what impacts the number of eggs collected?

[Blue2014]

Had my first egg collection today. Got 3 eggs the nhs told me I had no problems and we were having treatment because of sperm issues.

I'm not hopeful for this cycle so need to prepare for my next so .. What causes such low numbers of eggs and can I do anything to improve it?

(I'm 36 with no identified fertility or health problems)

What AMH count/level are you?

I can't remember off the top of my head because my NhS consultant said it was within the normal range and I believed him stupidly I'll check in my files later, what's optimal?

Yes check your FSH and AMH Levels - with FSH lower is better (above 10 becomes concerning I think) and AMH higher is better. Also - did you have your antral follicle count done (the number of follicles you have in a typical cycle). All three measures are related and together can give an idea of your 'ovarian reserve'. If your consultant has told you before that you don't have any problems though I imagine your numbers are in the normal range.

You really need to talk to your doctor and see what they advise before proceeding with another cycle. And in the meantime don't lose hope because one of those three eggs could easily be 'the one'. Good luck.

mmm i would need to check the AMH charts on google !

I Know a lot of people on here talk about anything above 10 is good. Some people with low levels of 1 and still succeeding with the help of IVF.

After all the AMH is the reserve bank in total and not your ability to succeed that month, when tou only need an egg :)

I only ask because my consultant said they always aim for 10-15 eggs.

I got 11 eggs collected but my consultant said that seeing as my AMH level is 27 I should have had a much better outcome.

After failed ICSI and a frozen cycle. Our consultant is discussing the option of trying a short protocol where we begin on day 2 and possible higher dosage of drugs.

I was worried about hyper stimulation but he assures me that i may just be more suited to a different method.

Apparently this should give the follicles a chance to grow and mature. Rather than me having lots that only equate to half of mine maturing after drugs.

I do think sometimes they just guess lol they know we're all unique with different cycle patterns and bodies, that will react in different ways. It does feel a little like being a guinepig until they get it right.

Some of the women on here will recommend supplements like q10 i think. My consultant was full of suggestions for partner but with me he said just a women's age and smoking would effect it. And i don't smoke, read up about quality of eggs and supplements. Zinc and iron and q10 and selenium are amongst the suggestions.

Hi blue. Not much to add to the other posts, would echo that the three tests corblimey mentions should give a good indication. Also just to offer a bit of solidarity as I'm on my second cycle, and know all too well the moments of disappointment. Don't lose heart, those three may well be the ones that work. Wishing you lots of luck with the next steps.

What protocol did you do? I am no expert but my understanding is that some people can have their response impeded by down regging in long protocol, and presumably the dose of stimulation drugs will impact, so both things to discuss with the clinic. Timing of trigger was presumably based on monitoring - did the clinic talk you through what they were hoping for?

Hi Blue, I’m sorry for your disappointment, I hope you had better news today?

Apart from your own biology (the results of the ovarian reserve tests mentioned above) there is generally quite a lot of cycle to cycle variation – every cycle will be different. There are also a bunch of other reasons why the number of eggs recovered might be less than expected before ec and you should probably discuss with your consultant. E.g. maybe the protocol/stimulation regime wasn’t the right one for you, perhaps there was a problem with the trigger shot and you needed more or a different type, maybe your ovaries were hard to access on the day, overmature follicles can sometimes collapse when punctured with the needle, smaller ones containing immature eggs might not respond to the trigger and release from the follicle, some women might start to ovulate too early, meaning follies disappear just before theatre. I think it’s probably a bit premature, but have you ever read agate’s guide to a failed cycle on fertility friends website? There’s loads of suggestions for things to discuss/ask at follow up appointment – although I do really hope you don’t have to go there.

Anyway, as others have said, it’s still too early to determine how this cycles has gone. As long as you have eggs/embryos you are still in the game. Take things one day at a time, and fingers crossed you have one good egg!

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your replies. (And hi to the berries - I lurk there so recognise you)

Turns out NHS did fsh and LH which was in the normal range but not AMH so my consultant will test that this Friday.

I was on short protocol but wonder if something went wrong after the first scan. I had 17 follicles on scan one, 10 on scan 2 then 3 eggs on day 13 of egg collection. I'll search out the failed cycles thing as I think that could be very useful.

My consultant says it's just one of those things as its my first cycle. She implied they had collected eggs on day 13 rather than 14 as my lead follicles were getting too big so I'll research more into that.

2 fertilised so just waiting for more news now

Thanks again everyone

I know how disappointed you are feeling but don't. You could have 15 eggs but hardly any could fertilise normally and you could still end up with the two that you have. It's quality not quantity.
I was always a poor responder and it would be very upsetting when people spoke about how many follicles and eggs that they had.
On my first go the clinic wanted to stop treatment because I only had 2 follicles but we begged them to carry on. On what was going to be the final scan another one popped out so they had to go to collection. Out of the 3 follicles I had 2 eggs that fertilised normally and one baby boy who's now 11 .
Hoping that your two embryos are behaving themselves and back with you soon

Try not to worry. On this round we got 11 eggs and 10 fertilised but in the end we only ended up with one usable embryo so Quantity really doesn't matter. You just need that one. Good luck.

Thank you

OP second that you might want to have a look at Fertility Friends. It's massively helpful on things like this, though can be a bit overwhelming as there is so much on there. Wish you all the very best