u/Astronomical_Unit

Hello everyone,

I’ve completed two back-to-back egg retrievals so far.

In my first cycle, I was on 150 IU Menopur and 300 IU Gonal-F. I was responding poorly, so my Gonal-F was increased to 525 IU on day 5. That cycle, I had 13 follicles and ended up with 6 mature eggs.

For my second cycle, I had been on birth control for 16 days beforehand, so I wondered if I had been oversuppressed. Because of that, I decided to do a cold-start cycle. I started another retrieval cycle when I got my period, about 10 days later, using 150 IU Menopur, 450 IU Gonal-F, and 50 IU Omnitrope.

This cycle seemed more promising at first, but it ended with 14 follicles and only 5 mature eggs. The bigger concern is that my egg quality was poor, and all of my eggs had SERc (smooth endoplasmic reticulum clusters). Part of me is worried that maybe I’m using too much medication and that it could be affecting egg quality.

I brought this up with my doctor, but he said there isn’t much else we can do and offered me to prime with a 1 mg estradiol pill daily until I get my period to see if that avoids oversuppressing me, so I'm doing that now. I’m wondering if that dose seems a little low though since most people I see seem to prime with ~4 mg daily.

I’m curious if anyone can share different protocols that worked for you. I’m thinking of asking about a microdose Lupron flare protocol to see if that might help. I have DOR, and my FSH was 15.2 last time it was checked, so I’m not sure how much that would help.

Thanks so much for your input.

Hi everyone,

During ICSI today, my embryologist said my eggs had “quite a bit” of SERC (smooth endoplasmic reticulum clusters).

I’ve been reading about it and finding mixed information. Some sources make it sound like a serious oocyte quality concern, while others say embryos from SERC-positive eggs can still develop normally and result in healthy babies.

I’m curious if anyone has experience with this finding. What outcomes did you have?

How concerned should I be, and would you avoid transferring embryos from SERC-positive eggs? My biggest fear is the mentions I’ve seen of birth defects or imprinting disorders.

I’m planning to do PGT-A if any embryos make it to blast. I’d really appreciate insight from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

During ICSI today, my embryologist said my eggs had “quite a bit” of SERC (smooth endoplasmic reticulum clusters).

I’ve been reading about it and I’m finding mixed information. Some sources make it sound like a serious oocyte quality concern, while others say embryos from SERC-positive eggs can still develop normally and result in healthy babies.

How concerned should I be and should I avoid transferring these embryos? My biggest fear is that there were mentions of birth defects or imprinting disorders.

I’m doing PGT-A if embryos make it to blast. I’d really appreciate insight from embryologists or people familiar with how labs handle this finding.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand what is realistic when it comes to baseline follicle count vs. how many follicles actually respond to stimulation during an egg retrieval cycle.

In my first retrieval, I had 13 follicles seen at baseline, but we retrieved 9 eggs, and 6 were mature. Cycle 2 so far I have 14 follicles but 9-10 seem to be responding only.

Is it common for only some of the baseline follicles to actually respond to meds? Or is it possible, with the right protocol, to stimulate most or all of the follicles seen at baseline?

For those of you who had follicles that didn’t respond, did anything help improve response in later cycles (for example different priming, higher starting dose, different protocol, etc)

I know every case is different, but I’d love to hear what helped you get more of your baseline follicles to grow and/or improve maturity rates.

Thank you!