Success Stories-What did you do?

[lili06]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum. I am 38 years old and I just had a failed IVF and will be trying again soon. My doc said he couldn't give a reason for the failed attempt (eggs, etc. looked fine.)

My question is for the women with successful IVF cycles: what did you do? How much bed rest? Did you do
yoga, acupuncture, a special diet?  

I know there are so many unknown factors related to IVF success or failure. I'm just curious to see if the success stories did anything special. Thank you for any tips (and good luck and God Bless!!)

[lili06]

I must say that I am so glad I posted my question.  THANK YOU for all the encouraging words. I really do feel better. Our 2nd attempt begins on 8/11 (my husband's birthday). I hope and pray it's a good sign.

Nurseypie, Thank you for reminding me to pray about what we're going through.

Sometimes this whole thing stings so badly (and I'm not talking about the shots!)  And during the first attempt, I was engaging in a lot of "why me" talk. Now, on my 2nd attempt, I am trying to remain positive by PREPARING for the pregnancy and baby by packing up clutter around the house and deciding where the baby's going to sleep, etc. I even have a Vision Board going.  My attitude is different and I hope with the helpful tips you all provide, my husband and I will have our success story.

[Kim14]

I also had a failed cycle after 23 eggs, 2 perfect blasts transferred, male factor

We are in the process of the 2ww wait for our 2nd cycle. I so hope it works but dont want to get my hopes up.  We had 2 blasts put in again.  I also tried accupuncture for the last 3 months since my failed cycle. My meds were changed this time as well.  good response again so well see :-)

[vijay0982]

Oh and i forgot to tell , i switched to Lupron for my 2nd IVF cycle. that worked better than Gonal and Menupur.

[vijay0982]

I think i am 3 weeks pregnant(if confirmed on tuesday) with my 2nd IVF cycle. i was on bedrest for 2 days...and was pretty careless the other days. yes , i thought it will not work out and so was venting out by working like crazy...don't do this though...:)i was an idiot. i have always done yoga but don't think that improves or decreases your chances. it certainly helps you relax.. i ate a lot of pineapples after transfer. one of my friends in the group suggested to me saying it makes the embryos stick. and i think this really helped. also , lots of fruits and veggies helped. i gained 10 pounds from last cycle and i think eating fatty diet helped me.  i always thought my first cycle failed because i had no fat in the body. I know this is true , but depending on your physique , you might have to gain or loose a few. my co-sister lost  a few pounds and had a successful IVF. hope this helps.

[Nurseypie]

Don't be dissuaded Lilli06. Here's my story:

Dec 2005-fresh donor embryo transfer of 3 embryos-Failed. I never felt pregnant or had any symptons. My doc said he was surprised and did not know why it failed. I'd followed all orders, rested the first 2 days and light activity after. Took a HPT on Christmas(neg) and 2 days later took the scheduled blood test(neg). I decided that the emotional hurt was not worth it but was persuaded iby my doc into trying one more time as soon as possibly able.

Feb 06(6 weeks after the 1st attempt)- frozen Embryo transfer(4 eggs)-Still, I did not feel pregnant. After 48 hours I returned to work. Did nothing different. 8 days post transfer I got sick and went to the E.R. The blood test was positive! I went on to deliver a healthy baby boy.

July 25, 2008- frozen embryo transfer of 3 embryos. I made the mistake of buying 5 HPT from the dollar store and on day 9(when I was pregnant last time) I am negative. My blood draw is on Tuesday and this time I have had intermittent cramps and twinges since the transfer. I'm hoping for the best but don't feel optimistic this time.

To answer your question: Just follow your FE's orders and go about your daily business. Also, say frequent prayers to your higher power. I felt the EXACT same way you did with my 1st failure, but as my son lays beside me during his afternoon nap, the ups and downs are worth it. I truly wish the best for you!

[kele1129]

The reason my dr lowered the dose was that I respond very quickly to the stims (Iwas on Menopur and Bravelle) and she felt that my eggs didn't have time to mature fully, even though they fertilized they were simply weak. So by lowering the dosage my eggs were given more time to become mature and create stronger embies. We ended up with five embies that at 3 days were 8-cell with less than 10% fragmentation. We transferred 3 and have 2 frozen, ready for our next go at it.

I feel that the longer bed rest enabled the embies to implant. When they are transferred in they are just floating around in the uterus and by being still they have the chance to sink down and snuggle on in.

I think that you should discuss whatever you want with your dr, it is their job to make you feel comfortable and ok. Besides they can't answer what you don't ask.

Good luck at your appt.

[ascott]

Do you think I should tell my Dr. to put me on lower dosages. I go in tomorrow morning for my E2 check. I took my second gonalf injection. I am really nervous. I want to tell my RE to do 3 instead of 2. Why do you think longer bed rest may have to do with the success. May sound dumb but I need all the answers I can get. I was not understanding why the doctor said I need to take three days off after the transfer. Could you tell me why? I work in a very mentally stressful environment. Maybe I should take the week off. How long did you wait in between IVF's?

[lili06]

Hi Kele 1129,

Now that's what I want to hear!! A success story after a failed attempt. My doctor is putting me on a lower dosage, too. He's tweaking a few more things for me. I like that he's switching up the protocol a bit: different strategy-different result (a pregnancy)!!  I've been considering longer bed rest. (I think I may have done a bit too much during my 2ww).

I'm so glad that it worked  for you the 2nd time around. Thank you for sharing and I hope with all my heart that I have the same result as you! Success stories really keep me
going.

[kele1129]

My first IVF failed and the second worked. We are now 9w5d pg with a singleton. For the second cycle some things were changed in the protocol, we had ICSI and assisted hatching (I think the assisted hatching really helped)
Also I am a fast responder to the stims so I was put on a lower dosage for a longer time to give the eggs plenty of time to mature. On the first cycle I stayed in bed for a day...the second cycle I made myself stay in bed for 3 days and I took it really easy for the 2ww, minimal bending at the waist, zero "relations" with DH, etc.
We transferred 3 embies on the second and final try. I think that is all the differences between my failure and my success.
Good luck and don't lose heart, the process can work. We tried for 5 years and are so happy that we continued on after the first failure.

[lili06]

Hi Ascott,

My doctor said that my eggs were excellent (I had 20 mature) and it was a 5-day transfer. He literally said, "you should be pregnant."  I'm kind of nervous about this because apparently everything was just right but it didn't result in a pregnancy.

I've read online about protein diets, yoga, and even fasting or liver cleansing to purge toxins, etc. As you can tell, I'm looking at all avenues! I'm hoping a successful IVFer can describe anything they did (especially if they had an initial failed attempt.)

[ascott]

I'm looking for the same information. I just started my way to IVF. So your doctor did not give you any idea why it failed. How many eggs matured? did you have a 3 or 5 day tansfer.