2/3/2011 from Dr. Mark Bush - As all can see who have been following the posts on momslikeme.com, Windy is a wonderful person and a patient that has been my privilege to take care of. At her first consultation with me, she described a history of suffering through two chromosomally abnormal pregnancy losses which underscores a challenging egg health issue. This is why we opted for full chromosomal screening of her embryo prior to implantation. And while the result from that screening was abnormal and very disappointing, finding it before implantation avoided one of three possible outcomes: A negative pregnancy test, another miscarriage, or the same result being discovered at amniocentesis which is typically performed at 14 - 16 weeks of pregnancy.
Knowing that egg health was our primary obstacle, Windy was prescribed an innovative IVF protocol that allowed for the retrieval of 9 eggs. While the appearance and quality of the majority of the eggs was poor, two of the embryos made it to day 5 of life with one of them being of excellent quality. A laser was used to remove several cells from the early placenta of that embryo and not touch the region that becomes the baby. From these placental cells, we were able to determine the chromosomal make-up of the baby. We all have 23 pairs of chromosomes. The embryo that was tested had a trisomy (or three chromosomes) where it should have had two. This extra chromosome was determined to have come from the egg (as opposed to the sperm) which falls in line with the egg health issues that Windy faces.
The Conceptions Team is very experienced in treating the most challenging fertility cases. This is the first treatment cycle for Windy and Chris, and we are confident that they will have a great outcome in the future. I will, of course, let Windy tell you about her decisions regarding future therapies.
2/8/2011 from Windy - My husband and I met with Dr. Bush yesterday and we discussed our situation at hand. We also wanted to talk to Dr. Bush about the possibility of Round 2 IVF and the necessary preparations if we go in that direction. Dr. Bush was very candid about the obvious challenge that we are up against. Because my last 3 attempts at pregnancy have ended in chromosomal abnormalities, there is a looming possibility that my eggs are showing my age (39). My biological clock for fertility for Round 2 IVF, may not have the outcome we are hoping for. This was difficult to hear but ethically, Dr. Bush needs to prepare us for what we are dealing with.
He mentioned that given my difficult situation, we might want to start thinking about all of our other options. One option that he suggested, was an egg donor, knowing that our chances of carrying a successful pregnancy are much greater. Dr. Bush also asked whether Chris and I are aware of Round 2 IVF's potential outcome which is that we might not have a healthy embryo again. It was evident at this point in the conversation, how Dr. Bush is concerned about how this potential outcome would affect us.
Chris and I both agreed that we need to try round 2 IVF. We told Dr. Bush that if we do not try a second time, we will always wonder if it would have worked. It was clear in our meeting, how caring Dr. Bush is and how he took on a very difficult case here. He also truly cares about my emotional and physical well-being and he is willing to help us achieve our dream of having another baby. After we asked Dr. Bush if we could try a Round 2 IVF, he brought in his nurse and we carefully "fine-tuned" my medication protocol which is going to include different medications, acupuncture 2x a week, a plan for good nutrition, DHEA (supplement to foster the good development of eggs), and an estrogen supplement instead of the bc pill. Carolyn, Dr. Bush's nurse said that there are advantages to Round 2 IVF because every woman's cycle is different, and medications can be adjusted based on what worked and didn't work with the first cycle.
I'm praying for a miracle here! If any of you out there know of cases such as this that have had a good outcome, I'd love to hear them! I'm hopeful still and similar successful situations would really help to know about!