Hi Everyone
Im 32 and have been currently trying for 2.5 years. I have recently had my first ivf consultation where they told me i had 6 follicles. The nurse basically told us to think about donor eggs which broke our hearts. Has anyone got any success stories from 6 follicles or less? I am feeling so down and anxious as i have also just had an operation to remove 2 fibroids and my prolactin levels are raised. Sending love and hope to everyone on this journey
x
Hi, I’m sorry they were so negative. It’s not the number that’s important, it’s the egg quality, and you have age on your side.
I had 6 follicles, 3 eggs collected, 1 embryo which became my little boy. I was 41 at the time so I hope this lifts your spirits as you have much better chances than I had and it still worked.
It can be helpful to look / consider all options but I am surprised the nurse suggested donor eggs. At 32 I would say you have plenty of time to use your own eggs. Good luck, it is an anxious time and I hope a consultation with your doctor brings a more positive approach. There are lots of options with IVF, just sometimes takes some tailoring of medication to see what suits your body. Xx 🍀🍀
Hi, Thankyou sooo much for replying. You don’t realise how much hope this has given me. I will keep reading this when i feel down. I think its because we have had so many hurdles with fibroids and then surgery and raised prolactin and when the nurse told us to think about donor eggs thats topped it off🙈 she didn't have anything at all positive to say and we sort of felt like we had zero hope. I think we are just worried if this one fails as this is our free round on the nhs. We probably cant afford to go private. Thankyou again really means alot xx
Hi Blue133, I had either 8 or less follicles on the scan (either 4 or 8 can't remember which) I obviously grew many more follicles during stims as I had 17 eggs collected, of which 17 were mature, many many many more than hoped or predicted. Doesn't make sense that your nurse said such a thing, sorry to hear that. You have every chance with your own eggs. Best wishes x
I’m not sure why she made that comment. Surely it’s for the doctor to give his/medical opinion after they’ve got all the results. They should be checking your AMH - which gives an indication re: egg reserve/ivf response. At your age most of your eggs should be viable and if you do IVF and only get 8 eggs each time you should statiscally have better odds than someone who might be getting more in their 40s. Raised prolactin levels means one is not able to conceive as prolactin is normally raised in pregnant and breastfeeding women. I, too, had raised prolactin levels and was prescribed thyroxine which helped. I wish you best of luck. You have age and time on your side and that’s a huge positive. X
Thankyou so much for your reply!! We are currently starting ivf on the NHS they have really made us feel like giving up. They had nothing positive to say and they never answer the phone or get back to us so we are feelimg defeated. I haven't yet been advised to have an AMH test they just checked my follicles and suggested donor eggs. Thankyou again for giving me hope xx
I’m glad that my message gave you hope. If it helps I found out I was pregnant the day before my 44th birthday and now have a little boy who is 19 months old. I know it’s easier said than done but please don’t despair you are still young and even with low AMH the quality of your eggs is likely to be far superior than what mine was. Best of luck x
That is not nice at all. You have all the chances to have your babies with your eggs. I’m sorry she said that to you. The most important thing is to have quality eggs. They just have to twerk your stimulations to meet what you need. Try and take supplements like Coq10, but C and D, folate, prenatal vitamin if you are not doing so. You ca have more follicles by the months. At 38 I had 9 follicles doing mild IVF and I got 5 blast from it. You are still young and you have a better. I hope this helps and I wish you all the best in your journey. xx
Thankyou so much for giving me hope when it has all felt too much and iv felt like giving up. I will keep reading your message when i feel down xx
Hi, sorry to hear this. I'm assuming this was mentioned at a private clinic? You have 10 years ahead of you and I'm sure you have quite a few young eggs. What is your amh? You are so young. It does only take one egg. Please don't be disheartened because of the comment about donor eggs. I'm 44 and my little boy is 7 weeks old x
Hi, thankyou soo much for your reply. This was mentioned at our ivf consultation which is on the NHS. Thankyou for giving me hope when i have felt like giving up. They havent yet advised that i have an AMH test? That is amazing i hope your little boy is doing well xx
Oh no, that is really sad to hear it was an NHS clinic. My clinic was also NHS; we were self funding (our first cycle was NHS funded). They never gave up on me although they suggested hysteroscopy which I declined due to the waiting list. I then agreed to hyCosy before my frozen transfer. The doctors were fantastic, it might just be that nurse who was showed no empathy. They would have done your blood work. I would ask what your results were x
Thankyou! Iv had both hycosy and hysteroscopy. Yes maybe it was just a bad start to our ivf journey which has made me so anxious about going back there xx
Hi, just to offer some hope. At 30 I had 8 follicles. I ended up collecting 4 eggs and two made it to blastocysts. One that I transferred is now my 2 year old little boy I just tucked into bed. I’m with a private clinic in Ireland but they have always told me it’s age that matters most in IVF and with under 35 there is most often better quality over quantity. Im now 33 and trying for my 2nd baby with less follicles and I’ve been told I still have every chance of having a 2nd baby. Doner eggs have never been mentioned so I would definitely recommend trying with your own eggs first.
That's some strange advice! They should've checked your AMH levels as that gives them an indication of how your body will react to the medication. You've also got age on your side, which lessens the chance that there's an issue with egg quality. There's also so much you can do in terms of supplements you can take to help. I'd honestly get a second opinion. Best of luck x
Thankyou so much for your reply!! I haven't yet been advised an AMH test they have only checked my follicle count once and suggested donor eggs. Thankyou so much for giving me hope when iv felt like giving up xx
Hi Blue133 - please don’t despair. At your age and with good medical support there is no reason to lose hope. I had higher prolactin levels and was prescribed Cabergoline - it dropped massively in only 6 weeks on that, so may be worth asking your doctor about it to see if it’s an option for you. It wasn’t the nicest drug but it did the trick.
Thankyou so much for your reply. Was you taking that medication whilst going through ivf? What were the side effects. At this point i will take/do anything. Thankyou for giving me hope when iv felt like giving up xx
I had the Cabergoline before I started any stimulation. It was prescribed by the doctor and we delayed our IVF round until I had taken it. Two tablets a week for 6 weeks had me drop from a prolactin level of 600 to 60. I then had stimulation at the start of the next period.
Side effects wise it made me quite constipated, gassy and uncomfortable in terms of digestion/bloating. The instructions that came with it warned of depression but I didn’t experience that - for me it was definitely more tummy related (and worth it to get the level down).
Wishing you lots of luck x
Follicle count 6 days after starting stimulation. 
Follicle Count 
Day 6 (of injections) Scan - Follicle Count
Low follicle count.
Follicle Count & IVF?
