I am currently undergoing my first ivf cycle. I have has 3 pregnancies in the past all resulting in miscarriage, 1 11 weeks(turners syndrome) and 2, 5 week. After my first, I had a D&C which may have caused lining issues causing my second two. I have also had surgery to remove 1 small scar from the uterus and the rest of the uterus looks unremarkable.
Currently my follicle and egg production are better then text book....however, my lining is sticking at a 6.5mm.(I am doing all the recommedations with this ivf, Accupuncture, yoga, and diet) The Dr. said if they cant' improve eventually improve this, I might have to consider a gestational carrier. Here are my three questions...has anyone ever experienced a successful pregnancy with a thin lining? Has anyone been successful at getting their lining to eventually improve and how? Has anyone had experience with a gestational carrier?
I just had my 3rd m/c all at 11 weeks. No heartbeat.
The doctors now say it may be my lining or antibody rejection???
Im so confused what is all this stuff you are talking about?
Hi A.,
My heart goes out to you and your husband - I've been in your exact shoes. I, too, experienced uterine lining issues (too thin) every time I went through a fertility cycle. We were also told to seek the help of a gestational carrier, which we did. Funny thing happened. During this cycle, I took the ovarian stimulation drugs (Follistim) for egg production and our gestational carrier took the synthetic hormone shots (Lupron) to control her uterine lining which was followed by Progesterone shots at the end of the cycle. It was the first time I hadn't taken Lupron during a cycle and my lining thickened up beautifully. For whatever reason, my lining responded adversely to the Lupron and we never knew it until we ran a cycle without it. I was told this is not the norm, but it was certainly our story. The other ladies' suggestion to ask about continued Progesterone shots once you achieve pregnancy is a good one, too. I'm guessing your doc would do this considering your past issues. BTW - Our story has a happy ending. While our cycle with the carrier failed, we figured out my problem and I gave birth to a beautiful (now 2 year old) little boy a year later and am now pregnant with my second. Best of luck with your dilema. Hang in there. BTW - Loved my gestational carrier and we still keep in touch!
I was a gestational carrier for some family friends and it turned out just great. The wife had a tumor removed that ended up taking much of her uterine wall so she was unable to carry the baby.
There is alot of work involved though, contracts have to be in place, we both (and our spouses) had to meet with a therapist to evaluate our mental condition and it was fairly expensive for them as they compensated me, paid all legal expenses and also had to pay out of pocket alot of the medical procedures necessary for me to become pregnant (after I was pregnant my own health insurance covered me). Not sure the exact total but I would venture to say in the ballpark of around $25,000 for the whole deal.
We attempted three transfers, two with frozen embryos and the last one with fresh. I think the fresh were superior as that is the one that took. In Jan. 2007 I gave birth to their healthy son and he is doing great. I hope this helps with the whole gestational carrier thing- feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.
I am so sorry to hear about your past miscarriages. I had two miscarriages early on in my pregnancy and I know how painful it can be. I went to see a reproductive endocronologist through Rush University and she determined that my lining was also too thin. She did say that throughout HER last pregnancy (I think she has four kids) her lining was a 4 and her child is healthy and happy. I took the follistim shots and viagra suppositories for two cycles and unfortunately for me it did not increase the lining. However, I was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism during my many, many tests and was taking synthroid for about 6 months before I got pregnant on my own. I think that it just took my body time to adjust to all of the drugs that I took. As soon as I became pregnant I took progesterone and steriods throughout my first trimester. It sounds like you are on the right path. Good luck.
Have you ever read "Taking Charge of Your Fertility"? You really should, as it will add a great deal to your TTC arsenal. It has helped many, many women.
Good Luck,
Sasha
Hi A.,
I have been struggling with infertility for quite a few years and am now seeing a doctor in Colorado to improve some of my chances. One of the areas they have focused on is lining thickness. By use of a Doplar ultrasound they measure the Pulsatility Index (PI) of my uterine arteries. With numbers not what they wanted to see they prescribed a very specific acupunture protocol. In some ways, it is not true Chinese acupuncture, but rather, a biomedical response to the needles. I have been seeing two different acupuncturists in the Chicago area (due to their travel schedules). If you acupuncturist does electrical stimulation, you can share the protocol with them. The protocol can be found on www.easternharmonyclinic.com. On the side bar you will see medical articles and it is article number 1.
Now I can completely believe it sounds rather outlandish, but I can tell you that I have found a MUCH greater flow after some of these treatments.
If you want the names of the acupuncturists, please feel free to contact me at ____@____.com.
A little about me:
38, very happily married and TTC
Has your Dr tried baby asprin? While I was doing fertility treatments they had me take 1 everyday to thicken my lining.
I know very little about fertility issues but I belong to a website where there is a support group for women that are having trouble trying to concieve (T-TTC).
Here is the link to the webpage.
http://www.thenestbaby.com/stages/stage.aspx?stage=ttc&am...
You have to sign up for this site but it is no fee and there is a 3 day wait period before you can post a question. I would suggest reading some of the posts because those girls have a lot of knowledge on all IF issues, great and small.
There is also an adoption support page. I am going to link the list of all the groups on The Nest so that you can look around and see what group will fit best for you.
http://community.thenestbaby.com/cs/ks/community/default....
I hope these groups can help you get the answers you need.
Have they given you Progesterone supplements either orally or vaginally? I had TTC issues the first time and after Clomid and an IUI became pregnant. The next 2 were normal conceptions. I took supplements with all 3 though, vaginally with 2 and orally with 1 and all 3 were successful. Also, if you decide to go through a surrogate, I know 1 personally who can put you in contact with many. Also, http://www.familysourcesurrogacy.com/ might be an option. Good luck, I know how hard this is.
M. Steele, CLD (CBI)
Artistic Birth Doula Services
www.artisticbirth.com
yes you can also ask your dr to prscribe viagra, I know it sounds crazy but it increase blood flow and WORKS! you should go on dr shers site and see when he reccomend you take the viraga at what time in the cycle sorry I cant remember right now. Also I did use a surrogate too. Where are you going fro your ivf and have you done PGD? So you dont have chromo problems again? We need to talk. I did this for 5 years and 5 ivfs and 7 miscarriages and now have twins and not with my two surrogates. LONG story but i will do my best to help you
good luck
J.
I am currently a gestational carrier. I would assume you've taken progesterone shots to improve your lining. That seems to work the best in a surrogacy situation. Feel free to contact me with any surrogacy questions you have. I'm no expert, but definitely have experience. Good luck.
have they ever checked your progesterone level
i would try that
J.
