Our second cycle was unsuccessful in may. From 11 follicles it dwindled down to just two one for transfer and one we have froze. However following our consultation last month with our consultant we are now being told my egg quality was poor. We didnt hear any thing like this before, during or after embryo transfer! Our first cyle in september my eggs were good so you can imagine our shock being told this.
This now seems like an impossible journey with sperm morphology issues and poor egg quality. Im gutted!
Is there anything I can do or take to improve egg quality? Or is it as the consultatant said 'genetics'.
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Icsi_journey
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I’m sure the ladies on here will have lots of good advice. I would say try DHEA as that can improve egg quality. Also the book ‘It starts with an egg’. If you search posts I think someone said they would post it out if anyone wanted it. Xx
You do have one frozen embryo which is something to be happy about.
I know it's hard.
I am somewhat similar to you on egg quality- due to the age- I am trying fresh and probably the last cycle with my own eggs.
My doctor is Royal College Accredited Specialist in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery and she says egg quality can't be changed, she is very good researcher too- and suggested to me the egg donar route too. But I wanted to take last chance so she agreed for that. She says, unlike men we are born with number of eggs as we age the quality of them goes down- it depends how good quality you and I had when we were born; The quality is all relative.
Having said this we can only work on our healthy sustainable eating, good lifestyle and most importantly managing our stress level. As the whole IVF is quite anxiety provoking treatment.
I don't want to disappoint you but there is not much DHEA evidence- she said, I can try that for three months but still result could be the same.
Each cycle is different - if you are under 40 unlike me then you can still try another fresh cycle.
Two of my cycle resulted only two eggs and not any embryo but one cycle gave good result and have one frozen embryo! This tells each cycle is different.
I wish you all the very best.
Please feel free to PM me. Happy to talk and help.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am 33, its just hard to get y head around when my 1st cycle all eggs were fine now im being told the 2nd cycle produced poor quality. Yes we have 1 frozen embie so i need to try and remain positive for that 🤞
Hi Icsi_journey. I assume from your “name” your failed cycle was through. ICSI. I’m so sorry to hear that this time it didn’t work. Still using ICSI perhaps discuss a different protocol with your specialist. Also the possible use of DHEA toe work on egg quality. I wish you well. Diane
Hi thanks for your reply. The 2nd cycle we had a short protocol which seemed to work better in producing more follicles and higher grade embies. Just disheartened at the fact im now being told i have poor egg quality at 33. Is DHEA a vitamin? Is it legal in the UK? Sorry if this sounds silly.
Hi, I’m really sorry to hear that your second cycle was unsuccessful. I also have poor egg quality - due to my age (44). I did my first cycle in May. I had 16 eggs, 14 mature, and 13 fertilised. But I only had two blastocysts, and they both came back abnormal after PGT-A testing. It was a pretty gutting outcome after starting the week with 13 embryos. I know that my chances are incredibly low, but I’m going to give it one more go with my own eggs next month. My age has a huge, huge impact on my egg quality - but I’m trying lots of other stuff to improve my chances. Maybe it won’t have an impact, but I have nothing to lose 🤷🏻♀️. I’m taking DHEA 25mg twice a day. Ubiquinol 200mg twice a day, and I’m going to take Growth Hormone for a month before stims - and then up my dosage during stims. The Medical Director at my clinic has tweaked my protocol, with the purpose of trying to boost my egg maturity/quality. Best of luck to you, and please feel free to DM x
Hi, thank you for taking the time to reapond. Sorry to hear of your story, i wish you all the success in your next cycle. Thank you for your advice. Best if luck.
Due to my age (43) I've been foccused on egg quality too - I do believe we can influence the egg quality as It all starts with the egg book says. We can't stop them from aging but we can try to minimise the oxidative stress by taking antioxidants and lifestyle changes.
DHEA is supposed to increase the number of eggs - I tried for a couple of days and had an unexpected spotting so stopped.
In addition to the pre-natal multivitamins, I've been taking Vitamin E, COQ10, NAC, DHA&EPA and extra Vitamin D&C, and Chinese herbs.
In our first cycle, we had 9 collected, 7 fertilised and 2 blastocysts. I had been on those supplements for about 2-3 months. I briefly took melatonin before egg collection, for about two weeks.
I added another set of antioxidants to the regimen: PQQ, resveratrol and astaxanthin for the upcoming cycle, though I can't speak about my results yet!
Also sperm quality plays a role too, my DH is also taking COQ10 and DHA&EPA, and he has added lycopene for sperm morphology.
Hi thank you for taking the time to respond. Thats alot of good tips there that I will look into so thank you. My Husband is already taking selenium and zinc as we thought it was just an issue with the sperm. Im 33 so to now find out i have poor egg quality when my 1st cycle they were fine is gutting. I will look at the things you have said though so thank you. Good luck in your journey.
Hi, I am same age as you and I too was told that the likely issue was my egg quality when our first egg collection didn't result in an embryo. I increased my coq10 dose to 400mg a day and took a couple other vitamins separate rather than multi vitamin as well as really trying not to eat much sugary food (i eat the healthy stuff fine but have a sweet tooth!) and managed to get 1 fresh and 2 frozen embryos so for me it felt like an improvement with my egg quality. No success yet but don't give up, I think there are things you can do to at least help the situation though nothing is a perfect remedy and it is a super tough emotional journey to be on. Best of luck xx
Hi, thank you for your reply. I will look into this advice, its very helpful thank you. Sorry to hear you too have not had the outcome that we all want, but it does sound like positive improvements for you. Best of luck x
Hi, if they never mentioned an egg quality issue to begin with, it is defiantly something I would question and ask for the results on. Although they are the experts from my experience sometimes you have to do your own research and go to them with the information you have. I feel sometimes however great/lovely the clinic is, it is a business to them so all about the money, whereas for people having to go down this route it is and can be life changing x
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