First IVF Cycle Failure

So sorry to hear about the IVF failure. Looks like you may have been under-stimulated. In the next cycle, you may be put on higher doses to increase the number of eggs.

One of my friends only got pregnant on her 3rd IVF. She was 36 at that time. 1st 2 were at one clinic, when she did not get pregnant, she went to another clinic and their protocol suited her better and got pregnant.

Here is a blog I find very very useful. The doctor has covered the IVF topic very well so do read through the entire thing to see if it helps.

Infertility Blog

 

Dear Maithili,

Am 28. My 1st IVF cycle also failed. 20eggs were retrieved then.My 1st frozen cycle also failed.

My 1st suggestion to you is make an appointment with your doctor to go over all the things.Hope he/she might have asked you to do so. give your doctor the print out with all your questions/doubts.The doctor will address them.

My answers to your questions.

1) Why I had only four eggs? Was I not stimulated properly? Can I do anything different next time to make it better?

Your doctor can only answer this.

2) I did not take injections at the same time everyday. Was that a mistake?

My nurse told me it is not necessary to take injections on the same time they mentioned.For hcg my clinic told me a specific time and date as they have to accommodate a time slot for my retrieval.

3) Does it make difference if you take injections in the abdomen instead of thighs?

Subcutaneous injections should be taken near belly button and intramuscular injections should be taken at thighs/buttocks.So check again with your clinic/doctor whether you have taken them rightly.

4) Should caffeine be completely stopped? On two occasions I had a cup of tea. Was that a mistake?

I think No mistake at all.I had 2 - 3 cups daily.Ask your dr again .

5) How soon should I go for the next cycle.

Check with your dr.Am sure your injection sites might have become sore. I feel you need not abuse yourself repeatedly.If desired you can take a break.

6) I did not space the endometrium(progestrone) doses properly. Was that a problem?
Ask your dr as how your progesterone levels were.If your dr says they were not fine then i think you should bother to tell your concern to your dr.

I was also put on progesterone intramuscular injections between retrieval and transfer and on vaginal capsules from the day after transfer.

7) Should I go on complete bed rest after the embryo transfer?

My clinic didnt ask for bed rest.

8) Should I consider changing the doctor?

I think you should change your dr only if you feel he/she/your nurses are not able to address your concerns

lastly my personal suggestion to you is just take everything lightly...Though i got pregnant in my 1st frozen cycle, i miscarried after a month.So i realized that getting pregnant is not under our/our doctor's control.

dont stress yourself..just enjoy your time as much as you can..and realize what your feel good factors & enjoyments are.When time comes no one can stop you from having a baby.Just hang on!GOD will answer your prayers some day

Good Luck,

ManuuRaghuu

 

Dear maithali,

I am first of all very very sorry for your outcome of your Ist IVF cycle, my heart goes out to you dear. I am currently 9 weeks pregnant after 2 IVF cycles. so do not worry and dont lose hope...

Now to answer your questions,

1) Why I had only four eggs? Was I not stimulated properly? Can I do anything different next time to make it better?

From my personal experience I feel that quality is more important than quantity. Also one more thing you have to keep in mind that among all IVF cycles only 20% go ahead to retrieve enough eggs for a FET. Also each person's body is different and so dr's try to be very careful every cycle in stimulating 'coz they dont want us to hyperstimulate. In my first cycle they were able to retrieve 12 eggs and only 6 fertilized out of which only 2 went on to be decent quality embryo. But in the 2nd cycle they got 8 eggs out of which 6 fertilized to be very goods eggs and 2 BB grade embryo's which is supposed to be good quality acc to my clinic. Also in the 2nd cycle they performed ICSI which helped even further.

2) I did not take injections at the same time everyday. Was that a mistake?
I really dont think that this matters except for your HCG trigger shot coz they typically will be ready to retreive your eggs 48 hrs after the shot

3) Does it make difference if you take injections in the abdomen instead of thighs?
I think it doesnt matter again or atleast thats what my nurse told me

4) Should caffeine be completely stopped? On two occasions I had a cup of tea. Was that a mistake?
Me personally ...I totally cut down on caffeine like a month before my Ist IVF cycle and till now I try to avoid caffeine as much as possible. Also if it is really tempting I just take a couple of sips my from DH's cup of coffee. I really dont know if it matters but I read in lots of article that caffeine does affect fertility and also my acupuncturist recommended me to cut down on caffine. but i think 1 or 2 cups occasionally should be fine

5) How soon should I go for the next cycle.
After my Ist IVF cycle I was so devastated both emotionally and physically that I couldnt think of going through everything again the next cycle. So I waited out a couple of months....my Ist IVF was in August ...adn then I went for my 2nd IVF tsfr in Dec...I just took enough time to completely recover before I got into the rollercoaster again.[/COLOR]
6) I did not space the endometrium(progestrone) doses properly. Was that a problem?Since I took PIO shots I really dont have an idea about this

7) Should I go on complete bed rest after the embryo transfer?
I was in complete bed rest for 4 days even though my dr suggested that 1 or 2 days should be enough. Also for some reason my personal belief was that though they say 1 day should be enough I think it is upto you personally to decide how your body feels and act accordingly

8) Should I consider changing the doctor?
Now I read your last thread and was quite surprised that your dr wanted your tubes to be removed. Also my other question was did you do IVF/ICSI this time. Before you go ahead and do anything drastic just check out other options..Also before I went ahead with my 2nd cycle I made sure to see another dr for a 2nd opinion ....that dr made sure that we were gng on in the right direction and she just suggested us to be patient and if it didnt work the next time to come see her...but since by God's grace it worked out fine the 2nd time only we didnt have to go to her....

All the above are just my 2 cents....because I totally relate to you since I was sailing in the same boat once....but dont lose hope ...there is always light at the end of the tunnel....maybe God is doing this for a reason....thats how i personally handled my loss......so do not worry dear......first of all take some rest before you go ahead ....sending you tons and tons of baby dust......and good luck

 

Hi Maithili,

Babyboom and Mannu raghu have clearly explained all your doubts.I also went through a failed IVF cycle in Nov'09 and I am currently preparing myself for 2nd IVF cycle in Feb.I can totally understand your emotions and somehow I feel that I can relate you to myself.

As others said ,what's important is the quality of the eggs and not the quantity.Before talking about the reason being secretion from your damaged tube,Did you discuss about the quality of the embryos?

The quality of the eggs and the sperm plays an imp. role for a good quality embryo.When we went for a follow up visit to know what went wrong in my previous cycle,my RE told me that I stimulated fast and the E2 levels rose super fast.They were able to retrieve 10 eggs which was low when compared to the e2 levels.Once my E2 levels started increasing they decreased the dosage in my last cycle.Out of the 10 eggs, 8 were mature and all the 8 were fertilised ( ICSI).The embyos were not progressing after day 3 and only one good quality embryo was there on the transfer day(D5).So this cycle,RE felt the need for a steady increase of the stimulation meds .This would be helpful for steady and gradual stimulation and the result would be better quality eggs.

So my 2 cents is to talk to your RE about the stimulation and the quality of embryos.Do your research and rule out all the options before you go in for a decision to remove your tubes.This is something which I felt and then again the Dr/RE would be able to guide you better.
My best wishes.

 

Hi maithali,

Dont worry my dear....time will heal things slowly..try to keep yourself occupied in other things....try doing things that you like. Also the most important thing is dont lose hope...if one door closes God makes sure to open the other one...Also maithali my real concern is why does your dr suggest removing the tubes....I really dont get that part.My sincere suggestion would be that you should get 2nd opinion from a different dr. Also did you guys do ICSI this time...for me when I did ICSI/IVF there was drastic change in the embryo quality compared to the 1st IVF cycle...so ask your doctor about this before you decide on removing the tubes...the main reason I am telling you this is coz even I had tubal issues....my left tube is blocked and the right works fairly good. Did you have endometriosis and did that cause your damaged tubes...or was it a birth defect...for me it was the latter case.....anyways do not lose hope and have faith in yourself and your body ....take care dear....you need time to recover from this cycle first.....do a lot of thinking before you go ahead with the next cycle.....take care .....