Day 5 results...is this hopeless?

[Anonymous]

I conceived DC #1 naturally at 36, am now 42, and have been TTC for past year (injectibles/IUI. One pregnancy/miscarriage at 8 weeks). Just started IVF. Went in this morning for US and bloodwork and doctor told me I had three "small" follicles on one side and 4 on the other, and that they usually like to see 10-15, but that this is normal for my age.

Is it? Just trying to get a handle on whether this endeavor is hopeless or not (I'm frankly pretty burned out and am close to giving up). I think my doc wants to be encouraging (and from a cynical perspective, they also probably want my business), but just wondering how this sounds to others.

TIA!

[Anonymous]

At 42, it is a real battle. I found this chart:

http://www.advancedfertility.com/eggspregnancyrates.htm

Sadly, it's depressing. It shows a 0% pregnancy rate for age 40-42 with less than 5 eggs at retrieval. I would keep going, but I would consider cancelling when you get closer to retrieval if 5 or more doesn't look likely.

[Anonymous]

Those are the stats from one clinic, and likely one that doesn't serve older women - I don't think there is a 0% chance of success with only 5 eggs retrieved. While it is true that a larger number of embryos will not be genetically sound at age 42, I think there is a chance that one out of 5 would be a good one.

[Anonymous]

Please do not lose hope, it's quality NOT quantity that matters at our age.

[Anonymous]

PP I agree and so does my RE:
http://fertilegrounds.dominionfertility.com/profiles/blogs/41-years-old-one-embryo-and

[Anonymous]

It's not hopeless, but unfortunately, it's not just quality (getting one good embryo) that counts. I read this study from Stanford and asked my RE about it and he said that Shady Grove has seen similar patterns when they look that their data. That doesn't mean that there's no hope though. I had around 7 eggs from my last two IVFs (both BFNs), so I know how much this process sucks. And yes, there are lots of success stories with few eggs/embryos -- but the odds are not as good as if you have more eggs/embryos.

---
http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2008/july/IVF.html
The researchers found that four factors—total number of embryos, number of eight-cell embryos, percentage of embryos that stopped dividing and would die, and the woman’s follicle-stimulating hormone level, a measurement that estimates ovarian function—were most important in determining a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant. The four together were 70 percent accurate in predicting whether the current IVF cycle would result in a pregnancy.

The researchers also found that these four factors were more predictive than any single measure of the actual transferred embryo(s). An individual embryo could meet all the criteria for a transfer, but if the IVF cycle produced a small number of embryos, few eight-cell embryos and a high percentage of embryos that stopped dividing, the woman’s chance of getting pregnant could actually be quite low.

"If you talk with IVF patients or doctors, they wouldn’t be surprised" to hear that the quality of all embryos in a cycle—not just the transferred one—matters, Yao said. "But it’s important to go beyond intuition and to prove it scientifically, in order to move the field forward."

[Anonymous]

Op here...thank you, everyone, for your comments/advice/support. Clearly the outlook is not terribly optimistic, but maybe I'll get lucky and that perfect, healthy egg will appear.

[Anonymous]

Was 41, had 8 eggs, got PG. Now have extraordinary, beautiful daughter. Reminder, as Oscar Wilde said there are "lies, damned lies and statistics." It can happen.

[Anonymous]

PP here: You have conceived before, as had I when I did IVF--how old is your spouse and have male factors been ruled out--you've been doing IUIs which can mask problems with penetration/motility, etc. We women aren't the only one whose fertility changes with age. Not sure who you are seeing but I always recommend Dr. Sacks at Columbia Fertility--he will be straight with you and is a great doctor. Doesn't take easy cases.