First IVF cycle - no eggs

[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 and I’m sorry if I’ve posted under the wrong topic… I couldn’t find the infertility or IVF forum 💕

[daisypizza]

If you want to you can report your post and ask mumsnet to move it to Infertility (it’s under Talk, Becoming a Parent) as you might get more answers.

I am a mum via egg donation. Maybe I would have become a mum sooner, I had a lot of unsuccessful own egg IVF, but I wasn’t ready to accept the possibility early in my journey. For some people it’s an absolute no, some are much more pragmatic and go straight to donor to increase their chances.

The Donor Conception Network has a lot of information.

Good luck whatever your next steps are.

[WannabeMamaM]

Thank you so much. I will do that. I only joined mumsnet today and first post - I think I will be back on the forums daily and I’m sure the donor conception forum will be very helpful to me.

My biggest head block regarding going straight to egg donation in my head right now is the fact we would be double donor due to long known about male factor infertility.

Up until today I’ve always felt the implications of double donor was a road I wasn’t keen to travel yet.

Thanks again

[Sunshinebytheseaside]

I would echo the previous poster. Whether it is the right thing for you to move onto donor eggs now depends entirely on how you feel about it. I am just coming round to the idea now after 8 failed cycles of ivf with my own eggs. What has certainly helped me is seeing my friend have a baby after using donor eggs very quickly. She was 41 and is very pragmatic about everything and knew that was the quickest and most likely the way for her to have a baby. Now she’s got one and nothing else matters. I would advise you to speak to your consultant, get a second opinion, do lots of research, weigh up the financial and practical aspects and then follow your gut. Good luck with whatever you decide to do next.

[WannabeMamaM]

Thank you for very wise advice.

That’s my worry right now that I’d happily hand over every last penny of my savings chasing a dream that might be near impossible when I could just be delaying the inevitable move to donor eggs.

I will be researching and planning like mad.

thanks for your best wishes.

[daisypizza]

@WannabeMamaM if you’ve just joined take your time reading through some posts and working through your thoughts. An IVF outcome like you’ve just had is horrible to process on its own.

We did spend a lot of money on IVF but think I must have been in a similar mindset to @Sunshinebytheseaside

I don’t have an own egg child to compare the feelings but I couldn’t imagine how my love for DC could be any stronger.
There are people on here with a mix of donor conceived children and not and they say they don’t love their genetic child(ren) more or differently.

[blacksnow]

Hi, I am so sorry to hear that. Have you discussed RPR , Q10 or acupuncture with your doc? I am not an expert but some sources say treatments could boost egg quality.

[eurochick]

I was told when I did ivf that the first cycle is a bit of an experiment, to see how your body responds and you should not expect much from it. So I wouldn't give up just yet if you have the funds for another go.

I did ivf ten years ago so things might have changed but Create seemed to specialise in older women and use low drug approaches to just get one or two good eggs rather than harvest lots. I would speak to other clinics about the results of your first cycle to see what they think (unless you are happy to move straight to donor eggs, of course).

[WannabeMamaM]

Thank you @eurochick - I will check out Create as I definitely feel that a clinic that specialises in perimenopausal low AMH women is probably my best shot, even to satisfy me that I have asked enough questions or tried my best.

@blacksnow when I discovered my AMH was so low at end of Aug/early Sept I started to take Q10 and any other supplement I thought might help (Zita West prenatal vitamins, Q10, N-acetylcysteine, DHA omega 3s, specific probiotics, melatonin) probably around mid Sept. I also started acupuncture about 6-8 weeks ago too.
I am very very interested in the idea of ovarian rejuvenation… even if I have missed the boat for creating a baby with own eggs it might help to stave off menopause for a year or two. Although obviously the dream would be that it helps to re stimulate my ovaries enough to get some healthy eggs and one day a babe in arms x

[WannabeMamaM]

@daisypizza yeah i don’t worry at all about my love for the baby. Our first plan when we discovered MFI was always to adopt but the more I heard about how arduous the journey can be the more I worried that whilst I am a very nurturing type maybe I don’t quite have the advanced people or life skills needed for the advanced parenting adoption might involve plus I guess the desire for the baby / infant stage was too much for me not to try.
I may be getting too caught up in the perceived implications for the child from having a double donor genetic identity, but I know that is something that could be worked through if handled properly.

[Anonemouse1]

I have one double donor conceived child and two of our own genetics. Double donor was done after finding possible gene issues in family. Expecting another double donor child at the moment. All my children are my children. We’ve told friends, family, strangers that the last one is double donor as they always say how much he looks like husband or eldest son and I love letting them know he’s double donor. We have decided to be open and honest about the double donor start as secrets hold shame and there is nothing shameful about him or how we had him. I haven’t had hesitation about having a donor conceived child but have read that many people on mumsnet do. I was lucky to have a friend who was open about her five year old being donor egg conceived and to see how natural her relationship with her daughter was before even considering this option. I think donor egg/double donor/donor sperm use for over 40’s is quite wide spread but not often spoken about. If you have hesitation then please ask for counselling which your ivf clinic should offer, you need to get yourself into the right frame of mind and be certain before having the baby as I really believe babies have quite a lot of cognitive understanding quite young and will pick up on any issues with bonding if you aren’t sure.

[Sunshinebytheseaside]

@WannabeMamaM just seen you also have MFI. I’d caution against Create where MFI is involved. We had two natural modified cycles there and whilst I found my side of the treatment to be ok, they seemed entirely ill-equipped to deal with MFI.

[IVFfirsttimer91]

Have you considered looking into embryo donation? I know it’s a double genetic donation, but the embryo is already past the scary will they won’t they fertilise stage and could bring you that one step closer to having your baby.