IVF with PGD # 10

Welcome T-hopes! You certainly have been through a lot. Did your FS say what they would be using the PGD for? Just general abnormalities I'm guessing. The ladies here are really supportive & know that we are all going through the same thing so feel free to rant/vent/whinge & ask as many questions as you like.

AFM...follow up with FS today after m/c cycle to discuss options for moving forward. Still haven't decided if we are going to go again but have started taking DHEA to see if that will help with egg quality/numbers if we do decide to go again. FS thinks we should go again but I reckon if that doesn't work, then that would probably be it! A lot to think about I suppose

Hope everyone is travelling along well xxx

Double!

Thanks for the welcome :) nice to be on bb and in a group that speaks the same language, however I'm new to PGD so I'm sure I'll have many questions. I'm so sorry to read of ur recent loss. From experience Id say that nothing ever eases that pain, you will get thru it but never get over it. More than 3yrs on from my loss and the very thought of it still brings a lump to my throat. Xxxx

Reading in ur last post I just wanted to ask about DHEA. I see a lot of ppl talking about it but my FS has never mentioned it. I'm wondering if you could tell me a bit about it? Perhaps I should ask my FS if he would recommend it for me. I also have read a lot of pol taking melatonin for egg quality? Our embryos have all been of very average or below average quality so Im really interested in finding ways to improve them. I'vw just turned 31 so I'm still young, hoping PGD can give some answers.

We are on the ivf path because I have PCO, NKC and endo and Dh has 96% abnormalities with his sperm.

And yes they are looking for general abnormalities. However I do have a nephew with a very rare genetic disease called Ectodermal Dysplacia. We aren't sure where is has come from in our family and it is normally carried from females but presents in males so that is something we will speak further to the geneticists about.

xxxx

Hi T-Hopes and welcome - I have been taking DHEA on and off for 12 months, it's a relatively new drug that your body produces normally but as you get older it produces less and less. It's actually in affect an anti aging hormone so there is some evidence to show that it may help with egg quality, but nothing substantial as proof. You have to be on it for 2 solid months before it can take affect, I found it interesting as my clinic kept making me stop when I came up to doing a collection cycle which to me defeated the purpose as it mean you were off it for 2 weeks at a time, so on off on off. I'm still taking it now even though I won't at this stage be doing any more IVF, we are going through a fertility naturopath and going back to the a la naturale way to see if I have a better response. Good luck with your IVF/PGD journey xx

AFM - so I am feeling in a better headspace now, I've got past the failure of the IVF and the results of the PGD and moved on to better things hopefully. The naturopath was very positive that I can still produce good eggs and she was very interesting in that she explained exactly how the IVF drugs work and what they can do to your body and personally I'm starting to wonder if they didn't make things worse, but I guess it's an individual thing and it's definitely something I had to try. So I'm on a detox diet at the moment, which is a little sucky but i'm losing weight too so that's a plus and I'm feeling more energized and certainly less stressed. We are taking 3 months off ttc as the ovaries apparently have a 3 month cycle to produce good mature eggs so we will boost myself with goodies in that time and start trying again probably August/Sept. I just turned 40 last week so my mindset has changed somewhat, I've decided we might just try naturally for another 6 months and then call it a day :o)

Hope everyone else is doing well and will pop in occasionally to see how you're all getting on xx

Hi T-Hopes and welcome - I have been taking DHEA on and off for 12 months, it's a relatively new drug that your body produces normally but as you get older it produces less and less. It's actually in affect an anti aging hormone so there is some evidence to show that it may help with egg quality, but nothing substantial as proof. You have to be on it for 2 solid months before it can take affect, I found it interesting as my clinic kept making me stop when I came up to doing a collection cycle which to me defeated the purpose as it mean you were off it for 2 weeks at a time, so on off on off. I'm still taking it now even though I won't at this stage be doing any more IVF, we are going through a fertility naturopath and going back to the a la naturale way to see if I have a better response. Good luck with your IVF/PGD journey xx

AFM - so I am feeling in a better headspace now, I've got past the failure of the IVF and the results of the PGD and moved on to better things hopefully. The naturopath was very positive that I can still produce good eggs and she was very interesting in that she explained exactly how the IVF drugs work and what they can do to your body and personally I'm starting to wonder if they didn't make things worse, but I guess it's an individual thing and it's definitely something I had to try. So I'm on a detox diet at the moment, which is a little sucky but i'm losing weight too so that's a plus and I'm feeling more energized and certainly less stressed. We are taking 3 months off ttc as the ovaries apparently have a 3 month cycle to produce good mature eggs so we will boost myself with goodies in that time and start trying again probably August/Sept. I just turned 40 last week so my mindset has changed somewhat, I've decided we might just try naturally for another 6 months and then call it a day :o)

Hope everyone else is doing well and will pop in occasionally to see how you're all getting on xx

ha ha JoeSpratt we are into the double posts - sorry girls not sure what happened there! x

Double posts are so random Alison!

As for going off the DHEA when you are cycling, my FS has said that I would have to stop once I start the FSH as it has the potential to screw up your hormone ratios which will be a killer in maintaining a pregnancy due to the conflicting hormones.

Hi ladies,
I was wondering if I could join your group for some emotional support. We are about to embark on a PGD (CGH cycle for abnormalities) after 5 failed cycles (3 fresh, 2 frozen). A quick summary: ICSI #1 in 2010 - gave us our DD and currently trying for #2 the past 18 months. I have (had) PCO and hubby has low sperm count, low motility and low morphology. We recently found out that he has a higher percentage of sperm that have chromosome abnormalities, and basically FS says we'll have a difficult time falling pregnant. Hence the CGH this cycle. I know I can get pregnant once we find the 'golden one' but figure there is no point transferring perfect looking blastocysts that are infact abnormal. We've been tested for absolutely everything else & normal, so just a numbers game for us now.

Cheers,
Emma

Hi Emma and good luck!!! It definitely is a numbers game, I learnt that the hard way. Wishing you every success, I'm hoping to catch the golden egg too after 2 failed IVF cycles (good looking embryos but tested abnormal). It only takes one and if you respond well to the drugs and get good numbers to choose from great, I had poor response so only had 3 for testing. Such a rollercoaster this whole thing isn't it.xx

Welcome Emma! Hope the PGD can get you your elusive # 2!

Welcome to T-hopes & Emma!! Good luck on your journeys xx

Thanks ladies for welcoming me into your group. We ve also changed FS to the infamous Wazza & he's put me onto metformin & myo-insoitol for egg quality & doing a down reg cycle with gonal f & menopur rather than antagonist so hoping it helps us catch the golden egg. I do respond well, usually between 10 -14 eggs but fertilisation & blastocyst numbers are usually very low. clinic does CGH biopsy on day 3, we usually only get 1 or 2 blasts & not worth the money to test. Emotionally, I cannot keep putting back embryos that are abnormal. I'd rather know upfront. I'm new to synarel & getting awful headaches. Any advice?

alison - im glad you're feeling a bit better about the last cycle, hopefully your naturopath can get you that natural miracle. xx

joe - i agree with your fs... i think you should go again ;). hopefully the DHEA will make the difference. xx

welcome t-hopes & emma, wishing you all the best with your upcoming cycles.

T-hopes, you sound quite similar to me as we are starting cycle #4, first one with PGD for abnormalities. I'm 30, have a 2 yr old DD, have PCO and DH low everything & recently did a sperm chromosome study (FISH test) that showed a high percentage of his sperm were infact chromosomally abnormal which is common in males with low sperm counts etc. have you had any DNA fragmentation tests etc done?

You asked about melatonin, I've been reading up about it & have heard good things about melatonin for egg and also for sperm so have ordered it from US as you don't need a prescription. I've also got my DH onto maca & l-carnitine at the recommendation of a friend who went through similiar issues & swears melatonin and these supplements made a difference to her DH's sperm. Are you on anything for PCO? I'm taking Diabex and also myo-insoitol at recomm by new FS. Also alternating between gonal f and menopur this cycle.

Just waiting for AF to arrive, to start inject on day 6, why does it always not come when you're waiting for it!

Alison, a friend of ours who is 46 is pregnant naturally with #2 after 4 unsuccessful cycles based on egg quality. They had given up on trying, sold all their baby stuff and BAM. A miracle at 46. 50% chance of it being normal and to a true miracle it is, baby is completely healthy. You just never know.

Thank you everyone for a lovely welcome! Sorry I've been Mia, it's been a big wait to start this cycle but finally the ball is rolling! I started the pill a few wks ago, had our geneticist appts, nursing etc, picked up meds so I'm getting excited! I have my last OCP 1st aug and start FSH after a bleed! I'll be on 200iu gonal f.

Elarwood :) hello! I'm excited to read how similar our situations are! It's a lonely old road but to have someone that's on the same page it's really good!! My FS is putting me on Luveris to hopefully help with the fert rates... Same as you, I produce lots of eggs but they just don't make strong embryos! We will also be testing ours on day 3 but we have never even had an embryo that is more than 7cell so I'm extremely scared! I reckon we'll have to bank this pick up and do another pick up in a few mths so make it financially worth the testing! So where are you up to in your cycle? Had EPU yet??

Thank you everyone for a lovely welcome! Sorry I've been Mia, it's been a big wait to start this cycle but finally the ball is rolling! I started the pill a few wks ago, had our geneticist appts, nursing etc, picked up meds so I'm getting excited! I have my last OCP 1st aug and start FSH after a bleed! I'll be on 200iu gonal f.

Elarwood :) hello! I'm excited to read how similar our situations are! It's a lonely old road but to have someone that's on the same page it's really good!! My FS is putting me on Luveris to hopefully help with the fert rates... Same as you, I produce lots of eggs but they just don't make strong embryos! We will also be testing ours on day 3 but we have never even had an embryo that is more than 7cell so I'm extremely scared! I reckon we'll have to bank this pick up and do another pick up in a few mths so make it financially worth the testing! So where are you up to in your cycle? Had EPU yet??

Hi girls,

I have been meaning to post in here to say hello and let you know I'm around if I can help you in anyway.

I'm 27 weeks now with our pgd bub after suffering 5 miscarriages, presumably due to chromosome problems, happy to answer any questions about it you may have :)

Hi ladies, just got my AMH test results and my level is 14, just wondering if that is low? My nurse said it was the lower side of normal?!

Hi minniemouse! I think we shared a forum yrs back! Congratulations on your bub! I'm keen for all the advice and knowledge I can get! Feeling overwhelmed and confused by everything right now!