Just had blood test for NK cells and they told me IVF will be waste of time!

[liveinhope100]

Finally decided to have a blood test for natural killer cells - took nine pints of blood . It has set me back 1700 pounds just to get the tests done but wanted to find out before i start IVF in February. Will get results in 2 weeks...has anyone else had these tests done?

Also, when I told this specialist that I am having 'mild' IVF they said I will be wasting my time as they will 'probably' only collect 3 eggs and you probably won't have any to freeze'. I am guessing they are just trying to put me off but does anyone have any experience here of 'mild' IVF?

I think it's the best option for me due to possible PCO and apparently having 'mild' IVF treatment could decrease chances of getting OHSS...

[pocchari]

I did a lot of intralipids and IVIG to tackle my immunes based on the Chicago test results.

I also did mild IVF and got 3 eggs. All 3 fertilised and I had a split transfer (day 3 and day 5 blast). Both stuck and now 28 weeks with twins. I never produce many eggs so mild ivf made sense.

I was 35 and took lots of supplements from it starts with the egg book. I think the mild ivf helped as my follicles has more time to grow. It's possible.

[pocchari]

I don't have PCO though...so I don't know how that affects things.

[itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted]

I did 2 cycles of mild IVF last year with Create and had 12 eggs collected each time and got 2-3 blasts from each cycle

I've gone even milder on the next few cycles doing natural modified - hardly any drugs and still getting 2 blastocysts each time

Ignore the doctor!!

[liveinhope100]

@pocchari congratulations on your twins!! Lovely to hear mild IVF worked so well for you. Did you use intrapilids during your IVF or did you do it beforehand?

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted wow! I definitely will ignore the doctor. Sounds like mild IVF can really produce good results, I feel much more hopeful about it now. Thanks :) and good luck for your next cycle

[eurochick]

I had two cycles of natural ivf and two of mild. I had an mc from the first cycle and a live birth from the fourth. I never got more than three eggs each time but always had at least one embryo to put back.

I'd started a normal drug round of ivf on the nhs and the drugs sent me a bit loopy, so it was the right choice for me.

[ckc45d10]

Ditto for asking about natural supplements. There is research on CoQ10, and not sure what your age is, but it may depend on age as well for what supplements to choose.

[Napqueen1234]

They took nine pints of blood?!?!?!

[EarlGreyT]

They took nine pints of blood
Clearly not since that’s approximately the entire circulating blood volume of an adult. I assume it’s meant to say 9 vials.

[pocchari]

@liveinhope100 I did the intralipids to prepare for the ivf (actually ICSI) and try and bring my immunes down. I also cut out white bread, white pasta, sugar...which was hellish- I read that refined carbs exacerbate high immunes. Pasta and bread back during the pregnancy though!

On the day of the embryo transfer they had me do IVIG. It was quite gratifying that they didn't push for this before- it's v expensive so they wanted to be sure I had something to transfer. And then I had IVIG about every 6 weeks until 20 weeks. Was with ARGC.

[pocchari]

Also...I don't know if there's a difference between 'natural' ivf and 'mild' ivf. ARGC called it natural. There was just less drug stimulation.

[eurochick]

Natural ivf just uses the egg you ovulate anyway. Mild ivf uses a small amount of drugs to push out a few eggs, but fewer than you would expect to get on a full drug cycle.

[pocchari]

Thanks! Then mine was mild.

[Mialain]

I watched a very intriguing podcast with a ivf specialist, and she called bull crap on the whole killer cell theory. I wish i could remember the exact podcast, what I remember from it is the we in-fact need killer cells to help make a baby, and they are a good thing, it was an in-depth explanation, and she went as far as to explain the science behind our current thinking and how it is flawed from her own research. I would advice you look into both the counter argument for and against. Just because something is widely excepted doesnt mean it's correct. Also ivf clinics have it in their best interest to push this theory for financial gains x hope that helps wish i could find that podcast x

[DameSylvieKrin]

I had two rounds of conventional IVF that failed then one of mild IVF that was successful. I had the same number of eggs each cycle but only had good quality with the mild ivf.

[liveinhope100]

@Napqueen1234 my bad, @EarlGreyT is right - i definitely meant vials not pints!!

[liveinhope100]

@pocchari it sounds like a lot to go through but i'm guessing you feel like the intrapilids helped? I don't think i've helped myself as I eat a lot of white bread, pasta and way too much sugar. I do feel like all this sugar has not helped at all so have been trying to cut down!

And thanks for clarifying @eurochick. Good to know. I guess as it is mild IVF I'm expecting less eggs but hopefully good quality

[liveinhope100]

@Mialain thanks for the advice and will see if I can check out the podcast. I've read quite a lot about it and some specialists don't believe in the NK cells theory but from my understanding we all have the NK cells (which are good and play a vital role) but some women can produce too much which can then cause problems conceiving and with miscarriages. Nothing has been proven but definitely heard some success stories about elevated NK cells and having treatment and successful pregnancies so I think it's worth exploring

[liveinhope100]

@DameSylvieKrin that is really good to know, thanks. Feeling cautiously hopeful!

[pocchari]

@liveinhope100 Who can really tell. The immunes theory isn't proven in double blind clinical trials...but it isn't disproven either. All we have is anecdotes and hypothesis. ARGC believe in it- I thought it can't hurt to roll with it; they seem to have high success rates- so I tried my best. Whether it made the difference or not I will never know, but I guess once you get so far you don't want to risk it. I went with the clinic's recommendation. I felt that they are the experts, not me.
Probably the slow stimulation and supplements for egg quality also played a part.

[pocchari]

@liveinhope100 I am not a super healthy clean eating deliciously Ella yoga type girl. It was a real challenge to say goodbye to refined carbohydrates and sugar for a few months, but I thought it worth a try! I did notice improvements in the Chicago tests when i did. When I fell off the wagon I would have to do IVIG as the results would spike. So my pasta was costing me thousands. 🙄 Good incentive to try!
But as I say, once pregnant I couldn't not eat refined carbs...

[Juanmorebeer]

There was a documentary made about this it was either a dispatches or panorama but you should definitely watch it. Good luck with your treatment.