Phone Consult & Short Vacation

First off, I have to apologize for being MIA for a couple of weeks.  If you have been waiting for me to update here, I'm sorry it took me so long.

On 6/4, I had my post transfer phone consult with Dr. Keenan.  He was genuinely sorry and disappointed that our transfer didn't work out.  He said everyone at the clinic were shocked and disappointed that I was not pregnant.  He said there was no good reason why I did not get pregnant.  My lining was good.  The transfer went well.  The embryos were of good quality.  I had an endometrial biopsy done prior to my transfer, and that should have increased my chances.  He doesn't think it is an issue with the embryos since we had embryos from 3 different donor families for all three of my transfers, and each family has had successful pregnancies.

He suspects that I may have implantation issues.  I asked him what that means and he said there is something in the uterus that is not favorable for implantation, but it may be impossible to really know what it is.   He said there are not much research done on implantation issues in humans (since it would threaten a pregnancy).  I asked him about additional testing for issues such as autoimmune issues, as suggested by others.  He said there is no evidence of autoimmune issues causing EARLY pregnancy losses like a chemical pregnancy as in my case.

I asked about the 3 attempt per pregnancy policy at NEDC and if he would make an exception.  He said most women should get pregnant by their third try.  I can't remember his actual words, but it was pretty much no.  He did however bring up the topic of special needs embryos.  He said there is possibly a chance we could try again with special needs embryos, though he was not comfortable with it.  These are embryos that may have a higher risk of medical conditions and is usually overlooked by adoptive families, such as embryos where siblings have been born with a heart condition or downs syndrome, or a parent is HIV positive, etc.  A transfer wish these embryos would be treated the same as other transfers, meaning I would still need a current home study.   He said if that is something Babe and I are interested in, then he will have Angie, the coordinator contact us.  That afternoon itself, Angie emailed me that Dr. Keenan had approved us to do another transfer with special needs embryos and wanted to know if we wanted to see the profiles.  I told her we had not decided and would like her know when/if we were ready to see those profiles.

So, at this point, we don't really know what our next steps are.  We could do another round at NEDC with special needs embryos but I am not sure if I am comfortable with that at this point in time.  We could try another agency or clinic that does embryo adoption or embryo donation, but we would want to make sure if there are any issues that we can rule out that can affect implantation, such as autoimmune issues.  Or we could focus on going back on the route of traditional adoption.  We are currently in a holding pattern as to our next steps.

Instead of making a decision, Babe decided that I needed a break from all this and sent me on a short vacation to Florida.  He would have come with me but he does not have much vacations days.  I went to visit a friend from high school, one I have not seen since I was 15!  It was fun catching up, and it was nice to be able to chat with her about our journey.  She too had gone through infertility, had a couple  of miscarriages and now has a 5-year old son.  We went on a glass bottom boat ride in Key Largo, toured the Everglades on an airboat, checked out alligators, held a baby alligator in my hands, ate some fantastic key lime pies, and checked out the (in)famous South Beach of Miami.  And that is the reason for my delayed update here on my blog.

Checking out fish and corals on the glass bottom boat

View from the back of the boat

Some of the homes and boat in Key Largo

Our neighboring airboat hunting for alligators

The (in)famous South Beach of Miami