Anyone preparing for a frozen embryo transfer in the next few weeks

[Rainbowwish26]

My period should be here in the next few days meaning i’ll start prep for frozen transfer number two!
Looking for anyone else in the same time frame to support each other?

Need ivf as i have no tubes and had a failed transfer in July. I also might have APS so im on clexane and aspirin.

Me, hopefully! Currently doing a dummy cycle, have a progesterone blood test on Monday (5dpo) and then hopefully a FET after my period comes. This will be my first transfer as we couldn't do a fresh one. The plan is to do a natural FET but that does mean it might get cancelled if I ovulate on the wrong day as they won't transfer on a weekend which is annoying. I think it's going to be a stressful few weeks waiting and hoping

ooh what’s a dummy run?

yeah that’s why i went for a medicated cycle as my period length is a bit all over and they said it’s less likely to be cancelled.
im also worried as my embryo is only a grade c which in my clinic is just “ average” grading. i’m 33 and it’s not pgta tested

They did a scan the day after I ovulated to check the lining thickness and then a blood test around 7dpo to check progesterone levels. If both of those are fine I can do a natural FET. If anything is off then I guess we probably pivot to a medicated one. The scan was fine and my progesterone levels have always been fine when its been tested in the past so hopefully we'll be ok.

I've read lots of success stories from lower graded embryos, hopefully yours will be one of them!

Oh that’s interesting! i’m guessing your on progestone too?

yeah my clinic are happy and said they are the most commonly used with success so hoping so 🤞🏻

Yeah I think once I get a positive OPK I start progesterone (as long as the days line up right). Just nervously waiting for my period now to get a sense of whether its likely to go ahead

im also waiting for mine! cycle day 31 and normally between 30-36 day cycles so hoping it comes soon so i can start!
will this be your first pregnancy?
i’ve been pregnant 7 times before but have had ectopics and miscarriages x

yep it would be my first pregnancy, I've never had a positive test at all! Sorry about your losses, that sounds really hard

Hello, I’ve just come across this post, how are you getting on?
I’ve not long started medication for a frozen transfer which should hopefully be in the next couple of weeks.
I had a failed fresh transfer earlier this year and finding it so hard to be positive!

hey! i have my tracking scan on the 7th and transfer for 15th if all well.

im also paying for progestrone check on the 14th so may add that in if needed

how about you?
i feel so anxious about it not working, i do have 2 more frozen but not great grades

I have my first scan 2nd October, I’m thinking I’d then be looking at transfer either 10th or 12th October but they should hopefully confirm on Friday. So we will be within days of each other transfer wise!

Have you started medication now? I’m taking progynova and it’s the first time as I did fresh transfer before. I don’t know if it’s that contributing to me feeling really emotional/tearful at various points of the day. But it’s hard not to feel anxious regardless isn’t it?

I have 3 more embryos frozen but also not as well graded. I spiral sometimes thinking about the grading and also that we didn’t do PGT-A testing but you can drive yourself insane with it can’t you.

yayy it will be good to have someone to speak to!
yes i started meds Friday, i am on estrogen elestelle 3 times a day, i was fine last time but yesterday i cried all day and find it so hard to be hopeful 😞 im praying it will work but really don’t think it will.
my plan is to PGTA the remaining once i’ve had this transfer( i’m currently nhs and they don’t allow pgta testing so once ive used my transfer hopefully i can pay) i also think il change clinics and do another collection.
I was really disappointed as got 26 collected, 24 mature, 20 fertilised but only 2 on day 5 and 2 day 6 and “ c” grade. I’m 33, partner is 35 and we have no issues other than my 3 ectopics which i lost my tubes to. I’ve also had early miscarriages but was unhealthy ( low bmi, smoked and lived off red bull .. oh to be so lucky to take my fertility for granted and now i’ve got my karma 🫠)
My clinic did a very basic one size fits all so i won’t be using them again.

I worry so much about grading but have been told so many times it’s just a beauty contest.
My friend had multiple failed egg collections with nothing collected in the UK, she spent nearly 40k and then went over to prague, had 2 more collections, first got one egg but it arrested on day 3, second they got 2 so transferred both on day 3 but said they were “ungradable” she now has a healthy 9 year old.
My embryologist said that if it’s good enough to make a blast it’s good enough to use.
They also said they unhealthy people who get pregnant naturally.. if we were to grade their embryos they’d be crap grading!

Yeah it definitely will be nice to have someone going through it who understands.

I’m three times a day with the estrogen too. I think it must be a combination of the hormones and our previous experience just making us feel so much more emotional.

Our clinic didn’t discuss PGT-A, so now I’m reading more I’m worried we don’t have that extra information from testing. But I also do read lots of mixed information about testing and grading and the PGT-A is another expense isn’t it. It’s so hard to know what to do for the best.

Wow that’s so many retrieved, did they give any sort of explanation as to why not many from those fertilised/made it to day 5/6? We retrieved 12 eggs as I was on mild stimulation and now I wish they’d pushed my body a bit more to see if I could have produced more eggs to try get more embryos to bank.

I’m also 33, my husband is 36 and we have no known issues. We’ve just never had a positive test at all. I know we’re not old but I just wish we’d started this whole process earlier, I know what you mean you just don’t ever think you’ll be in this position fertility wise.

Oh my gosh when I hear about people spending that much money it sounds so scary, but then I don’t know how you stop when you’re so far into it and I bet it’s so worth it if you come away with your baby.

Your embryologist is definitely right, so many people have really bad lifestyles and get pregnant easily. I need to remind myself that in the next couple of weeks! I have sudden panics that I’m not eating enough protein/fibre or eating too much sugar like it’s going to make or break this whole process 😭

yeah i’m waking up at 4am every morning now so think it’s a mix of hormones ans anxiety!
where abouts are you based?
i'm in oxford.
no my clinic is so basic they couldn’t give me any answers.
what grades are you frozen embryos? x

I’m in the north east and my clinic is in Leeds.

That’s rubbish of your clinic, you’d have thought they could give you some idea about the fertilisation. In case there was anything at all you could do for another retrieval, but absolutely everything crossed this next transfer is the one anyway.

Our first transfer was a 5AA which was our best embryo. We have 4AB, 4BB, 4BA and 4BC. I know that’s not the worst by any stretch and we’re lucky to have four left, just feel stressed that we have a sliding scale of lower graded embryos.

How have you been today? I haven’t been as tearful today but just felt flat at points.

Would you mind if I joined? I'm starting meds tomorrow for my first FET! I've had 2 fresh transfers so far so I'm not entirely sure what to expect with a frozen transfer. I've also had that anxiety about the grading of our embryos and what my diet is like, what else I can do etc so it's actually really helpful reading the above comments!

Hello @Magix86 this is my first frozen transfer too. I would say even though I’ve felt emotional, the frozen is easier and less stressful than fresh so far. When is your first scan?
I just had mine today and am now booked for transfer next Thursday, which is sooner than anticipated!

@MFH1 hi, that's really good to hear! We knew we'd be having a FET when our fresh transfer failed but it now feels a bit surreal to be honest. I can't quite explain the feeling. Our clinic initially told us they'd be full for October so scheduled us in for a November transfer. When I messaged them today to say my period had arrived early and today was day 1 they said I could collect meds this afternoon and they could fit me in for a transfer this month! So it just all feels very quick, but I'm very pleased and grateful to be moving forward.
My scan is on the 15th.
Won't be long until your transfer! Are you doing much to prepare for it? It's hard to know if there's actually anything you can do now - it's almost like the hard bit of making the embryos is out of the way that this should be the easier bit?!

@Magix86 yeah I was very hesitant to start FET but it feels more manageable, I hope I feel the same tomorrow when I start the progesterone pessaries.
This process is such a rollercoaster isn’t it. That is so quick, but almost a good thing you didn’t have chance to think about it longer and it just happened.
Yeah it’s hard to know if there’s anything else you can do at this stage. I’ve just been staying hydrated, eating a balanced diet and getting some exercise in daily but other than that I’m trying not to obsess. With my fresh transfer I was so much stricter with what I ate, really limited caffeine etc and that didn’t work anyway so trying not to put too much pressure on myself, although easier said than done!

What about you?

yayyy that’s great news!! not long’ what was your lining measuring?
mines wednesday x

yayy welcome!

The nurse did several measurements and said the lining was between 7.1 and 7.5. She said normally they do like it thicker than that but once she’d spoken with the consultant they confirmed it’s sufficient. I think the nurse also said the lining was trilaminar(?) which is what they wanted to see.
How are you feeling @Rainbowwish26 ? Are you nervous about scan or looking forward to the next step?

yay that’s a great measurement and it will countine to get thicker before transfer too!

i'm doing ok, ive had a busy end of the week which has been good to distract myself!
i have my scan wednesday then progestorne blood test the following weds and transfer 15th hopefully.
I haven’t had any side effects other than increased vaginal mucus and waking up very early. Not looking forward to re starting the progesterone either!
You?

Does anyone know if it's possible for the lining to be too thick? I know there's a minimum they look for but didn't know if it goes the other way too @MFH1 sounds like your lining is decent!
I'm not going to go crazy on this cycle, just try to eat healthy and stay active I guess. I think if it's going to work then what I eat over the next 3 weeks is really unlikely to make a difference 🤷🏻‍♀️
@Rainbowwish26 your transfer is on my scan date - hope it goes OK!

when i had my last transfer my clinic said between 7-11 but google says 14!
thank you!
last transfer i ate so clean but it didn’t stick so think this time im just going to be balanced x

@Rainbowwish26 that's so helpful, thank you!! I think balanced is a really good approach instead of being really strict and getting more stressed about things. Hopefully we have a lucky thread here 🤞🏻