Loosing hope

[WHeatherW]

Hi everyone - sorry, this is a long one! Grab a brew…

Our first IVF round failed in February and we didn’t get any in the freezer. My OH’s semen analysis was really positive, so the focus has been on me with my low AMH levels, previous ovarian surgery and age (38). We only got 2 eggs, both fertilised, one made it to day 3 but had high fragmentation and didn’t stick.

Our clinic was running a trial at the time of EC and asked if we wanted to be a part of it so we agreed. It was for the DNA fragmentation analysis. As it’s a trial it means we don’t receive the full report but just get a call with the basics. Results are in - high fragmentation!

This was such a shock considering the doctor had joked about his ‘super sperm’ results previously. We will have ICSI for the next round and they suggested a Mediterranean diet, cut alcohol and start taking impryl. They’re unsure if the embryo fragmentation was caused by the sperm only, or if my eggs played a part too.

I’m having surgery in a week to remove a large dermoid ovarian cyst which I know can have a negative impact even more. I changed surgeons to speed things up and now round 2 is being pushed back to give him the 3 months.

Whilst my OH wasn’t on supplements for the whole of the 3 months before his sample last time, we did cut back on caffeine and alcohol. Our diet and exercise was already good so I’m worried there’s not much we can change to improve things.

On EC day my OH did his sample and then we were told that it hadn’t been treated in time (it was very early and we got the impression that there was a lack of staff to complete the task) so he had to do another sample 20 mins later. Can’t help but cling on to hope that this test was completed on the second sample which I assume wouldn’t be the best quality? I didn’t think to ask during the call so I will try and find out.

I’m wondering if we should pay for the test to be completed ahead of the next round? I’m quite uneducated with this, but I assume we would go ahead regardless of the results (given that we are making as many changes as we can for 3 months)? Is retesting literally just for info?

If we did the test, is it done on EC day or before the cycle starts?

Any guidance on high dna fragmentation is much appreciated. Any success stories of double issues and ago also welcomed!

thank you for reading xx

[Xmishell37]

Hey, we are also dealing with high DNA fragmentation and from my understanding, if Ur husband gave two fresh samples in one day, there would be less fragmentation in the second sample (the older the semen is the more fragmentation is likely) so there's a chance it was a better sample not worse (perhaps less sperm but also less fragments), for example my partner didn't ejaculate regularly prior to our last round, but will for round 2 as it might help lessen fragmentation. If u pay for the DNA fragmentation test they will literally just give u a number (percentage - anything over 30% is outwith the 'normal range meaning natural pregnancy is unlikely and recurrent miscarriage likely) if u know it's high I'd just keep on making improvements to lifestyle as much as u can, we only found out end of March (30%) amd my next EC is end of May so not much time to improve but hoping my clinic suggest ICSI when i speak to them this month, good luck ❤️ xx

[WHeatherW in reply to Xmishell37]

Ahhh ok thank you for that info.

Our clinic has suggested to wait the full 3 months before EC which I’m gutted about as time is ticking but hopefully it will help in the long run. It’s just such a balance of speed due to my low levels and time to improve things for him.

I’m really thankful we had the test early on so I need to hold on to that little bit of positivity in all of this.

Thank you for replying and wishing you lots of luck for your next round xx