Egg retrieval

leon76

Hi everyone , I just wanted to share what we're going thru at the moment. Started IVF treatment in Perth Australia a number of weeks again and this morning my wife and I went into the clinic for the egg collection. Unfortunately and sadly she had no eggs to retrieve. The clinic were surprised and we were obviously upset that there was none.

The consultant explained the situation and mentioned because my wife is 39 and the menopause level is 12 there is a very good chance that we won't be able to have kids. I can't explain the devastation that has descended on us since the consultant said this. She started talking about adoption and donors etc etc but we left destroyed. Been so far away and not having family support is tough but I m really just looking for advice and guidance here. I never felt what I felt today in my life. It was like loss .

I can't bear to think was my wife is thinking. I ve tried to comfort her and reach out its so raw and shock has set in. I just don't want to give up.

Hello Lady!

leon76 wrote: »

Hi everyone , I just wanted to share what we're going thru at the moment. Started IVF treatment in Perth Australia a number of weeks again and this morning my wife and I went into the clinic for the egg collection. Unfortunately and sadly she had no eggs to retrieve. The clinic were surprised and we were obviously upset that there was none.

The consultant explained the situation and mentioned because my wife is 39 and the menopause level is 12 there is a very good chance that we won't be able to have kids. I can't explain the devastation that has descended on us since the consultant said this. She started talking about adoption and donors etc etc but we left destroyed. Been so far away and not having family support is tough but I m really just looking for advice and guidance here. I never felt what I felt today in my life. It was like loss .

I can't bear to think was my wife is thinking. I ve tried to comfort her and reach out its so raw and shock has set in. I just don't want to give up.

Sorry to hear of your sad experience, it's not easy at all.

Were the clinic not monitoring the follicles and egg production throughout? For us, I was scanned every two days to make sure I was producing eggs and that the hormone protocol was a high enough dose. It is very important to monitor this process very carefully as the drugs can either hyperstimulate the ovaries or if they are not high enough dose not stimulate the ovary enough.

Were there no eggs at all? How did they not know this in advance of booking a retrieval procedure? I wouldn't be happy at all with a clinic who did that.

leon76

Hello Lady! wrote: »

Sorry to hear of your sad experience, it's not easy at all.

Were the clinic not monitoring the follicles and egg production throughout? For us, I was scanned every two days to make sure I was producing eggs and that the hormone protocol was a high enough dose. It is very important to monitor this process very carefully as the drugs can either hyperstimulate the ovaries or if they are not high enough dose not stimulate the ovary enough.

Were there no eggs at all? How did they not know this in advance of booking a retrieval procedure? I wouldn't be happy at all with a clinic who did that.

Hi , yes we went to the clinic Monday , Wednesday and Friday of last week for blood tests and scans. When we asked them that question yesterday they said you just's can't tell if there will be eggs are not. You can only see the follicles.

Hello Lady!

leon76 wrote: »

Hi , yes we went to the clinic Monday , Wednesday and Friday of last week for blood tests and scans. When we asked them that question yesterday they said you just's can't tell if there will be eggs are not. You can only see the follicles.

That's strange because when I went through it each scan involved counting the number of follicles and measuring them. It's not guaranteed there will be eggs but they generally know by the size and quantity of the follicles how likely it is that there are eggs. Each visit I had they took a record of the measurements. In the end even my crappy ovary made a few.

But having eggs to harvest is only half the battle - we had 14 harvested, 8 fertilised but in the end only two were of high enough quality to transfer. Thank god those two were all we needed and we are now expecting twins, but a lot of it came down to luck.

Have they given any explanation as why they think there were no eggs (and not just mature enough eggs)? Do they have any suggestions for an alternative hormone protocol next time round, or any options to do things differently to increase the chance of successful egg development?

If they don't have any suggestions like that I would seriously be considering looking for an alternative clinic.

Ishie Moshie

Hi Leon,

I understand the feeling of loss you are going through, I had similar news myself not so long ago, I assume you mean your wife's FSH is 12? If so you should ask for an AMH test - it's a blood test that should give an indication of ovarian reserve. If this comes back low then there might be a problem with her reserve.
Even if it is low, this is not the end of the story, firstly there are always those stories that no matter how unlikely it is that you will acheive pregnancy, sometimes it does just happen. I know you probably switched off when you heard the words you may not be able to have children when you were speaking to the doctor, but when the dust settles and you have time to think about it, maybe you could think about donor eggs if that turns out to be the only thing preventing pregnancy. There is a fantastic forum on rollercoaster.ie about this, lots of people who have found themselves in this position. It's hard to get your head around it at first but, if you want children that option is always there for you.
But before you start thinking about any of that, the clinic you were attending really should be doing more investigations for you. It's not enough to say - maybe you won't be able to have kids.
Best of luck whatever you choose to do...

clairepurr

Omg that's awful, I feel so sorry... one piece of advice, change clinics and fast!:cool: