beyond devastated - pgta results - Fertility Network UK

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beyond devastated - pgta results

Elsidee11 profile image
76 Replies

Hi everyone, hope you’re all ok. I’m sat here on my own filled with total devastation as my husband is out of the country, so turning to you wonderful lot for some positivity.

I just received the sad news that our top quality frozen blasts are all abnormal. It took us three rounds of ICSI to get to this stage ☹️ and we have nothing to show for it, except a broken heart and an empty bank account.

Does anyone have any positive stories on how we can turn this around? Our next step is Karyotyping I think. Has anyone experienced 100% aneuploid embryos then created euploid on their next round? Or do we just move to donor egg/sperm?

Thank you so much xxx

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Elsidee11
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Tamaa profile image
Tamaa

Hi Elsidee11. I am sorry to know that you are struggling with a tough situation right now. I do not have a similar situation to share from, but just writing to let you know you will get through this. As much as I can understand from your bio, it looks like an egg quality problem more than anything else. Please consider looking more into this before moving forward. I hope you find answers, and get your rainbow baby 1 day.Hang in there.

Sending you loads of good wishes and hugs.

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Tamaa

Thank you for replying xx yes I think maybe egg quality issue, just unsure where to turn next and we put so much into our third round. Thank you again xxx

DianeArnold profile image
DianeArnoldPartnerNurseFertility Network UK

Hi Elsidee. So sorry to hear this, but what’s happened is something you may not get an answer to. Speak to your embryologist for advice and take a little time to recover. Once you have decided what ro do, try and move forward and hopefully another round will be the one for you. Thinking of you. Diane

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to DianeArnold

Thank you so much Diane xx

Hopewhite profile image
Hopewhite

hi Elsidee I’m so sorry to read this , I don’t have similar experience to share, but I wanted to send you a big hug xx this is a tough journey and you’re not alone xx I’m sure other ladies in here will be able to share their positive stories xx

Have you tried what starts with the egg recommends in terms of nutrition and supplements? Perhaps you could have a little break (3 months ) and try to focus on that before you try again xx

Sending love and strength your way xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Hopewhite

Thank you so much Hopewhite - I’ve got the book out and going to re read it, although I did try a lot already in the book for my last cycle 💔 xxx

Hopewhite profile image
Hopewhite in reply to Elsidee11

Sometimes it takes longer for the body to see the benefits, or there might be other things to try (I’m also on the Wilde goose chase) xx , you’re still young so there’s still hope things can turn around xx I hope you’re feeling a tiny bit better today xx big hugs and love your way 😘

kayray87 profile image
kayray87

Hi Elsidee, I'm afraid I don't have any answers but just wanted to reach out and say I'm so so sorry to hear your news. It's is such a horrible cruel journey, there are no words. Many times in the past I have felt like whatever I did, I just couldn't catch a break so just know that you're not alone in all of this. Do you have family or friends nearby that you could confide in while your husband is away so you're not by yourself? Sending you lots of love ❤️❤️❤️

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to kayray87

Thank you so much kayray87 and congrats on your pregnancy ♥️ I might reach out via DM if that’s ok to chat about your donor journey xxx

kayray87 profile image
kayray87 in reply to Elsidee11

Absolutely, here anytime. Take care xxx

Millbanks profile image
Millbanks

Hi lovely,

I'm so sorry - how utterly heartbreaking for you both.

It's so hard to know why these things happen - I would definitely talk to your embryologist. At my clinic you can arrange a call with the embryologist directly at any time so it might be worth talking it through with them.

I do think its probably do with egg / sperm quality and of course age - its harder to create euploid embryos the older you get. But there are things you can do to help your eggs have more energy to split correctly - like ubiquinol / NAC / omega / whole fats. I don't know if you were taking any of these before your ECs but I did a massive overhaul of supplements and diet before my last one and the results were significantly better (to clarify I got more embryos - they weren't tested)

I can share with you what I did if you like - but I also get that sometimes just adding supplements can feel a bit trivial or a bit hippy-dippy.

Anyway, sending much love to you xxx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Millbanks

Thank you Millbanks ♥️ I feel like I did so much for my 3rd round with supplements etc and although it was our best round yet, we still didn’t get a euploid embryo ☹️ so not sure there’s much that will help me?? I’m not sure. I’m 36 so not sure whether or not just to give up with my own eggs? Happy for you to share what you did though - I’d really appreciate that xxxx

Millbanks profile image
Millbanks in reply to Elsidee11

I think probably best to take some advice from your consultant - if you've already tried lots of supplements etc there is only so much they can really do.

xxx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Millbanks

Thank you x

Elmo13 profile image
Elmo13

Hi Elsidee,

I am so sorry to read this. I can totally relate. We found ourselves in a similar situation where all 5 of the blasts from our last cycle came back abnormal. You said it right, nothing to show except a deeply broken heart and an empty bank account.

I don’t have a positive story for you I’m afraid as I’ve not yet done another cycle. Im also a lot older than you and was 42 at the time, now 43. It felt like I’d been sucker punched. What I have done since then is made some further changes to my lifestyle in terms of food and vitamins and adjuncts. Whether these will have any impact only time will tell. For me seeing the PGTA results in front of me helped me come to terms with and make peace with donor eggs (it was a very turbulent and tearful time) but as I said, I’m much older than you.

I have one more round in me with my own eggs and after that I know I’ll have done all I can.

I do know of some stories of ladies who have had similar cycles to us and then turned things around so please don’t give up hope.

Wishing you lots of love and best wishes. Xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Elmo13

Thank you Elmo13 and I’m so sorry you’re in a similar boat. I haven’t stopped crying all day, no idea how I’ll face work tomorrow.

That’s amazing to hear you have one more round in you ♥️ this is something I am struggling to come to terms with as I am not sure I do. Did you do Karyotype testing?

I’m going to reread it starts with the egg and see what else I can do. I’ve already gone organic and I rattle when I walk 😬 but I guess I can change some other bits too. Wishing you lots of luck xx

Elmo13 profile image
Elmo13 in reply to Elsidee11

I cried for days on and off at the drop of a hat. I felt like a “genetic failure”. The only saving grace for me was that I was off sick with Covid so didn’t need to go into work as that would have been incredibly tough. That gave me a week to process what had happened and come up with a battle plan.

If you’re not feeling up to to work, maybe call in sick if you can? Don’t underestimate what you’re going through- it’s a lot.

So I’ve already had 2 miscarriages (one silent miscarriage around 7-8 wks and then a spontaneous miscarriage around 6 wks whilst at work ). They were on untested embryos. That’s why we went down the PGTA route. I’m a big believer of things happening for a reason so my thought is that as heart breaking as it was to have zero normal embryos, this has probably saved me from further miscarriages and lost time going forwards. That helped strengthen me.

When I switched to my Greek clinic, they advised my husband and I do a Karyotype test to begin with. They said as we were making blastocysts it was very unlikely anything would show up, but was worth doing anyway. It came back fine and I hope your tests will too.

I have PCOS and high AMH which is why I have one more round in me. After that I believe I’ve done what I can and I’m ready to move down a different path. The main things I’ve changed are adding a better quality Ubiquinol, astaxanthin (can’t spell!), metformin for my pcos (wreaking havoc on me!) and I even tried some low light laser therapy. As you can tell I’m right at the front of the queue for snake oil!

You’re a lot younger than me. A lot can change from one cycle to the next- like you going from zero fertilisation to multiple blasts so don’t count yourself out just yet.

Please don’t lose hope. It’s all very fresh and feels like you’ve been thwacked with a giant baseball bat right now. Just give yourself some time to process things and do what brings you comfort- watch silly movies or binge watch a series. Just something to distract you. As you start to feel better you’ll get some clarity on what to do, one step at a time. I know it’s not easy though.

If you need any support then feel free to drop me a message.

xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Elmo13

Hi lovely. Thank you so much. I’m so sorry you went through this, especially with your miscarriage's 💔 the pain is sometimes unbearable, I sat on my own last night crying and all I could say was ‘why me!?’ ☹️ my husband is back tonight and he said exactly that ‘we have to come up with a next plan!’.

I’m going to really sit down and have a supplement overhaul, and get a better quality ubiquinol. I’ll also speak to the clinic to see if they recommend anything.

Thank you so much for your support, I’m here too if you need to chat. Wishing you lots of luck for your next round 🤞🏼xxx

Chel91 profile image
Chel91

So sorry to hear this, heartbroken for you! I know it's so soul crushing to put everything into this and not get the result you want. I don't want to give you false hope, but what kind of abnormals are your embryos? As some can be transferred and have a chance so it might be worth looking into just in case xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Chel91

Thank you, I don’t have the full information but they said they were all not compatible with life (so fully abnormal) and one had Down syndrome (I think she said missing chromosome 21 or something) and they don’t recommend transferring. Sorry it was all such a blur and I cried the whole time 😬🫠 xxxx

Chel91 profile image
Chel91 in reply to Elsidee11

Sending you a big hug! 💗 Once you have had some time to digest the news, maybe call them and ask for a copy of the full report. There is a group on FB that can give some insight into the abnormals if you were interested. It helped me a lot xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Chel91

Thank you so much, I’ve just emailed the lab for my report and a phonecall, sadly I don’t have Facebook but I will dig out some papers on Google, that might help. Thank you. Xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Elsidee11

Just a quick one actually Chel91 and I don’t expect you to have the answers. But when I asked my consultant if Endo was having an impact she said ‘no, it’s not the Endo’ - if you were me, and from your experience - before I venture into round 4 or donor, should I have excision? I have Endo and an Endometrioma. Xxxx

Chel91 profile image
Chel91 in reply to Elsidee11

Personally I would have the excision (I did it myself). In hindsight it was worth it for the pain relief alone, wish I had done it a decade ago. I do wonder if I had it in the first place would I have even needed IVF, but of course I can't know that for sure. It does seem to help many women. Xx

TopGuntastic profile image
TopGuntastic

Hi Elsidee11,

I’m so sorry to hear this news 😔. It must be so hard especially with your husband away at present, sending you a hug 💗

I don’t have experience of PGTA but folowing a recent early miscarriage I’m considering whether to have it done if I go ahead with another round. My thinking is that it could save some of the pain, and time, of other early losses. I know that won’t be much comfort just now but perhaps in time.

For now, make sure to give yourself time to grieve this loss and don’t rush into the next steps 🫶🏻 xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to TopGuntastic

Hi TopGuntastic it really has come at the worst time 😔 I think when I jumped on the zoom call and said ‘sorry just me today as husbands out of the country’ my consultants heart dropped 🫠 she knew it was going to be a tough time.

So sorry about your miscarriage 💔 I’ve been rooting for you so much. In a way, I do think the testing has saved us time and *more* heartbreak - as they said none of the embryos are compatible with life. So even though pgta is expensive, it’s definitely saved us. We actually have 1 still frozen which is untested as its quality is poor and wouldn’t survive the biopsy, so might just transfer that then move on, not sure.

Do you think you will do another round? I’m really struggling with whether or not I can face it 😔 last year broke me. Sending love xxxx

BBHH1 profile image
BBHH1

sorry to hear. The genetic test is not perfect and abnormal embryos can turn into normal babies so you could try implanting those embryos, any small chance is more than a zero chance. I would do that before moving to any donor. Good luck!

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to BBHH1

Thank you BBHH1 - I have asked for the report, but they said they wouldn’t transfer them and they’re not compatible with life, so I think we’d be wasting time and money - but will speak to the lab/embryologists for more info xxxx

BBHH1 profile image
BBHH1 in reply to Elsidee11

When they do the test that’s what they would say. I did talk to a lady in this form that transferred 1 severely abnormal and 1 incompatible with life at once and had normal twins. We can believe she is 1 in a million lucky or the test is not that good. See study with some numbers chances are low but more than zero…. It can bring more heartache. Only you can know if it’s worthy it !

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/354...

Skittles11 profile image
Skittles11 in reply to BBHH1

I don't know where that lady was having treatment but it must have been somewhere that wasn't UK. The clinics here are not allowed to transfer abnormal embryos so it wouldn't be up to the patient to decide to try transfering them anyway.

Chel91 profile image
Chel91 in reply to Skittles11

Clinics in the UK technically can transfer abnormal embryos, but none will do so currently. Many still resist transferring high level mosaics (does anyone know if this is still true? It was just a couple of years ago). However, just a few years prior to that most wouldn't even transfer low level mosaics. Now most clinics will.

I feel like within a year or two there will be further progress in that direction, since the HFEA states they don't really support the accuracy of PGT-A (and they don't prohibit the transfer of an aneuploid embryo if there are no normal ones). There was a major change in guidance about this in 2022, which is setting the seed to discredit the current recommendations in my opinion.

In the mean time I've heard clinics in the Czech Rep does aneuploid / high level mosaic / segmental transfers, obviously the USA does too. xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Chel91

That’s super interesting, I haven’t read much into it - but it’s good to know all options. Mine were very complex - multiple chromosome deletion and duplication, not sure I’d want to consider the risk, but I know it’s very personal. Always a ‘what if’, but also a very costly process (emotionally and financially) to keep transferring them if the chance of implantation is low. The number of decisions and risks we have to take along this journey is what makes it so difficult to get through, it’s utterly exhausting. Especially when we hold onto stories of hope, which in some cases are true miracles that end up reaching so many desperate women searching for answers and positive outcomes. It’s stick or twist at every turn! I think everyone has to do what’s right for them ♥️

Ivfgotadream profile image
Ivfgotadream in reply to Elsidee11

Hi there I’m sorry you didn’t get good results. All will say is that I also PGTA tested age 36 and didn’t get any normals. I was allowed to transfer a low level mosaic which failed but I decided not to test again and had healthy twins in the next transfer. I had a history of multiple miscarriages but I felt i could go through it again if it meant giving an embryo which would otherwise be destroyed a chances

PGTA testing is still in its infancy really - even my own clinic said don’t bother but I insisted - personally unless you are a carrier of a certain genetic issue I would try a transfer with out it

Also in terms of karyotype testing my clinic also said not to bother - it only tells you about your individual genetic not the quality of an embryo that you actually make with your other half x

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Ivfgotadream

Hi Ivfgotadream thanks for your message. That’s amazing you got your twins the next round and really gives me hope. Interestingly it has crossed my mind not to test any future blasts and just do double transfer, I think they would allow me based on previous conversations. Can I ask, did you have any more failed transfers before the one prior to your twins? I’ve had 2 failed which I think is probably because they were also aneuploid, not sure.

I actually have 1 untested poor quality from the same round, which I’m going to transfer before moving to my next round xx

Ivfgotadream profile image
Ivfgotadream in reply to Elsidee11

My twins were the very next transfer (nr 4) (after transfer 1 and 3 were BFN and transfer 2 was a ruptured ectopic) . I did change protocol though - I went from mild ivf (with the well known clinic that offers that 😉) to natural modified as I had a hunch that I make better quality embryos when I’m on less drugs and forcing less follicles to grow. I then did back to back egg collections - fertilisation rate went from 30% to 100%, embryo quality on day 3 went from 2s and 3s to top grade 1s and I banked 4 of the best quality embryos I’d ever made x

Electro2023 profile image
Electro2023

Dear Elsidee11, I am so sorry to hear this. I have no experience with pgta. But I want to send you tight hugs. You will find the strength to go ahead and plan your next steps. Speak with the embryologist when you are ready. Take some time off from work to process all this. It's hard and you have to look after yourself . I'm thinking of you, and do not stop believing in it 💕

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Electro2023

Thank you so much Electro2023 - I hope you’re getting on ok with all this ♥️

It’s funny isn’t it, as the tiny bit of belief and hope is really what keeps us going, even amongst this shit show. I have to keep believing, otherwise I give up. Sending love and hope xxx

RekaV profile image
RekaV

hi Elsidee11, I have a history of 4 miscarriages so we were told to go down the pgt-a route. I had 3 rounds of ivf with icsi and only got 1 blastocyst from the first and last round, one abnormal and one normal. My clinic told us to do donor eggs after the first round but we were not ready for it, our second round failed ( was put in a different protocol that didn’t work at all) and third round euploid embryo. I got a second opinion elsewhere to check if we are doing the right thing and was told we got lucky with the Euploid embryo. Apparently at my age (38-39) you get one normal embryo out of every 10 on average. So if you want to try with own eggs I wouldn’t give up. We also had karyotyping done before which is very expensive and only shows genetic issues that you are carrying yourself. From our last miscarriage and first pgt-a testing it was clear that we have a problem with chromosomal abnormality which happens during the development of the embryo.

We have made serious lifestyle changes supplements and cutting down alcohol and it might have helped ( my OH sperm quality greatly improved but took 6 months) I’m also taking the usual ubiquinol, inositol, folic acid etc…

don’t give up yet, you are young and still have a good chance to find normal embryos. X

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to RekaV

Hi RekaV - I’m so sorry about your miscarriages, your journey so far sounds tough, but sounds like you’re doing so much to turn things around. I’m wishing you all the best for your next round.

They did tell us that based on my age, having 100% aneuploidy from one round is not beyond the realm’s of impossibility - so maybe a diet/lifestyle/supplement overhaul is our next option and then consider going again, if I have it in me 🫠 let’s see. Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement xxx

Xmishell37 profile image
Xmishell37

Hey, I'm sorry 💔 it's really devastating, have you read the book 'It starts with the egg'? I would highly recommend it, our first round of IVF wasn't good and I'm feeling much more positive about moving onto round 2 after reading it and having more knowledge about what I can potentially control/change, I've not read the other comments to see if anyone else has recommended this but did see a comment about potentially egg quality being an issue, best of luck to you and Ur husband moving forward 💗 xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Xmishell37

Thank you Xmishell37 - I pulled the book out last night and am going to read it again 🤞🏼 wishing you so much luck and hope with your next round xx

Katerun115 profile image
Katerun115

Hello. I’m so sorry to hear how difficult your journey has been so far and it must be doubly hard to face such unwelcome news on your own. My husband and I did have a genetic condition (discovered through karyotyping test) which we only found out about after 4 rounds of IVF which all failed. We transferred all four untested blastocysts from our first fresh cycle which resulted either in failure or miscarriage. We then discovered the genetic issue and knew we needed to test future embryos. We did two collection cycles back to back and got 11 blastocysts which were tested. Of those 8 were abnormal and although some had multiple issues all 8 had an imbalance of the specific chromosomes associated with the known genetic condition. So even if we hadn’t found out about the condition the test results of the embryos would have shown there must be something because the abnormalities weren’t random. So I think it’s important you look at the details of the abnormalities from your results and discuss with your consultant although if you only had 3 blastocysts it might be hard to spot a pattern. If the abnormalities are all random it’s likely to be egg quality but doesn’t mean it’s not worth another shot as it is a numbers game and 36 is still relatively young.

Of the three normal embryos (collected when I was nearly 36) one is now my son and one of the others is due next month. So I definitely wouldn’t give up.

It can feel all consuming when you are in the middle of a fertility struggle and everything you go through leads to a dead end but if you are open to keep trying and open to donor eggs further down the road then there’s a very high chance you will get there and if you do this struggle will be a distant memory.

Best of luck. X

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Katerun115

Wow thank you so much for your reply Katerun115 ♥️ and what a difficult journey you and your husband went through to have your wonderful son. Stories like this really do give me hope and encouragement, even though everyone’s diagnoses/prospects are so different - most of us somehow find the strength to keep going.

I’m going to sit down with my husband tonight and we’re going to think of a plan. Karyotyping is definitely something we will do and then we will go from there, ticking things off as we go.

Thank you again xxx

Olive12345 profile image
Olive12345

I’m in a similar position to you possibly. I’ve had two rounds with no blastocysts and three previous natural miscarriages. If we ever get any blastocysts we’re planning to test them but I’m sort of expecting them to be abnormal based on the miscarriages and lack of blasts. I did all the supplements through both previous rounds. I’ve added in choline recently because I found some studies about it. It’s a regular amino acid found in abundance in eggs. I’ve decided to concentrate on increasing nutrients in my diet and avoiding added ingredients (emulsifiers and preservatives etc) instead of increasing supplements.

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Olive12345

Hi Olive12345 - sorry to hear about your position too, it’s bloody unfair. So much heartbreak. I’ve not heard of choline but I will do some reading for sure, this year I have started an organic diet and only eat whole foods (although that’s gone to shit the last couple of days) so hope to continue.

Wishing you lots of luck with your testing and praying you get your healthy blast 🤞🏼 x

Olive12345 profile image
Olive12345 in reply to Elsidee11

I ate takeaway pizza last night so definitely no saint here either 😂 my plan is to just add an extra nutritious snack at some point today to make up for the lack of nutrition last night!

I’m not sure is this is hope or not but sometime in between those miscarriages I did actually manage to have a child and he is now 6! I guess it only takes one.

Thank you! I really hope you get your baby soon, the world of fertility really is very unfair xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Olive12345

That definitely gives me hope - somehow in my mind I do still believe I could fall pregnant naturally, I know that’s crazy but I think of it often. It’s a nice thought to hold on to. thank you xxxx

Coffeeone profile image
Coffeeone

so sorry to hear this hun x I’m also waiting for pgta test results to come back anxiously.

TBH I was in two minds about pgta, the evidence isn’t clear cut and there was a recent study in America where they implanted a whole bunch of rejected embryos from pgta tests and some of them resulted in healthy babies although there was a high miscarriage rate. I think I will re- review the evidence if I have a similar result, sending you well wishes x

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Coffeeone

Thank you so much. It’s such an anxious wait. We were told they were completely abnormal so not compatible with life, but I am going to speak to the lab for more info. Wishing you lots of luck xxxxx

Coffeeone profile image
Coffeeone

yes the clinic is not willing to take the risk, so they won’t transfer any embryos which don’t pass the test x

Mrsjaytee profile image
Mrsjaytee

This is heartbreaking and I have some idea of how you feel.

Our first round of IVF we only got 2 embies big enough to test - they both failed, but we had one still on ice, too small to test.

We then went into lockdown and i was furloughed, however, my clinic was private and re-opened for existing patients, and whilst furloughed - no working, no stress, lots of time outdoors, walking, lots of sleep - we done a 2nd round. We got 2 embies who tested perfect!

We transferred 1, and we have our lovely daughter. We then went off, got married and transferred our 2nd perfect embie. I MC at 7 weeks - never thought that would happen. The testing said perfect!!

we done a 3rd round - none of my eggs fertilised. We decided to transfer the untested embie from round1 - it didnt stick - BFN.

We done a 4th round - 3 eggs tested. 2 failed, and 1 came back mosaic. We transferred it. It stuck! then I MC again at 7 weeks.

But i just couldnt let go of that pining to be pregnant, have another baby, give our daughter a sibling. I know we are VERY lucky to have her.

Anyway, we know that my egg quality is the issue. Im now 42, i have endometreosis and a low AMH. My husbands sperm has been assessed and its fine. Our first round was ICSI, but we then got told as the sperm was ok, we shouldnt use ICSI, it should only be used if sperm has an issue.

We are now off down the Egg Donor route with our clinic. We have picked our donor and we are waiting on the eggs arriving. I was not for this at first, but 9 months down the line and after a lot of reading and podcasts etc, i am fully on board with this being our path. It might not be the way we imagined having our family, but it is the way we will get the family we so desperately want.

I know you havent gotten the news you wanted or deserve, but dont let this beat you!!! Take some time, reset, and go again whether its IVF or DE etc. I truly believe our success was down to lockdown and furlough - for both the egg quality and the pregnancy success.

Good luck xxx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Mrsjaytee

Hi Mrsjaytee 👋🏼 I’m delighted to hear you had your lovely daughter after some initial tough news. It’s so heartbreaking when you’re in it.

I would love to be off work not stressing about any of this, but sadly need the income. I’m really trying to invest in my mental health to bring down my baseline stress to see if that helps. I’m not against donor whatsoever and I think that’ll maybe end up being our path, but I think I have one more round in me whilst I’m still 36 ♥️ here’s to praying. Thanks so much for your message and sharing your journey xx

Flutterbby profile image
Flutterbby

Maybe try Fertility Naturopathy

Lrrog profile image
Lrrog

Im sorry to hear how you are feeling (I’ve been there) but I wouldn’t give up if you have the time, money and resolve to keep going.

I did 8 rounds over the course of a year and we decided to start to test as i had a miscarriage from an untested fresh transfer embryo from round 2. The next 3 rounds I had no euploids (about 4 tested each time) and then I really started to ramp up the supplements. I took high doses of high quality Ubiquinol (800mg per day) and everything else suggested in ISWTE. No coffee, minimal alcohol, acupuncture. I also took DHEA but never high doses - like 25mg per day and I would go on and off it. I made my husband take ubiquenol and lots of antioxidants as well. My last 3 rounds I got 4 euploids and am now pregnant with the first transfer. Despite what the drs and others say about not being able to influence egg quality - it was so clear to me that each round was getting better as I stayed on the supplements for longer and took higher doses. I was 40 at the time.

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Lrrog

Amazing - thank you for sharing and congratulations. 8 rounds is incredible, I’m glad you got there in the end ♥️ despite the heart break along the way. Do you mind sharing which ubiquinol you took? I think I took a cheap one my last round! Thanks again x

Lrrog profile image
Lrrog in reply to Elsidee11

Yes, I went hard and just did back to back until I had success - I had a lot of hope that it would happen eventually if I just kept going (of course finances are a limiting factor at some point). If you are creating embryos, there is so much to stay hopeful for. If I’d stopped at your point I wouldn’t have had success so pls don’t feel devastated - there is so much hope still!

I took Jarrow QH-absorb - 4 times a day! It messed with my sleep but I was also taking melatonin. Also took PQQ and NAC (and a bunch more), and a lot of antioxidants (açaí power, vit E, C). I think adding a bit of DHEA was key for me too but I’m older than you.

For me it was about 1 in 10 embryos that were normal in the end … but I had several rounds with nothing and then 1 round that we tested 6 and 3 of those were normal! It’s a crapshoot.

We did the karyotyping but only because we kept seeing a common error on one of the chromosomes … that came back normal so perhaps work considering, unless it’s too expensive. Also did dna fragment testing but I think regardless of the outcome, all men should be on the supplements as well (and relatively high doses, my husband took 600mg of jarrow).

If you only have 1 or 2 rounds left if you… I’d consider taking the supplements for 2-3 months before cycling again, it definitely took time for my body to realise the effects.

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Lrrog

Wow that’s incredible, I was exhausted after 3 rounds 🤣 with the down reg it always took me a while to get back to normal, but amazing you got there with finding your euploid! ♥️

I’m having a supplement overhaul and exploring Chinese medicine. Maybe round 4 is in the plan for summer, if that fails, donor. This is what I have in my head. Thanks so much for the advice and sharing your story. It really gives me hope Xxxx

Lrrog profile image
Lrrog in reply to Elsidee11

Sounds like a great plan - best of luck!!

articsnowfox profile image
articsnowfox

Hey there, sorry to hear about your situation. For egg quality, I recommend something called DHEA - it helps with low AMH or if you're older. It's one of the only things that can help that has good evidence behind it. You need to take 75 mg/day for 3 months to get the maximum effect. I had good AMH for my age but was 43, and my embyro quality was pretty bad. I did DHEA and had my son at 44 with the next round. I gave my leftover pills to a friend with recurrent miscarriage who was 43, and she got pregnant too. I can't say 100% that it will work for you but I think it's worth a try. This is a recent analysis of trials that tested it and the conclusion is that it is effective in increasing the live birth rate (which is actually very hard to achieve in fertility trials): pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/313... There is also a clinic in the US called the Center for Human Reproduction that has some other good science-based tips to prepare your ovaries/eggs before transfer. Good luck!

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to articsnowfox

I am going to ask my clinic and have my levels checked - I remember asking before and she said there’s not proven evidence, but I might ask again 🤣😃

articsnowfox profile image
articsnowfox in reply to Elsidee11

You don't need to have low natural DHEA levels - in the meta-analysis I posted, that was not a requirement in the trials it included. Show your clinic the link I posted because this is pretty good evidence that it works. The friend I gave my pills to was a doctor and she was skeptical until i showed her the meta-analysis...

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to articsnowfox

Ok thank you so much 🙌🏼 I’m going to have a read up, really appreciate your advice xx

Axel131 profile image
Axel131

Hi Elsidee, I'm so sorry you're in this position and I sympathize because I had an all aneuploid round too but I'm much older than you. I'm currently talking to my clinic about transferring one of the abnormals just so I know I've given it every chance. However I came across this study about having euploids in subsequent rounds so it might give you a little hope.

We examined the outcomes of subsequent cycles in women whose initial IVF cycle resulted in all aneuploid embryos and determined that 56% of the women obtained at least one euploid embryo in their second cycle, whereas 44% did not. The proportion of patients who obtained a euploid embryo in their second cycle decreased from 81% to 82% in the women aged 42 years.

Here's the link to the study. sciencedirect.com/science/a....

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Axel131

Hi Axel131 I’m so sorry this happened to you too, it’s devastating. Please do let me know how you get on transferring your aneuploid, I have everything crossed for you ♥️ I’ve read so much about aneuploids becoming healthy babies. Sadly mine are complex and i believe do not stand a chance.

I’m coming round to the idea of a 4th cycle, if we can afford it and then move to donor if it fails. Thanks for the link too, gives me hope!!

Lots of luck to you xxx

Axel131 profile image
Axel131 in reply to Elsidee11

You're very welcome, it gave me hope too. Mine are complex abnormal too so I don't hold out much hope but it's worth a try for me. It is just exhausting trying to get your head around to another cycle but allow yourself the time to grieve this cycle. I also threw everything at it supplement wise with laser therapy and fertility massage to get the blood flowing just so I know I'd tried everything. I didn't try the ovarian PRP which one doctor in the US has recommended for me since then but I just don't know! It's hard to know what the right course of action is! Wishing your next cycle is the one for you xx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Axel131

And that’s it, not knowing which is the best course and not wanting to waste lots of money and time doing the wrong thing. If we just keep putting one foot infront of the other though I am confident we’ll get there, one way or another. Please let me know how your get on, I have everything crossed xx

Seren0119 profile image
Seren0119

If you need some hope and positivity, read this:

goodreads.com/en/book/show/...

It is a book by a woman with the same issue - abnormal embryos - and how she kept going. When I was really down I read it and it really helped me x

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Seren0119

Ooh I’ve seen this book but never bought it, might give it a go! Thank you xx

Preety1983 profile image
Preety1983

hey Ive had multiple mcs but finally left pregnant naturally and now have a lovely 3 months old

I know the feeling of lost and thinking thats the end of the road but there is always hope

Keep going and do all it takes

Good luck

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Preety1983

Congratulations Preety1983 and thank you for sharing c

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11

a huge thank you to everyone who replied, shared their journey, their advice, their heartbreak and their success stories. This really is the most wonderful bunch and god knows where I’d be without you all! ♥️

Citizenerased83 profile image
Citizenerased83

Hi lovely, I'm so sorry to read your post. Sending you hugs.We had our embryos pgta tested in December after a lot of heartbreak including miscarriages and failed implantation. I asked the Dr at the clinic that if the embryos came back abnormal was another ivf round with own eggs possible and she said yes. You can still get euploid embryos in another round.

We did karotyping testing after we received our pgta testing which flagged a chromosomal issue in me - a balanced translocation which is very likely the reason for our miscarriages and failed implantation so for us it was worth doing.

Wishing you so much luck. Xxx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Citizenerased83

Thank you so much Citizenerased83 - sorry you’ve been through such heartache too.

Is there anything that can be done with your chromosomal issue? Or do you just keep going until you find a euploid? I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this 💔

We’ve decided to definitely do the karyotype test and if it’s normal maybe not test future blasts (if we’re lucky to have any) and just transfer what we have, if that fails then donor. It’s such a long unnerving road.

Sending you lots of luck too xxxx

Citizenerased83 profile image
Citizenerased83 in reply to Elsidee11

Thanks so much lovely. We have 6 euploid embryos (out of a batch of 12) but it's not possible to distinguish between completely normal embryos and ones that may inherit the same balanced translocation as me. Balanced translocations don't always cause additional health issues in people as is the case with me. We can, if we get pregnant, and get to 11 weeks do prenatal testing to check all is fine. I have read that people with balanced translocations do have healthy babies but may have a lot of miscarriages first. The pgta testing weeded out 6 embryos for us that would have either resulted in miscarriage or failed implantation.

Good luck with your karyotype test. I hope all is normal. Message me if you want to chat at any point. I know how anxious the wait for results is.

Thanks for the good luck. Xxxx

Elsidee11 profile image
Elsidee11 in reply to Citizenerased83

Wowee 6, that’s amazing! I have everything crossed that your little one (or 2!) is in there ♥️ thanks so much for your support - I’m feeling a lot more confident about the road ahead, this community is amazing. Please keep me posted xx

Citizenerased83 profile image
Citizenerased83

Thanks lovely. Just hope any babies we have will be healthy and without the balanced translocation I have.

You're very welcome and anytime. This community is so amazing. I know so many have helped me too.

Take care and keep in touch. Xx

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