How many did (or will) you transfer at once?
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We transferred two each time. My embryos were frozen in groups of two and both survived the thaw each time.
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we transferred 2 for my first FET, and then for the second FET, 2 was the original plan but 1 didn't survive the thaw, so we only transferred 1
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IVF newbie here... This might be nuts but if you wanted to transfer 3, would the RE highly discourage it?
I would love to have twins and I was thinking what if I asked to have 3 transferred.
Yes, I am crazy. Haha. It was an idea that popped into my head. I don't think I would actually ask my RE. Also, I don't think the DH would agree to having the real risk of triplets.
I can't vote, since my first FET will be later this year, but I think my RE said we would transfer 2.
Oh, I know RE's don't want multiples because the higher risk of complications.
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We did the genetic testing so we only transferred one during our fet. That one was successful and we still have 2 more genetically perfect embryos frozen. If that one had not worked then we would have transferred the remaining two.
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@Leialou: @PastaAndPotato: Did either of you have ICSI? Do you remember whether AH was performed on your frosties, upon thawing? Those are both apparent risk factors, along with maternal age >35, for identical twinning...
@bluestriped bee: I think you can totally vote! Those are the rules I just made up...and how I intended the poll to function.
Will you guys do ICSI (we did 1/2, due to unexplained IF)? I think some people have transferred 3 (depending on circumstances), but in general I think REs are reluctant.
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@FliegepilzHut: I think I'll wait til my FET to vote. Hehe. Don't want to jinx it.
We are going to do ICSI. Not sure if we are going to do it all or just half.
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@FliegepilzHut: yes to ICSI, no to assisted hatching.
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I did an FET, with ICSI and AH. I transferred two, and ended up with fraternal twins.
Gah, I love the acronyms.
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@bluestriped bee: I do get that.
@Leialou: I talked with my RE today. She recommends transferring 2, but 2 of my 3 are ICSI...and they recommend AH with their FET. And for some reason, I'm having an irrational (I think) panic attack about the (1-2%-ish) chance of triplets...
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@FliegepilzHut: I don't blame you. The thought of triplets scares me too! I think having three comes with so many risks to mama and babies. With my personal situation I had no problem transferring two because statistically it wasn't likely both would stick.
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@meganmp: They are kind of amazing aren't they?
I think I'm just fine with twins...somewhat pathologically terrified of triplets, though. Did your RE talk about higher-order multiples?
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I only had one frozen, so we only transferred one-- easy decision for me!
I wouldn't transfer more than two, though. FETs are so (relatively) cheap compared to a new fresh cycle of IVF, I think I'd want to give myself as many chances as possible. If you only transfer one, and get pregnant, how nice would it be to still have two on ice for a future sibling? I think it just depends on how your IVF plan works out financially, too. Ours includes the FET for "free" after any fresh failed cycle, so it would give us the most chances to transfer one at a time. The meds for the FET cycle are only a few hundred dollars.
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@momazon: We have our FET paid for...everything after that (fresh, frozen, whatever) is out-of-pocket.
(I think the transfer itself is a few thousand $$$...)
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@momazon: For us, if we had twins or triplets, I think we would be done having more children. For us, it's like a 2 for 1 IVF special.
Oh, wow, a free FET after a failed fresh is nice of your clinic. I think FETs cost us about $5k plus the cost of meds. We decided not to do the guaranteed take home baby IVF plan. If we would have done that, we would have had unlimited FETs.
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@FliegepilzHut: I think a FET at my clinic is like $4000.
They're free as part of our guarantee program, but I never produce enough eggs to have frozen ones anyways, so it's sort of a waste on me unfortunately! I wish I had had more frozen cycles to stretch it out, since the meds for frozen are like $200 versus $4-5k in meds for fresh. @bluestriped bee: My husband's definitely gunning for the 2 for 1 IVF special-- I think I'm just too scared of the 3 for 1 IVF special! I'm nearly 38 and don't think I can handle that all at once! It is nice to have the potential free FETs as part of the program, even though it never worked out for us-- it keeps costs lower for them as you have to transfer all frozen embryos before they'll start a new fresh cycle with you. With my age, the guarantee program was a definite for me-- but ours was I think $6k less than yours! That's a big jump!
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@momazon: Yeah, I think we can handle twins and there was an IUI cycle recently where I had 3 mature follicles. I think that's when we started to think about triplets. It would be scary but in the end towards my TWW, I think we were both at peace with the idea of triplets. What got us okay with the idea was the idea that maybe our IF journey was preparing us mentally and physically for triplets. Had we of gotten triplets early on in our TTC journey, I think we would have freaked out, but I think having to wait so long made me think we would be okay with whatever we were blessed with.
Ha! Yeah, it was unsuccessful cycle so all that worrying for nothing.
Anyway, I think we are tough enough to handle anything at this point. IF definitely made us stronger. I just keep thinking of that saying... Life (or god) will give us only what we can handle.
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Okay I voted but now I think I shouldn't have. We have some frozen embryos from this cycle. If this pregnancy doesn't end up sticking (please let it!), then we will do an FET. We will definitely transfer two.
We have transferred two for both rounds of IVF as well. I don't blame you for worrying about the triplet risk, even though it's so small! It's something I thought about even without AH. However, after having my first cycle fail completely, I just don't feel comfortable transferring one. We will be in the same boat because all of mine are ICSI. Good luck making your decision!
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@Sunshine1810: @Leialou: Thanks, ladies! I'm still feeling a little nervous...but in truth the risk is quite low (as my RE said, "it only matters if it's you). After such a hard road to get here (I know that other people go through more, but still) and after discussing with DH, I think we will err on the side of transferring two. If those don't take, then we're most likely on to another fresh cycle in the spring!
ETA: I know how hard it is to have faith, but I am so very hopeful for you right now!
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@FliegepilzHut: So I've done two FETs so far and we did 2 embryos for each transfer. Once we were successful (single baby girl) and once, well, CP. This next time we are also doing two. My RE will not do 3 under almost any circumstances. For the first FET my RE recommended just transferring 1, but since we had an unsuccessful single transfer for our fresh cycle (and since I'm over 35) I wanted to do 2. Honestly, I'm more worried about getting pregnant at all than about the likelihood of triplets (although that would be pretty scary for sure!!)
. Twins would be hard, but no baby would be harder.
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@GreenThumb: Did you have ICSI or AH? (informal poll
). I'm so excited that we're both going to be doing our transfers so (relatively) soon! That was my and DH's consensus, too...so far we've been trying for almost 3 years, had 2 pregnancies...and nothing to show for it. Hopefully 2 will increase our odds a bit! -
@FliegepilzHut: I have 2 blasts frozen from my recent fresh cycle and we did an eSET with our fresh.
When/of we do a FET for another child I think we have to thaw both because as far as I know they were frozen together. In that case we would transfer them both. If they are individually frozen we will try to thaw and transfer one since it worked for us this time around.
I am 30, we did both ICSI and AH for our fresh cycle since the embryologist said the shell on most of my eggs was quite thick and they like to give you the best shot but did get a warning about the possibility of it splitting as a result.
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@mrswin: Thank you! Always happy to see you around--and so happy for you!!!
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@FliegepilzHut: Thanks!
I am happy to see you moving forward and getting closer to the FET -
We transferred 1 but it's all we had (PGD showed that all the others were chromosomally abnormal). If we had 2 or more we planned to transfer two.
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@FliegepilzHut: Exactly - gotta take advantage of what we can, right?! We did do ICSI for all the embryos and also AH prior to the FETs. It's October 1st today - less than two months now. It is going to fly by!
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We only have one left anyway... but as you know, we only ever transfer one in our clinic. They're big on SET to minimise risks from multiple pregnancies on mum & bub(s).
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@GreenThumb: Yes!!! Thanks for weighing in! This is getting exciting, isn't it?!
@jaguar: Absolutely. Although I feel like, if they're going to mandate (or even strongly advocate for) eSET, the gov't really ought to be on the hook for some (or all!) of the cost... I'm really sorry that's not the case.
Sending lots and lots of good vibes for your upcoming transfer! -
@FliegepilzHut: I totally agree with you! The cost alone is what makes so many women feel that they HAVE to transfer two embyros, despite the risk. It sucks.
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@jaguar: It really does. Money and time are big motivating factors, I think, for people to want to transfer more than one at a time.
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It is such a tough choice! We transferred 2 this 1st cycle and both stuck but then lost one at 8 weeks. At the time of transfer we were ok with the thought of twins and wanted better chances and both blasts were excellent with the same grading. Both ICIS and assisted hatching. If we hadn't transferred both and chose to transfer only the one that we lost then I could not be pregnant right now with the remaining baby. It would have been much more devasting of a loss.
BUT, if this pregnancy works out (praying!!!) we don't think we would transfer 2 again. Honestly, even though initially I was happy/shocked to find out we were having twins and sad to loose one I also was so stressed out and had so much fear about twins that I never thought I would have.. The risk of complications were weighing hard on me. I am a nicu nurse so I see more than most and my good friend also lost her twins at 18 weeks a couple weeks after I got pregnant with mine so it was just a lot of reality to hit me. It made me realize that it isn't something I should try for again. I think each cycle is unique and there is a lot to consider. The 1st cycle, 2 was def the right choice but we will have a lot to consider next time around.
Will you guys do ICSI (we did 1/2, due to unexplained IF)? I think some people have transferred 3 (depending on circumstances), but in general I think REs are reluctant.
I think I'm just fine with twins...somewhat pathologically terrified of triplets, though. Did your RE talk about higher-order multiples?
(I think the transfer itself is a few thousand $$$...)
They're free as part of our guarantee program, but I never produce enough eggs to have frozen ones anyways, so it's sort of a waste on me unfortunately! I wish I had had more frozen cycles to stretch it out, since the meds for frozen are like $200 versus $4-5k in meds for fresh. 
). I'm so excited that we're both going to be doing our transfers so (relatively) soon! That was my and DH's consensus, too...so far we've been trying for almost 3 years, had 2 pregnancies...and nothing to show for it. Hopefully 2 will increase our odds a bit! Reply
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