ERA EMMA ALICE testing thread 8

[Gardenlady543]

@2021ivfagain @kerrym87 @Janefx40 @seven201 @thislittlebird @Spin101 @Enfys23
@CailinInUK @BewilderedBee @Loz2467 @Lori2022 @VenusStarr @clhiu @Faithhopelove83 @APSR @ChickenT2b @Mina209 @IVF22 @Lizzybeth1988 @AM08 @Fluffykins33 @Sar1010

Continued in from thread 7 :)

@Janefx40 thank you so much for being understanding of my TWW anxiety 😅

So you are saying that my progesterone may as well have been dropping despite the supplementation, the fact it was at good level on tran

sorry, didn’t mean to press send…to continue the previous message…

on transfer day and the clinic being confident a significant drop at this stage is unlikely? I asked for a test yesterday because of my headache and was told it was highly unlikely to be a progesterone drop because of my level on TD.
Or are you saying that because of supplementation there may be a drop on my body’s natural production of it?

Thank you xxx

@thislittlebird that's great about the euploid, I'm glad you've got some good news this week.

@2021ivfagain are you waiting for a swab result to come back or about to do a swab?

@clhiu how many days post transfer are you at the moment, when are you going to test?

@Gardenlady543 My gynaecologist wants me to do a swab next week so it will be 2 weeks after finishing antibiotics. Problem is I have to wait 3 weeks for the result so I will not be able to to transfer in May.

@Gardenlady543 I have not the money to go for it and cancel if I do not have time to fit the Vaginal antibiotic in. It can’t be too close to transfer.

@Gardenlady543 I'm 7dpt, gonna try sticking with the OTD, which is next Thursday the 4th. A part from everything else, I'm told there could be lingering HCG from the infusion up to 10dpt and I really wouldn't want to see a false positive. If it's negative I want to know right away without doubt ideally.

I called the clinic again. The nurse I spoke to today re-iterated it's highly unlikely for my headache to be linked to a drop in progesterone, that if I really wanted testing for reassurance they would test, but I decided to save myself the cash and hassle+cost of the extra trip to the clinic. I also explained my concerns with the dropping heart rate and she said it is not something they like to comment on as there is no solid or valid research into it, that as long as the rate is above a certain level that's considered positive news so trying my hardest not to freak out about it for the rest of the day, nothing I can really do about it.

@2021ivfagain sorry it's looking like you may have to delay after all. I'm guessing this also applies even if you stretch the Norethisterone as far as it's allowed? Plus I hear you saying it makes things worst for you in terms of microbiome. So tricky when something that may just need a few extra days to resolve ends up causing a delay of a whole month...

@clhiu if I tried tracking these things I would be all over the place. The drugs mess my body around so much.

@2021ivfagain can you aim for a cycle in June?

@Gardenlady543 thank you ❤

And apologies everyone, I do realise I've gone a bit loco over the past couple of days, must BREATH.

@Gardenlady543 yeah I’m glad we got one, it’s hard not to wish for another. If I had to guess I’d bet my 5AA was good but my body didn’t want it intruding in the uterus :/

@clhiu not transferring yet, I’m going to try to lose a bit of weight I’ve gained (again, thanks ivf) and then keep that up through the summer and I’m on holiday in May for a few days for my 40th. Will transfer sometime between June and August, not sure when. Personally I don’t think I need an ERA because I’ve achieved implantation with natural modified, but I’m worried my doctor will push for it. I haven’t ruled out a medicated FET cycle, but my gut tells me chromosomes and immunes are my two stumbling blocks and I want to transfer a chromosomally sound embryo while on prednisolone and plenty of progesterone before we move to another retrieval cycle.

Anyone here that’s been on prednisolone, can I ask what your dosage is? I know the standard they will suggest is 25mg. I self medicated with 10mg and achieved implantation on transfer 3. I don’t want to take 25mg, it’s too high for my liking and I want to try to negotiate that down. I know how it will effect me at that dose and I don’t want to be on that dose for three months and feeling horrible the entire time.

@thislittlebird I started 25mg prednisolone from CD7, I get moon face and have to wean off but I am ok on it, I'm not getting side effects that effect me on it.

@Gardenlady543 the problem is my moon face doesn't go away :/ and I shake, hip plays up. So although I wouldn't mind 25mg initially, I won't want to be on that for a long time if it were to work. What's the wean pattern they gave you?

@clhiu sorry not to reply sooner. I was in appointments. Your progesterone fluctuates naturally. I wasn't suggesting that you had a worrying drop just that it will rise and fall a bit when you are on supplementation. So if it drops a bit that could maybe cause the heart rate slowing but I really don't know much. Sorry to freak you out.

That being said, and absolutely not wanting to freak you out but I'm not sure why the nurses are saying that progesterone won't drop if it's a good level at transfer because it absolutely can and mine did. BUT that doesn't mean that I couldn't have got and stayed pregnant without additional supplementation. The levels are generally still way higher than they would be in a natural pregnancy anyway.

Are you CRGH? I did a lot of my post pregnancy testing with medichecks and went into TDL which isn't far to give the bloods. This was cheaper than CRGH, uses the same lab they use and is in a very similar location. So if you do want to do tests then I would recommend looking into that.

@thislittlebird I didn't get too many side effects personally from pred although I did grow some very strange facial hair - like a werewolf! But it went when I stopped.

The weaning was from 12 weeks I dropped 5 mg every 5 days. I've not had any lasting effects but it sounds as tho you maybe do. Can you ask if there is another steroid you could try instead?

@thislittlebird I wean from a negative test, I have been told to do:
20mg for 3 day
15mg for 3 days
10mg for 3 days
5mg for 3 days
Then off day, 5mg, off, 5mg, off, 5mg, stop.

So basically by the time I've weaned off it's almost time to start again if I'm in a cycle after one cycle off. I lost my moon face after weaning off from my chemical, then it came back when I started in the abandoned cycle, then I weaned off it and it went and now it's coming back again. Sigh.

My specialist had suggested starting at 10mg and going up to 25mg at transfer day, but Gorgy likes 25mg from CD7.

@Gardenlady543 Yes. I will definitely transfer in June. June is my birthday month which I wanted to avoid. I’ll be 42. Plus I cannot go out as my son’s immune system is not good: he picks up every cold/virus.

The gynaecologist said I he would also recommend me taking a short course of oral clindamycin in second trimester of pregnancy to colonise cervix.

I used Flora Femme again and feel better, but to save money I use canesflor every so often. Still using canesbalance, but when I use canesflor it does nothing. However, Flora femme does not have active strains. Does this matter? Do you know if gynolact contains lactic acid like vagibiom?

@clhiu That would be with norethisterone taken maximum time. I would get it back too late to take. I would not have time to complete the course let alone add in any probiotics.

I had an email today from clinic saying it’s good I am seeing a gynaecologist and to update them of my plans. I could not resist in sending back an email telling them how they could have helped me and taken my last swab seriously. I would have been treated with vaginal clindamycin and had a transfer or be on route to transfer. My husband had to pay on his credit card for me to have this appointment as nhs cancelled due to aftermath of pandemic! We are struggling financially and we have paid this money just for a gynaecologist to repeat what I have been saying all along. This gynaecologist has no problem with Invivo. Sorry for the moan.

@Gardenlady543 Will you be using gynolact, canesflor and Flora femme after transfer? I agree with you that canesflor is not the best. Physioflor is still out of stock, but that used to make me bleed. I’m thinking of taking two vaginal probiotics a day after transfer as my consultant wants me to resume 4-5 days after transfer.

Does anyone use Bio Me Femme vaginally? I was told by my nutritionist I could and did but had problems when my fsh spiked. I was so dry at that point it was really difficult.

My gynaecologist has also recommended the yes vaginal cream. Has anyone heard of it?

Hi everybody. Thanks for adding me to the latest thread. I have a question that might be relevant for others as well. Has anybody heard that you can take too many oral and vaginal probiotics? @Gardenlady I hoped you might have some insight on this. I have been taking a lot after getting my ultra low biome result, including two canesflor a day. I’m starting to get some itching down there 😑and just wondering if I might be overdoing it?

Hmmm @IVF22 maybe there is an ingredient in it that is irritating you, something I find is that I can get irritated with the stuff that comes out, esp if I use balance activ, with it being so acidic, it's not nice on my skin, TMI alert- the worst bit is if the butt crack is wet overnight from it. I have found applying sudocreme to that area before bed helps. Other thing is you may have picked up a bit of thrush, you could use a bit of clotrimazole cream to see if that helps. As far as I'm aware nobody has researched the impact from a lot of probiotics, I seem to do fine with daily or twice daily.

@2021ivfagain I am using flora femme at the moment, I have some that expires in June so may use it after as well. I haven't used bio me femme vaginally, just orally.

I think I may just have a day off from vaginal probiotics the night before and night of transfer but otherwise use daily.

@IVF22 i took too many oral probiotics and I think I got another condition that I forget the name of. If it’s possible with oral I assume it’s possible with vaginal.

@Gardenlady543 stop start sounds interesting but I doubt I could do that after transfer. I wish I knew why I seem to be the only person who doesn’t manage to shift the moonface.

@Janefx40 hair? Not heard that one before! I think all steroids might do the same thing but I will ask. I found an article saying metformin had been found to counter the side effects somewhat, will need to read more about that.

Thanks so much for responding. Yes I think maybe the lactic acid (canesbalance?) seems to disagree with me, I might just stick to the probiotics

Thanks for responding. I think that condition is called vaginal cyclonosis. Did your ivf clinic say anything about it?

Cytolytic vaginosis

@Gardenlady543 Some of my Flora femme also expire in June. Do you think it’s end of June or beginning? I would like to continue using two vaginal probiotics a day after transfer.

Do you know if gynolact contains an acid product?