Today’s visit at the ER left me feeling puzzled. While the follicle count was promising, the number of eggs retrieved fell short. Has anyone else experienced this? I’d appreciate any insights or shared experiences. It’s frustrating when things don’t go as expected, isn’t it?
Some follicles may not have eggs or be large enough to collect eggs during retrieval.
Follicles do not always contain eggs; some may be empty or inaccessible during retrieval. Eggs are typically found in follicles over 13mm, but not all will be mature. Every visible and reachable follicle will be drained during retrieval, regardless of size.
Every follicle that is retrieved may not contain an egg, as the number of follicles does not directly correlate with the number of eggs retrieved by the clinic.
I can see why you may be disappointed compared to your first round, but I don’t think this is a bad outcome at all. Different clinics have varying criteria for follicle size before triggering, and blood work plays a significant role in determining the timing of egg retrieval. Having around 10mm follicles on the day of trigger may not result in mature eggs at retrieval, as they would need to catch up in a short amount of time. It was a good decision to trigger sooner if you had larger follicles or higher estrogen levels to avoid losing them. It’s hard to predict if the smaller follicles would have caught up, so targeting the larger ones more likely to contain mature eggs was wise. You can always ask your doctor how many follicles were aspirated and check your patient portal for your previous cycle’s measurements for comparison. 14 eggs is still a solid outcome!
My doctor recommended aiming for 10-15 eggs, I achieved 14, and had a positive experience. Wishing you similar success!
They seem to make an effort to retrieve as many follicles as possible, but not all of them have eggs and some may be difficult to access.
The clinic informed me that they would make an effort to retrieve eggs from every follicle.
They often choose those that are under 16mm as they are not yet fully grown.
It varies depending on the clinic. In my clinic, they remove anything over 10mm just to be safe.