IVF failed

[Coffeechocolatebooks123]

A failed round.
18 eggs, 16 fertilised, 4 embryos, 1 normal PGT tested embryo (5BA boy). 11.2mm embryo lining. Got the call today that it did not stick 😭😭😭😭
I tried a Mediterranean diet, ate so healthy, had so much fruit, hardly any sugar, no caffeine, kept active, vitamins.
What did I do wrong? 😞😞😞😞
What can I do to next time (if there is a next time as I am not sure we can afford it 😭😭)

I am so sorry 😞 it is so fundamentally unfair isn't it? You did nothing wrong!!!

Aw man I'm so sorry to hear that. It sounds like everything was perfect - don't blame yourself. As everyone says, it does take a bit of fairy dust, even my doctor told me in biology 2+2 doesn't make 4. I'm so sorry...
I don't think one single thing you did impacted it, but fruit is sugar - unless you're having it with a protein or carbs to slow down the breakdown. I'd follow the glucose goddess for this - there's more and more research coming out showing how important avoiding glucose spikes is for pregnancy. Plus it's not something you do for a couple of weeks and it works - it's the 3 months before that make the biggest impact, making sure your body is full of the nutrients the embryos need.
I thought clinics in the UK weren't allowed to divulge the gender - but honestly, at that point it's just cells isn't it - until you get a confirmation and are past the 22 week mark (the point where abortions are legal), even medically it's all up in the air.

I'm so sorry. Its nothing you did or didn't do, it's just shitty luck.

My first FET with a pgta tested embryo failed and I was so upset. I tried to remind myself that with a 65% or so chance of a euploid sticking, there's still a good chance it won't unfortunately without there being any particular reason why not.

Before doing another FET I did a vaginal microbiome test to see if anything needed addressing, and checked out the uterine environment with a saline scan, and then a hysteroscopy to remove some scar tissue. It might be there's no reason at all it didn't stick, but uterine environment is worth checking if you go again.

If you do do another round, wishing you all the luck and hope your clinic can offer some useful advice

So sorry It was nothing you did, even euploid embryos sometimes fail to implant - it’s the reason some clinics apparently say people need 2 or 3 euploid embryos to guarantee a pregnancy (assuming the uterine environment is okay).

But can I ask why you did the PGT testing? Was it for other genetic diseases or solely for aneuploidy? It’s only that it’s not really recommended in the UK by the HFEA here for that reason, mainly because many doctors believe some embryos can self- correct in the womb. Are any of your other 3 embryos mosaic and if so would your clinic/yourselves be willing to transfer them?

Or if there is another cycle, could you consider not testing the embryos (and perhaps even implanting two together?) but have an early nipt test at 10 weeks to check for abnormalities once pregnant instead?

I don’t know how old you are but at 40 that was the route I had to go down to get DS (I had 4 non tested embryos - implanted 2 and it resulted in one healthy DS. Have since implanted the final 2 to try for sibling but had a chemical pregnancy, I suspect they weren’t genetically normal or it could have been a problem with the uterine environment since I had a C Section with DS). Just an idea, I hope it all works out for you.

On PGT-A testing, you are very clearly told mosaics can self correct, it’s only the aneuploid ones the testing discards. Out of my 7 tested I only have 1 euploid and 1 mosaic and I’m so glad we did test as they were all rated good and I feel like I’ve saved myself from 5 potential miscarriages… and yes, agree with @Alexandrine - my clinic also says you need 2-3 euploids for a pregnancy!

Yes we were thinking 2 euploids for a good shot at a pregnancy as well, my clinic said there's was around an 85% chance of it taking with 2 euploid transfers, 93% with 3, and that 1 not working is just bad luck.

I think if you can do it, pgta testing is really really worth it, both to avoid transferring embryos that won't work, but also for potential heartache down the line - speaking as someone who had a TFMR at 14 weeks for a chromosomal abnormality that was picked up by a NIPT. If we had done ivf then, that embryo would never have been transferred. An aneuploid embryo won't self correct, mosaics might.

I think the HFEA not recommending pgta is flawed, it says its because it doesn't improve your chances of pregnancy - you have the embryos you have and it doesn't improve that - but that completely disregards the emotional and physical toll of failed transfers or miscarriages from embryos that weren't going to work. Its expensive, and I'm sure that's why the Nhs doesn't offer it, but I think it's so worth it.

Completely agree @Orangewillow - however it is pricey, and I understand why people who are paying out of pocket often skip it… I’m glad we had the funds to do it, and I’m so grateful we did. We still have 6 untested on ice and if our 1 doesn’t stick we’re 100% testing the 6 remaining.

That’s very interesting to know. I was told that the other reason the HFEA doesn’t recommend it is that because it only looks at a tiny amount of cells, it could misdiagnose mosaic embryos as aneuploid, causing some people to dispose of embryos unnecessarily that may have corrected themselves. Is that not the case?

Totally don’t blame people testing trying to avoid a miscarriage or worse, a termination though. And perhaps for many people the thought of a miscarriage is worse than potentially not getting pregnant at all/losing embryos unnecessarily. It’s so strange how the UK is one of the few countries that seems to generally be against PGT-A testing, when others seem to do it as standard, especially for the over 35’s 🤷‍♀️

Sorry just realised it’s insensitive to ask these questions on this thread 🥲 I was curious because one of the reasons (apart from my age) that I’m not planning on doing another round of IVF was that I couldn’t face more potential miscarriages (even early ones like before) and my clinic were against PGT-A testing for me -they pointed out the HFEA thing. But again, shouldn’t have asked about it on this thread, apologies.

No not at all, that is what these threads are for!!
I guess we just wanted to check everything was ok before going through a potential miscarriage.
Back to trying naturally now 😌

Im so sorry OP I sympathise having experienced the same last month. After the transfer the consultant actually stated it was 65% chance of success, the highest they could ever quote. Yet it failed.

It won’t have been due to anything diet or lifestyle related, from your original post you covered all of the right things.

If they haven’t investigated uterine environment then I would look into that, as a past poster has said she found scar tissue. I have had a similar experience where after a year of investigations on my husband and rechecking his sperm, after a FET I pushed for some basic tests on me and I have found I have a clotting abnormality. A test my GP could have requested as part of the referral a year ago. Im trying not to be angry about it but it does suck that we wasted an embryo to find this out now when the resolution is so simple (heparin shots and a daily asprin). Could have potentially skipped the IVF all together once my husbands morphology improved. A total waste of NHS funding and the emotional strain for us. Still awaiting an immune profile result then we we adjust my meds for next FET. The clinic wanted to try ‘one more’ before doing any investigations but I insisted on these tests and have paid privately for them as we only have two embryos left and I turn 38 in January so concerned about my egg quality if we need to do another collection.

I would strongly suggest you advocate for further investigations. Womens health is woefully underfunded and a lack of past investment in research and a lack of answers does not wash with me when clinicians says nonsense such as in biology 2+2 doesn't equal 4. There is always a reason for everything, some solveable, we might not know the answer yet, so they call it ‘random chance’ but if you have not accepted you want to stop trying then don't accept this response until they have covered all the basics. A single failed transfer should open the consideration for a lot of investigations. I am growing quite frustrated reading time and time again on here with the approach to just keep flinging embryos in and hoping one will stick without covering some basic tests. Aside from the mental exhaustion for the couple, it’s a waste of a potential embryos. Repeating the same course and expecting a different result is the definition of madness in most scenarios. We ladies should not accept this so freely when suffering through infertility.

To add a follow up.

My immune profile result revealed that in addition to a beta glucoprotein, my immunity also leans towards an elevated TH1 rather than TH2 cytokine ratio. Also called Natural Killer cells.

In addition to the usual FET regime of oestrogen and progesterone. I have been prescribed:

Daily 75mg of Aspirin
Intralipid Infusion (cycle day 4-9)
Fragmin 5000iu daily
Predinisolone steroid

Happy to report following a FET just before Christmas I am now 5 weeks pregnant. Another intralipid infusion tomorrow, then they will determine how long other medication is needed for at 12 weeks.

I am waiting for the 7week scan before I get too excited, but feeling much better about it all.

Never stop asking questions!