Five days past five day transfer. 4 days to go.
I wanted to do a post about Elective Single Embryo Transfer, something about how the few studies that have been done, mostly in Europe, show no significant difference in success rates when compared to transferring 2 embryos on day 5, or, how at my clinic, they know that 50% of those who achieve pregnancy (after transferring 2) have twin pregnancies, but that they don't have a whole lot of data about eSETs because so few of their patients choose that option. It was an option for us, we knew we would choose that option if it was available, and so on Sunday after a good discussion with the embryologist, that is what we did. It wasn't easy when it came down to the moment.
I know that many patients are not good candidates for eSET, I do know this. I also know that many of my favorite bloggers are having multiples and I think that is wonderful! Maybe that is partly why writing a post about eSET seems so difficult. There are many issues involved that complicate the decision, the cost of a fresh IVF cycle being just one, and so I don't mean to simplify in this post/non-post about eSET.
Maybe someday I will write the post I want. For now, I just want to acknowledge Elective Single Embryo Transfer. Because I really hope it worked for us.
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Now, back to 5dp5dt. And the worst part of IVF so far.
The worst part of IVF so far is the horrible breakout of tiny pimples, almost like a rash, extending from my jaw line down to my chest, and down my back. It looks like baby acne in the way it is clustered and size of the pimples. It looks like the measles when I stand in front of the mirror.
I am. hideous.
Please someone tell me you have experienced something similar? I can handle a zit or two, or few, but this? I better be pregnant.
Also tell me your thoughts on Elective Single Embryo Transfer. Would you choose it? If you could have but didn't, why?
8 comments:
Hi Jill,
This is an interesting topic, though definitely a dangerous one as so many people have such strong opinions about it.
We in fact chose to only transfer one embryo, and were lucky to be successful with that one. We had a few good looking embryos at the time of transfer, and with my being only 29, having unexplained infertility a healthy looking uterus, my doctor recommended transferring just one.
At first it was a hard decision, knowing that we had a 40% chance of success with one, and a 60% chance of success with 2, but then we read a lot about the high risks involved with twin pregnancies, including the potential for life-long health problems if the babies come too early (which they very often do), and in truth I was terrified of the idea of raising multiples (esp. with a husband who travels most of the time for work).
In the end it was the right decision for us, and we would do it again the next time around if we're able to, but that will probably depend a lot on the health of our frosties.
As for the acne, I had that starting with my Lupron injections and continuing till the the start of the 3rd trimester...then it tapered off. Hopefully yours isn't itchy, mine was terribly itchy.
I haven't moved on to IVF yet, so it's hard for me to say for certain what I would do since I don't have all the facts. Knowing what I do know right now, though, I would have to say that I'd want to transfer two embryos. I'm 38 years old and I feel that if I achieve just one pregnancy, it will be a miracle. I can't dare to hope for more than one, though I would dearly love to have more than one child. So there's something very tempting about the possibility of having two children at once.
I don't believe there's a right or wrong - well, ok, transferring a ridiculously high number of embryos is clearly irresponsible - because everyone is in a different situation.
I hope your little embaby sticks! Sending you lots of good thoughts. :)
Hmmm..I have a lot to say about this one. First, with IVF, they do assisted hatching most of the time, and they tends to create the identical twin thing, so transfering 2 doesn't mean only two, as in my case. I ended up with 3, and honestly, I didn't really think about that as a possibility. I know lots of people have multiples and do fine, but I can honestly say, today, that I am thankful the pregnancy ended up being one healthy baby. I am barely able to do it with one; I can't imagine how things would have been with 3. That is just my opinion for me and my family.
When we do FET, we are only doing SET even though we have 5 great looking blasts. Yes, I am a bit terrified that it won't work and we'll be out $2000, but if I can help it, I don't want to have multiples. If the blast splits and it is identical twins or triplets, then OK, let it be, but not multiples by choice.
Oh, by the way, clinics do not disclose the assisted hatching identicals issue. I wonder why? Probably because if people knew, they may reconsider transferring more than one, and the clinic's stats would go way down.
Ok. I've said enough.
Oh, and P.S. When is your beta? Are you planning on POAS?
It is an interesting and personal decision. If I were younger or my cycle had resulted in more healthy embryos, we might have chosen to do a single transfer. But, my age combined with egg quality issues (some research says that even eggs that fertilize correctly when more than half of the rest fertilize abnormally have a lower chance of success) led us to take the recommendations for two.
We also ended up lucky to have one left to freeze -- we were afraid we'd have none. And, since only about 1/2 seem to survive the thaw process, even that didn't give us great odds of trying again. And, we weren't likely to be able to do another fresh cycle for some time if ever -- as my eggs aged more and more. So, we took the risk.
Before we found out both had "stuck" I said to my husband "I hope both are still there so it's more likely we get one living child out of this." Somewhat crass, but it's true after our previous loss.
We know the risks of carrying twins and the added risks, etc. for the rest of our and their lives, but I am incredibly happy that both have stuck around so far.
It is an interesting one. In Australia, the general policy with most clinics is that they say single embryo transfer, unless you are over 35. The reason is the risk of multiples and the health risks associated, particularly because there is increased risk of indentical splits in IVF anyway. But the other factor is that in Australia the government pays most of the IVF costs, so doing an extra frozen cycle is not to much of an extra cost. I realise in other countries that is not the case. But I do sometimes wonder if we might have had more success with two. I don't know...
I chose to do ESET. I am 35 and currently pregnant after my first FET. It was a really hard decision to transfer only one. I wanted the highest success rate but not at the cost of having twins. Don't get me wrong I think twins are great but not for my life. I could not imagine going from 0-2. I only had 2 embryos who made the freeze so it was even harder to make the decision to only do one. I am glad I did it though. My Dr. told me that one embryo does not need the other in order to survive. I also had genetic testing done on the embryos so that also helped with my decision as I know both are genetically normal. Hoping for your BFP in 4 days!
I think SETs are great! They do them more in countries where IVF is covered and so people don't feel like they have to get the biggst bang for their buck. Success rates for SETs are the same as those for double or so... I think it's a great option to have and should be used more often.
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