Well hello there world. I have never blogged in my life, never even been tempted. But as I trawl the internet looking for stories of hope from other people who have done as many IVFs as I have, I find that there are remarkably few out there. I know for a fact that loads and loads of people do this many cycles and more, and I found myself wishing that more of them would write. So I just decided to put my money where my mouth is and start blogging, in the hope that one day, I might have some good news to share which will give another person hope when they need it most.
Just to fill in some background, we have been TTC for the last 3 years. We were lucky enough never to have had the months and years of trying on our own before a shock diagnosis - Mic, as I will call him here (Mr. Infertile Crescent!), has known since he was a teenager about his hypogonadism and azoospermia, and I went into our marriage fully prepared. Actually, that's a lie, I was blinded by love and wasn't even sure whether I wanted kids or not, so it seemed so insignificant and I was sure that we could cope with whatever was thrown our way. Anyway, to cut a very long story short, we left it until 4 years into our marriage before deciding that the time was right to start.
A year and a half after Mic started hormone shots for sperm production, there was still no sperm in his ejaculate. We went to a new RE who advised increasing the dose, but also booked us in for our first IVF/ICSI attempt in August 2010. They did a minor surgery to aspirate sperm from the testicles, which was successful, and gave us our first ray of hope. I'll try to be brief now, because chronicling the details of all 6 attempts would be mind-numbingly boring. Here goes:
IVF#1: Sperm aspirated.
7 eggs retrieved, 2 fertilized
2 day transfer of 2 embryos
BFN
IVF#2: A few sperm found in ejaculate. Fresh sperm from ejaculate used in IVF #s 2 - 6.
9 eggs retrieved, 1 fertilized
2 day transfer of 1 embryo
BFN
IVF#3: 7 eggs retrieved, 1 fertilized very late
2 day transfer of 1 embryo
BFN
IVF#4 (new clinic): 11 eggs retrieved, 8 fertilized
3 day transfer of 5 embryos. Nothing to freeze.
BFN
IVF#5: 10 eggs retrieved, 8 fertilized
3 day transfer of 6 embryos (please don't judge me!). Nothing to freeze
BFN
IVF#6 (new clinic): 14 eggs retrieved, 7 fertilized
5 day transfer of 3 embryos. Nothing to freeze.
BFN
And now.....drum roll.....when AF arrives within the next few days, I'll be starting IVF #7. I'm not even going to start on the emotional aspect of it all today. Just to add that we have done male karyotype, chromosomal y-deletions, RPL panel, thyroid tests, and hysteroscopy, which have all been normal, and this time, just for fun, we have added 2 endometrial biopsies. And we are BROKE (we pay out of pocket for every single treatment). But still, life is full of blessings. This has become like a motto, and although sometimes it is hard to remember, it is so true. We are still happy together, both have jobs which allow us to pay for treatment, we have seriously lovely families, go on holiday every year, we're healthy in most other ways....there are so many things to be grateful for.
If you're reading this, thanks for stopping by!
Just to fill in some background, we have been TTC for the last 3 years. We were lucky enough never to have had the months and years of trying on our own before a shock diagnosis - Mic, as I will call him here (Mr. Infertile Crescent!), has known since he was a teenager about his hypogonadism and azoospermia, and I went into our marriage fully prepared. Actually, that's a lie, I was blinded by love and wasn't even sure whether I wanted kids or not, so it seemed so insignificant and I was sure that we could cope with whatever was thrown our way. Anyway, to cut a very long story short, we left it until 4 years into our marriage before deciding that the time was right to start.
A year and a half after Mic started hormone shots for sperm production, there was still no sperm in his ejaculate. We went to a new RE who advised increasing the dose, but also booked us in for our first IVF/ICSI attempt in August 2010. They did a minor surgery to aspirate sperm from the testicles, which was successful, and gave us our first ray of hope. I'll try to be brief now, because chronicling the details of all 6 attempts would be mind-numbingly boring. Here goes:
IVF#1: Sperm aspirated.
7 eggs retrieved, 2 fertilized
2 day transfer of 2 embryos
BFN
IVF#2: A few sperm found in ejaculate. Fresh sperm from ejaculate used in IVF #s 2 - 6.
9 eggs retrieved, 1 fertilized
2 day transfer of 1 embryo
BFN
IVF#3: 7 eggs retrieved, 1 fertilized very late
2 day transfer of 1 embryo
BFN
IVF#4 (new clinic): 11 eggs retrieved, 8 fertilized
3 day transfer of 5 embryos. Nothing to freeze.
BFN
IVF#5: 10 eggs retrieved, 8 fertilized
3 day transfer of 6 embryos (please don't judge me!). Nothing to freeze
BFN
IVF#6 (new clinic): 14 eggs retrieved, 7 fertilized
5 day transfer of 3 embryos. Nothing to freeze.
BFN
And now.....drum roll.....when AF arrives within the next few days, I'll be starting IVF #7. I'm not even going to start on the emotional aspect of it all today. Just to add that we have done male karyotype, chromosomal y-deletions, RPL panel, thyroid tests, and hysteroscopy, which have all been normal, and this time, just for fun, we have added 2 endometrial biopsies. And we are BROKE (we pay out of pocket for every single treatment). But still, life is full of blessings. This has become like a motto, and although sometimes it is hard to remember, it is so true. We are still happy together, both have jobs which allow us to pay for treatment, we have seriously lovely families, go on holiday every year, we're healthy in most other ways....there are so many things to be grateful for.
If you're reading this, thanks for stopping by!
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