Is it normal to feel your period is about to start 4 days after embryo transfer?

[hopingformiracle1]

Hi everyone. I had my embryo transfer on the 5th December and was feeling ok up until the 8th and 9th of Dec. I now feel like I am about to start my period within the next few days and my pregnancy test is not until the 18th of Dec. I am having all the symptoms I usually have a few days before my period starts, exactly the same feelings, cramps, tenderness in the pelvic area, feeling a bit fed up and irritable. Has this happened to anyone else and has anyone had their period before the pregnancy was due? thanks

Hi Hoping,

Glad to hear the EC and ET went well. If you haven't already, have a quick read of our thread to see how I was during the 2ww - or I can summarise for you: all the pre-menstrual symptoms, even cramps, I was certain - CERTAIN- that I was about to get my period and it had all failed. I didn't actually believe it when I got the positive result - I had to call the clinic and ask them to confirm what was written on the paper! This has now been referred to as "doing a Rumples".

So don't give up hope. There is really no way at all of telling if you're pregnant or not, as the symptoms are virtually identical either way. So just try to be patient, be kind to yourself, and plan some fun treats to make the time pass more quickly.

Best of luck!

Thanks rumples, update today, most of the premenstrual symptoms have gone, just feeling it very slight today. My theory right now is that the symptoms I have felt for the last few days could be one of two things. 1 - the embryo is starting to implant or 2 - the embryo was trying to implant but my immune system started to attack it and prevented it, reason why I felt all those symptoms but am feeling ok today. Only time will tell though and like you said the 2ww is so difficult. I know some people can have blood, immunity issues and I also have a bit of an underactive thyroid for which I am on the lowest does of levothyroxine for. I have not been test for killer cells though or hashimotos which is the main cause of thyroid issues, which means your own immune system attacks your thyroid gland thinking it is a foreign invader. If it is that, this could be what stops the embryo implanting but I haven't been tested for this and every other test for infertility has come back fine. If this ivf fails, I am going to get my immunity testing done straight away and find out exactly whats going on xx

Hoping.
I was on thyroxine for last 2 ivfs. 1 failed i think due to embryo quality, and im pg from the second.

Not all embryos will implant its not necessarily immune issues.
Im 35 and have had 4 embryos put back this year and im pg with 1 baby.

Im sure theres no harm in checking for immune issues.

There really can be no symptoms in 2ww. All i had was an increased sense of smell.
On the failed cycle i started spotting at 12dpo, which maybe could have been my thyroid as when i tested after ivf it had gone up to 4. But as it hadnt been tested for about 6mths before it had most likely risen in the meantime.

I increased my dose the day i tested positive.

I think i likely have hashimotos as
Dsis also has thyroid probs
Mine is constantly getting worse ive gone from
25 alternate days
25 eveyday
50/25 alternating

Now on 75/50 in pg

Hi Naty1, most thyroid issues are caused my hashimotos, so most probably you do have it. Before I found out about my thyroid issue, I started to feel tired, achy and unwell so booked an appointment with my doctor and had a full blood test done. My TSH came back 12.5 which indicates underactive thyroid. I was put on 25m of levothyroxine and told to book another appointment for another blood test 2 months later. I did this and my for that blood test the TSH was 5. That was in September. I started my IVF cycle on November 22nd, so I am assuming my thyroid levels were lower again by then. Another thing that was picked up by my doctor in my blood test was that my white immune blood count was high, doctor said that my body was trying to fight off minor infection. This has got me really thinking now. My IVF treatment went perfect and the embryo that was transferred was a high quality embryo and was transferred day 2 on the 5th Dec. On the 8th Dec, I felt this feeling of inflammation and cramping in my uterus and pelvic area. It felt to me as though my body and immunity was trying to fight something off. My intuition tells me that the embryo blastocyst tried was hatching and trying to implant but my immune system stopped it in some way. I really feel this strongly because everything else in this IVF has been perfect. I feel I have an immune issue, maybe also linked to thyroid. Today I have really sore breasts, l always have them a few days before I start my period and a heavy feeling in my uterus that I will be on my period any day now. I will however still take the pregnancy tests but my gut instinct has told me this ivf has failed and I have blood immune systems. Congratulations on your ivf success too, it must of been so difficult for you when it failed before.

If this cycle fails, I will have immune testing before I go for anymore and also will get immune suppression treatment so it doesn't happen again.

IME that was a good sign. Fingers crossed for you.

My clinic wanted my tsh under 2.5
Though i have read around 1 is best
Why would your tsh have gone down further from the 5?
Was the dose increased?
Were your ivf clinic involved with your thyroid or just the gp?
As unless i check and remind them about the 2.5 limit they would tell me anything under 4.2 is ok.
This then concerned me in pg as i worried they would do the same (with 2.0 being the highest tsh in pg ideally) so when i got back 2.5 at 4 wks i was a bit concerned for the next test at 8wks but due to the dose increase at 4wks its gone down to 0.91.

Do you have frosties?

Try not to worry. Its possible for it to work with thyroid issues. DSis now has 2 DC from ivf on thyroxine (she was on prednisone but who knows if that made any difference as i havent had that)

Hi naty1. My thyroxine is still on 25mg and not increased yet. I have another blood test in January and will now my new TSH level then and my doctor will increase the dose then if I need it. My ivf clinic was not involved with my thyroid, just my gp. They never asked about my thyroid and just gave me a list of other blood tests to have done and they all came back fine. Maybe I should have mentioned my thyroid to them before the start of the IVF but at that time, never really thought it would make much of a difference to conceiving until now. Some clinics are much more concerned with thyroid than others and mine never mentioned it. I did find the clinic very good, the staff were wonderful. I don't have any frosties unfortunately and I would have to do another fresh cycle again next time. That's great news about your Dsis and maybe the prednisone helped also, I would ask for that next time. I feel right now that I really have to get to the bottom of this, with the thyroid and if there is another immune issue. Today my thyroid is playing up. I am aching and feeling tired, I think its all these hormone injections and the crinone progesterone gel I have to use. I will be glad when the 18th Dec comes and I can do the pregnancy test to find out for sure. Then if it comes back negative, I can have my thyroid bloods taken in January and start the ball rolling then to prepare for the next cycle. By the way do you know if the gp does immune testing for infertility or do you have to pay private for it, if the gp does it, that would save a lot of money.

Just before my IVF cycle I had this dream. In the dream, I was asking 2 psychics if the IVF will be successful or not. The first one said no and then the second said yes, you will get pregnant with twins, I see a beautiful little girl. It may just be a dream but I interpret this now to mean the first IVF will fail and the 2nd will be successful for you.

How are you getting on?

Hi naty1. An update for you, my first IVF has failed, came on to my full period, so that's definitely gone now. I feel a bit down about it I must say as I was so positive all the way through it. I will bounce back though, may take me a while. My dream may come true one day.

Oh no!
How early was it? On my failed cycle i spotted from 12dpo.
They said it would be an issue if it was earlier than 10dpo.
Its worth talking to your clinic about thyroid levels for ivf as they may say like mine under 2.5 which you can then take back to gp.
Think mine was 2.0 just before this cycle. But around 1 ideal for conception.
You may find now after ivf your tsh has risen and may get worse during winter.
The not knowing why is so difficult.

I know, crap isn't it?

I came on my full period today so that is just 9 days after my embryo transfer which was on the 5th December. I feel my tsh levels have risen as well because I feel so crap right now. Before the cycle began, I felt absolutely great. All those hormones have made me feel ill. I have another thyroid tsh blood test in January, so lets see how it goes. I feel mad right now for having put my body through this but I know I will feel ok in a few months, ready to try again. The things we do for a baby and the risks we take hey..

The worst thing is that my husband is away right now until April and I have to grieve alone. He has been so wonderful and supportive throughout this entire IVF cycle but had to go away with work. I had a feeling this would happen and I would be left alone to deal with it...

I got a BFP after my recent frozen embryo cycle and had brown spotting from transfer day onwards. I was so worried. Brown turned to red at 6w and 5d and I sadly miscarried hours later.
The feelings you have could be implantation discomfort but I'd check with your clinic asap for advice. Try not to worry - easy to say, I know.

Hi Inconceivable, sorry to hear bout your miscarriage, that must have been devastating news for you. My first IVF cycle failed this month. It is definitely a BFN. I have already started making enquires towards my next cycle but I am going to use a different clinic next time. I am going to be getting all the immune tests done, the Chicago tests to make sure I get the best possible chance I can to conceive. What do you plan to do next? Are you going to have another cycle? x

I wonder what happened with all the ladies in this thread. I really hope everything worked out for all of you.