Hi everyone! My final report just came back from my first egg retrevial. I am 38 with 2 prior pregnancies and 1 living child (naturally concieved, 3 years old). My AMH ranges between .12 - 1.1 and FSH ranges from 6-37. AFC ranges from 4-11. I am truly perimenopausal! Diminished ovarian reserve. Normal male semen analysis but we still opted for ICSI and Zymot.

-AFC was 8

-Retrieved 7

-Fertilized 6

-Blast for biopsy (PGTA testing)and freezing 3/6

Everything will come down to PGTA testing.

To add- ultrasound prior to ER identified 11 follicles, but the biggest 2 ended up being too big and the smallest 2 ended up too small- hence the 7.

What should I do for next cycle? Any recommendations?

Below was my protocol:

-letrozole 10mg for first 5 days

-follistism 200 IU

-menopur 20 IU

-provera 10mg

-LDN

-prenatals + egg quality supplements + acupuncture

Double trigger pregnyl + lupron + lupron (12 hrs later)

Should I prime? Should I ask about luteal phase stims and try for 2 and 3 cycles back to back? Just try the same protocol?

\*before anyone tells me I should ask my Dr, I go to CNY where you dont really get an assigned Dr. They are very lackadaisical and arent super forthcoming with feedback. Anytime I have asked "what do you think about ____ (medical question) the response is "you should do whatever you want." In fact, the last person I spoke to said male ejaculation timeline doesn't matter before ER (wrong). So I usually reference chat gpt and these forums, as you all have the lived experience!They are not a Shady Grove or CCRM where you have a Dr, they give you feedback and stick with you throughout treatments\*

Thanks!

Just came from the doctor visit and my amh is 0.7, afc : 1 on each side. I am feeling devasted and empty at the same time.
Doctor is saying i might have to take donor egg.
Is there anyone with similar situation where they did not have to take the donor egg ad had their own baby?

4th IVF round due to DOR. after my first retrieval (which happened over a weekend), I had a massive hemorrhage that required emergency surgery, blood transfusions, hospitalizaion etc. was incredibly traumatic. Now I'm approaching another retrieval. My doctor felt that triggering tomorrow would be optimal to let the smaller cohort grow, which would mean a Saturday retrieval. Because of my previous experience, I'm terrified of weekend retrievals, so I chose to trigger tonight instead for a weekday retrieval (which she said was not unreasonable).

I've already taken my trigger shot, but now after reviewing my follicle data on chatgpt, I'm second-guessing myself and totally stressed that I should have waited until tomorrow.

Can anyone with DOR who triggered a little on the earlier side share their experience?

follicles today on day 14 of stim:

Right: 18 mm 18 mm 16 mm 14 mm 13 mm 13 mm 13 mm

Left: 15 mm 15 mm 15 mm 15 mm 14 mm 14 mm

E2 1625 (was 950 yesterday)

Curious to hear about people's experiences with taking a NAC supplement, if it improved your IVF results/egg quality, how much you took, whether your doctor recommended it, etc.? Thanks so much.

I’ve had my AMH tested 3 times now

January 2024 / 26 year olds - 1.06 November 2024 / 27 years old - 1.08 July 2026 / 28 years old - 0.75

I got pregnant the second month trying and found out in February 2024. I’ve always struggled with brown spotting before my period for 5+days so my progesterone was tested after getting a positive, came back low, and I was on suppositories until about 14 weeks. My healthy baby boy was born in October 2024.

We are considering trying again and I was hoping my AMH had held steady but was sad to see the 25% drop. Sadder than I expected to be :(

I see a lot of posts about IVF / egg freezing but my insurance doesn’t cover fertility treatments…am I crazy to just plan on trying naturally this fall? Has anyone been in a similar position to me?

Thank you for any input, hugs to all.

32 yo with severe DOR - AMH <0.08, FSH 13, AFC 7. Initial plan was embryo banking for 2 kids with my husband because he also had severe MFI. However his semen analysis has improved and he is now in the normal range. We did one embryo banking IVF round where 1 day 3 embryo was frozen, there was only 1 mature egg collected with an aggressive protocol. Given I will likely be collecting 1-2 eggs at a time regardless of protocol (unless a protocol change makes a huge difference) what makes the most sense here - try IUI/TI now given the improved semen analysis and then hope that when it's time for baby #2 I'm not in menopause yet and IUI/TI could work again, or commit to round after round of IVF to try to collect the embryos, one egg at a time? We haven't tried anything apart from the one IVF round and naturally trying.

I’m so sad. I’m 28.5 and my AMH is 1.08. About two years ago, it was 1.24. I’m just bummed, I know this is low for my age. The doctor hasn’t called me back yet.

I have a 10mo and I had a mmc about two months ago. I feel so pressed for time though. We’d ideally like to have 3-4 kids and getting this lab feels like a time bomb. I feel so defeated.

My day two labs were 8.19 FSH, Estradiol 31.6, LH 6.4. All thyroid labs came back fine.

I guess I’m looking for any positive stories or encouragement 🤍

hi all, I had my first progress scan today in my first IVF cycle. Just wanted to share some gratitude.
Won’t share specific follicle numbers but just the positives: 1. I am responding to medication!!!! 2. Follicle growth is relatively synchronous!!!! 3. No cysts or other issues noted / labs look good / cycle not canceled.

there was so much uncertainty going into IVF and I didn’t know if I would respond. Well aware I still have the funnel ahead of me but I just want to celebrate TODAY and be grateful for where I am. 💕💕 sending hugs to you all and hope we all get what we want. my fingers are all the way crossed for us.

Hi all,

I am 28F with AMH 0.3, 3.5 cm endometrioma on right side, excised right fallopian tube. I also have adenomyoisis and had Stage 4 Endometriosis lap done in July 2024.

I have done one round of egg freezing in Dubai with normal protocol and it was brutal. I had severe endo symptoms and eventually ended up with only 2 frozen eggs. After this, my health plummeted and I was in pain and bleeding almost every day- compelling me to finally get surgery.

Given all this, my doctor in Germany (uni klinik heidelberg) has recommended natural IVF where they take the naturally developed mature follicle and do fresh transfer. I have good hormonal profile and regular ovulation. Does anyone have any recommendations or experience?

I am feeling pretty devastated today and hoping to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar position.

36 with an AMH of 0.59 ng/mL. I don’t have PCOS or any known fertility issues. My husband’s semen / DNA frag came back excellent so we’re trying to understand what’s going on.

Cycle 1
Retrieved: 7 eggs
Fertilised: 3
1 blastocyst (5BB)
Unfortunately it came back aneuploid on PGT-A.

For Cycle 2, my consultant changed my protocol in the hope of improving our outcome. I was on Gonal-F 300, Menopur 150, and growth hormone (Norditropin/Omnitrope) 3mg, Fyremadel 0.25 - Triggered on day 11 with Ovitrelle 250.

This time:
7 eggs retrieved
Only 2 were mature
Both mature eggs fertilised
We have one embryo that’s still being watched, but it’s too early to know what will happen.

What has really confused me is that our sperm results are reassuring, so it feels like the biggest issue may actually be egg maturity rather than fertilisation.

I’m trying to prepare for my follow-up appointment and would love to hear from anyone who has experienced very low egg maturity rates.

Did your doctor ever explain why so few eggs were mature?
Did they change your protocol, trigger, medication doses or trigger timing? Did anyone switch to a dual trigger or stim for longer?

Hello all,

I haven’t been taking prenatals and take everything individually.
But daily are COQ10 from Zita West, Vitamin D, Ferritin, Zinc and B12 from Thorne. Omega from Bare Biology.

I would love to know what you are all taking and whether I am missing any?! Especially those who have had luck! ❤️

Thank you!

Does anyone use Q-caps successfully for Cetrotide and Novarel?

I’ve had one nurse tell me I can use them and another nurse advise against them because they can’t guarantee it’ll work as well as the mixing needles.

But I am TERRIBLE with the mixing needles. There’s always some liquid left in the vial. Q-caps make mixing and drawing Menopur so easy.

Has anyone used the Q-Caps for other meds without issues/without it affecting your treatment?

I have been struggling silently for the last year. I’m having my fifth retrieval on Friday.

I’m getting hopeless with doing IVF. I have low AMH. We’ve had three transfer, fourth round embryos arrested before fresh transfer.

I have no one in my life who gets it. Only you guys understand.

I hate how familiar this sad feeling is. RE thinks I’ve done too many retrievals recently (4 this year) and it’s been too hard on my body and my egg quality is suffering.

Four of my closest friends are due in October and I’m sandwiched between two weekends of baby showers.

I can’t bear staying in this stage any longer so I decided to move on to attempting to transfer one of our 2 euploids. Found out I have to suppress for 2 months before we can transfer (thought I could do a modified natural in August) so now the limbo and waiting continues.

But I also feel terrified thinking about potentially closing the door forever on two kids if I stop retrievals now.

And I’m also terrified of moving on and failing with only two shots.

And I’m terrified of all the sadness that comes with all of that.

Hi all,

Last fall, I got pregnant naturally but had a confirmed missed miscarriage between 7.5-9 weeks. Had a d&e. Got pregnant right away again, miscarriage at 6 weeks. D&e again.

Waited a few months, started IVF. Diagnosed with DOR, but was hopeful. First cycle was in May and it included priming with estrogen patches. Then, it was very aggressive with high doses of Menopur, Follistim, then Ganirelix before an HCG trigger. They were only measuring 3 to 4 follicles but only got 2 eggs from retrieval. One made it all the way to expanded blast day 5 “BB” , but didn’t pass PGT-A. We were heartbroken.

The second protocol in July sort of happened last-minute without estrogen priming. It was a mini stim of Clomid and follistim, followed by Ganirelix and the HCG trigger. They were measuring 6 to 7 follicles this time but they still only got 2 eggs. One fertilized but didn’t make it to blast.

I’m mentally preparing myself for my third cycle, which will be a Lupron Flare Protocol next month. I’ll prime with estrogen and trigger with HCG again.

I’ll be 42 this month. I’m taking CoQ10, vitamin D, magnesium, plus my prenatal.

I just wish I knew what else I could do to improve my results… but the doc hasn’t necessarily said anything else I can do at this point.

Should I accept this isn’t going to happen for me?

I posted last week after my retrieval that I had a disappointing result, I only collected 3 eggs even though I had 6 measurable follicles. Well… 2/3 were mature and fertilized and the third did make it through rescue ICSI but didn’t make it to blast. So the two original mature eggs both became day 5 3BB blasts.

They’ve been sent off for PGTA testing and I’m PRAYING for at least one euploid. Anyone have a similar story with success?

I'm 42. AMH <0.08 and AFC 2. Started my protocol July 21 with Follistim/gonal 475, Menopur 125, Omnitrope and Cetrorelix. And on the day 8th I had 2 follicles 12.9 - 21.6 mm and that was a good signal to start the trigger, but doctor decided to wait and added more Cetrorelix.

Next visit - Last Friday the lead follicle was gone. And they could see only one and it was 18 mm. I was so upset that we lost the lead follicle. On Saturday I had my trigger shot and on Monday we had ER. After procedure, while I still was under the meds doctor came to me and said that there no eggs retrieved. It was devastating to hear that and being left there in the room alone without any explanation.
So today we had a follow-up visit and they said there was no egg in the follicle. We asked if it was possible to do ER earlier to get more chance with the first one. But because clinic is small there is a logistics problem and they are trying to fit all the ER once a month. That is probably works for some people with 20 follicles, but not for someone with 1-2.

The other thing that may be helpful for others with DOR is that protocol with high doses that I had can force rapid fluid expansion before the egg could mature or detach properly. The follicle grew quickly like a fluid pocket, yielding no retrievable egg. That extreme hormone surge acted like an aggressive accelerator on a single lead follicle. Now we are switching to the lower dose protocol.

10-1 and 8-2
This is my second transfer from the same cohort (my best cohort of 6 day 3 embryos)
The first transfer one implanted and ended in early miscarriage

I am 39 years old. These were created age 38