LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

I just had my intial consult w/ Dr. Kenigsberg after 3 previous failed Ivf cycles. I was shocked to find out they only do day 3 transfers? From all my previous doctors & everything I've read if there are a large number of embryos it is best to let them go to blast to help identify the most competent ones. Also my protocol would be birth contol pills (no lupron) & then 3 vials of Menopur(FSH & LH) daily & then add ganirelix until HCG. That is sooo much LH. Most doctors don't add LH products like Menopur or Repronex until after a few days of stims or they do like 3 Bravelle or other FSH like Follistim to 1 Menopur. I am no expert but I have seen several doctors & am an internet junkie. Nothing concurs with either of these recommendations? I am totally disappointed & confused. I heard so many good things about LI IVF. I was going to start IVF cycle w/ my period in 2 weeks. Now I 'm not so sure. I went to the Lake Sucess office & was not that impressed with it either. The sono room was small, bright & not that clean. I was hoping this would be a totally different experience from my other RE that I didn't like. I have no infertility insurance & this my last attempt because of money problems. Any one hear of day 3 transfer over blast or just Menopur? For those of you who cycled there was your protocol similar? Results? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

When I went through, I used GF and repronex. I was on lupron. I looked on the internet and it looks like a lot of places use the ganirelix instead of the lupron, doesn't seem a big difference. Dr. K explained to me that their Day 3 rate is about as good as most programs Blast rate and they have an extremely successful freezing program that then maximizes your chances with having all those frozen embryos. He doesn't believe that embryos that don't make it to blast in the lab couldn't achieve a pregnancy in your body. I have been successful with him 2x, so I trust him. Good Luck...

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

NSUH generally does 3 day transfers, unless you have MANY embies and they feel it is worth the risk of losing some. They feel that embryos generally do better in the uterus than in a dish.

They dont use menopur only though.

Although a friend of mine who had an IUI with menopur made so many embies she was coverted to IVF. Another clinic though, so who knows....

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

I was never put on Menopur with LI-IVF. Everyone's protocol is different, based on what the doctor feels best fits your situation. You can see from my avatar, day 3 transfers are successful!

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

i'm sorry you were so disappointed. i went to li-ivf and had a wonderful experience.

i was on bcp, lupron, gonal-f and repronex. never on menopur. i did a 5 day transfer, because i did pgd on the embryos.

i think everyone's protocol is different based on their needs, which i think, is good. i would hate to think they do the exact same thing for everyone.

maybe you can make another appt with dr. k to ask all your questions and he could explain more why he is choosing this route for you. this will probably alleviate some of your anxiety. i always came to dr. brenner with a big list of questions and he always answered all of them. i'm sure if you expressed your concerns about things, they would try to work with you.

good luck!!

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

If you are that unhappy with the whole practice, you might want to think about switching before moving forward.

That being said - I have been seeing Dr. K for a year now and on my first IVF cycle I was on Menopur and Bravelle with Gonal-f near the end of my stim cycle. I ended up with 49 eggs, 22 fertilized and I hyperstimmed. He did a 3 day transfer at that time because he didn't think I was going to hyperstim.
I've been doing frozen transfers up til now. I'm about to start a stim cycle and my new protocol is Low-dose Ovidrel with Ganirelix to prevent Hyperstimming and they are going to do a 2 day transfer because they have been having more success with that in older women. So you can see they don't just use the same protocol over and over.

I went around for a couple of second opinions over the summer and both Drs. said that although they do day 5 transfers, they don't see that much of a difference in the success rate. Most do it if there is a question of embryo quality or for PGD.
There are two schools of thought on the transfer date: some Drs. think the sooner you get the embie back into the body the better and others think that letting the embie grow and choosing better over worse is better.

You have to find what you are comfortable with and although I personally love Dr. K - he's not for everyone and since this is such a personal, invasive experience you should find someone you are comfortable with.
ETA: I was asked what drugs I had from my IUI cycles and they were Menopur and Bravelle so they used them because he figured it would make things easier for me financially.
Good luck!

Message edited 9/12/2007 6:49:25 AM.

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

When I did an IVF cycle with Dr. K, I was on Gonal F and Menopur during the stimming process. He also had me taking dexymethasone too. I was on 3 Gonal F and 1 Menopur.

I agree with Gerty, if you are uncomfortable with the practice you should definitely go someplace else. I have only been to Lake Success once or twice and prefer Melville and Port Jeff, honestly.

Good luck to you in whatever you decide!

ETA: I did a blast because I did PGD. I got pregnant, but unfortunately the embryo was still not genetically viable. There must have been something else wrong that they didn't test with PGD.

Message edited 9/12/2007 7:42:35 AM.

Re: LI IVF only does day 3 transfer & uses only Menopur?

although I have heard wonderful things about that Dr I go to east coast fertility and they are absolutely wonderful there I have Dr Zapantis and cannot say enough about his work I never thought I would get pregnant and then I did with twins I ended up losing both but atleast I have hope that it can happen again. I was wondering though has anyone done genetic testing to see if you have a blood clotting disorder cause I had a few failed attempts as well and once we found that it worked on the next try. I had a vitamin deficiancy as well and was given foltx and what a difference anyway something to think about