I'm just beginning a freeze all cycle with short protocol IVF and donor sperm.
I just had a scan at day 6. I can't remember how many follicles total the doctor saw but he said two were a bit too big at this stage so would probably have to be sacrificed in favour of a cohort of 8 that were all nearer together in terms of size. I'm going with his advice but feel a bit sad about it as we'd previously been told that the lead follicles generally lead to the best embryos.
I had an antral follicle count of 30 in January this year and 19 just before we began this cycle so I was hoping for a few more follicles than this.
And the doctor said that there might be some more because he couldn't properly see one of my ovaries as it had sunk down and was behind my uterus (its always been in the right place and viewable in previous scans). He said that they might not be able to collect any from that ovary depending on its position at egg collection but they would try and move it into a position where they could collect when I was under sedation.
Has this happened to anyone else? Did you get any eggs from that side? He said it's not that uncommon but it's not something I've heard about before.
Would also love to hear peoples experiences generally around follicle development/fall back after their day 5/6 scan - good and bad welcome!
Cheers me dears
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fidgetmcgee
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Hi. I have known some ladies needing a general anaesthetic to get to the wayward ovary, so that no eggs are lost. I’m sure someone will hop on with their successful story, so I hope all turns out good. Diane
Thanks so much Diane for your reply. Good to know you've heard of success stories! I don't think general anaesthetic is an option at my clinic so I hope they'll be able to get to it just with sedation!
I had a v similar situation earlier this year for my first egg collection. On my first scan, the consultant said my left ovary was behind my uterus (I knew this already as it's always been a bit wayward) and that it may be difficult to get to it for EC. I spent days distraught that my egg count would be halved.
However, as the days went on, my ovaries grew massive and became so much more accessible. They got to it no problem. Also, you are under sedation so they can be a bit rougher than usual to get to it!
I looked into this a lot when I was going through it and most of the time, an ovary behind the uterus is able to be accessed, so hopefully you'll be among the many! My AFC I believe was 23 but I got 32 eggs - not sure how that happened but it did, so 19 is a fab place to be starting from. My numbers also felt low after my first scan but things really did pick up by egg collection day.
Ah thank you so much for your reply, it's so reassuring to hear such a similar experience, and I'm so glad it turned out well for you. Thanks for saying about how much you'd read into and that they can often be accessed come egg collection as well, I've been trying to avoid going down too deep a google dive so you've saved me from myself there!
Hiya, I too have a bit of a wayward ovary, but mine is on the right! I was warned during my previous IVF cycle that they may not be able to access it during egg collection, but as with orangecatmum my follicle response made the ovary much easier to visualise and locate so it all turned out okay in the end. Good luck!
I always had problems with my left ovary every cycle, it didn't move back in position but instead they managed to manipulate it into a place where they could access it, they told me one round they had two nurses pushing on my tummy to make it move!! But they always got there! I just always made sure to say 'do whatever you can to get to it' because the first round I didn't and they hadn't made a note it was tricky to get to and they just didn't bother, but from then on they made sure they got to it! And that was just under sedation. Good luck x
Oh wow! Just under sedation as well! Thank you - you give me hope. I will make sure to let them know I want them to do whatever they can to get at it. Thank you!
This happened to me. I was under conscious sedation and don't remember much of it, but do remember a lady pressing down on my abdomen, which was uncomfortable, but they just gave me more pain relief and it was fine. We got 20 eggs in the end, and I assume some of them were from that hidden ovary, as the previous scan had shown 19 follicles total!
Oh wow must be such a strange foggy memory with someone pressing down on you while you're sedated! So glad you got such a good response. Thanks for sharing your experience with me, its really reassuring to find out how many others have had the same thing
At my last egg collection both my ovaries swung back behind my uterus! My ovaries were literally sat side by side behind my uterus. It didn't bother my consultant at all and he was able to get 21 egg (19 mature). Hoping your consultant is able to make it work! X
My days, side by side behind! Its amazing how movable ovaries are, I didn't realise. Really glad to hear you got such a great result and egg collection went without a hitch. Thanks for your reply
Hi, I've also had this. My left ovary is constantly behind or over the top of my uterus. One time they said it was all the way round tucked in next to my right! I have been told it is really common and not a worry. They couldn't see my left ovary to count follicles on my last scan prior to EC but they said there were plenty of good looking follicles in my right so went for it. All eggs were collected from my right. I asked afterwards and was told they made the decision during EC to end after the collection from my right as I had ten good follicles which is what they were aiming for and they were happy with that. The risk of trying to find my left when they didnt know what was there wasn't worth it. We ended up with 6 top quality day 5 blastocysts so it didn't affect our chances at all x
Thanks so much for your reply and for sharing your experience. Its really reassuring to hear how many people have been through the same thing. And so glad to hear you got 6 blastocysts, that's an amazing result! Especially from just the one ovary!
Hi, one of my ovaries was behind my uterus on my initial scan and all the way through my round of IVF. They were worried they wouldn’t be able to get to it and gave me extra pain relief for egg collection but they got to it with very little problem and got all the follicles. I was really surprised how quick and painless the egg collection was. Try not to worry. Good luck!
Thanks so much for replying, I really appreciate hearing everyones experiences. Its so nice to hear that you found egg collection painless too! I've been trying not to think about it but bracing for the worst so your experience is reassuring, I hope it will be the same for me!
My left ovary tends to hide behind bowels or uterus too , usually when I don't poop because of stress Happened to me a few times at scans, but it moves around and it was reachable on the ER day.
Haha maybe thats what added to my ovary hiding too, Stress constipation leading to shy ovaries! Really glad yours was reachable when it mattered! I hope mine will be as well
Can't comment on the ovary situation, but on my last cycle my consultant decided to move the egg collection date by 3 days to allow a cohort of eggs to grow (and yes sacrifice some bigger ones). I was upset as we had never had anything like this before and we had had 4 collections before. BUT it was the one that worked, so trust their judgement. They generally do know what they are doing. Best of luck.
Ah thank you so much for this - I really appreciate it. I think because this is my first experience of private health care I'm struggling to fully trust their judgement cause of thoughts around it all being for profit and for the finances and convenience for the clinic. Not that i have any reason to doubt the clinical care, just finding it hard not to overthink. Thanks so much for your reply and really glad to hear that your cycle was a success
I think in fertility you also have to keep in mind that quite often people choose the clinic by the success rate. This should make the clinic want you to succeed as quickly as possible as every failure will impact their overall published success rate.
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Happened to me a few times at scans, but it moves around and it was reachable on the ER day. 
Unable to visualise ovary
Ovaries too high for egg collection 
Ovaries responding differently 
Blood on ovary since egg collection 
Free fluid in uterus? 
