Failed fertilisation and over fertilisation

[Chester39]

After two years of trying and a year on the waiting list with nhs we’ve only just had our first round of ivf. I’m 39 in a few weeks so age is not on my side and have very low AMH and AFC. My first round I was really upset to have only 4 follicles at baseline but they were able to get 4 mature eggs on Friday which gave me some hope.

They called yesterday to tell me 2 had over fertilised due to two sperm entering the egg (I can’t find much info about this and it sounds rare), and the other two didn’t fertilise. I’m beyond devastated, I haven’t eaten all day, been up since 3am, don’t feel like doing anything not even watching tv. We only have one more chance on nhs and whilst we’re fortunate enough that we could afford a cycle private, I just feel like I’d be throwing money at a lost cause.

I would have preferred to do an egg donor but the clinic told me it was worth trying with my eggs and my partner is very against a donor saying it’s like him have a child with another woman (which clearly I disagree with). I feel like that’s upsetting me the most as I could put myself through another round if I knew this was an option and I had a real shot at having a child but he just seems so closed minded to it.

To add to all this I had confusing fertility test results with nhs showing AFC of 4/5 AMH 5pmol but private told me AFC 11 and AMH 10! I know things can fluctuate but that seems a lot and gave me some false hope I would have more follicles.

Not really sure what I’m asking but just feeling very alone as whilst my partner is supporting , I just feel so upset he won’t consider donor in which case if round 2 fails it’s the end of the line for us in respect to children 😔

Hi OP. So sorry that your first cycle didn’t work out. I would agree with the clinic though that it may be worth trying again with your own eggs particularly if you have another free go with the NHS. Perhaps they can try ICSI at the next cycle as this may prevent two sperms fertilising the eggs? It is quite common for the first cycle to be unsuccessful particularly if you have a low AMH. I do understand your hesitation to have another go though as it really takes a toll on your physical and mental health.
Re donor egg, please note that although it may increase your chances, it’s not a sure shot even when the donor is much younger than you. It may also take a few cycles before it works out.
I hope you and your husband agree on your next steps. Best of luck whatever you decide.

@Chester39has your partners sperm been tested - I think it would be worth doing a dna fragmentation test before your next round? Cutting caffeine from both diets and eating a more Mediterranean diet might help with you both in supplements. Not each cycle is equal and you still have some time. This isn’t an easy journey but know you are not alone x

@Ivf4203 yeh we will do the second round and they’ve already said before we’ve had a debrief that we will need ICSI. Yes it does take its toll, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the clinic after various mishaps so my anxiety is through the roof 🙈

I know, I’ve been reading up the stats on donors today and whilst it’s a lot higher, it’s not as high as you’d think. But on the other hand with my stats it just feels impossible. Even if I can get to transfer, the chance of live birth is very low 😔

@confused2025 thanks for your message.

I’ll ask the clinic about that test, thanks.

I don’t drink any caffeine (not just for ivf), my partner drinks 1-2 coffees a day, both on supplements including coq 10 for months and we have always eaten healthy.

I downloaded it stats with the egg book this weekend but that’s really not helping my mental health talking about touching receipts and tinned tomatoes etc, it’s just stressing me out more reading it.

@Chester39totally get it. I just turned 40. My first cycle wasn’t great. It looks like my second cycle has worked - I did a lot with my diet and then I did about 12 weeks of acupuncture up to transfer and I actually think this helped me destress. My job can be kinda stressy as well. Maybe acupuncture or reflexology could help too. I would also be asking the clinic is there options to change meds etc as this may have been a factor. What stims were you on? My first cycle I was gonal f and second cycle was menopur. I would also recommend Emma the embryologist on instagram - I’ve learnt a lot from her page. It’s a stress, lonely journey but we’re all here for you if you need to vent/share advice x

@confused2025 thanks it really helps knowing there’s people to talk to on here.

I was doing acupuncture last year when we were trying naturally for about 8 weeks but I was getting a terrible shooting pain / electric shock feeling when she put the wrist ones in which she kept saying were very important for stress (I have a stressful job too) and it got to the point I was very anxious about going there so felt like it was defeating the point of relaxing 😂🙈

I was on 375 of menopur. Can the drugs impact quality / fertilisation etc? As I felt like the drugs worked as well as they could have given I have 4 follicles and got 4 mature eggs

@Chester39my acupuncturist focused around my belly area - she was calm and gentle. I thought I would hate it but I would fall asleep during my sessions. I guess with everything it depends on the person - the same can be said for clinics. Yes, I think you can have different outcomes depending on protocol and meds. This is a really hard situation as clinics in the uk don’t do a lot of testing compared to European clinics and some of this can be like experimentation but I do think it would be really useful for you to reduce stress - whatever way that works for you. I would do the dna fragmentation test though - esp as you had mature eggs. The male side is a big factor but people/clinics rarely focus on this. There are lots of folks in the 38+ age group and I think it’s about finding the right clinic/consultant who gets this demographic. My first clinic had an 8% success rate for those over 38. My current clinic is much higher and I’m currently 6 weeks. I didn’t use a donor either.
I remember being so upset after 1st cycle but was determined to give it my all. Also, the odds increase per cycle - I think part of that is your body knowing what is happening. I
think you still have time x

There’s no clinics where I live in Chester unfortunately so we’re having to travel to Liverpool at the moment (2 hour round trip) which doesn’t help with the stress of taking time out of work. The private scan was in Manchester but I wasn’t really overly impressed with either clinic. I’ve been reading up about Spanish clinics this afternoon and like you say, they do hardly any testing here. I was also reading Emma the embryologist and she says first cycle shouldn’t be diagnostic (the embryologist literally told me that yesterday) and that they should as about your health before making any decisions eg natural cycle but we’ve had none of that. They’ve never even explained what our protocol is (I’ve had to google to see what the dif drugs are for) it just feels like we’re on a conveyor belt.

have you had a review lined up? I would question them on this? Also, asking questions about were there any indications if it was a sperm or egg issue and asking them what they would do differently in next cycle eg meds etc as there are so many different ones and long and short protocol.
It Might also be good to look at immunology testing - sometimes you can have killer cells that can be treated. Sometimes the egg and sperm might not be compatable - but they can do a treatment for this. Also I would potentially look at the Daye Diagnostic kit (it’s not crazy expensive and tests for microbiome - which is a common problem and can be an easy fix with a short perscription)

We’ve asked the embryologist this but she’s not been able to give an answer and just said if it’s going to happen it’ll happen. The over fertilisation is quite rare and not loads of information about it online but it sounds like it’s most likely egg quality, could be sperm or could be the lab using too big a sample.

She said she’s marked us down to get a call but she’s not sure how many weeks it will take. we did complain to her though about the lack of consultation / information / comms we’ve had but other stuff (the most serious being to do with an allergy to medication which they keep forgetting / don’t read my notes!).

Based on my conversation with her I feel like they’ll just say it’s one of those things and ICSI will be the next step. I have a very long list of questions to ask them though.

I feel so grateful to have a second round on the nhs but at the same time my gut is telling me not to trust the clinic, not because of because failure but lack of scans during stims, various mistakes they’ve made, emergency contact not working, conveyor belt approach etc. They have quite a few findings on their HEFA audit too. Unfortunately though due to no services in my area (Chester) we’re stuck with them for nhs rounds.