[ADL524]

I am about to embark on my 1st IVF. Our insurance does not cover any fertility meds or treatment. I am wondering if we should invest in one of the shared risk programs. I have had one failed IUI. From that experience I know that my ovaries produce a lot of follicles on stimulation medications, however, I know nothing about the quality of my eggs. I know that everyone is very different, but I am wondering if ladies with PCOS tend to produce lots of follicles but not very good eggs? If I knew that I would produce a lot of good eggs and that we would have "extra" embryos to freeze, then I would be less likely to invest in shared risk because even if the 1st IVF wouldn't take, we would save money on a 2nd ivf by not having to pay for more stimulation meds, ICSI and another egg retrieval.

I realize that everyone's experience is different, but I am curious about other's experiences, particularly women with PCOS.

Thanks for any/all experiences you are willing to share!

[sunny_skies]

Our first IVF they retrieved 15 eggs, 12 of them mature. We transferred 2 and had 4 to freeze, though they were not great quality.

This cycle they retrieved 20 eggs, 19 mature. We transferred 2 and had 2 left to freeze. Not sure of the quality, though.

GOOD LUCK!

[bino]

Originally Posted by ADL524

I am about to embark on my 1st IVF. Our insurance does not cover any fertility meds or treatment. I am wondering if we should invest in one of the shared risk programs. I have had one failed IUI. From that experience I know that my ovaries produce a lot of follicles on stimulation medications, however, I know nothing about the quality of my eggs. I know that everyone is very different, but I am wondering if ladies with PCOS tend to produce lots of follicles but not very good eggs? If I knew that I would produce a lot of good eggs and that we would have "extra" embryos to freeze, then I would be less likely to invest in shared risk because even if the 1st IVF wouldn't take, we would save money on a 2nd ivf by not having to pay for more stimulation meds, ICSI and another egg retrieval.

I realize that everyone's experience is different, but I am curious about other's experiences, particularly women with PCOS.

Thanks for any/all experiences you are willing to share!

If you want more than one child, I'd go shared risk. First, from my experience, the first IVF is more about seeing how your body reacts to the type of protocol and dosages. I know it works for lots of ladies, but statistically, there are many more the first IVF doesn't work for. It's sort of like playing the odds in Vegas. So lets say it doesn't work, and you know you want (in an ideal world) 2 kids; then in the long run the odds are more in your favor (financially speaking).

Also, do your homework on gonadotropins (FSH, LH)vs. menotropins (FSH +LH) stimulation meds and PCOS.

I made lots of eggs last cycle, but we aren't sure of quality. We froze two, but we put two gorgeous ones in, and BFN. We've changed the protocol, and we are going fresh right now. Though my egg yield will be lower, we're stimming slow and steady (controlled), and the follicles are all grouped in the same size area. So, it's likely we'll actually end up with the same number of "usable" embrios, just fewer eggs.

That's a tough one, the whole #eggs vs egg quality. Egg quality also does get influenced by age...unfortunately. So the right protocol is key. If you stim too fast, which PCOS can cause if not handled properly, then the eggs can be overcooked, too slow and they're immature.

Have they told you why they think the IUI failed? Have you asked if you "qualify" for the shared risk? I didn't "qualify".

[Madeese]

I also have PCOS. I had 16 eggs retrieved, 8 fertilized and none to freeze. My dr. told me that freezing is not the "norm" and that most people don't.

Good luck!!

[PCOS74]

Hi Everyone,
I'd recommend the shared risk, if you are able to do it financially. We qualified and I think it was the best decision for us. I was on Clomid and Metformin for a year and got repeated BFN. Our first IVF was cancelled b/c I was a poor responder and only had 2 mature follicles - our clinic wanted at least 4 for ER/ET. Our second IVF we finally had the right dose of meds and we had about 12 eggs. 8 were retrieved and 7 fertilized. We had 2 "great looking" 8 cell embryos that were transferred on day 3 - unfortunately BFN. We only had one frozen blast that made it. Hope this helps and good luck!!

[StillWaiting410]

IVF #1
I didn't take very good notes. We froze all and believe we got 4 embryos.

IVF #2
33 eggs retrieved
froze all (blastocysts) / 8 embryos

IVF #3
23 eggs retrieved
froze all (blastocysts) / 2 embryos

IVF #4
41 eggs retrieved
froze all at day 1 / 23 embryos

[ADL524]

Thank you for all of your responses, ladies! I was hoping that PCOS-ers produce so many follicles, that maybe, just maybe, I could rely on having some frozen embryos and not have to worry about having to go through multiple fresh cycles (you must be thinking that I have my head in the clouds)! Hopefully we will really only need one IVF, but I know that the odds of that are not great. I don't even know if we qualify for shared risk, but it is soooo expensive, and then we have to add the meds and other appointments because we have decided to go out of state for our treatment. Geez, as if this process isn't stressful enough, but to have to worry about all of the money too!! Very frustrating!

[Ghost]

Originally Posted by ADL524

I am about to embark on my 1st IVF. Our insurance does not cover any fertility meds or treatment. I am wondering if we should invest in one of the shared risk programs. I have had one failed IUI. From that experience I know that my ovaries produce a lot of follicles on stimulation medications, however, I know nothing about the quality of my eggs. I know that everyone is very different, but I am wondering if ladies with PCOS tend to produce lots of follicles but not very good eggs? If I knew that I would produce a lot of good eggs and that we would have "extra" embryos to freeze, then I would be less likely to invest in shared risk because even if the 1st IVF wouldn't take, we would save money on a 2nd ivf by not having to pay for more stimulation meds, ICSI and another egg retrieval.

I realize that everyone's experience is different, but I am curious about other's experiences, particularly women with PCOS.

Thanks for any/all experiences you are willing to share!

One tricky thing about PCOS is how the clinic avoids OHSS. If they understim (or coast) or trigger early, PCO patients can often end up with lousy cohorts.

If you stim them adequately PCO patients usually do fine. I've seen patients with 0 to more than 30 leftover expanded blastocysts after fresh transfer. It's pretty common to have around 2-10.

[GinaG31]

All my info from 4 IVF cycles is in my siggie. I produce a ton of eggs (most was 31, lowest was 21) but unfortunately, not very good quality. It is common of PCOS'ers to produce quantity and not quality but that is not the case for all women with PCOS. I have not ever had any to freeze, the ones we don't use for transfer all arrest before day 5 and my transfer embies all are fragmented and tend to be sluggish in cell development. Only once we froze embies and that was because we couldn't do the transfer. I was going into OHSS and it would have been dangerous plus excess fluid from high hormone levels that would have likely drowned them and not produced a BFP anyway. All 9 developing embies were frozen on day 3. I still have 3 of those frozen but they are pretty much a BFN popsicle (bottom of the lot). If you can do it financially, I would go for the multiple IVF plan. GL to you and I hope you end up with lots of perfect embies!!

[ADL524]

Thanks ladies for all of your replies. I probably should have put this in my original question, but I am wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing what protocol you used that led to the best result?

for how long were you on BCPs?
were you on Lupron? for how long?
what drug(s) did you stim with (follistim? gonal-f, menopur? other?)?
what drug did you trigger with?
were you on other meds (e.g., metformin?)? for how long?

what was your result with regard to eggs produced? fertilized? made it to 3 or 5 day? any left to freeze?

any other pertinent info that you thing affected your result?

Thanks!

[sunny_skies]

for how long were you on BCPs?
One month before (3 weeks)

were you on Lupron? for how long?
Yes, we did a lupron stop protocol. So it was 6 days of Lupron, I believe

what drug(s) did you stim with (follistim? gonal-f, menopur? other?)?
Gonal F -- started w/75, then 150, at the end bumped up to 225 for a few nights. Also menopur.

what drug did you trigger with? HCG; normal trigger I think?

were you on other meds (e.g., metformin?)? for how long? Have been on metformin since Nov. 2008 (1500 mg/day.)

what was your result with regard to eggs produced? fertilized? made it to 3 or 5 day? any left to freeze?
Produced 20
19 Fertilized
We did a 5-day transfer of 2 blasts. Had 2 left to freeze.

any other pertinent info that you thing affected your result?

Thanks!