For those with RPL that went on to IVF, was it less stressful than TTC naturally with the worry of unmonitored miscarriage

[NeatZebra]

Hi, I'm 37 and my amh is 9pmol /1.26. we've been pregnant spontaneously 3 times this year but all resulted in miscarriage, only one was tested and was chromosonal, but the other 2 losses fit the pattern of chromosonal too. I have a partial uterine septum that the NHS aren't bothered about and have had one d and c for my first loss.

These last few months since my second miscarriage have been really stressful ttc I'm not monitored and have no idea if my progesterone levels or uterine lining are even right, yet every month I'm going through the slog of ovulation testing, panick sha**ing , then dosing myself with progesterone and aspirin for the second half of my cycle (and the progesterone causes all the early pregnancy symptoms so sends me crazy)

After the first loss I was devastated, but hopefully and TTC was still fun. Now, the fun has gone and it's stress and anxiety as the whether we've caught the right window, then what if we have and it's a miscarriage, and what if it's not and I'm depressed.

We are starting IVF next year and I'm worried for my mental health. But part of me is thinking at least I'm monitored and someone is doing it for me and I'm not doing everything myself. Those who have been through it, how bad is it in comparison to natural TTC with recurring loss? Each month not being pregnant has hit me hard these last few cycles, I think it's cos it was my last shot before IVF. So now I'm thinking what hole will I go down if IVF fails. We get 2 rounds free.

Hey I haven't started IVF yet but am on a similar timeline/situation. Due to start early next year after RPL. Have you and your partner had karotyping done?

My mindset is that IVF is absolutely no guarantee but for us (as we need PGT) it gives us the lowest chance of miscarriage. So yes, there is the big risk we don't get any normal embryos, but if we manage to get 1 out of our 3 rounds then at least that 1 has a better shot of growing and becoming a live baby. I also quite like that it's something totally different after so many years of the same cycle of TTC and loss, and that someone else is doing the planning and telling me what I have to do when.

I'm still terrified it won't work, but trying to take each round at a time xx

Hiya, yeah we have had karyotyping but I'm that anxious I don't trust know whether to trust the results! Nhs has lost a lot of our samples in the past and I just think what if it's wrong. Surely just being 37 shouldn't cause me 3 back to back miscarriages. Loads of 37 year olds I know are having easy pregnancies, plus I was 36 with the first 2.
I'm scared for the drugs, scared for the retreival, scared for the results, scared for the mental breakdowns I'll be having in work , and scared that if it doesn't work it will mess my hormones up and we won't even be able to TTC naturally .

When are you starting your IVF? Ours is in January xxx

It's so difficult isn't it. For us, our third and forth loss were tested and were both random genetic issues (not related at all to the diagnosis I got from karotyping) so we just got really unlucky. The first 2 losses we will never know what caused them because they weren't tested (I'm 36 and partner is 34).

We have our PGT call tomorrow with the lab, and should be starting in February I think. I was hoping for January but with the Christmas break and my cycle starting early in the month there's just not enough time.

Where abouts are you having IVF? And are you doing PGT?

Mine will probably be mid Jan to early Feb, I have a hysteroscopy booked not long before our IVF apt and I've heard that can delay your period, so all depends on the outcome of the hysteroscopy. I'm concerned about scar tissue from my first d and c and a partial septum.

I don't think we're doing pgt as I have diminished ovarian reserve so probably won't get enough embryos (if any) to test, especially with only having 2 rounds. But will play that by ear a bit more nearer the time. Ideally I'd bank as many tested embryos as possible but I'm on the NHS in the uk and it doesn't work like that.

Have you had any other rpl testing done? Xxxx

Ah yes mine is NHS too, and they said you can't bank them which is a bit annoying for me too. Because of my chromosome issues I have a low chance of good embryos, we have our call tomorrow with the lab and will find out their estimate of getting a normal euploid embryo for me specifically.

Have you had your baseline scan to see how many follicles you have?

I was worried about scar tissue from d&c as well but had scans etc done after my 4th loss and all looked ok. I've had the full suite of standard RPL testing and it was all normal. For me it looks like a mix of bad luck and my chromosome translocations (assuming the first 2 losses were down to that). How about yourself?

We get 3 rounds with PGT on the NHS. Really hoping it gives us a chance but trying not to put too much on it in case it doesn't work out xx

I've had the blood clotting and thyroid tests, haven't had natural killer cells or any of the stuff you hear people in the USA talking about. All my other bloods look normal, my TSH has got a bit worse with each miscarriage but it's still (just) under 2. I've had follicle counts but they have been all over the place. Immediately after miscarriage it was 6, but another cycle it was 11, and another was 8, this one was a couple of days before my period tho and none of them have been right at the beginning of my cycle . My amh was 5 while I was pregnant (baby had already died and was waiting to have miscarriage) but now it's 9. I'm going for another amh test at the fertility clinic at the beginning of Jan. Are you planning on taking any time off work? I feel like I'm going to be having mental breakdowns if its all bad news, even though I think I'm prepared for bad news, when it happens I probably won't be! It's good that you get 3 rounds, where about in the country are you? We get 2, but we got in just in time cos it's going down to 1 in March 😵 xxx

Ah I only get 3 because of the chromosome translocations. I think my local area for infertility is 2 rounds, but I think with the known genetic issues the chance of getting a normal embryo is that much lower so they give us 3 (thankfully!). Thank goodness you got in before it drops to 1 round in your area!

I'm not sure about time off work. I've been on mat leave for my baby who died shortly after being born at 22 weeks in September (going back in Jan), so I think I will work through it as more time off wouldn't go down well. But I have told work we're going down the IVF route and I'm sure with bad news days I'll be taking some spontaneous days off.

My AMH is at 4.7 I think, and I had 14 follicles at the first baseline scan. I'm going to be on the highest stims apparently, realistically I need to get at least 5 blasts to give me a chance at having one normal embryo. We will find out their expected % chance of a normal embryo after our call today, but from my research I reckon it's roughly 10% chance per embryo, so I have to be realistic about our chances.

Ahh I'm sorry to hear that. It's so cruel how much some people have to bear. Hope you catch a break soon. I feel like my work are losing patience with me. They have been making me take half day holidays for my miscarriage related apts, God knows what it's gonna be like with the IVF apts.

14 follicles seems really promising, hopefully you will get a decent number of embryos, and I hope your get lucky. I wish they would let us bank them though. I find the Internet can be very negative when looking at stats, I've had so many "fallings out" with chat gpt!

I keep umming and ahhing about pgta, I'm sure my consultant said it was 5k, which we could scrape together for one round, but that was our maternity savings that we have gathered with each pregnancy, (then had blow outs treating ourselves 🤣) and I think if we get like one embryo, it might not be worth it, but I don't want another miscarriage 😣

I hope you get some positive news with your call today. Xxx

Thank you.

Yeah the work balance is so hard - you want to yell at them "do you really think I chose this complicated, heartbreaking path over having a straightforward pregnancy and getting a baby" but you know it won't help! I'm lucky my work has been good but I'm pretty new there still so want to be careful.

Yeah I'm hoping we will get a decent number of eggs to give us a good shot of a normal embryo. PGT is not cheap - a round of IVF with the testing we need would privately cost around £12k which we can't afford so the 3 rounds really is our cut off. And we did the same, spent all the mat leave savings because we didn't need them for that any more 😅 bit of retail therapy!

Our call was good, we just need to wait for the report and consent form to sign now so February looks like it will happen. The genetics counselor said that it was likely our chance of a normal embryo is under 25% (the standard balanced translation estimate) but because my situation is unique they have no data to say what the likely probability actually is. So we're going in a bit blind but keeping my 10% estimate feels like a good one to go with.

I know! Its like sorry my 3 miscarriages aren't ideal for my work productivity!!! Literally all my apts are coming up as like the first few days back in work after Christmas 🤣🙈

Our plan is to do our 2 free rounds then re evaluate, maybe take some time out and try naturally but more casually cos I'm fed up. We have talked about donor eggs, I don't think we'd do it in the uk though as it's too expensive and the wait is long. I have Mediterranean roots so thought it might be nice to go somewhere in the Mediterranean and keep that gene going if it comes to it!

I'm glad your call went well, I'm hoping for the best for you, these things aren't an exact science so you just don't know till you try 💗Good luck with everything, hopefully in a few months we will have some positive news 🤞🏼🙏🏼 xxxx

I didn’t have recurring loss but I did have a miscarriage that was chromosomally abnormal and no sniff of a bfp in over 3 years apart from that miscarriage. I went for ivf with pgta in the end at 37. It was stressful but nowhere near as stressful as coping with getting my period month after month with no answers apart from finding out the miscarriage was chromosomally abnormal. I was convinced that I was going to need donor eggs as I thought all my eggs must be poor quality and not even implanting. But I actually got 2 normal embryos and the first one stuck. I really hope it works out for you and good luck.

Thanks for your reply and giving me some hope! Yeah that's how I feel, all my eggs must be poor. That's amazing results! I really hope mine works too! Xxx

@TheIceBear can I ask how many eggs and embryos you got when you ended up with 2 euploid? It's always nice to hear successful outcomes.

@Moosey898 i got 19 eggs, 14 mature, 5 embryos and 3 of the 5 were “complex abnormal “

Thank you - I'm praying for similar results 🙏🏼

@Moosey898 good luck

Hi, recently had my 3rd miscarriage this year (4th in total), and coming to the realisation that IVF may be my best option. All losses were missed miscarriages, where baby passed shortly after 6 weeks and had an enlarged yolk sac which is indicative of chromosomal issues, as well as 1 blighted ovum which is also likely to be chromosomal. Based on that I feel my pgta testing may be our best option. I feel quite sad that this is the case, I think more just having to accept that a natural pregnancy just isn’t an option for me anymore. All my recurrent loss bloods are normal, no issues found, and I’ve been on progesterone, blood thinners, aspirin etc during the losses so really does just point towards egg quality. I’ve gotten pregnant on first attempt each time, but just 3 missed miscarriages in a row this year definitely raises alarm bells.

I feel scared but also feel a little relieved that some of the pressure will be off me. If that makes sense. I’ll know I’ve done literally every possible thing I can. I’m just terrified I’ll PGTA test and then get no healthy eggs at all and will be devastated.

so sorry for everyone else’s losses. It’s such a rollercoaster of a journey

Thanks for your reply. Your situation is similar to mine. totally relate to that fear, I'm scared I'll get no embryos at all because I have mild DOR and I'm 37. A friend of a friend had rpl at age 40 and had 2 rounds of IVF and got no euploids, she got pregnant naturally straight after IVF though and had a healthy baby, so I'm hoping we still have hope outside of IVF. I'm so scared of more miscarriages though. Are you in the uk? Xxx