To test embryos or not? (PGT)

[Maria12060]

Hi ladies, a bit about me. I’m 36 and have unexplained secondary infertility. Low AMH and AFC. I’m with create and doing their 3 cycle package. I’ve just finished the first cycle of mild IVF and have 3 embryos in the freezer (one day 3 and 2 day 5 - one is a 5BB and other is 3CC)

I need a bit of help deciding whether to test our embryos or not please. we’ve not tested the three we have in the freezer so far.

is there anyone here who chose not to get PGT done on their embryos and went ahead with the transfers without it and had success? What made you choose this route?

im worried that the embryos may not survive if we go down the testing route and some people are of the opinion that sometimes testing ‘discards’ some embryos which would’ve made normal babies. Have you or anyone else you know had PGT done and chose to transfer an ‘abnormal’ embryo anyway?

any thoughts on this are massively appreciated :) xxx

Well done on your 3 little Frosties 😊

I had 2 collections, 4 transfers in total. First try we had 2 to freeze, second try 5 to freeze. I’ve had 1 miscarriage and 1 failed implantation from the first try. From the 2nd try we had 1 failed implantation (2 embryos were implanted) and now 21 weeks from my 4th transfer with 2 still freezing.

We didn’t have testing on any of the embryos, mainly as we were NHS and this wasn’t something they offered.

Due to this I haven’t done much research but what I have seen is mixed reviews, some research states the embryos can rectify any issues inside the womb.

Im 40 by the way. Wishing you all the best, it’s a tough, emotional journey so have faith in your body. I never thought I’d be where I am now. Thankfully I was one of the lucky ones x

@Maria12060 haven't got any experience on this but would really appreciate joining in to hear people's views. I too am with Create and am about to (hopefully if given the green light once AF arrives) to start my 3rd cycle in the package with a fresh or thawed embryo transfer. I've done natural modified so far due to low AMH but am planning on doing mild for this 3rd cycle. I have 3 embryos too; one day 3 and 2 x day 5's at the moment, none of which have been PGTA tested. The collections for those were whilst I was 37, I've recently turned 38 so 3rd collection will be in the older age bracket now

Hii @SH998

thanks so much for replying! and biiiiig congratulations on your pregnancy!!! I hope you’ve been feeling well through it and looking forward to meeting your baby 😍😍 what a lovely story!

I think I just went into that spiral of overthinking and not enjoying what I did get - I honestly didn’t even think I’d get a single embryo and here I am worrying about the PGT :) (a few weeks ago I was researching donor eggs)

one step at a time I guess :)

wishing you all the best with the pregnancy! xxx

Hi @Sunflower360 welcome to the thread and congratulations on getting some Frosties with your cycles! Our backgrounds are very similar!

how’s your experience been with create so far? I’m very happy with them but if you’d asked me this time last year I’d have told you a very different story haha. They have really changed and got their act together this year at least at our local clinic!

happy birthday! Wishing you lots of luck with your third cycle. I’m also waiting for withdrawal bleed and then AF before I can begin the second cycle.

how long did your withdrawal bleed take in your last two ECs? Mines taken over 6 days and I’m still waiting. I read somewhere the ‘first normal period’ after the withdrawal bleed takes even longer - it took some ladies up to 50 days. Xx

@Maria12060 thanks! My experience with Create has been good so far, the admin/call centre is not the best but I can deal with that...I just cross check everything paperwork or cost wise.

My withdrawl bleed started around 10 days later and I found my following period to be perhaps around 3-4 days late. I would suggest tracking with an ovulation stick which is what I've done in that unmedicated cycle, moreso so you can know when you're likely to start my AF, just helped me with the waiting around too!

Hi @Sunflower360 how are you getting on? Did you get the go ahead for your final cycle.
sending you lots of positive vibes and luck xxx

@Maria12060 I'm good thanks, had my 3rd cycle and got 7 eggs and 5 freezable embryos so got 8 overall now including the day 3. Not sure if any are euploid or not so it'll be trial and error! I'm reluctant to thaw and refreeze to test so will just see.

I couldn't have a fresh transfer as they noticed a polyp so I'm due to have a Hysteroscopy and biopsy in the new year then hopefully think about transferring the cycle after. Just glad they saw it before transferring as it can lead to implantation issues and miscarriage

How are you getting on?

I had seven tested and three came back normal. Personally I didn't want to go through further rounds which didn't have a chance of working (had already had two unsuccessful transfers)

Too much strain on my body and mental health, my marriage and my wallet, not to mention time wasted.

I'll share my thought process on my IVF cycles on this in case helpful.

I also have low AMH. I had been pregnant 3 times aged 36 and 37 - twice via IVF where we got 1 embryo each time (a day 5 3AA and a day 3). Those 3 pregnancies ended in miscarriage.

We were then about to embark on another IVF cycle and had counselling for PGT-A. I concluded not to do this on the basis we'd probably only have 1-2 embryos, I was too scared to lose them via the testing process and I accepted the risk of another miscarriage.

However, that IVF round never happened because I fell pregnant naturally again. Unfortunately this pregnancy ended in TFMR due to T21.

I'm now about to do IVF aged 38 and will PGT-A test as I have reached my limit of what I can cope with in terms of pregnancy loss, and I suspect the chance of another abnormality being high. The embryologist explained that the chance of losing an embryo due to the process was c2%.

However, if I was in your shoes I think I might transfer 1 embryo without testing and see what happens.

It's such a difficult decision though.

Also I've just remembered that the embryologist told me the embryos had to be a day 5, and at least a BB grade before they'd do PGT-A as they had the best chance of surviving the process. I'm not sure if that's a universal thing, or just my clinic so it might be worth asking about this.

Hi there so my background is that I did 5 rounds of IVF with Create and did do PGT testing on one round (second round). At the time I was age 36 with history of multiple miscarriages

Creates policy won't allow you to transfer an "abnormal" result embryo. In fact most clinics in the U.K. won't allow it. Depending on what Chromosome is involved they may not even agree to a mosaic transfer. I didn't get any normals on my PGT round - I did get one low level mosaic and I was allowed to transfer that after signing a disclaimer

That transfer failed and I decided not to test again.....and had twins on the next transfer

Would I recommend PGT? Yes and no. It's a very personal journey. My doctor at Create didn't really support PGT - in-fact he said "I told you so" when I was discharged pregnant with my twins

I pushed to do it as I felt it was the last test that might give me some answers as to why I kept miscarrying after every other possible test came back fine. I think it became fixated on finding an answer so I could "fix" it

But when I got the results of the PGT I was in a panic. I expected at my age to get at least ONE normal. And the thought that I'd just spent £10k with nothing to show for it - not even a transfer sent me into a downward spiral. I joined lots of mosaic and abnormal embryo groups on FB where members were having healthy babies (other countries like the USA are more likely to transfer mosaics/abnormals). I decided that mentally and emotionally I could go through another miscarriage if it meant giving an embryo a chance

I did change protocol after PGT testing to natural modified though. I did a 3 cycle package back to back almost and transferred 2 untested and had boy/girl twins

You have to do what's right for you...I'm glad I did it...sort of. It helped draw a line under things. And it spurred me on to challenge Create to change protocol going forward.

Hi OP I didn't test mine. I had 2 fresh transfers both 3BC which failed then transferred one of my frozen ones (5AB) which stuck and am now almost 26 weeks pregnant. I am 40. I read they can correct themselves so decided against testing them.X

My clinic will only test an embryo that reaches day 5 also.

There is no easy decision or a magic wand. You can only do what is best for you xx

Hi ladies hope you’re well.
@Sunflower360 hpw are you doing? How did you get on? Sending lots of luck x

@Maria12060 I'm good thanks, Hysteroscopy went well-polyp removed and found out my cervix was too tight which would have prevented a FET from proceeding so got that sorted too. Also had abrasions on the lining so that was smoothed out.

Dr asked if we wanted to test our embryos during the FET Consultation as we have enough to warrant that as we have 7 blastocysts and 1 day 3, but I've decided against it as the freeze/refreeeze process could lead to losing an embryo and I didn't want to take that risk in case it was a good embryo we lost. So I'll transfer one at a time for the first 2 FETs and then we can do doubles after that.

Hoping to do a natural FET in my next period which will hopefully come along around mid-late Feb.

How are you getting on?