We are in the preparation stages and process of going through in vitro fertilization in the coming months. We are going to try IVF for 1 cycle. I am wanting to talk with other mothers who have already been through this journey and have had their child/children through IVF (especially those of you who did it in the 1st cycle). I want to talk wtih you who have "been there and done that" to shed some positive light on this time. I want to hear all of the good stories out there. I have heard a lot of the tough stories due to the nature of my job. Please pass on the positiveness my way.
Thanks. Karen
P.S. I am taking yoga, walking, going through acupuncture, herbal medicine, eating healthy, baby aspirin, birth control pill (for 1 cycle), not eating/drinking caffiene, etc.
Hi Karen!
My husband and I began our first IVF with ICSI cycle due to male factor in Feb of 06 and had the most beautiful, perfect baby girl in Dec of 06, after almost a year and a half of trying to get pregnant naturally. We also did everything you mentioned above, and I strongly believe the acupuncture helped us a lot. We went to an acupuncturist who specialized in fertility 2-3 times per week during our cycle and twice the day of the transfer - once before, once after. We also kept it up 1-2x per week until about 4 months and occasionally thereafter. So I am here to tell you have faith, pray, visualize, think positive thoughts, do everything you can to stay calm and healthy and you will have your dreams fulfilled! Oh, I was 30, DH was 43. Feel free to contact me anytim, good luck and God bless! =) Andrea
Hi Karen,
I got pregnant on the first round of IVF at age 46 with donor egg due to age issues. It was an amazing experience. In fact, I felt the exact moment the egg implanted. It hit me with a jolt. I was getting up to go to the bathroom and when I was coming back to bed, I almost fell down it hit me so hard. I told my husband that I wondered if the egg just implanted. My story may be unique though, because I've never heard anyone else talk about this type of experience, but it was amazing. It sounds like you're the perfect candidate for in-vitro and you're doing all the right things. Hang in there. Just remember that it's more common to hear the negative stories than the positive ones. I now have a beautiful, healthy little girl that just turned 2.
Hi Karen.
My husband and I did IVF and it worked on the first try using only one egg! I was 37 and he was 36 when we did it.
We had tried for 1 1/2 years and due to PCOS didn't have success. I did acupuncture leading up to the procedure and I truly believe it helped. The pregnancy was great and we now have a beautiful 12 month old son.
Good luck and stay positive!
All I can say is that I got pregnant on my first cycle and it was the most wonderful pregnancy. I ended up having beautiful healthy triplets. They are now 8 1/2 and are the loves of my life. I gave up smoking and drinking before I did the IVF. I also kept up my exercise and ate healthy. I would be very careful regarding herbal medicines and acupuncture. Check with your fertility doctor to make sure these things are okay. While I was pregnant, I walked but gave up all other exercise. I wanted to make sure that I did not do anything to jeopardize the pregnancy. I ate a lot of red meat for the iron. I did everything my doctors told me to do and I ended up having a full term pregnancy. I regained by body within 5 months after the birth.
I tried to get pregnant for several years to no avail. My experience with IVF did not start out as positive as the other responses you have gotten, but in the end, I did end up pregnant with twins who are now 4 1/2 years old. I am currently 45, and my husband is 55, and I went through IVF five times. The first four were with my own eggs, but after no success those four times, I decided to use a donor egg only because a much younger friend came forward to volunteer. Well, the donor egg worked, so obviously my own eggs were no good, which was really sad for me. I went through a lot of upset and sadness to get to the end result, but it was all worth it in the end.
I hope you have success on your first try!!!
Sorry I'm not a mom who did IVF but wanted to speak up for my sister who became pregnant after the first cycle. Her 3 year old daughter is the most beautiful child as well as the smartest child I've ever met. My sister was 33 years old at the time and her husband 36. They had been married for 8 years when they finally decided to try this route and they are so thrilled that they did.
Hi Karen! I did not have my babies through IVF, but I did have them after over a year of trying with fertility medications and insemination. Our next step would have been IVF, but since my tubes were open and I had gotten pregnant before (which all ended in miscarriage) we decided to stick with the medication. I just had a set of healthy beautiful boys. One of my close friends did do IVF and she was 31 at the time. They put in 2 eggs and both eggs took on the first try. It can happen and I know how hard it is. Stay strong and positive and keep doing what you are doing.
Hi Karen:
Here is another aspect you may want to consider. Its allergy elimination. I suggest you visit naet.com for more information and to order the book "Say Good-Bye to Illness." When I read the book I was amazed at how many patients trying to conceive had had allergies that blocked/interfered with getting pregnant. It of course may or may not be an issue with you and your husband. I am offering it purely as something to consider.
I have had many allergies cleared and go to Dr. Karaba in Fullerton. If you decide to consult with an naet certified doctor, there is a physician locator service at the website.
Best wishes. Here's the book information:
Say Good-bye to illness, 3rd Edition:
- Devi S. Nambudripad, M.D., D.C., L.Ac., Ph.D.
In this 3rd edition of Say Good-bye to Illness, Dr. Nambudripad, the developer of Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET®), xposes the truth behind the many health problems plaguing people today. In her book, Dr. Nambudripad gives a new definition for allergies and a deeper understanding of how our bodies relate to or retreat from the millions of natural and artificial substances around us.
Patients are encouraged to read "Say good-bye To Illness" prior to starting NAET® treatments with their practitioner. This book will give you some understanding about allergies, allergy related diseases, and how a non-invasive, easy to follow, holistic treatment can give you freedom to live comfortably again. Many case histories of managing various health problems are given in this book. Young infants from day five to older patients as old as 94 have been treated with NAET® with excellent results. Many so-called incurable problems have been traced to food or environmental allergies and treated with great success.
She shares the amazing story of her personal struggle to free herself from lifelong allergies and also explains the theoretical basis for her technique. The book provides hundreds of true testimonials and fascinating case histories of patients who have been treated successfully with NAET® for various allergy-based health disorders and living normally now.
Say Good-bye to illness is recommended reading for anyone who gets frequent acute health problems as well as who suffer from chronic health disorders. Dr. Nambudripad has helped thousands of people with multiple health problems by tracking down and reversing their allergies using NAET® techniques. She has trained over 9,000 practitioners all over the world so that people who suffer from allergies can find help in their local area. Her book is thoroughly researched and supported by many double blind studies
(JNECM, 2005, 2006, 2007). It is also supported by testimonials from practitioners, as well as success stories from hundreds of patients who have suffered and now live allergyfree.
Hi! I am a 45 year old mom with an 18 year old (freshman in college - yikes!) and a lovely nine year old that I had via IVF. Both of my daughters are the best thing I ever did in my life. Your letter could have been written by me. Due to a birth defect, I only have one working fallopian tube, and that one is scarred up by endometriosis. Plus my husband's sperm count was low & they were what the doctor called "rather sluggish." I know it's tough (having had to get up at 5:30 a.m. every morning & stick a three inch needle in my ass), but keep it up. It will be worth it in the end. Good luck!
HI. I went throuh IVF and now have 1 boy, 1 girl twins that are 12 weeks old. They were born at 38 weeks without any problems. It is all so worth it!! I did the acupuncture too and also changed my diet....I read that high protein, low carb can help to increase the quality of your eggs. I keep the protein healthy (lots of chicken)and although no doctor would tell you that this makes a difference, the embroyologists said that I had great quality eggs (and I produced 22...18 of which matured). And we have 9 extras embroyo frozen (which were a safeguard in case anything happened). The IVF process is tough with all the meds and the shots but it short term...just follow all their guidelines. I was scared that it wouldn't work the 1st time but it did. I had an issue with my cervix and also tested 88% for an antisperm antibody (I killed off 88% of his sperm). Not sure if you picked out a clinic yet but I would recommend going to the SART website and see how the clinics rate in your area. Good luck with everything!!
Tricia
Hi Karen -
I just wanted to suggest a wonderful organization called Resolve. My husband and I joined it after I had 2 miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy. In the end, I decided I had had enough and did not want to go through IVF (my chances were very slim at that point anyway). We adopted our daughter 8 years ago and we are a very happy family of 3.
In case you haven't heard of Resolve, it's a resource for all things infertility. We went to a symposium hosted by the organization, took lots of little seminars that day, got lots of referrals. I wanted very much to talk to other women going through what I was going through and we found a support group run by a wonderful therapist. That helped me immensely to heal, move on, get going with the path we chose, and get ready to be a mother in whatever way I could do it. I want to make it clear that no one urges you to go in any particular direction. It's merely a place to go to learn of what's out there to help you. Their web address is http://www.resolve.org
The cost to join was quite low and the therapist's fee for the support group was very reasonable. She had been through it all herself and was perfect for helping us go through our time.
I wish you all the best and I hope everything goes smoothly for you.
Colleen
Hi Karen,
My boss had both his daughters by in vitro and he and his wife are going for a 3rd!!
Good luck!
Liane
Hi Karen,
I went through IVF after several miscarriages and unsuccessful IUI attempts. It worked like a charm...I had 4 embryos implanted and ended up with twin boys (1st attempt) who have just turned 4 years old. I wish I could send you pics...they are absolutely beautiful and quite healthy! Also, I was older than you at the time (40) which is why we used 4 embryos. Also, I have a daughter who is 26 yrs (I was a teenager when she was born) who has been infertile and failed IUI (8 times). She just did IVF this past Dec. and is now 12 weeks pregnant (one baby/first IVF). She had more problems than I did with the ovarian stimulation, but she is slowly recovering. If you want to know more, please write me at [email protected]
Good luck...hang in there...you will be pregnant soon!
Hi Karen. I had twins via IVF so I thought I would respond to you. I went this route because I miscarried naturally conceived triplets 3 years into my marriage. We tried for 3 years after that to conceive naturally and when I finally did it ended in an ectopic pregnancy which took one of my tubes (and almost my life) and left us with a lesser chance of conceiving on our own. The doctors recommeded IVF due to the higher risk of having another ectopic pregnancy which would have devastated me. The IVF route is one of ups and downs and took us 3 tries to get it right. The first round a lot of people go through is considered to be a test round (that is what I was told) because the doctor's are trying to get the dosage of medication right. I only produced one egg on the first round so I stopped the drugs and did an insemination. this did not work. The second round I produced 6 eggs (normally want 15-30). All were fertilized but only 4 were good enough to implant. I implanted all 4 but no pregnancy resulted. The third round I again produced 6 eggs (with even more medication) and again only 4 were good enough to implant. I chose to implant all 4 again. The result was the beautiful twins I have now. I had them tie my remaining tube as we are done with our family and I love them with my whole heart. The process of IVF is not easy as it doesn't work for everyone. My friend just went through it and it worked on the second round. I would tell you not to give up if it doesn't work for you the first time around. My opinion is to try at least twice. Most fertility clinics offer a break if you purchase 2 rounds up front. You are ahead of the game if you need both rounds but you do lose the money (extra $2,000 in my case which is a huge price savings) if you only need the one round. I paid the extra because I knew I wouldn't care about the extra $2,000 if it worked the first round and would be glad I did it if it didn't work the first time. Just something you might want to look into. I wish you tons of luck if you go this route and hope you will update me on your success.
I had b/g twins on my very first cycle of in vitro in 2004. However, my situation was a little different, I already had two teenage children. My husband and I had been trying for 2+ years. We were both given a clean bill of health. There was nothing medically stopping us as far as they could tell. When we discovered both our insurance covered the procedure, we decided to move forward. We went to the Sher Institute in Glendale. It was a wonderful experience. They implanted me with three embryos. It was suggested I try four, but most women I knew that did four ended up with triplets. My twins turned 3 this past November. It's such a fun age! I think keeping positive thoughts is key. Good luck with your procedure.
Sounds like you've received a lot of responses but let me tell you my situation.
We did three rounds of IUI which didn't work so the fertility doctor suggested that we do IVF. We didn't really have any reason for moving to IVF as my FSH and hormone levels were good and my husbands sperm was fine - we are both in our mid-40s so the doctor suggested that we not waste time and we moved to IVF. I produced only five eggs, two of which were very good and three that were smaller. He did ICSI on the large ones and placed sperm on the smaller ones and we implanted two eggs. I am now that happy Mom of a 10 week old after only one IVF cycle.... I know plenty of women who did this only once and had success.
You are doing the right things - acupuncture, massage, etc as they all help! Good luck and believe it will work.
Karen,
I am a mom of beautiful boy/girl twins through IVF. I made 26 eggs, 20 fertilized, and 12 turned into embryos. We implanted 2 and both took the first try of IVF. I had some bad side effects from the drugs, was sick of getting shots in the stomach and legs, and am struggling with what to do with the remaining 10 embryos, but my babies are now almost 11 months old and truly a gift from God. I didn't know I could love someone as much as I love my two babies.
I carried them to 36 and a half weeks, until a scheduled c-section due to my daughter being about a pound smaller than her brother. She was fine and healthy at 4 lbs 11 oz. He had a little trouble with his oxygen levels, but we took them both home from the hospital 6 days after they were born. They are getting into everything and keeping me super busy, but they are wonderful and I would do it all over again.
Hi Karen!
My husband and I consider ourselves lucky that we got pregnant on the first cycle. It was expensive and nothing was covered by our insurance. He had had a vasectomy years prior (actually it was done twice since he had 4 vases). The reversal didn't work so we were left with IVF. We went to Dr. Shapiro. We did feel like we were thrown quickly into the whole process, but it worked so I don't complain (loudly).
We used the ICSI method because they actually had to go in and get the sperm from him (which they say is painless and it is not).
A few things I learned - you can get some of your drugs for about half the price in Canada or Mexico and people do resell their unused portions. I resold some of mine at half the cost, so I made up some of my money there while the women who bought it saved as well. We got hooked up through the doctor's office and during our class on how to use our meds. Incidentally, both women who used the same meds as me got pregnant as well.
Anyway, I got 7 eggs, 4 fertilized and 2 reached the blastocyst stage. Both were implanted and about 8 months later, our son Luke was born. He was early and tiny, but that was due to my small size and a heart condition he has - which will be taken care of next week.
It was not an easy process for sure. But take 1 day at a time and remember - it only takes 1 egg:)
Best of luck to you and your husband and feel free to contact me if you need an ear!
Kate
Hi Karen, my husband and I tried to get pregnant for 3 years and finally looked into in vitro. It's a long process and at times the hormones made me very emotional. But we were very fortunate in that it worked for us the first time. Now we have a perfect little girl. She's 7 months old and we couldn't be happier. We're going to go through it all again for #2, and I'm honestly very excited. It won't be as tough this time because I know what to expect. And at this point, more children would be a bonus! I'm 40 now, was 39 when she was born. I wrote a blog about it, if you'd like to see what we went through step by step. www.pinkdombeya.blogspot.com
Hang in there and good luck!!!