New comments on 'What to do after an IVF failure?'

New comment from Lara

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:28:51 -0500

My dh and I decided to do ivf because of our age (38) and my dh sperm count, motility and morphology....all low! Our insurance covers NOTHING! We are taking out a home equity loan and my dh is selling his '55 Chevy...very sad! But, he said he'd rather have a baby now than a car. We are doing a "warranty" program that they only do for women who are under 39. So, we need to sign the papers and pay before my 39th birthday! The warranty is $25,000 plus all meds which are an extra $3,000-$4,000. We get 3 fresh cycles and 3 frozen cycles. If none of them are successful, we get 75% of our money back. The younger you are, the more you get back. If you are under 30, I think you get 100% back. We live in Minnesota.

Lara

New comment from chelsharmony

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:27:43 -0500

depends, a few ladies on here had paid out of pocket for IVF. Its very expensive but people take loans out and take 2nd mortgages out on their homes..... my in laws have offered to help us out if that is the case. THere are shared risk programs and programs that have a 100% money back if you dont get pregnant so that is nice to have too.

Its so expensive and such a risk but when you go to IVF you have done all you can and its your last chance.

chelsharmony

New comment from shobha

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:11:02 -0500

but how many people can afford ivf where insurance does not cover it.

shobha

New comment from chelsharmony

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:04:33 -0500

its is a higher success rate with IVF since they are actually putting a fertilized embryo into your uterus shobha.

The success rates will have to do with egg quality and sperm issues.

chelsharmony

New comment from shobha

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:27:21 -0500

what about repeating an iui than going for ivf.what are percentages of sucess in iui and ivf.

shobha

New comment from Dr. Eva Littman

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:20:38 -0500

I have found in my patients who have failed IVF cycles that B-integrin testing is very helpful. B-integrin is a protein involved in implantation. It is sometimes absent in women with a history of endometriosis or chronic hydrosalpinges. The test is performed by doing an endometrial biopsy 7-10 days after ovulation. This test cost about $425 and is ordered through the ADEZA labs. If the protein is negative then I place my patients on lupron and letrazole for 3 months, and possibly also do a laparoscopy to treat endometriosis. Then I will retest to see if the protein is present.

Dr. Eva Littman

What to do after an IVF failure?

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 21:54:00 -0600

You’ve now undergone multiple IVF cycles and have yet to take home a baby. Frustration and cynicism set in and you have feelings of giving up. Yet, you may not have received a “full” work-up which may vary from differing fertility centers. Some centers may simply continue doing the same thing. The most likely answer would be to change your medication protocol to try and optimize your IVF stimulation. Even with this, there is yet much that we can’t explain as to why some do not get pregnant.

Some centers may do a blood panel to check coagulation patters, and if there’s an abnormality, then Heparin and baby aspiring may be prescribed and possibly help with some embryo implantation issues. Whether beneficial or not, MTHFR mutation is sometimes checked and if abnormal, high dose folic acid (Folgard) is given with or without checking for homocysteine levels by some physicians. Of more controversy, immunological factors can be measured through serum analysis, such as Natural Killer Cells (NKa) nd if abnormal, then IVIG or Intralipids are given. IVIG is a blood derived product and is the IV medication routinely used for these patients. There is primarily a theoretical risk that a blood bourn infection may occur with IVIG. An unproven commodity, intralipids, in my opinion works as well as IVIG without the cost

Others may perform surgery via laparoscopy to look for endometriosis which may be a culprit for diminishing egg quality and decreased success rates. There is some evidence and clinicians may agree that burning the endometriosis may temporarily give better pregnancy outcomes. Sometimes even though looked at before, uterine cavity re-evaluation with a hysteroscopy has at times yielded surprising finding of polyps.

Male issues are also considered in such scenarios. Two common clinical sperm assays that are commonly used are the Sperm Chromatin StructureAssay (SCSA) and Sperm DNA Decondensation Test (SDD) which can help determine if sperms is a significant issue and whether or not donor sperm is needed. L-Carnitine, the active ingredient in many male fertility supplements, is one of the few vitamins that have been noted to particularly help sperm’s motility.

lavero