A couple of questions on FETs

[CentaurChiron]

Hi all,

I have two questions regarding FETs:

Firstly, can anyone tell me if you have to take the contraceptive pill before launching into an FET cycle? If so, how long does your clinic expect you to take the pill for? After stopping the pill do you then have a withdrawal bleed, which triggers the start of the FET cycle?

Secondly, does you clinic allow you to start your FET cycle immediately after egg collection? In other words, did you have a withdrawal bleed after egg collection and use that to start your FET cycle, or did you have to wait a month and have a normal period before you were allowed to start your FET cycle?

Any experiences or insight you can share would be very much appreciated. I'm trying to work out what to expect in terms of FET cycle timings.

I've done lots of fets and never taken the pill.

Also yes I've gone straight into a fet the month following egg collection. So in practice it's a break of 2 weeks or so before meds and scans start again.

I've also done back to back fets several times.

Thanks, that's useful to know. It can be quite hard finding information on these things, as every clinic has their own way of doing things.

@CentaurChiron just wanted to share my experience, I had a little boy from a previous ivf cycle in 2020. 2021 I decided to go again with remaining embryos for FET and was on the pill. My clinic told me to stop my pill and contact them on first day of period. This period honestly was the most pointless period given it was a withdrawal bleed and now upon reflection, I would've waited until an actual period before starting. The reason for this is when I went for a scan to check lining they found fluid which was due to dips in hormone levels coming off the pill which caused more stress than necessary. I also found that particular FET cycle I spotted all the way through treatment, even though I responded well to estrogen and progesterone I sadly experienced a chemical pregnancy. Now, this is not to say the whole pill timing with FET caused this however I had such a horrible gut instinct throughout, I would like to say I know my body very well but I don't know...it all felt wrong. I'm just about to start another FET cycle and have had a normal period with no pill. This time around my body seems to be back on track, no spotting, no weirdness and I feel better for it. I may be wrong with that as I'm certainly no dr but just thought I'd share.
Wishing you all the luck in the world! X