Anyone had a "good egg" in a batch of bad ones (PGT-A)

[Burntparsnips]

2 weeks ago I had my egg collection and 5 eggs reached blastocyst stage
We transferred 2 on the 5th day (one average, one poor)
We tested 2 genetically
We froze one without testing

Today I found out I was pregnant and we were so excited as we’ve had many many years / rounds of IVF. It was our little Christmas miracle!

Unfortunately the embryologist has since called to say the 2 embryos that were tested are abnormal (one chromosome issues, one had no DNA found). She said she couldn’t comment on the other embryos as they weren't tested but that I should "definitely consider tests on the current positive" (her words).

Apparently I can speak to the geneticist but it will be in the new year as they have finished for Christmas

I truly thought this was a Christmas gift but the clinic have really managed to put a dampener on it. I really wish they had waited till after Christmas to give me the news or allow me one day of positive happiness

Has anyone ever had a similar experience and had a “good egg” in a batch of bad ones?

@Gardenlady543 fantastic news with the embryos, I’ve never read anywhere a result of over 80%, you must be elated.
I know it’s brought on more questions, more investigations but you’re on the right road and you never know it could be a short tweak once resolved, least now you have 5 perfect embryos in the bank ready and waiting and 5 chances.. you’re in a really good position and so close.. well done 👏🏼

5 is amazing @Gardenlady543 the stats say 50% so I would agree with your consultant that the others were all abnormal. Definitely take a bit of time to look at implantation and if that is ruled out I’d say you have a very high chance of pregnancy with a normal. I think it’s at least 70%

Thanks @IVFat43 and @EpiphanySoul1 it is really reassuring to know there is a good amount of euploid embryos, my specialist is actually convinced the ones transferred were normal too, that’s why she’s so worried. I’ve never had a positive pregnancy test in my life, in the vast majority of people the issue is the embryo, she said she can’t pin it on that for me anymore. Add in the progesterone hypersensitivity and that I have Raynauds and it gets more worrying.

My main worry now is that I know once people start going down the immune route the costs just spiral. My specialist called me back to say the cost of ERA is £1000 and if I want the EMMA and ALICE at the same time it will be a total of £1,500. So with the cost of the immune tests £1,100, ERA/EMMA/ALICE and the PGT-A (£3,500), things are really adding up. I am with access fertility so at least the cycle cost won’t go up as well. I’m starting to now think, if the issue is me then I need to have a plan for when we change tactic. I know people at those specialist IVF clinics end up spending tens of thousands of pounds, and they don’t guarantee success. So I have been looking into surrogacy as a backup, in Ukraine you need to have 4 unsuccessful transfers to qualify. So I think at the moment the best option is for me to go through the tests and try some more transfers and just hope for the best, but to know we might need to rethink things.

@Gardenlady543 that's good news about the euploid embryos! Probably the best result I've come across in our age bracket.

I think there is research to indicate an association between Raynaud's and implantation issues, so that might be an avenue to pursue (an expensive one though!). This paper was quite an interesting read, so I don't know if you might want to take a look? (I haven't written it or anything and this isn't my field of expertise by any means) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6282265/

Thanks @Scirocco I’d come across that paper before but completely ignore the immune issues in it! I just never thought the evidence was that great I’m relation to the body attacking embryos etc, but my specialist is very much a go with the flow king of person, she has avoided investigations to date and today she was the complete opposite. My clinic is more of a trial and error kind of place, so she was obviously very stuck by the euploid rates. I’ve known there’s been an issue the whole time, I ended up with 9 blastocytes, half of them 1,1s, the whole thing just didn’t add up, I’ve never ever had a BFP.

You know I hadn’t ever even considered the Raynauds at all, I only mentioned it today for the first time when we were talking about the tests, she called me back after and said she’d thought about the Raynauds and she said as a last resort they sometimes use pentoxifylline, she said there is no evidence base though and that I should have a look at the literature, I’ve only done a quick search and can’t find anything about fertility with it though, but I’ll have to have a proper literature search.

The other things she mentioned were vitamin E (this sounds sensible and I’ll go to holland and barett and get some tomorrow) and aspirin (I’d rather avoid this until after the tests though).

Pentoxifylline? I've read about some preliminary work and a retrospective study suggesting it may improve endometrial thickness, but not seen anything about it for potentially immune-mediated issues. I'll have a look and if I come across anything interesting I'll let you know!

Fingers crossed that you're a few steps closer to success; this journey's so hard. Thinking of you.

Thanks @Scirocco she mentioned it as an option for people with Raynauds with multiple unsuccessful attempts, as vasoconstriction could be affecting the endometrium. But she said there is no evidence base for using it for this indication. Any relevant literature you come across please do pass on! Despite being a medic I am not a fan on medications, so I think I’ve got a lot of research to do before making any decisions. Why am I the one with the rare issues lol!

@Gardenlady543 surrogacy in Ukraine can cost up to 40k and they said you need another 10k for anything that goes wrong. I would be taking your normal embryos to ARGC for FET before even considering surrogacy as this will throw the kitchen sink at you including immunes. Good luck

I’m currently doing embryo banking and have 4 blastocysts so far, one more cycle to go. 41.5 years old. Haven’t done a FET yet. I have mixed connective tissue disease and raynauds. Came on last year. I take Azathioprine 50mg a day. I’m petrified that my body is going to reject the embryos. That’s if any are genetically normal. We’re not PGS testing. I may ask Reg clinic to transfer two... not got much to add just that I feel very worried. Sorry to hear about your difficulties x

@EpiphanySoul1 at this point surrogacy is a worst case scenario for us, I think it’s good to have a plan if things don’t go well. Obviously it’s very expensive (we would use savings/remortgage the house and continue to live below our means for a few years if we had to go down this route) and I’d much prefer to carry my own child. But progesterone hypersensitivity is rare and who knows what will be unearthed in the tests, I just need to prepare myself for the worst case scenario.

Hi @Sara279 that’s interesting about your connective tissue disease and Raynauds. I’ve always had very cold hands and feet and started getting colour changes which led to a diagnosis of Raynauds a few years ago. I don’t have any rheumatological conditions that I know of, but I’ve never been tested for anything. Did you ask your rheumatologist if you need anything else treatment wise prior to the transfer? I’ve really sorry to hear that you’re feeling worried. Are you going to do anymore collection cycles? Clinics will often transfer 2 over certain ages, so that’s definitely something to discuss.

@Gardenlady543 yes I’ll be taking Pred 20mg a day for the first FET x

Hi @Gardenlady543, just want to echo those are amazing PGS results. But I know they doesn't help you in other ways. Good that your consultant is taking you seriously, and I hope investigations will find something that has a straightforward fix.

That’s good @Sara279 the specialist said if the autoantibody screen I’m having picks anything up then they will need to prescribe me steroids. The clinic are able to prescribe them now. Have you had the covid vaccine? I had my first dose 2 weeks ago and would want the second dose before starting steroids. Even more important for you because you’re on azathioprine.

Thanks @msgloria I’m feeling so stressed about everything now. But I guess there’s nothing I can do, just go through the investigations and see if anything comes out.

Hi @Gardenlady543 yes I’ve had both vaccines. Wanted to have the second before my next cycle which is in around 2 weeks time. I had it around 4 weeks prior to starting my future cycle x

I know this thread is old but I was reading with interest as I have done PGT-A testing and have Raynaud's. Wondering if anyone has any updates? x