Only 2 eggs retrieved...

[horsecrzygirl]

Hello!

This is my first post on any IVF forum, finally decided to join. I just finished my first round of IVF medication and did my ER today. I am 33 years old and initially was only doing IVF due to my partner having a vasectomy, so we decided to do MESA/TESA and IVF. When I went in they told me I have a low amount of follicles in my ovaries. I was pretty caught off guard by this.
After 10 days of Follistim and Menopur I was ready for egg retrieval. They said I had 3 mature follicles and 4 more that should be ready by ER (measured from 14-20 I believe). When I woke up from the procedure today I found out they only retrieved 2 eggs! Again I was expecting more. They never explained that not every follicle yields an egg. So... I will find out in the am if they fertilize. I keep hearing "it only takes one good egg" and "quality over quantity", but I still feel upset by this. Any words of wisdom from anyone?

[leorira11]

I'm sorry. That sucks. Yes, of course, it only takes one, but it's always nice to have lots and lots!

Not every follicle yields an egg, but most do. I would be very surprised if I had 7 follicles and only 2 eggs. Ask your doctor for a better explanation of why that happened - and what he would do differently next time.

Fingers crossed that both fertilize great and you don't ever have to do another cycle!

[horsecrzygirl]

Thank you!! I am keeping my fingers crossed. I hope this is my one and only IVF cycle.

[kriari]

You sound exactly like I did three weeks ago.

This was my first IVF cycle and as far as I knew everything was going great. I stimmed fast (9 days Menopur/Bravelle) and they said my estrogen was so high at the time of trigger that I didn't need the HcG trigger and should use the Lupron instead. At the time of my trigger shot, I had 9 mature follicles and 3 more they said were very close to maturing and would probably make it by ER.

They called me the evening of the ER and told me that they only got four. The next day they called me and told me that of those four, only three fertilized. I was panicked. DH and I had already talked through the financial burden of multiple cycles and decided that this was our one and only shot. I had been hoping for at least two to put back for a FET if necessary - a safety net I'm sure everyone wants.

As to the follicle/egg ratio, I'm so sorry they weren't up front with you. The nurse that runs the IVF program at my RE went over all that as part of our teaching pre-cycle, though she admitted to me that my ratios were comparatively low to their average response. I figured it was because of my DOR.

Anyway. Yes, it only takes one good egg, but it's perfectly understandable to be upset that you put your body through all the shots only to have a lackluster result. That being said, it really does only take one. We put all three of ours back and I'm at 6wks right now. Next week I should know how many are on the way.

Best of luck!
______
TTC since 4/2010
me: 33, DOR, low progesterone
dh: 36, Count ok, abnormal morphology/motility
IVF1: Menopur/Bravelle, Lupron trigger
1/30: Est 12 follicles mature, 4 eggs retrieved
1/31: 3 eggs fertilized
2/2: Day 3 Transfer - 3 Bs
2/13: Beta 1 33
2/15: Beta 2 84
2/17: Beta 3 391
2/25: Beta 4 2630
3/4: First U/S

[horsecrzygirl]

Yayyyyy!!! That's so exciting for you!
I'm sorry I don't know what DOR stands for, can u please tell me. I must say 3 embryos is much more reassuring than 1!!!
Well I will know at 8 am today if my one little embie is good enough to transfer! I am remaining positive!

[horsecrzygirl]

Yayyyyy!!! That's so exciting for you!
I'm sorry I don't know what DOR stands for, can u please tell me. I must say 3 embryos is much more reassuring than 1!!!
Well I will know at 8 am today if my one little embie is good enough to transfer! I am remaining positive!

[kriari]

Thanks! I'm excited and nervous and trying not to get too baby-crazy until we make it to 12wks. I am working on the assumption that everything is going to be peachy keen, but I don't want to be devastated if something does go wrong. It's hard to temper emotional reactions when you're on enough progesterone to choke a horse.

DOR = Diminished Ovarian Reserve. We were working with questionable quality/quantity eggs from my side and only 2% good swimmers from DH's side, so we're pleased to have gotten positive results even though we'd hoped to get more than 3 embies out of this cycle. I'm grateful every day.

ANYWAY, hope you got good news today, sending all my T&P your way.The wait is HORRIBLE. They don't put that in the brochures.

[horsecrzygirl]

It sounds like you guys actually did pretty good if he has only 2% swimmers!! Did you guys do ICSI? Keep thinking positive! I know how scary it must be until you are really in the "safe zone".

Soooo....My one little embie got transferred today It was a grade 2, 6 cell. My RE said I have a 20% chance of it working, but I am really trying to remain positive!! I have heard success stories with this grade, and non-success stories with better grade.... so I wait

[kriari]

I think we did. The RE I'm working with is pretty aggressive, but he also gets good results We did do ICSI. I'm sure they would have let us go without it, but given hubby's issues they suggested ICSI from the get go and we were more than willing to pay a little extra if it meant possibly not having to go through this again. I'm trying to think positive and keep myself distracted. I'm hyper-aware of my body these days and it's sometimes hard to let those unexplained twinges or aches go. After next week (U/S and hopefully heartbeat) I'll feel like I can breathe a little bit, I think. They say once there's a heartbeat, the chances of miscarriage go down by 45%. It's still possible through 12wks (and even after) but much less likely.

Congrats! I'll be cheering you on! Grade 2 can definitely get you there. Our RE grades by letter, but all three of ours were Bs/Grade 2s. Now, we had an 8,9, and 10 cell, but it can absolutely work and even the perfect blasts aren't guaranteed to implant.

The best thing I can say is to rest and relax as much as possible, drink lots of water, and eat really healthy balanced meals. I'm sure they told you all that stuff, but we've followed every instruction to the letter and I think it's helped. The other thing I gave up cold turkey was caffeine, which was HARD because I love my morning cuppa, but totally worth it.

Do they have you on bedrest?

[horsecrzygirl]

Wow you may end up with three!!! Crazy to even think that. I guess you can tell by your beta if there is possibly more than one, but I don't know what the numbers are... I am sure you do I think it's pretty normal to be hyper aware of every little twinge during this time. To make things worse we are on medication that gives us pregnancy symptoms!! Did you guys do a 5 day transfer? I am sure you mentioned that already but I can't remember. I really wanted twins!!! Even though everyone told me "no you don't... LOL well maybe if I have to do another cycle I will get my wish. Do you want twinsies?? Or triplets?

We are the same age! Doesn't it seem too young to have this happening? I only went to a fertility center because my DP (dear partner.. just made that one up), has a vasectomy so this was the only way to go really. I was worried about his sperm to begin with and turns out I am the one with fertility issues! Go figure! We had to ICSI due to this reason. Yes, I am on bedrest. I do get up to go to the bathroom get food etc. Did you get up at all? How many days BR did you do? Did you lay down or just sit on couch or recline? I have cut my caffeine intake down to only 1 cup in the morning. I used to drink about 4-5 a day so that is pretty big for me. I haven't even been finishing the one cup.

[kriari]

We may indeed have triplets! And it will be a blessing. Also a headache, but mostly a blessing. I'm thinking that with our beta numbers (33,84,391 then 2630 at 3wks post-transfer) we're looking at a singleton. I'm also hoping for twins! I still have hope since betas aren't the be-all-end-all, but we'll have to wait and see. It's so hard to tell whether it's the drugs or the bean(s) making you feel funny! I would really love to have two in one go, though.

We actually did a Day 3 transfer too because there were so few and the RE didn't want to risk losing one or even two because he waited to Day 5.

Yes I feel FAR too young to be going through this, but I guess it happens to all ages these days. One of my friend's friends is only 26 and they told her she has the reproductive system of an 80 yo. Which, aside from being a terrible thing to say, has to be a terrible thing to go through.

Bedrest was the bane of my existence! Thank heavens for Netflix or I would have gone nuts. I was allowed bathroom trips, but DH stayed home with me for the duration to cook food and keep me in snacks and water. I was told anything up to a 45 degree incline was fine, but that it was best to lay as flat as possible as much as possible. I was on 4 full days of mandatory bedrest with a 5th transitional day where I got up to go to the office to have my levels checked and then I could sit up when I got home but just not do anything strenuous.

I was also a big coffee drinker and it's been hard to move from that and iced tea to water, milk, and juice exclusively. Worth it, but HARD

[horsecrzygirl]

Wow! They put you on a lot of bedrest!!! My RE told me 2 days mandatory, and first part of the third day. He said it was ok to go to the bathroom do little things like let my dogs out and feed them etc. I wonder why there are so many different views on the length of bedrest.
I have had friends and my DP come to help me, but nobody is here 24/7. It was so difficult to plan when I would need someone here to help me I am taking it easy and following what they said to do, but I still think most of it is biology, whether is is a healthy embryo, and other factors that are out of our control. Regardless of what I believe, I am taking it easy!! Oh I have switched to herbal tea... its so yummy

[kriari]

Each doc is different! Mine is by turns very aggressive and very conservative.

Right? We were lucky that DH had vacation time to burn and that his boss was understanding enough to allow him the time off.

Just had my first u/s today at 6wks 5 days and it wasn't good. As far as I know my HcG is still rising as it should but they couldn't even find a gestational sac, much less a fetal pole or a heartbeat. My RE is going to keep me on supplementation through next Wednesday when I should be 8wks, but if that U/S still shows no sac then...well, you know the rest. I really hope they checked my tubes, because ectopic pregnancies are so much more common with IVF and it could explain why my numbers keep rising but there's no evidence of a pregnancy in my uterus.

So very disheartened right now. Hope you are doing better.

[horsecrzygirl]

Oh no I am so sorry to hear that... It honestly made me very sad and get chills when I read you response right now. They should definitely check for ectopic, those can be bad if not caught in time. I don't know what to say except for hang in there and know you are in my prayers.

[kriari]

I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to upset you. I talked to the IVF specialist (the nurse) a little more when she called with my levels tonight. Everything, just like last time, looks perfect. Estrogen: 2767, Progesterone: 180, HcG: 8959. I also asked her specifically if they checked my tubes. She said they did, but that they were empty too. I don't even know what to think now. I haven't had any of the symptoms of ectopic, so they're okay with letting me go another week or until I do start having ectopic symptoms.

It's so scary and upsetting, and I hate that this has happened and that this is our only shot.

Thank you so much for listening and the kind thoughts. Hopefully next week they'll find a sac exactly where it should be and it was all because the U/S tech is incompetent or I implanted late or...