ICSI

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Hi there,

My partner and I have been recommended to start ICSI with a frozen embryo transfer and we're hoping to get things started after Christmas/New Year. I'm just wondering if anyone else has used this process?

Any advice? I can't lie, I'm a little nervous about it all.

Thanks

We have done ICSI. There's nothing to be nervous about as there's not much required from your side. It's a straightforward process. In our case, it resulted in better embryo results. Hope it works for you too!

We did ICSI even though no male factor issues. Consultant just wanted to give us every chance as we would get a small amount of eggs. We got 4 eggs of which 2 were mature and both fertilised and made blasts. We are then doing a frozen transfer in a month or so.

With an FET I believe there are more meds involved compared to fresh (which I've not had so don't quote me on that!). But it's recommended for those at risk of OHSS and lets your body recover from the egg collection / stims. There is a risk that embryos don't survive the thaw, but research suggests the % is low.

There's nothing you need to do differently or anything extra for ICSI compared to standard IVF. The only difference to you as an individual is that it costs more!

I had ICSI for male factor, 7 eggs became 6 top quality embryos, and after fresh one failed the first frozen transfer was our successful one, as your body is less pumped with hormones for a frozen round. You usually only take oestrogen pills and then progesterone pessaries or injections for a frozen transfer too, though of course you'll have to do the whole shebang to get the embryos first. I was nervous about IVF but found it so much easier than the horrible unknown of ttc and getting nowhere. You at least feel you're doing something actively to make it happen! Good luck with your round :) x

Thank you so much for the replies. This has really helped and made me feel much more positive about our next steps!

Hey, we will be starting icsi too. I'm 32 years old, first ever pregnancy (hopefully), issue with low sperm morphology and count.
I've been finding it helpful reading on here. Waiting for my period in about 2 weeks time then will have baseline scans and start stims! Good luck everyone.

We're hoping to start ICSI early in the new year too after almost 2 years ttc.
Good luck!

@Lucky2023 hoping everything goes well for you!

@Natty2 Good Luck to you too! We might be on similar time frames 😂

Start medication hopefully on the 1st December the dreaded Xmas cut off (ours is the 2nd) the first time I want AF to come a few days early

@Lucky2023 Hi how are you getting on? I am due to start stims in the next 2 weeks hopefully just on a norethisterone course at the moment. This will be my 3rd round with MF infertility and no known issues from my side but 2 failed implantations previously so I am having blood thinners this time.

Hi OP, any updates? Xx

@OneHeapedTeaspoonOfSugar
Hi there,
I actually ended up falling pregnant naturally in February, a couple of weeks before we were due to start treatment, I gave birth to my son two weeks ago 😊

Wow I’m so so pleased to hear that!
lif you don’t mind me asking, how long had you been trying? And what was your indication for ICSI?
The newborn bubble must be bliss (tiring but magical!!), so nice to hear these positive stories so thank you for sharing 🩵🩵

@OneHeapedTeaspoonOfSugar we had been trying for over 18 months, at around the year mark we went for fertility testing and were told that my husband had very low morphology so we were told ICSI would be the most successful. He started using proxeed and we used the fertilily cup which worked for us after a few months. Thank you, it's tiring but so worth it

Had you had any pregnancy before?
My husband has had varied results, first it was normal count but low morphology then a month later it was low count with normal morphology. We are hoping to start ICSI in the new year! I did have a chemical pregnancy in June so was hoping we could conceive naturally but nothing since!
I guess we just can’t give up hope 🙏🏽
Thank you again x x

No we'd never had a pregnancy before! Ahh that's so frustrating when one thing improves something else dips. I think we were very lucky in the end tbh! I'm sorry to hear about your chemical. Good luck! I hope it all goes well for you!

Thank you 🩵