always waited though about an hour before I got up.  I know that it takes about three days for the embryo to attach to the uterin wall.  On the two week wait, they tell you not to be doing a lot of lifting and bending down.  I am pretty sure you can flight, just do not lift any heavy things when you are waiting for the results, and after the results if they are positive, the first trimester is the most dangerous one because anything can happen.  Well congratulations on deciding to go ahead with IVF and keep us posted on everything.

[Allexa]

thank you ladies again for sharing your stories and for giving me advice and i will keep you all posted on what happenes wen we get it all started. wish me luck and thx :)

[Allexa]

thank you ladies for sharing your stories with me. my only concern now is if i get it done in nov it would be at the end of the month. so how long is the bed rest last? cuz we are planning to go back to the states for christmas but its a long long flight. about 12- 16hrs for 1 flight and about 2hr. for the 1st flight. would traveling that much be bad for me? if my cycles are as i believe and my dr schedule me in nov it would be around the 24th and we plan to travel in the middle of dec. plz let me no wut u think. :) and thx for sharing your stories it really helps. me and dh decided we are gona do it for sure. he wants to go asap so i gota call my dr in the morn. :) thx again.

[ama67]

The bedrest depended on when they put the embryos back usually 3 days they were strict with me it probably varies from clinic to clinic.  If you plan on traveling they usually tell you not to travel in the first trimester due to the fact that is when most miscarriages happen.  I would meet with the doc now however I personally would't do the procedure until after your done traveling.

[twinsmommy]

Hi Allexa, if your problem is just low sperm count IVF is definitely the right thing to do! I still don't get why my dr. wanted me to try IUI's first. Anyway, if you can only afford one cycle, I would definitely do ICSI (80% of all eggs are usually fertilized) as well. They told me that at my age (I was 32 the first time) and with me being OK I had a 50% chance of getting pregnant. I did two fresh cycles, got twins the first time, singleton the next. Every cycle is different, the first was OK, probably because I wasn't running after the twins yet. The second time there was more bloating and cramping, and I took it easy the day of the retrieval only. They told me there is no use in bedrest after the transfer. You only do it so you won't blame yourself later if it didn't work... As for travelling, check when they want you to come in for bloodwork and ultrasounds (if you're pregnant probably 2 and 4 weeks after your positive bloodtest (which is day 13 and day 15 after the retrieval). Good luck to you!

[twinsmommy]

Let me add that the count was between 3 and 5.5 mill. so very low. If you're a bit higher IUI might still work...
And remember that even if IVF doesn't work the first time, you might still have frozen embryo's and a frozen cycle is considerably cheaper (that's why we did two fresh ones, the insurance was paying for that cycle as well and we wanted to keep the frozen embryo's in case it didn't work and we would have to pay ourselves).