We've just completed our 4th IVF round (5th transfer) and got another bfn this morning. I have very low amh (unexplained) therefore we only get 1/2 embryos viable for transfer each go. I understand that it will take me more than the average 3 rounds due to this. I'm at a cross roads whether to give up on own eggs despite being told I'm still young at 36.
I just wanted to know how many transfers it took before you were successful. I've read online the average is 6 therefore I'm tempted to try one more time with my own eggs.
Thanks
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Ajtart
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Hi Ajtart,I'm so sorry to hear your negative result 😔 It takes so much strength and you are amazing.
I was similar with only 1 or 2 eggs and did 4 transfers all bfn. I was a little older -39 though so we did move onto donor eggs and finally got our BFP. I couldn't take the stimulation drugs anymore for a negative result at the end. Its a very personal decision though and not a guarantee.
I personally think my implantation window was out as have very short cycles so might have got success with my eggs within 4 transfers if had that and immune protocol from the beginning. Have you looked into other tests as could be more than waiting for the right egg?
Know it can all be a minefield but wish you luck with your next steps and that you will get your BFP xx
Thanks so much for your reply. I'm so happy you got a bfp with donor! This last protocol we threw everything at it. Steroids (nk cells), extra progesterone and aspirin. Our embryo was good/excellent 8cell this time xx
Hi Ajtart. I wish I had the answer to this, then we wouldn't need to keep trying. I suppose you have had a hysteroscopy to check out your womb and its lining? Perhaps soluble aspirin/heparin might help in preventing clot formation and give you an even blood flow. See what your specialist recommends as he/she knows you best, and good luck! Diane
Thanks so much for your reply. I don't think I've actually had a hysteroscopy actually? I had the dye in the tubes one before starting my NHS IVF rounds. Would that be a private test or on the Nhs? X
sorry about your results but dont give up. U will get there. K would recommend testing the embryos and also maybe try frozen transfer? Maybe look into doing sthg different than the previous cycles
Thanks for your positive reply. We only get one embryo on each round and once we got 2 (and did a fet) so they said no point in testing them as it's too risky as they might get damaged. X
im abit in the same boat i always end up with 1-2 but remember all it takes is one. In the beginning i didnt used to test then i felt it was tiring as if u transfer an embryo thats not euploid most likely wont take. It was more to spare myself the heartache. I also dis the ERa test lately to see if sthg is going on with the environment , they did find a bacteria that im getting treated for. Lol i always hope they find sthg to explain my results 😀 sending u hugs and love
Thanks for your reply. I definitely think donor eggs is on the cards for me too and have slowly come to get my head round it. I really want to try once more with own eggs though although I'll see what the consultant says. My husband said this morning he wanted to just give up though?! X
I’m 25 and about to undergo my 4th round.. I wish I had an answer to give you but good luck for your next go whether it be yours or donor, you’ll be an amazing mum regardless of where the egg comes from best of luck ❤️
Hello hun, I'm so sorry, this journey is incredibly tough isn't it. I was successful on my 6th transfer (8th embryo), all my own eggs, from age 40. Immune protocol/steroids was key for me (I saw you started that last transfer which is great)
How low is your AMH? I'm 36 (had my AMH tested at 34 and was 8.4 but probably lower now). I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant from my third transfer from my first cycle. First fresh was a chemical, 2nd was BFN. One embryo left in freezer. Trying for 2.5 years previously with never a hint of a BFP. I had a good egg retrieval and got 13 eggs despite low AMH. I can't be sure but I put this down to taking DHEA for 4 months before egg collection (was 35 when eggs collected). It's hailed as a fertility miracle drug in the US and you can buy online. As well as my AMH my husband also had low morphology so we had ICSI and this resulted in 4 good quality 5 day blastocysts to work with. If you haven't already, check out the book 'it starts with the egg.' Good luck xx
Thanks for sharing your success. 2 years ago my amh was 3. Then I read about dhea and other supplements from it starts with an egg. My amh rose to 3.7 and more recently was 6.7. My egg collection have been 3 eggs, 8 eggs, 9 eggs and 5 eggs with varying fertilisation results. My husband's sperm is 'top quality' from the test he's had. We can get a good embryo (just) each round but obviously we don't know whether it is chromosomally normal as it's just the one embryo. I just wish there was a way of testing the egg. X
I’m so sorry to read of the struggles you’ve had, but I agree with what someone else said - you’re amazing for not giving up with this! I’m in awe of everyone who keeps trying! Honestly. I’m on my second round and it’s so hard, mentally.
I unfortunately have no advice for you as I’m at a similar crossroads (I’m a bit older than you so already wondering if donor eggs are the way to go). It’s a very personal choice and I guess it depends how quickly you want to be parents vs how much importance you place on a genetic relationship with your child/children? There’s no right it wrong answer either.
I mostly have a terrible blood family, I couldn’t be more different and have been estranged from my parents for many years. My friends have always been more of a family to me (I’m so lucky to have them 💜). I guess I’m trying to reassure you that genetics doesn’t define closeness of relationships…. Love, support & trust do 🥰
Whatever you decide, I wish you the absolute best - when your little one finally does arrive, they’ll feel so incredibly special that you tried so hard to have them 💕 xx
Thanks so much. I hope everything works out for you too. I'm the same with my family which makes me want to have my own children even more. My friends are my rock too which I am so grateful for xx
Hello, we’ve had 4 rounds and 4 transfers, 2x bfn, 2x mc It’s incredibly hard! We’ve decided to continue with own eggs and to start testing the embryos to save time and heartache. It’s such a personal choice and dependant on many factors I guess. Best of luck in whatever you choose xx
Thanks for your message. It's so hard. I would keep going forever if money wasn't an issue. I would need the doctor to say stop. Wishing you the best too!x
It took 4 fresh rounds for us with a day 2 or 3 transfer each time due to poor embryo development and never anything to freeze. My amh was around 15, so on paper should’ve got better results than we did but we never got to Blast stage (other than my lb obviously)
I’m just looking at your results and some evidence of high sperm dna fragmentation (though not the last time tested) with at times poor fertilisation and wondering if you’ve discussed ICSI with your Consultant? Might be worth seeing what they think to attempt to get a better fertilisation rate. If you can financially cope with it i’d put a limit on the number of cycles with your own eggs before moving to donor. You might decide you’re already there. Don’t forget it can often take a few goes with donor. If you did choose to do another round with your own eggs I’d throw everything at it in terms of some of the more in depth testing available, then at least you’d feel like you’d done everything you can and maybe a little more at peace with moving to donor if needed. Maybe your husband just needs some time and space away from IVF chat/ difficult decisions to process the last round. Mine was definitely like this whereas I always felt better when planning the next round so I feel for you. Wishing you the very best of luck with whatever you decide xx
Thanks for this. We discussed ICSI as an option but the embryologists have always been really happy with his samples. I might ask about it when we have our review. I think we just need a little break from it before trying again he said this morning he didn't want to give up so I think it was just an 'in the moment' comment xx
I found this helpful in making my decision about how many rounds for banking (based on reporting by US clinics, but likely similar for UK): sartcorsonline.com/predicto...
Hello, my situation was similar in that I would get one each time so after four rounds with own eggs we decided to move on to DE. We've been given a chance of 50% which is a lot better than the 5% with own eggs. We went to Spain and were accepted to a guarantee programme so that takes the pressure out of money worries and we have 18 months to try. In the end its a decision you have to make but for me it was about increasing my chances because I each round is so expensive. Take care of yourself and good luck!
Thank you for sharing. I have been looking at that clinic. I didn't realise they did the money back scheme for donor as well. At least I have some options xx
Sorry for all the stress and pain. It took me 5 egg retrieval and 6 transfer to have my Duagther at age 39. Almost 40 and my amh was 1,2 I was given less than 10% chance I als have severe adenomyosis and my husband has low sperm count and mobility the Journey is hard but you will get there
Well, I have PCOS, very high AMH, no other issue. I don't ovulate except with medicine (and now we try with metformine and I do ovulate, but no pregnancy came from it). They said it was an easy case. I started this at 30, with 6 iui, 2 medicated cicles, and only BFN then I moved into IVF after 3 years of that. I was 33 when they collected my eggs. I did have 12 embryos on the 3rd day. My clinic froze all. Then I had 3 artificial FET, all BFN, then i went to the endocrinologist and he put me on metformin. After 3 months I started ovulating on my own every month, but after 1 year still BFN. I moved my left over embryos (9) to another clinic. In there they told me that they would put me on natural FET as artificial seemed to not be good for me. They grew the embryos from day 3 to the 5th (said they did not get why the other clinic did not do it). From the 9 embryos that were excellent 3 day embryos, I ended up only with 3 embryos that were 5 day embryos... and then it worked on my 3rd transfer in the new clinic. So I had: 6 FET in total (3 artificial, 3 natural), 6 iui, 2 modified cicles and 1 year of ovulating with metformin.
I know how you feel, sometimes AMH does not give the full information. I have seen women in here with very low AMH that could have a baby much earlier than me (and supossedly mine was very high). So what I can advice you, if I may is cosnider how many resources you have for continuing. If you have for 2 mor chances, maybe it would be a good idea to try again with your own eggs. Also, if it keeps failling, change clinics... it is scary but that was what worked for me.
hi Mariahdz, may I ask if your successful transfer was medicated or natural? I’m trying to figure out the next step and your post here is really interesting. Thank you x
Of course it was a natural one. The first 3 were artificial (my former clinic said it was not a problem that I did not menstruate at all since I was 14)... but the endometrium started to become thinner with each cycle. Also I had a lot of pain and my progesterone (even with the pills they give), was always too low. Then I went to the endocrinologist, because a friend with a similar issue told me she was misdiagnosed with PCOS when actually she had somethig else, so she had years of not receiving the correct treatment (I was diagnosed with PCOS at 14 when my periods stopped, but gynecologists would always give me only more hormons and treat symptoms). He found out that my insuline was very high and vitamine d too low and the culprit of all my hormonal imbalances, he put me on metformine and I went from no periods to 29 day periods. Then as i had ovulation and periods but still no pregnancy, I changed clinics. The new specialist said that she wanted to try only natural or modified natural with me (this is a natural one, where they trigger you to ovulate). That supossedly there was no difference in live birth rate, but that she noticed that sometimes in some patients there was a difference (she had lots of experience on PCOS) and that by my old results, artificial might not be the best for me and that they would only give extra progesterone. They also grew the embryos from Day 3 to day 5. First 2 tries (one natural and then one modified natural), were not successful (they did not tell me the embryo scores, only that they were good for transfer). The third natural FET was the one that worked. Also, there are some papers that say that natural FET has less of a risk for developing preclampsia than artificial ones.Sorry for the long answer, I hope it helps, if you have more questions, I will be happy to answer them
38 and a half here in age, 3 egg collections, 5 transfers with 6 embryos transferred. I’m the same only ever get 1/2 blasts per EC. Keep rolling the dice, it just might take more ECs. 22 weeks pregnant with one that stuck 🥰
hi I also only got one egg (and one embryo) per cycle. Ended up doing 10 rounds of embryo banking as I was 40 then. And the 3 transfers I had failed. My situation is more complex due to autoimmune issues. Wanted to give it everything I had so as not to regret it later. We had 10 embryos frozen at day 1 so no idea of the quality. Our surrogate became pregnant with one if our badly growing embryos to our absolute surprise. And we now have a 13 month old. It was a hell of a journey but worth everything.
By 40 I read that only 1-2 embryos are viable out of every 10. So I knew that to have a chance at my age we needed 10 embryos.
It took me 8 transfers before a positive test and I was also giving up hope. I think the difference for me was taking buserelin before my FET which I think helped my adenomyosis and possible endometriosis.
Hi, it took me 6 attempts at ivf with 10 transfers in total. I had my last egg collection when I was 37 and the fresh transfer from that cycle resulted in a bfn. However I had some frosties left but due to finances and then covid we waited nearly 5 years before we could try again. We now have a 14 month little girl. So I would say at 36 you can still try with your own eggs.
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It’s incredibly hard! We’ve decided to continue with own eggs and to start testing the embryos to save time and heartache. It’s such a personal choice and dependant on many factors I guess. Best of luck in whatever you choose xx
it was a natural one. The first 3 were artificial (my former clinic said it was not a problem that I did not menstruate at all since I was 14)... but the endometrium started to become thinner with each cycle. Also I had a lot of pain and my progesterone (even with the pills they give), was always too low. Then I went to the endocrinologist, because a friend with a similar issue told me she was misdiagnosed with PCOS when actually she had somethig else, so she had years of not receiving the correct treatment (I was diagnosed with PCOS at 14 when my periods stopped, but gynecologists would always give me only more hormons and treat symptoms). He found out that my insuline was very high and vitamine d too low and the culprit of all my hormonal imbalances, he put me on metformine and I went from no periods to 29 day periods. Then as i had ovulation and periods but still no pregnancy, I changed clinics. The new specialist said that she wanted to try only natural or modified natural with me (this is a natural one, where they trigger you to ovulate). That supossedly there was no difference in live birth rate, but that she noticed that sometimes in some patients there was a difference (she had lots of experience on PCOS) and that by my old results, artificial might not be the best for me and that they would only give extra progesterone. They also grew the embryos from Day 3 to day 5. First 2 tries (one natural and then one modified natural), were not successful (they did not tell me the embryo scores, only that they were good for transfer). The third natural FET was the one that worked. Also, there are some papers that say that natural FET has less of a risk for developing preclampsia than artificial ones.Sorry for the long answer, I hope it helps, if you have more questions, I will be happy to answer them 
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