I am turning 34 soon, I have endometriosis and suffer from poor egg quality.
My 9th round of IVF has just failed and I am going through the process of feeling sad, empty and angry.
I think the next logical option is donor egg, but a part of me is just doubting that thinking what if there is an avenue out there I haven’t explored.
In summary, I have had 2x laproscopy in the last 4yrs, a mixture of long/short/natural modified IVF/ICSI cycles.
In 2020 I gave it my all and implemented lifestyle and nutrition changes suggested in “it starts with an egg” alongside Accupunture. This was the worst cycle of them all which was very disheartening.
So now I just take vitamin D and pregnacare tablets.
Any advice is much appreciated..,
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WaitingforbabyS
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are u doing frozen transfers? im in the same boat as you I got a positive this cycle but it was chemical (but at least it was positive. )so it gave me some hope and what I did differently was frozen transfer as doctor said when u have endometriosis its better to give the body a and uterus a rest so its ready for transfer and took leupron. also definitely look into doing the NK test that's what im going next cycle. heard allot of success stories. going into IVF nr 11 also r u testing the embryos? PGT testing?
oh and I also did accupuncture which I think also helped. took vitamin E,D, C folic acid and ubiquinol. used all natural products, no chemicals etc.. I also have poor egg quality but ended up with 1 great embryo from 7.. so it kind of helped .
the natural killer cells. everyone recommended it on my last post, apparently sometimes the body attacks the embryos and get rid of them. Ubiquinol helped with my egg quality. also exercise and ate all natural, nothing processed , I feel in our case any small change can help with those little embryos. also read it starts with the egg and applied allot of things from the book. I hope in your next cycle you get good quality embryos.
Has your partner had his sperm tested for DNA fragmentation? When embryos drop off after day 3 it tends to indicate a sperm issue rather than an egg issue. If this hasn’t been investigated yet I would def look into it before you move to DE.
Hey. I'm so sorry this journey has been so hard for you. My opinion? You will always find a clinic ready to take your money to try something slightly different, or a forum online recommending some supplement or other. It might be that if you just keep trying, you'll be successful eventually. However, from what you've written, especially re egg quality, your best chance of starting a family is through donor eggs. It's not for everyone, but if you can get your head around it, it might be time to seriously consider this option. Good luck xx
I tend to agree with JustJane. My later rounds I had embryos that were slow to progress and my clinic told me it was an egg quality issues (they didn't make it to blasts at all). I went to a second clinic and they gave me the same opinion and both suggested donor eggs. I asked about all the new bells and whistles and supplements etc and both clinics said these things could only do so much but you can't fix egg quality - you could enhance slightly but in my case not enough to improve enough to guarantee a successful pregnancy x
JustJane1234 Hidden Thank you both and I think subconsciously this is what I wanted to hear.
After 9 cycles I don’t know how much fight is left in me.
I do tend to lead a pretty healthy lifestyle, but sometimes I feel guilty and think perhaps I should go strict with my diet and supplements for 3months, but then that is stressful in itself because what really is the key formula
I have tried things like testogel, DHEA, Ubiquinol, Fertility massages, acupuncture etc etc and never seen an improvement.
Hi lovely. I’ve had 6 fresh rounds own eggs over 4 years as we never got enough to freeze and we transferred 16 embryos in total.. and I’ve tried every diet and supplement in the book and nothing worked. We did get a BFP and a couple of chemicals but I was told it was poor quality and so even if I got pregnant again we would likely just miscarry again.
It took me about a year to get my head around donor eggs and I am now 45. I did my first donor FET about 5 weeks ago. So far I was lucky enough to get a BFP but I’m not getting too excited quite yet. Feel free to message me if you have any questions xx
Hello lovely. I am waiting to speak to my clinic now about donor eggs. The more I think about it, the more I know it's the right thing for me.
Daisy is so right about the bells and whistles - if we have a serious egg quality issue, then sadly there's nothing that any of us can do that will make enough of a difference. Accepting that it's out of my control and there's nothing I can do was so hard but it really helped me come to terms with the situation and be able to move forward.
You're welcome to message me too
And congratulations, Daisy - I have everything crossed for you xx
JustJane1234 Hidden Hi both, so I went down the DE route after a 10th failed IVF earlier this year.
Just had transfer and I feel so guilty as we both were so nervous and upset. Even though I have had counselling and was ready in my heart for this.
We are mostly scared about our baby not looking like us. This was triggered in the waiting room where we saw a couple ready for transfer 2 with their 1st DD who didn’t look like she was part of their family
How did you both feel? I feel guilty feeling like this
Hey. Honestly, I gave birth to girl-boy twins conceived through donor egg IVF 5 weeks ago and I couldn't be more in love with them. We chose a donor who was a good match for me in terms of hair/eye colour and we've already had people comment that they look like me! It's such a joy catching glimpses of my husband in their little faces. No regrets here. Good luck- I really hope this transfer works out for you xxx
I'm sorry to read you've had 9 failed rounds. It takes a huge amount out of you to keep going and going when nothing works.
Me: started solo IVF at 41 in 2020. I've had 4 ECs, and just transferred my 9th and final embryo a couple of days ago. I always responded well and my blasts were top/good quality (the transfer I just had was my lowest grade, a 4BB/C). But, aside from a BFP on transfer 3 that turned into a chemical, it's been one BFN after another. I didn't PGT before transfers as I didn't bank but transferred as I went.
As I'm now in the TWW I know theoretically I could get lucky with this last transfer. But it's hard to visualise that given my experience so far. I am already thinking ahead to what I do if this is yet another BFN and in a similar boat to you, torn between 'what if' there's something else I could try to have a baby with my own eggs vs. being pragmatic and knowing my odds are higher with DE. As I'm single and using donor sperm, going with DE means no genetic link with the child... it's a hard thing to give up.
The advice above is really sensible and the way I'm trying to think myself. You could keep trying different tests/treatments and maybe, if you're lucky, one might work. But it's a big 'might' and time will keep ticking by regardless. There's no guarantee at all that DE will work either, but the odds are much higher. So - on paper at least - the 'route to pregnancy' is likely to be shorter using DE. For me, that's key because I'm already 43. It's a massively individual choice but I wish you so much luck with your decision x
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also r u testing the embryos? PGT testing?
What is NK test? 
Never give up
Please don't give up
When to take time off work?
Don't give up 
IVF 2nd Opinion#Never Give up
