IVF / FET March/April 2022

[AliceAbsolum]

Thought I'd start a thread for those starting rounds in the next few months.

I'm 36. TTC for 6 years. This will be my 4th transfer. It's a double embryo FET in Cyprus.

Welcome welcome 😁

@TommieNC hahahaha is your DH Irish! Such a lovely accent! This Irish man says all of the right things don't worry 😉

That must have been so unbelievably disappointing that after all of that they dropped funding 😔 I'm so sorry. As if the whole process isn't so so hard as it is. I have a friend who did one round and was unsuccessful. She had her AMH checked after (they didn't test it prior to her first round as her AFC looked good) and because it came back so low they too said her funding would only be available for donor; which currently has a two year wait. So I'm a little afraid that as they already know my AMH is low (tested on day of IVF referral in august) they are just letting me "try". I've been told a few times that the odds aren't great, less than single figure percentage. Which makes it very hard to remain positive and people don't seem to understand that. But I know it can happen. But I'm also trying to be realistic and know that we may have to go private and in time, it may be with donor.

Did they offer counselling when deciding to use donor? It must be a lot to get your head around. But also at the end of that day, you grow that baby and love it unconditionally no matter what ❤️

@Coops0406 @AliceAbsolum It truly is infuriating , having 3 years wasted being told you're young and not to worry. Wishing they would have been honest and upfront saying "hey, this is the NHS and we are very limited, everything takes a while, but you're 34 and don't have time to waste, so go private if you can".

I feel a little guilty complaining because we were blessed from our private donor cycle, however I fully understand how frustrating it is.

@Coops0406 Congrats on the weight loss. I'm also dieting (low carb) and hating it, ha ha!! But I know it works for me. I've lost 12 lbs since Jan 1, but haven't been 100% so it should have been more. I sadly think I need to tighten up my eating :(

@HJen22 Yes, he's Irish.

When I first found out my AMH was 0.21 at 37, the fertility doc said not to waste money on an own egg and move straight to donor eggs and I was ready to do that and researched and found a clinic in the Czech Republic. However my dh said that I needed to try own egg at least once because he didn't want me looking back saying "what if". So we gave it a try and the day after they cancelled my cycle in mid-may, I was emailing the clinic in the Czech Republic to set up a Donor egg cycle for mid August.
I found out my AMH about 5 months before my own egg IVF cycle so I had a lot of time to process. It was an easy choice for me, but I know it's very difficult for some.

Hello all, thought I'd join if that's okay. I have my first FET on Thursday.
My last lining scan was 7.2 and my second 7.5. My consultant thinks this is good enough to go ahead and I'm on the progestogen pessories and have a progesterone BT on Wednesday.
Anyone on the same timeline?

We have 5 embryos in the freezer all at 2BB grade 😊

@TommieNC that kind of makes me think I should have asked my AMH. So I had more of an idea but when they were going to tell me I'd really struggled up to that point and I didn't think it would help me. But yeah I want to have a try with my own eggs first.

Did you ladies have some clarity from your nurses re bleeding on the pill? I had a panic today thinking what if it came before I started the pill.

@HJen22 Yes my clinic got back to me and said it was nothing to worry about! They said it's a common side effect of the pill and it won't interrupt my cycle or getting started on the stim injections at all

@hopeaheadca glad to hear it! One less worry ❤️ my nurse said not to worry if my period hadn't arrived by baseline scan. Guess the stims over-rule any natural hormones.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if I could jump on board this thread too. I'm currently on the birth control pill prepping to start my second IVF cycle. I was hoping to start stims tonight but unfortunately my ovaries weren't suppressed enough after the first round of birth control. I've been told to take the pill for another 10 days and go in for another scan at the beginning of March. Fingers crossed my ovaries and hormones play ball this time.

Bit of history... We started TTC in 2019 and I fell pregnant in 2020, but it ended in a TFMR due to the baby inheriting a genetic condition I'm a carrier for. We had a round of IVF with PGT-M and PGT-A on the NHS to avoid passing on this condition to another baby. I sadly had a chemical pregnancy of our one and only euploid embryo.

@LBalf welcome to the group. It’s very exciting that your transfer is this week. Mine isn’t until March 30.

@HJen22 you’re probably better off not knowing, because it’s only a predictor of how well you might do with IVF, but from what I was told, you won’t really know until you’ve done a cycle to see how your body responds.
Also good news about the bleeding.

@CentaurChiron welcome to the group. I’m sorry to hear about your loss and imagine it must have been really hard with the Chemical and only 1 euploid.
I’ve had issues this cycle with trying to induce a period and then the bcp being a jerk so I’m right there with you on the frustration from these hormones. Hopefully the next scan will be more positive.

@LBalf welcome! And all the best for your FET on Thursday! How have you found the cycle so far? Sorry I'm not started yet so a bit behind!

@TommieNC yeah I'd read in a book not to ask so I took that advice and I'm sure a worrier anyway I thought it would just add to that. That's me started norethisterone BC today, hoping for no crazy side effects 🤞🏻

@CentaurChiron welcome! I'm so sorry to hear of your loss 😞 I wish you all the very best for this cycle! We will probably end up on the same schedule, as I am due in for my baseline scan 28th with stims starting 1st March. I didn't know that there could even be delays with that though and not getting to start when they first expect. Nothing about this is easy is it! Did you have a bleed before your scan? Xx

@TommieNC thanks for the welcome The last two years have been very tough. Aside from the losses we've had an awful lot of waiting, mainly for NHS funding to become available. Late last year we'd had enough of being at the mercy of NHS funding and decided to go private.
Sorry to hear you've also had a pain with getting started and BCP. I didn't get a proper period after stopping BCP either, which I'd never had issues with in the past, but it was because it made my lining very thin. Unfortunately the BCP hadn't quietened my ovaries enough for my Doctor to feel comfortable about me starting this cycle. Fingers crossed for the next baseline. What issues did you have with BCP? Have you been able to start your cycle now?

@HJen22 thank you also for the kind welcome Sounds like we'll be on a very similar schedule. If my baseline goes well on the 1st March then my clinic will give me the go ahead to start stims the same day.
My clinic would have given me the go ahead to start stims based on my scan results yesterday (although my ovaries were only just quiet enough), but my progesterone and oestrogen levels were elevated so they said it'd be better to suppress for more days on the pill and then go back in for another baseline.
The pill did however make my lining super thin, which is what they want, but I was really worried it would be too thick given I hadn't had a proper period (just spotting and cramps). I can only assume that's because the pill had made my lining so thin that there was hardly anything to shed.

I hope your baseline and cycle go as well as they possibly can Do you know what protocol you'll be on when you start your cycle?

@CentaurChiron I have PCOS so my cycles can be very long. So I started progesterone to start a period and before I even finished the pills my period started. I started BCP on day 1 and I'm on day 21 and it's still going. This last week hasn't been as bad, since I'm only getting terrible cramps and bleed in the evenings now. I'm just praying that my Zoladex injection on 21 Feb. finally stops it.

I then don't have to start Estrimax until March 14, with a transfer on March 30. So I get a few weeks off from taking any pills.

I really wish I had gone straight to private. I've learned that lesson and now when I have a health concern and am told I can't be seen for 6 - 9 months, I go private and have an appt a week later. Luckily that has only happened once.

@CentaurChiron I'm sorry you weren't able to go ahead and start stims as planned, that must have been frustrating. But it's better that they wait until the best time and your body is at the right stage for beginning. I didn't even know this could happen, I just assumed that I'd be 100% starting stims on 1st March! I will be on short antagonist with 300 menopur and then 0.25 cetrorelix. What about you? Are you still with NHS for this round? This is my first and with NHS in Scotland x

Hi All!

Hope you don’t mind me joining.

Confirmed yesterday that first fresh cycle has failed. Totally gutted as felt really positive and had 4AA transfer….. but now AF is firmly on her way even before OTD 😞

I am nearly 40 so time is ticking and already planning when I could do FET. Luckily we have 4 in the freezer (although quality of 1 not looking so good) so praying one works as now sure we’d go through another stims cycle.

Such an exhausting process.

What is the timeline for FET? Know I have to wait a full cycle but not sure what happens then?

@TommieNC hope the bleeding stops soon. It can be disconcerting when our bodies do unexpected things. These hormones can play real havoc.
I hope everything goes as planned for your upcoming transfer next month!
I also wish we'd gone straight to private. It's eye-wateringly expensive, but at least the rug doesn't get ripped from underneath your feet when the NHS funding runs less than halfway into the financial year (which is what happened to us this year). We're planning to do IVF abroad and it's taken us from late-October 2021 (when we made first contact with our clinic) just to get to the point where we can start due to us having to have a pre-genetic test built (which takes at least 1 month) so that our embryos can be tested for the gene I carry. I've learned the hard way that it's important to have a Plan B lined up with this stuff. The NHS waiting times are far too long!

@HJen22 it was a bit frustrating, but I totally agree that it's better to wait until things are looking better. I can't help but be sceptical about another 10 days of BCP being enough to suppress me though, given it didn't work the last time. I'm due to speak with my consultant tomorrow, so I'm going to ask her about this then I think.
For my first IVF cycle last year, I prepped with Norethisterone for 12 days and they found a cyst on one of my ovaries. I was worried I wouldn't be allowed to do the cycle, but as my hormone levels were low they let me go ahead. Most of the time it's not a problem I don't think, so I wouldn't expect it to happen but it's a possibility.
I'll also be doing an antagonist short cycle. I'll be on 225 IU of Pergoveris and 0.25 mg Orgalutran (Ganirelix is another brand name for this).
I'll be doing this cycle at a clinic in Spain, but our first cycle in 2021 was with the NHS. That's great that you get 3 rounds on the NHS. We also get 3 rounds with the NHS (not the norm in England), but we can't do these consecutively because the funding runs out so early into each financial year. We would have opted to do this cycle on the NHS but we'd have had to wait for 6 months and at now 36 I just felt we had to push things forward ourselves rather than do nothing.

Hi @Hopeful199 Welcome! I just recently joined this thread too. I'm so sorry your cycle didn't work out. It really is so gutting! We had a failed transfer with our only euploid embryo last year and I was devastated, so I can totally relate to how you must be feeling.
With FETs the time may depend on what type of FET you're having. There are two main types of FET. One is a natural FET which follows your natural cycle, so you'd wait for your natural period, you'd track ovulation and then once ovulation has been confirmed they'd do the transfer a few days after that. The second is a medicated FET, where they completely take over your cycle using hormone medications. I did a medicated FET and mine went like this... I had a natural period and then on CD 14 I started taking Norethisterone. I took Norethisterone for 12 days and then waited for a withdrawal bleed which happened about 3 days after stopping the tablets. A couple of days after my bleed I had my baseline scan where they gave me the go ahead to start taking oestrogen (Progynova) to build my lining up. I took Progynova for 12 days and on the 12th day I had a scan to check the thickness of my lining. As my lining was thick enough I was told to start progesterone (it was a combo of oral tablets, pessaries, suppositories and intramuscular injections) the next day. I took the progesterone for 5 full days and on the 6th day I went in for my transfer. All in all my FET was done across two cycles and this added up to roughly 7 weeks from getting my natural period to the day of transfer.
I appreciate that's a lot of information to digest, but I hope it's helpful and please feel free to ask any questions as I'd be happy to answer them if I can.

@AliceAbsolum @TommieNC the nhs are great, but unfortunately when it comes to fertility it is almost up to yourself to have to diagnose issues and push to go privately or it always seems to be too late! They just don't seem to have a clue!

I remember after our first failed cycle the consultant straightaway started talking about donor eggs to us, even though my AMH was in the 20s...then said oh but you may struggle to find a suitable one as not many ethic minorities as donors (I'm Indian), but that these days it doesn't really matter! It was the worst review meeting after our only nhs cycle. @TommieNC I can understand how it was a lot for you to take in in a short space of time. Just that one conversation for us out of the blue was so hard hitting. I cried for days and even OH was quite upset by just how matter of fact they had been and made out like it was our only option.
Thankfully we're with a different consultant now who has a bit more tact and empathy!

@TommieNC there's been no weight loss...just major gain! 🤦🏾‍♀️🤣 eating is definitely my issue! Portion sizes! And then just zero exercise doesn't help!

@HJen22 I've heard other clinics say to take all 3 norithisterone together...makes it so much easier than having to remember, but then you have so many to take in the morning 🤣
You definitely have to remain positive as it only does take just the 1 to make it.

@CentaurChiron so sorry to hear about your difficult journey so far, hopefully this second round goes much better. Will you be having the PGT-A testing again?

@LBalf good luck for tomorrow!! And fantastic that you have 5 Frosties too 😍

@Hopeful199 so sorry to hear about the fresh transfer not working. From what I know you usually have to have one proper cycle inbetween, so this is your withdrawal bleed then you have another AF then can start on the next one after that...but some may be able to start you on your next cycle. I'll be doing a dummy run with biopsies on my next cycle but follows exactly the same as it would for FET so on oestrogen for about 12 days from day 1, then scan then progesterone added in for 5-6 day. So approx 18 days into that cycle you could expect FET. Also, my clinic only do ET on a Friday so it may mean taking the oestrogen/progesterone for longer to fall in to their scheduling!

Nothing is ever easy in this journey to parenthood but it will so be worth it! ❤️
I've got my out of office on now and looking forward to the weekend in Paris and a break from all things work and fertility! 🇫🇷🥳

Hi @Coops0406 very much hoping we have a better second cycle. We are going to have PGT-A for our upcoming cycle and it'd be great if we could get a couple of euploids, but I fear that may be wishful thinking. We're having PGT-M testing anyway so it made sense to have PGT-A too, even though it's more expensive.

@CentaurChiron what is the PGT-M? Are they just looking for a the specific genetic disorder that can potentially be passed down?
We had PGT-A on our last two rounds. Our First round was a waste so couldn't do the testing. In the second we had 18 eggs go to 8 fertilised to 6 embryos on day 5/6 for testing which gave us 2 euploids. Then this one gave us 17 eggs, 7 fertilised, only 2 embryos on day 5/6 for testing and by some miracle 1 of those was euploid. I just couldn't believe the drop off. We are now waiting to do biopsies on my womb to check if there are any issues that can be sorted before a transfer in the hope of not wasting these euploids. Is that something you have potentially looked into? Could be worth it after having a chemical with your euploid

I haven't posted for a while as DH and I went on holiday for my 40th and I just wanted to forget about IVF. While we were away our embryos were transferred from our original clinic and arrived safely at our new one

Then this week I had a pre-treatment scan with my new consultant: I'd basically lost faith in my old clinic and I now feel pretty justified. The sonographer doing my last scan before my last FET (ended in a BFN) had asked me if I'd been diagnosed with endometriosis, but during the four years of treatment with that clinic that was the first mention of it. The new consultant said that there's an area of calcification of the uterus, which is a symptom of it, and he's getting a second opinion on whether they'd need to remove it or whether it's small enough not to matter. If they remove it he'll also take out a cyst in my ovary, which has been there since I started treatment but he's surprised they didn't take it out.

I'm just tired. The NHS said we had unexplained infertility (no funding in our area at that time), the last clinic said that DH's results were so far below what was expected that it was male factor, but it looks like I've had a problem all along. Now I'm left wondering whether that caused the miscarriages rather than the natural killer cells the last clinic were convinced it was, along with some very expensive treatment.

Did I mention pretty broke as well as tired?

@Coops0406 PGT-M is testing for Monogenetic disorders. I'm a carrier for a single gene disorder which doesn't affect me at all, but it does give us a 25% chance of having a child affected by the condition. Only boys are affected, but girls can carry the gene and pass it onto their children.
The attrition rate due to my gene isn't even too bad, but with our last cycle we found the biggest hurdle was getting euploid embryos. We did get one and a low level mosaic but I'd hoped for more. It's hard to know what to expect with cycle 2 at 36. 3 euploids out of 2 rounds is a great result.
I hope everything goes to plan with your embryo biopsies. Are you doing the ERA, ALICE and EMMA tests? Our new clinic in Spain have suggested I have these given I had a chemical with a euploid and I think it makes sense to evaluate that side of things properly before we transfer any hard-won euploids that we're lucky enough to get. I also want to double check for any potential scarring given I've had a TMFR.

@CentaurChiron out of interest what was the morphology of the failed euploid? (I've seen at least four studies showing that 3BB or higher euploids have significantly higher odds than euploids with C in the grading)

@ginandtonicformeplease so sorry for your crap time so far. I was furious with the nhs for misdiagnosis when the clinic picked up endometriosis in my first cycle if ivf, but to have your actual clinic not pick something up for so long must be awful. Glad you have moved and with a new consultant, makes the world of difference when you are spending thousands of pounds! I really hope this clinic and consultant do everything they can for you 🥰

@CentaurChiron I think a couple of euploids is realistic at 36. In your last round how many eggs were collected to give you the euploid? And how many embryos tested? I wonder whether your new clinic will do something different with your meds to try and push as many out. It's so interesting all the science involved...you sit wondering how on earth people actually get pregnant without any treatment! But so amazing that we can have these genetic tests done.
Yes, we're doing ALICE/EMMA/ERA and if AF comes around the beginning of March we'll be looking somewhere around the 18th (ish) for the biopsies. I was also going to ask them about testing for NK cells...is that just from blood tests or is it more complicated than that?

@tulipsandsnow after I saw you had mentioned the gradings of your euploids i asked the nurse about mine as I never got proper gradings! But my clinic seems to use their own grading system! They grade them out of 10 based on what they did in the embryoscope over the 5 days, 10 being the best. It didn't really make sense to me why they would use a grading system completely different to everywhere else but she said they wouldn't biopsy the embryos unless they were good enough expanded blastocysts and so they were good quality! 🤷🏾‍♀️

@tulipsandsnow it was 6B+B+, which at my previous clinic (where they have their own in house grading system) is considered to be very good quality. It was graded with a 6 because they performed assisted hatching in order to do the biopsy (they do assisted hatching on all embryos being tested), not because it started hatching on its own. It did implant as I got a positive pregnancy test, but it just didn't have what it takes to continue developing.

@Coops0406 I really hope so as I'd be delighted with 2 euploids and would be happy to move on to transfers with that number rather than do another egg collection. For our first IVF cycle, we got 18 eggs, 14 mature, 9 fertilised and 5 blasts which were all tested. Our new clinic is keeping me on a similar protocol to last time as I responded well from that, but instead they're putting me on Pergoveris (I used Fostimon and Meriofert last time) as they've found this can work better for women over the age of 35 and would hope to get a better result in terms of euploids from this drug. They also told me to take Ovasitol, which is normally for women with PCOS, but apparently can help generally with egg quality, so I've been on that since November. My husband also had a DNA frag test done at our new clinic and it came out high for double strand DNA frag, so they're also recommending that we use the Fertile Chip (known as Zymot in the UK and US) to help them select the best and least fragmented sperm. This time my husband has completely cut out booze and caffeine (as have I) since the start of this year, and we're both taking a lot more vitamins this time which we've been on for at least 3 months. Hoping all that somehow makes a difference, but I think this round will show us what we can get when we throw everything at it. If we still only get 1 euploid this cycle, then I think it must be just what we can produce given my age, but I really hope I'm wrong on this.

@Coops0406 I just realised that I didn't come back to you about your NK cells question. I don't really know much about NK cells. I've heard people online having them checked with either a blood test or an endometrial biopsy, but I'm not 100%. If the latter, then you could potentially have it done at the same time as your ERA, EMMA & ALICE tests.