freezing eggs/embryos

twobrooklynmoms

Hi everyone,

I've been absent from the boards for awhile, but am happy to report DW is 27 weeks along with our first child. Things have been smooth so far (knock wood!) and I'm about to start our second fertility project of retrieving my eggs. I'm 37 years old and want to have the choice later on to have a second child using my eggs. I've got an appointment with my fertility doc in 2 weeks, but I'm trying to learn as much as I can in preparation.

I know several people here have undergone IVF, not sure if its the same egg retrieval process, but I have some questions I'm hoping someone might help with.

- did you have to wait several cycles to begin egg retrieval? or are you able to start the process right away
- did you have to do it more than once? I've read that some people need to do it multiple times
- what was the approx cost? I've read ~$10k a cycle, but wondering if that's realistic
- are you awake during the procedure? (I'm afraid of anesthesia)
- my doctor is recommending that we freeze embryos because they're a higher success rate. Has anyone done that?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to PM me if you prefer to answer privately.

Thanks and hope everyone is doing well!

ball.and.chain

Congrats on being 27w!

The egg retrieval process usually involves some sort of suppression period -- for me, this was birth control pills and Lupron -- followed by a stimulation phase (using a gonadotropin like Follistim).  In my case, I took 3w of BCP, then got a light period and then was in the "cycle" during which I stimmed and retrieved eggs.  So although I didn't have to wait before starting this cycle, it was essentially a two-month process.  If you have not already been through all of the diagnostic and infectious disease testing that an RE typically does with new patients, you may have to do that first.

Whether you need to do it multiple times really depends on how you respond to meds, the protocol your RE uses, etc.  I had a fairly typical long Lupron cycle and my RE retrieved 22 eggs, of which 17 fertilized, and we ended up with 6 embryos that we could freeze or transfer.  So although that's a better retrieval than a lot of people have, it's common for many eggs/embryos not to make it.  Some REs are now doing mini-IVF cycles and/or trying to retrieve fewer eggs of a higher quality.

I had full insurance coverage, so I can't speak to cost.

I was asleep during the retrieval procedure.  I had never been under any kind of anesthesia and was also nervous about it, but eggs are retrieved by poking a needle through your vaginal wall, and I would much rather be asleep for that!  I felt fine, just a little crampy, when I woke and had no ill effects from the anesthesia.

Yes, freezing embryos is much more successful at this point than freezing eggs.  It's also advantageous in that if you froze eggs, you might get a bunch but not know how they would fertilize; if you freeze embryos, you will know how they fared and how many embryos you have moving forward, which would help you determine whether another retrieval was necessary.  Embryo freezing is a very common part of the IVF process and is typically done anytime a woman produces more embryos than is needed for a particular cycle.  The success rates of implanting fresh vs frozen are very similar (particularly if your clinic uses vitrification to freeze) and some REs believe frozen cycles are actually better because your body isn't messed up from all the meds.  I transferred a single embryo and froze 5.  Of those 5, 1 was a miscarriage (as was my fresh transfer), 1 didn't survive thaw, and 1 is my son. 

Good luck!

StacyLH24

Here is my experience...

1. I started BCPs the cycle after my last IUI cycle, which was canceled. Due to already knowing how I respond to Gonal-F, I started stimming after the BCPs and also used diluted HCG and Ganirelix along the way. It was about 13 days total once I started stimming.

2. Well, I will be doing it again. I had 9 eggs retrieved, 6 fertilized and only 4 of those were normal. We've transferred all 4 - 2 in the fresh cycle and 2 in a frozen cycle. None stuck.

3. We paid $6500 to the office. This does not include the meds, ultra sounds and blood work. It does include a whole host of stuff though. If you haven't had experience with inject meds, they are expensive if your insurance doesn't provide coverage. Ten Gonal-F pens is approximately $5200 without insurance coverage. It isn't out of range to expect to use 8-14 pens, or more, in one cycle. Five Ganirelix shots comes to $724. Then there's the progesterone and anything else they might want to add. You're also looking at probably 5 or more ultra sounds and blood work to go with them. So when all is said and done, $10,000 isn't so off base. Again, it largely depends on your insurance coverage.

When you do a frozen transfer, it is a different process. I did BCPs again, Lupron to suppress my ovaries, Estradiol (Estrace) to build my lining and then progesterone.

Each cycle was about 5-6 weeks from beginning to transfer day.

4. I was out for only minutes. I felt nothing during the procedure and it was relatively quick. After was a different story for me. That day was the worst, the second day was better.

5. We froze two blasts (more developed than embryos). Both survived the thaw but that was it. In our next cycle we will also be freezing anything that is good enough to be frozen.

If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer.

Congrats on your DW being 27 weeks!

Himee33

-For my first IVF I was on BCP for 3 weeks, then I started Lupron, Menopur and Gonal F for 18 days, 9 eggs retrieved, 8 fertilized, 2 transfered, none to freeze.

-For my second IVF I was on BCP for 4 weeks, then I started Menopur, Gonal F and Ganirelix for about 18 days, 7 eggs retrieved, 3 fertilized and were frozen the same day. 

-My doctor then recommended doing a FET because of new studies coming out that doing a frozen embryo transfer were better because your body has time to go back to a natural state. Doing a FET wasn't that great for me because even though I was on Lurpon and Estrace, my lining wouldn't go above a 7. I started out on BCP and medication for about a month. Now I'm scheduled to do a fresh cycle the beginning of December. 

-For my fresh IVF cycle the total cost was $14,800 but that didn't include the medication which was about $7,000 and the doctor visits. We paid 20% of all that but then we hit our max so after our first IVF everything was covered 100% My FET had I done it would have been $6,500

-They put me out for about 20 minutes, and woke me up right away before they wheeled me back to my room. Wasn't bad at all. Just had to drink lots of water. 

Everything just depends on your protocol and how well you respond to everything. Also if you have insurance and how well the coverage is. I never thought I would have to do IVF more than once and now I'm about to do my 3rd egg retrieval, but thankfully my wife has great insurance through her work.

Good luck with everything!

KH826

Hi! First of all, congratulations on being 27 weeks - such wonderful news!

My experience was similar to what folks have already shared, but I will share anyway since it is good to hear from a lot of different people when trying to figure out what to expect (in my opinion).

My protocol was very similar to @ball.and.chain's - long Lupron protocol. I did 3 weeks of BCPs, had a light period, then started Lupron. I was on Lupron for about 10 days, and then I started stimming. I was on Follistim and Menupor and did an HCG trigger prior to retrieval. From BCPs to day of retrieval was about 6 weeks for me.

At my retrieval, we got 18 eggs, 16 of those fertilized, 12 made it to day 5 blastocysts. We transferred 2 (1 stuck, which is my son), and we have 10 embryos currently in the freezer. I have been told that I had an above average response, and my RE was not expecting that many viable embryos.

I also was under general anesthesia for the retrieval. I had no issues at all, and I woke up as they were wheeling me out of the OR into recovery. I felt pretty much fine after retrieval. A little crampy, but that was it for me. Make sure to be super hydrated - that helps a lot! I had taken two days off from work and expected to lay on the couch and sleep, but I never napped once, and the second day I decided to go shopping b/c I was bored on the couch!

I did develop a moderate case of OHSS, but that wasn't until after transfer. Post retrieval, I was pretty well good to go after the day of the procedure.

In terms of cost, it is SOOOOO different from one case to another. IVF costs can vary dramatically depending on the area you live in, your RE's office, if you have any insurance coverage, and what meds you are on! I had no insurance coverage, and paid out of pocket for everything. We were very lucky and got a very good deal, though. We paid $6500 (not including meds) and that covered everything for one fresh and one frozen cycle (if the fresh cycle had not taken). Meds for me were about $3700 total. Follistim is actually a lot cheaper than Gonal-F and some of the other injectibles.

Good luck & keep us posted!