Bus 10 - All aboard the Donkey cart! Ivf, pcos, endo, unexplained fertility

We had a round on the NHS, IVF with ICSI.

Had 21 eggs collected, 16 mature, 15 fertilised, 14 on day 3, but unfortunately none on day 5, and two 5BB blastocysts on day 6. The consultant just shrugged when we asked what could have caused the dramatic drop off.

As I'm turning 34 in a few months we decided to go private to do some embryo banking. Also had a sperm DNA fragmentation test which turned out very badly at 45 %. My husband is now on a barrage of vitamins and supplements, and we are going to Miracle IVF by Dr Firdevs in North Cyprus for another round with Fertile Chip, ICSI, and PGTA testing. We are booked in for March.

It’s that time of year so I thought I’d drop by to say I hope you’re all doing well, it’s been a while since I checked in here but thought I’d see how you’re all doing.

@Marvellouslymadmum consultation with Coventry to establish if immune issues in uterus and biopsy. If treatment indicated we will need 3 months of treatment before another transfer. If not treatment needed, we need to decide about our mosaic embryo (transfer or donate for research) and one more egg collection paid for. After that no idea but deffo no more collections.

@Marvellouslymadmum unfortunately our eggs do have a use by daylte and mine aren't great to start wirh 😅 donor eggs have a much higher success rate so if they can sort out the blocked tube to make sure there is no hydrosalpinx it will have a higher chance of working than most people's own eggs. Fingers crossed for some more progress for you. We haven't even got to DE yet but once we've used our last round I really don't know where we'll go as it's already been 5.5 years and the hormones of all the failed transfers are bloody awful

@Marvellouslymadmum a blocked tube can cause a hydrosalpinx which is toxic fluid leaking into uterus and affects implantation, endo also causes more inflammation so removing some can only be helpful
@thislittlebird it's one of the only clinics in UK that does immune endometrial testing for killer cells and immune system imbalance, it's nhs research centre but does it private too, it's cheaper than London clinics too. It's the last thing to explain implantation failure

@kerrym87 hello! Yeah I think that plan makes complete sense. It’s hard to keeping trying and trying and it not working. In Coventry a different clinic?

@Lauralozzle oh wow, congrats! I know how scary it is when it works eventually. I’ve only ever had BFPs when taking prednisolone (one chemical at 5 weeks and my daughter), so I’m sure there’s something about me that means my body is overly defensive. Fingers firmly crossed for your upcoming scan! I also had blood thinners but not intralipids.

I’m ok, baby is now 10 months and time is flying by. Back to work in a few weeks so that’s a pain, and not looking forward to nursery whatsoever. I feel horrible having tried so hard for her and then dumping her off on to strangers for a significant fee 😭

I’ll be receiving another storage fee for my 5CC embryo soon, don’t even know what to do about that.

@Lauralozzle cautious congrats! I've never had a positive ever either with 5 transfers so hoping one more egg collection will increase the chance for us

@thislittlebird thanks for checking in! I had my last failed embryo transfer October, one mosaic left and one egg collection already paid for. Got consultation with Coventry regarding uterine biopsy for immune issues in may (really long wait list!) So we're not going ahead with anything until had appt. Not likely to get round to transfer until autumn by the time biopsy and any treatment done. It's hard but i needed a break from all the hormones as I've been really struggling with it's effect on my anxiety and horrendous mood swings.
How is everyone else doing?

@thislittlebird Hi! How are you?

Well, I had my 6th embryo transfer in February. Immune protocol this time with pred, blood thinners and intralipids. Somehow, I’m 7 weeks pregnant! First ever BFP. I have my first scan with the clinic next week on Tuesday, so I’m hoping it’ll be ok. I’m a bit scared of a MMC but hopeful too.

Just dropping by after some time to say I hope you’re all doing ok @Lauralozzle @kerrym87 @Marvellouslymadmum. It’s been a while so though I’d check in.

For very poor morphology ICSI is often recommended. It Starts With The Egg has a lot of information about supplements and diet for better sperm quality as well as ovarian function/egg quality.

@BussiBop23 it's not the end of the world but lifestyle changes plus impryl, mediterranean diet and cooling pads/avoiding heat on testicle can help. We have issues with all areas apart from motility and we have icsi. This can overcome many issues with sperm but the 3% isn't horrendous. Repeats with my hubbs have varied wildly but improved with impryl etc. Best to chat to clinic about best options before getting too despairing as it can be very overwhelming online! X

Guy's

We learnt that if the male has any kinda cold - effects results

My partners results in May werent ace

But jul were good.

Always repeat the test

@BussiBop23 morphology is actually the least important of the semen analysis perameters, I'm not sure if it helps to think of it that way? 3% isn't that bad, it's just below the normal range, but get him to take Impryl or another male fertility supplement and it should improve (obviously I'm assuming he isn't smoking or drinking lots etc, because those would need to be addressed as well). My husband's went from 3% to 8% after 3 + months on Impryl.

Back on here for some support after a difficult day.

A bit of background, we had a MC in March 2023 and have been TTC baby no.1 since with no luck.

Today my partner got his sperm analysis results back. All good except 3% morphology when the normal range is between 4-14%.

His initial reaction (after a quick Google to try and understand what that means) is that it's an absolute disaster. Our chances are minimal and it's his fault. He's clammed up since then and clearly doesn't want to talk about it.

I've said it's not a disaster and that we should stay positive. We've got a GP appointment next week to discuss it so let's not panic.

But the truth is, I am worried. I don't really know what to make of it it all. When you google it - it doesn't sound great. I really don't want him feeling guilty or responsible because he's not but I'm upset and need someone to talk too. Anyone been in a similar position? Is 3% really that bad?

Hello

Just thought it may be worth sharing our experience with male factor infertility. DH has a history of testicular pain since his early 20s. He was reassured by GPs nothing wrong. Same when we attended together about not conceiving. Standard NHS sperm analysis showed his results to be OK. Not great but not horrific. Morphology 4% ish others normal range. It took so long for NHS to do everything I needed before we were finally referred for IVF he had to repeat the SA 2 more times! And similar results. He'd been taking proceice and other supplements recommended by 'it starts with the egg' we both were on them! We had a round of IVF which didn't work so . . .

We got a DNA fragmentation test done and it showed he was infertile, even with ICSI chances would be low! The private professional we saw advised investigating varicocele based on his symptoms so we did that via BUPA as by this time his testicular pain was becoming unbearable. Turns out he had a really bad varicocele! So he had that repaired. And it made a huge difference to his next DNA fragmentation results.

Long story short, although unexplained it looks like I was the issue due to low ovarian reserve and poor quality eggs. We used an egg donor and are now 26 weeks pregnant tomorrow with our first. It's a 6 year journey for us to get this far and we've had to borrow tens of thousands of relatives money to be able to use an egg donor! So not a simple solution at all. But here we are.

@BussiBop23 I can’t offer much comfort but yeah, I’ve been there. It really does suck. If you and your partner have a child already I assume the nhs will only do so much? Get him tested for sure, things can change, sperm quality can vary, you can get lucky or unlucky.

I had a hycosy which I think might be similar to an HSG and I didn’t like it, but it didn’t go on too long at least and ruled blocked tubes out.

Hey, I'm just feeling so frustrated and thought this would be a healthy place to vent!!

16 cycles since a miscarriage at the start of last year and nothing. It's exhausting. The constant loop of trying to get pregnant, getting my hopes up by over analysing every 'symptom' and then the heartbreaking negative tests followed by my period..again! It feels never-ending.

I had an ultrasound and transvaginal exam last week. No issues, it all looks good, which is equally frustrating as it is reassuring. Only managed to get a telephone call with a GP for next week to discuss the results and next steps. I'm going to ask if my partner can be tested. At our last appointment, the GP said there was no need as we have conceived before, meaning there is unlikely to be a problem with him, but we would like it done. Also, I guess the next step is an HSG, which makes me pretty nervous.

Can't get it off my mind today - I'm just feeling so angry, and that is so unfair!!

@kalixxx we got advice from private clinic and him fertility, ivf northeast. So there is some advice that these things can help:
*losing weight
*quit smoking reduce alcohol
*Mediterranean diet
*avoid hot tubs, cycling anything that can overheat testicle. Can use a vasectomy cooling pad hiur a day to help reduce dna damage
*Can ask for a urology review to check for varicocele and bloods for hormones. Our nhs fertility clinic referred him and got seen quite quickly
*impryl can help
All these can help with any dna damage and improve numbers.

Sometime even this doesn't help my husband still has variable low volume and count but motility and morphology improved. In these situations icsi (where they inject sperm directly into egg) overcomes a lot of issues.

@kalixxx my husband didn’t have low count, he had low motility and vitality, but also had low morphology and he took impryl (as recommended by the private andrologist we saw) and he did see an improvement in morphology, it went from 3% to 8% from what I recall. I would say get him on a supplement early because they take three months to see any improvement in quality.

I have very little good to say about the nhs experience with male factor infertility, I don’t think they take it seriously enough, act fast enough, they don’t let you see the specialists you need to see. They called my husband last week to offer a follow up appointment with andrology when we’ve just had a baby after 5 years trying, and we would not have had that baby if we’d waited for them to see us each time. They insisted my husband was fine on multiple occasions because his count was normal, despite most of his sperm being dead, so I can’t say I trust them, other than one specialist we saw at Guys who also has a private clinic. I would strongly suggest getting a second opinion or paying to see a private andrologist if you don’t get any help/referrals from your GP.

Hey
Please can i join i

I have pcos

We had a miscarriage last year

.im on metformin and myo inostol for pcos

Fertility clinic have prescribed letrozole which we will start soon