Ivf, realistic expectations?

[sundaesprinkles]

I am just "thinking".
I may consider ivf if things are going well in the fall.

I have no fertility issues. I had my tubes tied. I get pregnant very easily. From what I've read they only implant 2 at a minimum. I do have health issues otherwise so I would certainly proceed with caution!

Is this possible to achieve successfully? Looking at only making one go of it.

Anyone with experience w this share your story. Thank you!

[Vegan Princess]

Hi,

They certainly would transfer only 1 if you didn't want to risk twins! Some countries in Europe only allow single embryo transfers. But it is very common to transfer 2 bc your odds are a bit higher of success. I did IVF in Janaury and ended up with only 1 embryo to transfer and was lucky enough to get pregnant.

How old are you? If you are very fertile, it is likely you will produce a lot of eggs and end up with a good number of embryos. Being fertile, you have good odds of the first transfer resulting in pregnancy - but nothing is guaranteed. But I would think you will likely have frozen embryos to transfer if it doesn't work on the first shot. It is much cheaper and much less hassle to do a frozen embryo transfer than to go through all the shots to get the eggs in the first place.

My sister in law is super fertile. Had 7 kids and then got her tubes tied. She did IVF. Surprisingly enough, she did not get pregnant! She has 2 embryos frozen still and I am not sure if they are going to try again or not. She and my brother have a blended family of hers, his and the one they had together, for a total of 11! So I suppose having a 12th probably isn't the most pressing issue to them. Though they felt strongly enough about having one more that they spent the 10k on IVF in the first place.

Good luck with your decision!

Cindy

[3 ladybugs]

I have 5 frozen from 2 ivf cycles and this August (God willing!!) we will be doing a SET (single embryo transfer). And I am the first to admit that if you don't want twins DO NOT transfer 2. I did IVF solely because I couldn't have HOM (higher order multiples) because I got pregnant with triplets via IUI and lost them.

SET is successful and is common in other countries. So don't feel like it wouldn't work.

[frimousse]

We did IVF almost 3 years ago and got pregnant with one cycle. I had one succesful natural pregnancy almost 6 years earlier. The issue for us was my husbands poor sperm quality, so we also did ICSI (where they wash the sperm, pick the healthiest looking ones and inject them into the eggs). I had 8 eggs retrieved, all conceived, but only 5 made it to the transfer day. On day 3, we transfered two embryos which resulted in a single pregnancy. At our clinic, they let the remaining embryos continue to develop to day 5 before freezing. By day 5, we only had one embryo that had continued to develop. We froze that one and are planning a transfer this May. My doctor would not let us do the transfer until dd had stopped breastfeeding for at least a couple of cycles before the transfer. I found the entire IVF process to be challenging. I also suffer some other health issues (severe allergies, asthma). The IVF drugs really aggravated my asthma, but thankfully I didn't have any allergic reactions to the drugs. One of the drugs is usually based in a nut oil which I am allergic to, so we had to find an alternative (which meant extra injections). I am really thankful we did it, but I would not go through a full IVF again.

[bonusround]

Can you have your tubes untied? I went through IVF, and it is far from a picnic. I was sick for eight weeks after my egg retrieval, having to go to the doctor every day and then every other day for IVs/albumin as well as having a thorocentisis (sp?) because I was so sick. I can't imagine going through it now with my four year old twins (conceived via IVF). I am however surprise pregnant now, so I guess that it isn't a huge deal that I'm not interested in doing it again. I would have done it again, but I would have wanted to wait until my kidlets were in kindergarten.

[TinaDeanette]

[77Lipen]

Ivf HURTS... They only put in two... Sure... But they take out 20+...
Worth it if you want a baby, but don't kid yourself, you'll need a good couple weeks off.

[Spunkify]

Maybe you would get more answers in TTC or Struggles and Support?

[carriek38]

I just finished my first IVF cycle. It wasn't exactly fun, but it wasn't terrible, except for the part where I didn't get pg. I have some mild side-effects from the meds (increased appetite, etc.), but I'd been on the same regimen for IUI & knew what to expect. I did have to have DP take me to my retrieval, b/c I couldn't drive myself home after, with the anesthesia & stuff. I did wake up in the middle of the retrieval, it was painful, they immediately gave me more meds to put me back out. I took retrieval day off work & slept most of the afternoon. They retrieved 14 eggs, injected (ICSI) 11 of them, 8 fertilized & made it to day 5. I transferred 2 on day 5. Only 2 embryos made it to/through freezing. Transfer was no big deal...I took the day off, but I would have been fine to go right back; it was just that when you're paying that much & are so emotionally invested, you "take it easy" as recommended. I did have a reaction to the surgical prep that they use for the retrieval (Hibiclens) & that was pretty brutal, but it certainly wasn't debilitating. B/c I was on progestrone and estrogen after the transfer, my hormones were wacked out...that, in combination with the PMS made it so that I was very, very depressed for the few days between my negative beta and start of AF. Once that happened & hormones regulated, I'm fine now...disappointed, but not depressed.