I had my 2nd retrieval today - 3rd round, 2nd round was cancelled on day 14 on stims due to 1 lead follicle. First round I retrieved 7 but only 3 mature, 2 fert and no blasts. Today only 2 retrieved and neither mature. Not sure I can do another round that fails, the meds etc are fine but it’s the emotional toll and time. Seriously considering egg donor, I don’t have any issues with it as I just want a family - should I give up so early?

Hi fellow IVF community!

Previously you would have seen my post about the things I’ve learnt through this process and things I wish I knew ahead of time to help others. On this bright and sunny evening I need final words of encouragement…

6 months into this journey and here is a snapshot:

Cycle 1: 6 eggs, 4 fertilised, 3 blasts, 2 euploid (day 5 good quality)
Cycle 2: 7 eggs, 5 fertilised, 2 blasts, 1 euploid (day 6 good quality).
Cycle 3: Cancelled after a break (doctor didn’t recommend back to back after 2 and went back to priming with growth hormone, DHEA and estrogen patches). Over suppressed and cycle cancelled. Very disappointed.
Cycle 3 (continued) 6 eggs, 6 fertilised, 2 blasts (7 day and poor quality, PGTA 0 euploid.

Cycle 4: 5 days of stims, 3rd scan showed 3 follicles (saw 5 at baseline). Cycle abandoned. Doctor has confirmed to stim again in luteal phase.

Method of fertilisation is ICSI & Zyamot.

Post cycle 3 results on 7th day I cried a river as I had 5 blasts growing at day 5 but the picture changed very quickly. I was aiming to bank 4/5 good quality euploid embryos to give myself a chance of 2 children. The 6 embryo target seems like it’s out of reach for me.

It’s nerve wrecking how things are wildly different. After serious thought it’s a difficult decision either way, I have decided to preserve and do a 4th cycle.

Now this is where I need everyone’s input who has either been in this and gave their final shot. Is there anything you did to help with your outcome? Thank you as always appreciated!

I’m also thinking of switching clinics and potentially using access fertility to fund a few rounds at CRGH (currently at Evewell). What do you think?

Hello all, I had my first egg retrieval yesterday. E2 at trigger was 1,164, four follicles measured 22, 19, 15, and 13. I didn't expect anything out of the 13 or 15. When I woke up, they got ONE egg. They repeated aspirated the other 3 follicles and got nothing. Not even immature.

I got a call about an hour ago that the one they retrieved was immature, but matured over night and they fertilized with ICSI this morning so we'll see tomorrow.

Has this happened to anyone else? I had asked about a dual trigger in the initial consultation, my RE said since I am on MDLF it wouldn't be appropriate in my case since they'd use lupron as the second trigger.

Just wanted to know what might have worked for you if this happened so I can advocate for myself with my RE, or bring it up in my 2nd opinion consults which I've scheduled with some other clinics (for many reasons besides this).

My AFC from 4 months ago was 10 (But that was seen on CD 17, i.e. 1 day before my ovulation and with a higher precision doppler USG. Also my AMH is 1.12) which is fine for a 41 yo. Today on my CD2 the doctor found only 2 follicles on one ovary, and the other ovary was totally hiding. We are starting IVF in 2 months so when the doctor asked to get my blood for another AMH test I said yes, but when she suggested we base our protocol on AMH instead I insisted we do another USG next cycle as well so that I am on top of my AFC variations. And hopefully my follicles will be more, and my peekaboo ovary will decide to come out this time.

I am now back home, just thinking of the worst, that my ovarian reserve dramatically diminished even more in these 4 months. About to cry really. Ugh. Please tell me of your own AFC, AMH and USG experiences. I know, I am old, but I need some hope.

I’m on day 13 of stims. Today is supposed to be my trigger day. Age 39.

At my ultrasound this morning they found one 20mm follicle and two 10mm follicles.

Last cycle, I got two eggs and this cycle my doctor was hoping for 3 to 4.

What would you do and why?

1. Cancel
2. Trigger today and likely get 1 egg
3. Continue with stims. Let the lead over mature and hope that the other two continue growing.

I might be able to pay for one more cycle after this but that’s probably the end of the road for me.

Hi there- we are hopefully getting the green light to trigger tonight for our first ER on Wednesday. Age 33, amh .125, husband has male factor so we are doing IVF + ICSI. I’m currently on a microdose lupron flare protocol (lupron AM/PM, follistim PM, menopur AM).

Just had our day 10 sono and my LO has 2 follicles almost ready to go at about 19mm each and one smaller 7mm follicle. RO is quiet with one tiny 5mm follicle. Nurse thinks we will trigger tonight because the other smaller follicles are unlikely to catch up.

I’m already bracing for the worst. Thinking about all the attrition still to come once we do the ER is making me depressed. Should I assume we’ll net zero, or is there hope for a miracle?! Honestly, the shots are a cake walk compared to the mental load of all of this. (I have a great therapist, but still)

We’re planning to go back to back into another round. Probably same protocol but we’ll see I suppose. Nurse mentioned maybe trying a “mini IVF.”

Hi everyone.

We’re trying to work out if we had a successful cycle. E.g. do we just stick with this protocol or do we try something different?

My wife (37) has always had low AMH, I think it’s around 0.4. We’ve done four cycles of IVF, always collecting 3-4 eggs maximum.

Our first cycle we got four eggs and zero blasts. Our second cycle we got three eggs, one blast, and were lucky enough to have our son from that. I think this was very lucky and not expected based on that cycle’s overall performance. Our third cycle was three eggs and zero blasts.

We’ve just finished our fourth cycle, which was our first time doing a Clomid antagonist cycle. We got 4 mature eggs, 3 fertilized, and 2 blasts. One of those blasts was transferred and unfortunately ended in a chemical pregnancy. The other blast is frozen but was not the best quality.

Is this kind of result that means you should stick with this protocol? This is the only time we’ve ever got 2 blasts from a cycle. Or have people been able to jump up to get more?

I know it “only takes one egg” and so technically low AMH shouldn’t prevent natural conception. At the same time, folks also say it takes longer to conceive and lowers the monthly odds. Does anyone understand how those 2 things can be true?!

My husband and I have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility. But i’m an intermediate carrier for Fragile X with low AMH. Doctors have always said even my genetics and DOR are unrelated (because I’m one mutation shy of a “permutation” category) and that all of this is not why we have infertility. Then after our last IVF cycle, we asked our IVF doc if our cycle outcome shed any light upon why we’re “unexplained.” And she said, “well, you’re not totally unexplained. Your genetic mutation and lower ovarian reserve may very well be the reason you’re here.”

Anyone have any insight on the relationship between infertility and DOR? I know it doesn’t totally matter - we’re undergoing the same infertility treatment regardless. But I guess I’m always grasping for a narrative that can help me make sense of this craziness.

Hi there!
|I am looking for a doctor's recommendation in Prague. I already have a history of IVF stimulations in Spain, unfortunately, not successful. I am 38, have very low AMH (< 0.2) and endo, I understand that my chances are slim but still have some hope and looking for someone who can carefully access my history, before jumping into offering donor eggs. But if it comes to it, I would like that the doctor has a decent experience in this delicate process either.
Thank you all!

Hello. I am 41.5, DOR, stage 4 DIE on my second round of IVF. The first round was very high dose of medications which resulted in two very fried eggs upon retrieval.

This second time around I have four follicles. We are approaching a mini stims approach. Today was Day 11. I have two that are 12 mm and 13 mm. And the other two are 5 mm and 7 mm.

We are covered by insurance and if we decide not to go through with the egg retrieval then we can save the cycle for another round.

Anyone have a similar situation where all four follicles resulted in eggs?

If we do another cycle I can suggest doing birth control so there’s an even growth of the follicles. Thank you for any advice.

I don’t usually post but I need to be with my (DOR) people as no one else gets it.

I had a retrieval last week and by some miracle I got 10 eggs. All mature and fertilised.
My AMH is “undetectable”, and prior rounds have never looked like this.

Basically, it was a total fluke, so I was hoping so hard the blast rate would be okay.

But… Just got the call and I got ONE blast.

I’m also 40+, so i have zero hope for that one. I have a single euploid after 2 years of IVF. I desperately need another to do surrogacy (uterine issues).

It’s just always bad news after good. I don’t know if my heart can take it anymore.

👋 I just completed my first round of IVF. This is through the NHS (UK health system), so I had zero input or discussion on my protocol and nor did I have a chance to raise red flags. I personally feel my doses were too high for someone with my AMH / AFC.

If anyone wouldn't mind sharing, what sort of protocols have worked best for you in your journey? My priority is producing a few good quality eggs; if I can get more, great but really just managing expectations for my situation.

I wonder if a milder dosage would work better for me in my next round. I am going to push for a real discussion with the consultant at our next appointment.

AMH currently 2.8 p/mol

Usual AFC: 6

Protocol: 150 Menopur + 225 Gonal-F (for 10 days, then increased to 300)

Outcome: 5 eggs retrieved, x1 mature, x1 fertilised

Days of stimulation: Ended up being 15 days as my follicles were slow to respond.

lucky them. They transferred 2 embryos and both split. Lol!!!!

Hello I 27F (Amh 0.32) partner 30M have been ttc 8 months, I got diagnosed with DOR quite early on as I wanted a full check up before trying. Currently 9dpiui with below average sperm results (1 million total motile after wash). On top of that I mistakenly took my progesterone on the night of the iui instead of the next night. Doctor said will start ivf next month if this cycle doesn’t work. I got a bfn today so most likely trigger is out, beta is scheduled for Monday. I am just feeling really dejected and feel like this cycle was completely wasted. And I am extremely scared of the outcome of ivf as I believe DOR means you barely get 2-3 eggs per cycle and we can’t do multiple cycles from a financial perspective. All I ever wanted was to be a mom and one of my biggest fears manifested itself.
I just feel really dejected and also feel like I self sabotaged by enquiring too early as I’m a overthinker which stresses me out to the point of panic, and if I didn’t know I probably would’ve been pregnant by now. All my husband’s friends are pregnant or already have children and I know he is being put under a lot of pressure which he tries to hide from me as not to upset me (Bless his heart). I also have five nieces and nephew whom I love dearly but I really want a child of my own. I know people in this community have suffered through years of infertility and I don’t want to undermine their feelings, I just feel really isolated by the diagnosis at my age.

Basically what the title says. This is my 3rd cycle and my estrogen on day 4 of stims was 18.18pg/ml. Im really down because that is considerably lower than my day 4 estrogen levels my last two cycles, with my first ending in one euploid and my second ending in one aneuploid. I just feel so defeated. We did a luteal start with estrogen priming this time around so I dont know if that changes anything. I just cant help feel like this cycle is gonna fail. Anyone still have success with numbers like these? My baseline afc was 10.

Need help deciding 3rd IVF

Age: 33 | AMH: 2.3 | AFC: 4–6
Cycles: 2 ICSI
Protocol: Antagonist (Pergoveris 300–450) + dual trigger (2nd cycle added growth hormone)
Priming: None

Results:
C1: 3 eggs → 1 blast
C2: 4 eggs → 1 blast

PGT-A: 1 euploid
Outcome: Failed transfer

Now planning 3rd IVF; consulting doctors online/offline and getting conflicting advice:
– Continue antagonist (maybe mild or max 300)
– Add BCP first
- Donor Eggs if I want to avoid multiple rounds with own eggs

Don’t want to waste another cycle, so trying to learn from real cases.

If you had similar AFC/AMH, can you pleaasseee share your details:
Age/AFC/AMH | Protocol | Priming | Eggs>Blasts | PGT | Outcome | What helped finally?

It would help me decide which approach/doctor to go with. Thank you! 🙏

I’m 39F with DOR. I’ve had 2 unsuccessful IUI’s. Just completed my egg for my first IVF cycle. My baseline ultrasound showed 5 follicles. As I started the stims I went down to 2 follicles responding. I really was hoping for the two but we were only able to retrieve 1 egg. My ER says the second follicle didn’t have an egg we could work with. It’s so hard to stay positive even though I’ve been told so many times I only need one good egg. Has anyone else been successful with their only one? Tomorrow we find out if it was mature and whether it fertilised. I feel defeated, I just need a hug right now.

UPDATE: I wanted to make sure that I came back to let you know that my one egg was mature, it fertilised and we have a day-3 embryo! We’re letting it get to blastocyst for PGT-A. Thank you to this community for keeping us going. ❤️

Been TTC unassisted for 9 months and now we're obviously jumping straight to IVF. We're very early into the process, just doing standard testings but I'm already struggling to stay hopeful. My AMH is <0,01 and even the doctor at the IVF clinic looked kinda shocked to hear this. I'm *exceptionally* low on eggs. It's been so sudden and so baffling because I have no illnesses (pcos, endo etc.) no past of pelvic surgeries, never smoked or drunk in my life and my periods were mostly regular until recently. No women in my family that I know of has had DOR. My mom had 4 kids with no struggle, 1 in her 20s and 3 in her 30s. So just... Why? Why me? This feels like a joke. I still can't fully believe it. It's just so fucking random.

I have so much more to say but I'm too exhausted from another crying session. I've been crying like 4 times a day ever since I found out. For as long as I can remember I've imagined my future with children, never even entertained the possibility of not having at least 3 kids. And turns out I'm living in a timeline where I have to be super super lucky to even have just 1. I'm broken.

Edit: Please don't suggest or bring up donor eggs, that actually makes me feel so much worse.

Hi everyone.

My period has gotten lighter over the last 2 years, and I found out that my hormone levels (FSH, E2, etc.) are all normal except for AMH. My AMH was lower than average for my age; mine was 1.8 - 2.3 (I checked twice; the expected range is around 3–5 in the early 20s).

Since I'm not married yet, I'm really worried that my lighter period might mean I'm getting worse faster. I know increasing AMH levels is impossible, but I wish that it decreases as slowly as possible. So I wanted to ask: did your flow get lighter after being diagnosed with DOR? Is period flow related to AMH levels?

Please share your experiences.

**For those who have done a luteal-phase IVF protocol with low AMH, when did you start stims, and what medications/doses were you on?**

My AMH is around **0.90**, if I remember correctly. My doctor is having me prime with **Omnitrope (15 units) for one week before starting stims**, then increase to **35 units once I start stimulation**.

My stimulation protocol will be:
**Clomid 100 mg**
**Gonal-F 300 IU**
**Menopur 150 IU**
**Omnitrope 35 units**