Anyone doing IVF at 40+ pt 2

[lucymills1234]

Setting up a new thread as the old one was nearly at the limit.

@Anxiousbuthopeful
@Islandstars
@Woodcottage1
@Unicorn9
@SerenditySunshine

Hi @Pinklady81 so sorry you're feeling rubbish and worried - I found the time between ec and day 5 the most stressful part of the whole process, I think it can only be a good thing if it was growing well at day 3, my embryos mostly slowed down at day 3 in my last round and then they never really caught up again. Hope you're able to get some r&r and time for yourself and that tomorrow brings you good news!!! All fingers crossed for you!

@Pinklady81 I think it's a really good sign that it was growing so fast... Really hope it's still going strong for you tomorrow 🦾

@LuckyNovember good luck for EC!

@Pinklady81 hoping you get a positive update today.

@Pinklady81

I think if it's looking good at Day 3 and growing well it's highly likely to be a very good 5 day embie.

Best of luck

Not so great news today on day 5 they couldn't grade it as it's a very early blastocyst so leaving it until tomorrow and update then ....

@Pinklady81 that's ok I think... the fact it went to blast is a good thing (it means it's in the 50%!!) some of them take an extra day but it doesn't mean it won't turn out well tomorrow 😊

Soooo frustrating for you... this whole thing is sent to teach us patience 😒

The embryologist is always very cautious .... she said they couldn't. Grade or biopsy or today I feel drained but surprisingly I just think now it is what it is and im going to try forget about it

Update from me: 9 eggs, which is great... only 3 mature 😳 I'm pretty disappointed; there were 3 leaders (and I guess this was then) but we thought that 2/3 others were big enough. I'll ask the embryologist tomorrow when they call, but does anyone have insights on why so many might have been immature?

Hi there!! In middle of first round ivf at 40.
Had my egg collection yesterday and got 9 eggs, call today to say all 9 had fertilised so now I have a horrible wait over weekend for the next update. We’re having a freeze all cycle due to OHSS risk.
Have been okish since collection but still really bloated and sore today. Hoping it passes soon!!

@LuckyNovember sorry to hear that quite a few weren't mature. Hopefully, the clinic will have some insight into what's occurred. Did they tell you how big most of the follicles were before trigger?

@LT103 sounds like all went well, fingers crossed for a positive update on Monday.

Thanks @Bryterlayter1 the day of trigger they were 18.8, 2 x 16.2, I guess these were the three... the others were 13.8, 13.4 (these are the ones we thought would catch up) 11.8 (the long shot), 11.2 and 10.1. A surprise one as well. There was some debate on whether to go ages or wait another day... I guess this is the answer, we should have waited 😫 🤦🏻‍♀️ Doc was concerned we'd lose the top one, but everything I read says that most clinics are fine to trigger anytime 18-20 🤷🏻‍♀️

@LT103 I think with nine fertilised you have a pretty strong chance, Monday will come soon enough 😊.
For comparison, (Same age, same gender, radically different outcome!) do you remember more or less the size of yours at trigger... am trying to understand what went wrong with so many of mine before talking to the embryologist tomorrow 🤔

@LT103 same gender, presumably, but that was supposed to be "number" 🤣

@luckynovember Oh no, how frustrating. I have my fingers crossed for you that the 3 mature eggs all fertilise and make it to blasts. Are you doing a fresh transfer?

That's the plan @Bryterlayter1 .. in a way it makes things easier; I suppose I'll transfer on day 3, and if none are looking good then, we can move on to the next quickly, again 🙄

I'm pretty resigned to it not working... but then there are loads of times I was sure it would work and didn't, so that only shows that my feelings have zero influence on it all 🙈

How are you getting on now?

@LuckyNovember I had 31 follicles at my scan all quite well spread out. I had one at 21, one at 18, two 16, two 15. There were about about 10

WoW @LT103 31 is MEGA!! Thanks for taking the time to share, you had a lot to work with, there were only 8 on my scan!! I was really pleased with 9 based on my first cycle which was closer to the % your clinic gave, 4 mature (out of 6), all 4 fertilised, and 2 blasts (a 3rd that stopped growing just before transfer on day 5)... I was literally counting my eggs before they'd hatched 🙈

I never understood the bloods results, and my doctor doesn't really explain anything!! Do you know how the numbers should compare to the number of mature eggs? Two days before trigger I was at >4000, which seemed high, and my last round was 5826 on day of trigger with 4 mature 🤔

Clinic told me that "most" eggs that fertilise normally make it to day 3, then 40-50% make it to blast in some form. And like you said, it can also be completely random and down to luck 🙄

Hope you have a good weekend and I'm sure you'll have good news on Monday 🧡

Ok 🤦🏻‍♀️ I've down a Google rabbit hole on Estradiol measurements, and we might be using different units 😉

@LuckyNovember yeah I was on a low protocol due to high AMH and antralnfollicle count and they didn’t want to risk OHSS. IM still quite sore 2 days after collection but think I’ve avoided it all. Means I can’t have fresh transfer though so I need to cross my fingers for the 5 day mark!!!

For estradiol I’ve read various things. One said that you get 400-500 per mature egg so it just helps them decide when to trigger I think. I didn’t ask too much about it

Good morning everyone had the call they said my day 5 early blastocyst has expanded but some of the cells are not part of the blastocyst.... therefore they could t biopsy it but they have frozen it whatever that is supposed to mean.

@LuckyNovember I was absolutely convinced my last cycle wouldn’t work. There is no rhyme or reason to those feelings. I’m really hoping your get a very positive up date today and that (at least) one of those three is a bfp in waiting. I’m doing well very very tired but that’s to be expected.

@Pinklady81 I wish I knew what that meant could the clinic give you more information. They’ve frozen the embryo so that means it would be suitable for transfer did they give you a grading?

No grading nothing to be honest I didn't want to answer the call ... they said some cells were not formed as part of the blastocyst stage and to biopsy it would mean that those cells could merge or something .... I feel like this has all been for nothing This cycle and such a failure xx

I'm rapidly joining you @Pinklady81 ... clinic just called; only one of my three fertilised "normally" 😔 I feel like we did all that for nothing, again!! I don't really know what to do now... they've offered me a 3 day transfer on Monday, and I'm so resigned to it failing I almost feel like refusing, not sure I want the waiting and the pessaries for another BFN...

@LuckyNovember I'm so sorry that's how mine started 3 mature eggs they said and one fertilised normally grew very quickly too grade then all down hill! How many cycles have you done have you any frozen yet? I can't have a fresh transfer so got to wait and see what the clinical team say. Hope you're okay though I knew this was going to be a tough old time but this week I've had some serious highs and then some lows ixx

This is my second cycle @Pinklady81
I thought the first was bad, but this one's a total car crash 😭 First time we had 6 eggs/4 mature/3 made it to day 5, but only one early blast was good enough to transfer. BFN obvs.
This time I completely cut my stress, cut caffeine, cut alcohol, made a really big effort on all these things, I've been taking ubiquinol and myo-inositol and so may supplements that I rattle!! 9 eggs, only 3 mature. I heard today that 2 were too small - which was expected, but the other four "didn't look normal" whatever that means 🙄 we're doing ICSI for MFI, three fertilised, but only one is developing normally.
If it survives until Monday I suppose we'll do the transfer...
I wanted to change doctor after my last round, she just tells me it's because I'm old (I just turned forty), and too bad... it's very very helpful! Now she tells me there isn't any other protocol or pre-treatment that would help and it's just my age.....