6 replies to this topic

[Adia888]

Hi everyone - I am 38 years old, 3 failed IVF cycles (low fertilization with ICSI and no normal embryos) and have DOR. After consulting with numerous doctors, we are leaning towards switching to Dr. Garbedian at Hannam. We thought she was very thorough in our consultation and seemed knowledgeable with respect to the latest scientific research - but its hard to make a big decision based on a 45 min phone call (we live in B.C. and it would be very tough to travel for IVF especially during COVID). We feel like this is our last shot at IVF though and even though Hannam is more expensive than other clinics, I have heard that they have the best lab in Canada. Our current clinic doesnt deviate much from their standard protocol and despite our failed cycles refuse to consider changing the treatment plan.

If you are or have been a patient of Dr. Garbedians, would you be willing to share your honest opinion (good or bad) of her care and treatment as well as your experience with the clinic in general? I have heard (with no specifics) that she can be over-confident and that worries me quite a bit.

Appreciate any insight you may have! Thanks 😊

[Misskika007]

Hey Adia,

I am a former patient of Dr Garbedian and cant recommend her enough. I went through two very unsuccessful cycles at other clinics and Hannam was our last hurrah as I have super low AMH. She was super patient-oriented and really looked at my specific issues, how they would play into retrieval and FET. She focused on egg quality vs quantity in my cycle and I ended up with one embryo. We CGS tested it (really happy we did this, even with one, as it ruled out that I do still have genetically normal eggs in there) and did a natural supplemented FET. Im now 17 weeks pregnant with that embryo (only one cycle). I personally had a wonderful experience with the clinic from nursing team (Aalia super great!) and US techs, always felt like I had a lot of information and Dr Garbedian would often call me herself to discuss progress, tweaks, etc. This is only my experience, perhaps I was lucky, but I am honestly sad she cant deliver this baby ha ha. Good luck with your decision and if you have any more questions feel free to ask!

[Adia888]

Hi Misskika007, thanks so much for your response! Can I ask you what Dr. Garbedian did differently for you compared to your previous clinic? Was it mostly your medications? Also, did you use many other add-ons in addition to genetic testing (PICSI, calcium ionophore, ERA, etc.)?

[Misskika007]

Sure- she did a lot of things differently. My other clinic followed a high dose stim antagonist protocol (menopur, puregon, orgalutran and ovidrel trigger). I have naturally high estrogen levels and Dr G thought that may also be playing into IVF success so she was really careful to regulate/monitor them in retrieval and transfer. In retrieval, I did priming for a week with HGH and testosterone to build up quality of eggs to be retrieved. In terms of stims, I was on a completely different protocol- microdose llupron flare which was low dose lupron, lower dose gonal f and the same menopur dose. There is research out there that high stim doses can actually impair egg quality for low responders. I also took the HGH, testosterone and dexamethasone as supplements to help out the egg growth/quality as well as letrozole to control estrogen. She also had me on a thyroid med (I dont have any thyroid issues) just to check the box and make sure things continued to run smoothly. I was triggered by HCG (pregnyl) on day 12. We did ICSI and assisted hatching (I believe this is automatic when you do genetic testing). I got four eggs, three mature, all three fertilized, one good quality/genetically normal 5-day embryo. They let the other two grow to day 7 but they werent good enough quality to freeze.

I did an ERA which came back normal. We decided to do it since we only had one embryo, wanted to do everything we could to avoid another stim cycle. In the FET, I took letrozole and no estrogen at all. I was triggered by Hcg and then only progesterone suppositories. I think my other clinic overloaded me with estrogen and progesterone during transfer and it freaked my body out- it also really helped with first trimester preg symptoms to not be on estrogen! I had a chemical pregnancy and failed FET at my last clinic.

She threw the book at my case and I was willing to try everything, it worked in my case!

[JoHealth7788]

Dr.Garbedian has good credentials and people seem to like her.

[Adia888]

Thank-you for your feedback! Misskika007, what thyroid medication were you put on, if you dont mind me asking?

[Misskika007]

It was L-Thyroxine