Cyclogest help , IVF clinic have abandoned me

[LizzeyBenett]

So long story short I was due to start IVF this month after two years ttc and was two days into taking norethisterone when I had a positive pregnancy test. I'm not exaggerating when I say The IVF clinic on hearing this literally washed there hand of me . Rang me told me IVF was cancelled and to consult my GP. I was devastated cried my eyes out and also bewildered. But they literally will not deal with me now. Anyway the consultant had previously prescribed me Cyclogest 400mg twice a day if I were to fall pregnant before IVF and use until I'm 12 weeks as I had a precious MC.

Now I had to literally fight with them to get them even to confirm that I should still go ahead and use them as the prescription was written back in May. Now my question is on the prescription it says to use twice daily until 12 week IF I have had a bleed , which I haven't and please god I won't. But do I continue using them even if no bleed ? I presume it is to try avoid a MC ? I feel totally abandoned by the clinic as they have a duty of care and aren't fulfilling it I have a mind to make a complaint. My Gp told me to come back in when I'm further along (wasn't my regular GP who would of taken much more care), I'm so nervous and just petrified I'm doing something wrong and have nobody to ask. I am absolutely shocked at the IVF clinic.

You aren’t undergoing IVF so the clinic really cannot continue supporting you.
I understand it’s a scary time for you (7 ivf cycles so I know how hard it is!) but this is for you GP to support you re your anxiety and any questions re the use of a prescribed medicine now. Contact the GP tomorrow and see if you can speak to your usual one.

Congratulations on your pregnancy. I hope all goes well

Not sure I can help but I was prescribed cyclogest 400mg patisserie to take twice daily. Lie down for 30 minutes when inserted. I have to take every day alup to 16 weeks (if we get that far)
Speak to your GP and ask if they can do this for you. It is standard after experiencing multiple miscarriages

Good luck 🤞🍀 maybe contact your EPU?

Just to add we weren't with any IVF clinic or anything just on our 5th pregnancy

I had the same treatment after finishing ivf and falling pregnant from it, didn’t help that we had done ivf in Poland! My GP at that time didn’t care, and said I didn’t need it, because he couldn’t read Polish.

I was lucky enough to have a Polish GP at my surgery, so spoke to him. I had to go see a private consultant to get a tapering down schedule for it, and then my new GP was able to prescribe it on the NHS and used it until I was 16 weeks pregnant.

It was super stressful trying to get it sorted out, it felt like my babies were just sent off to sink or swim which was terrifying at the time.

@LizzeyBenett Congrats on your pregnancy!

Your IVF clinic didnt abandon you... You arent doing IVF, so they cant help. They arent OBs. Even if you had done IVF, they would also "drop" you after your 7 week scan!

Anyway, regarding the cyclogest, there is actually very little evidence it makes any difference, so it is up to you whether to take it or not. It doesnt hurt taking it, at all!
And yes, you take it regardless of bleeding. If you are bleeding, it is probably too late for the progesterone (though not all bleeding is bad news, it is more common than advertised!).

Im sure your GP can prescribe you some more, once you run out, but if not, stopping it will not cause you to miscarry!

Congratulations on your pregnancy, I hope it all goes smoothly.

The IVF clinic haven’t “abandoned” you, they simply can’t do anything for you. Their role is to get you pregnant, and as you’re already pregnant there’s nothing they can do now.

Please ring your GP on Monday and ask for an appointment to discuss all your questions.

Have you had a blood test to check your progesterone and HCG levels? That’s what I’d do (and did in a similar situation) before deciding anything. In my case CRGH in London was happy to offer support in early pregnancy (including prescribing progesterone if clinically indicated) to someone who’d been about to start IVF so they might be worth contacting.

Yeah I'm with Kings Fertility and they also supported me when I got pregnant naturally between cycles. If my EPU had refused me Cyclogest then the said they would have written me a prescription.

No my Gp doesn't do HCG they said the lab won't run them for them and sent me back to the IVF clinic, and the IVF clinic won't do anymore for me so I'm in limbo but have had several positive tests .

I had a similar situation, first pregnancy via fertility treatment clinic was told I must take progesterone (which they prescribed), however I lost the pregnancy. I fell pregnant naturally while waiting to restart fertility treatment and despite having told me I was progesterone deficient in first pregnancy and needed cyclogest they wouldn't help me at all. I felt so abandoned like even though I was a patient there and had been for a year.

I managed to contact my NHS early pregnancy and explained the situation, they took it to their consultant who agreed to prescribe the cyclogest (probably partly due to my mental health as much as anything). Might be worth calling them?

My clinic is 200 miles away so I’ve had bloods done locally through a private ultrasound clinic, a private GP surgery and a private hospital, hopefully there’s somewhere you could get them done if that’s the route you go down. In my area all three of those also offer private consultant obstetrics/ gynaecology appointments (although I don’t think all the consultants are fertility specialists).

It’s awful that provision on the NHS varies massively depending on where you are (though not surprising considering the postcode lottery of IVF). My local EPU wouldn’t see me for bleeding in early (non-IVF) pregnancy unless I was continuously soaking through a sanitary towel in less than twenty minutes. They also refused to do a blood test or prescribe additional progesterone for bleeding in early (IVF) pregnancy, even after previous loss. My GP surgery refuses to do pretty much anything (even advising on treatment for thrush, outside of an IVF cycle) and tries to push everything to secondary care. It’s great that some people have been able to get care from their GP or EPU but in my area (unless you go down the route of complaining and involving PALS which doesn’t help at the time) it’s just not possible.

I hope you’re able to get the advice/ treatment you need @LizzeyBenett and your pregnancy goes well ❤️