IVF/ICSI/FET November 2023

[Sunflower360]

Hi 👋 I could not see a thread had been set up so thought I would do so. Bit about me...

➡️38
➡️Low AMH being main issue, last test was around 4pmol in the summer
➡️Have had an abandoned and failed IVF cycle in Spring of this year due to failed fertilisation, OH had low morphology, other parameters ok so ICSI advised next time
➡️Since then, I had 2 x consecutive ICSI natural modified egg collections and have 2 x day 5 ❄️❄️ and 1 x day 3 ❄️ embryos, whether they are any good, only time will tell
➡️I'm about to start another egg collection on the mild protocol this time and will (hopefully if it goes ok) transfer this time

Please join the rollercoaster for November as you wish!

Hello! I am awaiting my transfer in about 2 weeks. Only have 1 good qty ❄embryo that is a result of 3 egg collections! Putting all eggs (or 1 egg) in one basket so-to-speak haha.

Hi @contentsmayb ! As they say it only takes 1 so hopefully that one works out for you. Did you do mild IVF?

No, I had 3 rounds or full-blown meds haha. Mainly due to my age (40) I think and lower AMH. I got a good number of eggs each time (over a dozen each time), but unfortunately they were of a poor qty :(

Have you done any PGTA testing on your embryos? That's what told us ours weren't good.... :(

@contentsmayb not done PGTA testing, was going to see what happened and if these did not work then we may consider doing that for any future steps (was a bit nervous of damaging them, especially if it waa a good one, as we only have a small number of them as it is). Did you have many to PGTA? Take it the one you're transferring is a euploid one?

We have had a total of 7 available from 3 cycles to be pgta tested. Yes, only 1 euploid. We have 2 more low-mosaic, which we might consider if this one doesn't work.

What a journey!!!
When is your egg-collection? Wouldn't it be nice to get some good news by Christmas? So looking forward to be over with this process!

@contentsmayb yeah it is somewhat of a journey! Be good to get some good news before Christmas but either way if it wasn't great then would just accept it, enjoy the break and pick it back up in the new year.

If you don't mind me asking what was your grading like on the 7 embryos? I know it is very subjective and does not explain if its a euploid but just wondering. I have read that mosaics can work, so hopefully you could put them in as a double tranafer perhaps if you needed or wanted to later?

That's a great attitude!! Fingers crossed for you! ❤

I don't know the grading from previous cycles, but from this one (we had 3 tested), they were really good embryos 5BB, 5AB and 5AA. I don't know which one out of these 3 become an euploid.

Yes, we are hoping that the low-mosaics might be okay, but obviously there are unsettling risks :(

December might be the right group for me but tbc!

My story… full IVF in June when I was 38 giving us 5 embryos, 4 top grade. Became pregnant on the fresh cycle but sadly miscarried at 6wks in August. We decided to have the remaining four tested. Two didn’t survive thawing & wouldn’t have been a successful transfer. The remains two are excellent/normal 😃Phew!

Doc says a natural FET cycle would be best for me. Next appt to discuss is in 3 weeks & I also have my smear test after 2 years of needing colposcopies… why is life so complicated?!

Overall, I’m feeling optimistic and just want to get on with it!

Hi @FiddleLeaf ! That's good that you have 2 euploids. Hope you can get the transfer done before Christmas. Was there any explanation as to why the other 2 did not survive thawing? I understood good grade embryos are only really frozen if they have a good chance of thawing, but as you say if they didn't survive the thawing process then it would make sense that they would not be strong enough to go ahead

Hey @Sunflower360 , one of the dud embryos was slower to develop & lagged behind the rest throughout the process so I was expecting that one to fail but the other one was a top grade. The embryologist just said once it thawed it didn’t plump up like the others so couldn’t be biopsied & would never would have made a FET cycle. I was fully expecting them to say all four had issues so it’s a big relief & finally felt like some good luck.

How far along are with this this cycle?

@FiddleLeaf ah ok, as you say good to have the 2, that's a good result. I've just started stims so will see how things go in the scan. It's short protocol mild IVF so if it goes ok then hopefully will have an egg collection in about 10 days time

Hi @Sunflower360
I’m not currently going through any treatment, but am interested in mild/natural ivf and your experience with create. I’m 36 and my last AMH test was 5.5pmol.
we’ve just finished our 3rd round - first nhs, 225 Ovaleap, got 2 eggs, 1 “good” day 5, bfn. Second was private, 450 menopur, got 5 eggs, 2 early blasts put back day 5, ectopic. Then found out I had stage 4 endo and had surgery. However, our most recent round following my surgery has been our worst in terms of outcome, 300gonal f and 150 menopur, got 8 eggs, no blasts. My consultant now says this round proves all our past failures are down to my poor egg quality. He’s said to try one more round with ICSI and different meds (which we’ve worked out will cost a small fortune!) and then move to donor eggs. As I’ve only just turned 36 I’m not sure if that’s the right path for us yet.
Would you recommend create? The reviews seem so mixed!

@LouLou7864 sorry to hear about that, sounds quite a firm approach to advise donor eggs at this stage, especially as you have shown you can produce blastocysts and you have got pregnant. What clinic are you with if you don't mind me asking?

Just from my personal experience I would strongly advise Create, mainly as we have found their approach to be very tailored and fair too. They tend to get your thoughts and let you make the decisions.

These have been my rounds so far with an AMH 4.3 pmol (that AMH was in the summer):

1st round (Natural Modified): 5 eggs, 4 mature, 3 fertilised through ICSI (the other degenerated), 1 x day 3 frozen (standard for Create so you have at least 1 to transfer in a natural setting if you get no day 5's) and 1 x good day 5 frozen. The 3rd did get to blastocyst and was left to day 6 but was not deemed suitable to freeze

2nd round (Natural Modified): 2 eggs, both mature, 1 x day 5 frozen, the other one unfortunately did not get to day 5. The Drs thoughts were the follicles recruited may not have been a great quality this time but either still got another day 5 frozen and out of 2 eggs I was happy with the result

For my 3rd round (stimulating at the moment) Dr suggested we could try mild IVF to see if we could get an egg or 2 more, but will see if that works or not. Either way it is good to know they are flexible to change things up should you need it. This cycle will also hopefully lead to a transfer.

Any questions let me know!

@LouLou7864 my doses in cycle 1 were 150 Gonal-F for 6 days and cycle 2 150 Gonal-F for 7 days (had a slight extra dose the last 2 days of the 7).

On this 3rd cycle I've been started on 150 Gonal-F. So very much low doses-so less expense and stress on the body

Thank you for your reply - you’ve had such great results with a smaller amount of eggs! Keeping everything crossed for a successful third round and transfer🤞🏼which create clinic are you with? I’ve just signed up for one of their virtual events, so hopefully will get some more info.

I’m with Lister at the Portland hospital as it was recommended by my endo surgeon. I can’t fault the people who work there, the nurses especially are completely lovely. However, we’ve not had the best experience - they got our drugs dose wrong twice which was a nightmare as we don’t live in London (and meant we had to change dose last minute from what our consultant had originally recommended) and we’ve currently been waiting nearly a month for our freeze all fee refund from our failed cycle, despite lots of chasing on our side…

Have you been taking any supplements since you started your 3 cycles?

@LouLou7864 sounds like that has not been a great experience for you at all.

Supplement wise I've been taking the following:

• 3800 IU vitamin D in Proceive and seperate tablets
• 620mg CoQ10 in Proceive and seperate tablets
• 400ug Folic Acid in Proceive
• 650g Vitamin C in Proceive and tablets
• Others in Proceive
• 1000 IU Omega-3

I've also tried to follow a more higher protein, lower carb diet. Whether any of this makes a difference I'm not sure, but I have seen a natural decline in my thyroid levels. In my NHS cycle earlier this year it was above the recommended 2.5 for pregnancy (NHS clinic didn't even flag this), but then when I went to Create few months later they bought it up having reviewed my previous test results and suggested I get re tested in case I needed to go on thyroid meds before a transfer. Turned out it had gone down 40% since my NHS test 6 months prior and it was below 2.5, so I can only attribute that to diet and supplements as I've changed that since during my 1st cycle with the NHS clinic. I retested again recently as I was conscious I'm hoping to transfer this cycle and it was still below 2.5.

Hope the webina goes ok!

Hi Ladies,
Hope you don’t mind me joining this thread. I have just started a second cycle of IVF (ICSI), currently on day 3 of stims. We are doing IVF due to MFI (azoospermia). Our first cycle went better than we had expected, resulting in 3 day 5 blasts, 1 was transferred (BFN) and the other two are on ice. We are hoping to bank further embryos this time and have them genetically tested.

Stims is going well so far but I’m full of nerves about how I will respond and if we will end up with many blasts. Trying to stay positive and keep as relaxed as I can through it all!

@Sunflower360 I’m also taking proceive and the others you’ve mentioned. I hadn’t been on proceive for 3months when we started our last round, so hoping that might make some difference if we go again.
Ive got an overactive thyroid so have been on anti thyroid meds since we started ttc years ago, but my TSH levels have gone a bit weird recently. A few months ago it was 0.07 but last test was 2.3. Im hoping it’s just my hormones settling after my surgery, but definitely think I’ll have it checked again before we start any treatment.

Hi @Runner77 , hope this cycle works out ok for you @LouLou7864 definitely could be good to re test and regarding supplements think it is advised to take then for around 3 months before

Update from me and unfortunately I am already out of the running this month as I have some residual cysts which are basically follicles from the last cycle, so will have to restart next month for them to disappear (as I've had back to back IVF cycles so far that can happen apparently). In all honesty that is fine as I have the worst cold right now so gives me a few weeks to shift it before restarting ... did not fancy transferring an embryo with feeling run down and ill

Here for advice and support of anyone needs it though! Good luck all

@Sunflower360 ah I’m sorry to hear that. Keeping everything crossed for a good egg retrieval and successful transfer for you next month 🤞🏼🤞🏼

Thanks @LouLou7864 trying to do 3 consequtive IVF cycles probably wasn't the best option for me so taking a break is ok and hopefully will be good to go next cycle

Hi ladies, hope it's ok for me to join. I have been trying to avoid forums because I always end up not going ahead with the cycle for some reason. I have my FET tomorrow and i have been trying to avoid forums but i am so nervous. I had my bloods taken this morning and I will hear back in the morning if it will be going ahead. It has been a looong journey.

@Sunflower360, I am so sorry to hear about your news. Hope you get well soon and get back on track with this journey. It's so full of ups and downs but it will happen for us soon.
I'm also 38, and had an abandoned cycle due to being non responsive to stims. All 49 follicles were under 6mm at day 12 stims. I have PCOS so I mainly get the quantity but not the quality. So this is my second cycle and i have 4 X day 5❄. Best wishes with the egg collection and your FET :)

@contentsmayb Hope all goes well with your FET. Yes, it only takes one :)

@FiddleLeaf I am so sorry for your loss. Glad to hear that you are keeping optimistic. I think we have to with this process.

@LouLou7864 so sorry to hear about your experience. I also agree that 36 seems a bit young to be thinking about a donor. Have you read "it starts with the egg"? I found it very helpful and i have tried following most of their recommendations. I can't say for sure if it helped but it has great advice. I also had surgery in between but for fibroids. Dealing with the two was not easy but it's all to help with this process at least.

Thanks @Sunflower360, fingers crossed. I have my first scan on Friday so hopefully it will be good news then. Sorry to hear your news but taking a break will probably mean your body will be recharged and more relaxed for the next cycle.

@BebeBelle good luck for tomorrow. Hopefully you can enjoy the 2WW as much as possible, although I know it’s easier said than done.

Thanks @BebeBelle and good luck for your FET! Are having a single or a double transfer?

Hi everyone, hi again @Sunflower360 (I think we spoke in a May IVF thread)!

I'm going to have my first, natural cycle FET this month, transferring a single euploid Day 6 embryo from my first EC. Our strategy was to bank embryos whilst I'm youngest, freeze and PGT-A all, then start transfering when we have 3 x euploids. Very excited but a little scared at the same time!

About us:
43 yrs old, husband just turned 42, no children, unexplained subfertility possibly b/c of blocked/narrow tubes(?). Low sperm morphology (0.5-2%) but good fertilisation rates. No ICSI in the last 2 cycles

EC (freeze all) cycle results:

• May: 9 eggs -> 7 fertilised -> 2 blasts -> 1 euploid & 1 mosaic
• August: 14 eggs -> 11 fertilised -> 4 blasts -> 1 euploid & 3 abnormal
• October: 15 eggs ->11 fertilised -> 3 blasts -> 1 euploid & 2 abnormal