u/Loveoholic2602

I’m 27 and trying to decide what makes the most sense after my first IVF retrieval.

A little background: I had Cushing’s disease as a child and underwent two pituitary surgeries followed by pituitary radiation. I now have hypopituitarism, hypothyroidism, and adrenal insufficiency, and I don’t have natural menstrual cycles.

For my first retrieval, we got 37 eggs, 27 mature, 19 fertilized with ICSI, but only 3 made it to blastocyst. Thankfully, all 3 came back euploid after PGT-A:
Day 6 4AB – XY
Day 6 4BB – XY
Day 7 5BB – XX

My doctor considers the embryos lower quality despite being euploid and estimated roughly 60%, 40%, and 20% success rates for them respectively. She also felt that the poor blast conversion was likely related to egg quality. If we do another retrieval, she said she would change the protocol and possibly add HGH/growth hormone.

We aren’t planning to transfer until end of next year, so now I’m torn. Part of me thinks I should do another retrieval now while I’m 27 and bank more embryos, especially because we only got 3 blasts from 37 eggs. But another part of me wonders if I should just transfer one of the euploid embryos next year and only think about another retrieval if the transfers don’t work or if we want more embryos later.

For anyone who had a few euploid embryos but poor blast conversion, would you retrieve again while still young, or would you try transferring first? Did anyone wait a year or two before doing another retrieval, and did you notice a significant difference in results?

I’d especially love to hear from anyone with pituitary/endocrine issues or anyone whose doctor suspected egg quality despite being relatively young.

Hi everyone! I had my post-IVF appointment with my RE and wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

I’m 27. We had 37 eggs retrieved, 27 mature, and 19 fertilized with ICSI, but unfortunately only 3 out of the 19 made it to blastocyst.

The good news is that we did PGT-A on all three and all 3 came back euploid, which we’re extremely grateful for:
Day 6 4AB - euploid
Day 6 4BB - euploid
Day 7 5BB - euploid

My doctor explained that most of our embryos were already poor quality (grades 2–3) on Day 3, and based on how the cycle went, she feels our low blastocyst conversion was most likely related to egg quality rather than sperm quality.

She said that if we decide to do another retrieval, she would consider adding growth hormone (HGH) to my stimulation protocol to potentially help with egg/embryo quality.

Has anyone had a similar cycle with lots of eggs and good fertilization, but poor Day-3 embryo quality and a very low blastocyst rate? If you added HGH for your next retrieval, did you see a noticeable improvement in embryo quality or blastocyst numbers?

Also, what side effects did you experience from HGH? Were they mild/manageable, or did you find HGH noticeably harder on your body compared with a cycle without it?

I’d love to hear both positive and negative experiences, especially from anyone with a similar cycle pattern. ❤️

Hi everyone,
I’m 27F and my husband is 27M. I just finished my first IVF cycle, and I’m feeling pretty heartbroken after getting my blastocyst update. I was hoping to hear from anyone who has been through something similar.
A little background:
27F / 27M
AMH: 5.04 ng/mL
I have hypopituitarism (my ovaries are normal, but my pituitary doesn’t produce the hormones needed for me to ovulate naturally).
Freeze-all cycle with ICSI + PGT-A
Estradiol before trigger: 4,274 pg/mL
Trigger: 5,000 IU Pregnyl + dual Lupron trigger
Started on cabergoline due to my high risk of OHSS
Results:
37 eggs retrieved
27 mature
19 fertilized (ICSI)
Only 3 made it to blastocyst and were biopsied for PGT-A
We’re now waiting 2–3 weeks for the PGT-A results.
I know attrition is expected at every stage, but I honestly wasn’t expecting such a significant drop from 19 fertilized to only 3 blastocysts. It’s been really difficult to process, and I’m trying to understand what might have happened.
I’m hoping to hear from others who had similar numbers:
Has anyone else had a big drop between fertilization and blastocyst?
Did your doctor think it was related to egg quality, sperm quality, the stimulation protocol, or just biological chance?
If you only had a few blastocysts, how many ended up being euploid?
Did anyone have success from just 1–3 blastocysts?
I know it only takes one healthy embryo, and I’m trying to hold onto that while we wait for the PGT-A results. I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences or any words of encouragement.

Hi everyone! I have my egg retrieval tomorrow and I’m feeling a little anxious about OHSS.
I’m 27 and my AMH is around 5.04 ng/mL. At my most recent scan, I had 10+ follicles on each ovary. On the left, I had three follicles measuring 20 mm and the rest were around 14–19 mm. On the right, I had one 20 mm follicle and the rest were around 11–16 mm. My lining was 11 mm.
My estradiol was 4,274 pg/mL before trigger, so my clinic said I’m at increased risk for OHSS. I stopped Follistim, Menopur, and Ganirelix and triggered with:
Pregnyl/hCG 5,000 units
Lupron 80 units that evening
Another Lupron 80 units the following morning
They also started me on cabergoline 0.5 mg nightly to help lower the OHSS risk. My cycle is freeze-all.
Since triggering, I’ve been feeling nauseous. I’m able to keep food and fluids down and I don’t currently have severe pain, vomiting, shortness of breath, or reduced urination, but I’m nervous about how I’ll feel after retrieval.
Has anyone had similar estradiol levels and follicle numbers with a dual trigger? How many eggs did you retrieve, and did you develop OHSS? Did nausea start before retrieval for you, and how long did it last?