First round of IVF

enaids · April 2022

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum. I've been in a couple Facebook groups but decided I needed to get off of Facebook because I kept seeing too many pregnancy announcements.

So here's my story. We've been trying for two years with unexplained infertility. We had a chemical pregnancy after an HSG about a year and a half ago. Since then we've done 4 unsuccessful IUIs. We're now moving on to IVF. I just started taking birth control this week and will start injections in a couple of weeks. Tentative retrieval on May 1st.

I'm nervous about how many eggs I'll be able to produce because during the medicated IUI cycles I only ever produced 1 sometimes 2 mature follicles, so we'll see.

Looking forward to having others on this journey with me!

inthewoods23 · April 2022

Were you also on injectables for your IUIs? If you were only taking letrozole/clomid it's normal to only get 1-2 mature follicles. The injectables are much stronger and will help produce lots of mature follicles (assuming you don't have a low AMH or other issues that make it difficult for the body to respond to hormones).

I always ended up with 1 mature follicle during my IUIs with letrozole but was able to retrieve 24 eggs in my 1 IVF cycle from the injectables. YMMV depending on how you respond and what your currently fertility looks like. I have a pretty high AFC for someone my age so retrieving 24 eggs is probably an outlier for what to expect.

enaids · April 2022

@inthewoods23 thanks for letting me know that! I was only on Clomid I wasn't taking any injectables. They told me my AMH was normal at 2.724.

They didn't tell me an AFC. Is that something I should ask for? Or maybe they'll do that during my baseline scan in a couple weeks?

inthewoods23 · April 2022

@enaids they'll definitely do that at your baseline so they have some idea of potential number of eggs you may get in the end. My AFC was always a bit ridiculous with some 30+ follicles between my 2 ovaries. I think at the first check up they'll look at them all again but after that they will only take note of the ones that are measuring at least a certain size with each subsequent visit. My last check up before my retrieval they counted some 12 or 15 follicles that were at least 18mm. So with me ending up with 24 eggs likely meant that they collected some undermature eggs in the follicles that were slightly smaller. Only 17 ended up being mature enough to attempt fertilization.

Good luck!

isabelherna · April 2022

Hi! Welcome to the club, I hope you get your baby soon enough Xxx

I am 40yo, trying to become a mum via ivf, I'm single, and I've got pcos. Thankfully I have my family's support, they're too excited - a tad too excited if you know what I mean...-.

Now I am waiting to take the pregnancy test after my 2nd IVF cycle, but tbh dreading the moment!!

Wishing everyone good luck!

enaids · April 2022

@isabelherna sending you all the sticky baby vibes!! When will you go in for betas?

mina-p · June 2022

Hi there also new here! I'm 34 years old and after 2 years ttc, my DH and I are considering going down the IVF route. Are IUIs common to try first before IVF? Are success rates much lower?
Thank you in advance ! Good luck to all

00kim00 · June 2022

mina-p said:

Hi there also new here! I'm 34 years old and after 2 years ttc, my DH and I are considering going down the IVF route. Are IUIs common to try first before IVF? Are success rates much lower?
Thank you in advance ! Good luck to all

IUIs are common before IVF for a few reasons - they're significantly cheaper (IUI costs from a few hundred to a few thousand, while IVF is in the tens of thousands), some people find them ethically more palatable, and for some people, insurance covers them. If you're lucky enough to have insurance that covers fertility treatments, you may have to prove that IUIs didn't work before getting any coverage for IVF. But yes, success rates are significantly lower. Success rates vary a lot based on all sorts of factors, but IUI is roughly 10% (you'll see 5-20% usually), and IVF is closer to 50% (places will quote anywhere from 30-75%, but usually 40-50% if you're young and healthy, etc).

ivfmeerut · June 2022

This may be important for patients who have concerns about a genetic condition or who have had multiple failed IUI cycles or miscarriages. This process can be used to identify genetic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities in embryos, and can also help identify the best embryo to transfer. IVF is the only best option available after multiple failed IUI. A couple can try a minimum of 3 to 4 cycles of IUI and still fail to conceive it is better to proceed with the IVF as the success rate is higher in IVF procedures as compared to IUI.

mina-p · June 2022

Thank you for your reply! After my consultation it seems that they want me to jump straight into IVF, as they said exactly the same about success rates. Fingers crossed

Want a personalized experience?

First round of IVF

Re: First round of IVF

Choose Another Board

Search Boards