3rd IVF-BFN advice??

I just found out today that my 3rd IVF did not work. A little background, we have one son, took us two months to conceive him naturally and I have a normal, problem free pregnancy. Since having my son, I got pregnant again only to miscarry at 5 1/2 weeks (didn't find out until 9 weeks though) and we have been struggling with trying to conceive for over two years now.

I am a patient of Dr. Stelling at RSofNY. I have been with them for over a year now, 2 natural IUi's, four medicated IUI's (climid) and now three failed IVF's later, we are still trying to get pregnant.

I don't know what I am really asking but does anyone have any advice for questions I should ask the doctor or further testing that can be done. Dr. Stelling doesn't seem to really believe in a lot of the immune type things I hear people talking about, is taht something I could have developed after i had my son?

The only things that are working against me right now are age (I am 38 and my husband is 39) and I am overweight-and getting heavier by the minute from all the stress! I just don't know what to do at this point.

I have enough insurance for four more cycles, but I can't even begin to think about going through this four more times and yet I can't imagine giving up at this point either.

Thanks for letting me vent. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Sorry it did not work Don't waste any more time. If your insurance covers 4 more, go get a second opinion. I am in NJ , not LI but I am sure many of the ladies on here have recs for REs in particular with immune issues. Things can develop after having a first child. After my DS (conceived via IVF / ICSI) when we were gearing up for another cycle, found out I became hypothyriod. You never know. Good luck!

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

I would suggest getting another opinion. Even if you don't end up switching docs, hearing what other docs have to say may be useful. There are REs that specialize in immune issues and others who do believe even if they don't specialize - I'm seeing an RE right now who believes it and is treating me and he's not one of the specialists you normally hear about. What makes you think it could be immune? What is Stelling treating you for? GL!

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Well, I don't really have any reason to believe I have immune issues or anything else. We have been diagnosed as unexplained infertility which is just frustrating b/c there is supposedly nothing wrong with either of us!

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

I'm sorry your cycles haven't work. I have a question for you...your last IVF cycle was it a fresh or frozen?

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Your back story sounds a lot like mine except my DH had some morphology problems so we did ICSI with assisted hatching and third IVF frozen was a charm for me. I'm preggo now with DS #2.

You may want to go for a second opinion because I did and was told by that Dr. that sometimes post pregnancy something kicks off in your body that causes autoimmune issues that affect future pregnancies. We gave it one last shot with the FET with my original RE and have been successful. My RE did do a lot of autoimmune testing as well and I was on Lovenox for the first trimester of my pregnancy.

ETA: If nothing makes it to freeze had he changed your protocol...for me that made the difference when it came to having embryos to freeze.

Good Luck!

Message edited 4/23/2013 6:18:20 PM.

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

First off,

How is your embryo quality? Do they have any thoughts on why none make it to freeze (assuming you have some leftover after the ET) - sperm issue, egg issue, etc?

We had two failed IVF cycles with our previous clinic. Our protocol was more of less the same with both cycles and the clinic did not seem interested in changing our protocol.

We sought a second opinion and are currently waiting to start a fresh cycle at the end of June.

My advice - a second opinion never hurts!

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

have you considered genetic testing (PGD/PDD)? You may have poor egg quality (which would explain the m/c and having none to freeze. I was in the same situation. I never had a FET because there was never anything to freeze. I wound up batching my embreyos to have enough to send out for testing. You could ask Dr. Stelling if you are a good candidate for PGD. Genetics is his area of expertise and will let you know if it is worth the money. Just be prepared that transfering genetically normal embreyos is not a guarantee of a BFN. We used it to conceive DS after numerous failed IVF cycles. However, when we did it to TTC#2, it was unsuccessful. Something to think of if money is an issue since PGD is out of pocket (although you can deduct it on your taxes).

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

My only advice here is to seek out another set of eyes. I was with the same doctor for almost 3 years. I loved him. Moving on was ROUGH because I felt such a connection with him and trusted him so completely (even though I was not staying pregnant).

Finally, after 6 IUIs, 2 IVFs, 2 FETs, and 2 canceled surrogate cycles (all which includes 4 miscarriages)....... I moved on to a different doctor and got pregnant on the first try.

Sometimes a different set of eyes is all you need. I don't know what it was in my case. A different set of eyes.. time off for my body.. a combination of the two I suppose.. but my first doctor will always hold a special place in my heart and in my journey. Unfortunately, he was not the one to get us the end result, as much as I wanted him to be.

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

i agree with another set of eyes,a consult with another place wont hurt

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

First off I'm very sorry you got a BFN I agree with everyone else. Definitely get a second opinion and get tested for auto immune disorders. Another set of eyes may catch something your current RE can't see. Also I would try accupuncture. I really do think it helps

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Thank you so much for all the replies. If we do consider going for another consult, I don't really know where to go. Does anyone have any recommendations for a doctor that will look into immune issues? I am in Islip Terrace and I work in Ronkonkoma, so I need someone fairly local for all the monitoring etc.

3rd IVF-BFN advice??

I would run and get a 2nd opinion. After my first IVf failure I had an appt setup to see a new RE. I thought I had an immune issue so I was prepared to go to SIRM in the city. I dont know if there is anyone in long island that deals with that other than Dr. B.

Good luck!!!

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Who is Dr. B? I have read on here about him but I don't know who he is. Does someone have his contact info or recommendations for anyone else that deals with immune issues? I don'tthink my husband would go for the genetic testing due to the financial strain. I feel like this is so stressful as it is I dont want to put a financial strain on us as well. Thanks so much for all the insight.

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

I went to see Dr. Braverman aka Dr.B for a second opinion and he is in Woodbury. I live in Patchogue, so it was a distance, and if I did continue on with him it would have been a challenge travelling for monitoring and getting to work. He did explain that their was a possibility that my immune system had been negatively triggered by my fist pregnancy and now had turned on some autoimmune issues that were preventing me from getting pregnant. He was very informative of possible reasons for our secondary infertility.

On the flip side, Dh was not sold on him because he did not like how he kept knocking the current practice we were working with. He also insinuated that the lab results on the embryo from my D & C, after a m/c, were inaccurate due to the lab error. Then came the fee for all the autoimmune testing...which was practically a mortgage payment. After I picked DH's jaw up off the floor we declined the testing for financial reasons. And then this is where I got turned off...the lab tech who was going over the financials with us started going on and on about how people in our situation would max out credit cards and put ourselves into debt to be able to have a child. She basically said without saying is their a price you can place on a baby. Then when we said we had to talk about it she went in the back to call her company and see what she could do for us price wise. When she came back the number lowered and along came another speech...I started to feel like I was at a timeshare presentation. About an hour after leaving the office, she called again and lowered the price on the blood work, and at that point it left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I have heard excellent things about Dr. Braverman and I know women on this board that swear by him and the miracles he has worked for them. However, if you are someone who has financial constraints to deal with it, working with him may be a little tricky. I would look for an RE who is willing to do autoimmune testing, granted it will not be as complete as Dr.B's testing panel is, but something may turn up that can be corrected.

3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Go get a medical evaluation before proceeding. Dr. Stelling only focuses on his procedures - but its no good if you have endo or a genetic mutation that is prohibiting implantation. I highly recommned you met with Dr. Pillitterri in Deer Park - he is an OB/GYN. He looks at your MEDICAL health, your gyn history. He will recommend genetic testing - I discovered I have a 4G4G mutation - prohibits implantation - need ot take a course of medicine for a few months before trying again. I had a laparoscopy with Dr. Pillitterri - he removed extensive endometrosis and fibroids. It's all covered by normal insurance. Get your body in the best internal shape possible first.

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Posted by PennyCat

My only advice here is to seek out another set of eyes. I was with the same doctor for almost 3 years. I loved him. Moving on was ROUGH because I felt such a connection with him and trusted him so completely (even though I was not staying pregnant).

Finally, after 6 IUIs, 2 IVFs, 2 FETs, and 2 canceled surrogate cycles (all which includes 4 miscarriages)....... I moved on to a different doctor and got pregnant on the first try.

Sometimes a different set of eyes is all you need. I don't know what it was in my case. A different set of eyes.. time off for my body.. a combination of the two I suppose.. but my first doctor will always hold a special place in my heart and in my journey. Unfortunately, he was not the one to get us the end result, as much as I wanted him to be.

Re: 3rd IVF-BFN advice??

Yes, they did both immune and genetic testing - it was actually Dr. Elkady, perinatal spcialist that did the testing but after referral and consult with Dr. Pillitterri - they will coordinate your plan together. It was all covered by my insurance - oxford freedom.

My sister in law did 6 iui's, 4 ivfs, and had underlying immune issues that were not revealed until she saw an outside specialist - she also had a laparoscopy to remove endo and was taking medicine for the autoimmune stuff and got pregnant naturally two weeks after surgery!!! Her case is unbelievable but evidence that your medical side needs to be addressed in conjunction with enhanced fertility measures. good luck to you! PM me if you have anymore questions - I would be happy to help!