Egg Freezing

Clearly one of the biggest issues facing our patients is advancing age. We cannot turn back the biologic clock and it is not fair that Strom Thurman can become a father at age 84 and for women after age 35 fertility really starts to drop. If only we had a way to determine the number of health eggs remaining in a woman, then we could give accurate assessments of the chances for success. Unfortunately, there is no test for egg quality that is definitive.So...

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Birth Control Pills and IVF Protocols

Many of the questions that I answer on the INCIID (www.INCIID.org) bulletin board revolve around medication protocols especially the use of oral contraceptives. Personally, I have had poor results with the use of oral contraceptives except in known high responding patients. I know that many clinics use pills in protocols without any problems but my own experience has not been very positive.So here is today’s “Question of the Day” from the book that...

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The Politics of Natural Cycle IVF

Yesterday we discussed two major issues facing patients and their doctors: How do we completely avoid the temptation to transfer more than one embryo and also avoid the risk of OHSS completely? One answer was to use Natural Cycle IVF.Why then would all clinics not offer Natural Cycle IVF? The procedure is already proven and familiar. We all do egg collections. We can use ICSI to ensure fertilization occurs if there is any concern. We all culture embryos. So where’s the problem?Here’s the situation as I see it. According to the Wyden Law every...

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Natural Cycle IVF, OHSS and Multiples

Happy New Year to all those wonderful people out in cyberspace who read this blog. Mom, check your mail for the family calendar that I sent you and tell Dad to stop shoveling the snow himself unless he wants to keel over from a heart attack this winter.January is the time for New Year’s Resolutions and one of mine is to resume this blog with the regularity that I was able to maintain prior to Tatiana’s sudden death (see last post). Part of healing is moving forward without losing your connection to the past and it is in this spirit that I am taking...

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