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April 2018 Update: thanks to the efforts of clinics providing feedback to SART, the newly reported SART stats for 2016 now accurately reflect donor cycles intended to be freeze all as such and no longer mis-report them as cycle starts … Continue reading
Posted in CCS - comprehensive chromosome screening, choose a clinic, Donor Egg IVF, egg donation, egg donor, IVF Success Rates
Comments Off on The Surprising SART 2015 Results Explained
Parents Via Egg Donation has produced an excellent webinar on the topic of Talking To Your Kids About Family Building and Donor Conception. You can view it below or visit their site: http://pved.org/videos/
Posted in Uncategorized
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IVF Traveler note: This is a guest post about something that I thought was interesting – I am not in any way compensated for this post, nor is this an endorsement. I always suggest talking to your doctor before using … Continue reading
Posted in Male Factor, Treatment protocols
Comments Off on Snowballs – a new “manly cooling” underwear option for male fertility
Two recent articles caught my attention. They highlight the increasing trend of English speaking patients going to the Czech Republic for medical tourism (including fertility tourism). They cite that availability, low cost and high quality care are the primary factors driving patients there. First, in February, the … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Donor Egg IVF, Fertility News, IVF Treatment Abroad, travel
Comments Off on Czech Republic in Fertility Tourism News
UPDATED 2-19-14 The 2012 IVF and donor egg IVF success rates for US clinics were published by SART this week. What made the national news is that 2012 had the largest number of total IVF cycles and total babies born … Continue reading
Posted in choose a clinic, IVF Success Rates
Comments Off on SART 2012 US IVF Success Rates Published – Donor Egg IVF
I was invited to be a guest on the Creating A Family radio show titled “Practical Considerations When Going Abroad for Treatment“. I was interviewed by Dawn Davenport along with Kathryn Kaycoff-Manos (a surrogacy expert and founder of Global IVF). … Continue reading
Posted in IVF Treatment Abroad, surrogacy, travel
Comments Off on Practical Considerations When Going Abroad
A new study out of the UK is once again touting the advantages of the endometrial scratching prior to IVF. This is not a new concept, I wrote about it here and here and the scientists in Nottingham are reporting that … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Donor Egg IVF, egg donation, embryo donation, Endometrial scratching, Fertility News, IVF Success Rates, IVF Treatment Abroad, Treatment protocols
Comments Off on Endometrial Scratch to Improve Pregnancy Rates
There have been a few interesting stories in the news of late related to fertility treatments. Here’s my wrap up. For more frequently updated information – follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IVFTraveler NGS – Next Generation Sequencing A baby has been born using a … Continue reading
Posted in CCS - comprehensive chromosome screening, egg donation, egg donor, Fertility News, surrogacy
Comments Off on Fertility in the news
I was recently invited to write an article exploring all of the various options available for frozen embryo donation or embryo adoption. It was published today on PVED – Parents Via Egg Donation! If you’re exploring options for donated embryos, … Continue reading
Posted in choose a clinic, donor embryos, embryo donation, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged embryo adoption
Comments Off on Embryo donation and embryo adoption options
Just in case you didn’t get enough technical details in my last post about PGD, PGS, CCS, and preimplantation genetic testing, I wanted to highlight this very technical and in depth article from the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics. It talks … Continue reading
Posted in CCS - comprehensive chromosome screening, Czech, Fertility News, IVF Success Rates, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged aneupolidy, array CGH, CGH, comprehensive chromosome screening, FISH PGD, microarray, PCR, PGD, PGS, prague, preimlantation genetic diagnosis, preimplantation genetic screening, SNP
Comments Off on More about Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS)
I found this recent article from the UK that talks about a series of public events held in London addressing the perceptions of donor conceived individuals. In this case, they were primarily talking with and about adult children conceived with donor … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, egg donation, egg donor, embryo donation
Comments Off on Perceptions of Donor Conceived Children
The Embryoscope Time Lapse Video monitoring that I talked about here made the US NBC Evening News! Here’s a link to the NBC News report which provides very interesting video showing how Embryoscope works and what doctors see as its primary benefits: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/50997885/#50997885 Although the medical reporter … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Fertility News, IVF Success Rates, IVF Treatment Abroad, travel, Treatment protocols
Tagged Embryoscope, India, IVF, miscarriage, Spain, time lapse video monitoring, UK, US
Comments Off on NBC News Report on Embryoscope Time Lapse Video Monitoring
The lastest publishing of the US SART IVF clinic success rates for 2011 has led to some interesting discussions about how to best use the SART or CDC data. It also identified a few scenarios where the data simply isn’t … Continue reading
Posted in CCS - comprehensive chromosome screening, choose a clinic, Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, egg donor, egg freezing, embryo donation, Fertility News, frozen donor eggs, IVF Success Rates
Tagged lower cost donor egg ivf
Comments Off on When NOT To Use IVF Success Rates To Pick A Clinic
As a follow up to my post earlier this week about the 2011 donor egg cycle statistics, I wanted to also report on some interesting notes in the non-donor (or own egg) IVF Statistics. It is a bit more cumbersome … Continue reading
Posted in Fertility News, IVF Success Rates
Tagged SART 2011
Comments Off on SART 2011 IVF Success Rates
Wow, the medical community loves its acronyms. PGD, PGS, FISH, CCS – I often get asked to explain the differences and options for genetic testing of embryos prior to transfer. So, in sort-of layman terms, here’s my explanation. The terms PGD … Continue reading
Posted in CCS - comprehensive chromosome screening
Tagged aCGH, CCS, CGH, competent embryo, embryo genetic testing, PCR, PGD, PGS, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, preimplantation genetic screening, SNP, vitrification
Comments Off on PGD, PGS, CCS and preimplantation genetic testing
The 2011 IVF and donor egg IVF success rates were published by SART, and we see some interesting changes in the top clinic statistics. The United States national average live birth rates for a fresh donor egg cycle is 54.9% … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, egg donation, egg donor, IVF Success Rates
Tagged SART 2011
Comments Off on SART 2011 US IVF Success Rates for Donor Eggs
Now that the ASRM has lifted the “Experimental” label on egg freezing (also known as oocyte preservation, fertility preservation, or egg banking), more attention is being focused on options available for egg freezing, and educating the public about treatment options and identifying when … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, egg freezing, Fertility News, IVF Treatment Abroad, travel
Tagged ASRM, chemotherapy, egg banking, egg freezing, fertility preservation, oocyte freezing, radiation
Comments Off on Fertility Preservation aka Egg Freezing
I am honored and excited to have been selected to join the Advisory Board of the nonprofit Parents Via Egg Donation as their IVF Abroad Advisor. It is truly a distinguished group of colleagues on this board and I am … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, egg donation, egg donor, Fertility News, IVF Treatment Abroad
Comments Off on PVED Announces New Advisory Board Members
I am often asked about the differences of using frozen donor eggs (unfertilized donor eggs from an egg bank) vs. doing a fresh donor egg cycle. Here are a few things to consider: The benefits to frozen donor eggs (not … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, Fertility News, frozen donor eggs, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged ASRM, donor egg bank, donor egg pricing, egg freezing experimental, frozen donor egg success rates
Comments Off on Frozen Donor Eggs
I am honored and so very grateful to the families who have allowed me the opportunity and privilege of assisting them in their family building journeys in 2012. The new baby pictures from my clients still give me chills and make my heart swell with … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Happy Holidays From IVF Traveler
One of my first clinic visits on this trip to the Czech Republic was to the well respected clinic Gennet. Several years ago I had visited their original ART center (it is a full women’s center), but just last year they … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, egg donor, embryo donation, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged embryo adoption, Gennet, IVM, London, prague
Comments Off on Gennet Clinic Prague
Over the next few days, I will be traveling throughout Czech visiting the most popular IVF clinics and hearing all about their latest advances and technologies on the horizon. We’ll be talking about own egg IVF treatments, ICSI, PICSI, IMSI (for any … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, egg donor, embryo donation, IVF Vacation, Male Factor, travel, Uncategorized
Tagged aCGH, frozen donor eggs, IVF, PGD, PGS, prague, travel
Comments Off on Journey Through Czech
So often in my work, I encounter women who have truly been through infertility hell – with so many heartbreaking losses on their path to parenthood. We often talk about grief and those losses along the way – the loss of the … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, egg donor
Tagged genetic connection, grief, loss, miscarriage
Comments Off on Grieving the losses
Recently, some new rules went into effect, making it much harder for Czech IVF reproductive clinics to accept shipments of frozen sperm (from a partner or a donor) if the sperm originates in a non-European Union country. The result of these new … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Fertility News, IVF Treatment Abroad, Uncategorized
Tagged Czech IVF, donor sperm
Comments Off on New rules for shipping frozen sperm to Czech
Dawn over at Creating A Family shared a great blog post today titled The College Essay. In it, a mother shares the story of how her college aged daughter views the fact that she was conceived with the help of a donor. Great … Continue reading
Posted in egg donor
Tagged donor conceived child, egg donation, egg donor, sperm donor
Comments Off on Perspective of a donor conceived child
A study that appeared in the May 2012 New England Journal of Medicine explored the risk of birth defects when using reproductive technology. That story had the media and infertility circles buzzing, and lots of my clients asking questions. Is IVF safe? Is … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Fertility News, Male Factor, Treatment protocols, Uncategorized
Tagged birth defects, Czech Republic, fertilization, Hana Krasna, ICSI, IVF, New England Journal of Medicine, ReproGenesis
Comments Off on ICSI – Is It Really Safe?
Most of the IVF clinics abroad that my patients go to for treatment are doing 5 day transfers for the majority of IVF or donor IVF cycles. There is the occasional clinic that will suggest a 3 day transfer routinely, but most … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, IVF Success Rates
Tagged 3 day transfer, 3 day vs. 5 day transfer, 5 day transfer, embryologist, embryology lab
Comments Off on 3 day transfers vs. 5 day transfers
In this prior post, I talked about the differences in embryo donation programs in the US and abroad. According to many people in the US who are waiting for donor embryos, it can take over a year of searching clinics to … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, egg donor, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged affordable, anonymous donor, donor sperm, embryo adoption, embryo donation, eSET, FET
Comments Off on Available frozen embryos
An interesting question was posed recently suggesting that virtually all overseas egg donors are being exploited if their home country had limits on egg donor compensation. Unlike the United States, where donors can set their own compensation (although many clinics and … Continue reading
Posted in Czech, Donor Egg IVF, egg donor, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged ASRM, donor compensation, egg donor, egg donor compensation, egg donor exploitation, literacy
1 Comment
Couples from Ireland considering cross-border surrogacy have long been left in legal limbo when trying to secure citizenship for children born to surrogates outside of Ireland. This has caused many children to be left in legal limbo, creating heartache and … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, Fertility News, IVF Treatment Abroad, surrogacy
Tagged cross-border surrogacy, donor egg, donor sperm, Ireland, Ireland surrogacy, Irish, IVF Abroad
Comments Off on New guidance for Irish couples going abroad for surrogacy
I often get asked why people choose to go to the Czech Republic for IVF, donor egg IVF, and donor embryo treatments. My friends Kathryn Kaycoff-Manos, MA and Lauri Berger de Brito over at Global IVF have recently been traveling in Europe speaking at a conference on … Continue reading
Posted in IVF Treatment Abroad, IVF Vacation
Tagged brno, cross border reproductive care, czech, Czech Republic, donor egg ivf, donor embryo, Global IVF, IVF, ivf vacation, Kathryn Kaycoff-Manos, Lauri Berger de Brito, prague
Comments Off on Why IVF in Czech?
Recently, I have been in communication with a clinic in the Czech Republic that is using Embryo Monitoring in their IVF practice both for non-donor egg IVF and for donor egg IVF treatments. They have reported that they are seeing about … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, Endometrial scratching, Fertility News, IVF Success Rates, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged czech, donor egg ivf, embryo, embryo monitoring, EmbryoSense, fragmentation, IVF, IVF Success Rates, nuclei, pronuclei, Unisense FertiliTech A/S
Comments Off on Embryo monitoring improves IVF success rates
The American Journal of Perinatology Feb 2012 issue includes a study by Columbia University Medical Center indicating that older women who are pregnant with donor eggs are not at a higher risk of obstetrical complications than their younger counterparts who were … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, Fertility News, Pregnancy over 50
Tagged American Journal of Perinatology, Columbia University Medical Center, donor egg ivf, pregnancy complications
Comments Off on Are women over 50 at higher risk during pregnancy?
The SART 2010 US IVF clinic statistics have been released. As I talked about in this post, just statistics alone are not the only thing to consider, but it does give us just one more piece of data to throw … Continue reading
Today, Pfizer issued a recall for certain lots of birth control pills. It affects Lo/Ovral and generic Norgestrel 0.3 mg/Ethinyl Estradiol 0.03 mg tablets. The full list of affected medications and lots can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm289770.htm You may wonder … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, Fertility News, Treatment protocols
Tagged birth control pills, donor egg ivf, IVF, Pfizer
Comments Off on Could the Pfizer bcp recall affect your IVF treatment?
I was fascinated by an article on the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal featuring our friends over at Global IVF and Agency for Surrogacy Solutions. Today marks the Chinese New Year, the year of the Dragon. Apparently it is very lucky if … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Happy Chinese New Year – will there be a baby boom?
Recently I’ve been asked on several occasions about how the frozen donor embryo programs abroad compare to what is available in the US. So, I thought I would share a bit more about the similarities and differences. Generally speaking, the embryo … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, donor embryos, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged affordable, CGH, Czech Republic, donor egg ivf, donor embryo, donor embryos, donor sperm, embryo adoption, embryo donation, FET, frozen donor embryo, frozen embryo transfer, genetics, IVF, low cost, PGD, same sex couples, SMC
2 Comments
A recent Spanish study showed a 7% increase in birth rates when two embryos were transferred together. When only one embryo was implanted, the survival to birth rate was 76%, vs 83% for a twin pregnancy. The study, published in the January … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ASRM, donor egg, elective single embryo transfer, embryo, eSET, IVF, multiple pregnancy, Obstetrics and Gynecology, twin
2 Comments
Statistics….in fertility, everyone seems to love to talk about statistics. And when it comes to IVF and donor egg IVF treatments, often it is one of the factors most relied on when selecting a doctor or clinic. And for a good … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, IVF Treatment Abroad
Tagged CDC, donor egg, donor ivf, embryo, embryologist, eSET, FET, frozen embryo transfer, IVF, IVF Abroad, IVF Success Rates, IVF treatment, pregnancy rates, SART
Comments Off on Comparing clinic IVF success rates
What a difference a year makes! As I reflect over the past year, on Jan 1, 2011 I had no idea how my life would change in just one year! I am grateful for the opportunities and joy that came … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Comments Off on Happy New Year!
It’s the holiday season, and songs and proclamations of joy are all around us. It’s been a pretty joyful week here at my office too – and not just for the holiday festivities. In just one short week, my email … Continue reading
It is official, we’ve moved the blog to new digs. Please add our new feed to your reader, or whatever you are using to follow blogs. There is also a link in the right column to make it easy to … Continue reading
Posted in blog, Fertility News, IVF Treatment Abroad
Comments Off on Welcome to the new home of the IVF Traveler blog
A new non-invasive test for detecting Down syndrome was announced recently and reported in this NY Times article. This new test by Sequenom tests for Down syndrome by testing a sample of the mother’s blood rather than the more invasive tests of amniocentesis … Continue reading
Posted in Fertility News, Uncategorized
Tagged amnioscentesis, chromosomes, CVS, down syndrome, pregnancy testing
Comments Off on Controversial New Down Syndrome Test
Fertility Success Rates recently published their list of the top US clinics for Live Birth rates with Fresh Donor Eggs. They are reporting that this data is based on the 2009 Society For Assisted Reproductive Technology (aka SART) IVF Success Rates data (note: … Continue reading
Posted in Donor Egg IVF, Fertility News
Tagged 2009 success rates, de ivf, donor ivf, IVF Success Rates, SART, US Clinics
3 Comments
Biological clocks – they aren’t just for women anymore. A recent article referencing a male factor infertility study showed that there is a decline in male fertility after age 41, and it points to an even sharper decline after age 45. … Continue reading
Posted in Fertility News, Treatment protocols
Tagged DNA fragmentation, donor eggs, IVF, SCSA test, semen analysis, Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay
Comments Off on Male Biological Clocks
RESOLVE has started a petition directed to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius who is tasked with determining the Essential Benefits to be included in each state’s health insurance exchange effective January, 2014. RESOLVE’s goal is to … Continue reading
A recent New York Times article posed the question “Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue“? It went on to describe how making decision after decision can wear people down, sometimes resulting in poor choices or a different choice than may … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged acupuncture, decision fatigue, donor egg ivf, donor embryos, frozen donor eggs, international, IVF, own egg, PGD, POAS, progesterone
1 Comment
Although it sounds counter-intuitive, in the past few years, several studies have shown a marked increase in IVF implantation/success when patients have undergone an endometrial biopsy (also known as LEI – luteal phase endometerial injury) prior to IVF treatment. In the initial Israeli … Continue reading
Posted in Endometrial scratching, Uncategorized
Tagged biopsy, Brazil, donor ivf, Dr. Dekel, Dr. Fernando Prado Ferreira, embryo, endometrial biopsy, failure to implant, Federal University of Sao Paulo, FET, frozen embryo transfer, implantation failure, Israel, IVF, IVF implantation, LEI, luteal phase endometrial injury, Santa Joana Maternity Hospital
Comments Off on Endometrial Biopsies (LEI) or Uterine Scarring to improve success rates?
Sometimes when the first plan for family building isn’t working out, plan B can be perceived by some a bit like a “consolation prize” or a less optimal choice. Recently I was thinking about how so many of us in infertility land go through the pain … Continue reading
Today’s post is just a short request. A blogger friend, Amy Rauch Neilson, is a writer, a mom, and is currently undergoing chemo to fight a recurrence of breast cancer. She needs our help – and it won’t cost you … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Amy Rauch Neilson, breast cancer, friend, It's In The Genes
3 Comments
I recently read this really terrific blog post about if and when to POAS (pee on a stick – or take a home pregnancy test) after an IVF treatment. The author, Lisa Rouff, Ph.D., is a psychologist specializing in infertility and adoption. You … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged donor ivf, embryo, embryo quality, home pregnancy test, implantation, implantation failure, IVF, IVF treatment, own egg IVF, POAS
4 Comments
Recent news of Elton John’s surrogate baby, Nicole Kidman’s “gestational carrier”, and Kelly Preston’s introduction of her new baby seems to have the media and bloggers alike all a-flutter about the current state of fertility options and infertility treatments. What I’d … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged donor sperm, egg donor, Elton John, fertility, frozen embryos, gestational carrier, gestational surrogate, infertility, IVF, kelly preston, nicole kidman, surrogate
1 Comment
The path of infertility is so often filled with disappointments and sadness, that it is easy to misplace the hope you had when starting on this path. And the more treatments that don’t result in a positive outcome, the harder … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged donor eggs, donor sperm, hope, infertility, IVF, IVF Abroad, miscarriage, pregnancy, pregnancy loss
Comments Off on Defining Hope
The blogosphere is all abuzz about a recent NY Times article by Melanie Thernstrom, a woman who used egg donation and surrogacy to have her two children “twiblings”. She very openly discusses their journey to parenthood and their choices for building their … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged egg donation, family building, IVF, IVF Abroad, Melanie Thernstrom, NY Times, surrogacy, twiblings
1 Comment
In the past year several countries have made pretty significant changes to their legislation related to third party reproduction – particularly IVF with donor eggs or surrogacy. Some have been progressive, and sadly, some made access to treatment more difficult … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged donor, donor ivf, Elton John, fertility, IVF, Neil Patrick Harris, surrogacy, surrogate, third party reproduction
Comments Off on What Advances Will 2011 Hold?
As I sat in my doctor’s office I was reading an article today and came across a new word that struck me. Saudade. It is a Portuguese word that supposedly means longing, incompleteness and desire – all in one. In the … Continue reading
Oprah and the mainstream media seem too often to focus on the horror stories of surrogacy abroad. That is not what this post is about. Doing IVF Abroad in combination with using a local surrogate (local to where you live) can … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged affordable surrogacy, cheaper surrogacy, donor ivf, family building, gestational carrier, gestational surrogate, intended parent, IVF, IVF insurance, surrogacy, surrogacy cost, surrogate
Comments Off on IVF Abroad and Surrogacy
I recently discovered this wonderful book for toddlers and children conceived through IVF with donor eggs. It provides a great basis for parents to begin a natural conversation about “their birth story” with their children. The author, Kim Noble, very delicately handles this topic and focuses on … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged amazon, childrens donor egg book, disclosure, donor egg, donor ivf, IVF, Kim Noble, One More Giraffe, stepanie gibson
1 Comment
Well now, that’s a mouthful. It’s no wonder the medical community comes up with all of these acronyms. PDG – so much easier to say. This is also sometimes referred to as PGS – pre-implantation genetic screening. So, we continue … Continue reading
I’ve participated in some rather interesting discussions recently of what prospective parents (especially those using assisted reproductive services such as IVF or donor egg IVF) might want to consider for genetic screening prior to conceiving. It turns out, there really aren’t any … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged CGH, comparative genome hybridization, DNA, DNA testing, donor eggs, egg donor, Fragile-X, genetic testing, gestational carrier, IVF, karyotype, mother, PGD, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, Sickle Cell Anemia, SMA, spinal muscular atrophy, surrogate, Tay Sachs
3 Comments
Over many years and many cycles, I started compiling a list of things to help maintain sanity while enduring the excruciatingly long 2ww (2 week wait – the wait from when you have an IVF transfer until when you can … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2ww, IVF, IVF Abroad, IVF travel, ivf vacation, two week wait
Comments Off on Distractions for the Two Week Wait
After talking with lots of women experiencing infertility or pregnancy losses, and going through the journey myself, I have become convinced, that once we finally are pregnant, many previously infertile women often experience a sort of infertility post traumatic stress disorder. I do not … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, PTSD, stress
Comments Off on PTSD of Pregnancy After Infertility
When planning your travel, I like to recommend that you plan for the worst and hope for the best. More often than not, things go exactly as planned and all is well. But in the unfortunate case that you do … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged IVF medication, IVF travel, progesterone, travel safeguards
Comments Off on Plan for the worst, hope for the best
The recent volcano and resulting travel nightmares emphasizes the importance of having contingency plans – particularly when traveling for medical treatments. Those safeguards and contingency plans will help make things easier if you are stranded by a volcano, hurricane or some … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cancelled flights, donor ivf, flight delays, Iceland Volcano, IVF, IVF Abroad, IVF Europe, medical tourism, medical tourism travel insurance, travel insurance, trip cancellation insurance
Comments Off on Volcanos and other travel challenges
So many doctors have differing opinions about which type of progesterone is best for your IVF cycle. Each doctor seems to have their favorites or the ones they use for their practice. But have you ever asked your doctor why … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged crinone, donor ivf, endometrin, IVF, IVF Abroad, IVF Europe, ivf vacation, progesterone, prometrium, utrogestan
3 Comments
After someone decides to do donor egg IVF, one of the very first decisions to make is anonymous donor, known donor, or something in between (sometimes called semi-known). This one question will help determine which clinics you can use and what … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anonymous donor, de ivf, donor egg, donor egg agency, donor egg ivf, fertility, IVF, IVF Abroad, ivf vacation, known donor, parents via egg donation, PVED, semi-known donor
Comments Off on Egg Donors – anonymous, known, semi-known?
Yesterday I talked about how loathe I am to have government legislation involved in my fertility decisions. I promised today I would finish that train of thought with “how old is too old” for IVF. So, what about age limits on fertility … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged British IVF, donor egg, donor ivf, how old is too old for IVF, IVF, IVF after 40, IVF after 50, IVF Europe, IVF legislation
Comments Off on How old is too old?
The recent news of the milestone birthday of the Octuplets, and the story of a 59 year old British women electing to do IVF seems to have the online world all a-buzz about fertility regulation. And so many people are coming … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged British IVF, donor egg, donor ivf, e-SET, how old is too old, IVF, IVF Abroad, IVF Europe, IVF legislation, IVF over 50, my body, my choice, Octomom, single embryo transfer
2 Comments
Well, I’m back after a long radio silence. Do you ever just need some time to process and re-group? Well, that’s my excuse. So, I’m back, but this time, I’ve decided to take a slightly new approach to this blog. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ART, designer baby, donor egg ivf, donor embryo, fertility, IVF, PGD, reproductive, tourism
Comments Off on Back after a long radio silence
I sometimes question my long-held belief that if things are meant to be, they will happen. Certainly, there is nothing like a failed IVF cycle to make you question that belief. But yet, I remain convinced that I will have … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
The two week wait is full of hope and fear. And though there is really nothing one can do to impact the outcome of the impending pregnancy test, the question nags: shall I test early, or not? In one camp, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged beta, home pregnancy test, HPT, IVF, negative, not pregnant, POAS, positive, pregnant, test early test often
1 Comment
Wow, there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed after being away from home. I can’t decide if the trip to Europe feels longer, or the one back – I’m pretty sure it is the one coming back though. … Continue reading
I awoke this morning slightly nervous about our transfer, but excited by our prospects for success. After all, as of the last time the clinic checked on them, we had 6 great looking embryos from a proven donor and the doctor had … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
I went to the local Czech acupuncturist today – the same one I saw last time I was here. She’s a bit of a trip. She is not exactly the soothing, supportive type; she’s more the shake her head negatively … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged acupuncture, czech, IVF, moxa, permanent needle, transfer
Comments Off on Got a nail in my ear
I made the journey from Prague to Brno yesterday. I was a bit sad to leave Prague, it is such a gorgeous city! That architecture and skyline is just amazing. It was only a 2 1/2 hour bus or train … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged brno, bus, czech, friends, Grand hotel, IVF, prague, restaurant, smoking, train, tram
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I have no idea how I waited this long for my embryo update without going crazy. I guess keeping busy is a good thing. I had missed the Thursday update, the Friday update, and then I missed the window of … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged acupuncture, brno, egg retrieval, embryo transfer, fertilization, implantation, IVF, massage, transfer
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Arrived in Prague – the weather is almost perfect – 80s during the day, 60s at night. Occasional clouds in the sky. The trick for me to European travel is to stay awake until bedtime in the city where I … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged eggs, embryos, fertilization, IVF, petri dish, prague, sperm
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Although I’m no Bo Derek, I always wanted to be a perfect 10. But today, I was never so happy to hear I was an 8. My lining that is-8mm. Now, for a little background. Last cycle, my lining was only … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged endometrium, IVF, IVF travel, lining, reproductive endocrinologist, ultrasound
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About 7 days from right now I should be landing in Prague. Wow, time flies when you’re having fun. Seriously though, I go back and forth between “I thought this day would never come” and “yikes, how did this date … Continue reading
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Tagged Czech Republic, IVF, IVF travel, prague, Reprofit
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I wish it were simple – instructions for building the perfect lining. But not so. Ask 20 people for their recommendations, and you’ll likely get 20 different answers. I am amazed that this one element is so critical to a successful … Continue reading
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Tagged acupuncture, brazil nuts, delestrogen, diet, estrace, estrogen, IVF, lining, pineapple, wine
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Flights are booked. Hotels are confirmed. Plans are in place, and I’ve started the good medications. It seems like I’m forgetting something…or lots of things. This seems too easy this time – far less stressful than my last trip to … Continue reading
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Tagged brno, czech, grand hotel brno, IVF, ivf vacation, prague, Reprofit
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When I was a teenager, LEI was a brand of jeans. Today, I found out what it means as an IVF patient, Luteal phase endometrial injury. Big ominous sounding name, right? Actually, it’s a rather new technique that is gaining … Continue reading
Posted in Endometrial scratching, Uncategorized
Tagged czech, donor ivf, europe, fertility, infertility, IVF, ivf vacation, LEI, luteal phase endometrial injury, reproductive endocrinologist
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Life really has been getting in the way of my travel planning lately. I think it is time to get serious though and get my hotels booked at the very least. It is hard to believe that I’m leaving in … Continue reading
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Tagged brno, czech, donor ivf, europe, fertility, grand hotel brno, IVF, ivf vacation, prague, Reprofit
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The rollercoaster has left the platform, and my medications have started. It reminds me of those few moments after you get strapped in to a rollercoaster and start slowly creeping away from the platform in that slow climb to the … Continue reading
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Tagged czech, donor ivf, europe, fertility, IVF, ivf rollercoaster, ivf vacation, Reprofit, surrogacy
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Who knew that a google search late one night would lead us halfway across the world in our quest for a baby? Our story actually started several years ago. My husband and I were married a bit later in life … Continue reading
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Tagged czech, donor ivf, europe, fertility, infertility, IVF, ivf vacation, Reprofit
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