No Fertilised Eggs. Devastated.

[Refocus]

Hi all, really need some support. We had 11 eggs collected, 7 mature. My husbands sperm hasn't the best morphology so they did icsi. Found out yesterday that none fertilised! How is this happening and what does it mean?! Anyone else had this and gone on to get fertilised eggs and fingers crossed get a bfp? Really need happy stories to give us hope. Xxx

[Niki_B]

Oh gosh hun I'm so sorry how devastating for you 😓 I'm not sure what to say except maybe it was just a bad batch of sperm? Or even eggs? Hopefully at your follow up they can shed some light, Maybe some testing needs to be done? I'm so very sorry I can't imagine how you feel xxx

[genten]

I've no advice I'm afraid but the clinic will hopefully have some answers.

So sorry . Xxx

[Hidden]

I'm sorry to hear this. I don't have advice but I do know someone that was in the same position with their first round of ICSI. She just finished her second round and had 4 fertilised and were really good grades. It can happen. xxx

[Refocus in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, we need these positive stories! Can't help but feel everything seems to be against us but I suppose that's the case for everyone here x

[Hidden]

I'm so sorry. My heart aches for u. Last time we had 4 eggs only 2 mature and 1 fertilised. But didn't make it. This time we are looking at having none as my levels are so low :(. It's a horrible process and is mentally draining. Please keep going. Give your partner a massive hug tonight and grieve a little. One day it will all work out for u xxx

[Refocus in reply to Hidden]

Thank you and I'm so sorry to hear about your situation too. Everything crossed for all of us xxx

[Cinderella5]

I'm really sorry to hear this, so devastating! I wonder if the clinic can offer any thoughts on whether they struggled to get normal sperm and had to choose the best of a bad batch or whether they think there may be a problem with egg quality. Big hugs, I had a cycle where we had nothing to put back either....though this was possibly down to my egg quality so not the same....it is so upsetting though!xx

[Refocus in reply to Cinderella5]

I hope to find out a lot more on Wednesday but from the short conversation we had, she said both our eggs and sperm were good. It's just not an outcome we had anticipated. Good luck on your journey! Xxx

[Cinderella5 in reply to Refocus]

There has been a couple of other girls that this happened to so hopefully one of them will get in touch with a few suggestions that you can discuss too! I think one of them was abcgirl . Hopefully your clinic can get to the bottom of things.xx

[Refocus in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you so much! I will definitely get in touch with her. Xxx

[Cinderella5 in reply to Refocus]

You should be able to click on her name and look at her previous posts too!! It may well not be the same situation (as i think yhis is rare) but always good to have something else to consider!xx

[Novice_knitter]

I don't have any advice on this but wanted to say am sorry you've had this news today. The clinic will be the best ones to get feedback from but hopefully this is no more than bad luck. First cycle often involves a lot of learning for the clinic and they might make changes next time to improve your success rates. I hope you get some reassuring news from them & in the meantime lots of hugs for each other xx

[Refocus in reply to Novice_knitter]

Thank you 🙏 xxx

[Tugsgirl]

No advice but really sorry to hear about your eggs not being fertilised. Your Hubby must feel awful. You too, obviously. I hope that your appointment on Wednesday can shed some light on what went wrong and that you’re able to move forward with a new plan soon xx

[Barbara1012]

Hey lovely, I am really sorry to read your news. I hope and pray you’ll get some answers on Wednesday and you can plan your next steps as soon as you’re ready. Lots of love to you both xxxx

[Faithful06]

I’m really really sorry for you. Hugs.

[Dunla]

I’m so sorry to hear this. Unsuccessful cycles are just devastating. Hoping your review appointment isn’t too long away and your consultant is able to offer some guidance in terms of a way forward for you. Take good care of yourselves xx

[Birdboy1]

I’m so sorry and I do know how you feel. It’s like some has ripped part of your heart out. We had icsi for our first cycle I only had 2 eggs and neither fertilised. For our second cycle my meds were changed and I was also given a double trigger shot. We then had 6 eggs, 4 fertilised. Then it went down to 2 by transfer day and now I am 28 weeks pregnant. I honestly didn’t think we had any chance after our first cycle. They learn so much from round one to improve your chances. Good luck thinking of you xx

[Refocus in reply to Birdboy1]

Oh wow, congratulations! So pleased for you! None of it makes sense. I hope and pray we can have a similar story to you. Thank you for sharing. Xxx

[Birdboy1 in reply to Refocus]

Ask lots of questions when you have you follow up appointment. The other thing my consultant suggested was taking dhea before I started my second cycle maybe ask if they would recommend you taking that too. I really do hope it works out for you too xx

[2018hopeful]

I'm so sorry to hear this, I really hope the clinic can give you some answers and support, and makea plan for you to go forward x x

[Jonesjp]

Hunny I’m so sorry to read this, sending you much love x x

[Kari55]

I’m so sorry to hear this. Some clinic use calcium ionophore to improve fertilisation rate. Maybe this would be worth researching for you if you decide to give another try. X

[abcgirl in reply to Kari55]

This is what we did and it worked wonders for us. @refocus make sure to ask your clinic about this. It’s also called Assisted Oocyte Activation

[Kari55 in reply to abcgirl]

I’m still hesitating whether to use it or not. How is your pregnancy progressing? X

[Refocus in reply to abcgirl]

Did they say what was wrong in the first place? Doctor said that we will use calcium ionophore next time but apparently I have bad quality eggs, they're flaccid which is why they won't fertilise and she said that I should be prepared for it not to work as it's not proven.

[abcgirl in reply to Refocus]

No they didn’t say... we did IVF (not ICsI) in round 1 because husbands sperm analysis was normal. And I was so worried about failed fert with ICSi based on some test results that we went straight through to using calcium.

In my first round I had discordant growth -8 mature eggs using the short protocol. For second round they switched me to the long protocol and I got 15 eggs - so that worked better for me. I ended up with 6 blasts so I don’t know what exactly worked. I did read It Starts with Egg and months before that round started CoQ10, vit D and fish oil in addition to prenatal vitamins. I also reduced the amount of toxins and bought ‘clean’ beauty products. I ate dairy, gluten and sugar free for the 6 weeks leading up to egg collection. And also continued acupuncture. So I threw everything at it.

[gattonero]

hey hun, so sorry to hear this.

We couldn't fertilize either with ICSI last year but we only had one egg to fight for.. my DH has borderline motility so not such a big issue and me, I'm low AMH 0.4.

The clinic said that unfortunately it's one of the risks of ivf/ics and also they weren't able to test it on other eggs so there's not much explanation for us (just bad luck basically).

We were devastated too as we didn't see it coming. It was so hard to manage to produce one single mature egg in one month (I first did not respond to meds, then we changed protocol and managed to have only 2 eggs retrieved but one wasn't mature) that we haven't even thought we could NOT fertilize with ICSI. What a pity.

I feel your pain love, really do. take time for yourselves, don't be too hard on you, be close to each other. just take some time to understand how you want to move on.

a big hug xx

[Refocus in reply to gattonero]

Thanks so much for sharing. Did you try again? I've read that a lot of people don't ovulate for a long time (months or even a year for someone) after egg collection which worries me too! X

[gattonero in reply to Refocus]

mmm, in my case I don't ovulate often but that is due to my low amh, I don't think it has something to do with the egg collection, I wouldn't worry about it! x

[Sarah_S]

I've had 4 cycles of ICSI due to low motility. First and second did get a few fertilised but not good quality and didn't stick. Third cycle had 3 fertilise then immediately degrade, no explanation as to why. Fouth cycle I took DHEA and changed meds, got 3 fertilised, 2 better quality than previous tries, and I'm now 25 weeks. Do ask lots of questions but also be prepared for it to be unexplained - it's tough when the experts say they don't know the reason, but unfortunately it happens and you just have to take the plunge and try again. Do everything you can to maximise egg and sperm quality - healthy eating, reduce stress, stay hydrated, take recommended supplements, and the rest is in the hands of the clinic xx

[Caza2009]

I’m so sorry to hear this, I have no advice but wanted to send you some positive vibes xxxxx

[magda22]

So sorry to hear this. Take some time out, then when you are ready, if or when you decide to go again, maybe start researching and making any lifestyle changes that improve egg/sperm quality. It might make the difference, and it can feel good to try to make a difference. But there does seem to be a big degree of luck involved. It's so hard. Wishing you lots of love and strength xxx

[strong-girl]

Hi

I’m sorry about the situation I know how it feels I got 15 eggs 0 fertilised on my first ivf cycle 2nd cycle 7 eggs and 1 fertilised we had ICSI

I am currently 13 weeks pregnant

It was a shock

Look into oocyte activation as the embryologist mentioned this as a possible reason to me

I know it’s a difficult time but stay strong xx

[Refocus]

Oh wow, huge congratulations!! We're going to take a couple of months off and ply myself with a million different supplements and definitely use calcium ionophore next time.🤞