Spotting before test date... again :-(

[patientlywaiting1234]

I'm on my third ICSI cycle and I started spotting yesterday, at 7 days past a 5 day transfer of a very good quality embryo. On my first cycle (different clinic), I started spotting on Day 7 as well and on my second, I started on Day 6. When I moved to a new private clinic they said that this spotting was too early so increased my cyclogest dose from 2/day to 3/day which apparently is a high dose.... and I'm still spotting!

One of the consultants told me earlier this week that if this hasn't worked, I'll stop my cyclogest on the day I get a negative and then my period will arrive 2-3 days later. So she implied that the cyclogest holds off a bleed. I always thought the same, so I don't understand why I am spotting!!!!

Does anyone have any ideas? This is our 4th high quality blastocyst transferred and I'm beginning to think that progesterone is the issue. I'm also feeling absolutely bloody miserable today

I have had 4 transfers and happened each time to me. I have not been successful yet but the last 2 transfers resulted in a BFP, but sadly one was a biochemical and the other a miscarriage at 5+2.
I just wanted you to know that I hate the spotting but you can get a positive text with it.
Good luck x

*test

I had spotting that turned out to be implantation bleeding, so it's not always a bad sign. Fingers crossed for you.

Are you getting your other hormones tested, such as estrogen levels? I bled early on one cycle and I was told it could be caused by high estrogen levels suddenly dropping. Also worth considering injectable progesterone for future cycles if your levels are staying low.

Wishing you lots of luck.

Also - have they been testing your progesterone? This should be done around a week after starting it (a couple of days post transfer in my case). It would tell you if there is a problem.

I was like you OP. Except my spotting started even earlier - often just 3 or 4 days after a 5dt. It was really depressing. I never got a bfp, 6 good quality blasts transferred 5 times (last attempt they agreed to do two in one go), and I felt cheated that I never even got to the point of wondering if it might/might not be positives on test day. Sorry I don't have better news.

I was tested regularly for progesterone levels and they were always high, I was definitely absorbing it. Didn't stop the spotting though. My fertility doctor didn't seem concerned about the spotting but I did.

I also spot on natural cycles btw. Not sure if you do too?

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it.

I insisted on having my progesterone checked and it was 180 on Wednesday (not sure what the unit of measure is) and they like it to be over 100 apparently. I just thought that if I'm on 3 cyclogests a day I shouldn't be bleeding this early? In the last two cycles I bled this early but was only on 2 a day, so increasing dosage to 3 doesn't seem to have made any difference...

Shall I POAS or is it too early? I feel like I want to be put out of my misery...!

Also, do progesterone pessaries even get into the bloodstream? I thought they didn't really, which maybe means that a progesterone blood test isn't very useful..?

It sounds like your progesterone levels are good, so perhaps that isn't the cause. Not sure what to suggest other than checking estrogen levels.

On my unsuccessful cycle, I was on both injectable progesterone and cyclogest, my levels were really high and it still didn't prevent bleeding early.

I have had a positive at 8dpt but very faint - probably a bit too early for a definitive result. Best of luck.

I got spotting 6p5dt and took a test as I thought I was out. It was positive.
Implantation bleeding is quite common.
Good luck

I feel you. Getting the Drs to take spotting seriously is nearly impossible in my experience. I have spotted before my period for a good ten years - sometimes for more than a week. I say spotting but it's more like a light bleed. It has been the most frustrating thing. When I was trying to conceive naturally I would be spotting before implantation could even have begun - how is that not going to affect whether a fertilised egg can cling on?? But no one seems to really care about it and it drives me mental.

Thanks for all of your replies. I took a FRER pregnancy test this morning and it was negative. OTD is Thursday. So I'm 95% sure it's game over... again.

The hardest part of all this is trying to find a reason for why this isn't working... we have male factor infertility, we get good quality Day 5 blastocysts and then it doesn't work. I've always intuitively thought it could be an implantation issue... but if my progesterone is ok, then what else could it be? Do any of you know any reasons for implantation failure?

Thanks all

Good luck for tomorrow OP.

Re implantation failure, my clinic were very clear that the VAST majority of the time it is something wrong with the embryo, rather than an issue with implantation as such - especially if the scans and hormone tests look ok before transfer. After 5 failures we almost went down the route of getting our blasts tested prior to transfer, but we only managed to generate one, so it seemed pointless in that the cost of testing was the same as the cost of transfer, so we might as well just put it back and wait and see. But I did have over an hour with a scientist to talk about the testing and what it might show, which I found really interesting. (Though made it clear the odds weren't in our favour). I was told at my age (38/39 at the time) only 1 in 5 blasts would be chromosomally normal.

It could just be a numbers game and you just need to keep trying...

Thanks, Smidge. Unfortunately it's a big fat negative for me today. I can't say it was a shock as I have beef spotting continuously since Saturday.

I just don't understand why we've not had success over the previous three cycles when we have transferred four good quality blasts (in fact, I remember the term 'top quality' being mentioned a few times). I find it hard to believe that they all were genetically dodgy, although maybe we were that unlucky. I guess as I've always had spotting, I assumed that there was an implantation problem, but I think you are probably right and it's more to do with genetics. I will certainly be asking lots of questions at our follow up appointment.

Where are you at now, Smidge? I hope it finally worked for you xxx

Unfortunately we never got success.
I'm almost 41 now, and we gave up on the assisted approach. I should just say gave up full stop but I still can't help checking the days, getting annoyed if we don't have sex around ovulation, and then being on knicker watch until the spotting inevitably starts again. I don't actually know how to get out of that mindset!!!

It's so frustrating though because we had no specific issues at all according to our test results. In a way that always made it worse though as there's nothing specific for them to address.

Hurumph.

I'm so sorry you got the BFN. Are you getting many blasts at each collection? We tended to get around 8 eggs, all would fertilise and 6 would be great at Day 3, but only ever get 1 blast by Day 5. That's what made it seem a little pointless in doing the genetic testing. If you're getting several though, it might be worth going down the route of saving them up from a couple of collections, freezing them and then getting them tested. I'd have tried that if we had a decent crop!