Rebecca & Jesse
Infertility Diagnosis
- Male factor
- Premature ovarian failure
- Recurrent miscarriage
Treatment(s)
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET)
- In vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Location(s)
- Albany
Physician(s)
- Edward Ditkoff, MD
- Michael Grossman, MD
Rebecca & Jesse's Story:
My husband and I started trying right after we got married in 2017. After about 9 months I had my yearly gynecologist check up and mentioned that we were trying, but had not had any luck so far. My gynecologist ran some basic tests and hsg but didn’t see any issues so she prescribed Clomid which we tried for 3 months. When we still had no luck, we started seeing a local RE. We started with IUIs, but after 4 unsuccessful IUIs, we moved on to IVF. Our first round of IVF revealed that I had low ovarian reserve as we only got 5 eggs. Only 2 fertilized so we transferred them both fresh and we were thrilled to have our first ever positive test. Sadly the pregnancy ended in an early miscarriage. With no embryos remaining we took a break from treatment and found CNY.
We did our next retrieval with CNY where we pursued a more aggressive treatment plan to combat my low reserve and had better results initially, but again only retrieved 4 eggs. We again transferred 2 fresh and ended up with one making it to freeze. With the transfer not taking we decided to do another retrieval right away since we only had one frozen. We were thrilled to get 11 eggs this time and when 9 of them fertilized we were filled with hope. We pushed them to day 5 and did a fresh transfer of the best embryo.
We were also able to freeze 6 additional embryos and had 7 total frozen now. We were thrilled and the icing on the cake was when we got our second ever positive pregnancy test! We were hesitant following our miscarriage the year prior, but the pregnancy progressed well and we began to get excited as we passed each milestone. We finally shared the news with family and friends after a great 20-week anatomy scan. Our pregnancy was picture perfect until 22 weeks when I noticed a few drops of blood when I went to the bathroom. We went to the ER where we were told I was 4 cm dilated and the baby’s bag was bulging. They were going to try to place an emergency cerclage to save the pregnancy, but once my water broke our options slimmed and we delivered our daughter the next day. She was born 10 days short of viability and did not survive. We were devastated.
Following the loss of our daughter, we took some time before jumping back into treatment. When we did resume we were confident that our 7 frozen embryos would lead to success. However, we transferred each embryo and had 3 additional miscarriages and negative results. Once we were out of embryos we were at a loss but weren’t ready to stop trying so we took the plunge for one final retrieval. It wasn’t our best, but we got some embryos and began doing transfers again. After another negative result, we regrouped and retested. We decided to try treatment for possible endometriosis before our next transfer and did a month of Orilissa along with antimicrobials. It was terrible, I had stomach issues, joint issues, hot flashes, and overall felt like I was 80 years old. After a month of treatment, we prepped for a transfer, but I ovulated too soon and the transfer had to be canceled. So we began lupron to salvage the effects of the Orissa. Lupron was also not fun, but I endured it for about 3 weeks until we could finally transfer.
We were exhausted and I literally cried on the transfer table. I was ready to be done but was not going to give up on our remaining embryos. Somehow transfer #11 with embryo #15 stuck. We got pregnant and held our breath the entire time. We had a cerclage placed at 13 weeks and were closely monitored by an MFM for preterm labor. Ironically, I made it to 40 weeks this time and had to be induced. We welcomed our son Luca on 12/3/21 and couldn’t be more in love.
Favorite Team Member at CNY:
N/A
Helpful resources Rebecca & Jesse found:
Support groups through Resolve for infertility and Pockets of Light for pregnancy and infant kids.
Unique Moments:
Losing our daughter was the hardest part. It caused severe ptsd throughout the pregnancy with our son. I couldn’t accept that we would take a baby home with us until we were actually leaving the hospital.
Hope, Inspiration and Advice:
Don’t set harsh boundaries for yourself. Allow yourself grace through the process and take it day by day.
