Hi CBG - yea that's what i thought he was fine taking my money LOL ... never mind i know i will get there ...
- Chinese Dr here i come !!!! So eggy watch out i will FENG SHUI my perfectly “shaped uterus” now and then the eggy will not be able to resist !
Im quite new to all of this so Im not yet up on all the abbrievations, but Im so happy to find other women to talk to who really understand what is happenning in my life right now
Gecko, it sounds like we may have a similar situation, I'll tell you my story so far...
Last year at age 27 I thought I should get some fertility tests done as my Mum experienced premature menopause at 32 (and her Mum in her 40's).
My partner and I have been together 4 years and have a home together but were not quite ready for babies.
We have both always wanted children, but assumed there was plenty of time for that a few years down the track.
I had no symptoms and expected to be told I would have a few more years before we would have to start trying for a family.
Unfortunately my Anti Mullerian Hormone test showed I already had a low "abnormal" ovarian store and my Doctor advised us that we may only have 6 months (maybe more) to try and concieve. He recommended IVF and ICSI on 50% of the eggs.
After a lot of discussion (and freaking out) we decided to have IVF treatment beginning in February this year.
I started on a high dose of FSH and then it was increased again things weren't happening as quickly as they should have.
We decided to put back 2 embryos to double the chance of a pregnacy. My eggs are comparable to the quality of a 4o+ yo old woman, so this was allowed.
And besides, we would love to have 2 children, so twins would have been a blessing.
On the day of egg pick-up they collected 8 eggs, 5 of which were mature. 4 fertilised after using 100% ICSI. When I woke up in recovery I was warned the quality was poor. Our Doctor said this confirms his concern (about my impending premature menopause) and it was lucky we got in when we did.
On the day of transfer I was told none of our Embryos were growing the way they should, but there was still a chance, so they transferred the better two and we started our 2 week wait. Sadly the other 2 embryos were not able to be frozen due to the poor quality
Friday was result day, and sadly it was a negative result.
We will try again once we can afford another Global Cycle of IVF. Im ready to go again ASAP as I feel like my time is running out at the chance to be a Mum.
So thats my last few months, its been a roller coaster, but Im ready to keep riding it as I know it will all be worth it.
I have also been wanting to hear from women in similar situations to me, so I was intrigued to read your note Gecko.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful and if you would like to ask any questions or chat about it more, that would be great.
Reading your post gave me goose bumps , i am so very sorry to hear about your situation Kate, i am glad that you have found my thread as we do seem to be in very similar situations...
I sounds like you are already 1 step ahead of me, however given your mums premature menopause i can understand why you went ahead with the IVF as fast as you did,... i cannot imagine what it must have been like for you... it seems so unfair that we only get to harvest a few eggs each time after taking all those drugs...not to mention the costs of it all...did they suggest that people like us should just freeze as many eggs as possible ? or do they need to get fertilized & turned into embryos straight away ? i would have 101 questions but i am trying not to think about it all as yet at the same time, will ask 1 more when the FS told you that you had 6 month left did you start IVF straight away or waited like me ?
My AMH level was 1.2 however my Eggs apparently are the quality equivalent to my age( 31 well as good as 32 now) so i guess i am lucky in that department... never the less my FS has also put that awful 6 month time stamp on me which bugs me the most , as i have no real family history of any difficulties to have children ( so you can imagine how much of a shock this was to me ) i have decided to hold out for the 6 month before looking at IVF - in saying that i am still pro active in a different way and have found a highly recommended Chinese herbalist which i go and see once a week now and get acupuncture done as well as taking his herbs 2 x a day ... this has been my first month on the herbs now and i started spotting on CD 20, its been going for 5 days being the 5th day today so i was convinced that AF will be her tomorrow as i had a 26DC as of late.. however the spotting has stopped at lunchtime today so i am just confused now... just don’t know what ‘s going on now i kind of think she is tricking me, making me think one thing,- only to be here full swing by tomorrow...
Gotta love that roller coaster – well the good thing is i have a buddy now !
Thanks you again for finding my thread & Hope to hear from you soon.
Its so nice to be in contact with people going through the same experience as us, I never knew 1 in 6 women struggle with concieving...we are by no means alone in this.
I went back to my Dr today to talk about what we can do next. He said we could try again with IVF (with some changes to my program) or we could try IUI -Intra-Uterine Insemination, which is less expensive, but may work for us if we try it once a month for the next year...
Seeing as my AMH is already low, my ovaries are small-according the the scans & my last unsucessful IVF determined my eggs are already of poor quality, we decided we need to give this our best go at achieving a pregnany ASAP and will start another cycle of IVF. He said Im heading towards POF -Premature Ovarian Failure, so I will be taking DHEA to help with the quality of eggs*(which what Dusty mentioned-thanks Dusty, I had not heard of it till you mentioned it, then my Dr recommended it, so at least I knew what it was!!)
He also said I could try a chinese herb Don Quoi...so I'll give that a try too! There is more injections this time (which are not as bad as you might think), an even higher dose of FSH, steroids, plus the other hormones that do their magic. Oh and some patch that goes on my foot!?! It just gets weirder all the time.
So now i sit back, wait for my period, then start counting days, taking my meds and crossing my fingers. Im relieved to know what our next plan of action is, its not knowing what to do next that worries me the most. There is still action we can take, so I will concentrate on giving that our best shot.
Gecko, in regards to your questions:
You could freeze eggs, but freezing embryos has a much better sucess rate apparently.
When I was told i "may only have 6 months left" we also got a letter from our Doctor emphasising how strongly he thought we should start trying more 'aggressively' to achieve a first pregnancy, let alone a chance at a second one later down the track.
My partner and I decided to start straight away once we realised time was not something we had much of. I knew that I was going to run out of eggs at that stage, but AMH does NOT give you an indication of egg quality, which is the important thing.
Im thankful we started when we did, especially now knowing my egg quality and quantity is low. How do they know about the quality of your eggs?
I don't want to tell you what to do *but* maybe once you get your head around everything and give the herbs a try, you could talk to a FS again and get some more information about your options. The IUI might be an option rather that going full IVF, and isn't nearly as costly or invasive. Its such a big decision process and its harder for you because you had no warning at all I really feel for you, and I know how hard it is to get your head around being given such a "deadline".
Ask me as many questions as you like, I think talking about this is therapeutic and its wonderful to talk to people that truly understand.
I hope this has been helpful, and thank you for writing your thread, you are the first person who I have spoken to that has been in such a similar predicament to me.
I am still surprised that it is just the two of us in here ...
I am glad to hear that you are ready for round 2 ! POF does not sound very nice,- i imagine it’s like a big fat cloud hanging over your head ... unexplained fertility in itself is already bad enough, but this” time stamp” on top of everything is just not fair... surely does not help to “relax” like everyone keeps telling us...
I have my fingers crossed for you that the DHEA will work for you ! I can only highly recommend the Chinese herb side of things i have witnessed some magic stuff as of late what it can do which only enforced my believe in it all...
Your FS sound very different to mine as mine just let me walk away with nothing in my hands not even urged me to book a future appointment so i take that in a positive way that my situation must be not as acute as yours ... quite frankly i have no idea how he determined the “quality” of my eggs but i am starting to think that if anything i should get a second opinion before i do anything... as i lost my faith in him...
I have just book a trip home to visit my mum in May and DH and i decided to let things take its cause until then with the help of the Chinese Dr of course and once i am back from my holiday i will “face the music”
Please keep me posted to how you go Kate... as i might be following you down the path you are taking at the moment...
As it stand i am on CD 29 now no AF yet just the 4 ½ day spotting in CD 20 ... i am too scared to test ... thinking “may be just may”.... i will keep you posted
hey Im Sarah xo
and well now theres 3 as ive just been told exactly the same thing at 33yrs ...shocked is the word for it as i did not think for a second id be given the news by my FS that i only had about 6 months left also after doing my AMH Test!! my mum had 4 babies and last one at 37.... i dont know what my egg quality is yet but FS is thinking it will prob be fine due to my age... but worse thing is my DH has started working away so he misses O time the last 3 cycles .... nuts.... so now i am working out to do an IUI cylce with his stored swimmers cause its too stressful knowing im wasting time that we may not have ... itd b so easy if we just got pg so we didnt have to worry bout it any more!! lol BIG HUGSSSS and super Babydust***********
Random Act of Kindness Recipient
, i am so very sorry to hear about your situation Kate, i am glad that you have found my thread as we do seem to be in very similar situations...
when the FS told you that you had 6 month left did you start IVF straight away or waited like me ?
I really feel for you, and I know how hard it is to get your head around being given such a "deadline".
Im Sarah xo
as ive just been told exactly the same thing at 33yrs ...shocked is the word for it as i did not think for a second id be given the news by my FS that i only had about 6 months left also after doing my AMH Test!! my mum had 4 babies and last one at 37.... i dont know what my egg quality is yet but FS is thinking it will prob be fine due to my age... but worse thing is my DH has started working away so he misses O time the last 3 cycles .... nuts.... so now i am working out to do an IUI cylce with his stored swimmers cause its too stressful knowing im wasting time that we may not have ... itd b so easy if we just got pg so we didnt have to worry bout it any more!! lol BIG HUGSSSS and super Babydust***********
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks