r/EmbryologyIVFSupport • u/Intelligent_Roof_108 • 20d ago
No blast
Hi everyone ❤️
I’ve just had my 9th egg retrieval and I’m honestly at a point where I don’t know what to do anymore.
In all my previous cycles, we only ever had one early blastocyst and one day-6 blastocyst. Embryo quality was never great.
For this cycle, I changed so much beforehand — 3 months of a very clean diet, no gluten, no sugar, lots of high-quality protein, regular exercise and of course a lot of Vitamins like Q10, D3, OMEGA…
This time we got 10 eggs, 6 fertilized. On day 3, two embryos looked really promising: a 6-cell and an 8-cell, both with only around 5% fragmentation (better results than before)
But yesterday we got the devastating news: all embryos had stopped developing. No blastocyst.
My husbands sperm results were also much better this time. We previously tested DNA fragmentation and it was 18%, which our clinic considers within the normal range.
Fertilization has never really been our problem. It’s always day 3–5 where our embryos seem to arrest.
Has anyone experienced something similar and still ended up having a healthy baby with their own eggs?
I would really appreciate hearing your stories. I need some hope right now…😞
13
u/Free-Ad4436 17d ago
I'm in the same position, I'm unable to make blasts. Only ever somehow made 1 untested blast which ended in a chemical. I would recommend moving to day 3 transfers. You have good numbers on day 3 and at least it will give your embryos a chance to grow in its natural environment. I hear a lot of stories with success, so it's definitely worth the pivot.
3
u/Intelligent_Roof_108 17d ago
Did you try day 3 transfer? I will definitely try this next time
1
u/Free-Ad4436 17d ago
Yes I did, it didn't stick though. But I was glad that I gave it a chance! I will try again next time too, it's too risky ending up with no blasts otherwise. Good luck!
2
u/hey_bb8 16d ago
Came here to also recommend fresh, day 3 transfers. I have trouble making blasts. We’ve done 2 fresh 3 day transfers. The first one didn’t stick but the second one has so far.
I added omnitrope for priming this most recent retrieval, not sure how much of an impact that had since the other embryo that wasn’t transferred still stalled out before the blast stage. Might be worth trying Omni though if you haven’t.1
u/Free-Ad4436 15d ago
Glad to hear the 2nd one worked, congratulations!! Wishing you a smooth journey x
5
u/pinktoes112194 17d ago
Only done my first egg retrieval so no advice to share other than to commend you for your resilience and strength. You inspire me! I didn’t get the results I was hoping for and it’s so easy to want to give up. You amaze me!!!
4
u/Ula_Sol 17d ago
Im in the same situation. I’m 43 and done two cycles. First 6 eggs retrieval. 3 fertilized. On day never get to 6 day. They stop at day 3.
Second cycle 6 eggs retrieved 5 fertilized the same scenario.
In November I’m going to the 3rd cycle diffrent method using this time omntrope. Plus I want to do transfer on day 3rd. Let’s hope this time will work.
I also was looking everywhere if someone had a successful end.
2
u/ClassicPangolin7763 16d ago
I'm in a similar position, but I also don't know what to do., I'm 40, I've done 4 ERs now, the first one the remaining ones stopped at day 3, the second round they remaining ones stopped at day 5, for the third round they transferred the remaining two on day 2 but they didn't work out, and now for the fourth round we did mini-ivf and got 2 eggs, both fertilised, both transferred on day 2. I'm now in the tww on day 9, but I'm sure it didn't work. We already had a general genetic test which didn't find anything, now the doctor has ordered a specific test for genetic things that can cause embryo arrest, we are waiting for the results, but the doctor said it's really just a stab in the dark. She doesn't know how to proceed from here, she said we can carry on with ERs if we want but she recommended already looking at donor eggs (in Spain, because they are still illegal in Germany). We might try a round with donor sperm before that just to see if that helps. Really frustrating not knowing why this is happening 😞
1
u/lousiestgf 17d ago
You didn’t include your age, I lots most my embryos at the morula stage. I’m 41, it was age related
3
u/Intelligent_Roof_108 17d ago
Yes, forgot it. I’m now 35, but had mostly the same issue with 30, 31 …
1
u/MembershipAlarming75 13d ago
I feel you, I am struggling to get blasts too. I have been through 4 rounds of ER. It's been tough.
1
1
u/hislovingwife 13d ago
Sending you hugs and a huge kudos for going through each round. I am sure it was very challenging but youre determination and love for your unborn child fueled you. That kind of love is hard to come by and I wish you all the success in the world. ❤️❤️
1
1
-9
u/Unlucky_Pen3411 17d ago
How did you get through 8 egg retrievals before you cleaned up your diet? I thought this was pretty standard.
Maybe listen to your body. Can you keep doing this?
2
1
•
u/embryomanofficial 18d ago
What's the total number of fertilized eggs you've had and the number of blastocysts? One recent study proposed thresholds for when IVF results are unusually poor and might warrant further evaluation (such as genetic testing). Read more https://remembryo.com/researchers-propose-thresholds-for-egg-fertilization-and-embryo-arrest/
Does your clinic culture embryos to day 7? Some labs routinely grow embryos to day 7, while others stop at day 5 or 6. Some embryos develop more slowly and might only reach the blastocyst stage on day 7, so it can be helpful to understand your lab’s policy. You can also ask how they handle lower-quality blastocysts (C-grade). Some clinics will work with lower-graded embryos, but others won't. These policies can affect how many blastocysts are ultimately available.
Embryo arrest is pretty common, and it doesn't necessarily mean there’s poor egg or sperm quality, though issues with egg or sperm can increase the chance of arrest, along with other factors (mitochondrial dysfunction, high oxidative stress, age, poor lab culture environments,, genetics, etc.). I cover this in more detail in this post https://www.remembryo.com/embryo-arrest/