Once pregnant via ivf fet etc - what medication /drugs do you take?

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Sadly we often read on this group that after a successful cycle /fet /icsi etc that it sadly ends in mc

I was wondering what doses of what drugs did/do you all take

Is is the same? Varies from clinic etc

Each time we do a cycle (4 failed so far) they always say at transfer that if successful will need to take medication till 12 weeks as body is basically fucked up from drugs and doesn't make any hormones naturally till later in pregnancy.

Was just wondering if any link to those who sadly suffer a mc have a lower dose of drugs?

[barkingtreefrog]

Each clinic is different and some clinics are different for each woman. On my first round I just had progesterone. On my fet I had heparin as after two miscarriages I had a diagnosis of thrombophilia. When we started our next round I had intralipids drips, prednisolone, progesterone, heparin and folate as I had all the immune tests done and I was showing high in a number of factors. This ended in miscarriage as well. I had all the same drugs in my last ivf and this time it got me past 12 weeks. In my case I had the same drugs in two pregnancies and one worked (so far) and one didn't.

[bananafish81]

I got pregnant from a fresh cycle in Jan, I'd has oestrogen support for my lining but wasn't on any immunes. So I took oestrogen until 10w and was supposed to continue progesterone until 12w, however I miscarried at 10w

My FET protocol includes immunes : if I do get pregnant again would take the following throughout the first trimester : progynova, Cyclogest, Lubion, thyroxine, prednisolone, clexane, metformin and would have another intralipids infusion

[Fuzzywuzzywasabear]

I just had progesterone pessaries until 12 weeks

[drinkyourmilk]

I've been told I will have progesterone till 12 weeks with a single baby or 28 weeks for multiples.

[bananafish81]

Blondes - although my progesterone levels were fine in my fresh cycle, because I miscarried a chromosomally normal baby, we will be treating empirically in a FET (if we ever make it to transfer - looking at a second cancelled FET due to lining issues) with extra progesterone

So whereas last time I had progesterone pessaries twice daily, the FET protocol would include pessaries and Lubion (injectable progesterone)

The other immunes drugs are also empirically prescribed due to unexplained miscarriage

My thrombophilia tests were normal, indicating no underlying clotting disorders, but it's possible blood flow was in some way compromised, so the plan would be to take baby aspirin and Clexane from ET onwards

Thyroid is another one. My TSH wasn't high enough to have been the root cause of the miscarriage, and was well within normal range, however for fertility they like it to be

[Blondeshavemorefun]

thank you, all seems different depending on history

ive been told to take

6mg progynova daily, 3 x 2g am noon and evening
800 mg cyclogest daily, 400mg x2 , am and evening

i still cant believe im pregnant, been ttc for 10yrs, 4 failed ivf previously and honestly cant believe the 5th has worked

as milk knows i found out last week and took another preg test today to reassure me im still pregnant, stupid i know but .........

whats another £10 pregnancy test when have spent just over £27k - just sat and worked it out

'blonde faints'

[bananafish81]

Congratulations Blondes! That is really terrific news - so so happy for you. Everything crossable crossed

That is exactly what I was on during my pregnancy - exactly the same oestrogen & progesterone regimen

[Blondeshavemorefun]

thank you banana and sorry your lining is low again so cancelled fet :(

on all the fets ive had ive always had the same drugs as below, tho this time instead of being a 20day cycle, so start day 1, scan day 13 and transfer day 20, we did 28days, tho only as away on holiday and have to start drugs on day 1, so they said take for longer and scan and see what lining is like, if over thick would cancel, but was the same as others, think over 11mm

is it worth continuing on drugs past day 20? maybe something to suggest to your clinic to see if lining thickens?

[bananafish81]

I'm having a scan tomorrow and we'll see where I'm at

We had to cancel a medicated FET as I didn't respond to oestrogen pills or patches

Dr said some women don't respond to artificial oestrogen, but do to their body's own natural oestrogen

(he said the body's own natural oestrogen was superior to anything given artificially, and that in an ideal world we would do a wholly natural FET - but with no natural cycles due to PCOS and thin lining that wasn't an option for me)

So we're trying an ovulation induction FET - ie trying to get my body to produce its own oestrogen. I've been stimming for 15 days now, and we added in Progynova 2mg x 3 times daily - but on Tuesday (day 12) although I had three 20mm follicles, my lining hadn't grown at all.

So unless I've had some miracle turnaround, we'll have to trigger me and try again next cycle.

We know my lining CAN thicken up, but seems I need a lot more follicles to produce enough oestrogen for it to respond (it got to 11mm in May - but that was with 28 follicles)

So my guess is that we'll have to try full IVF dose stims next - growing a load of eggs that we won't even use!

[Blondeshavemorefun]

So will have to pay for a full cycle rather then a fet just to get lining up?

Then throw away the eggs after ec as won't be genetically tested ?

That's tonight. I hope your lining thickens xx

[bananafish81]

No we wouldn't retrieve

Would be exactly the same as we're doing now, just with a higher dose

We're doing a FET but using low dose stims for ovulation induction, to grow a few follicles.

Next plan would probably be a FET using higher dose stims for ovulation induction of more follicles

There's no retrieval or fertilisation costs. It's just monitoring and meds. Costs the same as any other FET, it's just the meds cost more.

[Blondeshavemorefun]

tough not tonight

hope this lining is thick enough x

[bananafish81]

Ie ovulation induction dose of current cycle = 75iu Gonal-F + Cetrotide + progynova. This has produced about 3-5 follicles

Next crack would be the same but with a starting dose of 150iu Gonal-F. In my IVF cycle in May that dose gave me 28 eggs at EC.

But for a FET It's just ovulation induction with a trigger - no EC. Just means with higher stims I would be ovulating a lot more eggs! We're just growing eggs to make oestrogen to try and thicken the lining

[Blondeshavemorefun]

may be a silly Q.but if they dont collect follicles/eggs what happens to them?

do they absorb into the lining?

[bananafish81]

If I don't get pregnant then it's the same as any natural cycle, where if you ovulate but the egg isn't fertilised / doesn't implant - it's shed as part of your period

If I were to get pregnant, then I guess as eggs are such teeny cells they just get absorbed

If vanishing twins can be absorbed then I imagine a few little eggs must be too! Will ask the Dr

I asked if I could donate the eggs to medical research and he said yes hypothetically, but didn't want to put me through another EC unnecessarily

[Blondeshavemorefun]

I hate ec. So painful so yes avoid if you can but also lovely you want to donate to help other childless couples 💐💐💐💐💐

[bananafish81]

I'd gladly be an egg donor but I'm not eligible to donate (plus you can't just hand some eggs over, you have to go through implications counselling, be matched with a recipient etc). Will ask again about donating to research as if we were to grow a load of follicles it would seem a waste to let them all pop unused! I found my 3 ECs all very straightforward, but I guess as my physician he doesn't want to put someone with epilepsy under unnecessary anaesthetic. Will ask again though, as I would like to donate if possible

[Blondeshavemorefun]

You had a general with ec?

God I wish. I just had strong pain killers tho the they didn't hit the the spot at all and DF said he could hear me in the next room moaning and semi screaming in pain :(

Seems a shame not to donate to medical science then

[bananafish81]

You poor thing! That sounds horrific!!

I had sedation for all three ECs

To me they felt no different to the GA I had for my ERPC and hysteroscopy - as far as I was concerned the wooze juice went in the cannula, boom! Next thing I know I wake up in recovery. The same drugs were used for sedation as for GA, just lighter dose and with sedation you're able to breathe for yourself whereas with a GA you have a breathing tube

All have been very straightforward, so I would be happy to donate.

[Blondeshavemorefun]

It's the one thing that I dread about ivf. Injections don't bother me but the ec was horrendous both times here in uk. Madrid was much better.

Just relieved managed to freeze 6 so then fet all the way x

[drinkyourmilk]

Blondes that's awful! Why on earth would they do it that way? I had a general sedation too. Down for op at 9am, left clinic before 1- so it's not as if it was a big deal for them either.

[Blondeshavemorefun]

My U.K. Clinic didn't do sedation and again I didn't know any different :(

None of my friends had done ivf except one that that was 11yrs ago and NHS

2nd time they gave me more drugs but still was very painful collecting and then both times after in U.K. I would walk round to next room , have ec and then walk back to room Next door and sit in chair till felt better (meaning I had a cuppa and biscuit) then DF drove me home and I went to bed

Madrid wheeled me about on a trolley and then major drugs. No pain just more uncomfortable tugging (bit like a smear) then wheeled back and told to lie in bed in their clinic (own private room and bathroom and sofa for DF) for several hours and try and sleep etc and tell them if I needed any medication

[bananafish81]

Jesus, you poor thing

So we ARE going to have to do a 4th EC, even though we're only stimming me to do a FET

Dr said given I got 28 eggs last time, we'd have to collect because of the OHSS risk if we didn't aspirate the follicles

That'll be the 3rd EC this year, 4th in 12 months

[Blondeshavemorefun]

oh banana poor you, 4 in a year is a lot, be kind to your self as bet hormones are raging tho your body

ive had 3 ec from may 14 , august 14, dec 15, all 3 failed,then fet feb 16, and july 16 (the one that worked) plus era april 16 and may 16 so 7 lots of different drugs and hormones /cycles etc

can they not give you slightly less drugs so not many foliciles?

[bananafish81]

It's fine - I'll do whatever it takes. I don't mind stims.

We did lower doses of stims at an ovulation induction dose this cycle - which didn't work. We did 75iu Gonal-F, got 4 follicles but that wasn't enough follicles to generate enough oestrogen for my lining to respond. So this stims cycle has been cancelled.

In May we got 28 eggs off a starting dose of 150iu, but my lining did thicken up. So we need to bring out the big guns and get lots of follicles to grow my bastard lining

If I can avoid another two general anaesthetics in the next 2 months before we cycle again, that would be great. As that would be 4 general anaesthetics (1 ERPC and 3 hysteroscopies) within 6 months, I'll be happy - not because of the GA, but because I just really don't want to have to have a coil for 1-2 months

In the last 10 months I've had: 3 IVF cycles, 1 cancelled IVF cycle, 1 pregnancy, 1 miscarriage, 1 ERPC, 1 hysteroscopy, 1 HyCoSy, 2 cancelled FET cycles - and now facing a 4th IVF cycle and the prospect of 2 more hysteroscopies

Debating taking up a crack addiction as a less expensive (and presumably more enjoyable) fertility cure, as those arseholes on Jeremy Kyle seem to breed like rabbits