Follicles over 40

[Ketkoot]

Just a quick question to all you ladies over 40! How many follicles did they see before EC? What is a good number for us to get?

[Hidden]

It depends on your AMH = what is yours?

[Ketkoot in reply to Hidden]

I have an AMH if 11.7 so fine for my age!

[Hidden]

So my AMH is also 11 and I typically get between 8 and 12 eggs collected, they often see more on the scan but some are immature etc. It obviously depends a bit on how you respond to the drugs. Good luck x

[Ketkoot in reply to Hidden]

So do they normally ‘see’ 8-12 suitable follicles to get that many eggs?

I had 4 follicles over 16mm, 3 over 14mm and lots around 10mm and the clinic told me that they expected more and initially wanted to keep me on stims for another 2 days but have decided to go ahead with EC on Friday as planned. I came out really disappointed and now my OH thinks we should abandon the cycle as Whats the point for only 4 good follicles! X

[Hidden in reply to Ketkoot]

I think you are being way too hasty abandoning the cycle.

Typically the follicles grow 2-3mm a day so if you have EC on Friday you still have a chance of them all growing 6-9mm more. Lets say worse case scenario 6mm you would have 4 over 22, 3 over 20 and lots at 16.. (obviously not an exact science) and certainly at my clinic anything over 16 is seen as viable and has potential for a mature egg.

Is this your first cycle? I know its impossible not to but try not to obsess about numbers, I have had rounds where I only got 3 eggs and they all were good quality - I have had other rounds where I got 9 and only 2 were viable.. one thing about IVF you have to trust your clinic - they know what they are doing. I have read loads of stories on here where people got one egg and it was their BFP, literally in the last week someone had 2 and got their BFP..

IVF is a hurdle race, be disappointed today if you want to but positive head back on tomorrow, you will have lots of ups and downs in this journey - I actually think you are in really good shape, I would be quite happy with that

Good luck x

[Ketkoot in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Daisy. It really is a rollercoaster ride isn’t it! 😘

[IvorDee]

Hi Ketkoot, I’m 40 and just back from my first scan in my second round. They counted 10 follicles, I’m not sure of sizes, my first round I had 12 at this stage. I’m not sure what’s good or bad. In my first round I went onto have 8 eggs collected, 2 fertilised and a double FET which lead to a BFN. The grading of embryos is frustrating as you’ll read high grades don’t always implant and some low grades go into healthy pregnancies. The more I read the more I feel it’s just a massive lottery! Im just hoping my best eggs are getting ready. I’m not doing this again so I’m pinning my hopes on this round. I would be interested to hear what others people thoughts are. I think at our age egg quality matters more than quantity. Sending you lots of positive vibes ✨✨✨

[Ketkoot in reply to IvorDee]

Thanks IvorDee. I now wish I had only told my OH the number of follicles they saw (at least 7 on each side) rather than the sizes as he has become fixated on that!

Let’s see what they get on Friday but any hopes I had of this working is slowly disappearing!

Good luck with second cycle 🤞🏻

[IvorDee in reply to Ketkoot]

Thanks! I’m trying to remain positive 🤞🤞🤞🤞

14 is a good number!! Better than 10. I would try and focus on the positives. You can drive yourself mad! The Mindful Ivf app has helped me loads 🤗

[gottahavefaith]

Hey there, I'm 41 and would be keen to hear any advice on this too so thank you for raising it! My AMH was similar to yours in terms of being 12. I was told it was a decent AMH given my age so I was shocked to learn a few days before EC that I'd only achieved 2 possibly 3 follicles. It was my first cycle, so I had nothing to compare it to although when I had my investigative scan at the very start of the process, I had 9 (I needed more than 4 to pass the NHS criteria for treatment)

The only reason I was given for this reduction was my age but I was also told that follicle numbers can vary depending on a a cycle - which I'm still baffled about and couldn't help but think I'd got the short straw with my month for starting. I ended up having 5 eggs collected which was also a bit of a discrepancy. I have my follow up appointment soon so I hope to get more clarity about all the variation and what to expect next time.

I don't know if this helps at all but it seems like everyone is different as I've read other posts from people over 40 who have had many more.

What has been your experience?

[Hidden in reply to gottahavefaith]

It may be they try a different protocol next time - don’t despair! I only got 3 eggs my first round on long protocol then they switched me to short protocol and got 12 the next!

It only takes one though! Remember that x

[gottahavefaith in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Daisy1245, I appreciate that. It's all so daunting isn't it but knowing that cycles can vary gives me a lot of hope that it's worth another go! xx

[Ketkoot in reply to gottahavefaith]

Hi ya. I have said it in replies on here to numerous people that I think that the clinics just pluck ideas out of the sky! There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for what they decide!

As a fellow NHS worker I find my clinic very disorganised and not easy to deal with and I would be really disappointed if any of my patients felt this way about my treatment of them!

I feel from the second I saw the fertility consultant in my local hospital in January I have been written off due to my age. I am down as unexplained infertility yet have been pregnant 3 times in the last 10 months! I just want someone to explain why the embryo won’t stick!!!

I will pull my big girl pants up and stop moaning and encourage my follicles to bloom ready for Friday 🙈

It’s so lovely to know that there are other people as frustrated as me!! 😘

[gottahavefaith in reply to Ketkoot]

I can definitely relate. I think a lot can happen in a couple of days which is why I must have gone from 3 to 5, so hang on in there and don't give up!! Take care xx

[jengi]

Stay positive. All it takes is one good quality egg. You’ve got this far and a few days can make all the difference in follicle size. Best of luck!

[Luna_79]

Hey ketkoot, I am just off the phone with my consultant after my review with his words ringing in my ears if he had said about my age one more time!!! Quite clearly I am written off at 41!!!

Your amh is fantastic - mine is 5.1 lol another reason it was doom and gloom today. I raised the point that surely it’s about quality over quantity over 40 and he basically said yes amh really only gives an indicator of how many eggs etc - but anyway I digress our first IVF I had only 8 follicles Prior to starting IVF but then once I started and they did a second scan they could only see 5 follicles! 🙈 - BUT they got 4 eggs only 3 were mature enough but 2 fertilized and got to 5 day blastocysts 1 fresh transfer and 1 frozen, which just shows as I see some get 20 eggs with nothing to freeze so it can be done! I remember the nurse telling me it’s not always about high numbers you just need that one 😊

unfortunately however both of mine did fail and today consultant has suggested it is my egg quality, he did say something really interesting that I wasn’t aware of until today he was really thorough so whilst he didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear I feel I need to listen to him but he said my eggs had been hard to get from the follicle, apparently all of the meds should make them easy to get and they struggled to get mine, i was completely unaware of this until today it hadn’t been mentioned , anyway he says this is an indicator of poor egg quality - what did frustrate me today was that although hubby’s sperm was low motility and morphology when I suggested about dna fragmentation he ruled it out and came back to my age! Part of me thinks ok at least I know where I stand but then the other thinks it can and does happen For women over 40 and with an AMH as high as yours think he said average was around 7. Something for a 41 yr old id say you’re in a good position - don’t give up lots can happen in terms of follicles growing in just a few days - keeping everything crossed for you xx

[Ketkoot]

Thanks Luna, I will try and remember to ask if the eggs were easy to get out on Friday.

I also have had a friend quite a bit younger who had 16 eggs collected and none fertilised. As u have said it only takes 1!

What are u going to do next? I take my hat off to all u ladies who go through cycle after cycle, I am not sure I could go through all this rollercoaster ride again! 😘

[magda22]

I only ever had between 1-3 follicles when i was 37/8 so to me, you sound like youre in a good place. It really is quality over quantity, more eggs collected doesnt mean they will all make it to day 5. But i know it feels reassuring to have more. I doubt you should cancel this cycle becuase of liw numbers, unless it is torturing your mind to the extent you feel you will never forgive yourself for not doing it. I cancelled a cycle at one point becuase i hoped for better on a different round. In hindsight i can see i was desperately trying to control the process, which you can't, really. For me it backfired, I got a cyst which took 6 months to clear, I lost 6 months of valuable time before I could go again, at a point the doctors were telling me I had to rush. Just sharing this experience of cancelling! Best of luck xx

[Ketkoot in reply to magda22]

Thank u for replying. Have persuaded OH to go for it this cycle! 🤞🏻for Friday. X

[Flower5000]

I was 39 when going through IVF, I had 3 good sized follicles and a 4th which was a maybe on ultrasound. On EC day they got 4 eggs, 3 were mature. The whole process I felt disappointed and had talked myself into accepting it wouldn’t work when I was told I hadn’t responded as well to drugs as they’d hoped. Everyone kept saying it only takes 1 etc, which I think upset me more. Well those 3 little eggs surprised me, they all fertilised and made it to day 5. I had a successful transfer (now 7 months pregnant) and one which was good enough quality to have frozen. My AMH was 8. Wishing you all the best x

[Sea_tan in reply to Flower5000]

thanks for sharing success flower5000

[JenRoy]

Nice to see some posts from 40+ ladies ☺️

I did my first round aged 39. AMH was 7. Antral follicle count 11. We did long protocol. Got 11 eggs, 8 fertilised, 5 blastocysts and 2 transferred. None were able to be frozen. We got a BFP and she’s now 20 months.

Just did our 2nd round. 41 years, AMH 3 (😱), Antral follicle count 12. Short protocol. 7 eggs, 2 fertilised and both made it to day 3. Transferred both. Just got BFN 😢.

Such a difference between cycles!

Just hoping my eggs haven’t deteriorated so much in just 2 years 🤞. So depressing.

But it does show how variable cycles can be!

Hopefully our next cycle will be better x

[Sea_tan in reply to JenRoy]

thanks for sharing, JenRoy!