First Round - ICSI - No Blastocysts day 6 :(

[Cuppppatea]

39 years old. First round of ICSI - collected 3 eggs (i'm pretty sure some were too small to justify going in as three are the minimum requirement)

And I don't think my medication was correct TBH - as I was on hold to start as a last min colposcopy had to be done as my smear test results came back low grade

Anyway - 2 eggs fertilised but neither made it to Blastocyst for day 6 Does that count as a full cycle? Guess i'll be going again anyway.

Im hoping we get a few more eggs next time. I haven't been working (teacher finished in summer term) but I've still felt pretty stressed out. I'm going to start some supply work just to keep some money coming in and be free for appointments.

We both fully gave up alcohol for 6 weeks previous to this cycle and the whole time during. I was doing yoga and acupuncture but haven't necessarily felt at peace. I eat pretty healthy and just have 1/2 cups of tea in the morning

Any tips/insights/advice/experiences I would love to hear from you

[JA-fnuk Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

First cycles of treatment are very much like a " learning curve " - having never used the meds before etc Hopefully your clinic will be able now to refine your treatment protocol so it is more suitable for you & help increase your response Also be sure to take advantage of counselling appointment that should be available while on fertility treatment

Wishing you good luck for the future

Janet-Partner

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Cupppatea. Once you get to egg collection, that is your cycle over, unless you are allowed acFET. You have to move on to the next cycle whatever the outcome withe the first. Always remember that egg collection is the end of a fresh cycle, so hopefully some embryos would be suitable for storing frozen if at blastocyst. Diane

[LadybirdLulu]

Hi! Yes this first cycle is kind of like a testing phase. There are also shorter and longer treatment regimes (for me a shorter protocol was more effective so far) and they may give you higher doses of meds to stimulate the ovaries. Also the number of eggs they can retrieve can change from month to month so you could have more or less next time. It's best to have a rest of a few months between because otherwise you can become more tolerant to the medication and it won't be so effective in developing the follicles next time. I know it is impossible to relax...try keeping yourself occupied by going for walks and doing puzzles. My fingers are crossed for you!