Genetic Testing for IVF#1 (SAIFW)

lunatwo

Yesterday my RE called and told us we need to decide if we are willing to spend an additional $6,500 on PGD (genetic testing).  Seems like there are a few compelling reasons to do it but the cost is so high I wanted to know if anyone here has any advice.  DH is already suffering from sticker shock from the initial costs but I think it would be worth it to increase our chances of a successful pregnancy.  The RE said they recommend it for women of "advanced maternal age" which would be me (41) due to increased risk of Downs Syndrome and chromosomal disorders.  Has anyone had to decide on this?  They basically gave us a day to decide so that we can get it done in time so I am freaking out!

outofcntrl82

Hi..

yes I just did PGD. I have had 2 failed pregnancies before due to chromosomal abnormalities and my RE strong suggested that we go this route. I am glad we did because it does give a bit more reassurance (although I still worry everyday) but the implantation rate is greatly increased with PGD because they check for the chromosomes that are known to cause an m/c.

There obviously are no guarantees- but to me, if you can spare the money, it is worth it in the end. You'll know that you have the best possible embryos and hopefully it will work for you so you wont need to do another IVF cycle.

If you want more information, please feel free to PM me.

mybobble

Both dh and I had to have these tests done. We wanted to know if we were carriers for anything. If anything was to come back positive we would have had to reconsider what we were going to do.

Thankfully my re gave us this information when we 1st met w/ him when we decided to do ivf (we cycled several months later). I know the tests were rather expensive but I don't recall them being that much. We're also 100% oop.

GL w/ your decision.

BRSaugust20

Have you done IUIs?  How did you respond to the drugs?  We discussed PGD (AMAer here too, I had a miscarriage prior to finding out about IF and cp on IVF #1) but I didn't make enough eggs that we could risk pulling out a cell and getting to 5 days.

So if you think you will only get a few eggs, the way around PGD would be to transfer more (common with us older ladies).  I have a friend who is 42 and makes a lot of eggs but not great quality and they have transferred as many as 8 3-day embryos (she still got a bfn and it wasn't her first IVF).

If you didn't make enough embryos or they weren't great quality on day 3, would they skip the PGD and refund you the money?  If so, then I would do it if I had the money.  If not, I wouldn't.

Ali212

I did pgd at a cost of $7,600 (OOP) so feel your pain.  For me it was totally worth it.  I had a miscarriage earlier this summer due to trisomy 16 - could've been picked up with pgd.  For IVF #1, we opted to do it.  At my ER, they got 8 eggs, 6 fertilized but, of the 6 that fertilized, 2 were 'good' and 4 were abnormal (I know at least one had trisomy 21 which is the downs' marker). It isn't a guarantee but given how much we're investing (emotionally and financially) in IVF, I appreciated having a bit more security we were doing things to minimize risk of miscarriage.

lunatwo

BRSaugust20:

Have you done IUIs?  How did you respond to the drugs?  We discussed PGD (AMAer here too, I had a miscarriage prior to finding out about IF and cp on IVF #1) but I didn't make enough eggs that we could risk pulling out a cell and getting to 5 days.

So if you think you will only get a few eggs, the way around PGD would be to transfer more (common with us older ladies).  I have a friend who is 42 and makes a lot of eggs but not great quality and they have transferred as many as 8 3-day embryos (she still got a bfn and it wasn't her first IVF).

If you didn't make enough embryos or they weren't great quality on day 3, would they skip the PGD and refund you the money?  If so, then I would do it if I had the money.  If not, I wouldn't.

I did 3 IUI's with Clomid and I supposedly responded very well to the Clomid.  The RE thinks based on all of our tests that I will do well with the injections as far as quantity goes but the quality might be in question.  They did say that on day 3 if they weren't good quality, they will not have the PGD done and I will save myself $5,200.  The initial $1,300 to have the DNA tests done will be gone though.  I'm not too worried about that money.  It's all a gamble anyway.

However, you raise some very good points.  I will ask my RE about transferring more embryos.  I know he is pretty conservative about that as he does not encourage multiples (other than twins).  I'll see what he says.  Thanks!!

yodasmistress

What kind of PGS?  CHG or FISH?

lunatwo

yodasmistress:

What kind of PGS?  CHG or FISH?

You know, they didn't specify and I am actually getting quite frustrated at the lack of info they have given me about this.  All they told me was that they recommended that I do it, how much it would be and that we have like a day to decide.  I have been waiting for a few hours for a return phone call.  I will ask about it when they call back.

I have done a lot of googling over the past 24 hours on this topic and I still don't know if I fully understand the difference between the two kinds.  The only other info that I have is that we will need to swab some saliva for the tests and it needs to be done three weeks prior to ET (not sure if that is relevant or not).

yodasmistress

CGH looks at all 23 chromosome pairs.  FISH looks at only the 9 that most commonly have anomalies.  

lunatwo

It appears I can choose which testing I want them to do.  Sounds like I should do the max if I'm gonna go for it though.

yodasmistress

I would.  (I am actually. )