Any FETs this month?

[Rachae]

Hi There! 😊
Anyone else going through a FET this month?

I'm on my 3rd round of IVF and this time we were fortunate enough to have 3 embryos to freeze. Its going to be my first FET and it's weird not having any injections! I'm transferring week of 16th August and nervous about the thaw process... hoping the first one they thaw survives.
Xx

Me, probably, although I don't yet know when the transfer will be. Had my first blood test (first day of cycle) today. It's the second FET for me.

Hi!

My first FET this month, day 1 today so starting injections tomorrow. They think transfer will be approx 3 weeks today

Hey you too! Oo exciting. @hmp1.. What are the injections for? I've only been given tablets to take which I find weird, as I thought I'd need buserelin again to shut my system down xx

@Rachae hi! I'm starting down reg on the 16th. I only had tablets on my first fet too, my lining didn't respond at all so they cancelled the cycle and then the next one I started down reg instead

@Rachae that's strange! I'm on injections of fyremadel for 7 days along with Progynova tablets 3x a day up until transfer. I don't mind any of these but I've also got to start the pessaries around transfer and they don't sound fun! X

@whatagloriousthingtobe ahh I see! Is down reg buserelin? Yea I kind of feel like just taking estrogen is a bit like a natural cycle isn't it? I have my scan tomorrow so hoping lining is ok... It's a tough process when you've got to take speculative days off work isn't it.
@hmp1 yea the pessaries are interesting! I'll say one thing for them, you do get a great night's sleep :-D xx

@Rachae yes down regulation is buserelin. I hated it last time my skin was horrific, so I'm dreading that again ! Yeah it felt that way to be honest, at least with the injections I feel like I'm doing something ! But I think I was pretty unlucky not responding I'm sure you'll be fine ! Good luck for your scan tomorrow 🤞🏻

Hi @Rachae I've just had my third FET and mine have always been natural, so I just track for ovulation and have a surge scan. Then they schedule transfer for 5 days after surge, and I start pessaries and Clexane (blood thinner) 48 hours after the surge.

I don't have any other monitoring or any other drugs, so not everyone down-regulates. My clinic likes to do natural transfers so long as you ovulate regularly.

I had a 4AB transferred yesterday. Sadly, the first choice for transfer didn't survive the thaw.

Hey @Lucymills1234 oh wow, that sounds interesting.. How does a surge scan work? Is that an ovulation stick? I'm on clexane too but only after I get a positive preg test. I did start injecting it straight after my last embryo Transfer (wasn't advised to but I thought was logical!) but then have had weird periods ever since doing that.. Have you found your periods have changed? Aww Im really sorry to hear that the first one didn't work out but all my fingers and toes crossed for the one transfered! 🤞😊

I just had my scan today and they said my lining wasn't where it should be. It was 5.6mm and so i can't transfer next week. They've upped my dose of estrogen to 4 tablets a day and I have a scan next Friday now. So they think transfer Wednesday 25th. Its odd as I feel that lining is kind of in line with where it should be, as I'm only day 9 of my cycle? It's normally thicker around day 20, so not sure why they aim to transfer so soon xx

Hi @Rachae I'm not sure that a surge scan is the right term, but it's how I refer to it! Your situation sounds different to mine because I didn't have any estrogen leading up to my FETs. In my case, once I get an LH surge result at home using ovulation tests, I go into clinic that same day and they do the same sort of internal scan they'd do during stims. They are looking for a dominant follicle (think they want to see over 18mm) and for your lining to be at least 7-8mm with a trilaminar appearance to go ahead and schedule transfer.

I am not an expert on the lining point, the fact you're on estrogen might make yours a different situation. Mine was 7.9mm so the lower side - my previous FETs it's been 13mm+. But the clinic were happy with that thickness and it was trilaminar.

I only added Clexane for my last FET (my third transfer overall) as by then I'd had two 5AA transfers and both were BFN. I started it at the same time as progesterone, so 48 hours after surge. I also had a scratch prior to that FET. I had a chemical, so perhaps the scratch or Clexane did help implantation, I can't really say. I'm not sure if Clexane affected my period; I had a very light post-chemical bleed but my body seemed to get back to normal swiftly as I ovulated on day 10. My periods have got shorter around the last few FETs (I used to be a regular 28 days and lately they've been shorter) but that happened both with and without Clexane. The more treatment I do, the more I realise how much things can vary one month to the next!

Hey @Lucymills1234 oh wow, the natural cycle approach sounds interesting.. And more appealing than these estrogen pills! I actually found the fresh cycles injections easier than this, I'm so so exhausted all the time with the pills.
Yea I'm with you on the month to month variation. I've found my periods have gone consistently different tho after my second fresh cycle. Hoping this estrogen stuff makes them go back to normal.

How are you feeling? Do you have a specific test day, or just going to test as early as poss?

How's everyone else doing? 😊 Xx

Forgot to ask too... Anyone trying anything different nutrition wise this cycle? I've gone all in with this as it's my 3rd cycle. Enjoyed my oysters yesterday, lol xx

Hi @Rachae sorry I didn't reply before.

I've had two fresh cycles and I got more blasts from my second but I didn't do anything hugely different in terms of nutrition second time around, or for any of my FETs. I don't touch alcohol during treatment but even outside of it I rarely have a drink these days, and even then it's usually only one. I also cut out most caffeine before I started IVF. Other than that I try to eat a healthy diet, definitely have some treats but mostly it's pretty well-balanced. I take Proceive and the Zita West Vital DHA for omega-3. Before full cycles I took Co-Q10, only for about 3 weeks before the first cycle and about 2 months before the second, so that may have helped my results. If I need to go for a third round I think I'd try to have a few months of Co-Q10 first - my clinic says don't take it during FETs.

I'm feeling ok, thanks - other than going slightly nuts with the 2WW! I am 8dp5dt now and can't say there are any symptoms to speak of which is disappointing - I think at this point of my last cycle (chemical) I was starting to get some signs, so I reckon I'm out :(

I won't test early, this is my fourth transfer and I've always held out until OTD... except for on the last transfer when I tested on day 10 rather than day 11. That was only because the clinic initially gave me the wrong date!

Are you still on track to transfer next week?

Hey @Lucymills1234 thanks for sharing what did on the cycles, I've heard taking additional supplements is really beneficial. So I've got a consultation with a nutritionist next month who specialises in ivf.. I think she'll prescribe me some of that stuff too.

Ohh it's definitely not time to count yourself as out 😊 good on you for waiting to test too... I've found in the past that testing early just makes me anxious and I never believe the result until OTD anyways! I've googled symptoms to death and it's such a mixed bag that you really can't tell. I've also had so many preg symptoms and then not turned out to be preg. I've had 3 pregnancies and never had symptoms.. Even to 9 weeks. Granted, they were mc/s but there's zero evidence to suggest any correlation! (My mum never had any symptoms with all 3 of her kids). So hang on in there and fingers crossed. Xx

I've got my scan early tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping they say my lining has improved and I'm on for transfer Wednesday x