Success with IVF/PGD? (sorry, long...)

bsc01001 · March 2013

Hello Everyone,

I'm a first-time poster on this board and I apologize if I'm in the wrong place, please just let me know where to post if this question is not relevant to those here.

I recently suffered my 3rd miscarriage in 1 year; my husband and I do not have any children. I have PCOS and Celiac Disease which obviously effects ovulation, so each of my pregnancies were helped with the use of oral medication (e.g. clomid). Obviously, infertility isn't really our issue as we have become pregnant relatively easily; however, keeping the pregnancies is now the challenge. We both have been tested for everything under the sun, and have been diagnosed as "normal." The only explanation for the repeated loss is due to chromosomal abnormalities which are really common hence why miscarriages (1 in 3 pregnancies) is common. Obviously, after 3 consecutive losses though, you start thinking, am I really just that unlucky?

I have been seeing an RE since my second loss, in hopes that something would have been discovered, but she too found no clear reason as to why we keep loosing our pregnancies. After our last loss, last week, she recommended IVF because apparently in the last two years they have developed the technology/science to genetically diagnose embryos prior to implementation (PGD). Because most likely our recurrent losses are due to chromosomal abnormalities, this procedure of the embryos preimplantation would eliminate one major variable as to why this keeps happening.

We know we are very fortunate that IVF is 100% covered by my insurance and thus we have decided that we would always wonder 'what if?' if we did not try this; however, I am obviously nervous. We expressed to my RE that we no longer are interested in having biological children (even if the percentages show we have a 75-80% chance of having a healthy full-term pregnancy on our own) if some intervention is not possible, hence why this option was suggested. She was really positive about it and feels this could be our solution, but at the same time I know with each loss it becomes harder and harder to cope.

So in short, I'm looking for some inspiration/hope. Has anyone had a similar experience to me? Has anyone had success with PGD after having recurrent loss? Any support or success stories that I can relate to would be very much appreciated.

Once again, I'm sorry if I should not have approached you all, I'm just looking for some hope to cling to as I'm scared of the unknown future we're facing.

Thank you!

nawlinsgrl · March 2013

I can't speak to your specific situation (I did successfully use IVF twice, but did not have losses or use PGD testing).

I just wanted to let you know that you are most welcome to post here, and I'm sure someone else with more experience will be happy to help you as best they can!

PrettyAccountant · March 2013

First off I want to say I am sorry for your losses. While I did not have early losses, I did do PGD testing for the exact reasons you are stating. I am AMA and this was my 4th IVF cycle. The reasoning for the testing was that let's give this cycle the best chance of success with the variables we can control. By doing the testing we knew we were putting back a chromosomally normal embryo. We gave my body the best chance for the embryo to implant and reduced the risk of miscarriage.
If I were in your shoes I would say 100 percent go for it.
Good luck!

MandaS08 · March 2013

We also have had 3 miscarriages-one of which we know was ectopic, one was a chomosomal issue and we don't know what happened with the 3rd.

My RE also suggested the we do PGD, but in the end we weren't able to do, b/c with my DOR I only produced a few embroys.

On one hand if you keep trying, odds are that you will evenutally be successful. But, if IVF if covered-why not go for it-would your insurance cover the PGD as well?

luvboston · March 2013

IVF with PGD is not going to help you if your karotyping is normal, if you have CD you probably have markers for other immune diseases that could be leading to your losses. Look up the Beer Center and have immune testing done.

lgluv10s · March 2013

Sorry for your losses. I had four losses, all of the testing on both myself and my husband were completely normal. We have no reasons for the losses and my RE thought ivf would be the best chance for us. We did ivf, Out of the 11 that fertilized and grew to the 5 day stage, 8 were chromosomally normal and three were not. So we transferred two genetically normal embryos and at my first u/s today I have one healthy one in there growing right on track. We hope this was our answer. Each loss gets harder and harder to deal with. We are trying to stay positive with this one. Good luck to you!

Temp878586125009588 · March 2013

I've had 3 consecutive losses. I am currently, only 5weeks, pregnant after having our remaining embryos thawed and tested with PGS, which is different then PGD. The PGS is just a screening, not a dx, like the PGD. They just check to make sure there is the correct amount of chromosomes. This was done after we tried a fresh IVF transfer where I had a chemical pregnancy, and after a FET where we had a loss at 8 weeks. So far things are looking much better this time around, though I still cannot fully assure you that this will be 100% successful, though I like to hope it will be. GL to you.

BAKERMOMHDS · March 2013

I was in a very similar situation to you..

After two rounds of IVF with no success, we chose to do PGS screening for IVF#3 and IVF#4. From IVF#3 out of 14 embryos, 1 was normal. From IVF#4 out of 23 embryos, 1 was normal.

We'll be transferring the two normals in May/June, I hope I can share a success story with you at that time. I'm a believer in PGS / PGD testing, I was tired of the heartache / failed IVF cycles / miscarriages. I know transferring the normal embryos is not a guarantee, but I feel this gives us our best chance.

Best of luck to you

DahliaFlower · March 2013

First of all, I am sorry for your losses. As a recurrent loss survivor myself, I can certainly relate. I also understand your desire to consider PGS as a potential solution to your problems, which is MAY be. Or it may not be.

Each couples' situation is unique, which is why I personally think it is worth getting a least a couple expert (RE) opinions. As you can see from PP, there are cases when truly very few embryos are normal, and if you have lots of embryos, narrowing the field to only use those that have normal karyotypes makes sense. But, do not be 100% convinced that your problem is definitely abnormal embryos. There are other factors that can explain repeat miscarriages, and very often, it has nothing to do with the embryos.

In my personal experience, we did a fresh IVF transfer w/ PGS normal embryo and got BFN, then we did a FET with two PGS normal embryos, resulting in a BFP, one embryo implanted, but I had anembryonic demise and miscarried at 8 weeks. The next round of IVF was totally mismanaged and we ended up with fewer eggs than expected and 4 abnormal embryos. Keep in mind that a badly orchestrated stim cycle can also result in abnormal eggs! So, basically after two IVF cycles w/ PGS we got nowhere.

I did, however, get pregnant the old fashioned way after my new truly amazing RE really focused in on what was causing me to keep losing pregnancies and not have normal implantation. After all we've been through, I came away feeling that many RE's throw IVF with PGS at you when they have no idea what the problem actually is, but it does not solve every problem! The fact that you have gotten pregnant repeatedly would make me wonder about other factors, not just bad embryos.

I know you said that you have been tested for "everything under the sun," but be sure you have had a complete work up for autoimmune factors, etc. Since it is paid for, at least you don't have the financial burden, but on the other hand, you don't want to put your body through unnecessary procedures if it's not really going to address your problem.

DahliaFlower · March 2013

luvboston:
if you have CD you probably have markers for other immune diseases that could be leading to your losses. Look up the Beer Center and have immune testing done.

I agree, autoimmune diseases come in clusters. I think this is a major factor often overlooked. Check out Dr. Braverman or maybe Beers Center as PP suggested.

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Success with IVF/PGD? (sorry, long...)

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