Hi Kirsty,

I am sorry to hear that you are going through so much heartache and confusion. I know what it's like. The search for answers virtually consumes you, yet the more you delve in, the more confusing and frustrating it all becomes - particularly when different people (drs) give you different opinions.

I can only tell you what I know, from what I learned, from what I was told and my experience. I really don't think that there is a right or wrong. We are all different and what works for some won't work for others.

** pg mentioned **

I was/am a patient of Dr Sacks for 2 years. I had repeated implantation failure, no miscarriages, yet there was no reason to be found. When I first saw Dr Sacks he did the NK cell test and I had slightly elevated uNK cells, but nothing to write home about. However we did 4 cycles with prednisolone and clexane. We even gave antibiotics a go one cycle as well. Still, nothing.

I then consulted Dr Sher, sent my blood work over to him, yet he found nothing wrong - despite his near guarantee that he felt it was a DQ Alpha issue we were dealing with. Once the DQ Alpha was ruled out, he felt it was my eggs, and that donor eggs would be the only way to go. Or, at the very least, do a CGH cycle with him. Due to the cost of flying to LA and cycling at SIRM, DH & I were keen to try other options here first.

Dr Sacks suggested doing a PGD cycle, as he too was starting to believe it was my eggs that were the problem. But also felt a process of elimination was necessary - ie do PGD first, see what, if any answers it gives, then move on to donor eggs.

Dr Sher felt PGD was a waste of time and money and that CGH was the only way to go. Sydney IVF recently started doing CGH, so I went and saw them re doing a cycle. They believed they could help, but Dr Sher felt that they were not experienced enough in the procedure at that point in time. I was so confused!!

We decided to do PGD with Dr Sacks. He also suggested that we give prednisolone a miss and just use Clexane to treat the NK cells, as he said sometimes the pred can actually do more harm than good, especially when my NK cells weren't ridiculously high.

Our first PGD cycle ended up getting cancelled due to terrible response from me. We just did a standard ICSI cycle and it was of course BFN. I felt my body had hit the wall. I had a break for 3 months, did acupuncture weekly and chinese herbs, to get myself in the optimal state for my next try at PGD. I started down regging for PGD take 2, and it was then I discovered I was pregnant naturally.

I had been so utterly consumed with finding an answer. I needed to know why. I am sure I drove Dr Sacks mad with all my questions and my constant 'research' but he humoured me, bless him. But I still don't really have an answer, or anything concrete I feel can help you - except that I just got very lucky.

I know another girl who has done many many cycles, and with several miscarriages too. She actually did go to see Dr Sher, and did a surrogate cycle with a family member. This sadly resulted in miscarriage. She then did a donor egg cycle in Australia, using Dr Sher's protocol and a family members eggs, yet this too was not successful. Her last resort was a cycle using her own eggs and Dr Sher's protocol, here in Australia with the support of her clinic, and she was finally successful. She too had no answers, no real explanation, other than finally, something worked.

I am pretty sure that Dr Matthias does IVIG and supports Dr Beer's protocols. (I'm sure you've read the book Is Your Body Baby Friendly? by Dr Alan Beer.) There is also a Yahoo group that is dedicated to Beer's protocols and autoimmune issues etc, which can be quite useful and provide lots of various treatment information. I actually sent blood over to Beer's clinic as well, which came back all clear. Dr Sher supports intralipids now moreso than IVIG, Dr Sacks believes that there is no place for IVIG in treatment. Again, differing opinions!

It is so hard to know what to do, what is right, or what will work. If only there was one right way for everyone! I know I haven't been particularly helpful, I know I've rambled on a lot, but as I said earlier, no matter which dr you speak to, they will have their opinion of what is wrong and what they think will fix it - and of course they believe that they are right. Ultimately I think you have to choose someone and stick with them. Otherwise it just gets too overwhelming. The ideal Dr is willing to try different things, or even work in collaboration with another Dr who can provide a treatment that your Dr can't. I believe I had that with Dr Sacks. He might not have always agreed, but he was willing to listen and willing to try (within reason), provided I had a logical argument to present to him.

I am happy to answer any questions you have, if I can, or even just happy to chat to you more if you want to. I'm sorry I haven't given you much, except a big long essay.

Take care,
Gabbi