BFN today following our one and only embryo transfer from Cycle 1, so beginning to think about our next (and last) cycle.
It all started off quite well, 18 eggs collected but unfortunately only two fertilised via ICSI. I'm 39. But do have a 6 year old daughter from a previous relationship. We are having IVF due to MF issues, but looks like my egg quality isn't the best either.
What changes were made to your protocol between cycles 1 and 2? Did you make any specific life- style changes to improve chances/ increase egg quality? Were the results from Cycle 2 any different?
Hi Porridge98 I'm so sorry to hear about your failed first round. I've had two failed rounds and like you I'm preparing for one last try. The things I'm doing differently are:*Taking an advanced regimen of supplements recommend in 'It starts with the egg'
*Reducing my sugar intake (though Im not super strict with it) and trying to have at least one meal with reduced carbs
*No alcohol and v.occasional caffeine
*Regular intuitive movement including lots of walking
*Stress management approaches
*New sperm donor
Looking forward to hearing everyone else's responses for some reassurance that the next round can be better!
that's completely understandable! I'm actually sober for other reasons so that's not such a hard one for me, but the lower sugar life is what im struggling with. Hopefully these sacrifices will be worth it in the end!
Hello! Sorry to hear about Ur first cycle, it's hard. I'm preparing for round 2 next month and have also followed the suggestions in 'it starts with the egg' book. I take Ovum, pregnacare, coq10 (400mg per day) and high strength fish oil, I'm hoping this makes a difference to my egg quality as I only got 3 embryos from 20 eggs but also dealing with MF (not discovered til recently). I previously had a very high sugar/carb diet and drank ALOT, i drank up until 1 month before round 1, not knowing eggs take 3 months to develop, the NHS dont provide enough info on this and ive did my own research ☹️, so ive cut out alcohol (believe me its been a struggle at times!) and ive reduced sugar (most of my sugar intake is now from fruit), I believe the key for healthy egg development is to avoid sugar spikes (hence why low sugar/carb diet is recommended), essentially switch to Mediterranean diet if possible! However it's all about balance...I find myself struggling more now and I've got about 4 weeks to go....also started losing weight since cutting out junk food so trying to balance that and not make myself sick of chicken and fish! Doc told me a glass of wine won't do any harm (prob not a bottle tho 😂) but it's easier for me to avoid all together....I'm a 'go hard or go home' kinda drinker 😂 good luck 🤞🏻 xx
Oh I’m so sorry to hear, even though it’s the first failed cycle, it doesn’t make it any easier! I also found it a huge struggle to understand what was going wrong. I’m on my second ivf cycle now after my first one failed. On our first ivf cycle we got 0 blastocysts on day 5. Doctor seemed to think it was egg quality but asked us to do sperm dna fragmentation tests just in case which come back normal.
We’ve both now changed our diets (Mediterranean diet and I’ve cut out most sugar. I was very very bad for this as I had a Diet Coke can once or twice a day previously). I also started Accupuncture and started taking ovum, coq10, fish oil etc. We’ve also changed our protocol to long and currently taking stims so can you let you know in 3-4 weeks time!
Between my 1st and 2nd egg collection I switched to a med diet which was high in antioxidants and I gave up gluten. (No junk or processed foods either) All of which were really hard!
My husband and I were on a whole host of supplements recommended by a nutritionist. I managed to loose 2 stone in weight over 6 months.
I also did a lot of testing and changed clinics. We were doing ivf because of mf, but during the testing we learnt I needed steroids, blood thinners, intralipids and a mild ivf protocol and I needed to keep an eye on my thyroid.
I’ll never know if any of the above made the difference or if it was just luck, but I’m currently 14 weeks pregnant after 4 1/2 years of TTC.
I had Chicago bloods, went to the implantation clinic in Coventry, had some blood tests done through the recurrent miscarriage clinic and we saw mr Ramsey to try and improve the sperm. It was blood tests which added most of my drug changes, but the implantation clinic supported the use of steroids in my case too. Xxx
Hiya - we’re currently going for our 3rd round hopefully 4th transfer soon and also recommend supplements from ISWAE… fingers and toes crossed for us all 💛
Failed cycle 1, successful cycle 2 currently have a 4 month old baby girl. The main reason for cycle 1 falling for me was low progesterone levels on the day of transfer.
For cycle 2, I was on the highest dose of progesterone and I asked them to test it right up to transfer date to make sure on the day of transfer the levels were okay.
I was 40 years old when I had my daughter so low progesterone levels are probably expected but have you considered checking them?
Congratulations on your daughter! I've had my day 21 progesterone tested during our referral (about a million years ago!) and it was about right I think. My lining was 11cm on transfer day, so I guess this wouldn't indicate low progesterone, but the clinic have never checked it! I was on 400mg pessaries, twice a day. I think my main issue was egg quality.. I'm hoping for a milder protocol next time so they get less nuked!
Hi Swin2184, I am 40 this is my first ivf cycle EC is due 8/5. Thanks for the advice above. What was your progesterone on both cycles if you can recall? I will ask the question. Any others tips are welcomed! Thanks ☺️ x
I was on 25mg of Lubion and 800mg of Cyclogest daily. Apparently it’s the highest you can be on. All I can say is don’t give up hope, 40 year olds are still having babies through IVF it will happen for you. Ping me if you need any moral support. Best of luck
Thank you for sharing & the support! I had to stop my cycle as I stupidly took the trigger rather than the other second injection. I clearly had brain fog, I can’t believe I did it! I’ve had the worst sore boobs and bloating, they have said I can try again next month. Fingers crossed for then x
all the best Hidden I’m on my first cycle stims atm so don’t have any recommendations atm but just wanted to wish you all the best. Someone on here recommend Dr Tim Childs insta page which has great tips worth a look! The dietitian recommended beetroot as the no1 food I’m having daily smoothies of it with apple and ginger all the best xx
Sorry to hear about your cycle.. I am on my last one as well. But it's a great question and really interesting to read other ladies stories. So for me am throwing just about everything at this - supplements as per ISWTE, dietary: plant based meals twice a week, lots of fish, little processed food, went on Zoe programme, and I just can't do the no sugar thing so make my own maple and pecan biscuits (flaxseeds, maple syrup, almond flour, pecans) and sesame tahini cookies (tahini, almond flour, honey, sesame seeds) and usually have 2 or 3 of them a day, lowered red meat, introduced lentils and beans, massive range of probiotics and prebiotics, enzymes (I have no gallbladder), max 2 pieces of fruit a day - raspberries, blueberries or oranges, v limited caffeine and introduced green tea, reduced ginger, massive range of nuts and maintaining low gluten, dairy and wheat diet (low already as I have IBS). Exercise gone from mostly walking to adding in an indoor 20min cycle 4x week. This time round I haven't bothered with the acupuncture (I am scared of needles and actually think it ended up bringing me more stress instead of relief) and I stopped eating 3 dates a day as recommended to me by my acupuncturist - given their sugar content. Had 11 eggs with only 2 blastocysts last time and have changed clinic from NHS based to private one in London. Hoping for Alice, ERA and Emma tests in short order and start collection in summer here's hoping all of our hard work pays off 🤞 xx
Keeping everything crossed for you. I've had two failed IVF cycles with v.low blast rates so like you I've been making a lot of changes to increase my chances for my final go. I'm in awe of how hard you're trying (definitely been struggling with the low sugar malarkey myself!).
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all the best xx
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