Posted 26 July 2019 - 10:05 PM
I have a question Schlepp... given that your maternal age is on the high side, are you worried about carrying an abnormal embryo? This is my current great debate... if I was having babies the old fashioned way with hubs, PGS wouldnt be an option.. but somehow, since we are not and the science is there - my RE has put the fear of god in me for carrying an abnormal embryo.... bah! Thanks!
babydustanddream- I am cringing a bit at this question. I am sure you didn't intend it, but I wouldn't ask this again of someone of advanced maternal age as maybe they aren't worrying about it and you bringing it up seems a bit insensitive. I guess also, in my case, if you had read what I have previously posted and my history:
* I had two embryos to test at almost 41, both came back normal
* With this pregnancy, conceived at 41 and 4 months age, I have done the NIPT (blood genetic screening) as we all as the nuchleal fold scan and both came back low risk.
I ended up doing PGS testing on my 4th IVF retrieval because my RE kept telling me the reason nothing was working was because the embryos were abnormal. Well, he was wrong. That wasn't our issue. And while there is an increased risk with advanced maternal age, once a pregnancy is established the risk isn't 1:2, it is much lower than that. Your RE is right that most abnormal embryos won't implant. So even if you think 90% or more of your eggs are abnormal given you're a certain age, you also have to logically think about the fact that if you had 10 eggs, you may end up with 1 normal embryo still. In my case at almost 41 I had 7 mature eggs resulting in 2 embryos that were both PGS normal.
I also have a lot of friends who had kids at 40-42. I've only had one have an issue. But this is my own history and our issue ended up not being my age but being misdiagnosed male factor. Egg quality always goes down with age but for most of us that doesn't mean zero normal embryos until 42+. If you have DOR it may mean you have poorer odds because you only have 1-2 eggs to start each cycle versus someone starting with 7-10. I've seen 37 years olds get 5 embryos and all come back abnormal. There is some luck and a lot of science at play.
So yes, I still occasionally worry I will be on the losing side of all the testing and there will be issues. But I'm 16 weeks pregnant and can only wait for my next anatomy scan. I am trying to have some confidence give my previous PGS results and my current testing with this pregnancy.
(age 38) June 2016 IVF #1 antagonist, 13 mature eggs, 4 fertilized, 1 blast frozen
October 2016 FET #1 cancelled, thin lining
Changed clinics
(age 39) April 2017 FET #1.1 BFN
July 2017 partner has vasectomy reversal
Feb & March 2018 - Medicated IUI x2 - BFN (even with 7 mature follicles on the 2nd IUI)
(age 40) May 2018 IVF#2, lupron flare, 7 mature eggs, 5 fertilized, 1 blast & 1 morula fresh transfer, BFN. 1 low quality blast frozen
June 2018 IVF#3 mini stim, 1 egg, immature
Sept/Oct 2018 IVF#4 antagonist with HGH - CANCELLED due to high estrogen/29mm cyst
Oct 2018 IVF#4.1 antagonist with HGH - 7 eggs, all mature, 6 fertilized, 2 blasts on day 6, PGS tested/euploid
November 2018 FET #2 w/immune protocol and 1 PGS tested - BFN
Locus Medicus testing for virus, bacteria and immune issues. Husband treated.
(age 41) April 2019 IVF#5 converted to IUI#3 due to follicle growth. BFP 12 day post IUI. Di/Di twins.
Dec 17 2019 - Baby boy and girl born at 36 weeks + 2 days. Everyone very healthy.
See my 'about me' page for more detail on my treatment history.