EC today - 3 eggs from 11 follicles. Heartbroken

[Jaygee]

Hi all

After having positive scans with 11 follicles they only retrieved 3 eggs. My left ovary had none and they did a double flush on the right to get 3 else they wouldn’t have got any. How is this happening!!! I’ve never even heard of a double flush before. Does anyone know anything about this? I’m totally heartbroken. How can I have such good AMH and FSH results but my eggs won’t come out? I just want this nightmare to end. So tired of all this. 💔

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Jaygee. So sorry to hear this. It will all depend on the sizes of the follicles as to whether they would be large enough to receive an egg after your trigger shot. Not too sure about double flushing, as they only usually require a single flush. Just hoping that the three eggs you have, manage to fertilise, do you get to have a successful transfer. Thinking of you. Diane

[Picalilli99]

Sorry I have no info to offer but just wanted to say I’m really sorry that it didn’t go as you hoped. This process can be so devastating. Fingers crossed your 3 little eggs fertilise and develop nicely. But in the meantime I’m sending love and hugs ❤️ xx

[amandac84]

Hello lovely I’ve been thinking of you today.. I’m sorry to hear this and I dong want to sound annoying but you got 3. I know it’s no where near what your hoping for I totally undeslrstand. Keep strong and positive. My fingers crossed for you xxx

[Jaygee in reply to amandac84]

Thank you so much. I’m absolutely devastated because I tried to remain positive and feel like every step is another knock down. I’m already thinking about the next cycle as this ones just a write off 😢

[Countrymouse56]

Hello. My egg collection was very similar. My right ovary didn’t produce any eggs. My consultant said they flushed the single follicle I had on that side “a couple of times”. I got a total of 2 eggs from my left ovary. I’m now 21 weeks pregnant from that round. Hope this makes you feel a bit more positive. Fingers crossed for you 🤞🏻xx

[Jaygee in reply to Countrymouse56]

Thank you so much for this! If possible do you know why they have done this? they didn’t really explain and i can’t understand why they have to flush it if the egg is there? The whole thing just baffles me. I’d never even heard of this before this morning! Congratulations to you!!

[Countrymouse56]

Well the follicle he said that he had flushed a couple of times didn’t produce an egg. We just took it at the time that he did his absolute best to try and find an egg in there. I was told before collection that there was a strong possibility that we would only get one egg so when we were told that we had two we were over the moon so didn’t ask him anymore questions. I was on Bemfola like you (my dose was 150) xx

[Jaygee in reply to Countrymouse56]

I think it’s just the fact I had 11 follicles and ended up with so little that I’m gutted. I’m trying to stay positive and your story has helped

[Countrymouse56 in reply to Jaygee]

Stay positive, it only takes one! Best of luck for the phone call 🤞🏻

[Celloheggy]

I’m so sorry jaygee. I had a similar situation on Tuesday, 5 eggs but only 1mature egg. Was absolutely heart broken.

Really hope the clinic ring you in the morning with some good news about your 3 little eggs. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻Keeping everything crossed for you xx

[Jaygee in reply to Celloheggy]

Have you heard anything back? Has it fertilised? Never known such a heart wrenching journey 😢

[Celloheggy in reply to Jaygee]

My little warrior embryo has fertilised, it was 6 cells this morning (day 3) and a good quality. Just praying she makes it to blast on Sunday 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻. This journey is horrendous. Hope you get some sleep tonight Jaygee xx

[Halli23]

Hi Jaygee,

Something very similar happened to me. I have a very high AMH and during all of my scans during my last stimulating round I was showing around 20 follicles across both ovaries, all at the right size which they expected to have eggs in. Well come collection day, they only retrieved 5 eggs from over 20 follicles.

Dr went in to each follicle a couple of times but nothing there.

I was devastated. My consultant wasn’t too concerned about something being terribly wrong as I’d had an egg collection before that without empty follicles. He just said that we can all have off months and that our egg reserve is set when we are born and every month a different amount of eggs are recruited and that’s that. It was a low egg month.

I wasn’t so happy with that answer as you can imagine but had to go with it. I had 1 egg make it to blastocyst from that 5 and one that was a compacting one. Sadly BFN for me.

BUT, this can just be an off month for you, which I know is not what you want to hear right now. I say this because I’ve just had my third egg collection this Tuesday just gone and I had the same amount of follicles as last time... and they collected 20 eggs!!!! 19 mature and 17 fertilised.

And as of Day 3, all 17 of them were still in the running and being pushed on to Blastocyst stage. I have transfer tomorrow and will learn how many make it all the way!

So, I definitely had an ‘off’ month with empty follicles and have come back to have my best round yet.

I have everything crossed for your 3 eggs that were collected. X

[Jaygee in reply to Halli23]

Thank you for your response. It has really helped as I have been dumbfounded at it all really! The doctor said it sometimes happens but when you’re on this journey vague answers just make it worse! My next cycle will be private and I don’t think I can face having this happen again really. I’ve accepted that this is a write off and feel like it’s totally wasted my free round. There’s nothing I can do now though good luck with transfer tomorrow!! I hope it goes well and fingers crossed with test day 😁

[Halli23 in reply to Jaygee]

Thank you! This is my 5th transfer, so I hope it’s our turn 🤞🏼

I am reluctant to write ‘positive’ type messages to people, because I know when I hear them sometimes... I’m just like urgh, why do we have to think positive when I just feel so bad. BUT...

Please don’t think of your first round as a write off. You will have learnt many things about your body during the whole process, even if it doesn’t produce anything from it in the end. You now know how your body responds to the endless injections and drugs, you’ll know if you need to up or down the dosage in the next go, you’ll know how your endometrium responds... you now know to try a different stimulation drug maybe, there’s a lot there as a baseline for your next round. IF you even need it.

I was always told that the first round is always your trial and error round as they have nothing to base anything on. You’ll have a lot of info to take to your next clinic with now.

I never got any free attempts on the NHS... it was a straight no, so I’ve had to self fund the whole way through so please don’t think it was a waste!

I’m the absolute worst for thinking negatively and feel like a complete hypocrite for writing that, but it’s easier to see something else from the outside!!

Big hugs and luck to you x

[Hidden]

Hi, sorry you are experiencing such a terrible up and down rollercoaster. Please don't abandon all hope with these eggs yet as I have seen many people on here getting three or less and getting a BFP.

If things don't work out this cycle I just wanted to say that things do get heaps better each cycle it seems. Like you I had 11 follicles in my first round and they only managed to get 3 eggs. Second round I had 13 follicles and they collected 8 if I remember rightly, third round 11 and they collected 7.

I really believe our bodies get more aligned with the IVF process and sort of learn what they need to do.. so don't give up hope that its always going to be like this. The other thing to think about is changing protocol as we were advised to do that after round one and I wonder if this made the difference.

Keeping my fingers crossed for your little eggs xx

[Jaygee in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your response. I think I really thought this was our best shot ever in 2 years and it’s gone up in smoke! Have you not been successful with your rounds?

[Hidden in reply to Jaygee]

I was successful my second round but sadly had a MC. Have since found a lot of problems which could have caused that so assumed my 3rd would work but sadly it didn’t. Your hopes go so high and then crash down I really feel for you, I think the emotional stuff is way worse than the physical with ivf. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 For good news for you xx

[HollyT7]

Hey, I'm sorry to hear that your having a rough time, I hope I can help you feel less disheartened.

I had 24 follicles, 16 collected, 9 mature and only 3 fertilised. They said that mine probably take longer to mature... But anyway.... I had a bfp from the first (sadly ended in chemical) and a bfp from my second and the third in the freezer! It only takes one as much as it feels difficult to see that sometimes.

Remember, you are doing amazing xxxx