Follicles slow

[Jenadrian79]

Hi everyone I’m on the long protocol, had a scan yesterday on day 9 of stims and nurse said the 7 follicles she found are growing slowly so need another few days of stims and I’ve upped the gonal F to 450. Was so disappointed only 7 as most ladies on here have many more.

I’m worried as it’s my first round why they’re growing so slowly... I was on buserelin 17 days before starting gonal f &worried that’s why they’ve grown so slow. Feel totally hijacked in my emotions by the hormones and feel depressed and tearful all the time since about day 8-9 of this process. My poor OH is fed up and im stressing him out too. If this round doesnt work I hope I can do short protocol next time but heard this means u get less eggs? Apart from Netflix and being kind to myself if anyone has any practical survival advice at this point pls do share bcos I’m really struggling mentally. I didn’t realise when people said this was a rollercoaster quite how true that was 😞 thank you

[genten]

Aww bless you.

Please don't feel down.

7 is good and hopefully be the time your next scan comes around you'll have more.

I did short protocol in Feb and on day 8 I only had 2 follicles, on day 10 I had 6 follicles and by egg collection day I had 11.

You really never know and 7 is not a had number at all.

I have quite a packed social life so that always keeps me busy , visiting my family and hubbys family plus friends.

Good luck. Xx

[Noobs]

Sorry to hear you’re really struggling. I went into egg collection knowing I may not get any eggs as I only had 3 follicles. I was on the highest dose. 7 to me seems like a good amount at this time and if they are upping your dose, I’d assume you’ll have more. I know it’s hard and easy for me to say after being through ivf but please don’t stress. There is nothing you can do to change what’s going to happen. 7 is a positive so try and keep that in mind. Sending you lots of hugs.xx

[Niki_B]

I've just done my second short protocol round, I was only on gonal f and they got 14 eggs from me. I've never been on long protocol so i cannot compare but both my short protocols only on gonal f (and orgalutran to stop ovulating early) I got 15 eggs my first round and 14 eggs this round. So I don't think it produces less eggs as I think that is a decent number. I hope your follicles catch up I'm sure they will,I stimmed for 9 days on 225 of gonal f ..i don't know how long you been on gonal f but as I said I'm sure they will get bigger 😊 xxx Oh I should also add they only told me I had 10 follicles...but they collected 14 eggs so I must have had more hiding!

[Hollibob]

You might be trying this already, but worth a shot if not..

Keep your belly warm (only before collection) with a hot water bottle- they say it encourages growth.

High protein, low carb foods.

Drink lots of water and some milk if you can.

Try to avoid snacking between main meals, if you have to, try nuts with good protein levels.

The body is a thing of its own, very frustrating on most occasions, but at least it’s producing some and I’d say 7 is good

[Turtleswimmin]

I only had 7 follicles and my right ovary didn't respond at all but I was super pleased I had that many. I got 6 eggs and 4 fertilized. Going for embryo transfer tomorrow, just hope 1 out of the 4 is going to be a winner. It's so hard isn't it that you just struggle at every step. It may be psychological but I have had acupuncture and the lady gave me Bach's flower remedies with Rescue Remedy. It may be all in my head but I'm feeling positive. I've also got lots of friends I've forced on my journey with me and they're amazing st sending me lovely messages. I know a lot of people feel the need to keep IVF and miscarriage etc private but I've needed my friends and family through it all and they've been amazing xxx wishing you so much good luck xx

[Lamorna80]

Just to reassure you, I got more eggs on short protocol. My body didn’t like the down reg part of the long protocol at all and I was definitely affected emotionally by the meds! Short protocols suit me much better.

Unfortunately, they don’t know what’s going to suit you best until they try. We’re basically guinea pigs undergoing a bit of trial and error as they figure out what’s going to work best. Don’t get down, you will feel a whole lot better once you’re finally free of the meds!

I like time on my own but on this journey, I’ve found that it’s not always a good thing. Have friends round/allow yourself to get distracted. Sometimes a bit of company and a chat (not necessarily about ivf) can help you feel a whole lot better and like you have a life outside of it all. Good luck xxx