Eligibility for IVF with previous chemical pregnancies?

[strawberrye]

Hi everyone,

I hope I don't cause any hurt to anyone by posting this but I am at my wits end.

I am 28, and have been TTC #1 for 20 months. During that time I have had 3 chemical pregnancies all lost before 5 weeks. I have been seen by my local recurrent miscarriage clinic who weren't interested and seemed to dispute whether these actually counted as miscarriages - told to just go away and keep trying.

My question is, if they don't count as miscarriages then surely they don't count as pregnancies and I should be eligible for infertility investigations and IVF?

Please does anyone have any experience similar to mine who can shed some light? Me and my DH are both aged

Hi strawberrye

I am sorry to hear about your recurrent cps, the struggle is so frustrating. We have been trying just over 2 yrs. I would suggest you get your GP to refer you both to the fertility clinic as you have been trying over 1yr.

I feel your woes about cps though and am pretty limited on advice sorry. I got referred to the fertility clinic, got all the tests done (unexplained) and then got referred for IUI or IVF and had a cp that month! Didn't tell the clinic because, like you, I wasn't sure if it would mean I couldn't have IVF. In the 8 months I had the cp I have had 3 failed IUIs and possibly another natural cp. Could you also go back to your GP and ask for a second opinion with recurrent miscarriages and for the clinic to run their tests? Sometimes you need to kick up a bit of a fuss to get what you want!

In my first year of ttc, I had two chemicals. Gp told me to have more (!!!🤔🙄🤬) or wait another year before he would help.

So I said fuck that. I was able to self-refer to the infertility clinic (nhs). When I had my first appointment there after ttc about 16 months, the nurse said I'd done the right thing after I told her about the two chemicals.

We jumped through there hoops. Unexplained. Tried clomid. Didn't have any more chemicals. Had ivf after about 28 months ttc, which was successful (still pinching myself).

Keep going back. Bug them. Be persistent. It's so fucking soul-sucking.

physicskate thank you for your reply that is helpful. I am just on the downregging bit of IVF (but clinic dont know about cps). Is there anything special you had to do during IVF or medication because of the cps? We are unexplained too and tried clomid ans IUI.

Hi @strawberrye, I'm sorry to hear your experience. We've been trying for nearly 18 months. Started the fertility testing at 12 months. I did conceive on cycle 16 while waiting for our referral to be processed but unfortunately had a missed miscarriage at 9 weeks. We had our fertility clinic referral appointment last month (cycle 17). The consultant couldn't have been less interested in the miscarriage. He's sent me off for hsg, scan and hysteroscopy with a follow up in September. So in my experience conceiving hasn't hindered the NHS helping me.

Good luck. The whole thing is pretty shit

Nope. Nothing special. They were never mentioned after the first appointment.

I did put myself on a huge cocktail of vitamins for the three months before the cycle (mostly from it starts with an egg).

Good luck!!

Good fertility clinics treat chemicals and even failed embryo transfers as early miscarriages (which they are), and will put you on an appropriate protocol.

Hi on the NHS they count them as pregnancies so they will make you wait the proscribed time 1yr (unless over 35 in which case it's 6 months)

I'm on the NHS @itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted. I saw the fertility clinic a month after my miscarriage was confirmed as complete. It's not affected my treatment so far. The letter from the consultant mentions my miscarriage and my treatment plan and that I'll be seen again in September.

@VenusStarr I think it depends on your area? A friend of mine had an ectopic and because of that was told in her NHs IVF funding letter that she would have to keep trying for another year before they would consider her again x

Play the game, do what you need to do to get treatment.

It's horrible how it's so different across different areas @itwasalovelydreamwhileitlasted. It feels incredibly sad that people could effectively be punished and denied support or investigation. Ttc, infertilty and miscarriage is hard enough as it is 😔

I don't know if it's because we were already in the system and I am 35 but feel lucky we've not been sent away.

Fingers crossed for you @strawberrye

Thank you all for your replies. I have just realised my original post was cut off to really - meant to say me and DH are both agreed under 30, non smoker, healthy BMIs etc so I think would otherwise be eligible for IVF as far as I know. So yes, it does feel like I'm being punished for having the CPs!

I am being seen in a Tommy's clinic soon for a second opinion for the recurrent CP side of things, and will ask about all of this then. I think after hearing everything you have all said I will see my GP after this appointment and see if we can be referred to the infertility team as well.

Hi @strawberrye I’m sorry to hear your experiences. When you say eligibility I assume you are referring to ivf on nhs? Sadly for me the criteria for free ivf was no pregnancy in 2 years. I had 2 miscarriages spaced 2 years apart and therefore each time the clock was reset. It took us a long time to actually get referred (I’m talking 5+ years) in hindsight I wish we went straight to private. If you can afford it, or look at funding options like access fertility I would recommend considering private treatment.

Wishing you all the best.

@Spongebob79 yes I do mean eligibility for IVF on the NHS.

I'm so torn as to what to do - we could probably save up for private IVF but I'm petrified of spending all that money and putting ourselves through it just to have more chemical pregnancies?

@strawberrye I know it’s such a tough choice. Just reading your op you’re 28 and therefore are in a good position. You’ve had 3 pregnancies which although ended so sadly, are a great sign you can get pregnant naturally. Sadly sometimes it is just a numbers game waiting for that right egg. It’s probably not what you want to hear as I know exactly how it feels after a loss, just wanting to be pregnant again instantly, but ivf really is the last resort once everything else has been exhausted. Perhaps trying naturally for a little longer would be a better option for now?

Thanks @Spongebob79.

Just to update the thread if this is helpful for anyone else reading, I have now been seen in the Tommy's clinic in Coventry. Prof Quenby thinks I have an issue with implantation and hopes it can be easily fixed with progesterone supplementation after ovulation. She did not recommend natural killer cell biopsy +/- treatment as apparently the newest evidence for that is not very good. I desperately hope she is right, however she also said if we continue to not get pregnant (it was 6 months between CP 2 and 3, and has been 7 months and counting since CP 3) or if we continue to have CPs on progesterone she would suggest to my GP that I am eligible for IVF on the NHS because I have never had a clinical pregnancy which has been confirmed to be in the uterus.