Feeling Devestated, First IVF cycle ended with one abnormal egg – any success stories?

[Lynwood5]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some advice and hopefully a few success stories.

I’m 37 with a low AMH (0.4) and have just completed my first NHS IVF/ICSI cycle. I started with around 6 follicles, but only 1 egg was retrieved. Unfortunately, the embryologist said it was an abnormal egg, so the cycle ended before embryo transfer. My clinic has said I may still be eligible for another NHS-funded cycle.

I’m feeling quite disheartened and upset as no kids and wondering if anyone has been through something similar and gone on to have success with a second cycle. Did your clinic change your medication or protocol? Were you able to retrieve more eggs the next time? Any supplements, diet changes etc.

I have been taking Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Coq10

I’d really appreciate hearing any experiences or advice. Thank you so much.

I’m really sorry to hear this.

Has your clinic offered you a cycle review appointment to discuss what they think has happened and how they might change your protocol for the next cycle?

People say the first cycle is for the clinic to learn how you personally respond to the medication. They come up with a protocol based on how they expect your body to respond based your profile but people have individual responses. I was on a post endo surgery suspected low ovarian response protocol but it was too much for me and they had to change mine part way through

I would try to get some answers from your clinic and reassurance for what they would do differently next time xx

Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kind message. ❤️

The clinic has booked me in for a review appointment, so I’m hoping they’ll be able to explain what happened and whether they’d change the protocol if we try again.

Because my AMH is so low, they did warn me beforehand that my response might be poor, but I was still hoping for a better outcome. I suppose every cycle gives them more information about how my body responds, so I’m trying to stay hopeful that they’ll have a better plan if we go ahead with another cycle.
It’s just been really upsetting, but I’m hoping the review will give us some answers and a bit of reassurance. Thank you again for taking the time to reply, it really means a lot.

Hi, I'm sorry you're going through this.I completely agree with the poster above. I'm not an expert, but from what I've learned, egg quality can be improved to a certain extent.
A few resources I found helpful are: the book It Starts with the Egg, the webinars from MyIVFAnswers, and the articles on Egg Donation Friends and Fertility IQ. Fertility IQ offers both free and paid content, and I definitely recommend going through all of their free resources.One video explained that, even within the same clinic, treatment outcomes can sometimes vary depending on the doctor.
I hope this helps a little. Wishing you the very best on your journey.