ERA/ALICE/EMMA testing thread 2

[seven201]

Link to the old thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/infertility/4187520-era-testing-after-multiple-implantation-failures-anyone-had-it-done?msgid=110302437&utmsource=mentions&utmmmedium=email&utmcampaign=2020-10-19&utmmterm=You+have+been+mentioned+in+a+post&rei=438192#110302437

Welcome to the new thread. Anyone welcome.

PS all you ladies on this thread are amazing, what a load of knowledge you have amassed, not to mention stamina. Sorry you're all going through this and hope you all come right soon.

@whatcangowrong I get canesflor from Amazon, you might struggle finding it in a shop, I've seen it behind the counter at the Asda pharmacy though.

Hi all, I had another scan on Friday and apparently now my lining is fine and measuring 3-4mm. So now FET is going ahead. I’m still concerned as to what the hell is going on so will be looking out for triple layer lining before making final decision to transfer. Honestly didn’t even have the energy to come back on and update until this morning. It’s so exhausting the ups and downs.

@Gardenlady543 my understanding of ERA is that it’s based largely off progesterone so only varying that would cause results to be off so I wouldn’t worry about adding viagra. I am adding steroids which I knew prior to ERA and consultant said it wouldn’t make any impact. Viagra will hopefully just thicken up the lining but shouldn’t change the DNA receptors. That’s a tricky one on the timing - what’s your consultants rational? Are they thinking 12 hours will likely put you in receptive?

@whatcangowrong

@VenusStarr good luck tomorrow. Hope all goes well.

@seven201 that’s great you’re getting the go ahead for November.

Fingers crossed this October/November/December will be a lucky one for many of us on this thread. We’ve all been through so much.

What kind of prep are you guys doing for FET? So far I’ve just been taking my vitamins and some cranberry juice and doing hypnotherapy and fertility massage. My diet hasn’t been great as I’ve been so stressed I’ve been eating way too much chocolate. Hoping to clean it up now as my FET is likely to be 1st November if all continues to go well.

@whatcangowrong I also used Canesflor and used them for 10 days rather than 7.

@VenusStarr wow, tomorrow is the big day! So exciting that it's finally very nearly here!

@Gardenlady543 oh for goodness sake! That delay is so annoying. Hopefully they're saying ot could be that long but hopefully will be this week.

@Dochas121 oh wow!! That's great news. I understand you not wanting to get your hopes up yet though. Such a rollercoaster!

In terms of prep I've been shit. I've been away this weekend for a friends 40th and have drunk too much and eaten all the biscuits. I'm going to be less crap from tomorrow. I think for FET it's not as much of a big thing. well that's what I've been telling myself anyway! I think from a few days before transfer and tough the tww is probably the main time to be more considered. I'm no expert though!

I'm glad your FET is going ahead @Dochas121 I understand your anxiety with your lining, but fingers crossed you'll get triple layer 🤞

I hope the probiotics help @whatcangowrong I didn't end up needing anything following my tests but glad @Gardenlady543 was able to help.

How are you getting on @Gardenlady543? It's so hard to not worry and panic when you're waiting fir test results. I hope they send the nk cells this week and all is well.

@seven201 my FET prep hasn't been great to be honest, nothing terrible but I've been less strict on myself with food. I think part of me didn't believe I'd get here.

Can't believe its tomorrow, one more sleep. I've got so much anxiety but I'm not allowing myself to tap into the what ifs (I've got a million and one things that could go wrong) but trying to focus on today. Off out for a walk now to try and just be for a while.

Hope you're getting on OK @Janefx40 Are you in your era mock cycle now?

Hope you're good @Cream123 xx

@VenusStarr best of luck for tomorrow! Will be thinking of you

@Gardenlady543 frustrating about your results. Hope they get released soon.

@Dochas121 so glad your lining has resolved. I didn't comment before as I don't know much about linings but your recent post reminded me that at my last baseline (which I did on Day 1) they said that if they scan on Day 1 the lining is sometimes too thick still (because not enough of it has shed yet). Could it be as simple as them having scanned you early in your period before your lining had shed? It would be nice if there was a straight forward answer to something for once!

Oh my diet is currently...alcohol, cake, biscuits, ice cream, chocolate...maybe some popcorn! I do need to get it together a bit!

Best of luck to all of you ladies x

🙏 Thank you @Janefx40 my dh has made a brownie for later 😋 going to try and relax this evening and just hope our little embaby is OK xx

@VenusStarr good luck for tomorrow!

@Janefx40 I'm glad it's not just me who is eating all the stuff that's too yummy!

Another one here eating all the sweets/chocolate 🙈 going to try knuckle down this week!

Good luck today with your transfer @VenusStarr

Hope everyone had a nice weekend x

@VenusStarr good luck I hope it goes well today!

@Dochas121 that’s great about your lining, my clinic doesn’t do scans at the start of the cycle so maybe this happens to a lot of people and we just never realize.

Thanks about the reassurance for the viagra :) the extra 12 hours is the lab’s recommendation. I’m now worrying that the reason for the slow receptivity is the awful microflora, this was why I redid the test in the first place, assuming it would be fine after the treatment.

I have done 7 days of antibiotics now and just worried about never being able to get normal microflora.

On subject of probiotics I've been recommended Symprove elsewhere, it's gut related rather than specifically for women but contains some of the same lactob strains

Does anyone know if you can take canesflor through a period or whether you should stop? Or wait til after to begin?

Hi @whatcangowrong symprove is an option for an oral probiotic.

For the vaginal one, I stop taking it when I'm on my period, so take before and then stop while on the period and then take once you've stopped bleeding.

@whatcangowrong we actually have Symprove left over from when DP was improving his sperm so I'm going to take this before transfer (probably from this week actually as we're 2 months away)

So today I was determined to start eating better...I got to 8:45am and bought a pastry in a coffee shop...I really am hopeless! 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Gardenlady543 I'm so sorry things are still so worrying. Fingers crossed the antibiotics do the trick. Sending lots of love xxx

Thanks @Janefx40 and don't worry about the pastry, you deserve it!

@Gardenlady543 I am not a medical professional but I do have a research background and from what I can tell the ERA is based off progesterone and DNA receptors so micro flora shouldn’t impact it. In a way your second set of results show that the antibiotics etc can and do impact on the flora and bacteria so hopefully these more targeted antibiotics will do what they’re supposed to get rid of the bad bacteria and allow the good to flourish.

When do you start the probiotics? I know the packet says take one every day for 7 days but I took one every day for around 10-12 days then a break for a bit then another 5 days and now taking them 3 times a week. I don’t think it’ll do any harm to step it up.

I know how you feel to be so full of worry though. Story of my ivf too with things constantly going wrong or being weird and odd. It’s just not good to be under so much stress but I don’t know what the solution is!

Are you guys doing acupuncture at all pre and post FET?

@Dochas121 I do have acupuncture but not specifically pre and post transfer although I might this time.

My lining today was 6.9mm. I've not had a positive OPK yet but would expect positive tonight or tomorrow. Is that lining too thin? One worry to another! This is my mock cycle for ERA etc so they can't change anything for the real cycle or it will be invalid so not sure what to do if lining isn't good enough x

@Dochas121 there are some articles suggesting that microflora plays a role in the complex and poorly understood process of receptivity.

This review discusses it:
https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmy012

There is so much that we just don't know

I plan to take metronidazole and clindamycin for 2 weeks, so I'm half way through and then start vaginal probiotics which I'll take daily right up until the transfer, although a read this protocol for a study and the authors are going to have the participants take a daily vaginal probiotic until the 6-8 week scan so if I did end up with a positive I will probably continue:
bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/10/10/e035866.full.pdf

I am now super stressed, I did a vaginal swab last week at the gp in the hope of picking up the gardnerella and finding out what it's sensitive to. I called my Gp practice up and they said there's a note to book in with the Gp to discuss it and that they can only read out results if they're normal, so I was like "ok so it's not normal then..." so now I have to wait until tomorrow for the gp to read out the results of the swab over the phone. I don't know what to think... did the lab pick up nothing (I had been taking daily vaginal probiotics until 2 days before the swab) or did they pick up some really nasty bug that's resistant to everything. I honestly have had enough and just want to give up, to have 0.00% once was bad enough and to have it after treatment with absolutely nothing in the evidence base where someone else has ever been in this position. :(

I also did a vagina pH test and my pH is very alkaline which is bad, but I think the antibiotics I'm taking are likely to cause this anyway.

@Janefx40 I think they like it to be over 8mm so your lining is fine, because you'll get a bit thicker while waiting for ovulation. People with Ashermans who have thin lining get the biopsy done fine and they can have really thin lining.

Thank you for the well wishes, I'm officially pupo 🥰 and hopefully staying pregnant. Transfer was more uncomfortable this time, but I'm feeling OK. Nothing more I can do now but hope 🙏

@Gardenlady543 I'm so sorry you've got this additional worry. I hope it's nothing serious and the GP can help tomorrow. I completely get your exhaustion with it all ❤️ sending love

What cd are you @Janefx40, I think as you've not has a positive opk yet, it'll get there 🙂

I did acupuncture on Saturday @Dochas121 as a pre transfer and will do one on Thursday at 3 days past.

@whatcangowrong

Does anyone know if you can take canesflor through a period or whether you should stop? Or wait til after to begin?

After my recent surgery I was told to take 7 days of canesflor, including through my period. I think it was because I'd been given antibiotics. I didn't actually read the letter properly until later so did take a break for a few days when my period was normal/heavy as it just didn't seem worth it.

@Janefx40 that sounds like a good measurement to me.

@Gardenlady543 the gp could just says to you something better like "we found this type so you need these antibiotics". So try to not overthink all the options. Easy to say, but not do though!

@VenusStarr yay!!! Congratulations. Rest up and enjoy having got to this point.

I'm cp14 and my opks are still stark white. As I've mentioned before it's been a couple of years since opks have shown anything for me when they used to. I don't know if that means I don't ovulate any more or not. Although I did have a natural FET once and the opk was negative but a scan showed a burst follicle so I probably do. I think I was subconsciously hoping the surgery would somehow magically solve my opk issue, but that's a bit ridiculous as it was a completely separate thing! I'm overthinking and worrying already that I've booked my baseline scan in for too soon. I've also ordered a progesterone finger prick test to see if I can pick up if ovulation occurred. Sorry, i'm rambling but it's sorting my head out a bit I think.

@Dochas121 I'm a bit the same with the canesflor. Sometimes I forget to take one and then just do one another day instead. My surgeon said I should be doing a week on, week off. The clinic report said just the standard treatment.

I do Acupuncture to help thicken lining and then 2 on transfer day. Just because that's what my acupuncturist tells me to do! I've stopped going between cycles as it adds up.