Two consecutive egg retrievals?

Hello! My doctor recommended two cycles of IVF before performing any frozen embryo transfers. I'm 35, good AMH levels. I have endo and mild adenomyosis. These will be my second and third cycles. My first resulted in 7 eggs, 2 fertilised, one fresh and one frozen failed to implant. However, I'm not sure this is best? Is there a chance I can get a 'good' number of blastocysts this time and not have to go through with another egg retrieval? It's just that two consecutive retrievals seems like a lot on my body and a huge financial strain when I could, in theory, achieve successful pregnancy with one egg retrieval. Anyone been through something similar or been recommended to do the same as me? What does your clinic suggest is a 'good' number of blastocysts?
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I’m not sure if my situation helps you but I’ll share that I have low AMH, PCOS, and a genetic condition. First ER I got 7 eggs but only 1 euploid blastocyst. My clinic recommended I jump into another ER but I chose to pursue the FET and ended up having a chemical pregnancy. Now I’m back to square one having to start all over. They said batching is ideal if you can swing it bc it takes (on average) 2-3 healthy/normal embryos to result in a live birth. I wish I had listened. It’s hard for me to go from a FET back to an ER. I think if I can get at least 2-3 blastocysts I’ll go back into transferring later.

Thank you for sharing. It does help to hear what you've been through. I'm sorry to hear about your chemical. It was also hard for me to have to plan an egg retrieval again after unsuccessful FET so I can understand that angle. I guess I'm wondering if I'm wrong in thinking it depends on how well the egg retrieval goes? If there are around 3 blastocysts or more, I question whether it would be ideal to go in for another egg retrieval if I have 3 frozen attempts?

@Jodi thank you. I think that’s a fair question to ask and personally if I had 3 usable embryos I’d try them all before doing another ER. I’d want to really dig into why my clinic thinks another ER is warranted if you have that many to use.

Yeah thank you. I'll go back to my clinic and have the discussion around this. I'm also not in the position to afford £3000 for an additional retrieval, particularly if the next one results in some usable blastocysts. I'm sorry you're also in the position of doing another ER but hope it goes as successfully as it can.

I have also done batching (actually 3 cycles in a row). It is expensive. For me, I have a low AMH (but OK AFC) and wanted to get a decent amount of embryos whilst I’m younger and PGTA test them before more transfers (I’ve had 2 failed). It’s a gamble as maybe if I’d had gone straight for another transfer maybe it would have worked and saved me a lot of cash! But I didn’t want to be doing more collections when I’m older and my clinic charge same rate for pgta of up to 8 embryos so we aimed to reach that. Also becoming more common to plan for future family rather than necessarily one child but that seems like dreamland at the moment for me 😂

@Helena thanks for sharing. Yes, it's a difficult decision because essentially all the blastocysts could be used without success and then you have go back to ER at a time, possibly, when your egg count/health has declined. But - the financial cost! It also makes sense when planning for a family to get as many blastocysts as you can before doing any transfers. You have that security knowing there are plenty in the freezer. But - also, what if pregnancy and birth happened with just one cycle and you needn't have put your body/bank account through all the ERs? I think I only want one child so ... it's a lot to think about!

Hi, I’ve done 2 ER now 2 fresh transfers, 1 frozen and just about to do my last frozen. Looking back I wish i was able to batch ER from the beginning as even if I do have success with this frozen I won’t have any eggs in the freezer for a future child (if I’m lucky enough to have even one child it would be a blessing) I’m concerned that my egg quality is declining as I get older and want good quality eggs. Good luck in whatever you decide x

I have endo on my ovaries and only get 1 good / excellent embryo per each retrieval. Done 2 ER and 2 have been successful. This is despite getting 15 eggs each time and a dozen fertilised. My endo really affects the quality of my eggs to reach the blast stage. This is after having done a complete endo, clean out lap surgery too. Have you done that? And specifically for your adeno? I know that affects implantation more and needs addressing for better chance of success. X

I did 3 freeze all cycles & the one where I did one straight after the other, the second time we didn’t get any embryos. I would recommend spacing it out between cycles as it’s a lot for your body to go through. X

@Lucy thank you. It's a scary feeling knowing there are none left in the freezer. That is a concern of mine, too, with egg quality declining. I hope you have success with your frozen transfer 🤞

@Hope that is really helpful to know. I have endo on one ovary and I guess that really affects the number of quality blastocysts. I haven't had lap surgery. My clinic has advised against it over concern it affecting ovarian count. Adeno is very mild at the moment but something I will consider in the future, especially if I'm having both egg retrievals consecutively. Thank you for commenting. So helpful to hear your experiences

@Klara ah that is so interesting. I'm sorry to hear the second one didn't work out. I definitely will be spacing it out if I go for that option, for financial reasons if nothing else.

I guess at the moment I'm thinking it all depends on how the ER goes. If I get at least 2 blastocysts, I would like to attempt FET a couple of months after. And then if that doesn't result in pregnancy, go for another ER so I'm not using up my last blastocyst. I figured my body and finances wouldn't be in a position for another ER that soon anyway, so if I had the opportunity for an FET, then I would like to take it. Hoping that sounds like a reasonable idea...

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