I am at a crossroads in my infertility journey and I just don't know what to do. I have had 3 pregnancies (natural) all of which didn't make it. #1 was probably a chemical pregnancy, #2 was a blighted ovum and #3, which just occurred, ended at almost 10weeks. I had a D&C and the analysis revealed Trisomy 9. My ob/gyn seemed to feel that we should probably consider donor egg at this point. She said the T9 was most likely age-related and that our chances of ending up with another failed pregnancy were very high given my age.

I find no information that correlates T9 to my age. I've found several posts of women (all younger than me though) that say they went on to have normal births and that their doctor said their previous T9 occurrence was just a fluke.

I just don't know what to think or do at this point. I don't know if I could handle another failure and going through a D&C again. I am getting tired of this and just want to have a baby. But it's so hard to say yes to donor egg and give up my chances forever at having my 'own' baby.

On top of it, the doctor I'm with (Zouves) tested me for MTHFR and found out that I'm homozygous. I'm now taking Folgard, baby aspirin and will do Lovenox. But I'm worried that even if I do donor egg, the MTHFR will prevent me from keeping that baby as well. And on top of all that, I haven't even finished all the testing he recommends.

I'm scared and tired and sad and hope someone can offer some insight. Thanks.

I wonder, did Zouves also refer you to Dr. Beer in Los Gatos? He conducts a lot more immune tests than Dr. Zouves... I'm a patient of both and would recommend seeing Dr. Beer as well, since you're clearly dealing with immunology issues... Also, please take a look at this web site, and (really, I mean it) read both books online. See if you think these might be behind your immune issues... Don't dismiss the ideas immediately (a lot of us did) but read all of both books and see what you think... http://www.fertilitysolution.com I'm sorry that you are having all these struggles. I'm hopeful that Dr. Zouves, Dr. Beer, and possibly Dr. Toth, all of whom are amazing doctors, will help you to have your healthy bio-baby. I would NOT encourage you to use DE before pursuing the other doctors' theories... Just my two cents... Lauren :hug:

P.S. You can get pg on your own... use IVF for the PGD possibility or not at all! If I were in your shoes, I would spend my money on a consult with Dr. Toth and on Dr. Beer's additional immune testing. Dr. Zouves is fantastic!! I'm just not sure why a couple who can get pg repeatedly on their own would be using IVF (unless it's to get PGD)...?

Thank you so much for replying, Lauren... so far Dr. Z has not referred us to Dr. Beer. I just got an email from him this morning. He does not see a need for genetic testing and like my ob/gyn is recommending DE at this point. Also, in his email this morning he said that ALL trisomies are age-related. Interesting...

Also to clarify, Dr. Z does not see the need for IVF (other than if we do DE) which is something that really burns me as we had to waste $18K on IVF treatments (2 attempts with my eggs, one failed, one cancelled) to get this far and then discover that I have the homozygous MTHFR and IVF on its own probably never would have worked for us anyway. No one bothered to test me for MTHFR of course until this 3rd natural failure on top of the failed IVFs. It was only because some other women struggling with infertility that I know directed me to Dr. Zouves that I learned about that testing. No other doctors even suggested it. Amazing...

I will read those books and I think we're going to consult Dr. Beers as well. Thanks so much for the quick reply, I really appreciate it.

OH I really feel your frustration. You have certainly received the run-around. I'm going to PM you about all of this... Lauren :hug:

as far as your age and the recurrance of a t9 it is true that you are at a higher risk due to your age but at this point there is no reason to believe it will happen again. has your re suggested doing pgd before t/f to check for this??
i do not think you are to the point of having to use donor eggs as of yet. the t9 was most likely a fluke event and has a much lower chance of happening again as compare dto some of the other trisomies you coudl have had.

Hi Becky C - thanks for your input. Dr. Z does not recommend PGD (if that is the same thing as genetic testing) for me at this point. He feels that we will most likely have success at this point with DE and is recommending it. He says that if we try again on our own, we should do that as soon as possible, not even wait the usual 2-3 months after D&C that is normally recommended.

However, I just found out about Dr. Toth from Lauren on this board. Apparently, this opens up another pandoras box of testing, this time for possible bacterial issues. I think I'm probably going to do that and see what that turns up, plus Dr. Beer's testing. There is not pressure for me to turn to DE just yet, I am realizing more and more. There is only my impatience to have a baby that is getting harder and harder to deal with... :(

I appreciate your vote of confidence though... I'll keep this board posted with my progress.