Low stimulation IVF - advice needed

[Holdingontohope36]

Hi all,

I wondered whether you amazing ladies might be able to offer some advice.

I'm currently doing my third round of IVF and have decided to opt for lower stimulation this time round. The first round, I had 19 eggs collected and the second time I had 22 eggs collected and ended up with nine embryos in total. But I had a miscarriage (chromosome issue) after a double transfer, and the rest of the embryos were PGS abnormal. We were advised to try lower stimulation, as my body seems to overreact to the medication and produce a whole batch of bad quality eggs (well, that's what the clinic say).

I have a history of miscarriage – I've now had five – and the specialists we've seen all think it's an immune system issue. The embryo from my last pregnancy (a natural pregnancy in December) was tested and was normal. I was on a whole load of immune treatments for that pregnancy, but not on steroids, Clexane and IVIG drips, which my clinic are now suggesting I try and think may make the difference.

So, long story short, even though we get pregnant naturally, we decided to go back to IVF to control the whole process from start to finish – drugs from before a positive test, a PGS normal embryo going in, etc. But the low stimulation round doesn't seem to be going particularly well.

They only saw five follicles of a decent size today at my day six scan, plus a few very small ones. I seem to be consistently taking 150 IU of either Meriofert or Fostimon, and they haven't upped the dosages (probably because they want to do things slowly and consistently, to recruit good quality eggs). I guess my question is: can I expect any more follicles to grow at this stage? Is there any hope for the smaller ones? Has anyone seen the number of follicles suddenly increase towards the end of stimulation or should I expect that five follicles on day six is pretty much what I can expect for egg collection? I'm so worried about having nothing at the end of this. It's been a really rough few months and I guess I'm just looking for some hope.

Thank you x

[C-a-t-m-u-m]

Sorry to hear your having a challenging journey, I did the short protocol IVF cycle, I got 8 eggs, 4 fertilised and all of them got to day 5! I think Short is quality not quantity, it’s better to have less eggs but better quality then loads of eggs less better quality. Sending baby dust.

[Holdingontohope36 in reply to C-a-t-m-u-m]

That's what I'm trying to remember - quality not quantity, but it's so hard not to panic. I'm actually on the long, down-regulation protocol this time. I did the short protocol for my previous two failed cycles. It does go to show that everyone reacts so differently, doesn't it?

[C-a-t-m-u-m in reply to Holdingontohope36]

We are and our body’s are so different, remember it only takes one. Sending my best wishes to you ❤️

[Emma672]

Hi. I’ve had Meriofert on both my previous rounds and on the first, I was in a similar position to you at my first scan, only had 3-4 decent follicles at that stage. They kept me on 300 IU a day for 2 weeks and by that point, there were 11, the last few really caught up over the last few days. Unfortunately when I went in for EC there were only 4 left, the others had collapsed in on themselves which apparently they just sometimes do. Not great but it shows the follicle count can change quite quickly. Fingers crossed for yours but even if it doesn’t, remember it only takes one xx

[Sparklylife]

We only had a scan at day 9 of stims, so I cannot comment on if amount increased from earlier on, but I just wanted to wish you all the best with this cycle and I really do hope it works for you 🤞🥰

[jinis]

Hey lovely, so sorry to hear that it's be challenging for you 💔

I had my first cycle with a low stim protocol in February. Initially my right overies were quite behind but it did catch up in the end.

Although it's difficult to generalise, it's not impossible for smaller ones catch up later in the cycle. I've seen stories here that people had significantly higher number of follicles developing between scans.

I completely understand it's really scary to start off with small follicles counts (I have low AMH) - but try not to worry too much, hoping for good quality eggs for you 🍀

[Holdingontohope36]

Thank you for your responses everyone. I really appreciate it. I thought I’d update, for anyone in a similar position in the future. Two days ago, I had five larger follicles and a few small ones. Today, I had another scan and have nine decent sized follicles, all of a similar size, plus two small ones. So the picture can change a lot in a short space of time. Just hoping things continue to progress well until egg collection now.

[Queenr in reply to Holdingontohope36]

I’m really am happy for you as I had a scan today and was basically told treatment might need to be suspended as I’ve only got one at a decent size. It’s been so stressful! Thanks hun! Did they change your dose? Xxx

[Holdingontohope36 in reply to Queenr]

Keeping everything crossed for you! It really can change. I was told by one of the nurses that ‘those are the follicles you’ve recruited’ and I couldn’t hope for more, and then others popped up. So keep the faith and hopefully things will change for you too. They didn’t change my dosage at all - just kept giving me 150 IU of either Fostimon or Meriofert, and now they’ve lowered it to 75 IU. I’ve also been doing a very high protein diet - not sure if that’s helping 🤷‍♀️ x

[Queenr in reply to Holdingontohope36]

Thank you hun. It means a lot to me! I’ve been really struggling today. I’m keeping everything crossed for you too! Xxxx