Endo scratch before IVF

[Happilymarried155]

Hi,

Went to the clinic in prep for my first ivf attempt and he mentioned the endo scratch-he said that success rates are double with women that have had the scratch.

Just wondered if any had this before? Was your treatment successful and if anyone had any more info on it.

Thanks in advance :)

[Amyand]

I had this done in preparation for my third cycle. The procedure itself is fine and relatively painless (similar to a smear!). It helps the embryo to 'stick' better. Unfortunately we didn't even get to ET this time as only 2 eggs were collected and failed to fertilise. What I'm trying to say is as you're paying so much for ivf anyway you might as well pay a couple of hundred pounds for this. Has your consultant mentioned embryo glue? Basically the sperm and egg are put in some kind of glue which will help them to fertilise. Obviously with the scratch and glue you have to have good embryos in the first place which we didn't have. Sorry, this post is a bit long winded! Wishing you lots of luck.

[Amyand]

When I said it helps the embryo to stick better I meant when it's been transferred to the uterus! Oh dear too much after receiving our bad news this week!

[Happilymarried155]

Thanks for that amy. It's our first ivf and I thought we might as well give it everything we have got! I will ask about the glue also. If I will start down reg around 20th April (will be day21) is that when I would get the scratch done?

Sorry you didn't get to ET, must have been really stressful for you, good luck for next time x

[ReeMarsh]

I will be interested to know about this scratch too as I haven't been offered this, we are definatly going with the glue (if we get that far!)
I start down regging on the 18th March but i also have a 3D Saline infusion sonogram on that day too, so depending on what they find it may be prolonged. When do they normally do the scratch?

[Happilymarried155]

I think it's day 21 of the cycle before you start ivf so around the time you start down reg. the fs clinic contacted me today and said it increases your chances of a successful ivf by 20% so I'm definitely going to give it a try! X

[Amyand]

I had the scratch about 5 days before I started to down reg. I think our clinic said that you should have it sometime during the 14 days before you start down regging. Good luck to you both. X

[mrsdeee]

Hi,
I've had two endometrial scratches, I agree with the earlier poster, it is just like having a smear but a teeny bit more painful just for a couple of seconds, I had a few puffs of gas and air the second time and didn't feel a thing. The first time I had it done was a couple of years ago when it was all new and experimental and I had it done as part of a trial, my dr told me that the results of early trials were really encouraging and it was definately worth a go- it certainly was worth a go as my daughter is now nearly 2.5. When DD was nearly one we decided that we would have another try at ivf, basically the consultant said they would just replicate our previous successful cycle including the scratch and we were v v v lucky that it worked again and we now have two DC!
We had been trying to conceive for about 5 years previously and had been through 4 unsuccessful attempts at IVF/ICSI so the successful cycles were our last two and they were the only two where I had a scratch. Obviously there are loads of others factors involved but both my husband and I are convinced that the scratches played a massive part in all this.
I hope this answers some of your questions, let me know if you need to know anything else,
Ooh, one more thing, I had the scratch a week before my period was due and then started the stimming drugs on day 1 of that period. It's tricky to work it out as every clinic seems to do thing differently and I didn't take any down regulating drugs.

Best of luck with everything- hope all goes well x

[purplemeggie]

Hello. I started down reg on Thursday, and I asked about the endo scratch - it was one of those things that I had meant to ask before and forgotten to do. They said it might be a good idea for me (1 x 8-10 wk mc and several chemical pgs) and said it can be done during down reg, so I'm going in next Fri.
The nurse also said it's very like a smear test, but that there is recent research to say that it needs to hurt a little bit in order to be effective!
Encouraging to hear your story Mrs - thank you for sharing.

[eurochick]

I had it with my 4th cycle and that resulted in my current pregnancy (previous 3 cycles had resulted in mc and 2xchem pregs). I have no idea if it was the scratch that made the difference, but it seemed like a cheap and low risk thing to try.

I found it just like a smear (or ET for those that have experienced that). I experienced some pain from them getting the catheter in place but didn't feel the scratch itself.

[Happilymarried155]

Thank you so much for all your experiences, I've contacted the clinic and will be doing it before my first cycle of ivf. Fingers crossed it works! :)

[Ficidy]

Best of luck with it. I had it done before my second IVF and I am now the very proud mammy of an amazing 7 month old baby boy. The procedure is fine. I don't remember it being too painful. Bearable. Good luck. I hope this cycle ends in a positive outcome for you.

[Shroomboom]

I had this done after 4 failed rounds of IVF and a failed fresh transfer with the 5th round. I had a FET the month after the scratch which worked - dd is almost 8 weeks old I found the procedure painful for a few seconds, and then by the time it was finished I felt perfectly well enough to walk out and drive home. It was definitely worth the little bit of discomfort!
Good luck, and I hope it works for you too!

[edinburghdancer]

for those who did have this treatment (which I had on Friday), did anyone have any bleeding or did it bring your period on any earlier.

I had a little spotting on Friday night/Sat morning but now I seem to have my period starting which is a bit scary as it's 6 days early!!!

[Sugarplummy84]

I had the scratch and now have a daughter to show for it. My clinic doesn't enter an IVF cycle without doing the scratch first. Didn't hurt, just a bit unpleasant.
Super good luck!! X

[feebee15]

Edinburgh dancer. I have the same as you. Had scratch on day 21 and now looks and feels like my period is coming now on day 23(usually regular 27-28 day cycle). What did your clinic advise?

[Jellytots85]

Hi ladies found this thread most helpful, just failed second attempt and trying to get positive to attempt my third. We had embryo glue second time and by listening to you ladies I will certainly try the scratch I'm a nightmare have the transfer though feel like they get annoyed with me because I tense so much x

[Happilymarried155]

Just wanted to let you all know that I had the scratch :) I found it painful but it was so quick it was easy to cope with! Fingers crossed it helps with a successful ivf!! Thanks for all your advice X

Ps he didn't say anything about AF arriving early because of it. I've had a bit of spotting but that's it so far :)

[Level75]

I had the scratch on my 6th round of ivf. I'm now 35 weeks pregnant. It's impossible to say if that's what tipped the balance but if I ever had ivf again I'd definitely have it.

[Jellytots85]

Level75 did you find on some rounds the quality of you embryos were better than others they say my uterus is fine but does the quality of embryo cause it not to implant ?

[Level75]

On my last round the quality and quantity were both the worse than my previous 5 rounds. I had seriously written it off and had lined my sister up to donate for my next cycle.
Obviously a grade 1 embryo has a statistically great chance of making it than a grade 3 but from my own experience it really does just take 1.
Statistically most babies come from grade 2 but that's just because there's a higher number of grade 2 produced.
I had 2 grade 2 left come implantation time this time.

[Level75]

Jellytot, that half answered your question!
It did vary. On one round I got 12 eggs, on my last round I think it was 6. Twice I had enough leftover to go to blast and get frozen (2 of my rounds were FET).
THis site: www.advancedfertility.com/embryoquality.htm has loads of good info.

[Jellytots85]

Thankyou, I think that's what they've said I have ovarian cysts so produce alot but not all great Both times had 13 eggs removed last time we got a blastocyst of good quality they said we froze 3 although 2 of them not as good as the other one. I really admire you going through it 6 times I would do anything to have a baby so we're keep going as much as possible just it gets scary to believe it will happen when you have a couple of fails, it's lovely to hear you are pregnant after all your determination congratulations x

[edinburghdancer]

After AF arriving on day 26 rather than 31 and only 4 days after the scratch, I've had pretty steady bleeding since for a full week. So I called today and they are comfortable that it's just a hormonal reaction and to carry on as normal.

[jessicaliepke]

My Husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for 4 years. I am 30 years old he is 29. I had a miscarriage 2 weeks before Christmas in 2012. They found out I had cysts on my Ovaries and a year later they went in to remove my left ovary because they thought the cyst was connected to the wall. However my left ovary is now heart shape. At this point I was Diagnosed with PCOS. After surgery my OB told me to try again and for a year we did with no luck. 2 years in and still no baby. I decided I needed to see a Specialist. I went to an OB that did IUI for 6 months I did this with different drug changes and still nothing. I decided I needed IVF. I transferred to the Fertility Clinic where I live and needless to say I am now 15 months into meds and drugs and found out I was pregnant with twins in January. I lost them at 6ish weeks and then the 3rd egg that was implanted ended up being Eptopic. My HCG finally was at a 1.8 so it took me almost 3 months to lose them all. Today I finally had the scratch done and am hoping this time works. I just wonder why most Fertility doctors dont offer it to begin with this will be my first FET attempt but Ive been through 9 IUI and 3 IVF's. Does anyone else feel frustrated and unless you do your own research you dont know. I came on this site and saw Endo Glue. Ive never even heard of that either.

[Lumsi]

Is this chat still active? I have learned so many IVF "lessons" the hard way and I would be happy to share if anybody is reading it.