Surrogacy

[MrsEck]

Hi

I'm new to these boards & just wonder if anyone can share their experience of surrogacy?

A bit about me:
No periods since I came of the pill 5 1/2 years ago
Lap for investigations Nov 2008
Cautaurisation Feb 2009
TTC since Jan 2010

I've seen 5 different gyneacologists regarding my absent periods & they've come up with nothing. I was referred to St Mary's ivf unit in October 2011. In feb 2012 we attempted a cycle of TI with injectables. Cycle was cancelled after 16 days due to shrinking folicles. Our consultant told us our best bet was ivf & diagnosed me with brittle pco (apparently its a rare form of pco that means my ovaries show as polycystic but my body has a lack of estrogen)

I began estrogen therapy in April 2012. We switched to CARE due to statiscally greater chance of ivf success. My CARE consultant agreed with the brittle pco diagnosis & since then I've been on estrogen for 15 weeks. On the highest dose they can prescribe.

At our appointment on monday we were told my lining is not responding to the estrogen (it remains at a little under 4mm) & its highly unlikely it will ever respond so surrogacy was our only option.

I'm awaiting a delivery of menopur to start egg retrieval. They estimate around 14 days of injections then ER to follow (if by some miracle this makes my lining thicker) they're willing to chance a ET back into me but if not then we're going to freeze the embryos (well fingers crossed we've some to freeze)

I'm incredibly lucky that my sister has offered to be our surrogate (just not immediately as she only had her 2nd child 13weeks ago)

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience of surrogacy or been a surrogate. We're devastated at the news & its still quite raw but we know we need to move on & look positively to the furture.

Thanks for reading sorry its a long post

[Elizabeth hope]

Hi Mrs Eck

I am sorry for all you have been through and I really empathise with how you must be feeling.

I was hoping someone with more surrogacy experience would be able to reply to you but I noticed while I was having a quick read that you hadn't had any replies and I wanted to just say HI and welcome to the What next part of the board. Its not as scary as it seems.

I am an adoptive Mummy and all I can say is that after years of waiting for my child to come along I woke up one day and felt sure that children arrive in all sorts of ways but that we all get the children we are meant to get. From the day we started the adoption process I knew deep down that this was the path I was always destined to walk. I am so busy brining him up I HONESTLY dont have time to think about how he got here. He's 100% my son....I couldn't love him more and he couldn't love me more. It wasn't always like this, the first year was very very tough on both of us but every scary minute was worth what we now have.

Please feel free to pop onto adoption angels.....it doesn't matter that you are not adopting. It's just a bunch of ladies who are walking a different path.

You are not alone, thats the main thing.

Elizabeth
xxx

[genette]

Hello.

Ive been a surrogate 3 times. Anything you would like to know email me on genette1@virginmedia.com and i will answer for you x