Corpus Luteum Cyst in IVF stimulation

[Leontine2018]

I'm currently doing stimulation for IVF. They never did a baseline scan, however on day 6 och 8 they found a large cyst on my right ovary which grows quickly in respns to Gonal F. Day 6 it was 18mm and today at day 8 it is 26mm. The other follicles are around 10-15mm. They think the large cyst is a corpus luteum cyst.

Has anyone else had a corpus luteum cyst during stimulation for IVF?

Did the cyst cause you to cancel the cycle?

If you continued with the treatment despite of the cyst, did the cyst inhibited the growth or the quality of the other follicles and eggs? /Leontine

Hi Leontine

Yes I’ve had this on one of my cycles. Well, a cyst of some sort, I’m not sure what type. It was big from early on and continued to grow. So the cycle ended up being cancelled as the cyst was secreting hormones and sending everything out of whack. Sorry to hear that might happen to you. It’s so disappointing when a cycle is cancelled, I had it a couple of times. Your clinic should advise you if they think the cyst is going to have an adverse effect on the stimulation. What have they said so far?

@AndCallMeNancy ,
Thank you for your reply.

They have not told me much. Going back on Friday, stimday 10. If the follocles doesnt grow, the cycle will be cancelled.

I read somewhere that a corpus luteum cyst may inhibit follicular growth and may damage the eggs. If this is the case I dont know why they didnt cancel in the beginning of this week.

Yes, I agree. As rubbish as it is to cancel a cycle it is much better than to continue with a sub-optimal one. Because if you don’t get decent embryos from it you will naturally blame the cyst. It’s too important to take chances. Is it your first cycle of IVF? Good luck with it all

Its my second. Im sad, been taking time off from work for nothing :/.

How did you get rid of the cyst?

Did they explain for you in what way the cyst could mess up the cycle with the hormones?

How did your next cycle go?

It’s such a tough process. The most horrible and stressful of rollercoasters. Take care of yourself.

I was having some acupuncture so my acupuncturist did some treatment to target damp and cysts and they weren’t there at the baseline scan of the next cycle. I think cysts are fairly common but we would just never normally know they are there. The next cycle went well, it went ahead and I got three day 3 embryos to freeze from it - I did embryo banking as I am 38 with low ovarian reserve so the focus was getting embryos at first then FET later - I currently have a day 5 embryo on board and am 10 days post transfer. In fact, today is OTD and I am going to the clinic for my blood test - have resisted testing at home. It’s fair to say I’m pretty terrified but that is a whole new thread!

In terms of the hormones, when they did my blood work alongside the scans they could tell that the cyst was affecting things as my LH and estrogen levels were both going in the wrong direction. I can’t remember which was doing what but it wasn’t right.

That cycle was actually my second attempt at a first cycle, I had already had one cancelled due to only having one follicle at baseline scan. So by this point I was getting desperate and felt that I was a total lost cause and that my body wasn’t good enough to even try IVF. However, attempt three went perfectly so don’t give up hope. My clinic insisted on a baseline scan each time which is helpful and after this experience you should probably ask for that too so that you don’t invest time and money into cycles that look dodgy in the future. We all have the odd wonky cycle and I now know that I probably have them quite regularly.

Hope this is resolved for you one way or another tomorrow. Update if you can.

Thank you @AndCallMeNancy

I had my fingers crossed for your pregnancy test. Hope it went well.

Do you think your cycle were cancelled because the cyst effected the hormones, or would a cyst which doesn’t produce hormones alse effect negatively on numbers and quality of eggs produced?

/Leontone

Mine was cancelled because of the hormone situation. I don’t know whether if it wasn’t secreting hormones it would’ve been cancelled or not. But I guess it’s less than ideal. Hopefully your clinic will confirm today.

My test was negative. We are so sad - looks like the end of the road for us.

So sorry to hear. Was this your third try? Any embryos in the freezer?

No that was it. Had three collections. No money or energy left for any more treatment.

Good luck with yours. Hope it all works out in the end for you. All this will be worth it if it does.

So sorry to hear. Im sure a window will open for you (a solution will come). Most of the time life doesnt work out as we planned. Im sure something good will come out of this for you.

Who knows.... I hope so @Leontine2018, and the same for you. Hope the cysts don’t cause you any more problems.