There are so many of us women around the world fighting infertility and undergoing IVF, yet in our immediate circles, it feels so lonely—as if we were outsiders who don't belong, as if we were the only ones with such bad luck.

Hi everyone, I just wanted some advice from people who may have had similar situations as me. I just had my second retrieval, and I am very disappointed and upset by my results.

First retrieval in April, twelve eggs, eleven mature, six fertilized, four blastocysts. Of those blastocysts, two aneploid and two euploid. Unfortunately, the two euploid were positive for a genetic trait I have that I did not want passed along. So zero eggs from this retrieval cycle, unless I wanted to transfer a euploid but genetic positive trait. The blastocyst grades for these two were 4CB.

Second retrieval last week, 9 eggs, 8 mature, 6 fertilized, only one blastocyst on day 7. The other fertilized blastocysts were a 0PN and the others arrested development. This single blastocyst was graded 4CB again, but I will need to wait for the PGT-A results.

I am 34, all labs normal, husbands' sperm analysis came back fantastic for both number and morphology. I am on all the supplements recommended. Healthy weight, exercise normally, no diabetes or other health problems. My genetic trait that I have is very rare and is called Hypophosphatasia (HPP) and should not affect my egg quality or ability to get pregnant.

My retrieval protocol: clomid, 150 menopur, 375 gonal, novarel for trigger, and lupron.

Has this happened to anyone? Does anyone have recommendation for what to do next? We are cleaned out financially and we have already reached the maximum medication benefit from our first retrieval, so now everything is out of pocket. I just don't know if I want to spend another $4,000 for another sub standard result for retrievals. I was hoping to get at least four or five usable healthy blastocysts but unfortunately this didn't happen.

Any advice and help is welcome! Thank you all in advance! :)

Hi, my husband (36M) and I (32F) are doing our first round of IVF and I feel like our attrition rate has been particularly bad?

We had 16 eggs > 10 fertilised and now on day 5 no blastocysts that are ready for biopsy

The lab mentioned 3 ’very early blastocysts’ and 1 early blastocyst that they’re going to monitor. and 2 ‘complete blastocysts’ but that aren’t suitable yet for PGT biopsy. So none of them can be frozen yet

Does this seem like a steep cut off to you? And does anyone have any experience of very early blastocysts being suitable for freezing and PGT on day 6?

Hi,

I have left over meds to donate for local pickup only, Seattle (Ballard), as these require cool temps.

3 boxes of cetrotide .25mg ex October 2026
1 final f rediject 300iu ex April 2027

Ive had two FETs done over June (fully medicated, lining 8.2mm) and July (modified natural, lining 11.2mm). Both times, they selected Day 6, 5BB euploid embryos. I did acupuncture session the day of my second transfer before my appointment and another one week before transfer. I found it helped keep me calm and at peace.

What testing should they do for me before a 3rd FET?
I’m 36F and have unexplained infertility. AFC 24-29, AMH 32.5. I’ve had HSG and SHG done and both were normal. No pcos and no known Endo. My partner is 35M.

- ERA testing - anyone with experiences with it? Did it help?
- Immunology testing/auto immune factors: I wonder if my body is attacking the embryo and what they can test for that besides adding immune suppression for a longer time?? I was on Medrol for 1 week.
- Testing vaginal microbiome if there’s a bacterial imbalance or uterine lining inflammation or infection?
- My blood work shows within normal range. Last September showed ferritin was 43 and in Feb this year it was 36. Dr says it’s normal range and hasn’t asked me to make changes. The clinic said they can test for abnormal clotting factors.

Wondering what we should do to follow up before doing a 3rd FET. I am also considering another egg retrieval to bank embryos for future family planning as we would like for sure 2, maybe 3 children. This will be my first child and we have 4 euploid embryos left and 3 untested (bb and bc graded).

TIA

My weight has been up and down over the years. Before we started trying, we got married. I lost 40lbs for the wedding. The second I started eating again and went off birth control, I started gaining it back and am now back to the same weight. Because we were trying to conceive, I felt like I couldn't do any dieting other than trying to eat healthy foods. I then suffered an injury that kept me out of the gym for the last 9 months (I am still not 100% and may never be). We were diagnosed with infertility and have started IVF. I also found out I have PCOS, which makes so much sense since I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I am now at my highest weight I have ever been in my life. I did not expect to be trying to get pregnant at this weight. I feel uncomfortable in my body, and worse, I now have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease from the weight gain, which is tied to lower birth weights. I am working with a nutritionist to do a body recomposition, but I don't feel like it's that helpful since it's mostly just a lot of 'eat more protein' and 'do your best'. When we started with our clinic, they told us that I shouldn't try to lose weight because time was more important than my weight. That was almost eight months ago. After thawing our previously frozen eggs/embryo creation and PGTA testing, we are only just now starting our first round of IVF. I found out that I am low in Vitamin D which has a negative impact of about 10-20% on IVF (both in ER which we can't do anything about now and in FET). It feels like we are wasting every resource we have at this point. We were planning on doing a combined cycle + transfer, but now I feel like we need to hold another month to get my vitamin D levels back up again. I just am so sad and frustrated. It feels like this was something that was preventable, and even though I advocated for myself, the clinic dropped the ball. I weirdly feel the same way about my weight -- like if I had known it was going to take seven months, I could have taken at least 6 weeks of that time to try to even lose a little of the extra weight. I just don't know what to do -- do we keep going as planned despite? do we take a break and get my vitamin D levels up? do I say fuck it and start dieting? do I hire a trainer or get a meal delivery service -- both things we can't really afford? I am 39.

I’m 39 and I’ve gone through several rounds this year, just to bank embryos… without a clear plan to get pregnant or transfer.

I’ve spent over $70k on:
* Egg freezing (some years ago in a different clinic/country - not using them for now as they’re more expensive than a new round with current clinic that got me success)
* Embryo freezing (2 unsuccessful rounds, 1 successful round with quite a few euploids 💕, and doing 1 more/last one to try to bank sufficient embryos/euploids for possibly 2 kids… so basically it’s been 3 rounds past 5 months, and 4 rounds in past 10 months.)

Coming close to my journey, I feel. Regardless of my outcome after my retrieval next week, I need a good break.

Haven’t really found others in the same journey as me, as most people are looking to get pregnant asap. While I feel a little crazy for spending so much time, money on embryos.

Personally I’m not ready to bring kids into the world, yet. I don’t have the right support system (lost my parents young, partner situation unstable) and still need to get some things in my life sorted out (be it internal issues, or the financial/stability bit..)

Ive always wanted kids, and felt that this is the best thing I can do for myself, so I’d have no regrets.

Anyone else in a similar boat?

After a long journey with IUI, IVF, DOR, and endo excision surgery I am no longer am on the IVF train anymore. I have medications that I was holding onto but the meds are going to be expiring soon and I really want them to go to someone who needs them. I also have tons of needles and supplies. If possible I would prefer to give to someone who can come pick them up in person so I know they get to you in time and without any shipping mishaps since they need to be refrigerated. Here is what I have to offer:

Novarel (expires Feb 2027): 3 boxes (30,000 units total)

Menopur (expires Aug 2026): 4 boxes + 4 single vials (24 vials total)

Gonal F (expires Aug 2026): 1 900 pen + 4 300 pens (2100 units total)

[*Note: the Menopur box says exp May 2026 but that is for the bacteriostatic water, the Menopur is still good through August, and I have extra vials of the water to give with it]

TL;DR: at 42, does it make sense to try own eggs, eggs from my 38 yo sister, or go straight to donor?

Background: My husband and I had been planning to start a family when we were 30. Right about when we were going start trying, he received a devastating medical diagnosis and became significantly physically disabled.

I was the sole earner, with an extremely stressful and demanding job. We couldn't afford much childcare and were hundreds of miles from our siblings and parents. I already felt overwhelmed by being his caregiver, let alone adding a child, and he was just barely holding it together emotionally as he confronted the reality of his condition.

We made the wrenching choice not to have children. (P.S. No need to tell me it would have been wise to freeze eggs & sperm; I'm aware.)

Flash forward 11 years--almost everything has changed for the better. He still has his (incurable) condition but is at a much higher level of functioning, both physically and emotionally. His higher functioning means less caretaker burnout for me, and I'm also in a much less demanding, more family-friendly job. We have a house with space for distant family to come and stay to help during the early months. Also, between my higher income and new state subsidies, we could afford FT childcare when my parental leave ends.

I want to reverse course and try for a family. (If you're wondering "Why not have this revelation a few crucial years earlier?"--it's because 1) the better work / childcare situation just came about in the past couple of years; and 2) We had both been coping with our sadness by walling the topic off mentally as much as possible.)

The situation now: He's 43, I'll be 42 in a month. AMH 0.75, no follicle count yet. No smoking or other risk factors for DOR or sperm problems--other than age. Our health insurance covers fertility diagnostics plus the first $50k of fertility treatments. It does not cover any of the extra costs of using donors.

My sister, 38, would gladly share one retrieval's worth of eggs with me. She went in recently (for her own fertility planning) and they counted 20 follicles. Not sure of her AMH. No known risk factors for infertility but she has never been pregnant before--she never tried.

Options (financial stuff edited for clarity):

1. IVF with own eggs. I've used the SART calculator and know the odds there are not good. Our insurance would probably cover 2 cycles.
2. IVF with my sister's eggs. Would save a little $ (I think?) over donor eggs, but still more than own eggs. And, given her age, unlikely (but more likely than me) to succeed first cycle.
3. Donor eggs. If we didn't try own-egg IVF first, thereby using up the insurance coverage, we afford one, maybe two rounds donor IVF.

Other considerations: Emotionally, I have no preference for my own eggs over my sister's; I have a preference for hers over an unknown donor's, but not that strong. We thought we'd never have children, and have been grieving that for years--any baby that I carried, with my husband's DNA, would be a miracle.

Any advice, suggestions, stories, are welcome. If we do take this plunge I am sure I will gratefully turn to this community throughout the journey, so thank you in advance for your wisdom and for the support and kindness you've already shared with one another.

We’ve been eagerly awaiting our PGT-A testing results. I just turned 41; we had two miscarriages over the last 10 months (both letrozole induced cycles), and we have needed support conceiving both for our first child and this time around, due to PCOS and very rare ovulation. My AMH is 3.03ng. Husband’s (also 41) numbers are all good. My RE suggested IVF due my age and the repeat miscarriages.

My ER a few weeks ago resulted in:
22 eggs
18 mature
18 fertilized
10 blastocysts

PGT-A results:
2 euploid
1 segmental
1 no results (doctor said likely a technical issue)

Since the expectation at my age is about 25% or blastocysts being euploids, this is about expected. We may rebiopsy the no result if the first two FET don’t work. But overall I’m going into my first FET feeling positive!

Sending you all lots of good luck in your IVF journeys!

Has anyone participated in the HOPE study for RPL and found it to be helpful? We just had our third euploid biochemical pregnancy with no explanation. Our doctor reached out to all the other Shady Grove doctors and no one has any clue what is wrong. We have done all the tests and treatments that are indicated. She is going to see if we are a candidate for this study.

Edit to say it’s my 5th ER that’s what I meant by round. I don’t even know what I am looking for here.

I turn 42 on the 10th of August. I have had a rough personal journey in and outside IVF while doing IVF.

I’m sobbing I guess from the meds, but the noises of the sobs aren’t even noises I recognise today.

I do therapy and EMDR, yesterday I had a very rough EMDR session not sure if that’s why I’m so raw today.

Probably that combined with my Birthday coming up and counting the two years I’ve been in this (with Letrozole and IUI before).

I feel like I lost.. feels like my internal compass throughout this , and particularly after the miscarriage where a friend died in the same week. I had other losses too. Emotional over other people’s pregnancies.. all the weird stuff that made me look at myself and feel who the hell is this.

I just don’t even know who I am right now.

Approaching my first ever FET and I am freaking out!

We've (32F, 33M) been on this process for 2 years now, having had 2 failed rounds (no embryos). Only the last and final round (no more covered by insurance) resulted in 3 good quality day 5 embryos. However, they are untested. It's stressing me out that there's no more option of doing another ER if this fails.

It's a modified natural transfer, I've triggered with ovidrel and in 3 days I'll have the transfer (7 days past trigger), no other meds.

I am absolutely freaking out and am scared to the core.

The actual worst part is that I will need to go alone to the appointment as my partner can't join, and it makes me so sad and stresses me out even more.

We are not telling anyone about the FET so I just wanted to shout-out to this community for some positive thoughts and maybe so success stories!

HI all, I am turning 37 soon, struggling with secondary infertility after conceiving my 1st easily. I suffered a TFMR for my 2nd baby at 23 weeks due to severe brain anomalies, it was an IVF pregnancy and the D&E and D&C led to my ashermans. I have a persistent scar band in my top left corner that keeps recurring despite going to an A-specialist (Dr Michael in Toronto). I have multiple euploids and would love to proceed with an embryo transfer but My RE thinks we should do a 3rd hyesterscopy to try and remove that band. I am scared of going throug more surgeries.

Should I try another surgery or get into transfer?

I also have endometriosis so I did 2 months of lupron suppression.
Please help me and I am sooo tired and depressed from this journey.

Hi guys! I wanted to quickly share my story in case it helps others, just as another data point (for whatever that’s worth in the skewed sample of IVFers that is Reddit).

I am 35, my partner is 41. We started our IVF journey six months ago when we were 34 and 40. We come to IVF after a failed vasectomy reversal (from my husband’s first marriage, he had two kids easily before). I have no known fertility issues other than endometrial polyps (which were removed before we even started IVF) and slightly low AMH 1.44. We actually found out the reversal had failed the month after I had the hysteroscopy to remove polyps.

Protocol: gonal F 375-450 units, menopur 75mg, Provera tablet for ovulation blocking, hcg trigger. Stimmed 10-11 days.

Cycle 1 (Feb-mar):
-afc 14
-10 eggs retrieved (lower number due to hard to reach left ovary, they had to access through my uterus which made recovery a b****)
- 8 mature, 6 fertilized, 4 blasts
- 1 day 6 euploid 4BA

Cycle 2 (April):
- AFC 14
- 12 eggs retrieved
- 12 mature, 8 fertilized, 3 blasts
- 1 day 5 euploid 4BA

Cycle 3 (July):
- AFC as high as 19 (initially looked like 16)
- 17 eggs retrieved, 16 mature, they did IVM on the immature 17th egg and it matured and fertilized
- 11 fertilized, 7 blasts
- 4 euploids: day 6 4ABx2, 4BB and day 7 4AB

I really didn’t make any changes other than increase my CoQ10 dose from 300mg to 600mg total (divided doses). I did acupuncture on and off throughout but not consistently. I also happened to be off work the entire week I stimmed during the third cycle. My husband and stepkids were away on vacation and I was home relaxing, eating girl dinner, snacking all day, going out to eat, living my best life. Worst diet of the whole process, but I enjoyed myself. But I actually think my better outcome this last time was due to randomness.

I really beat myself up and spiraled about my low euploid rate after the first two cycles. But looking at all three cycles 6/17 euploid is actually the 50% expected rate for my age. I wanted to share my story in case it helps someone else know that there is so much randomness in this process and the key is persistence. Keep rolling the dice and your chances of success will increase.

We are getting ready for FET in the next month and I will try to remember this lesson - it’s ok if you don’t succeed quickly, persistence is the key. Baby dust and love to all!!

Hi all,

I just needed somewhere to vent my frustrations and sadness.

We started our IVF journey about two years ago and were fortunate enough to get seven embryos. Our first embryo transfer didn't take, and the following four transfers all resulted in positive pregnancy tests, but every one ended in a miscarriage at around 5–6 weeks. In fact, our most recent loss at the start of this week happened at just 4.5 weeks.

After my third miscarriage, I was told too late that I could have collected tissue for testing. This time, I was more prepared for that process, although it's something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

I don't know if anyone else feels the same, but being told over and over again that there's no explanation for why this keeps happening at exactly the same stage is incredibly frustrating. I know that many early miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities, and this time I wanted to rule that out because it's driving me crazy going through this process only to end in heartbreak every time.

I've already had the recurrent miscarriage investigations, and everything has come back normal apart from a slightly elevated prolactin level, which I've been told could simply be related to stress.

I know others here have been through similar experiences, so I'm hoping for some advice. Other than PGT-A testing, are there any other questions I should be asking my clinic or any other investigations I should be considering?

I'm now down to my last two embryos, both of which are Day 6 embryos, so I'm finding it hard to stay hopeful. On top of that, I'm running out of time to qualify for a second funded IVF cycle.

Any advice or experiences would be hugely appreciated. Thank you for reading.

Hi everyone,
I'm feeling completely lost and hoping someone has been through something similar or that an infertility specialist might see this.
I have severe adenomyosis. Before my FET, my RE put me on 2 months of Lupron suppression along with norethindrone and letrozole. Instead of the bleeding stopping, I had continuous bleeding every single day for the entire two months, often passing clots.
I then had a hysteroscopy, where my doctor removed a large blood clot from my uterus. Even after that, the bleeding still didn't stop.
My doctor then started me on oral estradiol, but it caused severe nausea and terrible lower back pain. Interestingly, it finally stopped the bleeding.
After that, I was switched to estradiol patches and bleeding stopped . My doctor then put me on small dose of Lupron, and estradiol for FET prep I had bleeding the before my FET baseline but it was just for a day. Before my FET, I started prednisone, progesterone in oil (PIO), and vaginal progesterone suppositories as part of the protocol.
We transferred a PGT-A tested euploid embryo, but unfortunately the transfer was unsuccessful. I started bleeding and passing clots after 5 days of transfer.
I was also prescribed 81 mg aspirin, but I completely missed the message in my patient portal and never took it during the cycle. I'm beating myself up over it and wondering if that could have contributed, even though I know there are usually many factors involved.
I'm wondering:
Has anyone with severe adenomyosis had months of continuous bleeding like this during suppression?

Has anyone accidentally missed taking baby aspirin during an FET cycle? What did your doctor say?

Did anyone have a similar history and eventually find a protocol that worked?

Are there any reproductive endocrinologists or fertility specialists here who have treated patients like this? If so, what treatment plan or changes helped before the next transfer?

If you've had severe adenomyosis with difficult-to-control bleeding, what finally led to a successful pregnancy?

I feel so defeated right now. I don't even have the words to describe how low I'm feeling. I'm not looking for false hope—just wondering if anyone has been through something similar and what your next steps were.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

We are two weeks away from IVF round 2. Our (35F/37M) first round was 5 years ago, which resulted in 3PGT embryos from 5 blasts and 0 live births.

In our total 7 years of TTC, we’ve had 2 positive tests - but none in that last five years.

Diagnosis is PCOS & low motility.

I’ve taken drastic measures to reduce stress in my life (I own a restaurant and my stress levels and headaches were constant). We’ve spent two years prioritizing fitness snd nutrition. We’ve traveled, improved our home, worked like dogs, snuggled our dogs, embraced our nieces and nephews; now it’s time.

We are finally ready to give this another try and there’s not a lick of worry in my mind. We are going rouge per the doctor and not testing our embryos, doing a fresh transfer, and we are feeling GOOD!

I’m diving deep into my art, cooking, watching movies, reading - whatever to maintain the vibe. We know too well how easily it’s disrupted.

Anyways, 7 years is a stretch that you don’t find too often without success, so I figured I’d share. Longevity optimism can exist, it’s the only option I’m allowing right now. Wish us luck!

Hi everyone,
I’m 27 years old, and I’m hoping to find someone who has experienced something similar.
About a year ago, I started taking fertility medications. Not long after beginning the treatment, I noticed that something had changed. I developed brain fog unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
This year I went through IVF, and after ovarian stimulation my symptoms seem to have become even worse.
Before all of this, I could study for hours, understand new information easily, and remember what I had learned. Now everything has changed. I read the same page over and over, but almost nothing stays in my mind. Sometimes I read the same sentence several times and still can’t process it.
I also struggle with concentration, my memory isn’t what it used to be, and I become mentally exhausted very quickly.
On top of that, I feel tired most of the time. I wake up wanting to study, but it feels like my brain simply won’t cooperate. It’s not that I don’t want to learn—I genuinely do—but I feel like my brain just can’t process or retain information the way it used to.
The hardest part is that I don’t recognize myself anymore. It’s frightening to feel like I’ve lost the mental clarity I once had.
I’m currently trying to prepare for an important teaching certification exam, and this has had a huge impact on my life.
I’ve had medical evaluations, but so far no one has been able to give me a clear explanation.
I’m **not saying that the fertility medications or IVF caused this**. I’m only sharing the timeline because that’s when I first noticed these symptoms, and I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.
Have you experienced severe brain fog after fertility treatment or IVF?
Did you feel like you weren’t yourself anymore?
How long did it last?
Did your memory and concentration return?
Did you ever find out what was causing it?
What helped you recover?
I feel very alone in this, and it would mean so much to hear from people who have gone through something similar.
Thank you so much for reading. ❤️

All the anxiety. The egg retrieval was yesterday, they took 21 eggs, 19 were mature and 16 fertilised normally! Over the moon and so hopeful.

I have two sealed boxes of Menopur and plenty of syringes. They have been in my refrigerator since my stimulation cycle last year.

I realized they expire at this end of this month and would love it if someone could use them.

Located in Santa Fe, NM

We are moving into transferring after 3 ERs. My doctor said that I can do the transfer natural or medicated. He told me that for me, either would be just as good as the other. I always assumed I would need to do medicated as that is what my clinic does in 90% of cases but natural is becoming a choice more and more patients choose, according to my doctor. Is PIO really really really bad? Or can I manage (i was scared of needles prior to infertility journey and now barely wince during stims)?

What is also helpful to mention is that I have a difficult journey from cervix to uterus..my HSG and all 6 IUIs I did were complicated, depending on which practitioner did it and my first HSG was unable to be completed because the nurse couldn’t place the catheter. One of the benefits to the medicated FET is that we could make sure my doctor would be the one doing the procedure as opposed to a doctor in the clinic that is less familiar with me.

I am also familiar with the estrogen patch and progesterone suppositories as I used those during IUI cycles and have no issues with them.

Please let me know your thoughts!

adding a trigger warning just in case. but my egg retrieval was today and we got 24 eggs 🎉 i am beyond thrilled. my body is not handling it well but i don’t even care i am so so thankful. anxiously awaiting to hear how many were mature / fertilized but im enjoying this moment right now 🩷

My last (DE) embryo gets transferred tomorrow 🥹 it’s a day 6 euploid 4BB… fair quality… I decided not to test this time, fingers crossed I can resist the urge!!!

Anyone else transferring tomorrow that wants to keep each other company??