Treatment at BarcelonaIVF - Part 2

[Zaffa]

 
Madeleineus – Im really sorry to hear about your BFN.  Things don’t always work and there is often no apparent reason except for “luck”  - it really feels like a lottery sometimes. It is still heartbreaking though. 
AFM   Just a quicky while Im waiting for the washing machine to finish so I can jump in the shower for a work night out. Pleased I have a built in excuse to go home early if I want as these nights can get a bit tedious sometimes. Folks arriving tomorrow to stay for 8 days ...argh...  8 hrs is usually enough. Either way I dont see them very often so I really shouldnt be moaning I guess! Will post better next time.


Zx

[madeleineus]

ahhhh Zaffa, thanks for the 
As for parents----I would LOVE to be able to spend more time with them. They have a 500 acre cattle ranch in Washington state and I go and visit several  times a year for 2-3 weeks and help them out. I always tell them that they can come live with me anytime---although I'm sure there are things that would probably drive me crazy if they actually did
Will they be staying with you? Idea: Do Parent Reversal and give them some "chores" to do while they are there to keep busy!!

[Spuds]

Scary Mary Times
 
Have stopped pill as of Friday - waiting for AFM - clinc have been utterley amazing an dbrilliant in putting up with my psychosis that no vegetarian big boobed olive skinned Spanish donors exist They have matched me 100% and I have a real relief in knowing that my weird criteria they have not only put up with but have taken seriously....
 
This really is the best clinic in the world
 
Am at Gatwick now - getting ready to come home finally after wkend away with the girls - going to have to try to detox for the next 2 weeks and be good - withou tdriving self mad that cant have a galss of wine !
 
Then its no alcohol until Chrismas Day which will be a glass of champagne or a bottle - depending on results
 
Hope everyone is doing ok
 
Spuds
xxx

[madeleineus]

Well, I posted this question on the donor egg--donor sperm--and double donation board and not really ANY response so I will try here
How many cycles before a BFP? I am still feeling "lost" about my recent double donation transfer not working   I am so so tired of all the failures! If I knew it WOULD eventually work I would find it easier to keep going. But only having a MAYBE chance is giving me anxiety lately. Like what if it never DOES happen? Being "unexplained" REALLY REALLY Sucks!!!!!!!
3 own egg cycles= 2 BFN and 1 BFP --8 week miscarriage
5 donor egg cycles= 1 fresh BFN and 4 FET BFN
1 double donation cycle= BFN

[cruicky2]

Hi everyone,

Have been lying low for a while whilst I got my plan of action sorted out.... and Madeleineus' question is the excuse for me to share with you some of what I have discovered over the last few weeks since our BFN, after considerable research...
As you can see in my signature, we have been doing a bit of investigation.

I refused to take the "luck of the draw",  "bad luck", "unexplained" explanation, and started looking into immune testing. Many women with repeat failures have done so, and when all else fails, it has often been the one thing to provide answers, and solutions. It is a controversial field, and a lot of doctors don't support it at all (that seems to be the case for BcnIVF, which is why I have been rather quiet lately), mainly because there are not enough "studies" out there to confirm data. But womens' BFPs in "difficult cases" for me are proof. We read the entire FAQ on immunes put together by the incredible Agate who is an amazing source of knowledge in this field:http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=242395.0
and read Dr. Beer's book "Is your body baby friendly" - the idea behind immune testing being that an imbalance in the immune system can prevent pregnancy/live birth http://babyfriendlybook.com/
We have done the testing, found some imbalances and are now deciding on treatment.

Whilst doing the testing, we also checked for infections and it turns out I have chlamydia antibodies and am ureaplasma positive. Both of these infections can prevent pregnancy fm ever happening. Other doctors have put me on a few days course of antibiotics in the past, only for the infection to return. This time, the immune specialist put us both on a 5 week course of ABs to try and hit them over the head.
I have also discovered a very specific test, which is done only in Greece, called the Greek test (surprise surprise), where they test your menstrual blood, which can show "hidden Chlamydia" in people whose swabs came back negative, as it can detect chlamydia where other tests don't. (this test can be done by Fedex, no need to go over to Greece!  ) see under C. in the FAQ link above.

Lastly, when I got in touch with the Greek clinic (Serum) in Athens to arrange for some immune treatment and discuss my results, they said that the most important and first thing we should do is an operative hysteroscopy, (not a normal, diagnostic hysteroscopy), where they remove scar tissue caused by infections and or miscarriages, remove build-up of blood fm years of menstruating (which can block implantation) and create "implantation points" or lines, to foster implantation. They have had excellent results with this. Check out http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=167399.0, and also the thread I am on now, where many of us have been raving about this procedure on pages 25-29: http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=272352.288
A lot of women who had the hysteroscopy done there were told that what was discovered during the procedure (build-up, scar tissue...) would never have allowed them to get pregnant. And many have fallen pregnant first try after the procedure.

Madeleineus  - I don't believe in the "unexplained" "bad luck" and am convinced if we're not getting pregnant, there IS a reason.
I don't know whether the above will help anyone, and I am sorry about posting info about other doctors/clinics on this thread, but I couldn't keep this information to myself when I know some of you are asking the same questions as I am.

I truly hope your dreams come true,
Cruicky xxx
 

[Spuds]

Evening All


Mads petal  I cannot imagine how you must be feeling and of course you want answers - it is all so very very frustrating and I think you have to go with your gut on what you want to do next xxxx


What did Dr O and the team suggest ? I know they are not pro immunes etc but if you feel that will help then you have to do what you have to do hun xxx it is a controversial one like Cruiky said and there is no 'right' or 'wrong' here but I have to agree with Zaffa on the 'luck' thing and equally have another friend earnestly looking into immunes etc - if my position were different - I may be doing the same research right now and I appreciate Cruikys post and honesty here


Thanks Cruiky and for sharing all that info hun xxxxxxx and lovely to hear from you 


AFM - period started so Day 1 and on the womb lining pills so excited and scared xxx scan booked for Halloween 


Loads of love
Spuds
xxxxx

[cruicky2]

Go Spuds!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spuds]

  Cruiks xxx

[madeleineus]

Thanks Cruicky2 and spuds 
I have done immune testing in the past---all lab work comes out fine. We also have used oral steroids for donor egg transfers and the latest one with BCN.
I have done the hysteroscopy's too. They haven't found anything major during them but have removed minor polyp tissue while "in there" just to make sure all bases are covered.  During my last couple cycles in the US we also did some uterine "scratching" aka: biopsy to aid implantation.
I was really hoping that the problem was with hubby's sperm and we would suceed this double donation cycle. BUT we didn't stop lupron til nite before transfer and didn't start progesterone until about 1 hour before transfer. REALLY hoping that was what screwed up the cycle and next time will make sure I stop/start these meds. at retrieval instead. I haven't talked with Dr. Guix yet and am interested in knowing what she thinks. I just feel like maybe my uterus wasn't prepared enough with progesterone. If it was THAT important though you would think we wouldn't have done the transfer until a couple days later (sigh).
I guess I get another visit to Barcelona----maybe December

[Zaffa]

Hi Mads - When you say 5 donor egg cycles 1 fresh and 4 frozen, was that 1 cycle of IVF the donor had and you had the first fresh transfer and the rest of the embies later as FETs? If thats the case, you will find that that is actually classed as 1 donor egg cycle only. A DE cycle is the a fresh transfer directly after donor stimulation and EC and all associated frozen transfers to use up the remaining embies generated from that EC. Dr O told me that most (was it around 90%) are pregnant after 3 DE cycles - so thats 3 fresh transfers and all the rest of the embies as FETs... FETs have a lower success rates so its a bit misleading to include them as the same as a fresh transfer..
I dont think the slightly late progesterone would cause a problem because its for endometrial support and at that point no embies would be implanting. That would happen day 5-6 of the embies life (assuming you had a day 2 embie transferred). The estrogen should have made your endometrium all nice for the embies. They would not have done ET if your lining was not thick enough.
 
Zx