Had my first monitoring scan this morning and estrogen level check. The sonographer counted 7 eggs. I was a little disturbed with the low number of eggs after 5 days of stimulation. It was low in my opinion since I read IVF forums where people announce they have like more than 15 eggs.. Some even 20+ eggs.
My doctor called me at 3pm to inform me that my estrogen level was good (thanks cruciferous vegetables) and no change to my medication required. I raised my concern over the low number of eggs and was worried I won’t get enough embryos for freezing. She explained to me that for the last 10 years, she has always been focused over quality and not quantity. She said that if you have too many eggs, you either have PCOS or you are over stimulated and it will result in lower quality eggs because the nutrients are shared (simple dummy explanation). My PhD hubby (he is not a medical one) said it made sense. I calmed down a little after reading some forum posts.
- A lady in her early 30s had 40 eggs retrieved. She ended up with 8 fertilized and 3 usable embryos. All 3 ended with a miscarriage. This means the blastocysts implanted but very possibly are aneuploid.
- A lady in her late 30s had 28 eggs. She ended up with only 9 fertilized (32%) and 5 usable embryos. 1 of the embryo was Grade AA and ended up with a live birth. I mean yes she is considered successful since the child is now healthy but when looking at it statistically, it is low.
- A lady in her early 30s had 22 eggs retrieved and all 22 are matured (this is her 2nd stimulation cycle). She had a 1st cycle which yielded nothing. She ended up with 8 fertilized embryos (only 36%) and only 2 made it to day 5 (9%). 1 of the embryo was Grade AA and the other Grade BB. She is currently pregnant (very early pregnancy) with the Grade AA blastocyst. Hopefully she will be successful (high chance because early 30s) but will probably need another round of stimulation if she wants more kids.
Eggs of Rainbow 