First IVF cycle - no eggs retrieved

[WannabeMamaM]

Hi everyone

I’m just home today after my first IVF cycle and had no eggs retrieved at all.

I recently turned 39 and know I have a low AMH <1 (never been told the exact figure) although I repeated it on Medichecks last month following big changes to diet and lifestyle and it was 2.25 (did not read into this at all as I understand it was a different laboratory and therefore drew no comparison).

My AFC was 3 two weeks ago, which was obviously very disappointing, and it sounded from my first scan (day 9) like I was pinning all my hope on one or two follicles which I was disappointed about but still hopeful (of a near miracle).
By day 12 I was told I had one 16mm follicle, one 10mm follicle and 8 “pluses” (<10mm follicles) - really thought maybe my prayers were being answered and odds are improving.
Returned on day 14 to be told I had only one follicle that was now 25mm and had grown too big to be viable and that I should consider this the end of my treatment and consider donor eggs. I expected them to cancel but oestrogen was still climbing so they went ahead with egg collection today.

Sadly nothing was collected.

I’m desperate to try again at least one more time (depending I guess on the outcome of the next cycle). Also would love to try ovarian rejuvenation.

Just wondering whether anybody has any good news stories to share, advice or even a harsh dose of reality (I promise I can take it). If anyone thinks I’d be foolish to continue pursuing own egg cycles when I could be delaying the inevitable donor egg journey which could give me my much longed for baby, happy to hear that too.

I guess I’m just baffled by how it all
played out and needed to share somewhere…

Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read 💕

@WannabeMamaM oh wow I’m so sorry you are going through that. I don’t have any experience or advice but send hugs & hope for you 🍀 x

I am really sorry this happened to you, be kind to yourself it's brutal. At my first egg collection only 1 egg was collected - I never really got an explanation why (I was only 32 with no identified issues). After that we changed clinics and I was given a lot more drugs, I ended up with about 7/8 eggs. I was told the first round they don't know how you will respond, but they can use that to tailor your drugs for the next round. Worth a frank conversation with your consultant if they is anything they would do differently next time, and maybe speaking to another clinic. Best of luck for you, it's a horrible thing to go through especially the uncertainty. I have now got 2 lovely girls who were worth the hundreds of injections, but it's tough that not everyone gets that outcome.

I’m sorry this happened to you. It’s such a tough process.

My first IVF attempt was cancelled before egg retrieval as one follicle absorbed all the drugs and grew abnormally fast, while the other follicles didn’t grow. I wonder if this is what happened to you? My doctor told me this didn’t happen very often, but that it happened sometimes. I was 35 at the time, with a baseline AFC of 8 or 9.

My second attempt was with a different protocol and was successful. I only produced a few eggs, but I didn’t seem to have any issues with egg quality. Both of my attempts were short protocol. I think the first was agonist and the second antagonist, but I couldn’t swear to that. Has your doctor explained why s/he doesn’t think another protocol would be worth trying?

Thank you all for your kind responses.

Because of my low AMH, I was already on the max doses of stimulating medicines and therefore nowhere to go with regards escalating the protocol.

I was sure they were going to cancel my cycle when I only had one larger than recommended follicle on Wednesday but my oestrogen was still climbing which is why they went ahead.

It’s the 2nd out of the three ultrasounds that is baffling me as how could I have potentially 9 follicles albeit only a few >10mm when the first and last ultrasounds suggested only one chance… the nurse on Monday was so positive about my oestrogen response and said in her experience this suggested there were definitely eggs there.

But maybe I’m just clinging to any tiny bit of hope…

I did realise my one follicle had overcooked between Monday and Wednesday so went into this morning realistic.

That is so interesting about your first experience where one follicle absorbed all of the stimulating meds!

I can only hope something similar might have happened for me. Either that or I am simply out of or almost out of eggs.