Should we try a third round....opinions please?

[Youngatheart00]

We’ve had two cycles, two different drug regimens and two very different responses. The first we got 15 eggs, 13 fertilised but only 2 made it to day 5. BFN after transfer of both (1 was an ‘ok’ blast and the other wasn’t quite a blast yet so they recommended transferring both - I’ve no idea if that was good advice.

The second cycle was with a new clinic and I didn’t respond well at all to that drug regimen. They only got 5 eggs, 3 fertilised and none made it to day 5 to transfer

I was so disappointed and angry following that failure that I resolved that was that and we’d be child free. As the covid lockdown happened shortly afterwards we’ve never had a proper follow up with the consultant.

But now we are a few months on I’m wondering whether it is worth a third roll of the dice.

I’m almost 37 and my AMH isn’t great (8).

We’d have to stretch ourselves financially but it would be do-able.

Any thoughts / opinions or experiences from others who have been there much appreciated

We said no more after two failed cycles but a year later we went again

I wasn’t ready to stop and would have thought what if

But obv the cost does make a diff. We saved borrowed , loans and credit cards

Paying off a loan when ivf fails is horrible :(

That 3rd cycle we finally had some to freeze - Higher dose drugs - icsi even though nothing wrong with df sperm but clinic did it regardless

Which makes sense as then each egg will veg fertilises rather then leave it to chance and Mother Nature

That failed as did 4th try and a fet

But our 5th go . Second fet worked

Only ever bfp to have in 10yrs ttc

She is now just 3 and my world

So imo if you want to try again and can afford to the do it

@youngatheart00

We always said our limit was 3 cycles or £25k whichever came first.

After our 2nd cycle and spending all the money I felt like I wasn't "done" . We decided to change protocol to natural Modified IVF which has made a huge difference on blastocyst quality and its also much cheaper. We signed up for a 3 cycle package for £13k including all drugs. We took a 5 year loan out for £275 a month. (I have a 3rd egg collection this week and will then start to transfer what we have)

We've only been able to do that though because DD1 is now a bit older and starting school - previously we were paying £800 a month in childcare so what we saved on that now goes on the IVF loan.

I'm also 37 with a similar AMH. 5 miscarriages 2 ruptured ectopics, no tubes left.

If these final transfers don't work I can finally say I will be at peace with stopping

Thanks both

@ivfgottostaypositive so many similarities. I have no tubes left either. No children at all though and no embies in the freezer.

I think my reticence to try again is that we’ve never had proper follow ups / outcomes or explanations around why each cycle has failed. I’ve got so many questions and I’m not convinced just rolling the dice again (with all the associated hope and costs) is a good idea.

I wasn’t happy with my clinic so would be starting afresh, but I worry that the treatment just isn’t personalised enough and that ever clinic does there own thing and if you respond - great - if not - oh well.

I’ve asked for my records from my clinic From the last failed cycle so perhaps that will be a start point.

@Youngatheart00

Have you tried any PGS testing? We decided to do it on one of our cycles to see what was going on. My egg quality was found to be rubbish anyway (given the low fertilisation rates even with ICSI) and the 2 blastocysts we managed to get both came back with abnormalities which sort of explains our issues (although PGS isn't 100% accurate).

We were advised by clinic to stop wasting money on normal IVF as it was clear that no matter what they do I only ever get 2 average blastocysts so the focus has been on making them the best quality as possible by targeting much fewer follicles. So far it's working although haven't transferred any blastocysts yet from my natural modified egg collections.

If it was me - I'd demand a "deep dive" review of your last cycle with your clinic - obtain copies of all your notes and then book a speculative consultation with another clinic and see what they say? If they come across like they would make genuine changes to get a better result maybe take the risk of trying again?

I have to say that I booked on to the 3 cycle package as it's clear that every month is different and so each month drugs etc have to be tweaked to get the best result and only by doing multiple rounds has my clinic got a handle on it? There is no one size fits all approach - im mid stims at the moment on the same protocol that I had the best ever results last time (in terms of aa quality blastocysts) and things are all over the place and doesn't look like Ill get the same result at all

It’s so tough isn’t it! Fingers crossed this cycle works out positively for you.

Perhaps the chopping and changing clinics isn’t a good idea but the first was NHS and we only got one round, the second was well researched and was ultra positive pre the cycle commencing but then very disappointing throughout. They did not do any monitoring blood tests or amend my meds despite it being clear I wasn’t responding as expected. And they didn’t refund me for paying for a package which included 12 months embryo storage even tho we didn’t get anything to freeze. In addition, covid will have impacted this but we haven’t been approached re any kind of consultant follow up. I feel we should do this but I feel so bitter about it now.

Hello
Just want t say i have done 2 full cycles and only had 5 eggs retrieved and only 1 fertilised both time but I was pregnant from both cycles.. I have day 3 transfers i think the embryo is better in you ASAP so I would choose day 3 transfers and not day 5
To be honest with only 5 eggs collected my hospital wouldn’t let them go to 5 days anyway incase we loose them before day 5

Good luck xx

That’s very good advice re the day 3 transfers, thank you for your perspectives!