Has anyone gone through a shared cycle of IVF?

[RedPandaFluff]

Hi everyone - DH and I need IVF with donor eggs due to premature ovarian failure and we're looking at shared cycles vs exclusive cycles.

Has anyone had any success with a shared cycle? It feels to me like it's such a numbers game, with the odds stacked against having viable embryos, even if there's just one recipient - never mind two!

Bumpity bump bump . . . really? No one has shared eggs? Well, that makes me want to back off swiftly . . .

Red panda fluff,

Have just been reading your other post on hidden costs of IVF abroad.
Can I ask, what does a “shared cycle” actually mean?

Like you I have had treatment in Czech Republic and looking back now can’t believe how stressful it was simetimes trying to juggle appropriate flight times (treatment delayed last minute to Ryanair cancellations....), waiting for English speaking coordinator to answer back (& if so had my Q really been understood & answered?) as well as coordinating scans, additional support & medication here in UK.

However my 5 attempt abroad was successful (with DEs) and I am cuddling one half of my new twins right now so easy to look back nostalgically.

What is your next plan of action?

Oh wow - congratulations, ShaunTgirl!

Yes, I think after we've done our frozen transfer at the end of August, and if it doesn't work, we won't be going abroad for treatment again. Out of interest - was your clinic Praga Medica/GEST?

Here in the UK you can have a shared cycle or an exclusive cycle - a shared cycle is whereby you share the eggs produced by another woman going through treatment with her own eggs (she gives half her eggs in exchange for free or drastically reduced cost treatment) whereas an exclusive cycle is where you get all the eggs from the donor (and is of course much more costly).

It just seems to me that a shared cycle drastically reduces chances of success - it's such a numbers game; we went from 13 fertilised eggs to just two embryos; if we'd had to share those eggs we might not have had any embryos to transfer and it would have all come to nothing. I was just keen to hear some success stories, if there are any . . .

Hi Redpandafluff,

My treatment was with Reprofit in Brno, Czech.
We had been with private clinic in Uk first, 2 fresh attempts with my own eggs but both unsuccessful & I lost faith in clinic feeling it was a bit of a oversell re treatments/add ons etc only to be told afterwards there had been very little chance of my own eggs working anyway

Have all your treatments been with Prague clinic?
How many have you had if you don’t mind me asking? Does consultant give you any ideas/suggestions as to how can throw everything at your August FET?

I felt my last treatment worked as I did my own research here as to how I could improve my chance of 5th transfer being successful.

Yes it was hard to “chat” through things with Czech consultant direct as only saw him/her on day of transfer and felt my Qs were a bit lost in translation when emailing my English speaking coordinator.

Therefore I had a few appointments with private consultant here in UK (who worked also as NHS IVF consultant) and she helped me create an action plan....I truly believe this is why not only did I end up pregnant on 7th attempt but with both embryos implanting and resulting in twins!

What has your protocol been for each transfer? Have clinic tried to adjust each time?

I completely understand how you are feeling right now as I was exactly in your shoes this time last year.

Stay positive cos it when it works out it’ll have been worth it all in the end x

I've only had one fresh cycle so far, ShaunTGirl. And I feel like I'm just going through the motions with my frozen transfer at the end of the month - I have no optimism at all, and I've lost faith in the clinic.

When I asked them if there's anything I can do to improve my chances, they were quite dismissive. So I emailed them to ask if taking Prednisolone would help (maybe there are autoimmune issues) and they emailed back saying yes, sure, here's a script for Prednisolone . . . which is good, I guess, but I think I expected to be asked some questions before a medication is prescribed! It all feels a bit slapdash and impersonal.

Would you mind sharing your action plan with me? I'm curious to know what you did! I'm a donor egg recipient so I just take Estrimax (4mg x 3 times daily) from day 1 of the cycle and then utrogestan from egg collection day onwards (200mg x 2 x 3 times daily).

I hope and pray you're right, and I'll try to stay positive . . . but it's bloody hard

Hi Redpandafluff,

So sorry for delay, my days just seem to merge into one!

Wow, my clinic in Czech was EXACTLY the same! I’d enquirer about some drug and next minute they’d email a prescription for it, no Qs asked. All I really wanted to do was have them to guide me and recommend what they thought was best

With Reprofit I had in total 5 treatments, 2 fresh & 3 frozen, using 2 different egg donors (one donor = fresh & x2 frozen, new 2nd donor = fresh & x1 frozen successful).

With each treatment more drugs/higher concentrations were added. I’d have my lining scan with Babybond week before and although was always a good thickness it never ever showed a triple layer.

Anyway after 1st three failures I really believed new donor fresh cycle would be successful & had 2 embryos transferred. On my testing day I got my BFP and had hcg levels measured at GPs. Sadly 3 days later my hcg levels dropped and I was told pregnancy was no longer viable. I was distraught but had made progress in getting pregnant.

That’s when I had private consultation with gynaecologist and she asked if I had a regular cycle to which I said yes. She then said if I was her patient she would suggest a natural cycle with minimal drugs!

Reprofit were happy for me to do whatever I wanted and that again emphasised what really had previously frustrated me. I wanted them to tell me...not to have to do my own research!

Anyway I had an endometrial scratch here. Then checked each day for ovulation. I was on low dose prednisone and aspirin and also daily clexane injections. I know it still looks like loads of meds but I didn’t take usual progynova. I also used usual ustrogen pessaries but lower dose. I had a trigger injection once knew I had ovulated & my date of transfer was set. I opted for embryo glue and had reflexology in hotel just before and after transfer.
I don’t know what or all or none of above helped make this transfer successful but something certainly did in that both transferred embryos took! Post treatment I continued with meds up to 12 weeks tapering down.
I knew I was pregnant before I tested and I opted not to have hcg levels measured this time as again I just had a good feeling.

I can go back through emails and confirm exactly what I did if you want Redpandafluff.

Please don’t feel so negative although it’s hard not to. You have only had one treatment, it could just have been down to bad luck perhaps? How many embryos do you have frozen?