2nd BFN- What next, help please!

[Faithful789]

Hi,
I recently had a 2nd failed FET. We are currently diagnosed as MFI but the two transfers failed to implant and I’ve never had a BFP. Also after all my bloods and ultrasound came back ok, they have dismissed anything wrong with me. I’m currently with NHS with one cycle left. I know there is not much that NHS can offer but I have an appointment with a consultant soon and I wanted to know:

1. What should I be asking the consultant? - I don’t know what extra tests I can request for to rule out any uterus issues

1. Has anyone had 2 BFN and then got a positive on the 3rd go. I’m kind of loosing hope and I’m not seeing much people on forums who talk about two or more BFN transfers

Please any advice is welcome, please also feel free to PM me.

I'm sorry to hear about your unsuccessful transfers. So if these are untested embryos, it could just be bad luck, the chance of an embryo implanting is 1 in 3, so implantation failure is not usually considered until 3-4 unsuccessful high quality embryo transfers.

If you did want to explore further investigations I would advise that you have either a HSG or saline scan. An ultrasound can miss a number of issues, I personally think this kind of imaging should be done in everyone having IVF.

You may also want to consider doing an ERA, which looks at the receptivity.

My biggest issue is my microflora, like you I'd never had a BFP and out high quality embryos never implanted. You can test the microflora when you do an ERA, it's called an EMMA ALICE test. Alternatively you can use menstrual blood using this company: www.fertilysis.com

Other things to explore if you're worried about implantation failure is an autoantibodies screen and thrombophilia screen.

Sorry to hear about your negative results.
Two unsuccessful transfers is not a final verdict.
Depending on your age, it might be also worth doing PGT-A. Genetically abnormal embryos are unlikely to implant or if they do, to develop further. This is more relevant for 35+ though.
Lining receptivity tests can also be helpful, they say, as they can show when your womb has favourable conditions for implantation. I have not done it myself!

@Gardenlady543 Sorry to hear you have never had a bfp and thank you so much for the detailed information. You have restored some hope and also helped me to feel less hopeless by giving me some insight into further testing. I will ask the consultant about HSG/saline scan and will look into the other testing you mentioned. Thanks again

@TurquoiseVixen thank you for your response and for also reminding me that my past transfers are not the final verdict. The two BFN really knocked my confidence and I’m anxious to go again. I’ve heard about PGT-A testing but like you have said I’ve also heard it’s usually recommend for 35+ and I’m 32. The lining receptivity test may be something I look into in the future. I appreciate your help

I had twins on my 4th transfer so don't give up hope. I did do a round with PGTA
and didn't get any normals aged 36 - the science isn't 100% so at this point I wouldn't PGTA- if it's MFI has your partner done dna fragmentation? There is also NK cell testing for you but it's not available on the NHS so you'd need to pay privately

My 5th transfer worked - never found a reason for the repeated failures, I was 35 at that point but 33 when we started IVF. Appreciate I'm not a beacon of hope for most people on this journey, but I guess my point is that certainly for me, nothing was found wrong from blood testing, killer cells etc. We also had MFI, although my husband's count is now normal too. I was convinced that there was something structurally wrong with my uterus or something to kill if my embryos, but there wasn't - it was just bad luck.

@faithful789 sorry to hear this :( as others have said it can just be bad luck unfortunately, I had 2 failed fresh transfers and my consultant suggested investigation for implantation issues (blood tests and hysteroscopy) in myself even though we had MFI and similar to you nothing obvious on any of my investigations.
About to start my third cycle! I know how you feel as I'm already worried!

@tiggerwhocamefortea so lovely to hear that you had twins! Thanks for sharing your story and I haven’t heard about DNA fragmentation, we will definitely look into this.

@MrsC2018 so happy that you eventually got your positive. You are definitely a beacon of hope for me and many others, it’s nice to hear that after some failures it can eventually work. Like you, I’m constantly worrying that there something wrong with me. The IVF journey is not easy but you and the other posters have given me the confidence to push on.

@Roo45 thanks for sharing your experience, I know it’s not easy to deal with. I’m going to ask my consultant for more investigations before the third round. I wish you all the best of luck with your 3rd cycle.