Would you try again?

[twinkledag]

My history:

IVF 1 on NHS - failed fresh; successful FET
IVF 2 at Boston Place - failed fresh and FET
IVF 3 at Serum - MC fresh and failed FET
IVF 4 with PGS testing at Reprofit - nothing suitable for transfer
IVF 5 at The Evewell - failed fresh, none suitable to be frozen

😞

Went for our follow up at Evewell. Doctor says he would try something different next time (long instead of short protocol). That we're still young. I have lots of follicles.

I'm 40 with an AMH of 10.7.

Would you try again?

I have 1DC also and it guts me to think we may never have another

You have a good fertilisation rate for the numbers of eggs you are collecting each time (in comparison to mine - less than half of mine collected fertilise for some reason) - what is your drop off from day 3 to day 5 and had DH been tested for sperm fragmentation?

You've only done PGS the once but it's entirely possible all your blasts have been abnormal - if you are set on another full round id do PGS again - if they all come back abnormal again then you know the chances of conceiving with your own eggs are very very slim

@ itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted ‘natural IVF’ is basically the same as your average short protocol in terms of medication. And designed for women who have a really low egg reserve (ie those who only have the capability to produce a 1-2 eggs per cycle before they run out) because for these women IVF won’t work anyway so the benefits of IUI and ’natural’ options are basically higher. That is not the case for the OP for whom IVF has worked once and she is producing a lot of eggs per cycle so has a good egg reserve, it’s just the maturation to blastocyst that’s the issue. That Kind of issue can be fixed by more IVF drugs not less!

Sorry, I misread the numbers, you have a great fertilisation rate. Ignore me!

Wow you have great results and positive implantation. I would go for it! X

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted - the last 2 cycles all have got to 5 day but were slow developing/behind. My last cycle they took them to day 7 but sadly none were suitable for freezing. Would you consider donor eggs?

If I'm getting great fertilisation rates, why do I end with only a couple of blasts and why do they fail?

DH has had the fragmentation, his was around 20. We've also been to sperm specialist who said his samples are really not bad and believes the failures are due to a problem shared, ie my eggs too.

@twinkledag
Donor eggs isn't something I'd ever consider personally . Having a biological and genetic link to my child is very important to me. Especially as I already have 1DC

I'd try the PGS again? If they all come back abnormal I'd sadly consider stopping and trying to move one

I'm waiting on PGS outcome of second cycle - 2 blasts suitable to test and will do a final round if results are bad but that will be it and I'll be ready to move on at the point. We are lucky to have one DC and I feel that they haven't had 100% of our attention over the last couple of years as I've either been recovering from miscarriages, ectopics or IVF

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted so sorry to hear you've had such a rough time. How many cycles have you had?

I understand what you mean re donor eggs, I want that link to my child too, but then I think it's the rest of their life that's important not the moment of conception. But then I think would I love my son more? It's a mind fuck.

@twinkledag

If I'm being honest Id be scared of not loving a donor egg baby the same way as DC1 especially if it was a girl? - god that's sounds awful and I hate myself for saying it but I'm just being truthful. I look at DC1 and see generations of my/DH family in them. Someone once told me that since we are born with all the eggs you'll ever have then you actually start life inside your grandmother and that has always resonated with me

We did ICSI both times....

Cycle nr 1 - 14 eggs collected 12 mature 10 fertilised - 3 made to blast (average quality - 2 @ 3AB and a 5BC). First FET was a BFN. Second FET was a double - ended in ruptured live ectopic - my second so no tubes left now

Cycle nr 2 - 11 eggs collected 9 mature - only 4 fertilised which really really disappointed about. 2 made to blast both 5BB and sent for biopsy. Not expecting to get any back that are normal just because my luck is so shit!

Cycle nr 3 - ??? will need to take a loan out to pay for - I don't think I'll PGS again and just the chips fall where they may

I'd already started coming to terms with only ever having one child after I lost both my tubes so now I feel like we are just completing the journey we said we would do (3 cycles in 1 year) - that way we won't have any regrets - I'll be at peace stopping because we really will have given it everything - emotionally financially and physically having nearly died twice!

@itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted - was your first child from IVF?

@twinkledag
No.....I had a mc at 12 weeks and then due to male factor issues (DH was on anti depressants which nuked his sperm) we then went down the NHS IVF route.....the day I was due to start down reg medication I found out i was pregnant which became DC1.

I naively thought that since I'd had DC1 all our troubles would be over but 5 mc and 2 ruptured ectopics in little over 2 years means I'm not permanently infertile

I had my first IVF egg collection a year to the day I had my first ectopic surgery

*now

Only you can make the decision on whether to go again, but here are my thoughts:
Your successful cycle was 6years ago so your egg quality will have declined since then. You’ve had 43 eggs collected over your unsuccessful cycles, to me the sheer numbers of eggs you’ve had, all of which have been unsuccessful would suggest a problem with the egg quality. Additionally, the drop off is high (from fertilisation to day 5) and my understanding is that this would suggest an issue with the eggs. As would the fact that they are slow to develop and reach blastocyst stage.

BUT, your clinic seems to think it’s worth another go. And you’re clearly not quite ready to give up on your eggs yet or you wouldn’t be here asking. I knew very very clearly when it was the end and left the hospital after my 5th egg collection saying “I’m not doing that again”. I don’t think you’ve reached that point. I also wonder whether if you don’t have another go, you might always wonder what if.

When you put it like that @EarlGreyT, I can totally see your point! In fact I've had more than 43 eggs collected - my first cycle I had 24 I think! The sheer number of eggs that haven't worked is shocking when you see it in black and white. ☹️

When you put it like that @EarlGreyT, I can totally see your point! In fact I've had more than 43 eggs collected - my first cycle I had 24 I think! The sheer number of eggs that haven't worked is shocking when you see it in black and white. ☹️