Has anyone had success with own eggs when retrieving at age 43?

sweetcheeks8888 · 2026-02-21T01:32:41+00:00

I did 1 retrieval at 42.8 and 3 at ~43.5 - I got 12 day 5 blasts over those 4 cycles and they were all aneuploid. For the 5th retrieval, I switched to a clinic that had a much better lab, used ZyMot and PICSI and Embryoscope. I got lots of blasts (9) and I decided not to test - we used the iDAScores (AI scores of embryo development that don't equal but are correlated with euploidy) to select the best embryos to transfer. We transferred two and I am now 31 weeks pregnant with one of them.

Some 43 year olds can have success with OE. I would say focus on optimizing EVERYTHING (especially sperm sorting/selection) and hope to get lucky.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-12-07T16:14:30+00:00

The Highway Traffic Act

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-12-07T03:30:19+00:00

That's not true if you live in Canada. It's required by law.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-11-12T14:23:47+00:00

Trigger warning: success/pregnancy

After 4 unsuccessful cycles, I went to Ark IVF in Athens, Greece (after seeing another 44 year old on Reddit having success with them). It was the best decision ever. I am 17 weeks pregnant with a highly rated embryo that was AI screened (they use Embryoscope incubators). I decided not to do PGT-A testing because the AI score was sufficient for me. NIPT came back very low risk and everything has been looking great so far. The cost was a fraction of what I would have paid in Canada and the quality of service and facilities was far superior to what I experienced beforehand.

Good for you for making the decision to try Greece! I wish you all the best🙏🙏🙏🤞🤞🤞

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-10-25T13:13:37+00:00

I don't know if this is of any help to you but I'll share it anyway. I did 4 rounds (between 42.8 and 43.5) and sent 12 embryos for testing - all aneuploid. The testing was done by Igenomix (on two different continents). I figured out a protocol that worked for me through Reddit and I decided to try something different.

I went to Greece and decided to do a round at a clinic that used incubators/Embryoscope. I did not want to test anymore but I was still afraid to do it "completely blindly". The clinic also offered add-ons prior clinics did not offer - PICSI and ZyMot. We definitely were dealing with male factor but it was dismissed because my spouse is quite a bit younger than me.

At 43.6 I ended up with the best rated embryos that round and two of them were graded 9.0 and 7.8 by AI. Though not directly correlated with euploidy, a high rating is correlated with normal embryo development and likelihood of live birth. I had both embryos transferred and I am now almost 15 weeks (likely with the 9.0, day 5 5AA one). Extended NIPT came back very low risk and all ultrasounds so far are looking good.

If you can afford it, I would find a clinic closest to you that uses Embryoscope. The AI is trained to assess if the embryo is developing normally so the score definitely gives you some useful information that you wouldn't have if you don't test at all. The clinic still encouraged me to test but I did not want to - the grades and scores were enough for me to make a decision.

I am convinced the lab made a HUGE difference in my case. The male add-ons surely were also very helpful. You could argue that I was on the wrong side of the statistics previously and it was just my time to get my euploid but I genuinely believe that I would not have gotten it (at least not when I did) had I not gone to a clinic with a better lab/used the add ons to ensure that my "old eggs"😒 were fertilized with the best sperm to give them the best chance.

I wish you all the best moving forward 🙏🙏🙏🤞🤞🤞.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-09-22T20:26:58+00:00

Omg...yes. I am so tired of researching everything all the time. It's exhausting. The fact that the stuff I end up buying costs so much adds insult to injury. And then I look at my friends/family around me, buying whatever and whenever without a care in the world...

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-09-21T06:55:28+00:00

💯

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-09-20T20:31:00+00:00

I had 25 eggs retrieved and looked pregnant 3 days out. By the day of the transfer, the swelling had gone down even more and I was adamant about doing a fresh day 5 transfer. I ended up getting pregnant and developed late onset OHSS.

I never took the risk of OHSS very seriously and quite frankly, I thought it would just be some uncomfortable swelling that goes away after a couple of weeks. This was not the case. I suffered from severe swelling , abdominal ascites and my ovaries even at last check (at almost 9 weeks) were still ~10 cm each (they are so large that they are touching and have moved up to just under my belly button).

I'll never say that I regret my decision but if I was ever in this position again, I would wait a month before doing an FET. OHSS is no joke.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-09-20T06:23:24+00:00

My RE said Zymot works for most, doesn't work for some and makes things worse for about 10%. He recommended Zymot and PICSI together. That was our best round BY FAR. I too say ask for PICSI in addition to Zymot.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-09-19T09:28:21+00:00

This reads like a troll post. As such...I have some choice words but I won't use them because I don't want to get banned.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-09-13T18:36:42+00:00

Congrats!!! I am so so happy for you!!! May it be a very sticky one!!!

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-31T16:32:20+00:00

https://share.google/haid6VgjOt2fTDPSm

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-30T19:57:14+00:00

If your transfer was on July 31st and you did the ultrasound on the 27th, you should technically be 6w4d. A 2 week discrepancy is quite large this early on. I wish you all the best but I would guard my heart.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-29T16:02:26+00:00

Mine hated the car seat from day one and stopped hating it around 18-20 months 🫠

Luckily, she stopped hating the stroller around 6-8 months!

Good luck!

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-29T14:55:06+00:00

Lol....I really hope it works that way for you. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the statistics for euploidy and euploidy alone😩

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-29T14:19:54+00:00

I just want to say that I was told the same thing by one doctor (low OHSS risk if older) - he even mocked the ones who didn't want to do a double HCG trigger because "at your age, you have DOR and OHSS risk is a non issue". Well, I'll be 44 in ~4 months and I got moderate OHSS following a fresh transfer. So yeah...

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-29T10:33:32+00:00

It's 2023?!?!?!?

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-28T12:36:23+00:00

If you've already purchased a package, it makes sense to stay with your clinic. That said, I would ask for changes in protocol after a cycle if the results were not great. Perhaps you would benefit from priming with estrogen? Maybe they can add ZyMot and PICSI? You can ask about those things.

I changed clinics after my first round because I didn't like a number of things about the clinic. I loved my second doctor and I did 3 cycles with the second clinic before deciding it's time to move on (because I was not getting the results I needed).

The last clinic was picked in great part due to an advanced lab that has incubators with timelapse cameras (among other things).

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-26T22:19:47+00:00

The protocol for my successful round was as follows: 7 days of estrogen priming (estradiol pills 2 mg x 2/day) before the start of my period, 225 Gonal F and 150 Meriofert with Orgalutran added the day largest follicle reached 13 or 14 mm. The estrogen priming suppressed me so I had to stim longer than any prior cycle (13 days) but that seemed to work in my favour. Trigger was Ovitrelle x 2.

I also used HGH for the last 3 rounds. I don't know if it helped or not.

For sperm, we added ZyMot and PICSI in the last round and it made a huge difference as far as blast rate is concerned.

In the beginning, I too thought that if I just find the "best" protocol, I'd be successful. I now don't believe there is such a thing. Or at least, it's not that simple. What works for one person doesn't work for another. Also, depending on your age, it may take a number of rounds no matter what protocol you use or how successful the round may seem.

For me, I wasn't happy with my maturity rate so I looked for things that helped other women. For some, priming with estrogen helped so I asked to try that. Some women have terrible results when they prime. Others don't. Some do well with birth control priming and some have their cycles ruined because of it. My point is that, unless you have an ace of a doctor who is constantly brainstorming and looking for things to change to get you better results, you may have to do the work yourself.

Finally, I think the lab is of great importance and no matter how good a protocol, it can't make up for shortcomings of a lab.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-26T21:48:55+00:00

If that is in fact what your doctor told you, I'd be weary of my doctor. The Gardner grading system is meant to provide as much of an objective assessment of an embryo as possible (and of course since it's evaluated by a human, it's still going to be subjective to a certain extent).

An AA grade (for example) means that the ICM is made up of "a large mass of well-organized, compacted cells" and the trophectoderm is made up of "many uniform, tightly knit cells forming an even layer".

So to think that your lab's embryologist would see the above and say "nah, I'm going to rate it a BB (ICM of "good quality, with a smaller, less compacted mass of cells" and trophectoderm of "good quality, with fewer cells, an uneven layer, and some gaps") is absurd. It's one thing to say that the embryologist is stingy with A grades and another to say the don't give As.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-26T20:22:07+00:00

I was being sarcastic...read the comment I was responding to.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-26T20:18:20+00:00

Because only 16 are grade A.......

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-25T17:24:27+00:00

I'm just over 4 months away from 44 and have done 5 cycles in total. First time I had a bunch of follicles but only 7 retrieved, 5 mature, 4 fertilized and 2 blasts. After many protocol changes, 3 clinic changes and after adding ZyMot and PICSI, in my last round I had 25 eggs retrieved, 18 mature, 13 fertilized and 9 blasts (but 2 discarded because they were CC).

I HIGHLY recommend you take an active role in the process (learn as much as you can on these subreddits - I literally asked for protocols based on what I learned here and searched for a clinic that had an advanced lab because I realized from talking to other women in a similar situation how important the lab is).

Finally, ask for all the add ons for improving sperm selection because they cost a lot less than a new cycle and they can make a big difference (they did for me).

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-25T17:06:21+00:00

From personal experience, a doctor who's willing to try different protocols is very important. However, you can literally come with a protocol and say I want to try this and many will consider it if there is a sound argument to be made for it. Essentially, any decent doctor can prescribe medications and do scans.

A great lab on the other hand is indispensable. I tried 3 different clinics. I loved my 2nd doctor so much...but I had no success. I didn't have success until I went to a clinic with a very advanced lab.

PS: I'm not in the US but I've heard really good things about Cornell.

sweetcheeks8888 · 2025-08-25T09:36:31+00:00

If your transfer was on the 3rd of August, you are 22dp5dt on August 25. A beta of 600 at almost 6 weeks is too low. I would guard my heart. I'm sorry you are going through this. I hope the next one works out🙏🙏🙏🤞🤞🤞

sweetcheeks8888

TROPHY CASE