Hiya …
As my 12 weeks approaches, I should be stopping my 3x Elleste Solo, 3x Cyclogest pessaries and 1x Lubion injections next week.
To be honest, I’m a little worried about the side effects. Do I just stop it completely? Is there no weening off it?
Also, when we met our midwife, she said many clinics recommend continuing with meds till 16 weeks.
I’d be grateful for any advice. X
hey I weaned off mine at 8-9 weeks starting with estrogen and then progesterone
I was scared too but it was fine.
I’ve read here lots of women who just stop all at once with no issue
The placenta takes over at 8 weeks.
16 weeks seems excessive but you need to do what you feel comfortable with. I trusted my specialist so just followed what he recommended
Best of luck with your pregnancy 🩷
Thanks for replying. Did you have any side effects when you stopped? When I started progesterone I had vivid dreams and suffered from headaches. X
No nothing 🙏 has your specialist request you stop. I’m sure if they had any concerns they wouldn’t advise this. I know it’s scary to do.
I kept some progesterone in my cupboard just in case.
I was also spotting at the time I weaned but I checked with my clinic and they didn’t think it was related. Then I had a big bleed at 18 weeks which was a hematoma but my little girl is perfectly fine 🩷
Congratulations on your little girl!
I think I’m more worried than normal because not long after my scan and stopping the meds I’m out of the country for 3 weeks to spend Xmas with my family. I’m sure it will all be ok but it’s just one of those things I think we worry about because we want it all to go smoothly x
You could start by weaning yourself off meds - spaced your meds out gradually stopping them The placenta has now taken over and is producing progesterone Some clinics -depending on patients history may- suggest extended the time of taking the meds For extra support take a look at our website www,fertilitynetworkuk.org - Access Support to find closed Facebook group Pregnancy after Fertility Problems group Next meeting Wed 18 th Dec by Zoom at 8pm Just follow the prompts to register
Take care
Janet-Partner
I’ve been in plenty of IVF groups over the past few months and I’d say that taking progesterone up to 16 weeks is the exception, not the norm. Usually prescribed if you’ve had bleeding in the first trimester or previous chemicals / miscarriages I think. The IVF consultant or the EPU doctors (if you had to go in for bleeding) would be best placed to advise on this.
Most women stop at either 8 or 12 weeks depending on their situation and what they’ve been recommended by the IVF consultant. I went all the way to 16 due to a haematoma, but I’ve seen lots of women around me weaning off at 12 weeks by removing a dose every few days. By 12 weeks your body should be producing enough progesterone on its own via the placenta, but if you do get any sort of bleeding, they’ll just put you back on progesterone for a few more weeks.
Beet of luck!
Thanks for your reply? Did you have any side effects when you stopped? X
Zero side effects. I went from 3 x Cyclogest & 1 x Lubion a day at 12 weeks to 2 x Cyclogest a day up to 16 weeks on the doctor’s recommendation, and I think I did 1 x Cyclogest a day for 1-2 days when I stopped, but I was so ready to be done with it by then.
My clinic haven’t specified if I should be tapering off the meds. They just told me it would be fine to stop at week 12 as the placenta takes over. I’ll finish off my stock of meds I think.. the oestrogen, pessaries and injections all finish a day or two apart after day of week 12.
Thank you again for your advice xx
hello! I was on similar to you, but instead of cyclogest, I had to take 6 x utrogestan a day, 1 x probtogest and 6 x eleste. I stopped at 12 weeks cold Turkey and was fine 😊 just seems weird! I had some cyclogest as back up and did slip one in every other day, but that was for my own piece of mind. I knew my progesterone was low as I was taking so much medication for it. I’m now 31 weeks pregnant, so all worked out. I hope the same for you! 🥰
Thanks for sharing your experience and I hope your pregnancy is going smoothly xx
Hi, congratulations on your pregnancy. I was told to stop at 12 weeks with no weaning off. I didn’t have any side effects. I was nervous about stopping everything as felt like I was losing a level of protection but all was fine and I’m almost 38 weeks now. I booked myself a private scan a few weeks after stopping just for a little peace of mind. X
I’ve did it twice now and both times I weaned off over a few days to a week even though clinic said just stop. It was just for my own peace of mind. Both times was absolutely fine and I’ve had bleeding in first trimester with both pregnancies. I just reduced the progesterone to one a day for a couple of days then every second day for a couple of days then I think I did one lubion injection a few days later then just stopped. In my current pregnancy I had my 12 week scan at almost 13 weeks so by the time I was off all meds (I was also on eostrogen until 12 weeks) I had the scan and all was okay still so that gave me some reassurance that coming of the meds hadn’t done any harm. I was very glad to be off them and it made me feel better physically actually as well xx
Once the placenta is fully formed and doing its job there is no need for progesterone. The placenta starts forming at 7 to 8 days after implantation and fully takes over between 10 - 12 weeks. I was super nervous about stopping my meds too so I waited until the NHS 12 week scan confirmed the placenta was doing its job correctly then I just stopped meds that day cold turkey. Only side effects I had was less headaches!
Hi Pugs079, I posted something similar on here back in July as I was very nervous to stop at the 8 weeks recommended by my clinic. I did stop cold turkey about week 9 - I waited until I had a couple of clear days following my first midwife appointment. I was veery grumpy for about 24 hours but otherwise no side effects. I had quite bad side effects going on to and coming off medication throughout my IVF cycles, but after my BFP coming off them made me physically and mentally much better. Hopefully it is the same for you. It is a leap of faith but just remember your clinic also puts alot of hard work into getting you here and they wouldn't recommend anything risky! Best of luck x
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