Retrieval results: 5 eggs, 3 embryos

[Anonymous]

Are these good results? I expected more. I didn't really know what to think going in. This is my first round of ivf and hopefully my last. Does anyone know if ivf is more successful if you're young (27)? Also any tips on helping the bloated feeling? I feel 6 months pregnant and have gained several pounds of fluid.

[Anonymous]

It's okay -- it's not gangbusters -- but one thing you have going for you is that all three of those eggs are probably chromosomally normal. Compare your numbers to my own: I retrieved 11 eggs, which sounds "better" than you on paper -- but only four eggs fertilized, I implanted all four at Day 2, and now I'm pregnant with a singleton. That's the difference between being 27 and being ancient like me. (40 )

So, sure, all things being equal, lots of eggs are better than not a lot of eggs. But all things are never "equal" in IVF. There are so many variables in this process. Don't be disappointed in your numbers.

Gatorade and V8 are the recommendations I've read to combat the bloat.

[Anonymous]

All other things being equal, being 27 is an extremely helpful fact! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

32, had 11 eggs that fertilized, and only 5 made it to day 5. Of those we only put in one embryo and am pregnant now! I think you're age is on your side!

[Anonymous]

Age is on your side. Those are not good results, but people get the result they want from not good results! And people have great results but do not get the result they want. If those 3 embryos grow into great blasts, then you have more than you need since you'll probably implant just 1. So that's perfect. I think you need less at your age. At 41, I had 19 retrieved, 12 of which were mature. From that, I ended up with embryos, 2 of which were grade A blasts on the day of transfer to put in and 4 of which were freezable grade A blasts. My thought is you just need 1-3 (dependent upon age and issues) good ones to put in, so however you get there is not as important as getting there. Some people need more options in terms of eggs to get there and some do not. As others said, age is on your side.

Re: the bloating. Yes, gatorade. But also you may want to make an appointment with your RE and see if you are having overstimulation which they should monitor if that's the case. It can be dangerous and they may need to see if you have too much fluid and it needs to be taken out. I felt bloated and sick and it was annoying and finally the doctor said hmm you've said that a few times just come in and it turns out I had hyper stimulation big time and needed draining and monitoring and it was quite the health issue. I had no idea just thought the bloating was annoying and thought I had the flu or was not feeling well separately.

[Anonymous]

If you had five at 27, you can look into changing the protocol to a higher level of stimulation if you have to do another round of IVF to see if you get more eggs. However, if changing the protocol doesn't change the results, you will probably receive a diagnosis of DOR (or POF by its other name.) The only way to diagnose this is to go through IVF and see how you stimulate on the drugs. I retrieved four at 28 and one at 29 and I have DOR.

Hopefully, you won't need another round because all it takes is one good egg. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I can't say whether those are good results or not, because it depends on your goals. I'm 34. I had 5 retrieved, 2 fertilize, transferred 1 5-day blast and froze the other (both were high quality). I got a BFP, but ended up m/c later due to a chromosomal abnormality.

I have my second ER tomorrow, and my sono shows a few more follicles than last cycle...probably owing to a somewhat higher dose of meds.

Honestly, if not for the m/c (which really didn't have anyhting to do with IVF), I would have been very happy with the first cycle including yields. More eggs =/= more embryos...a woman cycling at the same time as me had something like 19 retrieved and only two low quality embryos by the time of transfer. There is some evidence that menopur protocols (which tend to have lower egg yields) give higher quality eggs. Good is a very loaded term.

I can also say that the higher doses of stims have had worse side effects...which I would have been happy to do without.

As for the bloating, even with 5 retrieved on the first round I had a lot (though maybe not feeling like I was 6 mos pregnant). I gained around 5lbs of fluid, if you've gained more, definitely notify your RE. For me, gatorade helped a lot with the bloating.

[Anonymous]

Op here, waiting for transfer as I type this, hopefully everything works out. Spoke with my doctors office and I was not over stimulated, all my land looked fine and have lost all the water weight, and then some from drinking so much, and not having an appetite from feeling so full. One of the pps mentioned DOR, what is that? Thanks for all the responses, the support helps.

[Anonymous]

Oops land should be labs.

[Anonymous]

Good luck OP. I had 6 eggs, five fertilized, transferred two and now 18 weeks pregnant with singleton. The others never made it to freezing. I too was hoping for "big numbers" but RE kept telling me there is no correlation between quality and quantity. Better to have fewer really good eggs than a lot of sub par eggs. With your age, they should all be really good! I am 39 btw. As for bloating, this happened to me. Not while I was on the meds but immediately after retrieval and then OHSS once I got pregnant from all the new hormones! Drink gatorade and weigh yourself daily to make sure you aren't gaining lbs daily. It got better for me after about 4 weeks and did not require medical intervention but it definitely hurt ovaries.

[Anonymous]

DOR = diminished ovarian reserve.

They used to test by doing an antral follicle count (early in cycle). Now me RE says AMH levels at any time are a pretty good indicator. If this cycle is unsuccessful for you, and I hope it is successful, you can ask your RE to test.

[Anonymous]

You are young, how was it decided that you try IVF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are young, how was it decided that you try IVF?

4 years of trying unsuccessfully. We did 3 rounds of clomid. we skipped iui due to male factor and the number of follicles I have. I have pcos and my husband has 0% morphology.

[Anonymous]

OP, your RE may be giving you conservative stim doses due to the PCOS (which puts you at a much higher risk for OHSS).

It's unclear whether your number of follicles was high or low leading you to skip IUI (though 0% morphology would be a reason to skip IUI in and of itself). If it's low, you might want to follow up regarding DOR...assuming this cycle is not successful, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are young, how was it decided that you try IVF?

4 years of trying unsuccessfully. We did 3 rounds of clomid. we skipped iui due to male factor and the number of follicles I have. I have pcos and my husband has 0% morphology.

Oye vey, sorry OP. Hope you get good results!