The Egg Whisperer Show

I love sharing questions from Ask the Egg Whisperer with you. Neha sent in a question that I know many people have been asking, and it is this, "I recently read that Khloe Kardashian tried to thaw 12-14 eggs which she had frozen in one egg freezing cycle. She stated that "all of her eggs died" and were "too weak" to make embryos so now they are freezing embryos rather than eggs. What is the success rate with freezing eggs for people under 35? I froze ~40 eggs when I was between 33-35 so I am curious about success rates. Thanks!" First of all, Neha: 40 eggs between the ages of 33 and 35 is great!. If you put 40 eggs at 33 into an Egg Freezing Success Calculator, you will have a 75% chance four live births! Over 99% for one and over 91% for two and over 85% to have three! You all know that I like to say "It's always nice to have eggs on ice," and it's certainly always nice to have embryos on ice too. To talk a little bit about Khloe Kardashians story: First let me say that I don't know anything about Khloe Kardashian. I don't know anything about her fertility, and I'm just going off of what she has shared publicly. In general, Having eggs just means securing future options for yourself and a chance for a future pregnancy. An embryo is also a chance, but once you've turned that egg into an embryo, you'd learn a lot more about the potential of that egg. And always remember, it's not just about the egg. It's also about the sperm. You'll want to check the sperm, and learn about the #BALLSMethod to make sure you have the healthiest sperm possible for when you thaw your eggs. One option is to thaw just a portion of your frozen eggs, and not all of them at once. And, make sure that you've done a formal semen analysis within a few months of the egg thaw, maybe consider more advanced, DNA testing of the sperm, like a sperm DNA fragmentation test. The other thing to make sure that you've done is genetic screening, like a carrier screen and a chromosome analysis as well before you thaw your eggs to make sure that you're not missing anything before you thaw them. Tune in for this question, and 20 others in this episode! To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Secondary infertility affects so many of my patients. In today's podcast episode, I'm talking about what happens when someone has no trouble getting pregnant for baby number one and then struggles to conceive another child. People in this situation often don't know what to do because this is so new to them. I'm sharing everything you need to know about secondary infertility: the causes, treatments, and some of my tips. The truth is, secondary infertility is overwhelming and upsetting. You want to make sure that you have people around that support you, so I also encourage you to share this episode with your family and friend.s, so they know how to support you going through something that can be soul-crushing. I'm a very positive person, but I understand how hard it is to be a fertility patient. Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America's most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

You know that I love taking your questions on Ask The Egg Whisperer! Recently, Natalie wrote to me from Florida. Here's what she said, "Hi Dr. Aimee. I am 39 years old and I have been dealing with PCOS after I had my son four years ago. Last year I had my left ovary removed due to a torsion of a very large cyst. The plan was after I recovered I'd see a fertility specialist to possibly do IUI asap since I will be 40 this year and my husband and I want to have another baby. Well, after lots of blood work it appears my AMH is 0.1, FSH 78, and when I had a sonogram done it shows only 3 follicles. I have not had a period since November. So it's showing I'm in menopause and my next option is an egg donor. Is there no chance of trying to retrieve any eggs? And though my hubby and I are wanting to go forward with looking into egg donors, what should I prepare myself for? What is the path ahead?" This is so hard, because you've been told that you have this diagnosis of PCOS. And, you probably know that I call PCOS "please confirm this ovary syndrome." I have a feeling that maybe the reason why your periods were irregular may not be from PCOS, but it's possible your periods were irregular because of, decreased ovarian reserve. With period irregularity, sometimes people just say, "Oh, it's, PCOS," when you're a young woman and they forget to confirm it and to check an AMH level. It's such an easy hormone to check as you see your level was 0.1. So I imagine four years ago is probably maybe 0.3 or 0.4. And now you're seeing that rise in FSH, making it a lot harder to get pregnant with the healthy pregnancy. My recommendation to you is if you feel like you want to try once with your own eggs. Go through a cycle, take medications as if you're going to go through IVF and see what happens. If you're able to grow an egg and you want a chance for pregnancy and you want someone to retrieve it, I think that's fine. However, if you want to give yourself a much higher chance, around a 65% live birth rate, then I would seek an egg donor. Tune in for this question, and 20 others in this episode! To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

I love that Kelly recently sent in a question to Ask The Egg Whisperer. Here's what she says,": Hi Dr Aimee. I'm in the middle of an IVF cycle and I was deemed a "poor responder." Only 9 follicles are responding on day 8. I was told it's due to my BMI but I feel like the protocol wasn't aggressive enough. We did 5 days of letrozole and only Gonal F. My RE claims menopur slows follicle growth so he doesn't use it til the majority of follicles are over 12. What would you suggest for me? I am 31, and my husband is 38. Thank you as always. I love the show and have learned so much." So, I think Kelly should go with her gut. I do think that you're right: your protocol is basically a mini IVF protocol. I would suggest doing a more standard stimulation. I do like using familiar and my protocols just because I feel like it reduces the amount of estrogen exposure for my patients. And it just makes me feel like it's a little bit safer. Take advantage of how far you come with the medications you've taken. Just take this as a learning experience and I would advocate for yourself. And if you feel like your doctor isn't listening to you, it might be time to find another doctor. To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Emily recently wrote in to "Ask The Egg Whisperer," and here's what she wrote: "Hi Dr Aimee! I was diagnosed with endometriosis following hysteroscopy. I have a known bicornuate uterus and from genetic screening my husband was found to have MTHFR and I am a carrier. I was able to conceive immediately following surgery. I started spotting and ended up with a missed miscarriage following a normal ultrasound at 10 weeks. My immune panel and path on the tissue was all normal. Will having a bicornuate uterus lead to recurrent loss?" I'm glad that Emily sent in her question! When it comes to a uterine malformation, I always also want to know a lot about the uterine cavity, and about the fallopian tubes. Sometimes people are labeled as having a bicornuate uterus when they really have a septate uterus, so be sure to get your images from your surgery. I would go to a fertility specialist, sit down with them and say, have you ruled that out? Adenomyosis? Have you ruled out a uterine septum? Women who have a uterine malformation like a bicornuate uterus are also at higher risk for endometriosis. Emily already told us that she has endometriosis. In that case, it may not be a bad idea to talk to your doctor about how severe your endometriosis is. Ask whether you should preserve your fertility now at your young age of 30 and make some embryos so that you can then go on to have more options for the future, because we know when it comes to endometriosis, things don't often get better. It's kind of like catch 22: if you get pregnant, then it treats your endometriosis. But when you have endometriosis, it's hard to get pregnant. Tune in for this full answer, and the answer to 20 more questions. To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Dr. Kristin Brogaard joins me today on The Egg Whisperer Show to talk about sperm health and aging. Kristin has a PhD in novel epigenetic technology, and has spent her career finding new ways to use technology to avoid disease. She's the Chief Operations Office of Path Fertility. They've created a new sperm age test, which can reveal the biological age of a man's sperm. Knowing this information can help people create a personalized family planning timeline. We're going to talk about all things sperm. Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America's most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

As a fertility doctor, I help my patients create the family they want, or preserve their fertility for whatever the future may hold. Part of why I love what I do is that I get to understand the whole person that I treat. Not just their body, but their emotional well-being too. We can't look at humans with tunnel vision. Nor can we look at fertility that way either. The act of going through fertility treatment is as emotional as it is physical. Today on the podcast, I'm sharing the ten things to STOP doing if you're a fertility patient. Read the full show notes on Dr. Aimee's website Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School Subscribe to the newsletter to get updates Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh is one of America's most well known fertility doctors. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She pioneered the TUSHY Method and BALLS Method to decrease your time to pregnancy. Learn more about the TUSHY Method and find a wealth of fertility resources at www.draimee.org.

In this Ask The Egg Whisperer episode, Gulbahar sent in a question. Here's what she asked, "My doctor recommended that I take a one month off between egg retrievals. There are only so many times to ask 'why' and not be answered before feeling you can't ask again. What is the science between a month wait? I have low ovarian reserves, so overstimulation is not likely. Why do some women have back to back IVF cycle while others don't?" And the answer is you don't have to take a break. You really don't. I always say when your period starts, you think of me and you come on in by cycle day three, you just keep showing up. I say this because you just never know when you're going to have an awesome cycle. So how would you know that the cycle right after one egg retrieval, is going to have a lot of sparkling eggs unless you actually go and look? So I would advocate for yourself. Ask your doctor if you can come in at the time of your period, just to check, understanding that you might have an ovarian cyst that might make it so that you just need to take a break. I don't necessarily recommend a one month break. I do have patients that just feel like they want to keep coming in cycle after cycle without a break. But if let's say you're 41 years old, you have a follicle count of three the next month after your egg retrieval, you could have a follow up count of four. So I would suggest, showing up, find out what's happening in that cycle and then make a decision as to whether you should take a break or wait for your next cycle. To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

In a recent Ask The Egg Whisperer, Jenny wrote in and she said this: "I'm 37. Last February, I had an egg freezing consult. During the ultrasound, the doctor counted 4 and 5 follicles in each of my ovaries and he said everything looked normal. Ten months later, my AMH is 0.27 ng/ml, which scares me so much. Twelve months later, I started injections for egg freezing and after 6 days of shots, the doctor couldn't find follicles in my ovaries. Am I in menopause? Is it possible for me to produce eggs again?Should I continue to try egg freezing?" Here's what I have to share about this question: You've spent basically the last four months preparing for an egg freeze and you still haven't frozen your eggs, which is not your fault. You're listening to your doctor's advice, and it sounds like it's pretty sound advice because they're really trying to prepare you for an egg freeze and not waste your time. When your AMH is 0.27, we're looking at getting about two to three eggs. What you're sharing with me is they can't see any follicles. My thought process is this: let's stop all the medications. See what happens naturally. Go back and get seen in a week and see what you learn. Be sure to check your FSH, estradiol, and repeat your AMH. And I wish it was as easy as that. I know this is hard stuff. I know it is heartbreaking. It causes you to make you feel like you should lose all hope. But the answer is, it sounds like you still might have an egg left and I want you to do everything you can to preserve it if that's important to you. If you can't, don't look back with any regrets. You can't change the past, you can only move forward excited about your future like I am for you. You're going to be a mother one way or another, and it's okay if it's not with your own DNA.I know it's hard to hear, but I can tell you, once you get older, you're going to look back and say, ah, that Dr. Aimee knew what she was talking about. Life's too short. If you want to be a parent, please just do whatever you can to do exactly that. It's so worth it, especially in today's world to give another little human love and make our society better. To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School

Zizi sent a question in to "Ask the Egg Whisperer," and here's what she wrote: "I am 33 and my AMH is 1.1. My doctor just told me I have an ovarian cyst. I was on letrozole for 2 months (day 3 to 7) and on the second month I also used estradiol valerate from day 10 until I got my period. My doctor gave me birth control pills because of my cyst. I feel like I've lost months of trying. Can the ovarian cyst affect my ovarian reserve?" Cyst formation after fertility treatment is common. Whenever you ovulate, there's always a chance that your cyst of ovulation can carry over into the next cycle. When there's more than one egg ovulated from fertility meds this has an even higher chance of happening. It doesn't mean anything bad and it doesn't impact your ovarian reserve if you have a cyst or if your doctor starts birth control pills (aka fertility planning pills). After about two weeks on the pills, and if the cyst is gone, you can start a new treatment! Since you are 33 years old consider freezing eggs, embryos, or both. Remember that saying, "it's always nice to have eggs on ice." And, its also always nice to also have embryos on ice. Your AMH is just fine. However, I want you to take advantage of your golden eggs. It doesn't matter how amazing you look on the outside. We know the reality is that as we get older, 100% of us will lose our chance of having a pregnancy with our own eggs. It's inevitable. Consider IVF to save embryos for future possibilities. To submit your own question to Dr. Aimee for a future episode of Ask The Egg Whisperer, click here. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fertility tips! Join Egg Whisperer School