IVF question on behalf of a friend

[FetchezLaVache]

Hi ladies, my friend has just had IVF and a scan at 5 weeks confirmed a heartbeat, but a day or two later she had a show of, um, matter and was convinced she'd lost it. She's waiting for another scan, but in the meantime took a pregnancy test, which was positive. She is too scared to be jubilant because she's not sure how much the fertility drugs may have affected the result... So, is a BFP a BFP even when you are on fertility drugs?

Thanks in advance!

[YokoOhNo]

I'm sorry for your friend. The same thing happened to me after an IVF cycle and its heartbreaking (good news is that I have a fantastic DS now!). From what you say, it sounds like a very early miscarriage to me - the tests will confirm it one way or the other eventually. Fingers crossed it is just a show, but if she has seen something more than period type blood, then it doesn't sound like good news.

It's almost certainly not the fertility drugs which will give a positive pregnancy test, but the fact that the pregancy hormones will still be circulating in her system for a few days/a week or two maybe after any miscarriage, whether after IVF or not. The "trigger shot" drug which may affect a home pregnancy test will be well out of her system by now.

It took me a week or two to get back to zero, but it is very important that tyour friend continues with the blood tests to establish that the hormone levels are falling. In another IVF cycle, I had a bleed, but I didn't have a miscarriage - the show of blood was actually an ectopic pregnancy and my hormone levels continued to rise and i ended up having surgery on my falopian tube etc, so your friend needs to follow up with blood tests with her IVF unit whatever the outcome of her pregnancy

At 5 weeks, if it is a miscarriage, the hormone levels will be back to zero quite soon.

[FetchezLaVache]

Hi Yoko, thanks for this. Apparently there was no blood, just some gunky stuff. She described it to the clinic over the phone and they were apparently quite optimistic. Interesting about the pregnancy hormones possibly affecting the test. Would it be a good idea for her to do another test over the weekend?

[YokoOhNo]

No blood sounds more positive, but I'd say that the only way for your friend to know for sure, one way or the other, is to wait for the scan and blood test result. Very difficult, I know .

If your friend is pregnant, then a HPT will show a positive result of course, but if the worst has happened, it may also show a +ve result because of the pregnancy hormones still circulating, so I'd say there is not much point in doing one. In my case, I had some blood but kept testing and getting increasingly strong HPT test results.

It's good that the clinic is optimistic. Fingers crossed for your friend.

[BagofHolly]

Once you've seen a heart beat the likelihood of a live birth absolutely rockets. Early discharge and even bleeding esp brown blood are all well within the bounds of normal, as is a but if cramping. Early assisted pregnancy is a special type of madness but if I was a betting woman I'd bet it all turns out fine. (I've had 2 ICSI cycles, bled with both including whopping bleed last time at 13 weeks) and have 3 children to show for it.

I send her my quietly confident best!

[FetchezLaVache]

Thanks very much to both of you! I shall pass on your wisdom to my friend later on today and try to raise the mood to cautiously optimistic. Lovely to hear about your own happy IVF outcomes! :)

[FetchezLaVache]

Update: today's scan showed a strong heartbeat! My friend is absolutely over the moon.

[BagofHolly]

Told ya!

[BagofHolly]

Hit send too soon! Great news! Thrilled for your friend! X x