How many embryos should I transfer ?

Dear friends,

 

I feel really sorry that my blog is sleeping for a long time. I am fine, actually extremely fine. Thanks to everyone who stood by me with your kind words during my most difficult time - it helped a lot ! I decided to post some queries I got and the answers I gave, perhaps it helps some of my blog readers. Please do not worry when writing to me, none of your personal information will be revealed here.

 

 

Question :  I've just stumbled across your blog and I think it's fab. Great source of information and research. Thank you. I just wondered if you have any thoughts on how many embryos to put back if you get that far? I had one fresh ivf cycle last year, we replaced a good quality blastocyst but this ended in miscarriage at 8 weeks. We then tried a frozen transfer of 2 blasts but neither survived the thaw well. We're just undertaking our 2nd fresh cycle and am 34 yrs. Would welcome any thoughts! Thank you, H

Answer :  Nice to hear from you. Please read this: http://myselfishgenes.blogspot.in/2012/05/my-ivf-journey-timeline.html?m=1. This is my IVF journey timeline and you can see how many embryos we transferred every time and what happened. The decision to transfer single embryo or multiple embryos is a very personal one. Although there are studies which say that twin pregnancy is as safe as singletons, one size doesn't fit all. Every woman is different and every uterus is different. When you transfer multiple embryos there is always a risk of multiple pregnancies. Inorder to decide rationally many things have to be considered including your age, your clinic’s success rate ( how good are their success rate when doing single embryo transfer ), your financial situation ( how many times you can play the IVF game ) etc. In my case multiple pregnancy proved to be a disaster. But there are women who carry multiples without problems. If you want to play safe stick with single embryo transfer, if you have the intelligence to take calculated risk go for multiple embryo transfer. Decide yourself so that you will not have regrets later.

I was very concerned that your clinic lost your embryos while thawing. What freezing method do they follow ?

Reply : Thank you so much for replying.

Firstly, I'm so sorry to learn of your twin miscarriage last year, how very sad. I hope that you are healing ok, it must be a very difficult time.

My clinic uses vitrification and usually has a very good record.  At the time of freezing they were a 4bb and a 3bb - my understanding is that the best was only 60% 'alive' after thawing and the other only about 40-50%...I did talk to an embryologist about this and she said we've not done enough cycles yet to indicate a pattern so she wouldn't be worried about the integrity of the embryos at this point.

I understand what you are saying. It's such a difficult decision. Everyone mentions the possibility of twins although my main worry is even getting one embryo to stick.....

Thanks and I wish you all the best of luck with your journey.

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 For further reading :

The irrational attraction of elective single-embryo transfer (eSET) :  http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/2/294.long

Will my symptoms during the 2ww tell me whether I am pregnant or not ?

During the 2ww it is very natural to wonder about the fate of the embryos which are transferred to the uterus. Every woman who has had an embryo transfer longs to know the outcome of her IVF cycle.  Every minute of the 2ww lasts an hour – and the 2ww is the longest wait for any woman who has undergone IVF.

When going through the 2ww, women become aware of even the slightest change that happens to their body. “ I am feeling warmer than usual; I have a tingling feeling in my breast; my nipples are sore; I could sense a muscle being pulled in my pelvic region; I have a strange vaginal discharge; I urinate frequently; I feel nauseous – does this mean I am pregnant ?” This is the question that lingers in the mind of every woman – whether they explicitly acknowledge it or not . This can be made worse by a worried spouse who solicitously asks every day – How are you feeling ? Many women constantly surf the web to read about the 2ww symptoms of women who got pregnant after an embryo transfer. Although this can make the 2ww interesting , and can help some women to cope with it, many women start to panic too when they do not experience any symptoms . Others start imagining that they are pregnant of if they have any of the about symptoms. Are there really any symptoms which could tell you whether you are pregnant or not , before taking a pregnancy test ?

Sadly , the answer is no. While every woman is different, the reality is that your body cannot provide you with any clue during the 2ww which could tell you whether you are pregnant or not . Women who do not have any symptoms at all find they are pregnant – while women who experience all the symptoms can end up getting a negative pregnancy test. During the 2ww, your body is under the influence of the two most important sex hormones – estrogen and progesterone.  These sex hormones have an influence on many of your body functions. Because of excess progesterone, your body becomes warmer than usual; your digestive system become sluggish and you can suffer from constipation; water accumulates in your tissues leading to sore breasts and nipples; you might have low-back pain, cramps and so on. High estrogen can make you nauseous; can cause breast pain; and might make you sensitive to smells. So the symptoms you experience during 2ww are only due to the high levels of these hormones, which is why they are so similar to the symptoms of PMS ( premenstrual syndrome) . The only proof whether you are pregnant or not is a positive blood pregnancy test.

Read more at : http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/03/symptoms-after-embryo-transfer.html