[Dydie]

Hi Ladies
I am going for my second round of IVF as soon as my hydro has been sorted out, and I have been looking at some statistics, it seems that ICSI has slightly better success rates than standard IVF and allthough we don't actually need to use this method (DH has good sperm count & mobility) I was thinking about maybe opting to use this method due to the success rates being higher, I know it works out a bit more expensive but in the long run a  is all we are interested in.
I would love to hear your views on this

Thanks
Dydie

 

[encore]

Hi, are you sure the success rates are higher?  Or just the fertilisation rates?  Eg I presume that if you have 10 good eggs, you should get 100% or close to 100% fertilisation with icsi and maybe a bit less with IVF (i had 5 mature eggs, all fertilised), though only 2 ended up any good.

ICSI is more expensive, and (so they say) because 'natural' selection is taken out, supposedly the chances of having something wrong with the baby is increased.  By natural selection i mean that with IVF the argument is that only the strongest sperm penetrate the egg, and with ICSI they select a sperm at random, (albeit from a washed batch) and inject it into the egg,thereby taking out natural selection.

Sounds like i'm more in favour of IVF - but in actual fact i had icsi and it worked for me so i'm a big fan.  But my consultant didnt make the decision to do IVF or ICSI until the day of egg collection.  Thats whats so good about my clinic - they tailor treatment to the individual.

Not sure what your fertilisation was like on your last attempt, but with a small number of eggs anyway, maybe ICSI is the way to go.

Good luck!

 

[Dydie]

Hi megan35
Thank you for your reply, it really was most helpful, I have not done any extensive research into success rates, but the clinic I am planning to go to have the following success rates listed on their website

IVF Treatment
Positive pregnancy rate: 33% per embryo transfer
Scan pregnancy rate: 28% per embryo transfer

ICSI Treatment
Positive pregnancy rate: 34% pre embryo transfer
Scan pregnancy rate 34% per embryo transfer

as you can see it's only slightly higher on the embryo transfer but all of them became successful scan pregnancies.

I have not had IVF for nearly 12 yrs but that time around I only had 5 follies and 3 were fertilized, all 3 were put back but got a BFN

This time around I have asked about egg sharing but they won't accept me because of my poor response last time, I have not been offered ICSI and until I found this site I did not really know anything about it, but after finding out about it and seeing my clinics rates I thought it might be worth a try.
Dydie

 

[Mrs CW]

Hi Dydie,
I was told that the fertilisation rate for ICSI was about 70% as opposed to about 60% for IVF. 
I had tough eggs which didn't fertilise with IVF so was given ICSI on my 2nd and 3rd tries.  I couldn't help but feel after my first go that if only we'd had ICSI first time I'd have got more embryos. But before my clinic had any reason to suspect my low fertilisation rate would be a problem they seemed to prefer IVF first. I think there's a reason why clinics do this, as it replicates a more 'natural' fertilisation, as Megan said, the sperm do their own thing rather than the embryologist picking the sperm for you.

I asked my consultant about the risks of this lack of natural selection when doing ICSI and she said it made a very minor diffference and there was no real evidence yet that babies born from ICSI had any worse rates of abnormalities, although perhaps no proof doesn't mean no problem. But for me there was little choice as it meant we actually got some fertilisation and in the end a BFP, so I'm very glad of the technique! 

There are some risks to your eggs as well though as some die when they are injected - although as i say there's an overall slightly higher rate of fertilisation.  On my 2nd tx I had only 3 eggs suitable for ICSI and one did die when injected. 

I would not, for this reason, expect 100% fertilisation with ICSI or you'll be disappointed - I've had 2/3 and 7/12 fertilise.  And as I said, the rate I was given was an average of 70%.

Not sure if that helps make the decision for you or not!  I'm self funded NHS and the difference in cost between IVF and ICSI was £160.

Claire x

 

[Dydie]

Thanks Claire
Your views are really helping me to become more informed so that I can think about which way I would like to go, which is not necessarily the same way that the clinic would advise me, but I feel it's my money and my chances so I think it should be my decision.
any views are greatly appreciated especially when they come from the heart of experience.
I have never expected 100% fertilization,I've been around too long to have any such dreams (oh if only though eh?) I just want to feel that I have given myself the best possible chance of getting a BFP.
I am self funded too but by the way your clinic is much cheaper than mine, the extra cost for ICSI on top of IVF a my clinic is £750.00!
Thanks again, i will let you all know what I decide and what the clinic says
Dydie

 

[Gill C.]

Hi Dydie,

Why such a difference in price ?  I had IVF first time and am now on my 3rd ICSI - the price difference from then my first IVF tx in 2003 to now March 2005 is minimal - it has gone up each tx by about £ 100/150 or so. Certainly there was only a small difference between IVF and ICSI, relatively speaking.   Looking at my bill for this tx, my tx is still regarded as IVF - £2250 for IVF tx cycle and £640 for IVF drugs.

I had a similar experience to Claire, in that I had IVF first, 9 eggs collected, but only one fertilised and it wasn't the best. Since then with ICSI I have had 11 eggs, 7 fertilised, 3 good and last time 13 eggs, 12 fertilised, 3 made the grade for ET.

You are quite right in exploring all your options. I feel that my first tx was a non-starter. But then we did not know what our problem was at that stage, and we might just have been unlucky, but ICSI seems to have sorted out that side of things. Hopefully it will this time.

Good luck with all your decision making Dydie and all the best for your tx. Let us know how you go.

With best wishes,
Gill

 

[Hollypops]

Hi Girls,

I'm on my first cycle of ICSI, 2ww - testing on the 18th March.  I can only go on what my consultant has told me (the consultant who referred us for ICSI) and he reckoned that ICSI was most beneficial when the problem is male factor (which is the the case with us).  Maybe this is why the stats seem higher for ICSI (our consutlant deemed our chances higher with ICSI than IVF).  Good luck with whatever you choose xxx

 

[natalie34]

Just to say the difference in IVF and ICSI in my clinic is £500, due to the 'extra' assistance required by the embryologists (our clinic being private)

Best wishes,

Natalie