Same sex IVF

[HMCW22]

Hi

I was looking for some advice really. Myself and my partner have had a cycle of recipricol IVF and were told this was the route with highest success rate (it is also the most expensive). However we had 2 x top quality embryos and each has ended with a BFN. Each time they say its just one of those things and there's absolutely no reason for it not to work.

We are considering our next steps and I wondered what route other couples have found to be the most successful? We are considering straight forward insemination next time.

X

[Twiglet2]

Hey sorry to hear it’s not worked yet for you both 💜we did ‘regular’ IVF, I carried from my eggs but my wife chose the sleek, but it was our 4th embryo from the first round that worked so it really can just be ‘one of those things’ as your clinic says I’m afraid 😢 our best embryos didn’t work but the 4th best did. Interesting they say reciprocal has highest success rate, I’ve never seen any evidence of this 🤔 did they give you a source of evidence for that? In reality as you are using donor sperm which is presumably of good quality the highest success is probably from whomever has the best quality eggs but from the many years following the fertility pages watching the results of egg collection and fertilisation rates I would really say there is a lot of ‘chance’ and ‘luck’ involved there too. We did 6 rounds of IUI (3 unmediated and 3 medicated) and none of them worked so I’m not a big fan of that, I think you just need to do what sits with you both best physically emotionally and financially xx

[Twiglet2 in reply to Twiglet2]

Also you should get at least 1 round of non reciprocal IVF on the NHS depending where you live (we had 3) and if you both have no other children already x

[HMCW22 in reply to Twiglet2]

Hey thanks so much for your reply. They told us the success rates for each different treatment and recip ivf was the highest. Maube just at that clinic though? Sorry to ask but when you say normal IVF do you mean your eggs were retrieved, fertilised and then transferred back? Also sorry if its a silly question but what does sleek mean?

We both have good quality eggs and equally want to carry but with me being 4 years older we feel maybe my eggs should be used first. Of course ultimately none of that matters and we just ache for a healthy baby.

How many times did you have to pay privately before getting your round on NHS? X

[Twiglet2 in reply to HMCW22]

Hey that’s right my eggs collected and one embryo back fresh and then 3 put back later at frozen transfers. Sleek should say sperm sorry 🙈🤣 my new phone hasn’t caught up with my crazy typing- yeah I’m 4 years older as well so that’s why we tried my eggs first.

Our 6 IUIs and IVF round was nhs so we only paid for the sperm- we would have had 3 rounds of IVF if it hadn’t worked (a round is classed as egg collection and transfer of any embryos created so includes frozen transfers as one ‘round’. So even though we had a few transfers they were all still the first ‘round’). Now we have our son we are paying private as trying for a sibling and no longer meet nhs criteria x

[MofM in reply to HMCW22]

Not in a same sex relationship, but I wanted to warn you that if you get too many private cycles you will not be able to access any round on the NHS. This depends on where you live (yes, postcode lottery).

For us it was max 2 private cycles. If we did 3, we would not qualify for an NHS funded one. You should aks your GP, or your subfertility clinic. Sometimes, these information are also online.

[RecipIVF]

Hi there 👋🏻 My wife donated her eggs to me and I’ve done our 3 transfers. I haven’t heard of RIVF being more successful but we choose this path because I really wanted to carry, my wife not so much and we both wanted to be involved. We had two perfect top grade embryos transferred, both which ended in BFN. I was literally at the end of my tether with the clinic as I felt they were very dismissive. So I done my research and hassled the doctors for our third transfer and I’m super grateful I’m 22 weeks.

This is what I done for transfer 3:

Per day:

1 x Lubion injection

2 x crinone pessaries 12 hours apart

3 x progynova spread out throughout the day

2 x Metformin to help with my PCOS

2 x conceive plus pre natal supplements

2 x Holland and Barnett probiotic supplement

1 x omega 3 fish oil

1 x 75mg ‘low dose’ aspirin from 3 days before transfer

1 x buscopan night before transfer then 2 x buscopan per day up to day 4 after transfer - helps reduce uterine cramps

Lots of fruit and veg.

Very little dairy- Ate a little bit of cheese, changed to oat milk. No yogurts etc.

Stuck to low glycemic index and low glycemic loads foods to reduce inflammation - oatbix, sourdough bread, ryvita crackers, gluten free pasta

Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and Brazil nuts and a little bit of pomegranate juice. Also had a few glasses of beetroot juice- it’s meant to be like a ‘blood tonic’

Had an endometrial scratch

Transfer under ultrasound

Also pushed for a progesterone, thyroid and LH blood test on day of transfer. Progesterone can be upped if it’s too low but the thyroid and LH is more for your own info.

Holistic treatments.

Reduced toxic load - natural shower gel, no deodorant or natural deodorants, no skin contact with cleaning materials, no tan, no nail polish, no permanent hair dye

No cold drinks - poured a jug of water and let it come to room temp. No super hot tea (only drinking decaf green tea)

No alcohol or caffeine for month before transfer or onwards.

We were lucky enough to get 4 embryos and as we are in Northern Ireland do not qualify for any NHS treatment so financially we couldn’t start from scratch again - we’ll still be paying the baby loan until next February.

Have you got any fertility issues like PCOS or endometriosis? Or irregular cycles? Because of my PCOS, I personally wouldn’t do IUI - especially unmedicated as my progesterone levels are up the left. However it could be just the thing to work for you? Wishing you lots of luck x

[Corchi]

I would pgs test them 🙏🏼

[AcuFertilityDoc]

May I ask the ages of yourself and your wife? And if either of you has any diagnosed condition that might be contributing to infertility.

[Sjr1988]

I had 1st round bfp with twins, low grade embies miscarriage at 6 weeks, 2nd round bfn, 3rd round bfp now beautiful 3yr old, I donated eggs to make it cheaper, the person I donated to caught off my 2nd round so there’s another half of me a year older than my son so maybe that’s an option for you? It really is a lottery as to what works and who gets pregnant but good luck whatever route you choose xx