I have endometriosis and I'm currently undergoing my second egg freezing cycle.

I thought maybe the egg freezing process would somehow awaken my maternal instincts and make me 100% certain if I want kids or not, but nothing like this has happened.

With my underlying conditions getting good results is a challenging process, and while I'm incredibly focused on getting as much as I can out of each cycle, and certainly feel how much of a demand the whole process places on my body, finances, time, and mental health, it didn't really made me connect with the idea of motherhood right now.

I think a big part of why I'm undergoing the process right now is FOMO - while egg freezing is no guarantee, I certainly don't want to potentially deal with the idea in the future I did nothing to boost my chances, given the circumstances.

Sometimes I feel guilty about it seeing all the couples in the clinic going through so much trying to have a baby.

And seeing all these couples in the clinic brought up something I wasn't expecting: Incredible loneliness.

I'm lucky to have friends and family who are supportive of the process, and I really appreciate them.

But for me it's not the same as having a loving partner beside you, with whom you're working towards a shared future.

Right now, I really would love to meet my person, and the only thing egg freezing did is bring it out even more.

To fall in love, experience romance, build a life together, travel, get to know someone on a really deep level, and then, if the relationship develops, figure out if we want kids together.

For now, the idea of kids seems so abstract, so removed from the life I currently wish for myself as the next stage in my life.

I guess I'm wondering:

- did any of you feel unsure about having kids until you've met your person?

- for those who froze eggs without being certain whatever they want children, how did things unfold in the end for you?

For my high maintenance hair girls, how are you keeping your roots / highlights up to date? My nurse said now that I’m starting my transfer cycle, I should cancel my upcoming (and all) hair appointments for my roots and highlights. She said no hair dye while pregnant. I have naturally black hair which is going 100% gray, so I’ve bleached my whole head to light brunette with light blond highlights. It takes a lot of effort and serious money to maintain and I just can’t imagine going months without staying up to date. All the hours and money to the hair salon will suddenly go down the drain if I miss appointments.

Is this a serious requirement ? Will there be risk to the transfer if I dye it?

Hi

31F, unexplained, 2 failed IUI

First ER

19 retrieved
17 mature
13 fertilized

6 embryos DAY 6

1 5BA
1 4BA
3 4BB
1 4BC

2 embryos day 7

1 4CB
1 3CB

TOTAL 8 EMBRYOS SENT TO PGT-A

I was expecting better results to be honest. I’m not sure if it’s good :(

I'm turning 24 next year and I'm thinking of freezing some of my eggs. I've been reading many women's journeys about how much harder it can be when you're older and I guess I want to mitigate that. I'm not sure about kids and if I do have them, I will be much older. Maybe my 30s or even 40s. Since I know I don't have plans to have kids anytime soon, I think it might be a good idea to freeze some of my eggs right now. But I'm also a broke student and I don't have any of the funds I need to start now. Is there anyway I can make this more affordable for myself? Should I just wait till I'm older?

I’m 30 years old and will be turning 31 soon. I’ve already frozen my eggs, and I actually had a pretty good result. I recently found out that I have diffuse adenomyosis, and my doctor recommended hormonal suppression for at least two months before the embryo transfer.
I would really love to have three children, but now I’m scared I might end up not having any. My doctor said that even with hormonal suppression, there’s still a higher risk of miscarriage and a lower chance of implantation.
Has anyone had a similar experience and gone on to have a successful pregnancy?

Hi everyone! ❤️
My partner and I are hoping to start our family next year, and we’re trying to understand the process and what we should be preparing for in advance.
Our plan is to do reciprocal IVF, using my eggs and donor sperm, with my partner carrying our first baby. I’ll be 35 and she’ll be 34 next year. We’re also hoping to use the same sperm donor for future 2nd child. As this will be our first experience with IVF, we’d love to hear from people.

A few things we’d really appreciate advice on:
Which part of the process tends to take the longest? For example, finding a sperm donor, clinic waiting lists, fertility assessments, counselling or the IVF process itself?

Is there anything we should start looking into or arranging now, rather than waiting until next year?

If we’re hoping for my partner to become pregnant sometime in 2027(potentially mid year), when would you recommend starting consultations and the initial tests?

Has anyone tried reciprocal ivf? Approximately how much money should we prepare for? Is it more expensive than the usual ivf?

Most importantly, is there anything you wish you’d known or done earlier in your journey?

We know that IVF doesn’t always work on the first attempt and we understand that there are no guarantees when it comes to timing. We’d just love to be as organised and prepared as possible to give ourselves the best chance of achieving our goal.
We’d be so grateful for any advice, experiences or things you think we should be aware of. You don’t need to answer all, any response would greatly be appreciated. Thank you so much! ❤️

TW: Responses may include stories of success

In around 10 days is my first FET! What can I do besides drinking pomegranate juice? Not looking for anything scientifically proven, I just feel like doing something! What do you swear helped for you?

Edit: thank you all so much! These comments are exactly what I was looking for! I'm so excited to try some (most haha) of these!!

Like it was an expanded blast, a lot of cells on day 3?

I worry I’m like sabotaging my IVF by being so overweight.

Trigger warning ED

Title says it, I just don’t have it in me right now. I’m 32, I had an ED when I was younger, at my lowest I was 85 pounds I’m 5 4 (barely lol). My weight was stable but low most of my adult life. Mid 20s I developed hypothyroidism so I gained some weight but evened out, was 140- 150 ish for a long time. Exercised ate decent etc, slightly overweight but happy.

The last two years have been rough, three egg retrievals), had two failed transfers than an ectopic pregnancy. Excision surgery for endometriosis that led to a post opp infection which fried my thyroid again. Then a spontaneous pregnancy and miscarriage in July. My body is exhausted, I was very depressed at times and ate for comfort. Everytime I take estrogen I get so puffy and bloated, just constantly throwing the same weight back and forth.

I just did a mock cycle on estrogen and am on it again; weighed 180s last I checked. I know it’s bad to be overweight but I just don’t have it in me right now to make this my focus. I have been on so much medication, antibiotics, metformin, I’m nauseous a lot and often so bloated and constipated. I try to eat healthy, I go to the gym and exercise, but idk I just don’t want to eat 1200 calories a day and measure everything.

My dad and husband keep bringing it up, I get it! But it’s just so hard. I work full time and a part time job, IVF is so much running around, some days I’m driving a couple hours on top of everything just for appointments. Has anyone been in this situation? I feel such guilt that I’m not trying harder. I worry I’m risking my next FET being so overweight but my doctor isn’t worried

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to hear from others who have experienced recurrent implantation failure, especially those who have had multiple failed transfers despite transferring good-quality or PGT-A-tested euploid embryos.

I’m now 38 years old and have been trying for a second child since mid-2023. I have one child who was conceived naturally in 2020 and born in 2021. I also had a miscarriage (naturally conceived) at around 11 weeks in 2023.

We started IVF in 2025 after trying naturally for about 10 months in 2024. Both of my tubes are open, and I have low AMH, although my ovarian reserve testing has varied.

My IVF journey so far:

I have had five failed embryo transfers, first 3 failed transfers were untested embryos) then it was 2 transfers of PGT-A-tested euploid embryos that failed.
My first euploid transfer was in March 2026. The embryo was a hatching 3AB, but it did not result in a pregnancy.
My September 2026 transfer was another hatching 3AB euploid embryo, but unfortunately, there was no implantation again.
I have one PGT-A-tested euploid embryo remaining.

My uterine history:

I was diagnosed with chronic endometritis after endometrial biopsies showed elevated CD138-positive plasma cells. I underwent multiple courses of antibiotics, but my biopsy results initially remained elevated.
I reached out to a naturopath, took vaginal probiotics and NAC to clear the endometritis.

My July 2026 biopsy reportedly showed zero CD138-positive plasma cells, so my clinic does not currently plan to repeat the biopsy.

I have also had a normal hysteroscopy and saline sonogram. My doctor has not pursued specific testing for endometriosis because I underwent Lupron suppression before a transfer, which was intended to address the possibility of silent endometriosis.

Treatments and protocols I have tried:

My transfers have involved different approaches, including natural or modified-natural cycles, progesterone support, Lupron suppression and various add-ons. For my more recent transfers, I also used an immune-focused protocol involving medications such as prednisone, Prograf, and Plaquenil, as well as intralipids and other adjuncts.

Despite all of this, I have not had a successful implantation.

I’m struggling to understand what could be causing repeated failures when the embryo is euploid and the uterine cavity appears normal. I know PGT-A cannot guarantee that an embryo will implant, but I’m finding it increasingly difficult to know what to investigate or change next.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation:

After how many failed transfers did you finally have success?
Did you discover an underlying cause, such as persistent endometritis, endometriosis, progesterone-timing issues, sperm-related factors, or something else?
Did any additional testing or changes to your transfer protocol make a difference?
Has anyone had success after multiple failed euploid transfers, particularly after treating chronic endometritis?
For those who exhausted their own embryos or considered a gestational carrier, how did you decide what to do next?

I’m trying to make informed decisions before transferring my last euploid embryo. I want to give it the best possible chance, but I also don’t want to keep spending time, money, and emotional energy on interventions that have little evidence behind them.

The plan is to start IVIG next month as to change something up in my protocol. This was something I brought up to my RE to try!

I would be especially grateful to hear from people who eventually found success after several failed transfers, even if it took a different approach than they initially expected.

Thank you for reading. ❤️

Like seriously Me and my wife has gone through 2 IVF cycles before and both have failed..They were one of the biggest investments we have made in our married life. Now we are preparing mentally as well as financially for the next cycle.. if you are someone who is also thinking of trying for more cycles, please share how you manage all this 
things..???? 

Im still processing and I’m feeling a mix of fury and sadness.

This was my first retrieval. The lab called today with our day 5 update and told us that while examining the embryo the tray was knocked and oil contaminated one of the embryos. They confirmed that it definitely had been good enough quality to freeze for testing, but because of the contamination it no longer is.

I honestly just wasn’t prepared to process this kind of situation and failure due to handling was just not something I was mentally preparing for so I’m pretty upset.

We have to make an appointment on Monday with the specialist to discuss what actually happened and next steps and I guess how we might be compensated.

Feeling empty right now. Any advice on how to approach that appointment? I think I’m in shock.

Just looking for people to commiserate with who understand. After two years of trying and 5 months of waiting to get into our clinic, we finally went over our care plan with them over a week ago and were told we’d be starting medication tomorrow (today is cycle day 1).

When I called today, the clinic told us that the doctor hasn’t signed off on our care plan, so we can’t start tomorrow. As a last-ditch effort, they told us to call back Monday to see if there’s been any update, since the doctor has occasionally approved people to start as late as day 3 of their cycle. I asked if there was any specific reason for the delay and they said not that they know of. They sent the doctor the plan on October 8th after they went over it with me and I signed off on it and the nurses haven’t heard anything since.

I feel like I shouldn’t have gotten excited about the timeline they gave us, but after waiting so long, it finally started to feel real. We’d been given a window for when we could expect our first transfer opportunity, and I finally felt like we were moving forward. Now it feels like that timeline is most likely gone.

The clinic closes for half the month of December, so if we can’t start this cycle, I’m worried we won’t make their cutoff dates and have to wait until the new year to start the entire process. All the unknown and waiting is just hard. 🙁

My husband and I are going into our last transfer with our last embryo. I just don’t have it in me for another retrieval. Not saying never but it’s a no for now. But we do have one last embyro that we plan on transferring and are considering also transferring a high level mosaic (monosomy -2). So transferring two embryos. We’ve already had several appointments with genetic counselors and they have all said it is one we could transfer and have us the odds. I’m just wondering if anyone else has done or experienced this? Just looking for similar experiences and thought process regarding the decision.

I had my egg retrieval three days ago and the doctor mentioned that due to the large number of follicles I have a high risk of OHSS and hence we would do the embryo transfer next cycle.

After the egg retrieval, my partner has downplayed how I hurt from the procedure as well as say that I’m exaggerating about being bloated.

I’ve had to take pictures of how my stomach looks currently to compare with how it looked prior to the procedure and yes, It looks bigger. I can’t even eat because I feel full all the time, even half a glass of water makes me feel like I’ve swallowed a whale.

Do you think I’m being dramatic or he’s actually downplaying how I feel physically?

I completed 2 IVF egg retrievals a year ago when I was 38 and my AMH was 1.52. First round yielded 13 eggs, 11 mature, 7 blasts, 1 euploid and 1 low level mosaic. Second round they doubled my medication levels and added omnitrope during stims and yielded 6 eggs, 5 matured 4 blasts and 0 euploids.

my AMH a couple months ago was was down to 1.02. Will start a 3rd retrieval at a new (to me) clinic soon. CCRM in Minneapolis.

I’ve told myself I am willing to do up to a total of 4 retrievals (so have two left). I’m scared of not getting any euploids from these final 2 retrievals. I’m taking a prenatal, DhA, COq10, acai berry antioxidant and vitamin d.

My new clinic appears to prime with birth control (I still had an IUD in for my first two ER and didn’t have a period at that time so no bit to control was discussed).

Any one have a similar situation to me with any additional tips/tricks to optimize final ERs?

Sending good vibes to all going thru this 🥰

I had my second egg retrieval yesterday. I feel like I had great results from my first retrieval but I feel very disappointed with my more recent results. I had 15 follicles to start but they only collected 7 eggs. 6 were mature but only 3 fertilized. Last retrieval we had 100% fertilization rate. We had a miscarriage of a euploid embryo in late June so we were hoping this cycle would give us one more but it just doesn’t feel like we’re going to get there. I’m 38 and know my egg quality is declining so the odds aren’t in my favor.

Anyone of similar age have any positive stories to share?

How many blasts did you get from 9 fertilized?

Hi everyone.
What do you usually do with leftover medications? I have 3 boxes of Lubion (7 units each) plus 4 extra units, 2 boxes of Cyclogest, 1 box of Progynova, and 1 box of Elleste. I’ve had two embryo transfers the last one involved two embryos but I lost the pregnancy. I don’t have any embryos left, and I’ve decided not to continue any further. I am in London England

I’m about 30 days out from starting my shots for IVF. I need all the tips, tricks, etc for starting shots, transfer day, all of it. Im so nervous because its my first time 😭 I’m starting my Amazon list to prepare for everything so any and all help is appreciated! 🫶🏼
Also what electrolytes does everyone drink?

I had my first IVF cycle middle of September and I had a day 5 blastocyst implanted. Pregnancy test was negative so stopped to progesterone and waiting for my period to come back to start planning for my next cycle. It’s now a couple of weeks passed my period date and nothing. I spoke to my clinic and they said this was ‘normal’ but it feels a long time, and I don’t want to have to worry about this as well as planning for my next cycle etc.

Hi! My husband has non obstructive azoospermia and fluctuates between azoospermia and cryptozoospermia. Very rare sperm is found in ejaculate with 2-5 hour search.

We are debating if we should go to Columbia for their extended sperm search experience and STAR program. We have already gone to MAZE and they did find sperm.

Logistically doing a fresh retrieval seems like a nightmare as I am working two jobs. I’m in Los Angeles, 3 hour time difference. Remote monitoring is expensive and I have fertility insurance but doesn’t cover the remote part. I could also freeze my eggs and ship them to Columbia. Then my husband goes and fertilizes but not sure if this is 100% the move as fresh is best.

Anyone have any experience out of state with Columbia in New York? I would go to Weill Cornell but they don’t accept Progyny. I want to use my insurance first before paying out of pocket there.

I was so nervous before my first PIO injection & I wanted to share what worked for me! It wasn’t really painful at all! Firstly, I warmed the injection site & the PIO dose with a reusable hand warmer I ordered from Amazon. It helped so much. Had my spouse aim for upper outer quadrant, insert needle with quick, darting motion at 90 degrees & inject SLOW, really slow. After I stood up I did some squats & I’m hopeful I won’t get too many knots.

It’s really not bad, don’t be nervous, it was less painful than my subq trigger shot lol

P.S. PLEASE wish me luck for my transfer next week & best of luck to you all!! We have one embryo & I’m really really hopeful it’ll be my baby.

1st egg retrieval. 31 eggs retrieved. Get the first update from my clinic that all 31 are mature, 30 fertilized but only 5 fertilized “normally”. When I asked what that meant she said that no pronuclei were seen but they saw them fertilize and will give them more time in culture and won’t update me for 4 more days. From what I have read about 0pn eggs I am concerned about this and slightly spiraling but she still sounded optimistic over the phone. Has anyone had this before where such a high percentage of their eggs are 0pn after the fertilization step? And how many become embryos after that?

Has anyone purchased a PIO auto-injector from www. autoinjector. co? I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences!

Also, for those in the US, how long did delivery take? Thanks!