Does cycle before IVF need to be unmedicated?

[Sylva123]

Hi, I wondered if you could help.
I'm on letrozole, HCG shots & cyclogest at the moment and the consultant has given me a choice between 2 more cycles like this or going straight into IVF now.
Would there need to be an unmedicated cycle before our first IVF cycle? I'm trying to work out timelines in my head. Thank you :-)

Hey @Sylva123 - I’ll send you a photo of the info I got at the IVF clinic last night if you’ve not been able to get an answer to this yet. I believe the answer is no though - the first step (of conventional IVF, assuming you’re not going for natural or mild IVF) is a cycle of drugs that suppress your natural cycle and induce a bleed before they start on the stimulation drugs anyway

Oh yes please @LongtermTTC. I'm going to give the clinic a call tomorrow. My husband's friend is doing IVF and she has to have a "natural" cycle in between each round, so I didn't know if it would be the same transitioning from letrozole/HCG/progesterone to IVF. If so I'll not take anything this month so I can start next month.

@Sylva123 - I asked my IVF consultant today and he said you don’t need a cycle off letrozole before starting. You need to have a cycle off between IVF treatments if unsuccessful but not before starting x

Oh amazing thank you so much! I haven't been able to get hold of my clinic and took my letrozole today so hopefully I can just leap right into IVF in March/April then. Eeeek. Thank you @LongtermTTC