1.
Are there any restrictions on physical or personal activities during an IVF
cycle?
- Smoking: Stop smoking before ovulation
induction begins. It is best to discontinue tobacco at least 3 months
prior to an IVF cycle. If you cannot stop “cold turkey”, seek the care of
your primary care physician. By products of tobacco have been demonstrated
to be toxic to the oocyte (egg). We strongly recommend that all women,
especially those undergoing fertility treatment, cease smoking.
- Drinking: Alcohol is a drug, and should be
avoided during infertility treatment and pregnancy. Please do not drink
alcohol from the time fertility medications are initiated until the
pregnancy test.
- Medications: If you are taking any medication,
prescription or over-the-counter, please inform your physician. Some
medications may interfere with the fertility medications prescribed, some
are not safe to use before an operation or medical procedure, and others
might interfere with ovulation or pregnancy implantation.
- An IVF cycle can be an emotional
and stressful time for you and your partner. It may be helpful to have
supportive personnel to speak to, such as friends and family, a clergy
member, or a psychologist/therapist.
- Heavy exercise such as aerobics,
jogging, weight lifting etc. are prohibited during ovarian stimulation and
until the pregnancy test results are known.
- Acupuncture is permitted prior,
during and after your IVF cycle but herbal supplements are absolutely
prohibited.
2. Is the egg retrieval
painful?
We do our egg
retrievals under anesthesia you will be asleep for the procedure. Our
anesthesia specialists use medications which heavily sedate you. You
will be "asleep" however; you will not require
a breathing tube. The beauty of this approach is that you
will feel absolutely nothing, remember absolutely nothing, and will
have few of or none of the typical side effects of anesthesia such as
nausea and vomiting.
3. Will the egg retrieval
damage my ovaries?
The data we
have available tells us that it does not. There have been many women who have
undergone multiple egg retrievals. The fact that they have responded to stimulation
on subsequent occasions and gotten eggs and pregnancies on these occasions
implies that the ovaries are OK after egg retrieval. There have been some
limited studies looking at the appearance of the ovaries in women who have had
egg retrievals and subsequent laparoscopic surgery. In those patients, the
findings were normal.
IVF treatment into phases:
Phase One involves your initial consult and diagnostic evaluation. This can take days, but usually takes weeks or even a couple of months (depending on your menstrual cycle, logistical and financial details such as your travel schedule, availability, insurance requirements, etc.)
Phase Two is your cycle planning stage, which is heavy on logistical details such as obtaining IVF medications and learning how to mix and administer them. There is also blood work to be done, consent forms to be signed, payment to be made as well as other details to attend to during this phase.
Phase Two can last days, weeks or months, depending on your schedule, insurance, and availability.
Phase Three is the start of the cycle and usually lasts about two weeks. During this time you will be taking injectable medications and return every couple of days for monitoring.
Phase Four is egg retrieval and embryo transfer. There are three to five days between the time when eggs are retrieved and embryos are put back into the uterus.
Phase Five is a pregnancy test and beyond.
5.
If I am not pregnant, when can we try again?
Usually we ask that
patients wait one or two complete menstrual cycles before beginning another ART
cycle. Sometimes tests are required that may delay subsequent cycles.
We find that
most couples will get pregnant within 2 tries. Occasionally, there may be a
reason to do a third attempt but that is not common. More than this would
really require extenuating circumstances such as a miscarriage due to a
non-recurring reason, for example.
7.
Is there a higher miscarriage rate for ART patients?
The miscarriage rate
is about the same for ART as the general population. Many times older females
undergo ART and their miscarriage rates are naturally higher. Since pregnancy
testing is done two weeks after embryo transfer, we often know about
spontaneous miscarriages in the very early stages of pregnancy. These
miscarriages would probably go unnoticed in the general population.
8. What are my choices if my tubes have been tied?
Basically there are two choices, surgery to try and repair the tubes or IVF. There are pros and cons to each choice and often the best choice depends on your unique situation. Surgery offers the option of attempting pregnancy naturally indefinitely without repeated treatments, but carries the rare risks of surgery and in some cases is not successful depending on the type of tubal ligation or tubal damage done initially. IVF offers the chance for pregnancy without having to undergo an operation and maintaining contraception or birth control against future pregnancies after completion of your family.
Basically there are two choices, surgery to try and repair the tubes or IVF. There are pros and cons to each choice and often the best choice depends on your unique situation. Surgery offers the option of attempting pregnancy naturally indefinitely without repeated treatments, but carries the rare risks of surgery and in some cases is not successful depending on the type of tubal ligation or tubal damage done initially. IVF offers the chance for pregnancy without having to undergo an operation and maintaining contraception or birth control against future pregnancies after completion of your family.
9.
How do we decide how many embryos to transfer?
Your
physician will discuss this with you at the time of consent signing, but we
usually follow the recommendations of The American Society for Reproductive
Medicine guidelines:
- Under 34 years old = 1-2 embryos
- 35-37 years of age = 2-3 embryos
- 38-40 years of age = 3 embryos
These numbers may
vary depending on individual diagnosis and clinical circumstance.
10.How much does IVF cost?
The cost of IVF depends on the treatment and options selected. For IVF pricing information, click here.
The cost of IVF depends on the treatment and options selected. For IVF pricing information, click here.
.jpg)
.jpg)