Trying to stay positive

[Letis]

Hi lovely people,Hope everyone is doing ok in this crazy emotional journey that is IVF.

Don't really know why I'm posting and sorry if this upsets anyone.

I've just gone through DuoStim. After 2 failed cycles my husband and I thought it'll be good to maximise our chances of conceiving by banking as many eggs/embryos as possible. My response was far better than expected as previously I only got a low amount of eggs. After the double stims round we managed to get 14 eggs. We got a call this morning saying only 6 fertilised so that was a bit of a blow. We now wait for our day 5 results.

I'm hoping to not lose anymore but the percentage of all of them surviving to day 5 is low. My husband is really depressed we don't have higher numbers.

I'm trying to stay positive but after such a gruelling journey it's hard.

Any good stories or news of similar journeys and am I worrying needlessly?

Thanks as always x

[Ree_Laine]

I too have just had a little cry feeling very emotional, hopeless and not at all positive. I’m going through my 3rd round of IVF and not feeling positive at all 🥺 after 2 failed cycles and no implantation. I just wanted to say you’re not alone feeling like this and pray it will pass and you have good news. I’m wishing you the best of luck on your journey xx

[Sherri786 in reply to Ree_Laine]

Have your clinic said or investigated the implantation failure?

[Ree_Laine in reply to Sherri786]

They’ve put it down to abnormality of the embryos and I’m 38 now so I’m assuming my egg quality is declining. Nothing to suggest otherwise in my scans but I am down on the waiting list to have a hysteroscopy if this last round ends in failure. Trying to stay positive but it’s very hard when you’re only used to disappointment 😔

[Sherri786 in reply to Ree_Laine]

I hate hearing that. My fresh and FET failed. And I'm going into 3rd transfer same protocol no changes and it's quite frustrating. I asked for hycosy the dye test etc got told no point. Asked for the endo scratch again made to feel like no point. I wish certain tests were mandatory before we started our transfers

[Ree_Laine in reply to Sherri786]

I agree with you! I suggested so many different things I had researched and my doctor said yes potentially but there’s no concrete evidence to suggest it works. I think if you’re on the nhs they just do a standard protocol and they’re not looking at the specifics of every patient. When I suggested and asked about baby aspirin she said yes that’s fine for me to try after EC this time. At this point we’re just playing the lottery hoping to win. 3rd time lucky I hope for the both of us xx

[Sherri786 in reply to Ree_Laine]

I was going to add on baby aspirin too, they haven't replied to that request yet, Haha. Is this the 75mg dose. Did they say when you should start them?

[Ree_Laine in reply to Sherri786]

I’ll PM you x

[WillowPark in reply to Ree_Laine]

Hi Ree_Laine, I just wanted to hop on as this chat reminds me of my thoughts and feelings last year. I was on here watching everyone getting all these fancy tests that I wasn't getting, but at the same time I felt so lucky to be having NHS funded treatment that I couldn't/wouldn't give that up for some private tests and supplements which apparently had no evidence of increasing our chances. After round 4/5, they started trying different things with natural cycles and round 6 was successful for me (currently 25 weeks). So hang in there. Also, take a proper read of the HFEA add-ons section of the website. It helped me understand why my clinic were making decisions. If you are on standard protocol and they are continuing to treat you, it is because they have found everything is working and you have a decent chance of success. I trusted that and them in the end and it has paid off. It is so, so hard but I really hope you get there in the end too. It only takes one. x

[Ree_Laine in reply to WillowPark]

Hi Lovely,

Thank you for sharing your similar experience which gives me hope 💕and congratulations on your pregnancy ✨✨ 🥰. You are so right as I am so thankful to have treatment on the nhs. I guess something is working for me to always get to the stage of a transfer and each cycle has improved with the quantity of embryos that are making it to day 5. I will have a read of the HFEA add ons and thank you for your well wishes. It’s crazy how advanced my brain works like this time will be another disappointment but it hasn’t happened yet so I must change those thoughts and manifest for a successful outcome 🤞

[Angelikid88 in reply to Ree_Laine]

hello there, have you been told about T1, T2, and natural killers? it's a blood test that is done to women that have several unsuccessful transfers or miscarriages

[Ree_Laine in reply to Angelikid88]

Hi, I think I had several bloods to rule out anything but don’t actually know the names of them all, I know I had one for my thyroid and a few others that came back normal. I think it’s going to be down to luck but I am trying to do my own research incase there’s something I can try. Thank you xx

[Letis in reply to Ree_Laine]

I'm so sorry about the first two cycles but hope this round is successful. I've got everything crossed for you and thank you so much for your message! Best of luck on your journey too xx

[Ree_Laine in reply to Letis]

Thank you ❤️

[Angelikid88]

hello Letis, i hope you'll loose 0 embryos! I lost only 1 out of 8 from day one to day 5 so fingers crossed for you!! <3

[Letis in reply to Angelikid88]

Thank you so much Angelikid88. Sending hugs to you x

[Crazycatlady007]

I wish I could take away your worries - it’s such a difficult thing to go through but I’d say try and just keep the faith as best you can.

My first round I had 13 eggs and 0 blasts. My second I had 6 eggs and 2 blasts. Feel like there is no rhyme or reason sometimes. It’s true when they say it only takes one!

Keeping everything crossed for you xxx

[Letis in reply to Crazycatlady007]

Thank you so much... definitely trying to hold it together and keep positive. Or at least distract myself as long as I can. It is a rollercoaster... Wishing you all the best 💗 Wishing your dream comes true xx

[Rox28]

I'm 39, started this fertility journey about 7yrs ago, had 3 unsuccessful rounds with NHS then covid hit just as the 3rd ended. Had a break , just restarted privately July this year, 4th round was positive but 1.5wks later lost it. Start round 5 next week, just have to keep on keeping on, one thing I'll be doing this time is my best to improve my diet (protein intake) & at least the 2L of water to see if it betters my egg quality as we get 7-8 but always whittles down to 1 blastocyst. Until we reach success, positivity is all we have, emotions are high with all the meds so it's ok to have a bit of a downer, just remember to pick urself up! 💪❤️ I tell myself if it doesn't work maybe it's not the right time or something not right with the embryo, I believe everything happens for a reason and that it will come when the time is right.

[Letis in reply to Rox28]

Am so sorry Rox28 for your loss, and commend you for your positivity and bravery. I'll take a leaf out of your book. Everything happens for a reason and if it's meant to be it will. Really hoping the 5th round goes well for you. I have everything crossed for you and wishing you well ❤️

[CyclingAddict]

Those are still good numbers so don't lose hope! I had quite a lot of eggs collected (21), 2 weren't mature (so we were down to 19) and 12 fertilised and 11 made it to day 5. So we lost almost half of the eggs. We then did PGT-A testing and lost another 4.

The first embryo transfer worked and I now have a two week old! It really only takes one. It's better to have one healthy embryo then it is to have many that won't take.

Fingers crossed for you x

[Letis in reply to CyclingAddict]

Thank you. That makes me feel so much better. Depending on day 5 results we are looking to do PGT-A testing . Worried about loosing more but we'll decide when we know more.

Did you think the testing was worth it?

[CyclingAddict in reply to Letis]

For us it was absolutely because we'd had so many failed transfers and a chemical pregnancy. I wouldn't have changed anything about what we did. After we got the results the embryologist explained that a couple of the embryos we tested had the capacity to implant but would not have resulted in a live birth due to missing chromosomes. I can't imagine what that would have felt like if one of those embryos had been transferred. Yes, it's scary, but I just needed to know. Hope this helps! X

[Letis in reply to CyclingAddict]

This definitely helps so thank you! Makes our decision easier ❤️

[Sams25]

you need only 1!

I've had cycles where I was in a similar situation as you, and others where all fertilized but only 2 reached days 5 or even cycles where 0 reached day 3. its hard to know, and the clinic always blames the egg or sperm because they too don't know why this happens. on PGT-A testing, I have mixed opinions. When you have very few embies, best not to test, unless you have reasons to. My last cycle through which I fell pregnant I did not PGT-A test and the clinic gave me almost no hope as the embie was very low quality (BC). But guess what, all the 6AA, 5AA, 5ABs did not stick and this one did!

Keep your positive pants on!! Again, all you need is 1 to go in and stick, no matter the quality. Given my experience I would encourage you to ensure the clinic does not throw away poor quality embies (2BC or 3BC etc) you never know how they grow going into Day 6-7.

We are all strong and IVF survivors- Me, 5 years of struggles, 4 Full Stims cycle, 11 Natural IVF cycles and 8 embie transfers later, I got my BFP at 39yrs.

wishing you good luck and feel free to rant, or reach out if you want to have a chat.

[Letis in reply to Sams25]

That's so interesting about PGT-A testing. It's hard to decide so if we go ahead it'll be due to the number of embies we hopefully get at day 5.

Our clinic has said they will destroy any that are deemed abnormal so I didn't realize we could ask them to not to that?

We are strong and have to keep fighting this difficult journey. Hoping for some good news as we all are!

Thank you for your support and words. Means a lot! And so good you got a BFP!!

[Sams25 in reply to Letis]

Thank you love ❤️

And Yes you can tell your clinic to not destroy them unless they stop developing. This first few cycles even we did not know that was possible. But then as we got into more details, questions etc, we started pushing and they agreed.

[Letis in reply to Sams25]

I'll push for this and so good to know. Thank you ❤️ fingers crossed 🤞🏽

[Kormaenthusiast]

I’ve just had a double embryo transfer and both failed. It’s our second transfer (first ended in chemical) and I’m waiting to bleed now. In my next cycle we are going again with just one embryo but same protocol. I feel there must be something wrong also given 3 embryos up to this point haven’t made it. However, hearing it’s so common relieves me a bit as maybe it is just the right embryo we need that will stick. Pray you all have ivf baby dust and we all get our miracles without much more of a wait 🫶

[Ree_Laine in reply to Kormaenthusiast]

Praying for you also to have that one embryo that sticks! Let’s keep the faith as it really is not seeing but believing it will happen ❤️i had a double transfer on my last cycle also that failed to implant. 3rd round now hoping for the best 🤞that it will happen. Good luck and all the best on your journey to motherhood xx

[Kormaenthusiast in reply to Ree_Laine]

Good luck sweetheart I’m sending you all the love and baby dust in the world. You WILL be a mummy and you have got this. You are strong and a warrior 🫶🤞🩷 xxxx