Should I keep TTC with own eggs? Losing hope...

[Everhopeful35]

On Christmas Eve, I had to have a D&C to remove my fifth failed pregnancy at seven weeks (a natural pregnancy). It was a twin and I lost the other one two weeks ago. Both have been sent off for cytogenetics but my strong feeling is that there will be a chromosome issue.

I’ve seen every recurrent miscarriage specialist out there, and the only thing they’ve identified that could be wrong is natural killer cells, which have been treated with a combination of intralipids, hydroxy and Humira. But I feel the root cause of my miscarriages may be egg quality, not immune issues.

I did IVF twice this year and ended up with one twin miscarriage and seven embryos identified as abnormal through PGS testing. It was a hugely abnormal result, the doctor said, given I’m still relatively young (36) and have good hormone levels.

I’m now thinking that returning to IVF and doing PGS really is my only option. I physically cannot go through another miscarriage and I feel PGS can at least identify healthy embryos (I'm aware of its limitations, of course, but not sure what else to do).

I want to keep using my own eggs but do you think, at this stage, I should start seriously considering donor eggs? Has anyone has lots if miscarriages and failed IVF rounds with abnormal embryos, but still had a baby? I’m so confused as to what to do next.

Everything on paper seems fine, I have good ovarian reserve for my age and I get pregnant relatively easily. But they all end before seven weeks. I’m losing hope.

@Everhopeful35

So sorry you've had to go through this again 💐
If you recall I had 5 miscarriages and a cycle of IVF with no normal embryos too. I chose not to test again but changed my protocol to natural modified and it did work for me and my babies are due any week now

Have you considered completely changing protocol? Personally I wouldn't give up on my own eggs but I know everyone is different, but perhaps a change in clinic even with a new protocol and PGS again If you feel up to it? X

Firstly very sorry for your losses, I can't imagine how hard all this must be. Just seconding what @ivfbeenbusy has said. Natural or modified might be better and changing to a new clinic focused on quality over quantity, Create seem to be the best at this.
I would also definitely continue to explore auto-immune aspects too based on your previous results. Seems like a silly thing but have you done intolerance testing and changed diet accordingly? I had my bloods done and had slightly elevated eosinophils, which indicate allergies and had a lot of symptoms. I used Yorke and found out intolerances and cut out of diet, idea being this reduces irritation and inflammation in the body. I have had a break over Xmas from the regimented diet but am going to keep up my diet and lifestyle around my IVF cycles, hopefully in Feb.
There's a book called 'Is my body baby-friendly?' that might be worth a read.
I do think it might be worth another shot with your own eggs as you're only 36 x

@farfromperfect82
I am pregnant with twins via Create having decided to drop to natural modified IVF x

@ivfbeenbusy and @farfromperfect82 Thank you so much for your responses. Great news that you're nearing your due date now @ivfbeenbusy. I'm very happy it's all worked out for you.

I think focusing on quality over quantity is a good idea. We had a chat to our ivf doctor just before this natural pregnancy and she suggested a lower stimulation cycle and doing the long protocol rather than the short/flare protocol this time, to see whether it made a difference. I'm reluctant to change ivf clinics - I've seen SO many specialists now (four different recurrent miscarriage specialists plus another doctor abroad and the ivf clinic) and I'm sick of starting again/retelling the story. Plus I do really trust our consultant (at ARGC).

@farfromperfect82 Interesting to hear about your food intolerance test. I had been cutting out gluten since my last miscarriage, in the hope that it would help with any inflammation I might have (one doc pointed out I have a lot of inflammatory markers - allergies, asthma, psoriasis etc), but it didn't make any difference to this pregnancy obviously! I might give the test some thought, though. By the way, I saw the post you made earlier this month about you and your partner being carriers for the CF gene. I really feel for you, as my sister and husband have it (they didn't know) and had a little girl born with it a few years ago. I love my niece and she is getting great care, and there's a new drug now that is dramatically improving the quality of life (and hopefully life expectancy) of CF sufferers. But she does get sick an awful lot and her drugs and physio regime is quite intense. If you can afford to wait and do PGD then I would recommend it. I really wish you so much luck on your journey with ivf and hope it works for you. It's such a brutal journey, but I try to hold onto the hope that this period of our lives won't last forever and it'll all somehow work out okay in the end.

Yeah defo don't change then @Everhopeful35 - Argc sound bloody amazing and sounds like they have a plan for you similar to what is being suggested here.

The inflammatory markers you mention are interesting. For me it was oats, cow's milk, eggs, tomatoes and citrus causing the issues I believe. Stuff I ate every day pretty much. I am also taking Cordyceps and Messima mushrooms - 1 each, 3 times a day - as they are really supposed help with autoimmune response. Messima especially.

Yes genetics also an issue for us. We're waiting on our appointment with a genetic counsellor to tell us what's what. We have found out we both have milder mutations and potentially might result in asymptomatic presentation of CF in a future child. This is stuff Dr Google can't even help with sadly!

It's likely we'll change clinics and do the PGD/PGT-M, I think Lister might be a better option and also know about auto-immunity. It's hard to accept after so much preparing for the treatment that it might not happen in February now but what's a few more months to get this right. I really like what you said just then about this being a period of time and will reach it's logical conclusion at some point. Gosh I can't wait, and can't wait to be a Mum. For all of us x happy new year 🥳