Last retrieval got 10 eggs at 41 yrs old, now only 3 eggs 😔

[Violet180]

Did anyone else have such a huge drop in numbers? I previously did 4 retrievals and got approx 40 eggs and one live birth.

Just had a retrieval this morning and only got 3 eggs.

I knew the odds weren't great trying for a baby at 44 yrs old but I didn't expect the numbers retrieved to drop so drastically.

From what I can tell antral follicle count can differ month to month. I wonder if this is true for older ladies? Because my scan in late October showed 8 follicles. This one had 6 and only 3 large enough for collection.

I know people have had success with few eggs but it literally took 40 eggs to get one euploid for us previously.

So disheartened and feel like it is pointless to hope.

Update: incase anyone is interested....We got 2 embryos , 1 morula at day 5 (today) and one good grade blastocyst I had transferred today.

I might be freaking out for nothing. Because if the 2nd embryo makes it to blast and freeze tomorrow, I am only 1 less than what I usually get with 10 eggs collected. I usually get about 3 embryos including a day 6 blast.

[Orangeflowers]

I'm almost your age. I think there can be a drop off. 3 seems good for your age though, especially if they're good quality, which they often are with less. Good luck. Keep us posted x

[Violet180 in reply to Orangeflowers]

Hopefully they are good quality. 2 of the 3 fertilised

[Orangeflowers in reply to Violet180]

That's an excellent fertilisation rate! Fingers crossed for you x

[JA-fnuk Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Thinking of you Hope all goes well and this is your time

Take care

Janet

[Gerbear22]

Delighted to hear your update.We only had 2 eggs and both fertilised and both transfered on day 3.Now 22 weeks pregnant so don’t lose hope!!I am willing your embryos on.xx

[HollyT7]

we ended up with 3 and all 3 worked, out first was a chemical but our second two are now 2.5yrs and 4months 🙂💙💙

[Axel131]

Hi Violet, Yes it can differ from month to month. I'm the same age as you are and I did back to back cycles in June/July last year and although the eggs count was roughly the same as before, none made it to a suitable quality blast on either cycle. Fast forward 6 months and I did another cycle and have 3 good quality embryos. Slight med change and supplement changes but both quality and quantity can vary I think. Here's hoping these ones are great though!

[Gold00]

Hi Violet180, in my view antral follicle count depends on the month or even the skill of the person performing the test. In Dec 20 at the age of 41 I had 14 follicles visible on the ultrasound. In Dec 21, at the age of 42 I had a pelvic MRI and they could see at least 35 follicles. 2 days ago I had a post-myomectomy ultrasound done and they could see 37 follicles. I am currenlty 43 and don't have PCOS.

At egg collection on average I had 11 eggs retrieved. However, when my doctor decided to try a different protocol and it was with letrozole, I responded very badly: they could only see 3 follicles and the cycle was cancelled. Interestingly enough, this cycle was straight after the MRI and month where they could see 35+ follicles. The following month, I went back to my original protocol, there were 16 eggs retrieved, with one being a euploid embryo.

Don't give up! Wishing you all the very best with the current egg retrieval.

[Amywoz84]

hi there,

I’ve had a total of 4 cycles.

Cycle 1 - 8 eggs (1 blastocyst)

Cycle 2 - 6 eggs (1 blastocyst)

Cycle 3 - 3 eggs (1 fertilised, morula)

Cycle 4 - 10 eggs (resulted in 4 blastocysts of which 3 are frozen)

During cycle 3, I had a similar experience to you, initially they saw 7 follicles on my scan then it went down to 3 by the end so it was too late to cancel and was recommended donor eggs but decided to give my eggs another chance. However, I have heard stories of ivf working with low numbers as it does only take one! It’s just the chances are higher with more eggs.

I was obviously older by cycle 4 and as you can see was a much better round, I had only ever had 1 blastocyst to transfer before then now I have 3 in the freezer.

Cycles do range in regards to egg numbers but I would say not to worry and keep going! To increase egg quality I decided to take Zita west vitamins after round 3 which may have helped - I’m not sure If the embryos are “normal” as they haven’t been tested but they are much higher grades than any other cycle.

Good luck xx

[Violet180]

Update: incase anyone is interested....We got 2 embryos , 1 morula at day 5 (today) and one good grade blastocyst I had transferred today.

I might be freaking out for nothing. Because if the 2nd embryo makes it to blast and freeze tomorrow, I am only 1 less than what I usually get with 10 eggs collected. I usually get about 3 embryos including a day 6 blast.