Poor egg quality

[Lee Ann]

Well, my husband and I have been trying to concieve for almost a year again.....that's how long it took with my first pregnancy. Finally, I just said I am tired, made an appointment with a fertility specialist, and did a Clomide challenge test. The result was: poor egg quality. The good news is that my ovaries responded well to the clomide which raised my estradiol levels which helps to stimulate the ovaries to release eggs. But the real question is how many of those eggs are good quality eggs. Since there is really no way of knowing this my husband and I have decided (as of now) to try IVF. She gave me the statistics of what my odds are of trying to concieve without any given help in any given month-5%. With clomide then there would be a 10% chance. So not great. With IVF my odds jump to 50% given my age and the regularity of my cycles. It has been 2 yrs since my last pregnancy. Olivia my daughter in heaven would have been 2 years old this June. It's hard to believe it will be two years. I have waited the recommended time with my prior experience with preeclampsia. It's now or never. With each year that passes my odds will be even slimmer. So wish me luck everyone because I do think I will need it.

[angieb]

I'm sorry that they recommended IVF, that's definitely a bummer. It wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion from another fertility specialist before jumping in, some fertility doctors can really differ in opinions.

My fingers are crossed that you will be pregnant and have a healthy baby by the end of this year!

[teresatolman]

That is disappointing, but at the same time I bet it feels good to finally get some answers. I am sending good thoughts and best wishes your way!
Hugs,
Teresa

[miamibunnie]

SENDING BABY DUST YOUR WAY LEE ANN!!!!!
KEEP US POSTED!!

[bernadic]

I feel for you and understand your frustration. My FSH is 12 and IVF is our last resort too. Have you done IUI along with Clomid? We did 2 months of Clomid with back to back IUIs and 4 months of Femara with back to back IUIs each month. From my experiences, IUI's raise the success rate but don't recall the percent. We did do a 2nd opinion regarding IVF options. I would recommend going to a few IVF clinics because policies, prices, treatments, and clinic attitude vary as we have learned from experience. Good luck!

[kerisue]

Wow, 50% odds are pretty good! I know IVF is very spendy (too spendy for me), but it sounds like its an option for you. Good luck!

[riehlism]

50% in any given month? That sounds very good. I believe it's 20% for the average female. Those stats are better than nature alone. I wish you luck with IVF. Please keep us posted.

[jean]

When you do a test like this, how exactly is it done? Does it "take your egg for the month" so you can't ttc again until the next month? (Sorry if that's a dumb question, I have no idea how these tests are done!)

[Lee Ann]

I start tomorrow taking birth control pills that will suppress my estrogen levels. So this month is basically getting my body ready. Next month is when I will actually do the invitro. I guess I am ready for this...but I am also afraid...what if it doesn't work? When I lost Olivia one of the hopes that I had...was that I could still have another child. Not that another child would ever take the place of Olivia...but that I could still possibly build our family. The scary thing about this invitro is that if this doesn't work , I know my odds of my husband and I conceiving on our own are low. Nothing like a good dose of reality to dampen the mood on things... I didn't get a second opinion on the invitro. The clinic where I am going has a high success rate and based on my labs results My fsh is a over 9 on day 3 and on day 10 over 11. So, I know I have diminishedt ovarian reserve. She didn't recommend the clomid because she doesn't think that its because I am not ovulating....it's because my eggs aren't the greatest quality. My husbanrd and I are also going to talk with an adoption agency tomorrow and try to decide what our best options are. It really doesn't matter what we decide.... it's expensive either way we go. I am just wondering with adoption if our odds would be better? With invitro, even though she says I am a good candidate, there are no guarantees.......I guess with adoption there are none either. I just wish there were easy answers and an easiier way to do this. Now, I need to pray for god's grace and mercy to give us strength to get through this because this will definately be a stressful situation for us.

[kerisue]

Part of what got me through the darkest days after Millie died was the hope that I could have another baby in the future. NOT, like you said, that she could be replaced, but because the experience of being a mother- even for 25 days- was so profound that I can't not hope to be able to do it again for the rest of my life. Have you looked into supplements that might improve egg quality? I've read some good things about l-arginine and coq10 (actually, for fertility AND PE), Though of course there's no magic bullet and you should talk with your doc about any supplements.
I don't have experience with private adoption, but I've heard it can take a lot of time and money. I do know a lot about "public" adoption (i.e. from the state) so if ever want to know more about that both the good and the bad, I have the info for you.
Good luck with whatever route you choose. I think everyone who wants to be a mom should be.