# IVF - embryo quality decreasing each cycle



## rosy (Mar 31, 2004)

Hi 

I'm on my third ICSI cycle and with each attempt the quality of my embryos worsens. With the last cycle I was taking metformin, which was hoped to improve my embryo quality. Each cycle has resulted in 2 embryos being replaced, and the rest allowed to perish, none are of suitable quality for freezing. Will my cycles continue to get worse? Because my ICSI has always failed before, I am running out of hope when each time the odds seem to be worse than the last time.

thanks for any help or suggestions you can provide.


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## country girl (Jun 18, 2004)

Hi Rosy,
I am in similar situation. I had first ICSI which gave me 25 cysts, 23 eggs, 19 fertilised but none of them really good, they put the best 2 in and none good enought to freeze. I got a positive preg test but started AF on the same day. The clinic said sometimes it is better to have less cysts as quality is better but I was on lowest dose of drugs anyway.

2nd ICSI I tried menoopur instead of Gonal F, this time I got 16 cysts, 12 eggs, 9 fertilised, non of them really good, 2 put back in , none good enough to freeze and resulted in BFN.

I think it is mainly luck of the draw, the clinic says the egg quality and amount varies from month to month. 
Bizarrly my father in law went for ICSI with his new girlfriend. They had very few eggs and 2 poor quality ones put back in but it was obviously good enough as she is due in Oct. 

My clinic say it is really difficult to know from looking which are good quality and which arnt. They say they know this as in the past (when they were allowed to put 3 in) they had people with what looked like poor quality eggs so they put 3 back rather than 2 and ended up with triplets on numerous occasions.

My clinic said maybe my eggs didnt like being injected (and quite rightly so as it is not natural), they suggested I could try eating more protein (they asked if I was veggie, I am not but dont eat much meat), drink a pint of milk a day (again for protein) and take aspirin every day. The clinic said they didnt know if it would help but it wouldnt harm (unless get terrible indigestion with aspirin) and it makes me feel better as I drink my pint of milk I feel as though I am doing something as I generally feel quite helpless in the whole process. They say they will also try to get a different embryologist to do the injection next time as sometimes just a different technique/angle for the injection makes all the difference to how the eggs stand up to inj.

I wish you best of luck with the 3rd ICSI. I am waiting to have my 3rd go. AF should arrive in 1/52 and then I can get started on the drugs after that. 

Lots of love and baby dust.


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## country girl (Jun 18, 2004)

PS forgot to say, I read somewhere else on the site that only one in ten couples get embryos good enough to freeze.


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## Clare_S (Aug 9, 2003)

Hi Rosy

I have had 2 cycles of ICSI and had 12 and 17 eggs respectively and got 6 and 8 embryos. The second cycle I had 2 average grade 3 embies and the rest were too poor to freeze and I got a BFP. On the day of et I was devastated because the response had not been as good as the previous cycle, I need not have worried. It just goes to show that sometimes the best looking embies are not the ones that make it !!

I was speaking to my nurse about freezing and apparently it is more common to have none to freeze than to have some.

My clinic have also transferred, at the patients insistence, 'unviable' embies which resulted in a triplet pg.

Good luck for everything and I hope your dream comes true.

Clare


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## rosy (Mar 31, 2004)

Hi Country Girl and Clare S

thanks for your replies, at least I don't feel so alone, it's so hard to keep everything in perspective.

It's so frustrating when there's so little confirmed information about what individual responses to IVF actually mean. 

Good luck to both of you and I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Rosy


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## Wendy HP (Jan 4, 2004)

Hi Rosy

Please don't give up hope. I've only had one ICSI cycle, but responded v. poorly to the stimulation (switched from menopur to gonal-f) and had a v high dose - I ended up with 6 eggs, only 4 were mature enough for ICSI and only one of them fertilised - and had to be put back in on day 2 as they didn't think it would last...

We really thought we had a v. slim chance of getting a BFP - but it did happen and I'm now nearly 7 weeks pregnant. (and the hcg levels are still continuing to rise)

Hope this gives you - miracles do happen and you only need one little one.

Sending you lots of positive vibes.  
Wendyx

ps. Do you have the Zita West fertility and conception book - if not I'd recommend it - it explains lots of things and helps to keep me sane through the roller coaster.


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## rosy (Mar 31, 2004)

Hi Wendy

congratulations on BFP, I'm hoping I shall have the same wonderful news soon.

thanks for your positive message, it's just so hard to wait

love

Rosy


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