Natural IVF?

[Papillonblue]

We are starting to look at the next steps, I'm wondering if a natural IVF cycle might be the better option for us.

First cycle 3 eggs, 1 5day blast transfer =BFN

The second cycle only one egg collected 3-day transfer = BFN.

I have very low AMH (I don't have the figure to hand but I think the last test was 1.4)

For £6.5kish per cycle of regular IVF (I'm on high doses of the drugs) from a cost perspective Natural IVF is appealing (3 cycles £8k) I've also seen some suggestions that for very low AMH it is good as you are never going to get a huge number of eggs anyway.

Before we go into the next consultation I'd like to hear others thoughts. I did mention natural IVF right at the beginning but my consultant felt it better to try and get as many eggs as possible (clearly that didn't work!) My OH feels we should move on to donor eggs but has agreed to one more regular round first, as on my last collection the consultant who did the procedure felt we that we should have one more go before moving onto donor eggs. I'm not sure if I'm getting carried away with the idea of having 3 more shots or if it's genuinely a good idea!

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Papillonblue. With such a low egg retrieval rate, perhaps it might be an idea just to harvest the one egg for fertilisation. At least you will have tried that way before deciding to possibly move on to donor eggs. Thinking of you. Diane

[Squareark]

Hi Papillonblue, I think you should do what feels right to you, and it seems like you want to give natural IVF a try. This process is so fraught with uncertainty and no one really knows, so I say go with your gut on this one. After all, I'm sure you have considered the pros and cons a million times more than your doctor, and have probably done enough reading to get a good sense of what is out there. Imo, only thing is to make sure your hubby is on board since he is a huge part of this process as well. Best of luck!!

Wrt the actual natural IVF process, I don't know much, but I have heard similarly as you.

[bearblue]

Hey Papillonblue, I had a natural IVF and couldn’t recommend it enough. But natural isn’t always best for everyone, it depends on your body and how you respond to meds. It depends on how regular your periods are and your lining and hormones etc and less predictable but if all that works I’d really recommend it. It’s worth a try though - is there a way you can get a second opinion ?

[Papillonblue in reply to bearblue]

Thanks, yes I might start looking around at other clinics although I like where we are currently so I’ll see what my consultant says. I’m pretty regular so it may be the route for us, although last time my lining needed some extra support. I’m trying to do the research but there seems to be one clinic that just seems to come up and not much else!

[bearblue in reply to Papillonblue]

My clinic was abroad so might not be helpful but if you ever consider it just pm me. If you only had lining issues then it’s ok. I had to have a booster with progesterone. I hope your consultant can give you some reassurance to make your decision. But your right it’s logical that if stimulated ivf isn’t helping it’s probably more useful to focus on getting a quality egg.

[pink_lemon]

Hello, I don’t know if this will help, but my AMH is similar to yours. 1st round - lower doses of medication 5 eggs - 2 5 day blasts. 2nd cycle - max medication - 4 eggs, all fertilised but none grew to even day 3. 3rd round, what they call I think double stim (aka even more medication) 10 eggs, one 5 day blast. My FSH went really low before the last round too due to all the previous drug, hence the high number retrieved. But the first almost cancelled cycle (2 visible follicles) was the best. If I have to do a round again, I will be talking to my doctor about mild ivf for sure. I can’t help but feel that the amount of meds had impact on egg quality no matter how many they managed to get out.

Good luck xox

[Infragilis]

Hi, I have low amh and respond poorly to medication. I've had no eggs, cancelled cycle, three eggs, one egg, two eggs and two eggs in my six cycles. When I had one egg I was on high stims and all the other cycles were on medium stims. We are now changing clinics and I am having ovarian PRP carried out followed by a more natural IVF. I will let you know how it goes. We consulted with 8 different clinics and most suggested lower doses for my case.

[Papillonblue in reply to Infragilis]

Hi thanks, I've just looked up ovarian PRP it's interesting! Good Luck, I'll follow you I would be interested to hear how you find it. Are you having it in the UK?