The second IVF/ICSI at Manipal (MARS)

Eventually, after couple of months, we decided to and registered for another ICSI cycle.  This time, Dr. Jyothi opted for a different approach. The first time, she had given growth hormones in addition to stimulation to increase the number of oocytes retrieved.  This time, the philosophy was different: the objective was quality over quantity, so no growth hormones were given.  We went through the cycle and when it was appropriate, the oocytes were retrieved.  There were three oocytes (eggs) retrieved) which fertilized and started growing in the incubator.

However, there was a hitch. Our progesterone levels came a bit high when measured before inducing ovulation.  My understanding here is as follows.  After ovulation, normally the progesterone levels climb causing a change in the endometrium (lining of the uterus).  If this happens too early, the endometrium can start changing too soon and not match with the fertilized egg.  Oh bummer.  So a decision was made to freeze the eggs and do the transfer in a fresh cycle via "Frozen Embryo Transfer" or FET to give the embryos their best chance.

It was a tad disappointing, but that was okay.  Only fear was if the freezing would cause issues to the embryos, given our low number. Few of them do not survive the freeze.  However, the windom was that the embryos that survive the freeze are more robut and have a better success rate as well.

Another note was that before this cycle, we had done an AMH test and found a small improvement to a reading of 1.2.  Still below 2, but 1.2 was better than 0.8!

Few other notes about Manipal: This is a more busy clinic, though Dr. Jyothi had a smaller number of patients.  Dr. Bina Vasan was the busy doctor here with a huge line of patients.  Dr. Manju and Dr. Shyamala were the assistant doctors who did most of the hard work and kept track of things, did the scans etc.  However, in true fashion, Dr. Jyoti kept tabs and things and was up to date.  Similarly, after anesthesia following oocyte retrieval, she checked in with us in the evening and so on.

Another bummer that happened was that we had an unrelated health issue come up which meant that we could not go back for embryo transfer for 2-3 months while sorting that out.