The IVF Waiting Game
Submitted by spenilly
My husband and I are in the final steps of IVF. We are undergoing this process as he has Cystic Fybrosis and as a result is missing the vas deferens - it is the tube that takes sperm from the testicles and sends the sperm out the penis. Thankfully this is his most severe symptom of the disease.
I am 28 and we assumed that everything would be fine, I wasn't the problem. I managed to produce 15 follicles - where the eggs are held and we could not have been happier. All the doctors were really happy with my progress. We then had the egg retrieval, which was not as initially painful as I thought it would be though cramping did set in later. We were told about 20 minutes after the procedure that they had retrieved 10 eggs - enough for 2 women as my doctor told me.
We are doing an IVF procedure known as ICSI. Because we were all unsure how my husband's sperm would react, it is a procedure where the lab takes an individual sperm and injects it into each egg. The next day, we received a call from our clinic to tell us that of the 10 eggs, 8 had fertilized. We were thrilled. We could use one and have 7 frozen for future children - so we thought. Not the case.
With IVF, they will transfer the embryos on either day 3 or day 5. I got the call on day 3 that of the 8 embryos, only 6 were growing, still great, and that they would like to do the transfer on day 5. More waiting.
Finally day 5 came and our doctor told us that there were 2 embryos doing really well and she wanted to implant both. We talked it over, and for us, we decided that we would be really upset if we choose to implant only 1, it didn't work and we found out the other embryo didn't survive the freezing process as only about 50% do. So we went with both.
The day after the transfer, we got the worst phone call yet. NONE of the other embryos survived. Three did not meet the criteria to freeze, and one stopped growing altogether!
We have all our eggs in my basket right now. I have one more week before I take the pregnancy test and I am going out of my mind. We are at a standstill because we don't know if it has worked or not, and if not, where to go from here. We have currently spent $13,000.00 so far, and another round will cost approx $11,000.00.
IVF is the most frustrating thing to do. But it can all make up for it in the end if you get what you are hopping for. I would recommend telling a few people what you are going through, it really helps to have someone to talk to. It is sometimes hard talking to my husband as he is the problem and I don't want to make him and more stressed out then he already is.
7 more days until we can make a move...it's a hard thing!
Read more stories of people trying to conceive.
Have your own experiences with IVF/ICSI? Share your story now!
I am 28 and we assumed that everything would be fine, I wasn't the problem. I managed to produce 15 follicles - where the eggs are held and we could not have been happier. All the doctors were really happy with my progress. We then had the egg retrieval, which was not as initially painful as I thought it would be though cramping did set in later. We were told about 20 minutes after the procedure that they had retrieved 10 eggs - enough for 2 women as my doctor told me.
We are doing an IVF procedure known as ICSI. Because we were all unsure how my husband's sperm would react, it is a procedure where the lab takes an individual sperm and injects it into each egg. The next day, we received a call from our clinic to tell us that of the 10 eggs, 8 had fertilized. We were thrilled. We could use one and have 7 frozen for future children - so we thought. Not the case.
With IVF, they will transfer the embryos on either day 3 or day 5. I got the call on day 3 that of the 8 embryos, only 6 were growing, still great, and that they would like to do the transfer on day 5. More waiting.
Finally day 5 came and our doctor told us that there were 2 embryos doing really well and she wanted to implant both. We talked it over, and for us, we decided that we would be really upset if we choose to implant only 1, it didn't work and we found out the other embryo didn't survive the freezing process as only about 50% do. So we went with both.
The day after the transfer, we got the worst phone call yet. NONE of the other embryos survived. Three did not meet the criteria to freeze, and one stopped growing altogether!
We have all our eggs in my basket right now. I have one more week before I take the pregnancy test and I am going out of my mind. We are at a standstill because we don't know if it has worked or not, and if not, where to go from here. We have currently spent $13,000.00 so far, and another round will cost approx $11,000.00.
IVF is the most frustrating thing to do. But it can all make up for it in the end if you get what you are hopping for. I would recommend telling a few people what you are going through, it really helps to have someone to talk to. It is sometimes hard talking to my husband as he is the problem and I don't want to make him and more stressed out then he already is.
7 more days until we can make a move...it's a hard thing!
Read more stories of people trying to conceive.
Have your own experiences with IVF/ICSI? Share your story now!
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