Last week, Sara spoke to one hell of an IVF Warrior, Corrinne, about her 6.5 year journey to motherhood. This is what she told us…
Myself and Justin have been trying for a baby for six and a half years. Unfortunately, we experienced three missed miscarriages within the first two and a half years, including one where we saw a heartbeat and another that was a partial molar pregnancy.
We were fortunate to receive an opportunity for IVF on the NHS, but the two embryos created resulted in chemical pregnancies. We then decided to privately fund IVF with the same clinic, opting for a package that included two fresh cycles and as many frozen cycles as needed, depending on the number of embryos created. During the first fresh cycle, we were thrilled to create five suitable embryos, and three more during the second cycle.
Our only positive pregnancy test during IVF treatment was in June ’22 with a double embryo transfer. Despite our high hopes, it ended in a missed miscarriage after seeing a heartbeat. In February this year, we did a cycle with what was considered our best ever embryo. I started bleeding early in the “two-week wait,” and when I asked the clinic if it was due to low progesterone, their uncertain response was disheartening.
After a break from treatment, we decided to give it one more try and moved to ARGC London.
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know it’s been like IVF bootcamp. I traveled to and from London daily for two weeks, underwent numerous tests, investigations, and treatments previously unmentioned by our old clinic. This included:
- A hysteroscopy
- Neupogen treatment to thicken my stubborn lining
- DNA fragmentation for semen, with a PICSI procedure recommended
- Natural killer and cytokine test, which was positive for high levels of both.
High levels of the TH1 pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha can reduce egg quality, cause implantation failure, and lead to miscarriage. Natural Killer (NK) cells, which play a role in the immune system, can also contribute to miscarriage and failed implantation by attacking the embryo. To address my high cytokine levels, I underwent a six-week Humira treatment, which successfully lowered them. (Humira treatment involves the use of a medication called adalimumab, a biologic drug that helps reduce inflammation by blocking the activity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF), used to treat various autoimmune conditions.)
During IVF, I received IVIG treatment to suppress the NK cells. (IVIG treatment, or Intravenous Immunoglobulin, is a therapy that involves infusing a concentrated mixture of antibodies into the bloodstream to help manage and normalize the immune system, often used for various immunodeficiency, autoimmune, infectious, and inflammatory conditions.)
After 14 days of high-dose stimulation drugs, nine eggs were collected, and five fertilized well using PICSI. Three embryos reached the blastocyst stage by day five, and we transferred all three, as recommended by ARGC.
IT WORKED! WE ARE PREGNANT!!! ❤️
We are in the very early stages and cautiously optimistic that the fifth time is the charm. Due to the complex nature of our treatment and my immunology issues, we require ongoing assessments, medication (progesterone, blood thinners, steroids), blood tests, and potentially more IVIG treatment (£2.5k each). More IVIG has been confirmed due to increased NK CD19 and NK CD19+CD5 levels.
We understand and accept that this has been an expensive process, and while we never intended to ask for help, donations towards our journey, though not expected, would be greatly appreciated due to the escalating costs of medication.
We want you to be part of our journey whether you donate or not. If you’d like to stay updated with our progress over the coming weeks (hopefully months), you can follow us on Instagram: @lifewithcorrinne.
