7 replies to this topic

[Pat9]

Hi everyone,

 

Does anyone know of a specialist here in the GTA that specializes in helping women with repeated pregnancy losses? I have had 5 losses. The pattern appears to be at the 6-7 week mark. 

 

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

Thank you all.

 

Pat

[GraceM]

Dr. Virro at Markham Fertility and Dr. Laskin at Lifequest (http://www.itstime.c...vices-term.html).  Dr Laskin is also a physician at Mt. Sinai. 

 

I know some people on the board do not have a good view of Dr. Laskin because there are certain tests/therapies he does not incorporate in his practice but a good friend of mine went on to have a successful pregnancy after 4 successive losses (at "an advanced maternal age") thanks to Dr. Laskin.  She speaks very, very highly of him.

 

I would suggest getting a few opinions anyway to save time and maximize the testing/information you receive.

 

Best wishes.

[SummerRain]

I'd like to ask the same question. Pat, I have the same problem as you and the only reason the doctor can say is 'advanced maternal age' which is very discouraging since I can't get any younger as time goes by

[gibasgirl]

Dr. Virro. Markham Fertility Clinic.

The average wait for him is 9 months. See if you can get on his cancellation list. He is thorough and will give you his honest opinion about a situation.

He treats immunological issues which are often the root cause of RPL.

[Adventure]

Hi Pat.

 

Our journeys are similar. I started the IVF journey at 38 and at that time had had 3 miscarriages from "natural" pregnancies all around 5-7 weeks (I hate using the word natural btw, it seems to imply that IVF is unnatural but I have not better word for it at the moment).

 

When I started the IVF journey at 38  I did the basic immunological testing with my RE and all came back normal. I went on to do one IVF and one FET and miscarried both around 6.5 weeks . I then went to see Dr Laskin and he said all seemed normal and was probably due to advanced maternal age despite my fantastic ovarian reserve (which my RE repeatedly tells me.) My RE agreed re: Laskin's diagnosis so we decided to do PGD on our second IVF to see if that was the cause. Out of 6 embryos that made it to blast, all were basically abnormal.

 

At the time I really struggled with the decision to do PGD as it was really pricey but now I am glad I did it. I don't think this means that I don't have immune issues relating to my RPL but at least I know that all those miscarriages were likely due to advanced maternal age, which I refused to believe at the time. I feel like the PGD provided some answers to part of the puzzle. I'm still contemplating getting a second opinion about RPL from a specialist and will likely pursue it.

 

Have you thought about doing PGD with your next cycle?

[mcbee]

I thought I'd add my two senses in here about PGD.....I'm currently awaiting my FET cycle post fresh IVF in August in which I did PGD.  I'm soooo happy I did.  I'm almost 39, so despite 'outstanding' ovarian reserve numbers (as per my doc), egg quality definitely was a concern.  In my fresh cycle, 20 eggs were retrieved, 18 were mature, 13 fertilized via icsi and 7 made it to blastocysts.  All of the blasts were biopse for pgd and then frozen.  Of the 7, 5 were abnormal and 2 were normal.  Despite my age, and my 2 previous loss (I've had one miscarriage, one late term loss at 22 weeks and one live birth, my daughter Brooklyn at 39 weeks), my doctor is recommending transfering only one.  

 

I'm thrilled we did PGD as I *know* I have two healthy, good quality blasts frozen and waiting for me.  I have 2 cracks at it and I feel very confident one of my FET cycles will be successful.  

 

Despite the extra cost (all in, it was about 7K....3K to build the tests and 4K to test my blasts) I'm certain it was the right choice for us.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

sarah

[SummerRain]

Hi Pat.

 

Our journeys are similar. I started the IVF journey at 38 and at that time had had 3 miscarriages from "natural" pregnancies all around 5-7 weeks (I hate using the word natural btw, it seems to imply that IVF is unnatural but I have not better word for it at the moment).

 

When I started the IVF journey at 38  I did the basic immunological testing with my RE and all came back normal. I went on to do one IVF and one FET and miscarried both around 6.5 weeks . I then went to see Dr Laskin and he said all seemed normal and was probably due to advanced maternal age despite my fantastic ovarian reserve (which my RE repeatedly tells me.) My RE agreed re: Laskin's diagnosis so we decided to do PGD on our second IVF to see if that was the cause. Out of 6 embryos that made it to blast, all were basically abnormal.

 

At the time I really struggled with the decision to do PGD as it was really pricey but now I am glad I did it. I don't think this means that I don't have immune issues relating to my RPL but at least I know that all those miscarriages were likely due to advanced maternal age, which I refused to believe at the time. I feel like the PGD provided some answers to part of the puzzle. I'm still contemplating getting a second opinion about RPL from a specialist and will likely pursue it.

 

Have you thought about doing PGD with your next cycle?

 

Hi Adventure,

 

Does that mean you spent about $17k but at the end, nothing to transfer? That's what I fear. It's like spending $17k just for a diagnosis. Sometimes, I feel I'd rather let God to determine the fate of my baby instead of someone in the lab. But the cons with this is too many miscarriages and I feel my body can't take it and it's a waste of time...

[Adventure]

Hi SummerRain.

 

The IVF was somewhere around $7k and the PGD was ~ $2500 i think. You are right, I spent all that and had nothing to transfer. But for me it was important to know if it was really an egg issue or if it was something else.

 

I still would have spend the $7K had I not done the PGD but then would have frozen 6 embryos that made it to blast despite being abnormal (so there is cost for that too.) Then I would have transferred 2 embryos at a time, only to miscarry them all and possibly have several D&C, which as you know aren't without risk. I agree with you, at least at my age I didn't have the time to spare and I couldn't continue to do the same thing (IVF) and expect a different outcome. It just didn't make sense to me.

 

I do however also think that each IVF is just a snapshot of your egg quality. Maybe if I try again, I'll get one healthy one, who knows? It's a gamble...