IVF Questions to RE

mollykelley

Hi all, in an hour I'm going to have a phone consult with my RE to discuss options and right now I'm leaning toward switching to IVF. Since I have a limited time on the phone with her, and I'm getting charged 100 bucks, I'm trying to think of all the questions I can. (An in person consult would be free, but RE is 120 miles away)

If you have any to add that would help me greatly. I will post the answers I get here. I'm going to keep my questions medical rather than financial, that is another bridge I will have to cross when I come to the reality of it.

1. What are the IVF success rates for your clinic? (I already know that IUI success rate is 5%, and I'm living proof).
2. We used up all 6 vials of our sperm we had at your lab on IUI. If we are going to do IVF, how much sperm should we purchase (for both of us)?
3. Can my wife do the same process now and have embryos saved for transfer after I have our first child? (We are both 34 now)
4. What is the process of inserting one of wife's embryos into my body and would there be an extra charge for this if we are both going through the process/have done all the tests anyway?
5. What medications will I need to go on to prepare for IVF? Yesterday you mentioned 2-3 weeks of birth control. What other medications will I be taking?
   
6. How many monitoring days will there be and what days? Can I start this month? (still not to CD1 yet, waiting for late period due to Femara)

I hope my RE will be able to answer my questions... I'm thinking about switching clinics to a place closer to home but that may cost more. I'm just weighing all my options today. I'll update soon - feel free to add questions or answers!

thiswillbe

We just recently had our initial IVF consult with our RE, so this is fresh on my mind.

I would ask more questions about the protocol. Given what she knows about you, what protocol would she suggest initially? If that doesn't work, what would she suggest next? What are her office's rules/guidelines on number of embryos transferred, and what does she typically recommend for someone with your profile? Is she willing to alter that if you would like to transfer fewer/more? 

Also, unless you are getting it all done locally, I'd ask about the frequency of bw and u/s, specifically.

In addition to their success rates (which I think you can also find online), I'd ask about the risk/rates of multiples. Along that vein, I'd ask what their usual protocol is for freezing leftover embryos, and if you can request for them to be frozen individually for a later FSET.

Manada

Other questions I would ask too:

1.  What are your freeze/thaw rates like for embryos?

2.  Do they prefer to do 3 day or 5 day transfers and what is the process in determining that?

3.  Do they do single embryo transfers?  (+ any relevant questions you have about multiples)

4.  What is the legal custody/ownership situation around any embryos with either your wife's or your eggs?   If something happens to one of you will the other one be automatically entitled to them?

5.  At what point will they cancel a cycle?  And how do they manage/prevent OHSS?

 

 

mollykelley

These are all great additional questions! Thank you so much ladies! I'll be watching this thread as I speak to her...

Manada

Oh!

 I would also ask how many eggs & embryos they think would be a reasonable expectation based on your labs/responses/cycles so far...   

And anything you might consider that would support or negatively affect your success and cycle outside of meds/procedures (ie. acupuncture, exercise, supplements etc...)

2moms2twins

thiswillbe:

We just recently had our initial IVF consult with our RE, so this is fresh on my mind.

I would ask more questions about the protocol. Given what she knows about you, what protocol would she suggest initially? If that doesn't work, what would she suggest next? What are her office's rules/guidelines on number of embryos transferred, and what does she typically recommend for someone with your profile? Is she willing to alter that if you would like to transfer fewer/more? 

Also, unless you are getting it all done locally, I'd ask about the frequency of bw and u/s, specifically.

In addition to their success rates (which I think you can also find online), I'd ask about the risk/rates of multiples. Along that vein, I'd ask what their usual protocol is for freezing leftover embryos, and if you can request for them to be frozen individually for a later FSET.

 

 This this this !!!

mollykelley

Thank you all so much. I asked most of these questions and got answers. My wife was with me for the call and now we have to discuss everything. We are spending a weekend away to think it all over. I'll provide updates soon on responses from RE and our next steps!

Thank you again! I could have asked on TTTC or IF boards but some of my questions were specific to us as a same sex couple. You ladies are awesome.

hlke

I'm glad you got answers to your questions.  These questions are on my mind too so I'm glad to have the thread for reference.