Success with SET? (From IF Board)

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

Hi Ladies - I currently post over on the IF board and occasionally 3T, and I'm going in this weekend for my first FET. MH and I are both under 30 and have 16 frozen high quality 6-day blasts. Based on a consult specifically about 1 vs. 2 with our RE and weeks of mulling it over, we made the ultimate decision to try SET for this first try (this is also our first IVF cycle - I wasn't given the option to do fresh because of my high follie counts). My RE highly recommends doing SET for couples our age and with our quality of embryos. I'm just wondering if anyone with a similar situation had success with SET? I feel like all of the other ladies I see posting about their ETs and FETs have all transferred 2. I'm just worried that we made the wrong choice, and I'm notorious for second guessing myself on everything, so you can imagine what's been going through my head this week. RE did say that if it doesn't work we'd be totally fine to try again right away, but had a good feeling about us...whatever that means. Anyway...I'm just looking to see if anyone here has had success with SET. Thanks in advance!

BzeetyD · October 2013

Yep! ::points to 20w5d bump:: Huge success with only 1 - super high quality (our embryo was also genetically tested) - after 4 losses and 3 IVFs. This bean was our 4th IVF and 1st FET.

ETA: we could have transferred 2 but our chances for twins was 50%, and that was simply too high and too risky for us. But everyone had their own risk tolerance and feelings about twins and potential prematurity/complications.

BeeBee08 · October 2013

My situation is a little different than yours because I only had 1 to choose from and it was a fresh cycle, but none-the-less, I transferred 1 fantatic quality embie on day 3 and had success so far. It was my 2nd fresh transfer. They really don't lie when they say "it only takes 1".

Good Luck!

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

BeeBee08BzeetyD What do they consider "fantastic" or "super high quality"? Mine are all either 5BA, 5BB, 6BA or 6BB. My RE said that the difference between A and B is very very minor, if anything at all, and I don't have any inner cell masses with A's, so that worries me a little. But then again they were all healthy and high quality enough to freeze, so I guess there's something to be said for that.

BeeBee08 · October 2013

@FutureMrsW9 - every clinic grades cells different. For example, my clinic gives a number and a grade. The number of cells and a grade of 1-4, 1 being bad quality, 4 being the highest they will grade it. If your clinic calls it good quality then you should go with that. Blasts that are good to freeze and survive a freeze, are typically pretty strong. I wouldn't focus too much on the grading/quality. If you did a poll on here, you would find lots of success from embryos that a clinic maybe didn't consider top quality. There are studies showing that you can't necessarily predict success based on a visual analysis of an embryo.

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

Thanks @BeeBee08, good to know! At my clinic the grades are all 3 digits. The first is a number 1-6, which indicates Blastocyst development and stage status (i.e. for me 5 means hatching out of shell and 6 is completely hatched. The second is the grade of the inner cell mass (this is most important because this will become the baby) with a grade of A-C, and the third is a grade for the Trophectoderm quality (what will become the placenta) also from A-C.

https://www.advancedfertility.com/blastocystimages.htm That's actually a good chart if you or anyone you know is interested ever again :-)

lisabugg444 · October 2013

I had success with a SET! I am currently 13 wks pregnant after my first (and only) fresh IVF cycle. Like KaraBear said, transferring more than one embryo (in my case anyway) wouldn't have improved likelihood of implantation, just likelihood of twins. We wanted to avoid multiples (as much as you can, a single embryo can always split).

In my case, I was still relatively youngish (34), and egg/sperm quality wasn't a factor (PCOS was). We ended up with 3 high-quality embryos, and now we have two left in cryopreservation. If I ever go back for a FET for a sibling, I will do SET again. I wish you the best of luck in your FET, I hope it works for you!

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

@lisabugg444 Thanks so much! This is exactly what I needed to hear :-) My issue is PCOS, as well, and I'm still young so that's not an issue for us either, and this is also our first try with IVF/FET. GL with the rest of your pregnancy!

kz's_girlygirl · October 2013

I am currently 15+ wks pregnant from a fresh day 2 SET. We only had one to transfer so that choice was made for us! GL!!

golfrgal · October 2013

Here is an example of the seriousness of transferring 2 vs. 1:

I just got home from visiting my friend who is in the hospital at 30 weeks (has been there for constant monitoring since 28 weeks), because she transferred 2 blasts and one isn't doing well (he's too small and his placenta isn't working well).... She's likely going to have a c-section in the next 10 days and is terrified for both of her little boys, who if surviving delivery, will need to remain in the NICU for a while.

On the other hand, my RE warned me of complications due to multiples and said I should only do a SET (and I only had 2 frosties to use). I'm doing fine at 22 weeks with no complications, and hope to transfer my other blast sometime after this LO is born.

The problem with multiples is that if one has a problem, the other becomes at risk as well. It's scary stuff. Good luck with your decision.

jschwind22 · October 2013

Yup! We did a 3dt of 2 embies during our fresh cycle, and it ended in a chemical pregnancy. My RE recommended a SET based on the quality of our frozen blasts and the fact that my high NK cells were discovered after the fresh cycle. I just had my 9w ultrasound today and baby is perfect!

kjf114 · October 2013

Ivf 1 fresh cycle bfn 4AA embryo. FET 1 bfp 4AA embryo and beta stopped doubling d&c at 6.5 weeks. Here's to FET 2. Like you it was tough for us but now we are going with 2 if both thaw they are also 4AA embryos

amb2013 · October 2013

First of all congrats on great embies! I have strong opinions about this, because of my history. On our first ivf attempt, we decided to transfer two. Mostly because I was so afraid if it not working. We are 100 percent out of pocket, so that also played a role in our decision. We transferred 2 high quality 5 day blasts, both took. Unfortunately, they implanted too closely together and therefore only one placenta formed. After an incredibly complicated mono/di fraternal twin pregnancy, we lost our babies. I have Huge regret. I always keep this opinion to myself unless asked because it is such a personal decision. I never considered how difficult a twin pregnancy could be, and always thought about what it would be like raising twins let alone the complications of early birth, prematurity etc... We did end up doing a single frozen transfer and we are currently 20 weeks 5 days along. What happened to us is rare but not unprecedented. Definitely consider how you can handle a high risk twin pregnancy, and not only what I did which was focused on raising twins. You will make the right decision for you. And best of luck to you!!!

Keephope2012 · October 2013

I am 24 weeks after a single embryo transfer! Good luck!

Julie21613 · October 2013

Hi...my single embryo transfer wasn't by choice. It was all I had. This was our 5th fresh cycle and they only retrieved one egg, it fertilized and I am heading to L&D tonight to be induced. So, as BeeBee said... there is truth to the "it only takes one" quote. Good luck!

GermanGirl2007 · October 2013

We were successful with our SET as well. We did Mini IVF with FET, and transferred a day 5 hatching blast. I am not sure what the grade was, I was just told "very good quality." Just got my 3rd beta this week, and so far everything looks great. GL to you!

PurpleIris30 · October 2013

We also had success with a single embryo transfer and are one of those cases where the embryo split into identical twins. We were trying to avoid the risks of a multiples pregnancy, and although that's what we still ended up with, I remain very grateful we didn't transfer two. Sounds like your embryo quality is great, and you can always do another FET, which is a lot cheaper than having twins.

asilwhite · October 2013

We also had success with a SET and he is in my arms now (I had him on Monday). We also had great embryo quality and didn't want to have the higher multiples risk.

It sounds like your quality and age are perfect for a SET! Good luck!

RosyGlow · October 2013

Hi @FutureMrsW9! Congrats on your transfer! I did an ESET from my FET in August, and I am pregnant with a singleton. Our embryo (became a fetus today!) was a 5AA. Sounds like your clinic uses the same grading system mine does, and the fact that you even have some sixes in there is amazing! My RE also says that the difference between an A and a B is negligible with regards to success rates and pregnancy outcomes. Yesterday I saw my baby on ultrasound - little arms and legs and a head at 8 weeks 5 days. Wowser! A single embryo should give you the best shot at a healthy pregnancy. Ill keep an eye out for your betas. Or will you test? What was your lining? All of this is exciting. No regrets! Look how many ESET successes there are here!

runninggirljw82 · October 2013

Good luck!! I'm 30 weeks pregnant with our single embryo transfer

My RE said that our rates of pregnancy really wouldn't change all that much, but the risk of twins was much higher. We transferred one 6AA blast and have 10 frozen. It was a FET b/c I had developed OHSS.

delatl · October 2013

I had success with a frozen SET. We also transferred one for our fresh ET and were not successful with that one. We did not want twins, in fact, we want just one child total. That was the main reason we did one. I tried to reassure myself that, like a PP said, the overall chances of success with SET are just as high, it just might take more tries. Which isn't all that comforting because who wants to go through lots of cycles, but in the end, it proved true for us.

BrideJackie11 · October 2013

Wow! 16 frosties!! I had to freeze all as well due to OHSS. I am 29yo. I have only done eSET due to our preference not to risk fraternal twins (as you can see fromm PP identicals can still happen). FETs are easier and cheaper than fresh cycles. First FET was a chemical pregnancy that resulted in an over 2 month beta hell. Second FET has so far been successful with a hatched 6dt embie (forgot the grade but may be in my sig). We are now 19w3d pregnant with a baby girl. Good luck.

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

Thank you, everyone, for your votes of confidence! We are all set to do our frozen SET today! I'm just waiting to get the phone call telling me what time to come in. I'm so excited but very nervous....trying to stay cool calm and collected. :-) I'm doing laser acupuncture right before and right after the transfer, so hopefully that'll give us an extra boost! I also have my pineapple ready to go...probably a wives tale, but it can't hurt, right!

amb2013 I'm so sorry for what happened to you, but I think your story has a big impact. Thank you so much for sharing. My RE basically said the same thing....he said he would never discourage me from transferring 2, and most of the time twin pregnancies go on just fine...BUT there are cases where thing can go wrong, and it's unfortunate and very sad. Congrats on your BFP and wishing you nothing but H&H for the remainder of your 9 mos :-)

RosyGlow My RE said the same thing about A vs. B being "negligible," so I'm trying not to hard to read into it too much. I was always a perfectionist in school, and to me B always meant "bad"...of course that's right where my head goes uuuugh! But clearly this is NOT high school AP Calculus lol! Yesterday my lining was Type 3/10, so it looked great! I'm very excited for today, I'm just waiting to get my call this morning to find out what time we go in!! I'm not sure if I'll test, but I do have some FRERs stashed away in case I decided to POAS! I think it'll depend on when my first beta is (holy crap I can't believe I'm FINALLY talking about going for a beta, we haven't even gotten to this point yet!)...if they make me wait too long I'll probably POAS. I mean, all of my blasts are 6-days, so to me that's like 6 days after O if it were natural, and I would usually test like 10dp O or so when we were trying before.

RosyGlow · October 2013

I'm so excited for you!! Have fun at transfer! It's easy and SO exciting!

VegasGal1978 · October 2013

My situation is a bit different....we did fresh and we are a bit older, but we are currently 33w6d after our first SET. Good luck!

DebateThis · October 2013

I'm currently 36w from a successful SET. We're about the same ages as you and YH and this was also our first IVF cycle so we didn't want to take any more risk than necessary. From what my RE explained, putting back more than one embryo doesn't necessarily increase your odds that much of a BFP, it just skyrockets your odds of multiples (if that makes sense).

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

Thanks everyone - I really appreciate all of the input and it helped to calm my nerves about the decision we made to just do one! We had our FET yesterday and transferred one awesome 6-day 6BA blast! Now we wait....Beta is next Tuesday, so it's actually a lot sooner than I was expecting, which made me happy :-)

BzeetyD · October 2013

BeeBee08 said:

@FutureMrsW9 - every clinic grades cells different. For example, my clinic gives a number and a grade. The number of cells and a grade of 1-4, 1 being bad quality, 4 being the highest they will grade it. If your clinic calls it good quality then you should go with that. Blasts that are good to freeze and survive a freeze, are typically pretty strong. I wouldn't focus too much on the grading/quality. If you did a poll on here, you would find lots of success from embryos that a clinic maybe didn't consider top quality. There are studies showing that you can't necessarily predict success based on a visual analysis of an embryo.

Yes this is true. It is also true the other way, beautiful embryos can be chromosomally damaged. We have 1st hand experience with that.

In our case we'd done CCS (complete chromosomal testing) so we knew that the 4AA that we put back was also "genetically normal."

5's and 6's are more susceptible to freezing damage because they've begun the hatching process. That doesn't mean they're not great embryos, it just means they may have issues in the thaw.

We had many different grades in the mix of our original 6. But, OP you're right and embryo grading is very subjective. Our embryologist said that she considered herself a "harsh grader" and that another embryologist might have graded our other embryos better.

FutureMrsW9 · October 2013

BzeetyD Thanks for the input! We did have the option to do CCS, but we are both young and our own genetic testing was completely normal so we opted not to at this point. Had we both been well into our 30s we probably would have considered it further. Our doctors and genetic counselors didn't feel like it was necessary for us, and since we are still younger we have some time to try other things if this doesn't work for us. As for thawing, we were lucky and didn't have any issues! They thawed just one of our 16 frozen embryos, which are all 5s and 6s, and it survived like a champ! Actually, my clinic, which is #1 in NJ, only freezes at day 6 - they have the best success rates and strongest embryos with this method. I'm very excited and staying optimistic for this little embryo inside me right now! :-)

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