Do some eggs take longer to fertilize?

[Linzeeee]

Hi I am new here and started the first round of IVF ever. I had the egg retrieval yesterday (only one egg) and they say it's mature and sperms are good. This morning the embryologist said there are signs of fertilization but they cannot confirm yet and need to wait a bit longer (sperm entered zona but egg has not reacted yet?) It has been way more than 24 hours. Has anyone had this situation?

[RubyVet]

I had an egg fertilise later than others. The day after collecting they said we had 4 fertilise, then on day 3 they said we had 5 and said sometimes it can happen. I ended up with 3 blastocysts but not sure if the slower one was one of them. The embryologist didn’t seem bothered about our slower one though xxx

[Linzeeee in reply to RubyVet]

Thanks RubyVet, that's very helpful to know. There's still some hope xx

[AuroraXen]

I had 2 eggs fertilise late on my first cycle. It was a bit of a disaster, to be honest, as in that case the eggs and donor sperm I was using for that cycle (my back-story is insane!!) were really not compatible, which happens sometimes. Both made blastocycts, looking good at day 3, but neither made it to day 5 that time. But this was a particular case of late fertilisation due to lack of compatibility, genetically, which is rare. Hoping your little egg keeps going, despite being a bit of a late starter xxx

[Linzeeee]

Many thanks AuroraXen. Unfortunately my egg didn't end up being fertilized =/ It's interesting to hear that genetic incompatibility could be a reason although rare.. wondered how I would know whether it's that or poor egg quality. Sorry yours didn't work out, hope you have more luck in the near future! xx

[ebonyebene]

Hi, my second and current round I had 6 eggs but they were only able to inject 1 compared to having 4 mature eggs but none fertilised on my first round (both were icsi due to MF).They plan to transfer one today but said two more have matured overnight so they plan to inject them then let me know of they're transferring one or two embryos.

I was apprehensive at first as they haven't reached blastocyst but when you don't have many embryos they prefer to see how they'll do in your body compared to a lab.

[Linzeeee in reply to ebonyebene]

Thanks for sharing , may I ask how old you are ? I am 38 turning 39 and it seems like the most likely reason for inability to fertilize is egg quality and I am considering whether to take DHEA . Have you tried ? I also found out from the doc that my largest follicle (which they hoped would be the successful one) was actually empty so they went for the smaller one which is less mature but still reached maturity maybe in lab. How common is it to have empty follicles !? Already super low number of follicles so feeling quite hopeless xx

[ebonyebene in reply to Linzeeee]

Hiya, I'm 40, 41 in October. Unfortunately, according to the embryologist I spoke to after my first cycle this sometimes happens and they don't know why. As we get older our bodies need more energy to produce better quality cells so taking a rance of anti oxidants (co q 10, NAC, alpha lipoc to supplement a rainbow diet (preferably organic) helps cells develop and maintain energy. It's also important to note chemicals can also oxidise cells making them develop slowly if at all. So, during my first cycle my diet wast great nor was my body or mental health so my eggs didn't have the energy to fertilise (same for my partner. Once I drastically changed everything I went from 6 to 15 follicles but due to my weight I wasn't allowed to resume and had to wait till July when I had just 8 (stress killed over half of them. Re DHEA I had a blood and testosterone test which revealed in was in the normal range so I didn't take it. If you wish to take it make sure you have a blood test as it's an actual hormones, if it's not required it'll do mire damage than good.

Unfortunately empty follicles can happen, think it's all to do with how your body responds to the medication.

After speaking to a fertility nurse, my acupuncturist and several women having a large follicle count doesn't mean much as its the quality of the egg, I've heard of some women having lots of follicles, 2 thirds eggs retrieve and 1 or 2 fertilising. I know it sounds cliche and statically speaking having more follicles give you a greater chance but this is IVF were talking about and nothing is straightforward or textbook and you can't even compare yourself to any of your previous rounds.

I would aim for quality over quality and potentially changing your lifestyle for min 3 months to see if it benefits you. It's not for everyone nor does it work for everyone but it's work a try.

[Linzeeee in reply to ebonyebene]

This is super helpful , thanks so much for sharing . I will continue improving my lifestyle and consider the supplements. Probably also continue accupuncture and Chinese meds for three months xx