IVF or keep trying naturally

[Geep]

Hi
Sorry this is bit of a long post but i'm a bit lost as to what to do next and hoping to get some advice.
Bit of background about me. Im 36 and a 4yr old child conceived naturally in the first month of trying. I have been trying to conceive since my second since January 2019. Had a natural conception and subsequent early miscarriage in Dec 2019. I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in March 2020 and have been on medication since (in jan 2020 i finally had a tsh below 2.5, it was 0.63). Given my age we decided we needed some help and underwent an IVF cycle in nov/dev 2020 which was unsuccessful. In February 2021 i fell pregnant again naturally but sadly it also ended in miscarriage (still currently going through it - hcg levels low but static).
We were due to be undergoing another cycle of ivf now but its currently on hold until this miscarriage is over. I am to call the clinic when my period arrives to get dates for the next cycle.
I have also been referred to the recurrent miscarriage department.
So, i can conceive naturally although seems to take along time 11/12 months each time and has ended in miscarriage both times. Im not sure whether once the current situation is resolved (i.e. i get a negative test) that we go straight away and do another ivf cycle, or do we try naturally again incase we get lucky. Have also been given a letter to give to gp if i do get pregnant again to get progesterone. While i much rather it happen naturally im so worried about wasting time. I also seem to take a long time to get a -ve test after early miscarriage. 1st time it too 6 weeks to gets negative and this time im nearly 5 weeks on from bleeding starting and still getting positive. So if we spend another 6 months trying and miscarry again, it could be 8 or 9mths before we can try again.
I also did think about doing an egg collection asap, and then could maybe try naturally and wouldn't worry as much about getting older as the eggs were already collected. But we have an access fertility package and i dont think they allow freeze all.
Given the current situation with covid it difficult to get a face to face to chat with anyone about our situation and just unsure what is best. When at the EPU today the nurse did say i can get pregnant so give it time and maybe dont rush into ivf again. But every month that passes the older i get and the odds are against me even more.

So if you've got to the end of this, thankyou for reading. I guess my question is do i jump straight in to another round of ivf when i can or try naturally for 3-6mths?

Hi again @geep it sounds like you will likely have a few weeks where you won’t be able to have IVF, as once you start getting negatives, the clinic will probably want at least one natural cycle before starting a new IVF cycle, maybe more than this I’m not sure about this, all I know is that my specialist insists on a cycle off between cycles. Anyway, that gives you some time to reflect and decide on the best way forward which is good. Access fertility have freeze all packages which are a bit more expensive, they have been really helpful when I’ve spoken to them, so you could give them a call tomorrow and ask about the extra cost if you went for a freeze all cycle next time, I wouldn’t mentioned that you plan on them storing the embryos, just say the first cycle was tough on you and you’d rather freeze all to recover or something. I am sure there’s something in my contract with Access Fertility about there not being more than 6 months between cycles, I’m with the 2 fresh unlimited FET package, maybe have a look?

Once you’ve got that info that might help with decision making, I think if it were me I’d probably do a freeze all as you’ve suggested then spend some time trying naturally, within the scope of time allowed in the contract.

Hi @Gardenlady543. How are you keeping?
I spoke to my clinic at my consent appointment and updated them on what was happening and they said to call when my period arrives so we can plan dates. I got the impression the would start straight away - which i was surprised about. Think i will need to call them and ask to speak to a consultant to get their opinon/advice.
I also have the 2 cycles- unlimited. Will def have to have a look at the contract as our last cycle started in October with egg retrieval in nov. So even if go straight into a other cycle when we can we may not be within 6mths.

I was a bit confused by the 6 month comment, maybe I read it wrong but it’s definitely worth checking. It’s confusing because the package ends with a live birth (or running out of cycles), but a late miscarriage/still birth wouldn't have resulted in a live birth and also wouldn't allow the cycles to be less than 6 months apart. Let me know what they say, because it would be good to know.

I had my embryos PGT-A tested, 83% came back as euploid (I’m 35) so my specialist is worried about what’s going on and I’m now having recurrent implantation tests. Out of nowhere my specialist told me on my original US which was 9dpo my lining was just 5.4mm and at my FET transfer the lining looked thin (nobody told me until last week), it looks like the lining thins out when I start progesterone. So I mean I don’t know what to think, it feels like I’m starting all over again with a completely new problem. I hope this doesn’t snowball when all the test results come back! I am having an ERA cycle in about 2 weeks and hopefully will have a transfer in May.

@Gardenlady543. Had a look at the agreement with access fertility and couldn't see anything about 6mths but will look properly tomorrow. Tho Did read something that they would possible review if you have had 2 miscarriages in or out pf the problem so might for now, keep that tp myself until i get to the bottom of this.
Do you think they were keeping the info on your lining from you in purpose or just something that never got passed on to you?
Hopefully all these tests will give you answers rather than more questions. And you can try something different in May if needs be. It just a cr*p situation isn't it.
Ive been on off bleeding now for 4.5 weeks and still get positive pregnancy tests so was at the EPU on Friday for bloods and a scan. The scan showed nothing which i expected. then went back today for more bloods, but got a call a few hrs later to say hcg had risen by 7. So they can't rule out an eptopic. So had to go back up this afternoon for another scan which again showed nothing. So having to go back on Tuesday for more bloods. Pretty confident its not an eptopic. My body just seed to drop hcg levels really slowly (happened last time as well, altho not this slow). So for me its just a waiting came now to get a negative test.

Hi @Geep I’ve just had a look, in my participation agreement it says “6.3.12 there has been or will be a time gap of six months or more between the conclusion of one of the Participant’s Cycles and the commencement of another Cycle;” You should have a look to see if yours says the same and if so give them a call. I expect they will only be told about miscarriages from the cycles, so I wouldn’t mentioned them to them.

I suspect my specialist completely missed that my lining was that thin when we had the original appointment as she said we could keep trying naturally, which obviously wouldn’t have worked if my Iining is so thin. I knew absolutely nothing about lining back then. She only looked back at it because I said I wanted a natural FET, but that’s out of the question now. I do have light periods, only 1 day of proper flow and then 2 very light days. So I’ll have to work really hard on making sure it’s as thick as possible, it’s just I didn’t even realise this was a problem until about a week ago.

Your current situation doesn’t sound nice at all, I can’t even begin to imagine what a miscarriage would feel like. I hope you’re coping with it as best as you can .

@Gardenlady543 yep its in there alright. Thanks for pointing it out, will call tomorrow to see if u can clarify.
I dont know whats normal, but taking weeks to get a negative after a loss at 4 weeks, its just dragging it out. I started bleeding a day after my postive so knew from then it wasn't going to be a happy ending. But now i just want to move on but this waiting is the hard bit.
Although it seems infertility and waiting go hand in hand.
I hope you get some constructive answers soon

@Geep bless you, make sure you’re eating well, lots of iron etc, I’ve seen women coming into hospital with anaemia with this kind of bleeding. You need to be as strong as you can be for the next go.

Yeah there is definitely a lot of waiting, I think a lot of people just want to get on and try the next transfer, I do too, counting 9 months ahead from each transfer. I had to make a conscious decision to pause and get all these tests now. It’s difficult with fertility because if feels like life is on hold, my boss asked if I’d take on a role which would involve some travelling and I had to say I couldn’t commit to it and would have no idea when I might even be able to, we have to be able to drop everything and go in for scans, blood test etc with no end in sight.

You’ll have to update on here with what Access Fertility say about the 6 month window. Although to be honest it’s the least of my worries, I got this package for £7,300 and I’m already up at £16,000 with the meds and all the extra tests.

Hi. Does anyone have an update on this thread? Xx

Hi, if you can afford ivf go ahead