IVF- Fresh or Frozen Transfer?

[HayleyLIsa86]

Hello,

As mentioned in my previous post I’m about to embark upon IVF-ICSI hopefully at the beginning of my next cycle in a couple of weeks. Like most, both my partner and I are doing our research so we’re as informed as we can be. One of the big questions we both have is what’s better fresh or frozen transfer? With my limited lay persons knowledge I would assume frozen; the body has been pumped with lots drugs and stimulants, which I’ve heard can cause all sorts from severe bloating, gassiness, swelling of the ovaries etc. Surely a frozen transfer would better, allowing the body to recover and return to some form of normal state before embarking on yet another procedure- I would just think creating the best environment for the embryo is key?

If anyone can share their stories, experiences and or opinions it will be appreciated.

Thanks :)

To be honest, no one really knows. Some claim is are showing a slight increase in success rates when using frozen but when you look at all the confounding factors it's not clear. Most people still have to take lots of drugs when they do a frozen cycle - and psychologically it's no different. I have a son from my first fresh cycle, had a failed frozen and am now pregnant from my second frozen. I'd say pick a clinic very carefully and then go with what they suggest - they want the best results they can so will generally suggest whatever they are having the most success with. Good luck!

Thanks welshweasel, that's helpful! Congratulations on your son, and second pregnancy, that's lovely news.

This process is so overwhelming and we haven't even started. How did you cope?
Any advice would be appreciated. I've given up caffeine, new diet, lots of protein, fruit, veg, tons of water etc. and I hope to start acupuncture soon.

There are so many different stages of having to wait and be patient, I just want to get going! As you can probably tell i'm not the most patient of people!

Personally I tried to carry on as normal as much as possible. I ate healthily and took pregnacare but didn’t stop drinking until after embryo transfer (although did cut down before my fresh cycle as can affect egg quality). I think it can become all consuming if you let it so I tried to not think about it too much. Also made sure I had nice stuff planned for after each cycle (usually stuff that isn’t so much fun if you’re pregnant so it helps a bit if the cycle fails).

Thanks welshweasel... I'll try! We'll either be starting next week or August, my partner is away mid August so the dates my clash if we start next week, I will try throughout to be as normal as possible lol but I doubt it lol

We had a frozen transfer as we had PGD for a genetic condition, but I think we may have needed to do frozen anyway as I got warning signs for OHSS and felt much better for a few months ‘off’.

Your consultant/nurses etc will be best placed to judge your specific case, so try to ask good questions then trust them. It’s easy to get caught up in statistics to help you make a decision but actually, someone always has to be the 1% so you can’t really extrapolate and apply stats to an individual couple (we were given a 1 in 3 chance of a positive pregnancy test after treatment - I couldn’t even find live birth figures. We got our baby from our first cycle, so are stupidly lucky.)

Just try to stay sane and be kind to each other. I felt calmer knowing I was controlling what I could, so stopped caffeine and booze and continued eating healthily which we tend to do anyway, but I really think so much of it is luck. So LOTS OF LUCK for your treatment!

Hi Verbena87, thank you for your message.

I was just speaking to a friend re. fresh and frozen and she too was at high risk of developing OHSS and said similar to you that she was glad of some time off, she said she felt bloated and sore and couldn't imagine a fresh embryo attaching.

I need to chill, you're absolutely right, I can ask the question 10 times over but the clinician will make an informed choice depending on my situation... I know, usually i'm not one for stats!

Congratulations on your positive :) - How's it all going? Did you manage to have some extra frozen embryo's?

... You sound like my consultant " If its going to work it will work, it's a marathon not a sprint!" lol

Thank you for the well wishes :)

All good thanks. I’ve got a gorgeous 10 month old and we’ve got 3 blastocysts who don’t carry the genetic condition we tested for in the freezer so have really been super lucky.

I’d love another baby, but had a pretty tough delivery and I want to try and rehab my poor pelvic floor a bit more and finish breastfeeding before we think about another potential pregnancy. (Also the idea of more injections/hormones while we still have lots of sleepless nights doesn’t appeal!)

Your consultant sounds sensible. And don’t feel bad for not being able to ‘just chill’; it’s a big thing to go through physically and emotionally. I found the forums on fertility friends a big help when I was in the middle of it all.

Aww that's lovely news! and I'm glad that the genetic condition is absent in the remaining embryos... well the joy is with the embryos in storage (sorry it sounds awful phrasing it like that) the biological clock has stopped ticking and if you decide to have another you can at the right time for you and your partner- your reasoning makes a lot of sense.

Yes a few people have mentioned Fertility Friends my account recently got approved so I will have a look on there over the next few days.

Thanks for help and advice. :)

No worries, good luck with it all. Let us know how you get on here if you like.

Thanks Verbena87. Sure, may send a private message instead.

Thanks again :)

Hello,
Success rates are good for both fresh or frozen and there are increased data suggesting that a frozen one might be safer especially after hyper stimulation and equally effective as a fresh cycle. In general, according to control trials a frozen transfer is less risky, more efficient after OHSS compared to a fresh embryo transfer. Live births were better and miscarriage rates lower but keep in mind that results from different clinical trials are often not in agreement. The results always depend on the individuals condition and medical history.
However there are a few things that your doctor and midwife should also mention and discuss: cryopreservation of an embryo might alter genes as this is still unknown. I would suggest to take things one step st the time: see how you will be following stimulation and you can make an informed decision with the advice of your doctor at that point. Hopefully i didnt confuse you more.

Hi poupou,

Thank you for your message, no you haven’t confused me you’ve been very helpful.
My friend said something similar; fresh transfer was taken out of her hands, she had 19 eggs collected and was close to developing OHSS. Like you she said it’s not a decision that can made now and I’ll need to see how I feel after stimulation and of course taken the advice of the clinician, absolutely every individuals situation is different.
Im not familiar with cryopreservation I will give it a Google, thank you, you’ve been so helpful.
Do you mind me asking your story? Have you undergone ICSI?

Hello,
My story is slightly different. I am starting my journey now and i am freaking out a bit as I am a dr and working with recurrent pregnancy complications and IVF hence my knowledge on the matter. But since i unfortunately am aware of everything that can go wrong i am very very stressed. Cryopreservation is when the embryo is frozen (sorry if i confused you). I thought that i could help giving a perspective on your situation as i have some practical experience with the matter.Regardless dont stress and when the time comes the right decision would be made. We have very good success rates with both fresh and frozen!

Hi op - I'm not an expert, but the people who will be treating you during your ivf will be, so I'd say to follow their advice for your specific circumstances.
I've been thru 3 fresh & 3 FET - none ultimately successful, however I did get a BFP from fresh & frozen.
My understanding (which may be wrong!) is that frozen may well be better for your body, but fresh is better for your embryos. The thing to remember is that frozen transfers may be getting good stats as only good embryos get frozen in the first place, whereas if you have a couple of ok embryos they will transfer them back in to you as they might as well give them a shot...
Unless you want PGS or you get OHSS I think a clinic would be unlikely not to go for a fresh transfer in the first instance.
Good luck!

Hi poupou,

Starting your journey, that’s exciting but I understand nerve wracking also. I’ve yet to start and I’m already freaking out so I can only imagine how you must feel; I wish you all the best with the treatment.
I’m sorry to hear about your previous difficulties, I know what you mean, knowledge is power but sometimes knowing too much isn’t always best.

Thank you for the clarification and thank you for the well wishes I know it’s often easier to give advice than accept it but like you said to me, try not to stress, take it all one step at a time.

😊 xx

Hi Hobbes39,

Thank you for your message, it was helpful 

You’re absolutely right, I need to calm down, stop Googling and allow the clinicians to do their job lol

I’m sorry to hear of you initial unsuccessful treatments but glad you later had success.

Your point that frozen may be better for the body, but fresh better for the embryo, with my limited knowledge makes sense, thank you, and also about the stats, that really made me think and course that could be a reason why.

Thank you again 

@HayleyLIsa86 - I know this isn't relevant to your question, but just to clarify, I didn't have success at all - I ave a naturally conceived DS, but my 3 fresh & 3 frozen ivf for ttc a 2nd DC has as yet been unsuccessful as I had a chemical pregnancy with my first fresh round, and missed miscarriage with my 3rd fresh round and another MMC with my last frozen round, so no ultimate success despite BFPs at test date. I wish you more success - but it's worth bearing in mind that a BFP might feel like the end goal, but it is just a big step near the start of the journey. Good luck x

Hobbes39, my apologies, I misread and misinterpreted your message, I'm sorry you've had such difficulty. Yes you're right there are so many steps along this journey before reaching the end goal.

I wish you all the best :)