At what point did you consider IVF?

[ttcpatronisers]

I'm unsure at when it is time to consider it?

Posting for traffic.

I had miscarriage over two years ago, the same topped TTC started again another miscarriage after a year.

Since last miscarriage have been trying 5 months.

At what point do people start considering IVF?

NHS say two years of trying. We did it after 18 months as husband had low sperm count and I had an ectopic so they pushed us forward a bit. We got 1 funded round and did 5 private.

IVF typically helps with couples who can’t conceive.

If you are conceiving but suffering miscarriage, you need to be referred to a recurrent miscarriage clinic. Conception doesn’t seem to be your problem.

Wishing you success

Ok thank you both. I haven't seen a recurrent miscarriage clinic yet. I thought maybe IVF would cut off the hassle of the miscarriages by picking better quality sperm and egg

Depending on the reason behind miscarriages it might not make a difference, for example if your miscarriages are caused by something like APS, or hormonal imbalance etc, IVF would not make a difference.
I'm by no means saying that one of those is a cause, but that's what they would look for in a recurrent miscarriage investigations. They will check your blood for clotting disorders, they might also suggest you get a consultant appointment as soon as you get pregnant to check hormones levels.

IVF most definitely doesn’t as standard pick out the best quality sperm and eggs

It’s still a ‘free for all’ in most cases unless you pay for much more extensive treatment

Personally I wouldn't consider IVF unless I had been told that we absolutely needed it.

I know 4 couples who had IVF:

1. Worked after six cycles. She got ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and had to be admitted to hospital.
2. Didn't work after 2 cycles and they then got pregnant naturally after 3 years of trying.
3. Didn't work after 3 cycles and they then got pregnant naturally after 4 years of trying. She also got OHSS and had to be admitted to hospital.
4. Hasn't worked after seven cycles and they are still trying.

After seeing what these couples have gone through, I'm not sure I could cope with it mentally or physically.

My sister did after 3 years. Both attempts failed it's not an easy solution and has been heartbreaking to watch them go through it

I considered it after trying for dc2 for 5 years but it was too expensive.

You seem to be able to conceive so I would be exploring the reason for miscarriages. We’re they early or late. ? Speak to your Doctor. Good luck.

After my tenth chemical and/or miscarriage, after about 1.5 years of trying. Age 39 now so no time to waste. Now I’m doing IVF I wish I started sooner. It can help miscarriages, you can ensure that you only transfer embryos that are of a certain graded quality and we are having ours genetically tested so we don’t waste time with embryos that are chromosomally abnormal that are miscarriages waiting to happen (at my age this is 2 out of every 3 embryos) which should reduce the mc risk by quite some margin (about 50-60% mcs are thought to be due to faulty chromosomes). I still have immune issues too, so will need meds for that. IVF is no magic bullet and it is emotionally and physically demanding. But it has given me relief from my never ending month after month of pregnancies and I feel better having help. It’s not cheap though (we are paying privately)!

I have a naturally conceived Dd then when trying for dc 2 fell pregnant naturally quickly and miscarried. 4 years later, 2 surgeries, 5 failed ivf transfers, lots of tests/mock ivf cycles, one natural pregnancy (and another miscarriage) I'm still trying. In one way I wish I'd started ivf sooner but actually what I needed was more specialist tests , in my case a saline sonogram. The last pregnancy was the month after surgery. I had surgery to remove an adhesion that had been acting like a natural coil. It had been there probably for a very long time but no one had checked in detail. It wasn't my ivf clinic who suggested the saline scan, it was two lovely ladies on the infertility boards. Ivf for me was a waste of time really and I'd still be doing rounds with a very small chance of success. I still have two genetically tested embryos in the freezer so will be doing another ivf round in the new year.

My point is ivf doesn't always solve your problems. I would start asking for tests soon as they take forever, more so now I'm sure. You do unfortunately have to push for things. Infertility admin takes up a ridiculous amount of time unfortunately. I regret not getting started sooner personally as now I'm nearly 40 and I really didn't want to be an older mum.

Sorry for your losses. Multiple MC is referred to as sub-fertility, not infertility. Not that is makes any difference- you still don't have a baby at the end! Generally, the decision for IVF is on the advice of a specialist after thorough tests- not just to try something else. Can I ask how old you are?

You and partner need a thorough gynae/fertility check to rule out causes for the MC's and whether IVF would even help.

If you are in the UK, the 1st step is speaking to your GP asking for referral to a fertility specialist. GP would normally do a day 21 blood test on you, to check if you ovulate.

Pre-covid, I worked abroad several months of each year and paid to see a specialist there. I'd been ignored by my UK GP for years, day 21 blood test was normal, nothing more done, refused specialist referral despite TTC 4yrs with no pregnancy! I'm telling you, because I'm not 100% sure what UK GP's normally do and what tests the infertility specialist normally do. These are the things we had done:

• STI checks for us both
• Hycosy on me which in an ultasound with a specialist dye foam in the uterus to visualise the shape of the uterus and check the tubes are clear. HSG is very similar, but uses radiation under and X-ray.
• DH had a semen analysis
• I had hormonal blood tests, thyroid, glucose and I think regular checks for anaemia, liver, kidney bloods tests etc
• Height/weight check on me, plus a thorough medical/gynae/surgical history on us both

I'd also suggest checking whether IVF is covered in your county/area. Some counties cover no NHS rounds, others have some with certain criteria. Only 1 round after 40, no previous children, non-smokers, BMI less than 30 are just some of the criteria that some areas put on NHS IVF. Check the rules in your area so you are at least aware before you see the GP.

Sorry this is long, but these are the things I'd wished I'd known 10yrs ago when I started my TTC journey. Unfortunately, I've had 3 MCs, 2 rounds of IVF and no successful pregnancy.

I forgot- I also had AMA blood test/scan to check my egg reserve. In my case, it was above average for my age, yet not cause for sub-fertility has been found!

Hi All thanks for your response so a bit about me;

I'm 35. I have had fertility check up with a. Private doctor and was told low egg reserve for my age which was 17

Also told adenomiosis and endermetriosis I have - and also a thyroid condition (now under control but likely caused previous miscarriage)

So there's quite a few things involved here and I just don't know what to do. DH had the check too and his sperm is all fine.

IVF isn't always suitable for suffering miscarriages it's to aid couples who can't conceive.

You can have ivf and still go on to miscarry.

I considered ivf after 4 years of unprotected sex, whilst actively trying and nothing happened, not even a scare.

DH had a lot of fertility issues and we required ivf with icsi with a 3% of us conceiving naturally.

It look lots of ivf to have our son, it was really hard. Subsequently 8 months later after our son was born we had a natural pregnancy which lead to miscarriage. Again 3 months after that we got pregnant naturally and now have a happy baby DS.

DH didn't change anything he did, so strange!

Have you looked into the use of progesterone?

@maa32 isn't that something to take when you fall pregnant? The fertility specialist told me to come back to home when I'm pregnant but this time it's taking me longer. It's been six months now and they say after six months you should look into it at 35

After around 2 years. It didn’t work. Don’t assume it’s the miracle cure. It’s very harsh on your physical and mental health.

@ttcpatronisers

Ok thank you both. I haven't seen a recurrent miscarriage clinic yet. I thought maybe IVF would cut off the hassle of the miscarriages by picking better quality sperm and egg

We got on the infertilty pathway after a year of ttc but conceived naturally after 16 cycles and then miscarried. We continued on the pathway for tests and were approved funding nearly a year later. But I had recurrent miscarriages during that time and so have done additional tests. Ivf on its own won't fix the issue.

I have done a fresh and a frozen embryo transfer this year as we stopped being able to conceive again and conceived both times on my treatment plan and have still miscarried - 6 in total now.

Ivf doesn't pick the best sperm and egg, but it can give you insight into things. For example, we know that my eggs aren't bad quality (to look at) I just don't have many and we know we can create top quality embryos.
You can test the embryos but this is an additional cost and the evidence is mixed. Plus you have to create the embryos and get them to day 5 blastocysts to do this and that doesn't always happen, so you might need a few attempts.

I'd recommend getting some additional tests to see why you have miscarried before embarking on ivf. Good luck.

You won't get a referral to a miscarriage clinic until you've had 3 consecutive ones

The clock "resets" for a lot of NHS trusts so a miscarriage is still classed as getting pregnant so they will say you have to try again for 12 months from the last pregnancy/miscarriage before a referral

An AMH of 17 at 35 isn't actually that low. Mine was 12 and that was "just" below average at that age

I moved onto IVF after 5 miscarriages and 1 ectopic where I was 1 tube down. We did PGS testing of some embryos to see what was going on as miscarriage clinic useless and all came back abnormal. Took 5 rounds of IVF but did eventually have twins

If you're going NHS then I'd get the ball rolling asap as the tests and waiting can take a long time.

18 months for us. I wouldn’t especially recommend IVF with or via the NHS. In my local area they don’t do NHS so outsource it to a private clinic. Meaning we got the bargain basement lazy approach in hindsight which didn’t work. I have heard stories of NHS doing IVF but won’t do weekends, problem is for collection the time window for the best quality is tight. Collecting on a Monday when it should have been Saturday won’t cut it. Specialist sperm sorting such as PICSI, MACS may well be chargeable or not even offered

As others have said IVF isn’t a miracle cure. People who are lucky enough to not need IVF thinks a done deal but it’s really not. We have done 2 cycles but nothing. We are unexplained infertility which isn’t even real a diagnoses. We might do a 3rd cycle or me might give up, we are trying to decide

@Youngatheart00

IVF typically helps with couples who can’t conceive.

If you are conceiving but suffering miscarriage, you need to be referred to a recurrent miscarriage clinic. Conception doesn’t seem to be your problem.

Wishing you success

Yes to this.

My problem was not conceiving but was miscarrying once I was pregnant. If this is your issue you need to speak to a recurrent miscarriage clinic rather than going straight to IVF as it will not make any difference.

I ended up having a genetic issue which caused my miscarriages. I was still referred for IVF but it included a specific type of testing which is not included in regular IVF (PGD testing). If I'd have just gone for regular IVF the same thing would have happened anyway, we needed to make sure the embryo selected didn't have the genetic issue which caused the other losses.

@ttcpatronisers

Ok thank you both. I haven't seen a recurrent miscarriage clinic yet. I thought maybe IVF would cut off the hassle of the miscarriages by picking better quality sperm and egg

It depends in what’s causing the miscarriages. It may have nothing to do with egg/sperm quality.

We had IVF because we can’t conceive without it. We were trying for a few years.

I’m not sure how IVF will help your situation because you can actually conceive. It might not be worth the stress in your situation.

Have you seen a gynaecologist who might have other options? I saw a private gynae after my first miscarriage and said my biggest fear was not conceiving again due to my age - just about to turn 40.

She prescribed medication (not clomid) to help stimulate ovulation and it worked.