The End of an Era

If tomorrow's FET doesn't work, we're changing clinics.  I'm not ready to give up on IVF just yet but after my second consult with Dr. Peters at SIRM he convinced me that it's time to give up on my current clinic. 

Dr. Peters said that if I was his patient and we had 7 failed transfers over 1.5 years he'd encourage me to look elsewhere. There's something they're not seeing...or we need a different lab...a difference perspective. SOMETHING!

Initially, the thought of switching was terrifying but E and I talked more about it and I'm more comfortable. It just doesn't make logical sense to keep going back to a RE who's out of answers which is I think where we're at.  It makes me sad because they gave me C, they take my insurance and we've nailed the logistics of cycling there etc. Going somewhere new means adding in a new level of stress - especially because we'll likely be going out of state. I've exhausted all of the reproductive endocrinology knowledge in the metro area it seems as I've consulted with or been treated by 5 out of the 7 major area clinics.

Other things Dr. Peters talked about were whether or not hydros were truly found during my lap. I couldn't remember if my OB said the tubes were "unrecognizable" from endo and really mangled or if hydros were really found. Dr. Peters wants to see the operative report which I'll be getting him. After a quick call to my OB's office, the OB who was in read the report stating there were 2 hydros visible so that's good. Dr. Peters was happy to hear that the tubes were gone.

He said it would be reasonable to do 1 more fresh cycle with my own eggs but likely wouldn't suggest more than that. He would like me to retest my FSH and AMH as he thinks I might be borderline DOR. He said it doesn't quite fit my profile as I stim well, produce lots of blasts and with an FSH of 10.6 I'm only on the border. He wants me to retest before he can promise anything though which I think is smart.  He stated that the quality part of a DOR diagnosis is likely where I'd fit but then again, I produced a number of normal embryos...something you don't see with DOR patients either.  So he declared, "I'm a tough one."  Precisely, and my current clinic deals with easier cases.

We talked about PGS and he mentioned a new technology called NGS from a company called Gene Diagnotix. Apparently they're better than the traditional PGS with a higher resolution but I think I'm over the PGS testing because of cost vs. benefit.

So he wants me to keep him posted on this cycle.  If it's negative, I'm to call and ask for a lab requisition to get FSH, AMH, and APAs tested again. Then we'll reevaluate. He said there's a possibility that I could do the NK assay with the Chicago lab but we'll cross that bridge a little later. If NK cells are an issue, transferring one embryo at a time has been a good strategy.

So there you have it. CCRM consult is about a week after beta and we'll see how that goes.

As you can tell, I'm just trying to look past this FET because like the many before it, it's truly a long shot.  Tomorrow, I go into to the operative clinic for the very last time. I will be sad about it. Of course, I'll go into my RE's office for obligatory beta 2 weeks from today but that will be it.