Hi Sara - it sounds like you and hubby have had an awful time so far! I didn't have work or exams to deal with on our icsi/ivf cycle but I did have a lot of fogginess, I couldn't even form proper sentences half the time and I found it very unsettling not feeling like my brain was functioning properly! It cleared up really quickly though after opu so hopefully yours will too.
My hubby and I had lots of issues too with the number of eggs we fertilised, I spoke to our FS about them and he totally understood and was very accommodating, and was happy for us to decide how many. Our first two goes we didn't have to make many decisions as we only ended up with a few eggs (2 - none made it, then 3 none fertilised). I'm so sorry your clinic has not been more understanding, you have some big decisions to make and ultimately it is your decision. If it helps we had 16 follicles, 13 eggs, 7 fertilised, and only 2 grew to be 5 day old blasts (we had both transferred, bfp, but ectopic). I grilled the nurses and scientists for ages to find out how often peoples initial egg counts related to how many embryos they had left. I guess its also different depending on what day they want you to transfer. We didn't decide how many eggs to fertilise until after we were back in the clinic and saw how many eggs we actually had.
Oneday, I'm so sorry to hear you're not sure what's happening at the moment, sending hugs.
Hi Saraz - just to follow on from what Milly's Mummy was saying about fertilisation, I had 9 on my first collection, 5 fertilised, 1 transferred fresh, two made it to freezing and only one thawed. So all up I got two out of nine, and neither one took. My second time I only got 5 eggs, 4 were fertilised, but neither of the first two took so I'm down to two.
I've been told to expect about two thirds to fertilise and then two thirds of those to make it through to freezing stage, and then that a couple may not survive the thaw. After that your chances of a successful transfer depend on your age and the quality of your embryos. According to my fs my chances are about 45% with my age and quality, however I'm up to transfer 5! I guess you have to make the decision that sits best with you, and some people are certainly luckier than me, but I certainly don't want to go through the collection process any more than I have to! Has your fs given you an indication of how many eggs they're expecting from you? I understand that fertilising 20 is too much when you want to be able to give them all a chance, but I don't know how many people actually do get those numbers. Might be worth bringing it up again.
Nikki - welcome. I'm happy to talk if you have any q's and like oneday said, there are lots of other helpful and understanding women here!
Oneday - I'm sorry to hear things aren't going well I really hope you haven't lost it.
Last edited by kass; June 26th, 2010 at 03:57 PM.
: adding more
Hi Saraz, sorry to hear that you are having troubles with your clinic. And also sorry to hear that the meds aren't treating you too well. I was lucky that I didn't have any side effects from the meds, except a little nausea on the progesterone gel. Hopefully this cycle goes well for you and you don't have to go through multiple cycles with these sort of symptoms.
With regards to how many eggs get fertilised, I'm sure I filled out a form where you could choose how many to fertilise. They are your eggs and your partner's sperm, so it's really your choice. Having said that, I'll let you know what our experience was. It took us two cycles to fall pregnant with our little one. First cycle I had 10 eggs, 7 fertilised and all were big enough for biopsy on day 3 (we had PGD done). Of the 7, one had a fragmented nucleus, one they couldn't get pgd results for, and all of the remaining 5 had chromosome abnormalities that were "incompatible with life". I was shattered and shocked at the news. I had no idea that we would have such a high number of embies with chromosome problems considering I'm only 30 and healthy. Second cycle my meds were increased slightly and they managed to get 21 eggs. 20 were suitable for fertilisation, but only 11 fertilised, and 10 of those made it to biopsy. Of the 10, two had no nuclei (therefore no chromosomes), 7 had chromosome abnormalities, and we had one very precious little healthy girl embryo. She's a strong little one and we are now almost 10 weeks pregnant with our little Apple Blossom.
I was amazed how common chromosome problems are. The scientist in the PGD lab told me that on average they probably find at least 50% of embryo's at day 3 have chromosome abnormalities. I worried that the IVF process maybe creates more problems, but she assured me that that was not the case. She said that the rate is the same if you are conceiving naturally, and that these embryo's usually either do not create a pregnancy or miscarry very early.
I guess what I'm trying to say that it is going to be a hard decision for you to decide how many eggs to fertilise because it's very hard to know how many healthy embryo's you might get from any number of eggs. It took 31 of my eggs to get my one healthy embie. I hope the decision isn't too stressful for you, and I wish you all the best for the rest of your cycle!
Wow thanks everyone for that info! You're all amazing.
From what you gals say I am amazed at how low the survival rates are - I am guessing we'll have an ultra low rate as our infertility is unexplained by any other factors. We thought we'd consider trying with more eggs in the next cycle if that turns out to be the case. My clinic say they usually get 75% fertilisation rate from fresh eggs. I am only on mild stim and have about 20 follicles so far which they say are looking a very good size. But not getting my hopes up too much as I do realise we are limiting our chances lot only using 4 Unfortunately they don't freeze eggs at my clinic, only embryos - so any we don't use will be wasted.
Mylitta - congratulations that's so so wonderful! It must have been really discouraging that first cycle and now look at you! Really interesting to hear what the PGD scientist said.
Milly's mummy - You know exactly where I'm coming from, it feels bizarre to be playing probabilities with something like this... it is so confusing - I don't know if we're doing the right thing, I feel like I really needed to ask more questions but couldn't because people weren't v sympathetic. I didn't know you could delay that decision about the number of eggs until the day - we had to sign forms about the number of eggs before starting the cycle. We don't get much choice as we're at a public clinic so the day of transfer is a bit random (only happens 3 days a week). My doc said if you don't have many fertilise it's best to transfer early as they're more likely to survive in the womb than out?
Oneday - sending good thoughts, well done on surviving this crazy fog 3 times. How dumb was I doing this during exams - it only said 'fatigue' not 'stupidity' on the leaflet. I am a bit reassured to hear of at least 1 person having the same problem and especially that it improved after opu! Does this mean we will be prone to some serious 'baby brain' as well do you think?? wish I could change clinics but we can't afford to go private at the mo.
NikkiR - I know one person who got a bfp first time after trying for 3 years! she had endo & is now 4 months in and doing great. Amazing hey! They only had 5 eggs but they all fertilised and were really healthy. Good luck, let us know how you go.
Kass, marcellus & baby 09 - thanks so much for the hugs and understanding. Helped me through a totally totally hormonal day! Now i've had a good whinge I am feeling braver and have decided not to care what the nurse says when I call her today - she doesn't know anything about my life so I shouldn't mind what she thinks and if she's that judgmental she's probly not enjoying her job much poor lady! I know they're really shortstaffed so she's probably just t the end of her tether sometimes. It'd just be so nice to meet a friendly face when I am having a bad day!
Marcellus - yes if I do another cycle (which I suppose I will) I think I'll ask about any different meds that might knock me around less. Maybe a FET wouldn't be as bad, guess I don't know till I try.
Also, I just found out that you are supposed to be having lots of protein?? no one told me this? anything else I should be doing other than drinking a lot and not doing vigorous exercise? I want to do everything I can right!
Hugs for you, you asked for some so here they are,, its not easy but rest assured there are plenty of us out here too... chin up girl, we are there for you
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I really hope you haven't lost it.
Unfortunately they don't freeze eggs at my clinic, only embryos - so any we don't use will be wasted.
Really interesting to hear what the PGD scientist said.
wish I could change clinics but we can't afford to go private at the mo.
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