Second opinion/changing clinics

teamginger13

Hi ladies,

I am considering changing clinics and am just curious what your experiences (if any) have been. Has anyone switched clinics/doctors and the new doctor changed protocol or came up with a new great idea? Has anyone had a new doctor tell them their old doctor was completely off base? I think my current doctor is great but I have had 3 IUI's and 2 IVF cycles with no luck and now we are trying to decide between IVF 3 with my own eggs or to move forward with donor eggs and she doesn't really have a clear path for us. I think it's a good idea to get a second opinion but obviously don't want to pay for all the testing that a new clinic might want to do if it's not worth it (not to mention my current clinic discounted IVF 3 by a couple grand). Any stories or insight would be helpful.

Also on a different note (might as well ask while I am already posting!), has anyone had their doctor suggest using growth hormones while stimming? My current doctor mentioned it when discussing IVF 3.

Thanks in advance!

JamieH2000

@teamginger13- I remember you from some precious board! Been around here for over a year now so can't remember which sorry to see you are still here with us. First, I always think a second opinion is a great idea, it can't hurt and may give new ideas. And you don't have to switch if you don't want too. Maybe consider a second opinion at some place that would have an in house donor pool or is connected with a good egg bank if you are considering that path. I will say all my second opinions didn't give me clarity on my own eggs vs donor. Unless there is really not muc hope, most places seem willing to keep trying with OE in my experience. You can see in my siggy but we have moved on to donor and it was a really hard decision since we were also one of those borderline cases. You should check out our donor egg thread, as there are a few of us in the process now. For HGH, I did try it and it didn't help me. I think my RE said it helps in maybe 25-50percent of cases but it is expensive. Hope some of this helps, always happy to chat!

bionerdsteph

I've only done one cycle of IVF so no changes in clinic here but we did do a few consults before choosing one. They all had different philosophies and ideas about what to do. I was a little stunned to learn how little agreement there is and how low quality some of the studies backing popular ideas are. A second opinion might get you another perspective.

teamginger13

@jamieh2000 I remember you also! I think it might have been from last August's IVF board. It sucks that we are both still here but it sounds like you have a plan in place (I have been quietly stalking the donor egg thread since that is a route we might have to take). Thanks for the info around HGH! I had not heard of anyone else trying it but I haven't really searched around either.

adirat

@teamginger13 I always think a second opinion is valuable if you aren't sure what's going on or aren't getting a good response. I recently started listening to the Beat Infertility podcast and it seems like the majority of women on there have seen 2 or more doctors.

Also @dragonette505 am I remembering correctly that you used HGH in an ivf cycle? 

Irisheyes81

Hi there.  I thought I would weigh in since I just changed RE's.  I did 3 medicated TI cycles and three IUI's with one doctor. When everything failed and we decided on IVF, I did a ton of research.  I found the doctor with the best numbers for frozen transfers.  I have been really happy with this decision.  The new doctor changed my metformin dosage, diagnosed hypothyroid and put me on thyroid meds and changed my prenatal for an iodine deficiency at the first visit.   The new doctor spent hours with us and we have changed our lifestyle completely. He writes a blog about environmental toxins and egg quality and I have followed it closely. He has done additional blood work that goes far and above anything anyone else has done. My IVF isn't until the first week in September but my numbers have improved a lot with the new protocol.  I have no idea if it will make any difference but I am SO glad I did it.  The discount and the fact that they know you is a reason to stay with the old doctor but ultimately, new eyes couldn't hurt. 

adirat

@irisheyes81 Could you share the blog about lifestyle changes for egg quality? I would love to read more about that.

JamieH2000

@teamginger13- I think there was actually a thread of HGH in the last few weeks if you want to check that out too! Keep us posted on your path

Irisheyes81

Sure! The blog my RE does is https://enhancingfertility.com.   He also guided me to a book called "It Starts with the Egg" which I'm sure you have heard of. He encouraged me to remove BPAs, Phthaletes and Phythoestrogens for egg health. The girl who wrote the egg book had one of the most successful retrievals her huge clinic had ever seen. It is HARD to remove those toxins. I had to get all new cleaning supplies, cosmetics, hygiene products and even a new shower curtain and I'll never touch a receipt again.  I eat only organic and right now vegetarian but soon, vegan. It's insane but my testosterone and all blood counts have improved significantly.  Last month, I had a follicle grow more than 21mm in 13 days which was insanely better than the five prior months and had a natural LH surge.   I actually wanted all of this to be junk science but it's actually working. 

adirat

@irisheyes81 Thank you so much! I am familiar with that book and what's in there improved my amh a bit. We're looking at ivf in a couple of months so I should go back and reread it now, plus the blog you linked. Thanks again.