What can I do now?

[RedPandaFluff]

Hi everyone - I just had a failed cycle of donor egg IVF. I had two excellent hatching five day blasts transferred, my endometrium looked good, everything seemed optimum. And yet it didn't work. I'm CONVINCED there's something else wrong (other than the premature ovarian failure that necessitated donor eggs).

I had two very early miscarriages about ten years ago, and I think I had a couple more chemicals during those many years of trying. So there might be an implantation problem.

What can I do to find out? Are there tests I can ask for, and will my GP do them? We're paying for IVF and it's wiping us out; paying thousands for private tests will be difficult in addition to the actual IVF. Advice on next steps would be really appreciated.

[Persipan]

Sorry to hear your cycle hasn't been successful.

Early miscarriages doesn't really sound like an implantation issue to me (implantation would have had to occur already, in those cases). However, if you really want to look into this you could consider having an ERA (endometrial receptivity array) done. It's not cheap, though; £1k+.

Have you had your WTF yet? What did your clinic suggest?

[RedPandaFluff]

Hi Persipan - thanks for responding. I've read about the ERA test you mentioned and clinics in my city are quoting almost £2k . . .

What's a WTF?!

[Persipan]

Oh, sorry - your post-cycle appointment with your clinic where you talk about how it went/recommendations for your next cycle. (WTF in this context stands for exactly what you think!)

[RedPandaFluff]

Haha - I love that you call it that Didn't have a WTF appointment as my clinic is abroad, so apart from asking the treatment coordinator by email how soon I can do another cycle after confirming the negative pregnancy test with them, I've not had much contact from them. And no contact with the doctor.

I wouldn't use this clinic again, if I'm honest - we'll only have another transfer with them because it's included in the package we paid for.

[LittleBlackCats]

Hi I have had 4 cycles of IVF and I have two embryos left - I'm wondering how best to proceed. I'm 44 and went through premature menopause when I was 36. My first two IVF cycles were using eggs donated by my 40-year-old sister. On the second cycle I became pregnant with twins, but lost them at about 7 weeks. This August and November I have had two more cycles, using embryos created from the eggs of a 29-year-old donor. Both cycles ended in a BFN.

I had to have ERPC for the missed miscarriage, and they were able to test one of the embryos - it had a genetic abnormality and would never have made it to full term.

My lining takes a long time to build, but it always has a good triple pattern structure and gets up to pretty much 8 thickness each time. I've also had a hysteroscopy that was normal and an aqua scan after the ERPC - also normal.

My consultant at the clinic I'm with and another doctor at a different one (I'm considering changing clinics) have both suggested ERA - endometrial receptivity testing. It's not cheap, and I was given a statistic that only 5-8% of those tested find out there's anything 'wrong' that can be 'fixed'.

I'm also looking into reproductive immunology, but, even though lots of clinics offer it, the HFEA seems to say it's a complete no-no!

Does anyone have any experience of ERA and has it helped you?

Thank you