Ivf - Upper Darby,PA

I haven't done it myself, but I know several people who have. It's very common for it to take more than one try. I'm so sorry. I has to be incredibly difficult and disappointing! I hope you are successful next time. (((hugs)))

I'm so sorry your first cycle wasn't successful. If you think you can do it, both emotionally and financially, and that your relationship can handle it, I would advise trying again. 10 years ago, it took me 3 ivf cycles to get pregnant, with a slight change in protocol on the third. I'm so glad I did try again -- my children are the light of my life. However, a word of caution -- the stress from the three cycles destroyed my marriage. I would advise anyone doing fertility treatments to do couples counseling with someone who has experience dealing with the issues that come up during this stressful time -- even if you're doing fine now. It will help so very much, and could very possibly prevent things from going downhill.

About 18 months after my oldest was born, I developed a regular cycle for the first time in my life, and went on to conceive naturally twice after remarrying. Difficulty getting pregnant the first time doesn't necessarily mean that it will be difficult in the future. This, of course, depends on your diagnosis. What I was told was that a pregnancy, especially if you also nurse your baby, is such a hormonal change, that it can sort of reset your system.

My oldest son and his wife had to do all kinds of fertility treatments before they got pregnant with IVF (I think it was IVF). After that they got pregnant three times without any outside help.

Keep trying. Its well worth it.

Good luck to you and yours.

Oh, I'm so sorry for your loss (yes, it is a loss, and you should grieve it as such). It is absolutely common to have an unsuccessful attempt. Your clinic should have provided you with the statistics* for their program. In our case, we sat down before we started to decide how many cycles we would attempt - since each has both a financial and an emotional cost, not to mention the physical drain on you. (We didn't want to feel like gambling addicts, riding the emotional wave, who keep pulling the lever one more time to try to get the big pay day.) For us, we chose three cycles before we would go the adoption route, but that is something that you need to decide for yourself. I think I went into it in a better place emotionally after one failed attempt -- I was more able to ride the hormonal roller coaster without getting my hopes up too much, if that makes sense.

* Ours had success rates broken down by maternal age range. They also listed each step of the process -- retrieval (since some women go through the whole protocal without even getting any eggs to fertilize), fertilization, conception, pregnancy, delivery, etc. -- along with the numbers of births, segregated by singles, twins, higher multiples.

HI J.-

It is very common to go through more than one cycle. I was lucky to only have to go through one attempt. (I did do artificial insemination for two cycles first.... not sure if they still go by that terminology.) My sister in law did only 2 cycles and got pregnant with twins. Some ladies that I meet at the fertility office had gone through many cycles.... some with other doctors before going to mine.
I know the quality of the embroyos makes a huge difference, but even the best rated embryos might not implant during a cycle. I inserted (vaginally) something daily (I can't remember the name.... it's been 10 years since I've had my twins) and this was to help the embryos adhere to the uterus lining for implantation. Maybe it's called progestrone? Maybe it's not necessary, but I came how from the IVF transfer and stayed put on the bed for 2 days... just kicked back with some books, tv, etc... and relaxed.

Try not to give up with this route since you only tried once. How are your fertility doctor's credentials/results? (That makes a difference) I think the number of days the embryologists let's the fertilized egg develop before transfering makes a difference in a pregnancy or not. (I can't remember which day many doctors feel is best to transfer the embryos.) My doctor monitored me about every other day during the cycle and my husband and I were always good about sticking to the timing of my shots that he gave me at home.

Well... good luck with your journey to becoming a mommy!

It took eight tries......and YES IT"S WORTH IT. I added acupuncture to my mix in order to reduce the stress that helped immensely.

If you haven't found the right doctor, it makes a difference. Look for Jerome Check, Cooper Center for IVF. Best in the area!

It's always worth trying again especially when it's successful!! It's hard to answer since I don't know exactly what the issue is, but I think having a great Dr. will help to guide you in the right direction. I went through years of fertility treatments, clomid, injections, on and on...and decided my next step was IVF. Decided to take a few months off from the emotional roller coaster and ended up pregnant on my own. However, my second was IVF and successful. I really just trusted my Dr. and he said my issues weren't too serious to overcome so it seemed to be more bad luck that anything that it took so long. I also had more trouble holding the pregnancy, so I had to be on progesterone right away. If you have a good Dr. that you trust...let him guide you, that's why he's the specialist. I see you're from my area, I went to Main Line Fertility....and they were awesome!! Good luck and although it's always disappointing to go through any of this fertility stff, I truly believe sometimes you just need to be a little more patient and God will send you the baby that's meant for you!

I'm truly sorry this cycle didn't work. It is very common for the first cycle not to work. It should provide your RE with important info on what your protocol will be for the next cycle. I finally had success on my third IVF (and 3 failed IUIs w/injectible meds). It is frustrating and heart wrenching, but you must press on if you have the wherewithal (budget) to keep trying. Infertility is a journey as you know and 1 cycle of IVF is part of it. If you produced a decent amount of eggs and your lining was good, then the show must go on! When I was on my IF journey, I ended up switching clinics for my third successful cycle. Helpful things FOR ME in my successful cycle included a protocol makeover, I had subcutaneous estrogen added, 8 vials of GonalF and 1 Repronex every other day and started progesterone injections after egg retrieval. Oh, and oral steroids once daily, which is believed to help with implantation and other things. I did acupuncture right before and after my egg transfer, which is believed to increase blood flow to the uterus. I also had a successful FET (frozen embryo transfer) with my one remaining blastocyst. I had a 15% chance with that cycle...you just never know! I would highly recommend my clinic, they are cutting edge and have high success rates. I used Dr. Fisch at Sher Institute in Las Vegas. He is really good at tweaking protocols according to your bloodwork, previous cycles, egg quality, lining, etc.
I don't know if I answered your question or if you have more...feel free to PM me. I'd be happy to share my experience.
Hang in there and don't give up yet! XO

HUGS!
From what I remember from my fertility doctor (altho, we didn't have probs getting pregnant, we had probs staying pregnant), IUI's increased chance of pregnancy by 5% and IVF's increased chance of pregnancy by 10-15%. Which means, you have a 1 in 7-10 chance??? Has your doctor advised on what to do differently next time?

A friend of mine swore by acupuncture for her two successful IVF's.

Good luck!

It is not uncommon for the first cycle not to work. I know how heartbreaking it is to have that happen. My first cycle didn't work, but my second cycle was successful. The positive that you have at this point is that your doctor now has a baseline to go off of and can adjust the protocol the next time around if you choose to move forward.

If you feel that you can try again both financially and emotionally, I would say to do so. My second attempt was so much better from start to finish. Based on the changes from the first cycle, I produced many more eggs and had more embryos ready to transfer. I think the 2nd cycle was easier on me mentally because I knew what to expect. I think the most helpful thing to me that time was that I did everything I could to relax and go through the process as stress free as I could. Obviously IVF is an emotional roller coaster and there is no way to avoid the stress and anxiety completely, but I made a concerted effort to "go with the flow" and not overanalyze everything and worry to death. It was not easy for me as I am a world champion worrier!! I just put it in my mind that I would do everything my doctor told me, but ultimately what was going to happen would happen. I spent time finding ways to relax throughout the process.....massages, hot baths, girl time, etc. I really believe that my more relaxed attitude helped with the 2nd attempt.

Best of luck to you! Luckily, I had a close friend who had gone through IVF before me and she was a great resource to talk to for venting and support. If you have someone like that in your life, use them. If not, feel free to PM me anytime you need an ear or a shoulder.

The whole deal with infertility is disappointing. It is disappointing to hear that others tried the first time and it worked. I was lucky on our first try. But there were others that took several. One couple had already done 6 and were going for a 7th round. After that, they were going to go further with I think GIFT (not sure if that is the right one). After I had mine, my bro picked me up and I lay on the back seat of the car and for 2 days I stayed in bed just relaxing. I also used progesterone cream for several weeks.

It is totally worth it when you get the result you want. But there unfortunately comes a time for some to say that it is just not a working option and maybe look at other things. As long as you doc is looking at things realistic and not just pushing to do it again and again. Oy, I don't want to be a downer here and so sorry if it sounds that way. I really don;t mean to. Go for it again if you can. No reason not to. We defintely would have. I don;t know where we would have stopped if we had to.

I know lots and lots of women through my twins club that had initial IVF attempts unsuccessful. Keep trying!!!

My friend went through a few tries.
She now has 2 kids.
Not twins.