Egg collection tomorrow (2nd try) and I'm feeling anxious.

[CurbsideProphet]

1st IVF try was unsuccessful after our 1 embryo (from 5 eggs) couldn't cling on. I'm anxious about tomorrow and what will happen next. I'm a bit crampy and bloated from the trigger shot last night so I'm now anxious that I'll either have ovulated already and there'll be no eggs, or that I'll be in the same position again - 1 embryo and spotting after 4 days (which then turned into a full bleed).

Any words of advice for keeping my thoughts in check / perspective? Obviously I know I'm catastrophising, it's just hard.

An

Hi @CurbsideProphet I'm sorry you're feeling anxious. You've done the egg collection once so I'm sure you will cope fine with the procedure tomorrow :). Spontaneous ovulation before a collection is pretty rare and would be really unlucky, so try not to worry about that.

How many follicles have they been watching this time round? I hope you get a really good result.

I'm sorry the last transfer didn't work, I've just had my third unsuccessful transfer. Statically the chance of a transfer working is 1 in 3, but cumulatively our risk improves with subsequent transfers. I think it's best to just focus on each step. Get yourself through tomorrow and have something nice planned, even if it's just a movie or a nice meal.

Best of luck with it

Thank you for your kind reply @Gardenlady543 💐
On Friday there were 13 follicles 15mm and above (plus several just under). Much better than last time. I'm hoping the heavy bloated feeling is from there being so many more follicles than my ovaries have ever produced.

I'm really sorry you've had a 3rd failed transfer 💐 it's so difficult isn't it, the not knowing. You're so right, I need to try and focus on each moment at a time.

Oh wow 13 follicles is great, I have a very high AFC and got 12 eggs and I was really uncomfortable prior to the egg collection. It settles right after they did the procedure, so don't worry you should feel better soon!

It sounds like you're in a great position for tomorrow! I hope you have a nice treat planned for after. Sending lots of luck 🍀

That's good to know. I have low AMH so with me only having 5 follicles last time I didn't know how uncomfortable it's possible to feel within the realms of what's to be expected, if that makes sense.

I think we'll just come home and put something nice on the telly after. I have planned ahead and got a nice selection of chocolate in 🙂

Wishing you the best of luck for tomorrow @CurbsideProphet - great numbers so far so fingers crossed it all goes really well.

Hi @CurbsideProphet Wowsers, 13 follicles is a great number!

I can understand the fear about ovulating early. On trigger day I had 8 follicles over 16mm (two of which were 29.9mm and 25.something mm) and several smaller ones. I too was convinced I was going to pop before EC!

They got 18 eggs from me in the end so it’s possible you’ll have a similar number (maybe more) and it’s no wonder you’re feeling uncomfortable!

Good luck for today, hope it goes well for you and as @Gardenlady543 says you should feel better afterwards. Enjoy the chocolate and hoping the next couple of weeks go really well for you.

@Gardenlady543 I’m so sorry to hear about your transfer. You are such a fountain of knowledge on these boards and it’s just so bloody unfair! Wishing you success for your next cycle.

Hi @RiverRiot thanks for the kind words, I'm pretty gutted but I mean nobody gets an easy ride with this 

@CurbsideProphet I hope everything is going OK today, I've been thinking of you. With the low AMH the number of follicles you've got is fantastic. How did they get on with the egg collection, how many eggs did they get in the end?

Thank you @Gardenlady543 @Shamoo and @RiverRiot 💐
They got 11 eggs today which they said is the perfect number. Apparently they like 9-12. I cried a bit afterwards as I just don't want to go through it again. Hopefully we will get at least 1 to freeze this time. It's felt like the worst game of Snakes and Ladders - all of the ladders are actually snakes.

We live over an hour from the clinic so I was in a lot of pain during the drive home. It's gone down to manageable cramps now I'm on the sofa.

I'm going to sign myself off work until after embryo transfer. I feel completely done in mentally and physically. I need to just rest and keep calm 🧘🏻‍♀️

Well done @CurbsideProphet that is a fantastic result. Get yourself some good rest now!

Thank you @Gardenlady543 💐
I'll be on progesterone injections this time, so hopefully if we get to day 5 transfer these will work better for me than the pessaries. But until then I'll try to keep my mind to one step at a time.

That's great news @curbsideProphet! Hope you have been able to have an easy evening tonight and lots of rest.

Will be thinking of you over the coming days - hope you get really good news.

@CurbsideProphet Whoohoo for 11 eggs, that’s fantastic!

Hope you’re feeling a bit better now. Wishing you lots of luck for fertilisation today and a restful and positive few days and weeks. Well done too for prioritising your well being! It’s not always easy but you come first right now.

@Gardenlady543 ❤️

The news hasn't been as good as we hoped for so far. We're with Care Fertility so they have their "Care Maps" system for using time lapse cameras without disturbing the eggs / sperm. Out of my 11 eggs 10 were mature but only 2 have fertilised. This is exactly the same as last time when there were only 5 eggs to choose from, so it's hard to not feel demoralised. We'll see how things go for the rest of the week.

@CurbsideProphet I'm sorry to hear about the low fertilization rate, I take it they were fertilized via IVF rather than ICSI? I hope these two keep going for you.

It was good that so many were mature and if things don't work out this time then you could think about ICSI next time.

I have everything crossed for these two, you have done everything you can, so try not to be disheartened and do some nice things over the next few days.

Thank you @Gardenlady543 💐 Yes IVF.
It's so hard isn't it. Hopefully the two that have fertilised were the best of the bunch and will make it 🤞🏻
I'm still in a bit of pain (unsure if this is normal) so I'm trying to keep myself and DH calm.

@CurbsideProphet there is a thought process that IVF allows natural selection, so you may well find that these are very strong. At this point nothing you do is going to change the outcome, it's all down to these embryos doing their thing now. There are still two in the running, you are not out yet and I have everything crossed for you :)

@CurbsideProphet Just wanted to say good luck. Not dissimilar experience to you, I had a poor 1st egg collection (4 eggs, 2 mature, but both made it to day 5). My fresh transfer I also started bleeding just 4 days after transfer. Were you given any information from your clinic why you bled early? I'm looking at another EC round too now, and feeling nervous also, so really interesting to see how many more eggs they collected in your second round. Fingers crossed for these two little ones for you

@2mumlife 💐 the suggestion with my 1st failed transfer is that my progesterone is low and my body didn't absorb enough from the cyclogest pessaries. This time I'm starting Lubion injections tonight in the hope that my body absorbs / responds better.

@Gardenlady543 that's a really positive way to look at it. I'll keep reminding myself of that. Maybe the 2 best eggs have fertilised, in which case I need to myself in tip top condition for Saturday.
I think I read something recently about how olympians have spent the past 5 years training for the Olympics without knowing when or if it will take place. That's what IVF feels like!

@CurbsideProphet oh yes for sure, the day they announce with little warning that the olympics is taking place, it will be the one that kept their head in the game and carried on training that does the best.

It's just a few days until you'll know more. If it doesn't work, ok that would be sad but you've learned information for the future. If it does work then even better!

@Gardenlady543 unfortunately it's not looking good. I've now got 3. The original 2 are dividing but have fragmentation which isn't what they want to see. The new one is a bit behind, is dividing, but also has fragmentation. So they're all currently poor quality.
Perhaps this time has been a case of quantity rather than quality of eggs? I don't really know.
If they're all still poor on Saturday morning I'll get a call first thing and have to decide whether I still want to go ahead. I don't really know how I'll make that decision.
It's very hard isn't it.

Oh that's really frustrating @CurbsideProphet this waiting period is so difficult. I think you'll just have to see how you things go over the next few days. My understanding with DOR is that cycles can be variable.

There are some ladies who have done very well with natural modified IVF on here so that might be something to consider in the future as well as having discussions about ICSI. Of course I hope that everything works out and you never know with these things.

Thank you @Gardenlady543 🌺
I don't think natural modified is suitable as my AMH is 6.8.
It's really tough isn't it.

Hi Op, how is it going? Hope you got some better news.

I just wanted to say that my AMH was around 7 when I was 34, I had it tested again at 37 and it’s back up to over 11. With your follicle count and the number you had collected that is a really good sign quantity wise.

I hope your consultant can give you some advice. I had 8 collected in my first round but only three fertilised. They didn’t tell me at the time but it turned out my DHs sperm had mobility issues on the day (previous tests were fine) so they recommended ICSI next time.

@Passanotherjaffacake amazingly the 2 original embryos held on and became blastocysts 💖 We've got 2 chances now this cycle which feels amazing compared to where we were.

Fantastic news @CurbsideProphet I bet you're thrilled with that result! Are you having a single or double transfer, when is transfer day?