How long to wait between egg collection cycles

[Anonymous501]

Hello all. I was hoping to hear thoughts/experiencee on ideal time between egg collection cycles. My doctor said we could do it back to back, and I think research showed that this isn't an issue that effects success. But from the antidotal stories I hear, it appears that the subsequent cycles (when a month or 2 after the last one), retrieve a lower number of eggs. Grateful for any thoughts on this.

[Ivfgotadream]

I did back to back natural modified IVF with no breaks and it was fine for cycle 1 and 2 but had to abandon cycle 3 as body just wouldn’t respond and hormone levels all over the place

[Anonymous501 in reply to Ivfgotadream]

Hope you're able to have a successful cycle 3 soon!

[Jumpppy]

May depend on your fertility characteristics. I was 39-40, had low AMH, low FSH and high AFC, by cycle 3 I was seeing my EC count a lot closer to my AFC. My REs and research I read suggest that when cycles are less than 100 days apart you get a boost from prior cycle(s). I did 5 back-to-back cycles for banking and saw significant increase in the number of eggs, especially mature eggs (first cycle 8 eggs/4 mature, 4/5 cycle around 15 eggs 13 mature).

Other benefit of back-to-back is it is easier to make adjustments as your RE is making real-time adjustments rather than assuming 6 or 9mos later your body will respond the same.

Like IVFGOTADREAM notes it can be hard on your body - after 5 my body said stop, although I was initially up for up to 6 cycles.

Only surprise I had was that I developed cysts between cycles, so I aways had to wait 3-4 periods between stim cycles (so 75-90 days from prior EC). So I was never able to immediately go into a new cycle.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous501 in reply to Jumpppy]

This is so interesting, thank you!! I'm glad to hear your later cycles saw so much improvement. I'm 38, but had "excellent" AMH/FSH levels. (Can't remember the number). I had 35 follicles on my base scan.

However, the doctor was very cautious about my risk to OHSS so started a very low dose of menopur. I stimmed for 11 days but only retrieved 10 follicles/8 eggs. I had 29 follicles that were growing but they were mostly too small. I'm gutted. This was just yesterday.

I'm planning on having my next egg retrieval in May so that still falls under 100 days where hopefully I'll still have the benefits of last cycle but also gives my body a break.

[anz07]

I’ve had two egg collections (long protocol) and had to have two periods between them. First cycle I had 12 mature eggs, second cycle I had 13 so it worked well both times for me (I was 32 at the time). Wishing you all the luck xxxx

[Anonymous501 in reply to anz07]

Thank you. Glad to hear of your success with mature eggs! I'm not sure what long protocol is? I started injecting on day 3 of my period and continued for 11 days. But I did take norethisterone before the injections started. I'm assuming this is short protocol?

[anz07 in reply to Anonymous501]

Yes that sounds like short protocol to me. My understanding with short protocol is that you will get less eggs collected but the quality will be better. Wishing you all the luck xxx

[LCharlton]

I did egg collections two months apart and got more eggs in the second cycle, I think it helped xx

[Anonymous501 in reply to LCharlton]

That's good to hear. Thank you!

[LRed]

I guess everyone is different. I had two collections two months apart at 41. 1st cycle 16 eggs, 14 mature. 2nd cycle 9 eggs, 3 mature. During the 2nd cycle, Dr prescribed expensive growth hormone, but the result was worse.

[leo1980 in reply to LRed]

LRed, how do they decide when a Person should take a growth hormone? My issue is poor quality eggs. (Mild make factor too)

[LRed in reply to leo1980]

In my case, it was my age and the poor egg-to-embryo conversion rate in the 1st cycle, I guess.

[Anonymous501 in reply to LRed]

I'm sorry to hear that. Can I ask what the expensive growth hormone was? They put me on Zomacton. I'm 38 and it was my first cycle.

[LRed in reply to Anonymous501]

Same, Zomacton, £130 for a jab. I'll definitely turn it down if I another cycle.

[leo1980]

I am 40 too. I am just bad all round - low numbers, low conversion rate... etc

[Anonymous501 in reply to leo1980]

Fingers crossed for you. 🤞

[LuxFleur]

I did cycles back to back and got good quality eggs on the second one. Quality is more important than quantity, since it can lead to the same amount (or more) of embryos. Second cycle I only had three eggs but got two embryos, which is what some get when they have like 16 eggs.

[Anonymous501 in reply to LuxFleur]

Thank you. Glad to hear of your success! Can I ask how many eggs you did get first time round? And just to be clear, with back to back, you do mean you started your cycle again on the next period?

[LuxFleur in reply to Anonymous501]

Hi, yes I started the next cycle immediately at the next period. My first cycle they counted 8 follicles, but unfortunately when they went to schedule egg collection, the clinic realized that they had forgotten to administer the fyremadel to stop ovulation, so I was already in the process of naturally ovulating the eggs and they couldn't surgically collect them. It was pretty devastating. So those 8 follicles didn't get collected. We had done two weeks of stims or more. Then I changed clinics, and the next one was able to start right away, at the next period. For that cycle we did a short stimulation of just 7 days, got 4 follicles, 3 eggs collected, 2 embryos to freeze, and I'm now 7 weeks 4 days pregnant from the second of those frozen transfers.

[Hidden]

I waited a month in between my two long protocol egg collections. The clinic said this was all that was needed for the ovaries to calm down after being stimulated. Egg wise, there was more or less the same, 8 mature eggs retrieved, 2 embryos (I'm 42) they changed the stims for the second too just to see if there was any difference but not really However, I found it physically very different the second time. The first time, no bother at all, no issue with egg collection and I felt perfect after. The second time I had to stay at the clinic for 3 hours because I felt sick and sore and remained sore for about a week after. I reckon this is because my ovaries hadn't completely calmed down from the first stimulaton and were possibly a bit swollen. This could just be because my body doesn't deal with the inflammation or something and other people might have no issue at all but it's something to bear in mind too.

[Anonymous501 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your comment. The way I feel so bloated now, thats also partly what worries me about doing it so quick. I can't imagine being fully recovered for my next period and injecting all over again. But then I also want to just get it out of the way. Fingers crossed for your embryos 🤞

[LCharlton in reply to Anonymous501]

I did have mild OHSS after I did the back-to-back cycles, which I hadn't had previously, so I do think it's a bit tougher on your body x

[Hidden in reply to Anonymous501]

It really is such a tough process so I hope it all goes well whatever you decide!

[BadEggQ]

I did 5 back to back rounds in my country and do not recommend it. Only once I had one period in between. I was on Dhea too and no one monitored what dhea did to me. I had hot flashes after starting it and hairs growing from my chin. Each cycle was worse and now I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily the least aggressive form. I plan to continue after few months. I hope to use natural/modified if without so much medication. And this time have 90 days inbetween ivf cycles.

[Anonymous501 in reply to BadEggQ]

So sorry to hear this. Wishing you the best of luck!! 🤞 Makes sense to use the natural/modified protocol.