IVF options

[CocoDisney]

Hi,

I just wondered if anyone has heard of/used mild or natural IVF rather than traditional IVF? Especially if you’re over 40?

I’d not heard of these previously, so it’s all new to me, and we have been told given my age (42) and the fact my AMH level is low etc, this could potentially have more chance of successful rate when using my own eggs (if possible) over traditional IVF.

We’ve been given so much information over a short period of time (an extremely stressful and emotional time) that it can feel like information overload. We’re at a stage where we need to start thinking about deciding what route we want to take, and obviously we want to optimise our chances, by making the best choice for us in terms of success rate, taking into consideration my age, and low chances of success with my own eggs.

Unfortunately, the more health care professionals we see, the more options and advice made available. Don’t get me wrong, more options are great, but when it comes to starting the process, how do you know what the right choice is for yourself and your partner? I’m getting more and more confused, and I want us both to feel confident in the choices we make, as time is not on our side.

Anyone experienced/experiencing the same dilemma?

[CreateIVF]

Hi there! I went through “mild” (basically just short protocol and low dose drugs) and then “natural modified” ivf. (Even lower dose drugs for shorter that start on like day 6 of your cycle) it was natural modified that worked for me.. my body liked it better and my follicles grew at a low and slow pace which they seemed to prefer as well with better quality blasts.

I’m now exactly 28 weeks after my 3rd transfer so was by no means plain sailing but if I was going again I’d take the same route. Everybody is different though and I think it’s about finding the right route for you. If you want to chat anymore or have any specific questions then just DM me.

I was 36 but with low amh <5, high fsh and never more than 7 follicles. X

[fidgetmcgee]

there is a chain of clinics that market their treatment as mild ivf but I have come to learn that this is just the name they give to the short or antagonist protocol. They don’t offer long protocol (traditional ivf also sometimes known as agonist protocol) but a lot of the other clinics offer this same ‘mild’ option but just with a different name - short or antagonist. So if this is the approach you go with, you can do it with most clinics if that helps.

We did three cycles of mild ivf with my partner who was 41 when we started and 42 when we stopped. The last cycle they put her on the highest amount of drugs and it was the worst one so anecdotally there is an argument against high doses when you aren’t going to get high egg numbers for it. But unfortunately I can’t give you a success story, we always made it to transfer but never had anything to freeze, two BFN and one miscarriage

We never tried natural cause the success rates were so low but we wanted to keep the duration of hormones a bit lower so we went with mild in the end. The terrible thing is you can never know if it was the right choice and if you would have got different results with other places and approaches! It’s maddening and I really feel for you. Flexibility of appointment times wound up being a factor for us in deciding between our top two clinics in the end.

Best of luck!

[raverg]

I feel your stress and frustration with the process and it’s just infuriating when the decision is being put on you, especially as you’ve made the effort to go round and ask the “experts” in the field. That’s when you realise that the doctors know enough about IVF to raise the stats for most of us, but not enough to be able to say with conviction that when a patient with these parameters walks in, you have to try this. IVF is not that precise unfortunately and it’s a bit of trial & error until you find the protocol that works for you. So there isn’t one perfect choice. You likely have a selection of options available to you on the basis of your and your partner’a parameters, you choose one, and if it doesn’t work, you move on to the next option. I know, it’s infuriating.

My advice is to go with the consultant you felt most heard by and seemed to care and felt that you can trust with your care. Ideally a consultant or a clinic that has a good reputation on doctify, here on healthunlocked, or forums like netmums. You can also compare stats on HFEA (but I feel that they mean nothing as they’re all so old at this point but good place to start) and also check the clinic’s websites for more recent stats and make sure they report by embryo transfer and by age group.

If you’re paying privately, the best case scenario is that you get personalised care to you, that they monitor you closely with interim scans during the stims cycle, you have an easy way to get in touch with the consultant or the nurses when things go wrong or you have concerns, and maybe they also do blood tests along the way though that doesn’t always happen, depends on the circumstances. Good luck! Xx

[Skittles11 in reply to raverg]

This is really good advice to go with who you trust and feel most heard by. You can also consider which clinics are open at weekends, which are willing to do blood tests like progesterone and HCG - as not all are and in my experience it can be an advantage to go with ones that are

[Vassi]

I've tried mild ivf, it was my fourth ivf cycle and purely my decision, my specialist wasn't keen as she believes it's not as successful but I pushed for it anyway. It ended up being my worst cycle, I had 8 eggs collected and only one make it to blast, quality was average. We did a fresh transfer and it was negative. My best cycles were short protocol traditional ivf, i get between 9-11 eggs and 3 good blasts. I'm glad I did try the mild protocol so I could put that thought behind me. I just had my 5th cycle this time tried long down reg protocol. We got 15 eggs and I was so pleased however only 5 fertilised and made it to day 3 when we transferred two embryos. The rest didn't progress past here. So in my personal experience the short protocol ivf gave me the best chance but again that's just my experience. I haven't been able to test my embryos which is why my journey has been long, I've transferred and hoped for the best. I also have immune issues so not straight forward. If I could recommend something to you it would be to have all the immune stuff tested at the beginning to cover all bases as we didn't figure this out until halfway through my journey sadly after miscarriage which I wonder if could have been prevented. Unfortunately a lot of this is trial and error and when time is not on your side it can be stressful. I would personally look at clinics with good success rates for your age and a couple of opinions in not necessarily a bad thing, it just helps you choose who you feel most comfortable with. All the best.

[Noodles4ever]

hi we have gone down naturally modified because of the outcome of my initial scan and age. They gave us a very low success rate so recommended naturally modified. We also decided to do a three cycle package, although expensive, gives us options later down the line. So far in middle of my second cycle and we had one egg retrieved and fertilised so although the number is your bare minimum that’s all it takes right? We’ll see if it results in 3 successful embryos and therefore options for more if the whole process is successful. I have felt it hasn’t affected me too much so seems to have fit in with how my body is feeling. Good luck with whatever you choose!