Egg Quality

[summit]

Just went through first round of IVF unsuccessfully and met with my doctor this week to follow-up. She said she was surprised by the quality of my eggs. I am in my early 30's and healthy, but the embryologist noted that my eggs were darker in color, fragmentations were noted in embryos, and by day 7 there were no viable embryos to freeze . Anyone with a similar situation have success with additional IVF attempts? We are getting ready to start round 2. Many thanks.

[AmandaM]

I had an egg quality issue and had twins on my 3rd attempt. There was fragmentation and the cells divided into uneven sizes. They gave me a growth hormone on the 3rd attempt as my RE has seen great things w egg quality issues w this. It fixed the problem I was having. I am 29 also healthy and produced a good number of eggs. Good Luck.

Amanda

[summit]

Thank you Amanda! I am happy to hear that you had success.

[deftonesmo]

I too had egg quality issues . . . 1st ivf was a bfn, so on the 2nd try we added a growth hormone and did assisted hatching....the result? my daughter is sleeping down the hall....good luck =)

[karin1]

I only made it to ER one time. I only had 3 eggs to retrieve. Out of the 3...we got 2 embryos and did a 3 day transfer that resulted in a BFN. My RE didn't say anything my egg quality. I had a 4 cell and a 10 cell. The 10 cell had fragmentation. Does the fragmentation mean the egg quality is poor?

Amanda- Your RE gave you growth hormone to help with egg quality? When? During stims? What kind? I'm glad that if worked for you! Congrats on your boys!

[hspiggy79]

We just had our 1st (and hopefully only) failed IVF. We are meeting with our RE on Tuesday to discuss what went wrong and what the next step is. I know we are starting again right away but I was concerned with the quality of the embryos. Please share any information that you have about the growth hormone and I will be sure to ask about it on Tuesday.
Thanks so much!!!

[deftonesmo]

I took Omnitrope. My RE said that only a few studies have been done with growth hormones and IVF, but early results were encouraging and more research needed to be done. It wasn't cheap, but hey, none of the drugs in IVF are. I figured, what do we have to lose? We actually were pregnant with twins and lost one little guy. There are other HGH out there, ut our RE liked Omnitrope. Good luck =)

http://www.library.nhs.uk/womenshealth/ ... sID=236378
IVF link about HGH

[InGodsHands]

I have gone through my first round of IVF-unsuccessful. I had 15 eggs retrieved, only 3 made good quality embryos. I am 31, bu have an elevated FSH -19. I still have 1 frozen embryo, however we are going to do another round of IVF to see if we can collect more good quality eggs for embryos. My RE wants to use Human Growth Hormone, but I am very hesitant. I can't find enough research to prove that this is safe. My concern is the effects it may have on my body long term, pituitary tumor, increased risk for diabetes ect. My RE feels the risks are minimal since it is a fairly low dose and only for 5 days ( not long term use). I need to make a decision soon, Please offer any resources/information/experience you have! Thanks!

[deftonesmo]

I felt that my re would not give me something harmful ...it was only for 5 days at a low dosage...I am glad I listened to her because now I have my daughter. Trust your gut either way. I'm glad I did.

[karin1]

Deftonesmo-

Congrats on your daughter! I'm sure you are in baby-love heaven! Thanks for your response. My RE suggested growth hormone, but we haven't talked about the details of it yet. Is it an injectable? When and how long do you take it? Do you take it with stim?

Thanks again for sharing.

[deftonesmo]

I took it near the end of my stims . . . it was an injectable . . . sub-q in the tummy for 5 days . . . didn't hurt .. . took it right after the follistim and menopur . . . worst part was the cost . . . it ain't cheap, but it worked for me =) ask about assisted hatching too . . . it's where they make it easier for the little guys to attach =)

[summit]

Thanks for more insight regarding growth hormones. So began meds for next cycle still taking Folistim and Menopur, but adding Ganirelix this time around. Growth hormones weren't mentioned when doctor and I discussed the treatment plan for this cycle. Estimated retrieval will be 7/18 an transfer b/w 7/21 & 7/23.

[snapper]

On my first IVF attempt, we had very poor embryos. Doc thought possibly an egg quality issue. I was so devastated to think that now we had another issue in addition to husband's issues. Next cycle...beautiful embryos...unfortunately, I m/c that cycle. But, by our next try (FET)...beautiful baby girl...love of my life.

Just keep at it. Keep hope in your heart.

Big Hugs!

[summit]

Deftonesmo & Amanda

May I ask what clinics you worked with? I just had a follow-up appointment with my doctor after 2nd failed attempt. I asked her about the use of HGH and she said "absolutely not" too many risks involved. The clinic I am working with is quite reputable in the area, so I have some trust in their professional advice. Just curious what clinics you worked with and what concerns you and your doctors had if any.

many thanks,

[deftonesmo]

I worked with Cedars-Sinai and Southern California Reproductive Center . . . both are well-respected and reputable . . . my RE mentioned no risks . . . her only concern was that the positive data was preliminary and that more research was needed . . . i was on the growth hormone for three days, I think . . . the only risks she talked abut were multiples and hyper-stimulation, but that had nothing to do with the growth hormone . . . I did some research myself and didn't come across any risk factors for the hormone, only positive research . . . maybe because the duration of taking the hormone is so short and the amount so little, the risk is non-existent . . . maybe you should ask your RE what research she is citing . . .