Infertility
hnkirk81
member
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Grainy eggs, I guess?
hnkirk81
member
This is my first post but I'm not really new here, as I'm a big lurker and I've followed the April/May IVF board obsessively. I should warn you - I'm wordy. I'll try to keep it short. I just completed my first IVF cycle and we got our PGS results today. I'm here because, quite frankly, I'm bummed about how this round went. None of my labs have indicated any issue for me, and my husband has low testosterone and slightly wonky swimmers (morphology) but nothing to write home about. We skipped straight to IVF because we've got decent IF coverage, and all signs pointed to possible MFI.
My retrieval was 4/13, and they got 13 eggs, 10 of which were mature. I wasn't responding super quickly to the stims so that was expected. Our lab uses ICSI, and only four eggs fertilized. THAT was disappointing, to say the least. I know the success rate with ICSI is closer to 75%, and we were sitting at 40%. I love my clinic, but they don't give daily embryo updates, so we didn't hear anything until the following Wednesday when they called to say only one made it to freeze. This wasn't as hard to hear as was the 4 out of 10 news, because I had this horrible sinking feeling that we were going to get a call saying all four arrested - I just couldn't shake it. I was actually very happy to hear one made it.
*child mentioned* Anyway, when I got that call I immediately set up my follow up with my RE, because I knew I wanted to do a second cycle. I don't want one embryo, I want a stockpile
Seriously though, this is secondary IF for me. I already have a 16 yo, and it's been tough on her, being an only child. I knew when I started this journey that I wanted siblings, not just a child. With PGS, I think I'd feel comfortable having no less than 4 embryos banked. That way if I ever get crazy and want to go for three I might have an opportunity to do so, based on the averages.
At our follow up, of course we were looking for answers. Why the low fertilization rate? I felt like my RE was choosing his words very carefully, as I'm sure he deals with a lot of women in fragile emotional states. He mentioned that while they don't fully understand how it correlates to egg quality, there are descriptors used when they talk about the appearance, including "clear" or "grainy." Basically, he was saying my eggs appear grainy. Whatever that means. So yeah, I'm bummed. Friends have often said, "but you know your stuff works, you've had a kid already." I would joke that it was like having a receipt for your return, but the receipt is sixteen years old so it doesn't really count! I fell like that statement is coming to fruition.
TL;DR - 13 eggs, 10 mature, 4 fertilized, 1 blast sent for PGS... and it came back today as abnormal. Cycle 2 starts next week. Does anyone else know what the hell grainy eggs means???
My retrieval was 4/13, and they got 13 eggs, 10 of which were mature. I wasn't responding super quickly to the stims so that was expected. Our lab uses ICSI, and only four eggs fertilized. THAT was disappointing, to say the least. I know the success rate with ICSI is closer to 75%, and we were sitting at 40%. I love my clinic, but they don't give daily embryo updates, so we didn't hear anything until the following Wednesday when they called to say only one made it to freeze. This wasn't as hard to hear as was the 4 out of 10 news, because I had this horrible sinking feeling that we were going to get a call saying all four arrested - I just couldn't shake it. I was actually very happy to hear one made it.
*child mentioned* Anyway, when I got that call I immediately set up my follow up with my RE, because I knew I wanted to do a second cycle. I don't want one embryo, I want a stockpile
Seriously though, this is secondary IF for me. I already have a 16 yo, and it's been tough on her, being an only child. I knew when I started this journey that I wanted siblings, not just a child. With PGS, I think I'd feel comfortable having no less than 4 embryos banked. That way if I ever get crazy and want to go for three I might have an opportunity to do so, based on the averages. At our follow up, of course we were looking for answers. Why the low fertilization rate? I felt like my RE was choosing his words very carefully, as I'm sure he deals with a lot of women in fragile emotional states. He mentioned that while they don't fully understand how it correlates to egg quality, there are descriptors used when they talk about the appearance, including "clear" or "grainy." Basically, he was saying my eggs appear grainy. Whatever that means. So yeah, I'm bummed. Friends have often said, "but you know your stuff works, you've had a kid already." I would joke that it was like having a receipt for your return, but the receipt is sixteen years old so it doesn't really count! I fell like that statement is coming to fruition.
TL;DR - 13 eggs, 10 mature, 4 fertilized, 1 blast sent for PGS... and it came back today as abnormal. Cycle 2 starts next week. Does anyone else know what the hell grainy eggs means???
Re: Grainy eggs, I guess?
Together since 2008, married Sept 2013
ttc #1 since July 2014
DX: unexplained infertility
Sept, Oct, Nov Clomid 50 mg: BFN
Feb 2016 IUI w/ 50mg Clomid, Ovidrel, Prometrium: BFN
March 2016 IUI w/ 50mg Clomid, Ovidrel, Prometrium: BFN
June 2016 IVF: BFP 6/28!!! beta #1: 358, beta #2: 1428, beta #3: 3742
TTC since May 2014
First RE Appt - September 2015
DX: Hypothyroid, DOR
IUI w/ Clomid - October 2015 - BFN
ER - 2/10/16, 2 Day 3 Embryos
FET - 4/15/16 - BFN
Summer 2016 - Taking a break to try herbal treatment and acupuncture
I've been taking a smorgasbord of supplements including my prenatal, fish oil, flaxseed oil, CoQ10 and vitamin D. I've now added DHEA and a different CoQ10 at my RE's suggestion. I've also considered starting acupuncture, but it's just not appealing to me. I might give it a shot.
I guess I will just do my best to stay healthy and hope for the best the second time around!