Wednesday, August 4, 2010

CCRM

We talked to the big guns yesterday and had our first consultation with CCRM. Dr. Surrey was great! He was the first doctor that we've talked to that actually offered some concrete recommendations to our last two protocols. All the rest of the docs have had some "wishy-washy" recs that they said were worth a try, but really weren't anything different from what we had done during our last two IVF cycles. Dr. S had a sense of humor and was very friendly. He was upfront and honest with us, but at the same time provided a glimmer of hope.

So, to get down to the nitty-gritty of what he recommended:

- Antagonist cycle with estrogen priming
- Longer stim, an additional day or two past the typical 18mm lead follicle
- HCG trigger + lupron (so I guess some women do not respond well to HCG as a means of maturing the egg. Dr. S. has had some success in these situations by giving a dose of lupron in addition to the HCG)
- Possible addition of human growth hormone (I'm thinking this is saizen)

I'll be flying out to Colorado in the next month or two to do a one-day work up and also meet with Dr. Surrey. After that, we'll probably schedule IVF #3 for sometime in the beginning of 2011.

And more good news! I did another round of bloodwork this cycle and just got my results back...My FSH is 7.9, down from 23 last month and my estradiol is at 34. I really think that last month was a random fluke and/or a bad test or maybe my FSH was still high from the IVF meds. Whatever it was, I now know to wait one month after an IVF to test my hormone levels.

8 comments:

sienna said...

i'm gonna guess that it's ASIAN women who do not respond well to hcg trigger. yes?? that's my theory anyways. does this mean you're definitely going to cycle with ccrm for lucky #3??

dr D is leaning toward lupron trigger for me. i don't know enough about it, but he claims when used correctly, that it's very effective. i wish i knew other ppl who have done this though, so i can have a basis for comparison.

i've never heard of human growth hormone being added to an ivf protocol. will google it in a few minutes :o)

can't believe you're gonna meet the legendary dr S!!!

Anonymous said...

Good luck to you!

irrationalexuberance said...

SOunds like you have a great plan and are well on your way! And that is Awesome about your FSH levels -- so nice when things go well!

Low Fat Lady said...

Yea for the good blood work results! I hope this protocol works for you!

Glass Case of Emotion said...

just found your blog through sienna. I also have a history of the immature egg drama with IVFs. Fingers crossed for you!

Lisa said...

this is all great news sooz! the new dr. sounds very thorough - i'm really happy that he's made some suggestions for the next go around.

its always good to have a plan - i'm glad you're getting on the right track :)

the baby baker said...

exciting sooz! sounds like you have a great plan! i've read about the benefits of adding hCG. i'm curious how it works for you. you know i'll be following along like crazy. 2011 will be here before you know it!

p.s. so glad your FSH levels are back to normal. glad it was nothing to worry about.

Anonymous said...

Yeah for 2011! I am in that club too. Maybe we'll be cycling together! Best of luck to you.