Multiple chromosomal abnormalities...what next?

Remy1 · 08-31-2009, 07:25 PM

After four ICSI/IVF cycles and three chemical pregnancies, I was referred for PGD testing. The test revealed that 8 out of 10 embryos had multiple chromosomal abnormalities. Only one of the 'normal' embryos survived to day 5 for transfer and it didn't implant. My doctor thinks that most of my eggs contains chromosomal abnormalities but he's willing to give this one more shot. I produced only 10 eggs after stimulation on the fifth cycle, which is a little bit low for me (we've gotten 15 and 19 previously). We are doing a sixth cycle with ICSI and PGD and my doctor is going to transfer everything that appears to be normal. Honestly, I'm not feeling very hopeful about this one. I have two questions...

1. Has anyone had a similar situation and gotten pregnant? (I need a little bit of hope going into number 6),

2. (OK, this might be a stretch but here it goes...) What about Clomid? If nearly all of my eggs have abnormalities, then there would be little risk of multiples. We were originally referred for ICSI because my husband's sperm count was very low. He's since had a surgery to correct a varicosele and his numbers are now normal. So, wouldn't the odds of fertilization now be the same as with IVF? I'd like to mention this to my doc as an alternative to IVF but I'm not sure if this makes any sense.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might have!!

**BC-Jrmedic** · 09-05-2009, 06:46 PM

I would talk to your RE about the clomid... I would think that they would have tried that route already. Is there a reason they don't do a day 3 transfer? And maybe a consult with a different RE would help. Have you done all 6 cycles with the same RE? have they changed your protocol at all?

I see you are in Boston, we used RSC and had a great experience there. The doc we used is no longer there (Michael Summers) he is in his own practice in Stoneham (I think)

Remy1 · 09-07-2009, 05:47 PM

Thanks for your reply!

Because everything seemed to be OK with me, they decided to go straight to IVF with ICSI to address the low sperm count issue my husband had. His situation was reversed with surgery but now we have this chromosomal abnormality problem which changes everything. We always do a day 5 transfer because I've had a lot of embryos that were in good condition. Now, we're kind of stuck doing it this way because of the PGD testing. We were actually given a choice on this recently. We could either do the testing again and transfer the 'normals' (which seemed like a good idea since so many embryos were abnormal when we did it the first time) or do a day 3 transfer 'blindly' in which they would transfer many embryos and hope for the best.

We have been using the same RE, who I really like and trust. The protocol has changed every time. After the third chemical pregnancy, we started PGD. We're at Boston IVF but are moving to Boulder, CO in December so this is our last cycle with them. The terrible part of all of this is that Colorado does not mandate coverage. Massachusetts does, as I'm sure you know. So, it'll all be out of pocket. In any case, we'll definitely have a new RE then.

**BC-Jrmedic** · 09-07-2009, 06:49 PM

Might be worth seeking a second opinion. I personally will never step foot back at BIVF. I had a bad experience with them. But again that was me. I know when I changed and had "new" eyes looking at things we got some different answers to our questions and we were finally sucessful.

08-31-2009, 07:25 PM	#1 (permalink)
Remy1 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: boston Posts: 11	Multiple chromosomal abnormalities...what next? After four ICSI/IVF cycles and three chemical pregnancies, I was referred for PGD testing. The test revealed that 8 out of 10 embryos had multiple chromosomal abnormalities. Only one of the 'normal' embryos survived to day 5 for transfer and it didn't implant. My doctor thinks that most of my eggs contains chromosomal abnormalities but he's willing to give this one more shot. I produced only 10 eggs after stimulation on the fifth cycle, which is a little bit low for me (we've gotten 15 and 19 previously). We are doing a sixth cycle with ICSI and PGD and my doctor is going to transfer everything that appears to be normal. Honestly, I'm not feeling very hopeful about this one. I have two questions... 1. Has anyone had a similar situation and gotten pregnant? (I need a little bit of hope going into number 6), 2. (OK, this might be a stretch but here it goes...) What about Clomid? If nearly all of my eggs have abnormalities, then there would be little risk of multiples. We were originally referred for ICSI because my husband's sperm count was very low. He's since had a surgery to correct a varicosele and his numbers are now normal. So, wouldn't the odds of fertilization now be the same as with IVF? I'd like to mention this to my doc as an alternative to IVF but I'm not sure if this makes any sense. Thanks in advance for any advice you might have!!

09-05-2009, 06:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
BC-Jrmedic 1000-4999 post queen of hearts Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: In the Warehouse with the mouse :) Posts: 4,763 Blog Entries: 2	I would talk to your RE about the clomid... I would think that they would have tried that route already. Is there a reason they don't do a day 3 transfer? And maybe a consult with a different RE would help. Have you done all 6 cycles with the same RE? have they changed your protocol at all? I see you are in Boston, we used RSC and had a great experience there. The doc we used is no longer there (Michael Summers) he is in his own practice in Stoneham (I think) __________________ Mommy to: M (7/06), M (3/08), E(3/08) Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet girls!

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09-07-2009, 05:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Remy1 0-99 post 2 of hearts Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: boston Posts: 11	Thanks for your reply! Because everything seemed to be OK with me, they decided to go straight to IVF with ICSI to address the low sperm count issue my husband had. His situation was reversed with surgery but now we have this chromosomal abnormality problem which changes everything. We always do a day 5 transfer because I've had a lot of embryos that were in good condition. Now, we're kind of stuck doing it this way because of the PGD testing. We were actually given a choice on this recently. We could either do the testing again and transfer the 'normals' (which seemed like a good idea since so many embryos were abnormal when we did it the first time) or do a day 3 transfer 'blindly' in which they would transfer many embryos and hope for the best. We have been using the same RE, who I really like and trust. The protocol has changed every time. After the third chemical pregnancy, we started PGD. We're at Boston IVF but are moving to Boulder, CO in December so this is our last cycle with them. The terrible part of all of this is that Colorado does not mandate coverage. Massachusetts does, as I'm sure you know. So, it'll all be out of pocket. In any case, we'll definitely have a new RE then.

09-07-2009, 06:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
BC-Jrmedic 1000-4999 post queen of hearts Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: In the Warehouse with the mouse :) Posts: 4,763 Blog Entries: 2	Might be worth seeking a second opinion. I personally will never step foot back at BIVF. I had a bad experience with them. But again that was me. I know when I changed and had "new" eyes looking at things we got some different answers to our questions and we were finally sucessful.