total fertilisation failure

[Dragonfly1111]

Hi,

Wonder if anyone has any success stories after an initial ivf round resulting in total fertilisation failure?

Here for tube reasons but looks likely really poor egg quality aswell. Told no concerns with sperm - 13 eggs collected but only 6 mature. Taken such a long time to get to this stage but feeling so sad and such a failure.

Thank you x

[Elsidee11]

Hi Dragonfly1111 - so sorry to hear. It’s so upsetting. This happened to me - 13 eggs collected, 4 mature, 0 fertilised with icsi. Next round 18 eggs, 13 mature, 11 fertilised. Although all of my blasts were aneuploid.

What protocol were you on? Have you spoken to embryologist? Is it your first cycle? Sadly it’s trial and error and tweaking protocol can change the results drastically. Sending a big hug xx

[Elsidee11 in reply to Elsidee11]

Ps you are not a failure at all, you did everything right 🫶🏻

[Endofitall]

You are not a failure!

IVF is tough and there are learning points from each cycle.

I would be asking them at review how they can be so confident there is not a sperm issue? IVF clinics are very good at underinvestigating male fertility. Normal semen analysis does not mean there is no problem and failed fertilisation failure in IVF is mostly related to sperm issues if you look at the scientific literature. Of course egg quality can also play a role but usually it is a bit of both.

I would be asking about further male testing. While ICSI may well help it’s still important to pinpoint and try and improve the problem eg sperm dna fragmentation, as the same issues can later cause issues with progression of the embryo.

6 mature eggs is good and there’s always a drop off in IVF don’t be so hard on yourself. Protocols can be tweaked and things learnt from this cycle. Sending hugs

[Dimo2024]

Hi Please don't feel sad about it I know how it feels x

I have total tube blockage. Had ivf they found 12 follicles. Only 5 matured. Only 3 had eggs retrieved and only 2 fertilised.

By day 3, 1 was out and the only 1 embryo that survived at day 3 was fresh transferred.

They say it only takes one and here's hoping for all like you and me it is our 1 x

[Newbies1]

Hi so sorry this has happened to you. This happened to us on our first round 10 eggs retrieved 6 mature and zero fertilised. Did you use icsi? Its so frustrating that they say its trial and error but the next round can be so different so please don’t give up hope they can make tweaks to your protocol than can make a big difference. On our second round we switched to icsi both took ubiquinol supplement in addition to our normal pre conception vitamins I also pushed for a double trigger shot to help my eggs mature and increased my stims from 225 to 300 and stimmed for less time and this made the world of difference to us. Second round 7 eggs collected all 7 eggs fertilised with icsi and 5 made it to blast. Fresh transfer was unsuccessful, 2nd transfer FET resulted in a chemical pregnancy. I then done Alice, Emma and era testing and found I didn’t have enough good bacteria so took course of antibiotics and then prebiotics and also found my implantation window was out by 24 hours so needed an extra day progesterone before transfer. I followed this protocol for my 3rd transfer and was blessed with a little boy so please don’t give up hope. Ask as many questions as you can at follow up appointment but don’t let them just fob you off by saying it’s poor egg quality there are things they can try to help improve fertilisation. I would start by asking why they think only 6 out of 13 eggs were mature because that could suggest they need to change your protocol slightly. If you only had a single trigger ask about a double trigger shot as that helped mature my eggs next time round. If you didn’t use icsi then ask to switch to that next round. If you used icsi ask if it was an experienced embryologist who injected the eggs because this can be really important you want someone who is confident and experienced in this process. I have also heard others have had success by using AOA (artificial oocyte activation) on the eggs. Thinking of you at this difficult time, stay strong and be kind to yourself. Wishing you all the luck in the world for your next round xxx

[Gemma-P]

Hi,

This happened with me. First round collected 21 eggs but only 3 were mature and none fertilised.

Second round collected 11 eggs, all mature, all fertilised and 9 good quality day 5 embryos.

Second round they tweaked the protocol giving me a double trigger shot to improve maturity and using ICSI to improve the fertilisation process. I also went through 6 months of supplements (including coq10 for egg quality) and eating well.

Total fertilisation failure can be devastating as you think there is something wrong with you. However, sometimes it’s really just as simple as getting the protocol right.

I wish you all the success in your next round

[Porridge4Breakfast]

Hi Dragonfly1111 , this happened to us twice - we'd been trying for 2 years before starting treatment and were told we had unexplained infertility and started IVF - First round 7 mature eggs, none fertilised with ICSI; and second round 11 mature eggs with the same outcome with ICSI - total fertilisation failure.

We were pretty broken and convinced in wasn't going happen for us but my new acupuncturist noticed I had a lot of inflammation in my body so suggested we try a new clinic for a final round, who were a bit more bespoke in their approach. My new consultant suspected I had undiagnosed endometriosis which wasn't blocking tubes or impacting my uterus / ovaries (as nothing had shown up on scans) but rather cause chronic inflammation which created a highly oxidative environment in my pelvic area, negatively impacting egg quality.

So, my treatment plan changed significantly, with 3/4 months of prep work where I went on an anti-inflammatory diet, took a load of supplements to help with inflammation and cellular health to create a better environment for the eggs to mature in before starting treatment incl. a small dose of steroid and testosterone.

This round resulted in 6 mature eggs of which 1 reached blast on day 5 and two more on day 6. We had a fresh transfer with the day 5 embryo resulting in my DS who is now two, and just transferred the another frozen embryo (testing tomorrow!). So a significant change from our previous rounds and I believe all down to focusing on egg quality.

Sending you so much strength and positive energy for your next round.

x

[Dragonfly1111]

Thank you so much for all your replies and kind words. Sorry for short reply just still feeling quite overwhelmed still. So many inspirational stories - you are all amazing ladies!

Thank you for all the suggestions and ideas - I’ve got lots to look into and feeling more positive now that I know there is lots that can be changed for our next cycle .

Thank you again x