ERA/EMMA/ALICE Testing Thread 3

[Janefx40]

Hello all,

This is a continuation of the ERA/EMMA/ALICE Testing thread.

New posters are welcome. On here you will find a group of women who are either doing these tests or have done them already and are further on the journey

This is the friendliest and most supportive group so feel free to join and post

Xxx

That does sound worrying @Janefx40 definitely get it checked out. Did you get a negative test?
Please don't panic, but do get things checked out. Hopefully it's your hcg is being slow to go down rather than ectopic ❤️ xx

Thanks everyone. My Hcg was taken 12dp5dt (29th Jan) and was 17.5 then at 14dp5dt (31st) it was 11. So it was very low and going down. I did an FRER a week later after I'd had a normal bleed and it was still positive but super faint so definitely less than previously.

As you know I ovulated early the next month. I tried taking noresthisterone to delay my period but stopped after 5 days as I had one day of bleeding (Monday 21st) then had some more light bleeding but bright red on Sunday 27th. Then spotting until today bright red blood. Figured I just messed up my cycle with the noresthisterone.

We've never conceived naturally in 6 years and we have a sperm binding problem which means the sperm can't cling to the egg. We discovered this on our first round of IVF.

We did have sex 2 weeks ago but it was 5 days after my positive OPK and I've had so much monitoring that I know I always ovulate the day after a positive.

I am dizzy but I'm also panicking which doesn't help and also I have Covid so that could make me dizzy.

I'm not feeling well and I have Covid so I really don't want to go to A&E unnecessarily. I'm going to do a 3 hour hold and take a FRER to get an idea of the Hcg levels

@Gardenlady543 glad your bloods arrived. Fingers crossed they can still use them x

If you got a positive opk over 2 weeks ago, are you late for your period @Janefx40? Completely understand not wanting to go to A&E, in my experience they've not been great in early pregnancy. But if you experience pain, especially shoulder tip, please don't wait.
I'm glad you've got another test. I find frer sensitive and accurate.

I'm glad your bloods made it @Gardenlady543 hopefully they can do the tests. How long do the results take?

How are you today @StillTrying10000? X

@Janefx40 Oww I'm so sorry that sounds miserable and horrid to feel panicky. I wonder if there could be something tiny retained which is keeping the HCG level there.
Last week when I had the feint FRER test the next day my blood test said HCG was 1 so just shows how sensitive they can be. xxx

@Gardenlady543 so pleased your samples made it. Do you have any thoughts on if tacrolimus could be worth a try? It's £3k per month and you need a month of trying it before TTC and the info sheet said it can cause lots of side effects including 'oncological: malignancies' which sounds scary.

@Janefx40 oh gosh what a time to have Covid! I hope everything eases, tell your other half to keep watch in case you become unwell.

@StillTrying10000 people on it after a renal transplant are more likely to develop skin cancers, they have to take it for the rest of their life though. I haven't heard of people using it for infertility. Immune stuff is a minefield!

@VenusStarr they say 5-10 working days for the results but my friend has been waiting for a result from them for about a month now :(

I am CD2 today so can send off my hormone tests tomorrow to look into the PCOS phenotype D issue.

I hope everyone is ok, I know lots of people have been having important appointments, I'm functioning at a pretty low level right now as I'm not sleeping, but I hope everyone is getting somewhere with the tests etc.

@Janefx40 oh that sounds very stressful. I wish I had something useful to say. I think ringing 111 is probably wise. Covid really does make things much more complicated!

@Gardenlady543 I'm glad your samples arrived. I hope they get processed smoothly.

In case it's handy for anyone to know medichecks are good at refunds. I contacted them to ask for a partial refund for my unused cd 2-4 test and I think they're giving me a full refund.

@Gardenlady543 sorry to hear about the sleep. You've had a lot on your plate recently, so be kind to yourself and just do what you need to.

@Janefx40 hospitals are set up to deal with patients who need help and happen to have covid. Please don't let that you put you off going if you would have done otherwise.

@Gardenlady543 ahh thank you. That's really useful context that the symptom is more likely from the people that take it all their lives, I hadn't thought of that. I hope your results come quickly! x

Thanks @seven201 I called 111. They said go to Urgent Care then worked out it was closing so are now going to call me back.

I had a weak but positive FRER and a CB digital said "pregnant 1-2 weeks" which means the Hcg is between 25 and 153. I didn't get a positive on the CB digital with my chemical so is this a new pregnancy or is it possible that somehow the previous embryo hung around and the Hcg started creeping up?

Sorry to be self-obsessed tonight

@Janefx40 oh gosh! Wow. I'm glad you're pursuing going to see someone. I bet you have no idea what to think or feel. What a head f**k! I have no idea if it's possible for HCG to raise after it's lowered - seems unlikely. I'd guess this was a new pregnancy. You're not being self-absorbed at all! Good luck. Keep us posted.

I would suspect a new pregnancy @Janefx40 what an absolute headfuck for you! I hope someone calls you back soon. Can you self refer to epu in your area? It's a bit early for a scan but they could monitor your bloods.

Stupid question, but how are you feeling? Xx

Thanks folks. They called me back and said they don't think I need to go in now but if I'm still bleeding tomorrow then call the GP for a EPU referral. I'm feeling better now. Still bleeding a lot but no pain and not dizzy. They always ask if the blood soaks a pad but to be honest I go to the loo so often that nearly all of it is wiped away!

It feels quite exciting in a way to think I could have got pregnant naturally but then I remember that I can't carry a healthy embryo so just because it's natural, obviously I would always still miscarry anyway!!! Oh Mr S is going to be so cross with me....

Xxx

I'd call you GP tomorrow @Janefx40 and get them to check things out for you. With the timing of your opk, you'd be about 4 weeks ish, so maybe implantation bleeding?

Maybe contact the clinic and see what they suggest. Are intralipids part of your plan? I can imagine your head is whirring, but just try and get some rest tonight and not think too far ahead ❤️

I spoke to the GP who was really good so I feel reassured. It's definitely a new pregnancy which is less worrying as would only be 4 weeks and an early loss. He's not thinking I need to take action now but keep an eye on things.

@VenusStarr I love your optimism but this isn't implantation bleeding - I'm pouring out dark red blood!! Although I would say the brief bleed I had on 21st which I thought was my period probably was implantation. Ah well. Life is weird.

Do I need to tell Mr Shehata?

I wonder what's it's like to see a positive pregnancy test and it to be good news! It always seems to be bad news for me/us...

Oh @Janefx40 :( I'm sorry. Yes I'd tell Mr Shehata. Just so he knows. It might not change your plan but good for him to be aware.

Do you have to just test it out? Christ, when are we all going to catch a break? I feel you on the 'when can a positive test mean happy news'?
Sending you lots of love ❤️ xx

@Janefx40 wow well done for getting to the bottom of what's going on so quickly, I would definitely tell Dr S, you have the weekend coming up so get on and tell him now in case he provides advice.

@Janefx40 the nurses are really quick at responding to emails, so I'd message the nurses today. They've called me back a couple of times of they've needed to as well. X

@seven201 medichecks will give you a full refund they are really good. I called them the other day because I had ordered the male hormone test a few weeks ago and decided this week I wanted to add on thyroid function tests but I only want to send them one vial so they said to put in a new order for both so I'll get one sticker and one vial and they'll refund me for the initial kit, I won't need to send it back. I've had a refund from them for a progesterone test I didn't do in the past as well. It's CD3 today for me so I finally got to send off the hormone test to them!

@StillTrying10000 tacrolimus will give you a fine tremor in your hands as well by the way, so if you need steady hands for work you'll need to consider that.

@Janefx40 oh my goodness! What a rollercoaster. I agree with others, I think I'd let Mr S know today too. I know what you mean about the positive pregnancy test thing!

@Gardenlady543 medichecks do seem really good. I'm glad you got your sample sent off.

Has anyone else had discharge when taking canesflor pessaries? Like it clearly looks like its leftover contents of the capsule. Only other time ive had something like this is when taking the progesterone pessaries.

@SUMMERTIME02 yes I got similar discharge the next day. I also get quite a bit of irritation from the pessaries but all worth it I guess!

I'm in A&E now. Mr Shehata's advice. Not sure I need to be here but we eventually decided there was nothing to lose by me going.

All the docs seem certain this is a new pregnancy but there is just that small doubt in my mind that if it was the original one then I'd be 8 weeks which would be more risky as an ectopic

I'm going to be more vague with the doctors here about the dates to make them do the thinking about whether or not this is a new pregnancy. I think I can sometimes pre empt with too much information and I want to cause them enough alarm to take me seriously. There's a good chance they can't scan me here tho anyway now

@Janefx405 thank you. Thinking of you x