ERA testing after multiple implantation failures. Anyone had it done?

[seven201]

I've had four transfers so far (first 3 from 1 batch, fourth from a second egg collection) and 4 BFNs. I have a naturally conceived 4 1/2 year old and had a natural pregnancy with early miscarriage a bit over 3 years ago. My lining struggles to get to thickness, I have polycystic ovaries (on sukkarto), a fibroid, slightly high thyroid thingy (on levothyroxine), high bp (on meds) and a midline septum (ridge/divide in the uterus). I had surgery to unblock a tube 2 years ago. I'm in the healthy weight range.

My clinic have suggested PGS testing (we have 5 embryos in the freezer) but I'm really not keen on it as I've read about actually fine embryos being shown as poor and therefore being disposed of.

They also suggested ERA (endometrial receptor assessment). Has anyone had that done and found it useful? I just hate anything that delays the next FET but I think maybe it will be worth it?

Any other suggestions? Last FET I was on lots of estrogen, extra progesterone injections, clexane, neupogen infusion, aspirin and probably a whole load of other stuff I've forgotten.

I am so fed up with it all!

Hi guys, hope you are all well. I am finishing up my antibiotics. I know it’s so important but I messed up over the weekend and forgot to take one on both days. So I took 2 on Saturday & 2 on Sunday instead of 3. I will take the remaining 2 today. Do you think this has messed it up and should I ask consultant for another course?

My femdophilus tablets also arrived - it says take 1 daily but can increase to 2 - did you guys take 1 or 2 a day? I’m starting Caneflor tomorrow too.

@ForeverAintEnough3 don't worry about the missed doses, just keep taking the antibiotics at the normal interval of three times a day until you run out then start the probiotics.

Canesflor is one a day. I think you said your specialist said to do them for 2 weeks

It's up to you how much femodophilus you take, have you got the 1 billion or 5 billion version?

I hope everyone else is ok, @seven201 has the bp come down?

Thanks @Gardenlady543 I’ve only one left now.

Yes my consultant said Canesflor say daily for a week then 1 s a week for 3 weeks but when I asked he said it probably wouldn’t do any harm to take daily for another week.

It’s the one billion version.

Just don’t want to overdose on them? Maybe that’s not possible! But also don’t want to have to delay FET for another Alice/Emma or totally freak out when the bacteria don’t go up ha.

How are you getting in @GardenLady

@ForeverAintEnough3 for the first two weeks I took 2 probiotics tabs a day then after reduced to one a day. Think I got thrush so increased to 2 a day and now I alternate so 1 a day, 2 the next day etc.

I made the mistake of missing a dose of 2 estrogen tablets one morning over the weekend. My googling thinks it's probably ok. Don't feel bad about your antibiotics. These things happen.

@Gardenlady543 how are you doing? @Cream123 ?

My bp is alright now. I'm taking 1/2 bp tablet am, 1 pm but am going to try and reduce to 1/2 and 1/2. Gp said that's fine to try as this time
Last week I didn't need any.

@ForeverAintEnough3 I took 2 x 5 billion and then recent reduced down to 1 x 5 billion so I think either 1 or 2 of the 1 boil lion will be fine. It's just to supplement the vaginal probiotics and for maintenance. I don't think you can get too much good bacteria. Lots of women take femodophilus daily to prevent bacterial vaginosis.

@seven201 that's good that it's come down.

I have has a stressful day, went to the breast appointment thinking it would all be reassuring and they saw some non-homogenous tissue on the ultrasound so they took a biopsy. I should get the result on Thursday. It just makes me think about all the impact of all these IVF meds on my body. I think I might organise a ultrasound to see what my lining thickness looks like naturally.

My specialist is quite fixated on the medicated FET since I came back as pre-receptive. But I thought the transfer window can be larger in natural FET. I just don't know how much more of these meds my body can take.

@Gardenlady543 that is very stressful for you. I hope it’s comes back ok. You would wonder about the impact of all the meds. I’m actually planning to do a tracking cycle while waiting for FET - so bloods on Day 3 & lining check, track ovulation and then get a scan afterwards to check lining again and progesterone. Just to see what the levels are like and if a natural FET would be worth doing as I find I get extreme anxiety on the medicated cycle. As you make so many good PGS normal embryos it could be worth tracking a cycle then trying natural. My friend was the same as you - unexplained and made tons of great embryos and her first natural FET worked so you don’t necessarily need to go medicated for unexplained.

Thanks for your help on the probiotics.

@Gardenlady543 oh I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it’s nothing to worry about . Did they say it could be linked to the recent high oestrogen? I always think the same about the all the meds. I’m honestly sick of them and god knows wot they have done to my body!

@seven201 how r u feeling? U seem chill! Are twinges or anything?

@ForeverAintEnough3 don’t worry re antibiotics just keep taking them as usual till u run out. It won’t make any difference.

I’m ok. Wishing weeks away atm!

@Gardenlady543 oh gosh, how stressful. I'm glad you got to have the biopsy on the spot and don't have to wait too long for the results. I know what you mean with all the drugs. I do worry about it more since my sister had her breast cancer diagnosis (she's not had ivf though).

@ForeverAintEnough3 that's a good idea to do a whole monitored cycle. I have no idea if my clinic would do something like that.

I had one natural cycle myself after a medicated cycle where my lining struggled to thicken. I had a problem though as my clinic rely on ovulation prediction tests and scan every other day but by test never showed positive but a scan showed my follicle had already released so they couldn't pinpoint ovulation. So next try my clinic were pretty insistent about going back to medicated.

@Cream123 wish those weeks away!

I don't think I am chill. I had a pretty good day today though as it was my day off and I just watched trash tv and did a bit of cleaning. I had a sharp pain in my pelvis yesterday but then in the evening I did two strong sneezes and had the exact same pain, so it either means nothing or I have undone the good twinging with my sneezing! I don't actually believe that but it's what goes through your brain! I don't feel very positive but then I never do in the two week wait. Am wondering about asking to put two embryos in next time, but that's probably not a good idea.

Thanks guys, I didn't expect it at all. I literally thought I was going to a screening appointment as things had settled back to normal. I didn't expect to be having a biopsy. Now I'm all sore as the local anaesthetic has worn off and trying to juggle things round at work so I'm free for the call.

They didn't say anything about the hormones affecting things. I asked if they needed a list of medications I'd been taking and they said no.

At least I know my oestrogen has come back down as that oestrogen producing tissue my specialist mention could have been coming from the breast.

@ForeverAintEnough3 that sounds like a very well monitored cycle! My clinic are always so difficult about booking in scans and blood tests outside of treatment cycles.

Hi, can I join you? I recognise a couple of names. I have a history of recurrent losses and been diagnosed with aggressive nk cells, so have an immune protocol. I did my first round of ivf in May but ended in an early loss, but implantation was 7dp5dt and I bled heavily, so suspected implantation issues. I have 2 frozen embryos (have low amh so only got 3 blastocysts). I'm going to do the triple endobiome tests before my FET but doing it with my recurrent mc clinic rather than my ivf clinic.

I spoke to my ivf doctor today and he wants me on a medicated FET, so I'm going to be on progynova from cd2. I'm on cd5, so got a few weeks before my biopsy cycle. Hoping my cycle is back to normal, I only bled last week after my chemical pregnancy.

How long does it take for the results to come back?

Hi @VenusStarr please do join us!

Once the biopsy is with the lab (my clinic froze my sample and then sent it 5 days later, so it probably took a week to get there) the ERA takes 10 working days and the EMMA ALICE 15 working days. I think some of us got the result sooner though.

@VenusStarr I’ve seen u over on the miscarriage thread. I have a similar hx to u and also was under mr shehata a few years ago.
My full set took 3 weeks in total including weekends etc.
X

👋 @Gardenlady543 that's not too long to wait. I'm thinking if I need treatment I'll have to miss my next cycle, so probably October time for a transfer.

Hi @Cream123 good to hear things are progressing well for you, although I can imagine your anxiety is high xx

@VenusStarr if your microflora needs treating then you will probably need 7 days of antibiotics and then 10 days of vaginal probiotics. I took progesterone for about 7 days extra after the biopsy to delay my next cycle, this allowed time for the result to come back and for treatment, so I only needed to sit out one cycle rather than two.

@Gardenlady543 sorry you're feeling sore from it now. I really hope the results are quick.

@VenusStarr welcome. I think my results were all in just after 2 weeks. Good luck with yours.

That's a good idea to delay my period @Gardenlady543 I was thinking of stopping earlier. My cycles are usually 25 days, but the ivf and mc threw everything off this time. Hoping I'm back to normal this month 🤞

Hi @seven201 thank you, that's very quick!

Thanks @VenusStarr I’ve had 3 bleeds and now spotting again (brown) it’s just so so hard being preg after rm. honestly wish someone could knock me out!

I put my vaginal estrogen tablets in and I swear my cervix is lower and harder . I don't keep an eye on it routinely but it's a bit hard not to when putting tablets in every evening.

@seven201 :(
U won’t know tilll you test these other signs are hit and miss and hard to interept. Only a few more days to go!

Thanks!

@seven201 how many days post transfer are you now? I have no idea how anyone concludes things about their cervix, I am completely clueless about mine! I actually had to examine people and make comments on it when I was at med school when I was on the maternity ward and I had no idea!

So my breast appointment went well the biopsy showed chronic inflammation, I have no idea why. I did have an infected cyst in the are 5 years ago. They said it was nothing to worry about and I'm fine to carry on with IVF. I have been really stressed and upset with the uncertainty so I'm glad I can put that behind me now.

I have also has my specialist review, we have decided to do a scan on Thursday, this should be 3dpo just to see the lining. She said natural FET isn't an option for me with the ERA result. I said I would try medicated FET a couple more times, but we will then need to revisit because I can't put myself through these medications every other month forevermore.

We are going to do the ERA and EMMA with my next cycle, we will start on estradiol three times a day and she will add viagra in too. She didn't want to repeat the ERA but I think if I'm doing the EMMA then we should and she has agreed that we can do them both.

I haven't heard back from the implantation failure clinic yet, hopefully I should hear from them next week.

@Gardenlady543 excellent news! That must be such a weight off your shoulders.

Also great that you've had your review and have come to a mutual agreement/made a plan. I agree, a month on a month off those horrible medicines is just no way to live. I think it's the neupogen infusions that help thicken up my lining. That could just be the doctor measuring generously after though!

I haven't felt for my cervix before (and wasn't trying to). To be honest it might not even be what I felt. It moved/changed a lot the next morning after I did a poo . I'm 7 days post transfer now. Testing Sunday morning (meant to be weds but I'm at work that day). Just got to wait and see. I don't feel positive about it but you never know. It's my 5th transfer and none have had even the faintest hint of a bfp. I feel like I'm due one by now, but I'm sure we all feel that!

@seven201 ah I definitely wouldn't worry about what you felt then. I think you'd have to be really confident at examining a cervix to conclude anything and it would need to feel the same consistently. I think it gets harder the more transfers a person has, by the time I get round to my next transfer, it would have been my 6th cycle including the mocks and 4th transfer. If I hadn't of tested the trigger in my fresh cycle I would think that a double line on a pregnancy test is a conspiracy!

It gets harder meaning the emotional toil not the cervix, I don't know anything about cervix'!