No Blastocysts

[Haha726363]

Hi all,

I’ve received the call this morning from our embryologist, I knew from her tone of voice straight away it was bad.

13 eggs collected, 9 mature, 6 fertilised and 0 made it to blastocyst. This is our only round on the NHS, my heart is utterly broken. She told me our case was very rare.

They’ve said I’ll have an appointment with the drs, nurses and embryologists to discuss soon. I have no clarity as to why it hasn’t worked. Will I ever? Do you ever get the answers in this instance?

What do I do now? Will I never be a mum?

[Hidden]

Hi! I'm soo sorry for you! Don't judge yourself and don't let the doctors answer hunt you. It isn't rare. It happened to me, to my husband's cousin and a close friend of mine, we all were at our first ever IVF treatment. Sometimes the doctors give such a hard diagnosis and say it in such way, making you feel the only one in the world.

[Marisa32]

I'm assuming no deep dive tests were done prior to IVF. I would test the crap out of the sperm first. DNA fragmentation, karotype etc. If sperm passed all tests with flying colors and still no blasts on your next round, I would focus on eggs. Maybe change protocol, do more natural...less eggs collected but perhaps higher quality. It works for some. Good luck!

[Haha726363 in reply to Marisa32]

Is there anything that can be done if there are problems with the sperm? My worry is there won’t be 😩

[Marisa32 in reply to Haha726363]

Well, if the sperm is not usable, at least you know that ahead of time. Some people use donor sperm etc, depends on circumstances. Either way, you don't want to waste your eggs or subject your body to endless IVF cycles with dead sperm. Hope you can find some answers quickly. Fingers crossed!

[Dinfertilitylady]

Hi, I’m so sorry this has happened to you, as KittyLuna said though, it’s certainly not rare I’m afraid 😢 I’ve just done my 4th full egg collection cycle which resulted in no blasts, the same as my 1st round. However my 2nd & 3rd I did make blasts.

Hopefully they will be able to give you some answers in your follow up appointment, but be prepared that answers aren’t always possible. If there is something obviously wrong they will be able to advise you on what to try to rectify it. If not they may suggest various tests to complete to try & get to the bottom of it.

Frustratingly it can also just be a case of trial & error & they will advise you try again with a different protocol etc. I realise not everyone can afford to carry on privately but check out a company called ‘Access Fertility’ who provide different payment plans which can make the costs easier to plan for. Alternatively you could look at going to Europe (Spain, Greece & The Czech Republic are popular) as treatment is a lot cheaper there!

The important thing to keep in mind is that just because this has happened once goes not mean it will definitely happen again, you may very well produce blasts in a subsequent cycle. Wishing you lots of luck 🍀🤞

[Applepie7]

Hi there, im veryvsorry to hear this I know excatly how you feel as this has happened to me in my last cycle and it certainly isnt rare. I wouldn't give up just yet and hopefully the drs can give you some meaningful answers. Take care x

[Haha726363 in reply to Applepie7]

I’m so sorry this happened to you lovely. If you feel comfortable to share, did they ever give you any conclusion as to why? I think the rarity is in relation to clinic and our age range. ❤️

[Applepie7 in reply to Haha726363]

They just put it down to my age. No proper answer. I was obviously very disappointed and upset. I have decided not to do any more cycles with my OE and have started to look at DE options.

[Haha726363 in reply to Applepie7]

I can imagine, so much for you to take on. Thank you for replying and I hoping everything goes well for you in your search 💕

[Moonbeam8511]

Hello, so sorry to hear your news. With my 1st cycle we had 6 eggs retrieved, 2 fertilised but neither made it to even day 3. I understand how heartbreaking this is and we got no definitive answers as to why this happened. Our 2nd cycle was better but very low number of eggs/blastocysts and after transfers just bfns. We moved clinics and went to Spain. 3rd cycle again resulted in very low number of eggs and was losing hope but we did get a bfp from transfer, sadly found out we lost the pregnancy at 9 weeks. 4th cycle we luckily got another bfp from transfer and I've just passed 18 weeks. I think some of us unfortunately have to keep trying until we find the golden embryo as it were. Lots of lifestyle changes for us throughout cycles with supplements and quitting bad habits etc. Your dreams of being a mum aren't over yet, you'll find the strength to move forward and try again when you're ready. I am wishing you all the luck in the world and sending lots of love and strength whilst you go through this difficult time xxx

[Hidden]

it’s certainly not rare. Nothing on my first 2 cycles (26 eggs - all mature and able to be fertilised, nothing made it to day 5!)

16 more eggs on round 3 only result on 1 poor quality embryo which we transferred and it didn’t take.

Round four (after a years break and supplements for 4 months) resulted in bfp from fresh transfer (but unfortunately MC at 7 weeks), but we do have 2 more to try from that round.

I don’t have a success story to share yet, but just wanted you to know that you’re not alone and it certainly does happen x

[Haha726363 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Hidden I hope that everything you wish for you get 💕

[Olive12345]

The same thing has just happened to us. We were already doing the lifestyle changes and supplements. I’ve naturally got pregnant four times, always in January so my dr has put my on a permanent Christmas diet for next time!

When I started researching, calcium seems important. Admittedly most of the research seems to be into chickens eggs, but some ivf clinics seem to have introduced a calcium wash for the sperm to activate the embryo development to increase fertility. And I found one study that used it to reactivate embryos that stalled before becoming blastocysts. When I was reading, I learnt that when eggs have lots of energy they can overcome sperm issues and if they don’t they can’t become embryos. Calcium gives them energy!

My diet is very low in calcium as I’m lactose intolerant and haven’t bothered replacing dairy. I do eat cheese at Christmas though so, long story short, I’ve increased calcium. Might not be an issue in your case but could be worth thinking about!

I should say, I’m not a scientist but my job is reading technical info so I’m pretty good at understanding research.

[Haha726363 in reply to Olive12345]

Thanks so much Olive12345 , I interestingly probably don’t have enough calcium. I don’t drink cows milk & only have cheddar every now and then. I will up my calcium intake for sure! X

[Haha726363]

Thank you all, I think the rarity is due to our age we are 32 & 33. The fertility centre said it happens 1/2 a month, but mostly in older patients.

They are taking it to the board and I’ll have an appointment on the 3rd jan. Such a long time to wait for probably not many answers.

I can’t thank you all enough for being kind enough to respond x

[Olive12345 in reply to Haha726363]

Hi, I was just wondering if you got any answers? They decided my first round was just one of those things but my second cycle also produced no blasts and everyone is very confused about it.