So,we have had a cycle which was a cancelled cycle after stimulation and before collection.
Long story short the doctors saw only one egg was fully grown just before collection day and estrogen was low. And with low estrogen the doctor believed that most likely the follicles were empty. Tbh I don't quite understand as they did put me on letrozole.
After the cancelled cycle the doctor basically said that my body didn't respond to the stimulation and there's nothing else they can do as I was on highest dose already. Hence they advised me for donor eggs.
Personally, I feel like giving up now is like we didn't even try at all, and it might be that that was not the best protocol for me whatsoever.
As even before starting stims the progesterone tablets they've put me on gave me a whole loads of side effects and my body did not like them. I couldn't sleep for over two weeks and I am sure my body was under a lot of stress.
Unfortunately, the medication wasn't quite explained to me. Like what does what and why taking those instead of a different drug.
My question is if I want to understand what protocol I was on and what other protocols are available, as well as exploring different options, where can I go to?
I don't have any other option besides IVF as my falopian tubes were removed for IVF.
I have googled a lot but there's a myriad of information to drown into.
Overall I feel that we cannot judge the result by one failed attempt only which started bad to begin with.
Also, regarding donor eggs how does it work for black people?
My husband is white and I don't want a white donor as that would make me feel completely excluded and sort of just an incubator if we did so.
How easy or difficult is it to find mixed black African or African donor eggs? Plus I would like to find West African, preferably, as I am West African, which may make things harder.
Thank you all and all the best luck for you all...
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happyseal
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I can’t comment on donor eggs but I do wonder if getting a second opinion from another consultant might help you decide. I have different fertility issues (pcos and lots of follicles but poorer quality eggs) and had a disappointing first round but did much better in cycles 2 and 3 with a different medication protocol so that might be worth asking about?
I’ve not heard of progesterone being prescribed prior to stim cycle but I’ve only done short Ivf cycles myself. Different clinics definitely do things differently. My clinic had a lot of issues but they certainly explained my meds and the consultant did listen to my questions about meds, so definitely worth exploring why they didn’t explain your protocol to you properly!
Hi happyseal. So sorry to hear this. However, I think I would probably want to try another round of IVF perhaps altering the protocol to a milder approach. Not many eggs if it works but just might be better for ovaries to grow some decent follicles. Sadly, not so many black egg donors but they are there. Perhaps a friend could help? Fingers crossed you get some success. Diane
I would mirror what Kittykat said, it would be good to get a second opinion. You could explain what happened in your first cycle and perhaps get more information on medications. I had a poor response in my first cycle but moved clinic and fared better the second time around. I also found medication hard going and I had similar insomnia on my first round.
I know what you mean about not really feeling like it was a proper try. It sounds like you want another try with your own eggs before thinking about the other options. Lots of luck, it can be so difficult. Xx
My first clinic was NHS so I got a copy of my records to take to new clinic. I'm sure your present clinic would supply this as well. It might be worth asking on here for some recommendations in your area/issues you've had on this forum - people are really helpful. It sounds like you would always wonder if you didn't give it another shot with your own eggs.
I think it might be worth getting a second opinion and maybe trying a low stimulation protocol. Although there may be reasons why your consultant did not suggest this. We did 2x rounds of IVF on the NHS. We should have had a third round but, because we were getting a good number of eggs and they were fertilising but none were making it to blastocyst, they said they couldn't justify giving us a third round.
After that, we decided to go with donor eggs. We didn't want to keep putting ourselves through the heartache and financial investment of IVF rounds that were going to fail.
Due to waiting times in the UK, we went abroad for treatment. Spain, Greece and Czech are well known in Europe for fertility treatment. We went with Czech because I am fair and it was easy to find a donor matching my physical description. If you do decide to go down the donor route, it might be worth looking overseas to find a suitable match. For us, the process was also a lot faster and cheaper.
We were able to start the process within about a month (but we had a specific date a little later we wanted to do it). For the donor cycle, I had to take birth control for around 6 weeks to synchronise my cycle with the donor's. I had a scan in the UK to check my lining. We went to Czech in time for our donor's egg retrieval. My partner did his sperm sample the same day as her retrieval and left for work. I stayed in Czech and had transfer 5 days later (this was during COVID when travel was all over the place so I didn't want to leave).
To minimise time away, your partner could give his sample on the day of retrieval then leave then you would just have to go for transfer.
I’m sorry to hear this. I did two antagonistic protocols , the second had v poor response. For my third cycle they tried a milder “flare” protocol. Now, my results didn’t get any better, but I take comfort in knowing that I tried different options, and they believed it could make a real difference , so presumably it does for other people. X
for donor eggs try London egg bank. You can search online without signing up and you’ll see just how many types will suit what you are looking for. I enjoyed the whole process and found is so easy.
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