new here - just had first time egg retrieval for FET

ets7

Hi all. I just want to introduce myself here. I am 43, and new to IVF. Yesterday I had my eggs retrieved. They retrieved 9 eggs, only 4 of which they could perform ICSI on, and 3 were fertilized normally on day 1. They are going to biopsy those that make it to day 7 and send those biopsies out for genetic testing. Three fertilized eggs sounds like a small number to me after all those meds, especially given that they also have to be shown to be genetically normal, and survive the freeze and defrost, even before they can try to get one back into me. I'm trying to remember that we only need 1, but also don't want to get my hopes up too high with what seems like a pretty meager loot. 

skysong113

@ets7 Welcome! I am not personally doing IVF but plenty of ladies on here are and there's several boards you can join too  FX that those 3 make it through and you get your BFP soon!

joneser1281

Hi @ets7 !

This is my first time with IVF as well.  You just never know... We can drive ourselves crazy worrying about how things have worked out, especially when they're beyond our control.  What I keep hearing... So I'm passing it along as well.. Is it only takes one!  That's what we have to keep telling ourselves.  When a close friend of mine went through IVF the first time, a friend of hers was going through it as well.  My friend had 18 eggs retrieved and her friend only had 4 eggs retrieved.  Well her friend ended up getting pregnant, while she did not on that first try.  It's quality, not quantity... and they can even transfer an embryo that maybe doesn't look as desirable as they'd hoped, but it can still turn into a healthy baby being born!  Try to think good thoughts, even though it's hard... Sending your way!

ets7

Thank you both for your words of support and wisdom. I tried not to think too much about where things might go for the past few days.

This morning my doctor called and said only one of the embryos is developing normally, and the other two are "lagging."  He suggested we do another round of stimming meds, with an even more "aggressive" protocol. I was particularly disappointed, though, to learn that we have to wait not for my upcoming period, but for the following one, before we can try again. Since the doctor has made a big point about how quickly egg quality degrades each month for someone my age, it seems like my odds of getting a viable embryo going in a second round are only lower, not higher, than the first time. We'll  just have to see.  

I am trying to remain somewhat hopeful and motivated, and distract myself when thoughts about my "old eggs" come to mind. But I'm also preparing myself for the possibility that another round will not yield the results we hope for.  I do feel like I am in a very privileged position in so many ways in this process, and that if this doesn't work out for us, we'll be alright. But I am also understanding more about why IVF can be so stressful.  

Thank you again for the support!

joneser1281

Hi @ets7,

Are you still going to see what happens with these 3 embryos?  When I spoke with one of the embryologists at my clinic, she said things can drastically change from day to day... I wouldn't count your LOs out yet.  It's kind of a bummer that your doctor is already talking about next time if you're not done yet with this time.  I'm glad you're having the testing done... FX that all 3 are healthy, but it only takes 1!  I'm hoping that you don't even need to go through the process again, but if you do, different meds may be helpful.  I know it's easier said than done (I'm definitely better at being optimistic for others than I am for myself), but try to think positively in the moment.  Don't worry about next time yet because you may not even need to have a next time... Thinking good thoughts for you...

ets7

That's interesting.  My impression from the RE, mostly from his tone, was that the two that were lagging were real long shots at this point. But maybe, as you say, there is good cause for hope that they will catch up. The one that's doing well- yes we are definitely still feeling hopeful about it. The question is whether we try to transfer it, if it tests as normal, or whether we go ahead with another round of stimming anyway and delay a transfer till afterwards. My RE points out that, because of my age every single month the quality of my eggs goes down. If this one didn't implant successfully, or much worse, if I miscarried, it could be quite a few months before I could try to stim again and at that point our chances of getting good quality eggs would be significantly lower. So we may be in the strange position of going through another round of stimming with an even more "aggressive" protocol, even though we may already have the embryo that could be the only one we need.  Blah.
Thanks again for your words. They really helped!

joneser1281

@ets7 So if the embryo that's doing well continues to do so, you might freeze it instead of transferring it right now?  Is that right?  That's a tough decision as far as going ahead and stimming again right away.  But I guess you just have to trust your RE and do what he thinks is best.  I'm glad that I'm somewhat making you feel better because I'm not so good at making myself feel better Lol.