[lisa281]

Well it looks as though my second IVF attempt is getting cancelled again . My E2 level is only at 52 on 7th day of stims (poor responder) and I only have 3 eggs growing, last time I only had 2 eggs and E2 was low also. RE thought my last cycle was just a bad one and had better hope for second, plus upped my meds.My RE also mentioned I may have DOR. I don't understand why I'm just finding out now, shouldn't my RE have noticed something with all previous blood work?? Should I go to new RE for second opinion and a different plan of action ??

If my E2 goes up on Monday he would like us to try an IUI and he also mentioned donor eggs for next IVF cycle.

I've been so upset and have so many questions I don't know where to begin, so I'm hoping my ladies can help me out with this one PLEASE!!!

[Cendcar]

I'm sorry you are going through this. That's kind of strange that your RE is now mentioning DOR. Did you ask him/her why they did not catch this before? What is your FSH level?

I would go to a different RE.

[alexi]

Hi. Sorry to hear what youre going through. What dose of follistim were you on? And how many times a day? And did he put you on gonal-f previously? Maybe you will respond better with gonal-f or maybe the dose is not enough.

[lisa281]

Hello Ladies, Thanks for reply.

Cendcar- My first round of blood work my RE did before any treatment was on 7-14-11 my FSH was 7.97. Starting first IVF my FSH on 9-30-11 was 7.84. This second IVF my FSH was 2.72. Aren't these normal levels?? Your right I may get second opinon.


Alexi- I have never been on Gonal-F and my RE has not mentioned it up to this point. I have been on high dose of Lupron,Follistim and Menopur all once a day. Lupron in the morning and follistim & menopur in the evening.
20cc Lupron
300IU follistim
300IU menopur

I'm very confused, because before starting any IVF my RE has said my bloodwork has always come back normal, But during stimming my E2 levels are always so low and I respond poor to medication and only have produced 3 follies whith the largest now being only 9.86mm. So now he says I may have to use donor egg and may have DOR or POF. Are both the same thing?

[lucyddr]

Lisa, first off, I'm sorry. It does stink to go through so much only to be cancelled. (Been there...)

As for testing, there any many tests of ovarian function. FSH is one test, but it's not always the greatest. Other useful numbers are AFC (antral follicle count), Estradiol on day 3, LH, and AMH. One test that predicted our future issues was the Lupron/Clomid challenge. It demonstrated some issues with ovarian reserve, which is exactly what we had. I'd say it's worth doing all of these, as sometimes one number fails to "tell" the entire story.

While I am a few years older than you, I never dreamed I'd be doing a donor egg cycle right now! We are DOR...not yet true POF. I still ovulate and make a tiny bit of hormone, but not much. Either way though, the end result is the same.

You have lots of options. More tests, more OE cycles, and a DE cycle. I feel that if I had been willing to give up my medical practice and spend about $100k, we could have had a baby with our genes at CCRM. They estimated 3 cycles with embryo banking to have one live birth. For me, it wasn't worth it. Therefore, I have moved towards donor eggs. I will say though that I did one additional IVF cycle after we were told to use donor eggs, mainly for my peace (and because I wasn't willing to give up my genetic link with my future child). It failed miserably...

Just FYI, my FSH is 8.7. That's ONLY because it's suppressed from my Estradiol of 192 (normal should be under 40 and above 80 is really bad). So...one number can mean nothing!

I'd recommend more testing and another opinion. I think you might benefit from way less Lupron, for one thing. (I took 10 units daily to suppress and dropped to 5 units daily while stimming...nowhere near 20.) Depending on how these go, you'll be able to make far better decisions. Best of luck to you!

[alexi]

I think you should see a different RE and get a second opinion. For the second IVF he should have changed your protocol knowing it didnt work with your first IVF. I am 35, a little bit older than you but my RE starts me with less aggressive protocol with my first IVF. Your FSH number is about the same as mine, around 7 (done by Quest diagnostics) but you know i had it tested at an RE office 6 months prior to that and it was 9 something. And i can tell you when my fsh value was 9 i was less stressed, eating very healthy and exercise almost every day. So i think it all depends on the lab who is doing the test. Anyway, I did 150 iu follistim twice a day and ganirelix once a day starting at when my follicles measured at least 10mm. I hope everything works out for you. I dont know what lupron or menopur as i have never been on those.... yet.

[alexi]

Hi Lisa, maybe changing your protocol will help. Look at this thread:
Antagonist vs. long lupron Protocol??

[lisa281]

Originally Posted by lucyddr

Lisa, first off, I'm sorry. It does stink to go through so much only to be cancelled. (Been there...)

As for testing, there any many tests of ovarian function. FSH is one test, but it's not always the greatest. Other useful numbers are AFC (antral follicle count), Estradiol on day 3, LH, and AMH. One test that predicted our future issues was the Lupron/Clomid challenge. It demonstrated some issues with ovarian reserve, which is exactly what we had. I'd say it's worth doing all of these, as sometimes one number fails to "tell" the entire story.

While I am a few years older than you, I never dreamed I'd be doing a donor egg cycle right now! We are DOR...not yet true POF. I still ovulate and make a tiny bit of hormone, but not much. Either way though, the end result is the same.

You have lots of options. More tests, more OE cycles, and a DE cycle. I feel that if I had been willing to give up my medical practice and spend about $100k, we could have had a baby with our genes at CCRM. They estimated 3 cycles with embryo banking to have one live birth. For me, it wasn't worth it. Therefore, I have moved towards donor eggs. I will say though that I did one additional IVF cycle after we were told to use donor eggs, mainly for my peace (and because I wasn't willing to give up my genetic link with my future child). It failed miserably...

Just FYI, my FSH is 8.7. That's ONLY because it's suppressed from my Estradiol of 192 (normal should be under 40 and above 80 is really bad). So...one number can mean nothing!

I'd recommend more testing and another opinion. I think you might benefit from way less Lupron, for one thing. (I took 10 units daily to suppress and dropped to 5 units daily while stimming...nowhere near 20.) Depending on how these go, you'll be able to make far better decisions. Best of luck to you!

Hi lucyddr, thanks for all the great information, I'm sorry to hear about everything you've gone through, I hope this cycle everything goes perfect for you and you get your wish come true. I will be thinking about you this week, let me know how it goes.

I have heard of the clomid challenge since being on this forum and it's something I will definetly bring up tomorrow at my appointment, why didn't he run a clomid test when my AMH was low.

I've been online looking into acupuncture, Chinese herbs and fertility massages, I'm willing to try anything and everything at this point. As you have, I've always had a period every month!! I've never had irregular periods, but I was on BCP for a longtime and at a early age (16) due to ovarian cysts.

Well I hope my questions will be answered tomorrow.

[lisa281]

Originally Posted by alexi

Hi Lisa, maybe changing your protocol will help. Look at this thread:
Antagonist vs. long lupron Protocol??

Hey alexi, thanks for that thread to look at. To be quite honest with you I don't know what type of protocol I'm on, it's all a bit confusing. Could you help me understand them please or break it down for me, I still feel pretty new to this with still going through 2nd IVF now. Thanks so much.

I will say I've heard my RE say antagonist and micro flare protocol but don't know which one I'm on. Tomorrow I'm definetly getting questions answered when I go, I will keep you updated.

[alexi]

Hi Lisa, i dont know either (i only did ivf once so far) but i found this website that explains the 3 common ivf protocols:

IVF Protocols for Stimulation with Medications and Drugs

I was on antagonist protocol, with ganirelix to suppress my LH surge.

Good luck. I hope your doctor can explain it better to you

[Dragonflygirl]

Originally Posted by lisa281

Well it looks as though my second IVF attempt is getting cancelled again . My E2 level is only at 52 on 7th day of stims (poor responder) and I only have 3 eggs growing, last time I only had 2 eggs and E2 was low also. RE thought my last cycle was just a bad one and had better hope for second, plus upped my meds.My RE also mentioned I may have DOR. I don't understand why I'm just finding out now, shouldn't my RE have noticed something with all previous blood work?? Should I go to new RE for second opinion and a different plan of action ??

If my E2 goes up on Monday he would like us to try an IUI and he also mentioned donor eggs for next IVF cycle.

I've been so upset and have so many questions I don't know where to begin, so I'm hoping my ladies can help me out with this one PLEASE!!!

I hope that your doctor will look at other options for your next cycle - obviously the one they are using for you right now is not working properly. I think the lupron can suppress those of us with low ovarian reserve, so perhaps they should look at estrogen priming instead?

I know that my first cycle was not good (it is a learning experience for the clinic too), but my I had great results on cycles 2 and 3. I think it is because of the addition of Saizen to the cycle, supplements for 3 months to improved egg quality, and weekly acupuncture. Hard to say which one made the biggest difference - but the quality and quantity of eggs was far superior in those cycles.

I wish you lots of luck on your next cycle!!!!

[lisa281]

Well ladies it's confirmed, my IVF is being cancelled AGAIN!!!! After 15 days of stimmimg my E2 is only 198 and I only have two dominant eggs and the biggest is only 15mm.

RE Recommends doing IUI instead, which we are going to do, which I do not want to be pessimist but I don't think it will give us that we want so badly.

After both treatments my RE has diagnosed me with DOR and is already telling me to move on to donor eggs, is RE right on wanting to do this just after two cycles?? I feel like he is giving up on me, I mentioned to him about acupuncture and abdominal massage, but he didn't say much.

I would like to take a break for three months, do acupuncture, abdominal massage & take my supplements and then try again with my own eggs. What do y'all think??
I would really love to have a biological child.

[Dragonflygirl]

Originally Posted by lisa281

Well ladies it's confirmed, my IVF is being cancelled AGAIN!!!! After 15 days of stimmimg my E2 is only 198 and I only have two dominant eggs and the biggest is only 15mm.

RE Recommends doing IUI instead, which we are going to do, which I do not want to be pessimist but I don't think it will give us that we want so badly.

After both treatments my RE has diagnosed me with DOR and is already telling me to move on to donor eggs, is RE right on wanting to do this just after two cycles?? I feel like he is giving up on me, I mentioned to him about acupuncture and abdominal massage, but he didn't say much.

I would like to take a break for three months, do acupuncture, abdominal massage & take my supplements and then try again with my own eggs. What do y'all think??
I would really love to have a biological child.

I'm sorry your cycle is being cancelled. I personally would find a new RE that will try a different protocol on you. I wish you lots of luck with the IUI!

[Wishes4Two]

Hello- I am sorry you are going through this. I don't have much advice as I am not familiar with the IVF aspect of treatment...however I will say that my husband initially had poor morphology. So bad...it was only 2% (good sperm). So with that being said...we changed our diet around to eat only organic. We stopped with the high fructose corn syrup, soda, aspartame, msg, food coloring, fluoride etc. We even switch to natural soaps and body products. It seems like an overwhelming task at first, but it wasn't too bad once you figured out all the new brands that you like.

I will say that within a year (maybe sooner, but we didn't test until around a year), that his morphology rose into the normal ranges!

I noticed that in your signature...so maybe his sperm can improve with some changes (if you don't already do these things).

Also, I recently started accupuncture. I really believe it in as I know several people who got pregnant from it and had their cycles regulated, their linings thickened, etc.

Anything that can give you a boost, I would try.

Good luck to you. I hope you get your BFP soon.

[qbfan413]

So sorry for your cx cycle. I had mine cancel yesterday with only a 19mm and 13 mm on the left and they found zero on the right. It was the worst response ever to the highest meds. I truly believe it was a poor protocol for me/my body using the week of BCP to supress due to their own scheduling conflicts.

Going to do BD-TI since our 6 IUI's failed previously and give it one more shot in March Like all others have expressed I am so sorry. You really don't feel it coming when even the chance to ER is taken away. Keep the faith and good luck moving ahead!!