IVF anyone?

[moxie]

Awwww...best of luck to you, ws. If a child is really what you want, then GO FOR IT!

[moxie]

Discuss all of your concerns with them on your first visit/consultation...make a list of questions ahead of time. I am sure they will put your mind at ease.

[moxie]

I just read about the gestational surrogacy that Guiliana and Bill Rancic did...their egg and sperm (their biological child), but another carrier. Interesting.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

wrongside you might want to come over to the pregnancy board here on WIR. There are lots of ladies that have gone thru fertility treatments over there that can give you some insight and support.

[moxie]

If you want the pregnancy experience though, sounds like you are on the right path.

[moxie]

I am sure everyone has different experiences. That board sounds like a good place to get different opinions.

[taz157]

May 3, 2012 8:16:00 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

wrongside you might want to come over to the pregnancy board here on WIR. There are lots of ladies that have gone thru fertility treatments over there that can give you some insight and support.

We are a pleasant group to be around and we generally don't get snippy with people. Of the parenting boards I've been to, this is the 1 I like that best and have remained with.

[raeoflyte]

We did iui and am pregnant with my 2nd. We have 1 vial of sperm left and I have to admit that I am already thinking of *maybe* doing ivf to try to get pregnant with a 3rd and still be a full biological sibling to my kids. The stars would have to perfectly align to do it though.

I took clomid for a few days, and then did hcg injections with the 2nd, and progesterone injections once confirmed pregnant. I know that is just the tip of the ice berg of what you're looking at doing. I'd definitely make the appointment and get the process started.

[redwagon]

Definitely visit us on the kid thread! We're super nice!! Good luck, whatever you decide to do!

[kgb18]

I'm writing a story for Mother's Day about a woman from our area who had fertility problems for years, found out she had cancer, froze her eggs, went through the cancer treatments and now has two children (Ages 2 and 8 months) through IVF. If anyone is interested I'll either post or PM you a link to the story once it's done.

[econstudent]

May 3, 2012 13:49:09 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

We did iui and am pregnant with my 2nd. We have 1 vial of sperm left and I have to admit that I am already thinking of *maybe* doing ivf to try to get pregnant with a 3rd and still be a full biological sibling to my kids. The stars would have to perfectly align to do it though.

I took clomid for a few days, and then did hcg injections with the 2nd, and progesterone injections once confirmed pregnant. I know that is just the tip of the ice berg of what you're looking at doing. I'd definitely make the appointment and get the process started.

Just curious/nosy - you did IUI for this pregnancy right? Why IVF next time, does it increase your chances?

Good luck wrongside, with whatever you decide.

[simser]

I've done it- egg retrieval and implantation once and 2 FETs. I had 5 day 5 blasts, was only 26 and shocked the doctor when I didn't get pregnant in any cycle. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have, just PM me. I normally don't come onto WIR (I just saw this by chance) so PMing me would be best.

Just so you know- the fact that I never got pregnant was the biggest blessing in my life because I could leave my abusive husband. So I was upset when it didn't work, but now I'm happy. I can answer many of your questions though

[Deleted]

Message deleted by debthaven2.

[cathysmom]

DH and I had to go the IVF route for both of our DD's. We had issues on both sides so we actually had to do IVF w/ICSI, though we tried IUI three times first. Luckily, once we finally had an embryo the transfer went pretty well. Each time we transferred two embryos and had one successfully attach. I was 34 with my first and 37 with my second.

We had good insurance for IVF, but the drugs were $$$$. I would guess maybe as much as $10K in drugs for the first attempt and we paid about $1500 (because of my issues I had to take 450 units or Follistim each day = $450/day for THAT drug, most people are 1/3 of that or less). The initial drug regimen changes almost daily and lasts about three weeks and isn't too bad. They will also make you come in for blood work every other day and then every day to check hormone levels as you get close to egg retrieval. Without ins coverage, these labs can also be pricey. The egg retrieval is a 15 min surgery, but done under a general. You'll be pretty sore for a couple of days (much longer with my second one).
About 4-5 days later, you'll go back in to implant the embryo(s). Most doctors recommend transferring no more than two, which is what we did. Then they recommend staying in bed for 48 hours-- DO IT!!! Seriously, lie down and only get up to use the bathroom. My DH brought my meals and everything. Both times, we got pregnant on the first try.
The really not fun part-- after the transfer for seven weeks you will need a shot of progesterone-- it has to be administered to your backside daily, using a seemingly huge needle (after the tiny ones used for the other drugs) because the progesterone is so thick. Obviously you can't give it to yourself, so you'll need DH or someone else who is willing to do this for you, and it's not easy. My DH struggled with it-- it's hard to stick someone you love with a large needle 49 times! There are now oral progesterone options, but they are $$ and possibly not as effective as injected.
Also, if you have extra embryos you can freeze them for another (later) attempt if the first one fails. Then you don't have to go through ALL of the drugs and retrieval a second time-- just skip right ahead to transfer. Our office charged about $800 for freezing.
Since you've gotten pregnant on your own before, I think that you have a very good chance of getting pregnant on the first try. On the costs, try to get the office to give you hard numbers on the expected costs of the lab work, procedures and the drug regimen they use. Some offices can help with the cost of meds-- free samples on some, etc.
I hope that helps with some of your quuestions, but please feel free to message me if you'd like to chat more.
Good Luck!!!

[raeoflyte]

May 3, 2012 18:43:28 GMT -5 econstudent said:

Just curious/nosy - you did IUI for this pregnancy right? Why IVF next time, does it increase your chances?

No worries Econ. We only have 1 vial of sperm left from the donor to have our kids be full genetic siblings. It isn't important to DH and I, but sometimes its important to the kids as they get older. Since it's almost 2k to try for the first time with IUI (most of that is fda required blood work) it would be a lot of money to commit for only 1 shot. If we do ivf, then we would likely get more embryos to try with.

[econstudent]

May 6, 2012 18:20:42 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

No worries Econ. We only have 1 vial of sperm left from the donor to have our kids be full genetic siblings. It isn't important to DH and I, but sometimes its important to the kids as they get older. Since it's almost 2k to try for the first time with IUI (most of that is fda required blood work) it would be a lot of money to commit for only 1 shot. If we do ivf, then we would likely get more embryos to try with.

That makes perfect sense. Thanks for explaining.

[trytofindbalance]

Wrong - I cannot have children and I did not find that out until a very unfortunate situation occurred a few years ago. Our only alternative was IVF. I was almost 40 at the time. After considering costs, drugs, emotions and the fact that my chances for conceiving and giving birth to a live baby were very slim, we decided against it. I did not think I would be able to handle it if it did not work or if I had a miscarriage. I know women who have done IVF and they have healthy children now, but I also know women who tried and it was not successful. Some of them were devastated with the process.

It is a very, very personal decision. Best of luck, whatever you decide. Make sure to ask questions and really think it through, so you can make the right decision for you and your spouse.

[trytofindbalance]

BTW...make sure you go to a very reputable, well respected Dr. Make sure you discuss live birth rates with the Dr. My Dr. told me that age is the biggest factor, it doesn't matter how healthy you are, success rates drop significantly as you get older.

[MittenKitten]

One question I would ask the doctor on IVF is if the rate of having a disabled child is higher for those concieved with IVF vs normal methods. I am not sure if it is or not but it is a valid question to ask. Good luck!

[raeoflyte]

I've never heard of a correlation between IVF and disabled kids. There are risks that increase with maternal age, and there is probably a correlation between older women using IVF to get pregnant, but I really don't think that IVF has any increase.