ICSI January 2023

[Infertilitylife]

Hello,

My partner and I need IVF due to MFI. We are hoping to start treatment in January 2023.

I had my fertility ultrasound scans today and these are my results:

AFC -

Left Ovary - 13 follicles
Right Ovary - 14 follicles

My Endo thickness was 7.3mm (cycle day 10).

I have no masses, cysts, fluid etc - everything looked smooth and normal.
How do these results seem?

I was also told I have a retroverted uterus - will this affect IVF?
Thank you

Ops that was deleted!

It was just a link to my friends Insta page.. she's an online fitness coach and is so motivational and also has an online cookbook out, with loads of low cal and high protein breakfasts, lunch, dinners and sweet treats, lots of meal prep ideas too.

It really helps me stay focused, but if you search Cheryl nutrition and fitness coach you will find her if it's of interest.. black and gold logo. Hope yous don't mind me posting ☺️

@User491 I'll follow you if you don't mind. I should share mine but I'm a wimp 😂 started mine in 2021 and My main profile is the only follower I got 😂

What date is your birthday? Do you know what protocol you'll be doing next time? I'm going to ask for short again I think. Even though I did more injections short it seemed to work better.

My insta for this is private. That way I can make sure it’s not someone I know in real life. Only my sister really knows (and presumably my mum cause I’m guessing she told her). But follow away!

Jerk chicken was from the butchers so no recipe (it was already marinated). Morrison’s used to do a nice paste, but I haven’t seen it for a while. It was a staple a few years ago in the summer when the BBQ came out!

Private got a bit real today. Invoice paid for SOS test! We’ve not got a loan sorted yet. Suppose we’ll sort that out once we know the results from this test.

I hope everyone is ok.

Update for us;

So, we had the SOS sperm oxidative stress test yesterday. Results came back today.

The stress test was positive. It wasn’t severe, but the levels were high enough to be associated with DNA fragmentation. So it’s likely we have DNA fragmentation issue.

He needs to be on proxeed for 3 months before our next cycle. So we’re looking June/July time rather than May. June probably.

Looks like we’ll both be on super strict diet, which will make it easier for me actually. It’s hard when I’m trying to be good, and he isn’t. He thinks he eats well, but it isn’t great. Too many cookies!

Hey @Lauralozzle Thats good news that you have something to aim for and hopefully 3 months of hard work will pay off for your next round 🙌🏼

How is everyone else doing?

@Sj2505 are you all recovered now?

We’ve found out we’re not funded for our FET which is a bit disappointing seen as we didn’t get a fresh transfer with our round but it’s not a huge amount (£1085 by the looks of it for natural) but we have to find it by the beginning of April to be able to do it next month so it’s gonna be a tight month 😆 just hopefully it’ll work and will be worth it 🤞🏼

@Brown269 it’s a bit rubbish the FET isn’t covered by NHS seeing as you never got to transfer because of the freeze all. Does that price include the meds?

Yes, SOS test result at least answers some of our questions. I knew in my heart it would come back positive, but I’ve heard good things about proxeed to help, plus, it definitely means we’ll be using the zymot chip now which I’m happy about.

How is everyone?

@Lauralozzle on the price list it says + £300 for meds but I’m guessing that won’t apply to us if I’m doing natural cycle as all I’ll need to get is an ovulation test kit 🤞🏼

what’s a zymot chip?

Hi everyone,

Going through ICSI first time due to male factor really poor motility. Had egg retrieval yesterday and was so delighted at getting 15 eggs, 13 of these were mature but devastated today receiving phonecall that only 2 of these have fertilised. I’ve just lost all hope, can’t stop crying. I felt so good about everything yesterday and utterly hopeless today. Infertility is so rough.

@Jcl22 i also did icsi ended up with one good quality egg from first round like you was so upset but it worked first time and i am now nearly 3 months pregnant it only takes 1 :-)

@Brown269 Oh yes, I forgot you were doing a natural cycle!

Zymot chip is a bit like an obstacle course the sperm have to swim through. Think they have to swim through some filter thing, and those ones will be picked. It’s used for ICSI but I think you have to have swimming sperm for it! It’s meant to help pick the strongest. I think the thought is those best sperm might not look as good as others, but may actually be better.

@Jcl22 I’m so sorry to hear about your fertilisation rate. I also only had 2 eggs that fertilised. Fingers crossed those x2 make it to strong, healthy blasts.

I know it only takes one, I’m just so scared thinking of the phonecall from the embryologist tomorrow. can’t stop thinking only 2 fertilised on day 1 is a lost cause and will never reach day 5

@Lauralozzle I love the sound of that, makes me think of those horse riding games at the fair where everyone stands round cheering them on to get to the finish line, just picturing the embryoligists cheering your little swimmers on as they get through the obstacle course 🤭

@Jcl22 so sorry to hear you were so dissapointed with your numbers, it really is such a rollercoaster of emotions isn’t it 😞 but it is all about quality and if they were strong enough to fertilise just keep faith that they will be strong enough to make it to day 5 💪🏼 I know it’s heartbreaking but the ones that didn’t fertilise wouldn’t have made it in your tummy so it would have led to heartache further down the line.
we’re all rooting for your 2 little beans ❤️❤️

Thank you I really appreciate your kind words.
I’m just finding it difficult not to look at statistics and compare to others. I got my hopes up so much yesterday after hearing 13 eggs were mature and feel so silly now being excited about that. I really do just feel so hopeless and can’t shake it

This might be a silly question but I just wondered can an egg fertilise on day 2 if it doesn’t show signs of fertilisation on day 1? is there a chance the embryologist could call tomorrow and say there’s more than the 2 that fertilised on day 1?

@Jcl22 I’m not sure, I know I read someone on a board someone who did have that happen but I think that was that they called them back the same day to say they had shown signs of fertilising after initially saying they hadn’t but I think it is rare so I wouldn’t pin your hopes on that if I’m honest.
Just try and focus on those 2 you have, they have fought hard to get this far and we’re clearly the strongest out of the 13 you had so keep faith they will stay strong, and like others have said it only takes one. It is such an awful time, I was called on day 5 to say none had reached blastocyst and was devastated, but on day 6 all had got there, they were just slow growers, and all 4 of mine that fertisilised made it in the end so just try and concentrate on those 2 little rays of hope you have and try not to focus too much on the ones that didn’t make it, you still have every reason to have hope that these 2 little ones will make it to day 5 ❤️

Thanks for explaining, it really helps knowing not to get my hopes up about that.

I’m really praying these 2 fertilised eggs hold on and keep going! I asked the embryologist how the 2 looked and she just said they looked how they would expect for day 1 fertilised eggs 🤷🏼‍♀️ I know there are worse things to happen than only getting 2 fertilised on day 1, I think it’s just the shock of hearing that after feeling so positive with 13 mature eggs. Really hoping for a miracle with them 🙏🏼

@Jcl22 yeah I think I got on the embryologists nerves by the end of my 6 day wait cause I was calling every day and they kept saying there was no point telling me what grade they were / how they were doing as things can constantly change and it only matters how they are on day 5, but I know a lot of clinics give a day 3 update too which I’m sure helps put your mind at ease a little so hopefully your clinic does give that 🤞🏼

If you don’t mind me asking, what is your age, amh etc? If it is likely it is just male factor and no underlying fertility issues with you then even if things don’t work out as you planned this time then there is a lot you can do to help improve your partners sperm for another round - unless it was SST and is all already frozen? There is quite a few in this thread who had MFI or sperm issues that have given advice on things that can be done / taken to improve the chances of fertilisation.
I know that’s not what you’d like ideally but just know there are always other things that can be done and although it is such a hard journey there is always hope so just hold on to that ❤️

@Brown269 she asked me today if I would rather they called me tomorrow day 2 instead of waiting until day 3 as I think she could hear how upset I was so hopefully she will remember and call again tomorrow! Although saying that I am already dreading bad news after today.

I am 33 with AMH level of 17.1 which they have said is normal for age and no other issues on my side. The issue with my husbands sperm is really poor quality and motility but the clinic seemed positive that ICSI would be successful. we don’t have anything frozen, this is our first cycle with my husband providing his fresh sample yesterday as I was in for egg retrieval. I’ll definitely go back through the thread and read it RE sperm quality.

@Jcl22 Your age and AMH sounds good. I really do have my fingers crossed for you. We had one blast from our two embryos, the other one didn’t quite catch up by day 6 so we couldn’t freeze it. It was just really slow! It had progressed, just not enough! Whilst our cycle wasn’t successful, we have learned a few things.

My AMH was 13.5 I think last year. It was normal. I only have one working ovary, so, I’ll always get half the number of eggs I could have had if both ovaries worked!

We were unexplained, which is why we did ICSI. Our fertilisation rate was poor at 33% with ICSI. We’ve since had further tests, which indicate it’s very likely we have sperm DNA fragmentation issue which just doesn’t picked up on a normal sample. So, DH’s normal sperm isn’t so normal after all. DNA frag can cause fertilisation issues.

We’re both on proxeed now. We have to clean up our diet. We’ll be using AOA on our next round, which is a calcium thing that’s meant to help fertilisation and zymot chip. I’m hopeful our next round will be much better. IVF in itself can be a bit of a diagnostic tool.

@Jcl22 Im also 33 with amh of 14.8 so your numbers do seem very positive!
My hubbys infertility was absense of sperm completely so he had to have surgical retrieval and all frozen, rather than a fresh sample so I guess it is harder if they’re relying on a fresh sample if his sperm is low quality, but as @Lauralozzle said there is things they can do to improve that if you were to need a second round - although I have everything crossed for you that you won’t need to 🤞🏼

Hopefully they do call you today with good news to help you relax a little 💜

@Brown269 thanks, at least I know there are hopefully options for a second round.

just had a call from the embryologist to say we are now down to 1 fertilised egg but it’s fragmented already on day 2 so not great news. Just so crushed with it all

@Jcl22 Im so so sorry to hear that 😞
What Ross it mean if it’s fragmented?
IVF is such a cruel journey that just plays with your emotions so much.
I really hope your 1 remaining embryo can make it to day 5 but have a look in to what your clinic offers in terms or sperm testing & what your hubby can do himself in terms of supplements, staying away from heat etc so you have something to focus on and work towards should this round not work out for you.
As others have said the first round is a lot of the time about learning what works for each woman / couple and as much as it can destroy you it will mean they can look at what went wrong to correct it for the next round so you get better results.
im just so sorry you’re having to go through this 😞💔

@Jcl22 How are you getting on?
Got everything crossed for you 🤞🏼

@Brown269 a bit of a turn of events on my side. the embryologist called me yesterday and said it was my decision if I wanted to go with a day 3 transfer but they would only do so if the embryo looked good enough. They called me today (day 3) and said the embryo had split into 6 cells and was an average grade so my husband and I made the decision to transfer and we got taken in at 12 🥰 I know the chances are really small but I just feel better giving this wee one a chance given it’s the only one we have. The embryologist did say they would always advise waiting until day 5 but also that there’s no better place for an embryo to be than back where it belongs so we went with it! Had my McDonald’s chips on the way home and now just need to wait 🙏🏼🤞🏼