The Egg Whisperer Show

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

Today on The Egg Whisperer Show, my dear friend Dr. Jenna McCarthy is joining me to talk all about the most common IVF mistakes. Our intent is to share as much information as we can with you so you’ll go into an IVF cycle aware, empowered and feeling comfortable with what is going on. We want people to avoid these mistakes and also hear that they're common, they happen, and there’s always something you can do if you’re dealing with an issue.⠀ We’re talking about troubleshooting needle and syringe issues, the importance of not eating or drinking before your egg retrieval, timing of the trigger shot, sperm emergencies, and medication dosage issues and more. We’re basically talking about everything we’ve seen in our combined 20+ years of doing IVF. ⠀ 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.

The time to talk about "everything I can possibly do to give myself the best chance of pregnancy success" is BEFORE your embryo transfer. Not after. This is why I discuss tests like the ERA test and Receptivadx test with all my patients before transfer. Every embryo is important to me and I want to make sure I'm doing the very best job for every patient I meet.⠀⁠ I also know that there's a virtual alphabet soup of three letter abbreviations that surround the whole fertility journey, so today on the podcast, I'm breaking down the steps that I take when doing the ERA (Endometrial Receptivity Analysis) test, and how it could help you. The ERA tells us exactly when to start progesterone before a transfer to give the embryo the highest chance of implantation success. Think of it as a personal evite to your Embryo Transfer Party! In a way, the test tells you exactly when to show up for the party. I will also talk about the Receptivadx test that basically tells you what to wear to the party (the protocol you should use).⠀⁠ If you know me, you know that I love using the latest technology, mixed with personalized care, to set patients up for the best chance of success.⠀⁠ So, how does it work? How do I do it? What's involved? What's the technology behind ERA? Find out all the behind the scenes info on this week's podcast episode.⠀⁠ 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.

I’m answering questions from a recent Ask The Egg Whisperer show. The first one I answer is from Leigh. Here’s what she asks, “I am wondering what size follicle you consider to be too large to trigger for an egg freeze cycle. If eggs are collected from very large follicles (23-30mm on day of trigger), and are deemed MII to be frozen - what is the risk of them being "overmature" at time of thawing/fertilization? Is there any drawback to allowing several follicles (~10) to get so large for the benefit of allowing a roughly equal amount to "catchup" to be closer to a desirable size?” Here’s the short answer to Leigh’s question (and you can tune in to the episode to learn more): Kind of like the IVF pyramid, there's also an egg freezing pyramid.  You start the cycle with a number of small follicles.  And you’ll have fewer larger follicles when you're ready to trigger. And at the top of the pyramid, you have the number of mature eggs that you get at the end. And that mature number is so important and egg freezers know this as well, because it's only mature eggs that can be turned into embryos. So, I would not be too worried about seeing some larger follicles  (going up to 24mm), if that means I can get some others to catch up. In that range, I don't get too worried about having over mature or over cooked eggs. 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

Today on the podcast, I’m sharing a recent Ask the Egg Whisperer episode. I love answering your questions, and Natalie sent in a great one about a bicornuate uterus. Here’s what she wrote, “Does having a bicornuate uterus affect fertility? What can be done to make sure the pregnancy sticks and remains healthy so the baby is born full term?” Having a bicornuate uterus is very special. When I see someone who comes to me with a bicornuate uterus, I like to learn more about the patient’s anatomy so we can create a plan and build a team to support the patient.  First, make sure that you have an accurate diagnosis. You’ll also want to get an understanding of your own unique bicornuate uterus’ anatomy. Depending on your anatomy and diagnosis, the good news is that it is possible to deliver a healthy full-term baby. It’s also true that a bicornuate uterus may cause pregnancy complications.  I would recommend talking to your OB GYN to see what they think, and ask what their experiences with patients just like you. Ask for their approach on managing your bicornuate uterus.  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