If you transferred 2 embryos

lunatwo · November 2011

Did your RE recommend transferring 2 or did s/he do it reluctantly? Mine strongly advised us to only transfer 1 and gave us an hour long speech about the complications with twins. He really made us question whether or not we were making the right decision. All along I hoped for twins because I am 43 and thought we could have a whole family in one go. But he really made us think twice.

In the end, the day of the transfer, we convinced him that we were prepared for whatever happens and he let us transfer 2. I won't know how many are in there for a few more weeks but I was just curious if anyone else is concerned about twins or are most people hoping for them? We are still very much hoping for them, but if anything goes wrong I will be guilt ridden about the choice we made.

MrsOjoButtons · November 2011

I was fully expecting my RE to be set on one embryo because before we even made it to ER, the other RE in the practice gave us a talk about my being an excellent candidate for SET.

The day of ET, RE called and the first thing he said was, "So we're transferring two today, right?" I think that put me more at ease than the Valium.

My first u/s isn't for a few more days, so I'm not sure how many stuck. Good luck to you!

mandalinn25 · November 2011

Ours recommended 2-3 based on our age. We transferred two because that was what we were comfortable with. We would've been okay with twins, but we didn't hope for them. They can make pregnancy much harder and riskier and that just isn't something we were wishing for.

Good luck!

ifitwillmakeyouhappier · November 2011

The day of my transfer my RE told me what a great candidate I was for an SET and talked to me about how the ASRM guidelines for someone my age etc were just one embryo. My husband and I had only talked about 2...and at this point the embryologist had already shown me the photo of the 2 embryos she wanted to transfer and I was already emotionally attached to them. Despite feeling pressured to go with one, I stood my ground and asked that 2 be transferred.

Before I left I had to sign something acknowledging that I had chosen to not adhere to the ASRM guidelines - which sort of irked me.

My first u/s is next week and we are very anxious. We are well aware of the risks associated with multiples (I'm an aunt to twins) but I'd by lying if I said I'm not hoping that both embryos stuck.

ETA: I'm 34

kthappy76 · November 2011

Our RE gave us the guidelines, and we transferred two each time. We never considered more (or one) and he didn't give us a hard time. I'm surprised he gave you a hard time given you are AMA and have past failed IVFs, it is certainly within reason to transfer two, unless you have a health problem that would make twins a bad idea. I was 34 for each of our transfers.

I can't say we were hoping for twins, but obviously we were very open to them since we did two. Some are problem free, but let me tell you a twin pg is no joke. I have no idea whether I would have had the complications I have had if it were a single pg (we nearly lost our twins @21w from IC and I'm going on 4 mos of bed rest) but it certainly ups your risks of all sorts of things, besides the fact that they almost always come early, putting them at some disadvantage potentially from a development perspective. Now that we've made it this far, we are very thankful we have two that seem to be healthy, as I think we'd likely be done even if we only had one, and we've always wanted two. Best of luck!

sweetky_06 · November 2011

Our RE recommended 2 and was willing to transfer 3 if we really wanted to. We stuck with transferring 2 all 4 transfers.

Sloane99 · November 2011

Prior to knowing the grades and even how many we had, we talked with our RE who told us that 1-2 was the guidelines for our particular case. He gave a pretty balanced picture of the risks/rewards of putting back two versus one and we knew we would likely do two.

When we found out the grades (one excellent, one goodish - don't remember exactly now) and that only two had actually made it, it was a no-brainer. At that point he actually recommended putting both back as well.

lunatwo · November 2011

kthappy76:
I'm surprised he gave you a hard time given you are AMA and have past failed IVFs, It is certainly within reason to transfer two, unless you have a health problem that would make twins a bad idea. I was 34 for each of our transfers.

I should have mentioned that I used DE this time so the previous cycles really didn't predict much this time around. We had 24-year-old beautiful Grade A blasts this time so he was pretty sure they had a good chance of sticking. I don't think there's any reason to think I can't carry twins though. My uterus seems to still be in good shape at least!

tootlebug · November 2011

well we did clomid but would have transfered two and RE would have been fine with it, esp. bc of my DOR. (also, im 32)

but i got them from two mature follicles on clomid and no, i wasnt expecting that at all. not with all of my dire DOR stats. we already have a toddler and twins was not something we were anticipating or necessarily hoping for...simply because of "all the complications" that go along with twin pregnancies. it's like you are never "safe" with them....at least my OBs never let me relax bc this and that could happen. i understand the wanting of the instant family...but twins just scare the crap out of me bc of all the possible complications, possible bed rest, babies coming early, stuff going wrong after they are born, etc.

that being said im almost 20 weeks and i guess ive had an "easy" twin pregnancy, although ive noticed the difference regarding being pregnant with 2 vs. 1. im only up 3 pounds from my pre-preg weight but i feel huge. i can go to the gym, chase around my toddler, but i get tired/hungry more quickly and have more aches and pains. my cervical length last week was good - 5mm but that can change any time. it's like i feel like the bedrest is constantly looming. we'll see what's in store for the future. i can say that now that they are moving it's pretty surreal to feel both moving on either side of my tummy.

KaliChick · November 2011

I'm only 34 and at one point we discussed transferring 3 (this was after a failed cycle). In the end we transferred 2. My RE never even suggested only 1. I can't believe that at 43 your RE would suggest a SET.

Toni79 · November 2011

It really depends on your situation and dx.

I was 31 for all 3 IUIs and all 3 IVFs. We are unexplained IF.

I do take my RE's opinion seriously. Before we even started stimms my RE gave me a whole packet to read about the complications of a twim pregnancy, and how the sucess rate of transfering two is nearly the same as transfering one, only with a greater change of multiples.

For my first ET, I somehow made it to a day 6 (yes 6) transfer, and I had 5 grade A blasts to choose from. My RE suggested SET, and given the cercumstances he gave me a 65% sucess rate. So I only transfered one. That IVF resulted in a chemical pregnancy.

My second IVF, I did a FET. My RE again suggested one. So, I again only transfered one perfect 6 day blastocyst. I think because my first IVF I was "so close" to sucess, I was really afraid to transfer two. That resulted in a BFN.

For my third IVF, I told him I wanted to do another fresh (since it was the last one covered by my insurance, and if it failed it would be cheaper to use my frozen ones). This time I asked if if he thought I was a good canidate to transfer two. He said yes, given the fact that I've had two failed IVFs. I also asked if I was a good canidate for Assisted Hatching. He said yes. So this time I did two (one perfect blastocyst and a morula) with assisted hatching. And I finally have a BFP!

I have my first ultrasound tomorrow (6w1d), so I'll get a head count. I'm kind of torn. There is part of me that likes the idea of twins. But I'm seriously concerned about actually being pregnant with twins. When we did the transfer I was just hoping for just one of them to stick. But now after several weeks, I'll be really said to find out that only one stuck.

BTW - For every one of my transfers I had to sign a form confirming how many I was transfering (even when it was jsut one). They are probably required to have you sign that form stating that you went against the guidelines just to cover thier butts. So they can't be blamed if you transfer 8 and become the next octomom!

UMichGirl · November 2011

We transferred two at our doctor's recommendation. He of course said we could definitely transfer just one, as long as we were open to twins. But from the start he told us that everything he would do would be to get us pregnant with ONE, so in his mind us transferring two gave us the best odds of one sticking...and (so far) it did.

lovemygs · November 2011

It's such a personal decision. Our first cycle, my RE rec'd two. One stuck but I miscarried. For our second cycle, he was willing to transfer whatever we were comfortable (2-3), and we decided on three. Again, only one stuck, but it divided, so I'm pregnant with identical twins.

GL!

jlcrane78 · November 2011

I transferred 3 knowing we could be at risk for triplets. Granted, they were frozen and one was iffy according to my doctor. To my knowledge, my doctor did not suspect I had crappy eggs at that point, so triplets were not out of the question. I'd honestly be scared of transferring less than 2, but I wanted the best chance possible.

STL34 · November 2011

We went with my doctor's recommendation each time. We did three fresh IVF cycles and transferred 2 perfect blasts the first time + BFN; three blasts (one perfect that was frozen from my first cycle, one pretty good fresh and one poor fresh) = BFN; the third cycle we only had to eggs fertilize properly, so we transferred both embryos on day 2 with assisted hatching and one stuck.

It turns out I have implantation issues. So, I would guess I would get the recommendation to transfer two even if they were DE. But, I have had issues with carrying a singleton this time around. So, I would maybe only transfer one next time since carrying two has increased risks. Good luck!!

Sweets11 · November 2011

Our clinic strongly promotes elective single embryo transfers for first time cycles depending on the patient's medical history.

They were not happy when my husband and I elected to transfer two embryos (we would have only done one if our fresh transfer hadn't been cancelled). I am now pregnant with a singleton.

ETA: I'm 28 and have an endo/tubal diagnosis.

Imanurse03 · November 2011

He recommended and transferred 2 (it was our 1st donor egg cycle) but I have a history of repeat miscarriages but with my own eggs. He would do no more than 2 though. We were ok with 2. I'm glad we transferred 2 this cycle because we ended up having a vanishing twin with this pg.

I have had a lot of complications with this pg (low amniotic fluid diagnosed at 21 weeks and have been on bedrest since. I'll deliver early; it's anyone's guess as to when. It depends on how long my placenta holds out). So I do wonder what would be happening if it were a twin pg in my case. I think multiples would further complicate things in my situation, but it goes without saying that we were sad that we lost a baby.

I will say that maybe there's comfort for us in knowing that we have 16 embies on ice for us from our donor egg cycle for future children.

lunatwo · November 2011

I am so glad I asked this question. Such interesting responses!

MrsLoos · December 2011

lunatwo:
I should have mentioned that I used DE this time so the previous cycles really didn't predict much this time around. We had 24-year-old beautiful Grade A blasts this time so he was pretty sure they had a good chance of sticking. I don't think there's any reason to think I can't carry twins though. My uterus seems to still be in good shape at least!

The condition of your uterus before pregnancy really has no bearing on how you will handle a twin pregnancy. There was no way to tell before I got pregnant that I would have an irritable uterus and go into preterm labor at 26 weeks. I was able to hang on to 34 weeks, but it was HARD. I had other complications as well due to carrying twins and was on bed rest for 12 weeks and in and out of the hospital starting at 16 weeks. So like a PP said a twin pregnancy is no joke.

My RE's goal was to transfer two. There was never a question as to whether we would transfer more or less, if we had 2 embryos to transfer that was how many we were going to do. My husband and I were open to twins (obviously) I can't say I was hoping for them, we were just hoping for a successful IVF, but I feel blessed that we were lucky enough to have 2 healthy take home babies. That being said, being a MoM is the hardest thing I've ever done. Taking care of two newborns presents challenges everyday that you can't imagine until you are there. Good luck to you! If you do end up pregnant with twins the multiples board was a great resource both for information and support.

Dee1028 · December 2011

With our fresh IVF cycle they advised to only transfer 1. We were very OK with this decision. That ended in C/P.

We discovered a progesterone deficiency on top of everything else and so we came up with a medicated FET plan that included PIO injections and with the FET, he recommended 2 which surprised me a lot. It took us a while to get on board with that idea but we finally did and don't regret it for 1 second.

Good luck.

aah1013 · December 2011

My RE recommends one, but didn't give us a hard time when we chose to do two. They had lots of info for us prior to transfer regarding the risks, etc. My feeling was that if we transferred two and had twins- great! If we transferred one and didn't get pregnant- I would have always wondered what would have happened if we had only done two. We ended up transferring two and ended up with a singleton. I certainly don't regret transferring two at all.

blueberries8 · December 2011

For our first transfer, which was a day 3 transfer, they recommended we transfer just one since we had one 8-cell with very little fragmentation that stood out as being clearly the best, with several 8-10 cell embryos with some fragmentation. Since it was a day 3 transfer, I didn't feel super confident that the one great-looking embryo was really the best and I thought 1 embryo was a little too conservative. My gut was to go with two (if we had an excellent quality blast, however, I probably would have been fine with transferring 1). After 6 IUIs with the RE always reassuring me that my prognosis was great and pregnancy was just around the corner, I was also feeling sort of jaded and didn't have such confidence that our first IVF would work even though I know I look very good on paper, and of course I was right.

For our second transfer, which was a FET we transferred 3, but only because all of the embryos were damaged in the freezing/thawing process and also my old clinic had lower success with FETs than with fresh cycles.

For my third transfer, also frozen, we transferred only one, because of our remaining embryos, only one survived the thaw

For my fourth transfer, which was a fresh cycle with a new clinic, we had blasts for the first time. Only two of the embryos made it to day 5. Neither was 'top quality' according to my RE and he didn't question or second guess my desire to transfer both. I think everyone could agree two was reasonable at this point, since I had already transferred 6 embryos with no success. Still don't know whether we have 1 or 2 baking, but our first u/s is Sunday so we will see what's going on quite soon. And that is our full history of how many embryos we transferred at way too great a length:)

mikey&amie · December 2011

We only transferred one, but at my age (40) my RE said they normally do 3. We weren't comfortable with that at all, so went with a SET, despite the odds, and luckily it worked out for us.

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