Feels Like a Life Sentence..... INTRO

mharnicker · November 2014

Hello ladies,

I'm new to this board and was encouraged by the IF and TTC boards to come on this board. 1 year TTC....DH low sperm count. I just got partial RE lab results today here goes....15.9 FSH, follicles are low, AMH pending results currently, thyroid is slightly low and may need to go on Synthroid. The nurse says we'll be doing aggressive fertility treatment probably skipping IUI and going straight to IVF. Ladies, I really would love to hear success stories similar to me and DH. We could use it right now.

gsancho · November 2014

We did not have low sperm count, but we did have motility issues with his boys. And I have low AMH which led to me rarely producing a ton of follies. We did aggressive meds and got 8 eggs, 6 mature, ended up with 2 blastocysts transferred. IVF will at least help with the low sperm count issue. I did have to do a freeze-all versus a fresh transfer to let my body recover after all the meds I was on, but I didn't mind.

If you lurk around on a lot of the posts here and are on your desktop, you can read the info we have in our siggys. Most of us still list our diagnosis, cycle history, maybe part of our protocol, etc.

Good luck!

FishyMom · November 2014

We only dealt with the low sperm count... But the good news with that aspect is that you only need a single sperm for each egg produced, because you have the option of ICSI. I wish you all the best and the girls on the IF board are wonderful and will help guide you thru your first (and hopefully only) cycle. We hope you come to announce GREAT news soon!

Sunny B · November 2014

I have Hashimotos and take Syntrhoid. I'd definitely get on it if that's what your doctor is suggesting!

My DH has a very low sperm count, but IVF/ICSI takes care of that by choosing one sperm for each egg!

I can't speak to the FSH, but I know ladies have had success!

It's so much to process and I'm sorry this is the ride you are on, but I do hope and pray it works out well for you. The IF board is an incredible support system and the ladies are so knowledgeable.

mharnicker · November 2014

Thank you ladies for sharing stories and support. I appreciate it!! I really hope this whole thing works out for us. When you hear this news as you know it can be devestating.

MKateG · November 2014

I'm so sorry your here even having to ask about this... but your at the right place the ladies here are awesome! I did not have your specific diagnoses but we found out very soon in our ttc journey that ivf would be our only option. It was devastating to say the least and very overwhelming. We found an RE 3 hours from us that did ivf for half the price of all others in our state (ga). (In case your on mobile and can't see siggy) He had great success rates so we went and did one fresh cycle followed by two FET. I really thought that it would only take one cycle so I was crushed after 2 failed. But no matter where this journey takes you just stay strong. I questioned whether I would ever get pregnant but im now 31wks with twins! So good luck, T&P to you!

mharnicker · November 2014

Awe thank you @MKateG‌ for sharing your story. I question myself too on if we'll ever get pregnant.

Saintelizabeth · November 2014

DH didn’t have any issues, but I have high FSH levels (fluxuated between 11 and 21) and low AMH so I never produced very many good follies. Though we did give IUI a shot few times my shitty tubes (on top of everything else) left IVF w/ ISCI as our only option. We were very aggressive with meds and I produced 5 mature eggs and overall 3 embies. We ultimately transferred all 3 because they were on the lower grade of the scale and our RE didn’t think any of them would survive a freeze. I would agree that IVF w/ISCI sounds like the best route for you. Take it one day at a time! You’ve got a great support system with the girls on the IF board. Good luck!!

mharnicker · November 2014

Thanks ladies. @Saintelizabeth‌ it seems like IVF/ICSI will be the best fit for DH and I. How many tries until you got your BFP?

lincoln79 · November 2014

I can't speak to the FSH, but my AMH was low ~0.3 and I only had 3 at the AFC last cycle but we got 13 eggs, 11 fertilized, and 7 made it to freeze.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know until you try.

IVF is daunting, but if it were me I would skip the IUIs and go for the IVF. I hated doing the IUI (insurance required it) knowing the likelihood of success was so low.

Infertility board is super helpful.

I got pregnant on my first IVF, but it (and all subsequent IVF pregnancies) resulted in losses for other reasons (autoimmune). My husband is holding our son right now! It is tough, but you can do it!

Saintelizabeth · November 2014

@mharnicker we were incredibly lucky to get a BFP on our first try. Like so many girls we paid OOP for our IVF treatment and we dumped everything we had into our April IVF cycle. If it hadn’t worked it probably would have been the end of the road for DH and I for a while until we could have saved up for another round. During my 2WW I tried to stay as calm as I possibly could, keeping busy so I didn’t have as much time to think about it. For me doing acupuncture along with the IVF cycle really helped with the stress.

mharnicker · November 2014

@lincoln79‌ and @Saintelizabeth‌ how blessed you both were to have luck the first try with IVF. I'm sorry about the OOP. We're very lucky that insurance is paying 80% of our first 4 tries at IVF. It's so hard for me to stay calm. I can't imagine it during IVF. I'll have to look into the acupuncture during the 2ww

AMShark · November 2014

I have mild hypothyroidism, treated with Synthroid. Like you, I didn't know until my RE began testing us. My RE found no other physical issues with us, but for some reason, I had a really low fertilization rate on my first IVF. My RE suspected egg quality, so, for the next round I added human growth hormone to my stims, and we did ICSI for fertilization.

We were very surprised to get a BFP with our first IVF cycle, but we suffered an early loss.

I am now 16w pregnant with twins from my 2nd IVF, and all is so far so good.

As others have said, you'll find great information and support on the IF board. I think that group helped me stay sane through my IVF cycles.

Wishing you all the best luck.

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Feels Like a Life Sentence..... INTRO

Re: Feels Like a Life Sentence..... INTRO

Me 33, DH 37 -- TTC since Jan'12 -- Low AMH (0.78) & endo, SA w/ low motility
IUI's 1-3 = BFN, IVF converted to IUI 4/13 = BFN
IVF 1.2: 8R 6M 4F -- 2 blastocysts frozen, FET 8/15 = BFP!!
Beta #s = 445;1,098; 9,545 -- EDD 5/2 -- Team Pink!

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Want a personalized experience?

Feels Like a Life Sentence..... INTRO

Re: Feels Like a Life Sentence..... INTRO

Me 33, DH 37 -- TTC since Jan'12 -- Low AMH (0.78) & endo, SA w/ low motilityIUI's 1-3 = BFN, IVF converted to IUI 4/13 = BFNIVF 1.2: 8R 6M 4F -- 2 blastocysts frozen, FET 8/15 = BFP!!Beta #s = 445;1,098; 9,545 -- EDD 5/2 -- Team Pink!

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Me 33, DH 37 -- TTC since Jan'12 -- Low AMH (0.78) & endo, SA w/ low motility
IUI's 1-3 = BFN, IVF converted to IUI 4/13 = BFN
IVF 1.2: 8R 6M 4F -- 2 blastocysts frozen, FET 8/15 = BFP!!
Beta #s = 445;1,098; 9,545 -- EDD 5/2 -- Team Pink!