Advice/success stories please!

[Franjohn]

Hi all! Just starting to think about round 5!! We have had 4 failed cycles, not one BFP and have never got our embryos to blastocysts. We are going to get a second opinion as have been told by current clinic only option is donor eggs which will always be an option for us; I just wondered if anyone never had a blastocyst or bfp and gone on to have babies with their own egg? I am 33 so was hoping for some success stories!! Thanks guys xx

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Franjohn. When I first started in the fertility game, we only did Day 2 or 3 transfers, as we didn't have the expertise to grow on to 5 Days then. We still managed many pregnancies, so they're always worth a try. If you haven't used low dose soluble aspirin or heparin, it might be worth mentioning, as it can help with blood supply to the womb lining and hopefully prevent any clottting. Pineapple can have a similar effect too. Thinking of you. Diane

[Franjohn in reply to DianeArnold]

Thanks Diane. That’s really helpful xx

[Peony85]

We struggled to get to blastocysts - had 2 cycles out of 5 where we didn’t have a transfer due to no blastocysts. It’s worth investigating why this might be, for example sperm DNA fragmentation testing (this was one of our issues). In the end we switched protocols and took growth hormone to improve egg quality, and sorted the DNA fragmentation issues. We now have an 8 week old girl so it can happen! I did get a second opinion but as our original clinic was happy to make the changes to protocol we stayed with them. But it can certainly be worth a second opinion to see what others have to say. Xx

[Titawine in reply to Peony85]

I have a question please , what growth hormones did you take ? I thought that we can't improve eggs quality 😕

[Franjohn in reply to Titawine]

I’m not sure on growth hormones but I’ve been taking DHEA and coq10 which are meant to help quality! Xx

[Peony85 in reply to Titawine]

It’s somatropin. I used the Novo brand but there are several. It improved my egg / embryo quality in my last cycle. It’s been about a year since I researched it but I think the theory of it is that it helps give the eggs more energy to do the proper chromosome separation and cell divisions.

[Franjohn]

Thank you so much!! We did get dna fragmentation looked at and it was high so last round we did picsi but no difference although I was on the exact same protocol!!! Thank you so much, that’s really positive xxxx

[Purpledoggy in reply to Franjohn]

If you have dna frag issues you could try seeing Dr Ramsay. Not seen him myself but I have seen his name on here a lot and he seems to have loads of success with fragmentation issues xx

[Franjohn in reply to Purpledoggy]

Thank you!! I will look into this x

[Peony85 in reply to Franjohn]

We saw Mr Ramsay - he’s great and really helped us to get the best quality sperm we could. However we still ended up having to sort the egg issues (protocol changes plus growth hormone) to get our little one. I also thought we were going to have to start looking at the donor egg option but so grateful that clinic was willing to consider experimental options which ended up working for us.

[Franjohn in reply to Peony85]

Yeah I’m hoping the new clinic will try new protocols! Xxxx

[soccerkt6 in reply to Franjohn]

Hi lovely

Has your clinic told you why they're recommending donor eggs if you have a known sperm issue with the high fragmentation? It rather sounds like they're suggesting a solution to the wrong problem...

I second purpledoggy's suggestions about contacting Dr Ramsay. There are definitely things your husband can do to improve his sperm fragmentation numbers before your next round. I would contact him soon though, as it will take at least three months before you'll start seeing improved numbers.

PICSI can help identify mature sperm but it's still no guarantee that you'll get non-fragmented sperm, so you really want to try to decrease the sperm fragmentation rather than relying solely on PICSI.

In the meantime, I would recommend that both you and your husband start taking Impryl. It can help to improve both egg quality and sperm quality (and decrease sperm fragmentation), so at least you can get going with something immediately!

Best of luck xx

[Franjohn in reply to soccerkt6]

Thank you so much!! I’ve been told by others too although my clinic are great they are very black and white and won’t try anything different!! I will get in touch! My partner has been taking impryl and I’ve been on various supplements for the past 6 months so hopefully they will make a difference!!! We have requested a second opinion from a the clinic in Cardiff so hopefully things will get moving again x

[JoyfulStar]

The general consensus in the world of IVF is that after day 3, the sperm’s DNA comes into play so if you have no issues between days 1 and 3, then I would certainly be seeking a second opinion of whether you need donor eggs at age 33!

It will be good if your current clinic tells you how your embryos develop between days 1 and 3 vs days 4 to 5 so that you can make an informed decision.

All the best with your journey 🙏🏾

[Franjohn in reply to JoyfulStar]

Yes that’s really helpful and a good idea!! Thank you!

[Titawine in reply to JoyfulStar]

I had 3 embryos made it out of 8 retrieved to day 3 as 8AA , does that means I don't have wgga quality issues ? I never heard of that actually.

[JoyfulStar in reply to Titawine]

I don’t think I can say for sure as I am not a doctor or embryologist. Due to my age, I can’t say I don’t have egg quality issues and neither can my doctor.

My IVF consultant told me the information about the sperm quality issue when I had a disastrous round when none of my embryos made it to day 5. This was in comparison to previous cycles where we had blastocysts and looking at my own embryo development.

I then did my own research and found some videos and discussions about this. He also said my fertilisation rate was a factor that indicated that there was a sperm and egg binding issue.

I have inserted a link to one of the things I found on the internet. It is a long read by the way remembryo.com/embryo-arrest/

Worth googling why embryos stop growing at day 3 and see what you uncover.

All the best with your journey 🙏🏾

[Titawine in reply to JoyfulStar]

Thank you so much for the article it's really helpful