IVF - short protocol vs long protocol

[Dotty1988]

Hi,
looking for anyone that has went from a short protocol to a long protocol and had better success / results?
I have had 3 NHS rounds on a short protocol and the private clinic are suggesting we try a long protocol but worried we don’t get anything. Just wanted to hear from anyone with experience of this? Xx

Following as my first failed IVF was short and now being switched onto a long

@ivfjourneyandme how are you finding it? Have you had egg collection yet?

Haven’t started yet, waiting for period to show up

Hi. I had much better results on a long protocol.

First cycle, short protocol - 8 eggs, 7 mature, 5 fertilised, 3 blasts, 0 euploid

2nd cycle, long protocol - 17 eggs, 14 mature, 10 fertilised, 6 blasts, 2 euploid
Planning do an FET in March

Embryos grading was also slightly better with the long protocol, although my top quality embryo was 6B+B+ (no As).

I did also change a few things with the 2nd cycle, increased CoQ10 ubiquinol form to 600mg. Increased protein intake to about 90-100g a day, which was quite difficult but managed. I drank 2l of milk a day to help with the protein. I drank 2-3l of water and stopped drinking coffee (although they say 1 cup a day is fine). My clinic said drinking lots of water and a healthy diet, high protein low carb is very important. I think the water and protein helps with folicle development and low carb is important to lower inflamation and keep insulin in check so it doesn't mess up the other hormones.

I am 40 now, have endometriosis and my partner has severe MFI so we did ICSI with calcium ionophore.

I hope you will both report that you had success with the long protocol. Best of luck ♥️

@bubu24 Thank you so much for your reply. Really appreciate it.

To cut a long story short I have had 3 NHS rounds with 7 failed transfers. They were all done on short protocol. Currently looking at a private clinic for 1 last shot and they had suggested a long protocol but worried I end up with nothing. We have also done ICSI as that was the reason for going through the NHS but after pre assessments with private they would have suggested IVF as my partner sample is now normal which is amazing but they will stick with ICSI rather than work back the way. So this gives me some hope xx

Oh sorry to hear that @Dotty1988 . Have they done any further tests in between cycles to check what might have caused all transfers to fail?

Even factoring in chromosomal abnormalities, 7 transfers sounds too high of a number to all be down to abnormal embryos or just bad luck. Long protocol will hopefully help you increase the number of eggs/embryos but I would hope the new clinic will run some tests to rule out common issues affecting implantation (assuming that hasnt been done already).

It must have been so tough to go through so many failed transfers. Really hope the next one works for you. 🍀

@bubu24 thank you. No unfortunately I am based in Scotland and there isn’t much options for additional testing 😢. I am looking at a clinic in Leeds which offer more testing but also don’t want to just throw money at it. So undecided what testing to opt in for that is worth it.
yeah it’s been a long road and unfortunately I think it’s luck of the draw or just not ment to be for me.
Sending you lots of baby dust xx

Hi, Sorry i know this thread is old but did you ever do the long protocol? Im in the same boat, ive had 4 cycles now, all short protocol and my clinic are now talking about trying long protocol on my next cycle. I would be interested to hear how it went for you. Thanks xx