TTC no.2 after successful IVF for no.1

[Chocoholic85]

Hi,
I’m just after some advice and to see whether anyone is in the same boat!
Just found out that my 3rd FET failed.
We are very lucky to have DD who came from our first fresh transfer. We were also very fortunate to get 5 frozen embryos from that round so have been trying for a sibling. 1st FET was BFN, 2nd was a chemical pregnancy/early miscarriage and 3rd now is failed. Down to the last two and starting to feel the pressure and also wondering why on earth it isn’t working?!
We have unexplained infertility so nothing was ever found with our initial tests and I was 34 when we had out first IVF round so odds were in our favour. I read somewhere that at 34 around 50% of embryos are abnormal so I guess out our 6 maybe the last 3 were all abnormal. I’m also worried something has changed since I had to have a csection for DD. I did have an ultrasound which showed the scar had healed fine and there no niches, I’m wondering if there are adhesions that might not have been seen on the ultrasound though.
Would love to hear any advice for what to do next or from anyone else in a similar position. Thanks x

Hi @Chocoholic85
I’m really sorry to hear about your failed FET. I read your post earlier and thought I must reply as I’m in almost exactly the same position as you, apart from the fact I’m in my 40s.

We were lucky enough to have our DS from our very first transfer (we’ve used donor eggs from the beginning due to my age). That ended up being an FET as our clinic is abroad and Covid disrupted our planned fresh transfer in March 2020. He’s 2 on Sunday ❤️

We had two remaining frozen embryos from that cycle, the 1st one (April 2022) was a CP at 5/6 weeks, the 2nd (Nov 2022) a BFN. Last Aug, in between those two transfers, I had a laparoscopy and my left tube removed due to a hydrosalpinx which was flagged up on a day 11 scan.
We then had a fresh cycle in Feb this year with a new donor, we were lucky enough to receive 5 embryos, but transfers 3 and 4 have both been BFNs too. These have all been 5 day blastocysts, described as top quality, 5aa or 4aa. The only difference with my first transfer was that 2 embryos were put back (my clinic won’t do that now because they say it’s too risky after my c section).

I’m currently on day 14 for another FET but I think it’s going to be cancelled as fluid has shown up on my day 11 scan. I’m having another scan tmrw just to be sure. Things become more complicated after this, as I’m about to hit the age limit for the Czech Republic. We’ve had a consultation with a clinic in Spain where the age limit is higher and it seems we can transport our remaining embryos there.

I also had a c section, so I’ve had the exact same worries as you, about a niche etc. My current doctor has said there’s no problem with it, and the doctor from the Spanish clinic said if there was a problem, it should show on an ultrasound. She did however suggest I have a hysteroscopy to check if everything was ok after the c section and mentioned that endometritis was a possibility but could be treated with antibiotics. My current clinic haven’t suggested this.

So I think if this latest transfer is cancelled/another BFN, my next step will be to have this diagnostic hysteroscopy in Spain, apparently they will take biopsies and send them to be tested.

I’m not sure I’ve been much help in suggesting what to do 😏 I just wanted to empathise really. I know how difficult it to have repeated failures when you just can’t seem to work out why. Have your clinic suggested any possible reasons or any other testing? My current one hasn’t. They just say even with perfect conditions in the uterus and a top quality embryo, a lot depends on nature and luck. It seems that Spanish clinics generally do a lot more testing, so if we do move on there, I think that’s what we’d have to end up doing next. It’s a tough call as obviously it costs more and more, but I don’t think we’ll have much choice x

Hi @KLM25 👋 thanks for getting back to me. Always comforting to know other people have similar experiences. I am sorry to hear about the ordeal you’ve been through. It’s so hard having to pick yourself back up again - not to mention also parenting the wonderful child you already have.
I know exactly what you mean about relying on nature and luck! I understand that even the experts don’t have an answer for everything, it’s incredibly frustrating though! I think my clinic have taken quite a conservative approach to my treatment, which I do understand given that on paper everything should work for me. I’m hoping now after 3 failures they are going to recommend some extra testing.
The last consultant I saw was on about the microbiome in the uterus and recommended probiotics which I took but clearly haven’t helped. I think I will ask about endometritis although I think it is quite controversial still with some Dr’s not seeing it as an actual problem.
How do you find going abroad for treatment? I’ve never considered it as seems like a lot more stress (I’m also a bad flyer so will avoid getting on a plane unless I have to!) It’s hard deciding where to draw as well, I’d always said I wouldn’t do a fresh round again but I am definitely considering it now! x

Hi @Chocoholic85 no worries at all. It really helps me to talk to someone with a similar story. Like you say, it’s the frustration of trying to work out the best thing to do, when there aren’t always any clear cut answers!

I’ve had another scan this morning which has helped me come to a decision about this transfer at least. I don’t think there’s any point in going ahead with it. There was still fluid and this particular sonographer said I have a ‘c section scar notch’. This is new information as previous sonographers have described it as very neat and nothing out of the ordinary. Plus two doctors from my current clinic have looked at it and haven’t raised any issues, so now I don’t know what to think 🥴

This sonographer has advised me to seek further advice on it, so I suppose we just have to decide whether that’s by doing this hysteroscopy in Spain or whether to try to get some advice here. It’s so hard to know what to do when you’re getting differing opinions, but my gut instinct is that there’s clearly something wrong for me to have had 3 failed implantations in a row 😏
I’ve got one final consultation over Skype tomorrow with my current doctor so I might try to ask the right questions but she always maintains that the only problem with c section scars is in late pregnancy so I doubt I’ll get much joy there!
I do feel kind of relieved to be out of the limbo of ‘is this transfer happening or not’. I can just focus on our son’s birthday, without worrying about flights to Prague and pessaries etc! I’m just hoping there are some positive steps I can take forward for the next weeks and months.

I’ve always found it fairly straightforward going abroad, but I’m lucky in that I work for an airline so I can hop on and off flights quite cheaply and flexibly.
However, it’s definitely more complicated now that we have our son. His grandparents are very happy to have him but we don’t want to ask too much of them, plus my Dad’s not been very well recently so my Mum’s got a lot on her plate.
It would probably be much simpler for us to have treatment at a clinic here but Spain is very similar to the Czech Rep with the donor side of things so that’s a big factor.

Have you got any follow up appointments coming up soon? It helps, doesn’t it, to have something like that to focus on and make a new plan x

So sorry to hear that you can’t go ahead with the transfer - although I get what you mean about being in limbo, the uncertainty is awful sometimes! That’s lovely that you’ve got your son’s birthday to focus on. Are you throwing him a party? 2 is lovely and challenging age! Although my DD is 3 and that’s a whole other level of tears and tantrums!
That’s also really confusing about your c-section - makes me feel very paranoid that mine hasn’t been investigated enough although I’ve had so many internal scans I think surely if there was something they would’ve seen it by now - but maybe not! I have the same gut feeling as you that there’s something clearly wrong ☹️
We have a follow up booked on 5 June, it’s the earliest the clinic could give us ☹️ It’s with a completely different consultant as well. I’m quite keen to get a different opinion. I’m not overly keen on our usual consultant, who said to me 2 days after my CP/early miscarriage ‘are you feeling recovered now?’ I honestly didn’t know what to say! What a d*ck! He is very high up though and knows his stuff so have gone along with him until now. He wanted a double transfer with my last 2 embryos and I absolutely don’t want to do that!
I’m keen to know what you decide about hysteroscopy, it’s one of my questions for the follow up.
That’s great you get cheap flights and found going abroad easy although I understand it’s different once you have a child! We never told our parents about the initial IVF as didn’t want the added pressure so we’ve definitely found it more stressful now with appointments etc.

Thanks so much @Chocoholic85 Yes the uncertainty is definitely one of the worst parts of this. Maybe that’s why I feel this weird relief. I think deep down, I didn’t want to go through another transfer feeling that nothing had really changed from the previous three. Plus you know what it’s like - I’ve been questioning every little thing I’ve done - wondering if my diet’s not good enough, have I done too much lifting of my son, should I have had that cup of caffeinated tea ☺️ So I sort of feel better that maybe this is the explanation, even though my OH is upset that we’ve maybe wasted money and embryos with transfers that were maybe doomed to failure 😏

Aw no, I don’t want to make you feel paranoid - I’m sure your scar is probably completely different to mine. Also, it’s like you say about the endometritis, a lot of doctors don’t seem to see it as a problem. After all, some women have loads of c sections and still get pregnant. I just think I ought to get it checked out as time is not on my side!

That could be a good thing that you’ve got an appt with a different consultant. I’m not surprised you were upset with what the first one said. I had something very similar! Not sure how yours happened but I had a positive hcg of about 125, I managed to get the blood test through my GP (it was my first transfer after having our little boy). The GP said I was definitely pregnant, the clinic wanted me to have another blood test though as obvs the numbers weren’t high enough and that was when it dropped to about 30, so not viable. It was the same timing - between 5 and 6 weeks. Was that similar to yours? I’d like to think that it’s got to be a positive thing that we did both achieve implantation after the c sections?

I was obviously pretty upset at the time but when I had the follow up appt with my doctor, it was like it had never happened, it was like he was reading from a script, no answers, just when do you want to come for another transfer 🤯 We asked to change doctors after that! You feel very vulnerable at the time, don’t you, and it seemed almost impossible to get any answers from anyone. It was partly a communication problem and our second doctor had perfect English which made that side of things easier. I could go on but I already think I’m rambling ☺️

Anyway, I had the appt with her earlier and she agrees I should see a specialist before having any more transfers. I didn’t get any answers about whether those transfers have been a waste of time, but I suppose that was never going to happen.

I’ve been Googling like a crazy woman since ystdy and I’ve found a doctor in London, Mr Adrian Lower, who seems to be the authority on c section defects. I’ve emailed his office this morning and it’s going to cost £325 for a 30 min appt and £330 for an ultrasound which he will discuss on the day. I think we’re going to go ahead with it. I hope we’re not throwing good money after bad. It just seems more sensible to go to the top man and try to get to the bottom of it, rather than have the hysteroscopy in Spain.

Aw yes, 2 is a lovely age, mind you I’m sure 3 is too. Ha ha, yes the tantrums are just starting to rear their ugly head, more parenting challenges to deal with! We’re having a little do on Sat just with family, birthday cake and presents and then on Sunday, on his actual bday, we’re planning on going to this Monkeyworld place or maybe a local farm park/zoo, just the three of us. So that’s another good reason for not having had the transfer, as accidentally touching a monkey would just have been one more thing for me to have got paranoid about 😂

Yes it was quite easy going abroad to start with, it was almost like a little holiday. I know exactly what you mean about telling family. We didn’t tell my in laws the second time, which I felt guilty about, as I did tell my Mum. They were just full of ‘helpful’ advice the first time round which wound me up, although they were only trying to do the right thing 🤦‍♀️ We’ve told them since then but I think they’ve realised I don’t really want to talk about it.

Have you always been with the same clinic? Has it been through the NHS? I’ve always been too old to have the NHS treatment so I don’t really know how it all works. We’ve only ever been at the one clinic, so it’s going to feel strange if and when we move to a new one x

That’s great you’ve found a specialist and it should be fairly easy to get an appointment. Hopefully it will give you some reassurance before the next transfer. Did you have an emergency C-section? Mine was supposed to be planned as DD was breech but then she decided she couldn’t wait for that and I went into labour 2 days before I was
booked in! It was straightforward though and I didn’t have any issues after so hoping that everything is ok!

We’ve always been with the same clinic, we were originally NHS which was the round DD was conceived. If we end up going down the road of a fresh round I think I will be looking at alternatives. There are places local that are cheaper - although perhaps not as good?! It’s so hard having to make decisions about everything, in that way NHS is easier. Do you live near London? There must be a lot of choice for private clinics. I’m up north so not loads to choose from.

Your miscarriage sounds very similar to mine although I never had a blood test. I tested a few days before OTD and got a faint positive. Then OTD I tested twice (with different brands!) and both were very strong positives so called to book the scan. Looking back, the TWW to the scan was different to my first pregnancy, I had less symptoms but then they say every pregnancy is different so I tried not to worry. Then at the scan they couldn’t find anything - initially worried it was ectopic but thankfully not. Blood test confirmed my HCG was 8 or something. I felt like the nurse thought I was crazy at the scan, she asked if I had tested again and I said I had two positives tests so didn’t.

I’ve tried to find the silver lining - like you say it is positive that some implantation happened. Out of 4 transfers I’ve had a 50% implantation rate so maybe that’s a good thing? I am looking forward to seeing a new Dr and getting a different perspective, it’s also a woman and I do find it easier to talk to females than males about this stuff.

That sounds like lovely plans with your little boy, hope you have a lovely day. It will be nice not to have to worry about doing anything potentially dangerous if you were pregnant.

The bit in-between transfers I always find hard, there’s an impatience for the next transfer but also a relief that you don’t have to worry about meds or eating or drinking the wrong thing! You can really beat yourself can’t you? It’s hard to accept that there may not be answers for why it didn’t work (or why it worked before!)

Hi ladies I'd like to chime in if that's ok, I have a very similar story. DD born in May 2021 following our first ICSI cycle (first transfer, frozen as I have pcos so was deemed OHSS risk). We had 3 additional frozen blasts from that cycle, went back to the clinic when DD turned one last year. First transfer one embryo didn't survive the thaw, the one transferred failed to implant. Second transfer again negative test. Did a fresh ivf round in November, tried much lower dose stims as I wanted to try for a fresh transfer and only got one embryo, frozen at day three as I had fluid in my uterus. Transferred in January and fell pregnant then had a miscarriage at around 7 weeks. We are going again but just had to cancel our latest ivf round as a problem with the injection pens meant I didn't get enough stims and so didn't respond, just waiting for my withdrawal bleed now then we go again in a month or so.

I also had an emergency c-section with DD and have worried about the scar, but like you both have been told nothing worrying is showing on scans. I've had recurrent implantation failure bloods done and nothing shown up there either, waiting for the results of our dna kareotyping bloods.

@Chocoholic85 I honestly feel like I could have written your last post, I have tried to cling to that 50% successful transfer stat too when I get scared about what comes next. And yes, the waiting time is so hard!

@KLM25 really interesting to read you've been told about a scar notch. Maybe I should push again for a hysteroscopy, my current dr (who I really like!) didn't seem to think there was much point as she thought anything would have shown on one of the many many scans.

Sorry you are both going through this as well but honestly reading your stories really helped me this morning as it feels like someone else out there gets it!

@Eggling Really lovely to hear from you. I’m so sorry to hear about what’s happened. Our son was born in May 2021 too so it sounds like we’ve been on a similar timeline. Like you say, it really is comforting and helpful to speak to people in similar situations although without wishing this on anyone of course ❤️

I’ve actually made an appointment with Mr Lower this morning for June 13th so I’m really hoping we’ll get a definitive answer, although I suppose it may involve more testing if the ultrasound isn’t conclusive.
It seems that it is hard to diagnose and we’re only really going on the opinion of the sonographer that I saw on Tuesday, although it would obviously explain a lot.

@Chocoholic85 My c section was actually elective which makes me feel terrible now 🥴 Like I’ve brought all this on myself. My rationale at the time was that the chances of an emergency one were fairly high given that I was a (very) ‘geriatric’ first time mother, I would have had to be induced (on my own due to Covid) at 39 weeks and both maternity units in our city are in special measures, so I just didn’t fancy taking the risk. It might have turned out to be a very expensive decision 🤦‍♀️☺️ Same as you, it all went very smoothly and no issues afterwards, apart from this potential one now.

We live in Nottingham so about two and a half hours from London. We could definitely do the appointment in a day rather than having to stay over so I think we might save the money rather than stay in a hotel, although that would be nice. It’s definitely difficult to make a decision about clinics, we just went with our gut instinct really. It’s great you could go through the NHS and it obviously worked out well for you to have your DD ❤️

I’m so sorry to read about how your miscarriage happened, and the same with you @Eggling They tell you not to keep testing so why would you, if you’d had 2 strong positives. Like you say, it has got to be a good thing to have had implantation, just like you both have.
It’s a very small silver lining but I suppose that’s what keeps us going. I always think that at least nowadays, there are treatment options, whereas 40-50 years ago, there would have been nothing we could have done.

Thankyou, yes hopefully it’ll be a nice weekend. I’m just making his birthday cake, I’m not sure it’s going to look like the picture but I’m sure he won’t mind! x

Welcome @Eggling 😊 Sorry to hear you’re in the same boat as us!

I’m sorry your transfer has got cancelled, that must be really frustrating ☹️

It is really nice to know that other people are in a similar situation and just get it! I don’t have any close friends who have gone through IVF and although they are so supportive they don’t really understand.

I’m sorry to hear about your miscarriage as well, it is heartbreaking when it happens, especially after everything you go through just to get pregnant.

What kind of bloods did you have for recurrent implantation failure? I’m making a list of possible investigations I might need for our follow up on 5 June xx

@KLM25 That’s great you’ve got your appointment booked in. Hopefully it’s the first step in figuring out what’s going on. I need to do a bit of research about the other local clinics. There is one with good packages that are affordable but feels like
a risk going somewhere new. I’ve had some bad experiences with my current clinic but they did give me DD so I know they can be successful!

Please don’t feel guilty for electing to have a c-section, you did what was safest for your DS (and you). I have similar feelings of regret/guilt about it now because I was offered an ECV which is a procedure where they try to turn the baby. It carries a v.small risk of prematurely rupturing the amniotic sac and at the time I was so anxious about DD arriving safely that I didn’t want to take the risk (albeit v.small) The ECV only works in 50% of cases so I keep telling myself it might not have worked anyway!

How has your cake turned out?! I did DD 1st birthday cake and ended up baking 3 cakes because none of them turned out right! x

Thanks so much @Chocoholic85, yes you’re right. It’s just another example of how we beat ourselves up about things I suppose! I would have made exactly the same decision as you about the ECV - why risk it when half the time it doesn’t work anyway.

Yes it’s a difficult decision when it comes to moving clinics, especially when you know you’ve been successful there in the past. We’ve just been forced into it really, otherwise I’m not sure what we would have done. It’s quite time consuming researching other ones! I’ve actually also been in touch with another clinic in Greece, in Thessaloniki. They seem to be very highly recommended from what I’ve read on another forum. They would treat me for a couple of years more I think, but then again it would be much easier to travel to Barcelona. They do offer a free Skype appt anyway so I think we may do that, just to see if they say anything different.

Ha ha, yes I know exactly what you mean about making birthday cakes. This one turned out surprisingly well actually, I’d purposely chosen a fairly simple one ☺️ It was a chocolate cake with yellow plastic diggers and smarties on the top and a bit of the cake cut out to look like a construction site. I found it on BBC food. The hardest thing was getting the icing to look like soil 😂 You wouldn’t think it was that hard to make a dark brown colour but I ended up with food colouring all over my hands as I’d thrown that much in ☺️ and it all ended up being a bit of a rush. Plus once I’d made it, I suddenly thought, oh no, our little boy will probably just go for all the smarties and I’m not sure if they’re still a choking risk 🤦‍♀️ Anyway, it all turned out ok and that didn’t happen! x

@KLM25 well done with the cake! I have stupidly tasked myself with making a tractor cake for DD's party in a couple of weeks, at the end of a really hectic work week so it's bound to be a midnight job. Any tips gratefully received!

@Chocoholic85 I would have made the same decision as you regarding the ECV. My section was for pre-eclampsia then failure to progress during induction with meconium in the waters, and, like you say, you do what's safest for baby.

I can't remember exactly what bloods I had for implantation failure - it was the panel my clinic (create) do for recurrent miscarriage. I think NK cells were tested. The only things that showed up for me were borderline vitamin d and folic acid so I've upped the supplements for both of those but I was told the levels I had wouldn't have actually impacted anything.

I'm still waiting for my withdrawal bleed which is annoying as it will be two weeks tomorrow that we abandoned the stims, because I don't have regular cycles (or cycles at all really!) I have noticed it takes me longer to bleed than the clinic seem to expect. They seem fairly sure I will have a bleed though, although I'm not sure why as we abandoned stims when my follicles were still fairly small so I won't have ovulated, which I'd assume was needed to trigger the bleed 🤷🏻‍♀️ I spoke to the clinic for our follow up yesterday who said to wait another week then take provera to bring the bleed on, then I will go back for a day 2 scan to see if we get started this cycle or wait a few weeks to try again.

@Eggling Hope everything’s going ok and your withdrawal bleed has started. At least there’s a plan in place if it’s delayed. I remember waiting ages for mine once, it was so frustrating. I stopped taking my medication last Wed and luckily this time around it started 3 days later as they’d said, but I’m not convinced the next one will come as expected! We’ll see anyway.

Good luck with the cake! I bet you could turn this digger cake into a tractor cake if that’s the kind of thing you were thinking of. If you Google BBC Good food and digger cake I’m sure it’ll come up. It’s got kitkats around the outside which hid a multitude of sins ☺️ When I couldn’t find any small yellow plastic diggers, I was considering sticking some farm animals and a tractor on the top and I’m sure he’d have loved it just the same x

Hi Everyone, hope you’re all ok. Just thought I’d update as we finally had our follow up yesterday. He’s of the opinion that they’re likely isn’t anything wrong per se. He’s recommended a thrombophilia screening, which might show something. He doesn’t feel any investigation of the csection is needed as anything major would’ve shown up. He also suggested looking into the immunology research trials at Warwick but this would delay further transfers and when I looked I don’t think I’d meet criteria as I’ve only had 1 miscarriage. Not sure what I expected but feel a bit disappointed but also relieved in some ways as don’t like the thought of spending more money on more tests that may or may not prove helpful in the long run!
Hope everyone is doing ok!

Hi @Chocoholic85 Glad to hear you’ve had your follow-up and that’s great news really, as it’ll save you a lot of money and I think a lot of the time these tests seem to come back showing that nothing’s wrong.
Have you made any plans for more treatment?
I’ve enjoyed the break in a lot of ways since our transfer was cancelled last month. I’ve re-started Couch to 5k and I’m only up to week 3, but it feels great to be out running again. We’ve got the appt with the consultant in London on Wed so I’m hoping that will give us some answers and get the ball rolling again.
I’ve also been in touch with a clinic in Greece who in theory say they can accept our frozen embryos. I’ve got a Skype appt with them in a couple of weeks which is free so that’s good, I figured we’re not losing anything. They’ve asked for every bit of information I’ve got re scans and tests etc so it feels like they’re quite thorough. We’ll see anyway! Xx

Hi @Chocoholic85 and @Eggling, hope you’re both doing ok?

Just an update from me. We had our initial appointment with Mr Lower in London and we were relieved to hear that there isn’t a problem with my c section scar. He said the notch was too narrow to need repairing, and also that he wouldn’t actually be concerned about the fluid particularly, but it would be a problem if it was carrying some bacteria, so he suggested I should do a dummy cycle and the Emma/Era/Alice testing.

I’ve been down to London 3 times, twice for scans and then for the biopsy yesterday and I’m really pleased that we made that initial appointment, as I feel that we’ve had a few more answers.

We just have to wait 10-12 days for the results now and in the meantime, we’re in the process of moving our embryos to Institut Marques in Barcelona. We just need to have our signatures notarised and complete all the paperwork etc. I’m really hoping everything will come together in the next few months.

Hope things are good with you guys and everything is moving along x

Glad things are progressing with you @KLM25 - that all sounds really promising! Great to have the answers and reassurance.

Things are a bit all over the place here - all our tests came back fine and we've just done another round of ICSI, but had shockingly low fertilisiation (1 of 7 mature eggs). This is totally out of step with our previous rounds and has knocked me for six as I'm now wondering if there is a problem with eggs or sperm that hasn't been picked up despite the extensive testing we've done. That one day three embryo is frozen but I have lots of questions for our follow up with our consultant next week! Think we will be changing clinics of this one doesn't make it, I just hope we don't get to that point. They seem confident my c section scar isn't an issue but it seems we have a whole host of extra problems, they just can't tell us what they are 🙄

Hi @KLM25 and @Eggling

It’s been crazy busy this end, hardly feel like I’ve had time to think about IVF!
@KLM25 glad you feel the investigations have been worth while, sounds like it’s given you a lot of reassurance. That’s exciting that you can start soon in Barcelona, how are you feeling about it all?

I had another baseline ultrasound. The nurse checked my scar again and is satisfied it all looks fine. I do feel reassured by this although I know the ultrasound isn’t considered gold-standard. I have a friend who’s a consultant obstetrician and she said if there was big problem it would be apparent by now. I’ve also had an antiphosphiloid screening which showed I have slightly raised levels of anticardiolipids, so for this transfer I’m taking aspirin and inhixa after the transfer. Feeling relieved in some ways that something has been found that might provide an explanation for the miscarriages and failed implantation. It also raises a lot of questions as I don’t know if I’ve always had this or how it will affect me if this transfer works 🤷‍♀️

Just started estrogen patches with scan on Friday 😬 Hoping the patches help my lining to get a bit thicker. Not really getting my hopes up although I am happy I’m trying something slightly different this time 🤞

Sorry @Eggling , your message only just popped up.
I’m sorry to hear about egg collection, that must’ve been a shock. IVF had a horrible way of throwing curve balls at you sometimes. Do you know when your follow up might be? I hope they offer you some extra testing so you can find out what’s going on. Are you going to do pgt-a testing on your embryo?

Hello everyone 👋 can I join you? TTC a sibling after our daughter was conceived from first transfer of first cycle. She was our only embryo so we were back to the drawing board this time, just a few years older! I have DOR, husbands side of things are fine. Normal pregnancy otherwise first time round with vaginal birth although I had a bad haemorrhage and surgery after.

Ended up with two embryos from our first round of egg collection this time but fresh transfer was unsuccessful at end of May. About to start new cycle next week for transfer of our only frozen embryo and feeling a bit anxious. Mostly the financial stress of it not working to be honest as we won't be able to do another fresh cycle for at least 9 months or so as will need to try and save some money. Trying to remain hopeful though and got back into good eating habits + stopped all alcohol (I barely drink anyway). It's been good to exercise more recently since finishing our fresh cycle and I'm glad to have a plan to move forwards with.

Will try and catch up with the thread and where everyone is at 😀

Hi @Chocoholic85 and @Eggling, and welcome @SErunner, lovely to hear from you.

@Eggling I’m sorry to hear about your egg collection too, I’m not surprised it knocked you for six. I’m glad you’ve not got to wait long for your consultant follow up and I hope you get some helpful information. I know what you mean about changing clinics, I would have found it tough unless we’d been forced into it due to my age. I do actually feel quite positive about a change now though, so you never know, it might end up being the same for you. Good to hear too that they don’t see your scar as being an issue.

@Chocoholic85
That’s great that you’ve had your baseline scan and you’ve started the estrogen 😊
Also great that you’ve also had the reassurance about your scar. I think we pick up on anything don’t we? Just trying to find out what might be the issue. But I suppose there are so many of us who’ve had c sections and with the majority there is no problem.

I haven’t heard of the anti phosphiloid testing, that’s really positive that they tested you for that and are trying something new. I had to Google Inhixa but I realised it’s similar to Clexane? I’ve had that for every transfer but I haven’t taken aspirin so far. The doctor in Barcelona suggested aspirin and said it works in a different way to Clexane, so I imagine I might be taking that too next time. Did you say you’re taking it after transfer? I mentioned it to the London doctor and he specifically said it should be after transfer so I’m hoping the two doctors won’t disagree on the timing of it, as I know some people take it earlier than that in a cycle. Are you on the patches as well as progynova? Keeping everything crossed for your scan 🤞

I’m feeling quite excited about starting again. Just happy to be taking steps forward really. I was so relieved when the Barcelona clinic said they’d accept our embryos, as we had an online consult with another clinic and they were a bit more difficult about it. We’re going to have our signatures notarised tmrw for the shipper’s paperwork, so then things should start moving along hopefully. It feels good that something might be progressing whilst I’m waiting for the results of this biopsy.

Welcome @SErunner I’m sorry to hear about your haemorrhage and surgery, that must have been traumatic.
Keeping everything crossed for your new cycle, not long to wait now. How old is your daughter?
I completely relate to what you say about exercise 😊 I’m guessing you’re a runner? I ran a few half marathons before I had our son but I’m nowhere near that fitness these days! I keep going back to Couch to 5K between treatment. They’ve advised not to run during treatment time, have they said the same to you? I really miss it so I was glad to get out there again yesterday now that this dummy cycle is finished x

@KLM25 I think my consultant recommended the antiphosphiloid screening due to having 3 failed transfers. Interestingly I took aspirin for nearly all my pregnancy with my daughter due to having low papp-a levels so now I’m thinking is there a link between that and having now found I have low anticardiolipin. I think I need a medical degree, ha. You’re right though we do try to pick up on anything! I’ll be taking aspirin after transfer, I’ve no idea what the rationale for it is!

I’m just doing the patches as last time I did patches & progynova I had a horrible reaction due to having an overload of estrogen! I felt absolutely dreadful. The dose of 2 patches is slightly more than four progynova tablets so hopefully that plus the fact that estrogen is absorbed better through patches is my hope I might get a bit better lining this time 🤞

I hope you get everything sorted for Barcelona quickly 🤞 Do you think you’ll stay there for the whole cycle of travel back inbetween starting meds and the transfer? Hope you get your biopsy back soon as well.

Thanks @KLM25. Yes I am a runner! Similarly to you used to do half marathons semi regularly and run 3-4 times a week. Interestingly my first cycle which conceived our daughter they said I was okay to exercise until EC. This time round they said not to 🤷‍♀️😂 so I went with the advice from the first time and did anyway. I think the main risk is ovarian torsion with the stims and exercise. But as I have DOR and only get a small number of follicles I rationalised the risk would probably be low. Both times I didn't exercise between transfer and test date. I did run throughout my pregnancy with no issues though. It's a really important part of my life so I do find stopping as part of the cycles an extra burden. Our daughter is two 😀 Yes the haemorrhage and surgery were pretty awful I can't lie. But the outcome has obviously been worth it! That's exciting things are starting to move for you. Do you have a rough time you're hoping to start? What is the biopsy for?

@Chocoholic85 I agree a medical degree would be helpful! Are you in the middle of a cycle or working up to one?

My period started today, earlier than expected so we're off the starting blocks. Baseline scan tomorrow or Sat hopefully. I'm doing a natural modified FET so no drugs until an Ovitrelle trigger at ovulation then progesterone. I've not done one of these before but the consultant was optimistic. Our embryo is a 4BB - they had to grow it to day 7 for it to get there but hoping that's not a bad sign.

Welcome @SErunner weirdly, I also used to be a runner, did a couple of half marathons before IVF and DD. I haven’t ran since. I was also advised not to run by the consultant during treatment. We have a dog so I walk her twice a day which means I get out and get fresh air which is really helps me. DD is doing 3 days at nursery in september and I’ll have a half day to myself (the luxury!) so hoping to go swimming as was also doing that twice a week in my previous life! I would like to get back to running again, I just think I’m so unfit now!

I have a friend who is a GP and a friend who is an obstetrician and they both joke that I know more than them about fertility! When you’ve been in this game long enough you pick up a fair amount of knowledge. I wish I understood though.

That’s exciting you’re on the way in your next round. Hope the scan goes ok 🤞 I think our embryos are a 4BA and 3AB. I’m nearly half way through this cycle, scan tomorrow to check my lining and transfer provisionally booked for 25th 😬

@Chocoholic85 That’s really interesting as I was told to take aspirin for most of my pregnancy too. I think it was because I was over 40 but I could be wrong. That makes me feel quite positive for my future cycles that something new might be added and could make a difference!
Good to hear as well that you’ve swapped the progynova for the patches, I’ll keep everything crossed for your lining 😊 Did you say you’ve got a scan tomorrow or have I got that mixed up?

Previously I’ve just travelled for ET and had all the scans over here at Ultrasound Direct. My old clinic didn’t generally do blood tests in the run up to ET so it was just a case of sending over the scan info. I have to say it did sometimes cause me some anxiety and I would have often preferred them to do their own scans for clarity. I’m not sure what I’ll do with the new clinic, I get the feeling they do test things a bit more, so I’ll see what they suggest.

@SErunner That’s great that you’re a runner 😊 And fantastic to hear that you ran throughout your pregnancy too. Yes it’s funny isn’t it how advice changes from doctor to doctor and month to month! It’s no wonder we seek advice on here ☺️ I know what you mean about having to stop, I find that hard too.

The biopsy was for the Emma/Alice/Era testing. Historically I’ve had fluid noted on scans and the doctor I’ve been seeing in London (originally about my c section scar) said he would only be worried about that if it was carrying bacteria/possible endometritis, so suggested a dummy cycle and the testing. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to have the next transfer, I suppose it depends on these results and if I have to take antibiotics and then another biopsy to check it’s clear. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get the embryos over to Spain by the end of next month but you know how these things are never straightforward 🤦‍♀️☺️
In my head, I’m hoping we can try again Sept/Oct but we’ll see.

Great news about your period starting, it’s a good feeling to get going. All the best for your baseline scan x