IVF #4

We are (slowly) gearing up for IVF#4, which is tentatively scheduled for December or January.   Why so far away?   The treatment for my husband’s low morphology/sperm DNA fragmentation will take approximately 3 months to (hopefully) be effective and my body needs to get back to regular rhythms. I’m also behind on my supplements and acupuncture,  2 things that proved to very effective for IVF #3.  Oh and there has been a return to healthy eating and virtually eliminating alcohol.

After IVF #4, we are done.  We will transfer whatever we have (perhaps into a gestational carrier), and if nothing sticks, we will not have children.  I am no quitter, but it will be financially impossible to continue on after this point.

In fact, last week we cashed in an investment we made 13 years ago, something I have often affectionately referred to as “my engagement ring.”   Prior to our marriage, I decided I wanted to put the money my husband had set aside for an engagement ring into a real estate deal instead.   When my friends said “show me your ring!” I replied with “we are the proud owners of few doorknobs in Bucks County, PA.”  I rarely doubted this decision, as the investment paid us quarterly and has increased in value significantly.  However now because of infertility costs, we had to liquidate “my engagement ring.”  I feel a real sense of loss that we had to do this.   How many other women have sold their engagement ring for the oh so slim chance of having a baby?  I am in the minority.  On so many levels.

It stuns me me that people actually have sex and the result is a baby, while in comparison we have countless years of sadness and an empty bank account.    All that really runs through my head is “what losers we are.”

Dr. Braverman Recommends?

I have received so many messages and e-mails asking about Dr. Braveman’s recommendations with regards to supplements, restricted blood flow to the uterus, how he treats low morphology, and etc.  I am surprised at how many inquiries there have been when we only saw him just last week. And we only lost our baby 3 weeks ago.

I know firsthand that as infertility piles up, so does the fear and desperation.  I also understand that many of you are suffering and worried and are searching for answers.   I am also searching for these answers.  I am also suffering.   I just lost a chromosomally normal baby and I am worrying that I will never have a child of my own.   That is why we sought out Dr. Braverman and are depleting our funds (he is 100% out of pocket for us) and hoping beyond hope that we will finally get some answers.

I encourage each and every one of you to contact Dr. Braverman or a similar doctor (I have listed a few below) and have a plan tailored to your individual needs.    Our plan (which isn’t even fully formed yet, as we just completed the immunology testing today, and our follow-up appointment is scheduled for late September) from Dr. Braverman is targeted to our specific set of issues.   I am not a doctor.  I don’t feel qualified to tell people what to do with regards to reproductive immunology and the sheer amount of inquires are really stressing me out.

Here is a list of reproductive immunologists, with one on each coast, and one in the middle.  If you suspect you have immune issues or issues outside what a normal RE will treat, I hope you will seek out answers too:

Dr Braverman, NY – (516) 584-8712

Dr. Kwak Kim, Chicago – (847) 578-3233

The Alan E. Beer Center, CA – (408) 365-9500

The Issues

We met with Dr. Braverman last week.  We initially had an appointment 6 weeks from the day we called, however a cancelled appointment opened up.  It was a long day, 7 hours door to door, and there was a lot of information to process.

To  sum it up, we have a lot of issues, and we are testing for a few more:

1.  My husbands 0-1% morphology could be a significant contributor to why we lose so many embryos on day 5 and 6.   He is going to do a sperm DNA fragmentation test, and if the numbers are bad, he will start various medicines.  He will do supplements either way.

2.  My clinic suggested a possible reason for the miscarriage was a “an energy issue at the  cellular/mitochondrial level.”  I honestly feel this is their generic answer when there is a failure with a CCS tested embryo. However,  Dr. Braverman did not rule this out, but did say it’s hard to diagnose.  I am going to be taking new supplements to improve this along with CO-Q10.  This could also be a significant contributor to why we have gotten so few quality embryos during our IVF cycles.

3. A doppler test indicated restricted blood flow to my uterus.  A very important piece of (treatable) information to know prior to transfer, no?  I questioned my current RE about it and she said they are “planning to start this testing in the next few months.”    Mind you, this is testing that is part of the normal CCRM workup.

4. During my pregnancy, my lovenox dosage was too low, as indicated by my anti-Xa test.  This may have been caught too late.    Clotting factors at play.

5.  I could have immune issues, natural killer cells, etc.   I am having the bloodwork for this next week.

6.  My husband and I could have HLA matches, i.e. our genetic makeup could be too similar, and  therefore my body is rejecting our babies.  We are also having bloodwork to test this next week.  I honestly don’t think this is our problem.  I think our problems are 1-4, with a dash of #5.

So there it is.   We both liked Dr. Braverman.  He was very knowledgeable, yet personable.  He offered us cost saving options, and ruled out a lot of different repeat testing.  Having said that, his hourly rate is insanely expensive.  Vomit in your mouth, expensive.  Our test results should be back in mid-September, and we will be meeting with him again shortly there after.  We are not even thinking about another transfer.  Our first goal is to improve upon the above issues, so that in December, we can cycle again (probably at our current clinic with some rogue input from Dr. B) with better results.

Also, my beta HCG level is back to zero.   It took me 17 months at my infertility clinic to get pregnant, and only 2 weeks to get unpregnant.