Natural FET Monitoring - Advice/Tips?

[Sunflower360]

Hi

It's looking like a 2nd natural FET leading to a BFN for me... so in readiness for my 3rd FET, which could be straight after this tww I was hoping for a steer of what people's experiences was like on their natural FET experiences with their clinics? Scans, blood tests, monitoring. What worked? What didn't?

I'm reluctant to do medicated mainly as I'm prone to polyps, and I appear to ovulate and Progesterone levels appeared good, so I would like to stick with natural. Just wanted to understand if I was missing anything with going into a 3rd FET. I've had a lot of other tests; Hysteroscopy, karyotype, TSH, blood clotting, etc. The main thing is I'm on Prednisolone and Aspirin for Thyroid Antibodies. Other than that, I'm wondering if the cycle needs to be monitored more closely with it being natural with a trigger shot.

Thanks in advance!

@Sunflower360 I am sorry to hear about your BFN. Have you had your progesterone tested around the time of transfer? My first two (medicated) transfers failed and I'm sure it was due to progesteroneas I was only on pessaries. Third one worked once I added injections as well as pessaries. Also do you know what your prolactin levels are like?

@Mrspotatohead12 thanks for responding. Yep had my Progesterone tested, was quite high in the 60's. Although I started spotting pink/brown at 5dp5dt so have had it upped. Could have been possible implantation attempt but I don't feel any different, just feel it hasn't worked. Prolactin was normal when tested last year and I appear to ovulate etc.

I'm wondering if my thyroid antibodies has something to do it but at a loss with that as I'm already on steroids

@Sunflower360 well I was convinced my last one had failed, zero symptoms, spotted, didn't get a faint line until 6dp5dt, so hoping that you are still in with a chance. Good luck xx

@Sunflower360 Hi, how did your transfer go? Did you still with a natural?

@KW1487 2nd FET was negative, but I went straight into a 3rd double FET and it stuck, currently 21 weeks with a singleton pregnancy. Lack of symptoms and brown spotting were exactly the same as the previous 2 FETs and I didnt do anything overly different (just added oral probiotics), so lesson learnt there that symptom spotting isn't always an indicator!

@Sunflower360 Can you remember what grades made your double? Do they have to be similar? We have 2 left if our transfer fails.

@KW1487 they were a 5BC and a 5BB. The first FET was a 5AB, 2nd FET 5BA. So in all honesty grading, I felt, didn't necessarily lead to a quicker result

@Sunflower360 my last 2 are a 4 and 3. I thought I had read that they have to be similar quality so I’m not sure if they will agree a double for me.

Not sure what 4 and 3 are? Is that a different grading system? In any case I do believe Dr's prefer the embryos to be a similar grade/at a similar stage, perhaps to improve chances of one of them taking. Mine were both at the hatching blastocyst stage, albeit one appeared to look better than the other

@Sunflower360 one is a 3cc, I can’t remember what the full grading for the 4 is. One is also a day 5 and the other a day 6.

@KW1487 I don't think the days makes a difference to a double transfer but not sure about the different grades, good luck whatever is decided

@Sunflower360 I often think how you got on and glad to find you here and to see your pregnancy is going well.

My second FET (natural modified) has just failed. I have been dealing with recurrent polyps for the past few months. My last FET was also natural modified. Is there anything you did regarding the polyps? Did you remove them every time? I have had two hysteroscopies in the last 5 months and another polyp had been suspected before this FET but as it was 3mm the doctor went ahead with the transfer. Now I am thinking what to do before the next FET.

@Serendipity24 Im interested in this too. Were your polyps related to the medication? I’m awaiting a hysteroscopy to remove a 5mm polyp which came up on my day 10 stim scan. My next transfer is a modified natural but they believe that progesterone only won’t result in another polyp.

@KW1487 The first time I thought it was related to medication as my fresh transfer was medicated. But now I don't know what to think as the second polyp appeared after a natural modified cycle. And now the third has appeared without any apparent reason, just a few weeks after the removal of the second one. The fertility gynaecologist I saw privately said that unfortunately polyps tend to recur and there isn't much they can do about it other than removing it. At the same time, repeated hysteroscopies to remove them is also discouraged.

@Serendipity24 im getting mine removed privately but I think I’ll only be able to do it the once because they don’t cover fertility. I’ve avoided a medicated cycle because I thought that would encourage another. If another appears I dread to think of the wait time on the nhs. The sonographer didn’t think I had to remove it but the consultant advised to remove it.

@Serendipity24 Thank you! It has been a bit of a journey and during this third FET I had already started to plan for another EC, but thankfully it stuck. I'm sorry to hear your recent FET did not work out. I only got the polyp once after the back to back IVF stims that I did for 4 months (including the abadoned cycle), albeit it was natural modified and mild its still external hormones being put in... and I did it quite a bit in a short space of time. Upon reflection, I should have had a break, but I was adamant that I wanted to get on with it. I had the hysteroscopy which got rid of it (think it was 9mm so a decent size), after which I only did natural FETs. Thankfully a polyp didn't return but I would suggest either waiting for it to clear or have it removed before a FET as it can affect implantation. Suppose overall, stimulating is an unnatural thing and it can take the body time to regulate itself again hormonally and I would imagine it varies person to person @KW1487 tagging you too as you asked also

Also I understand polyps are the result of raised estrogen levels, which are the stims

Thank you @Sunflower360 for taking time to reply. I had raised estrogen level as there were three big follicles, it almost looked like I was having some sort of stimulation but I wasn't. I guess these are all related. I'll see what the doctor recommends.