Fet!!

[Lisaworthy1981]

Can someone tell me what happens with a fet, what things do they do differently and do we still need to do injections!

Xx

[XxjustmexX]

Am doing medical fet as don’t have regular periods so I have to take the pill for 5 days then wait for my period once period start have to take some more pills then am booked in for a endo scratch at day 21 then transfer couple days after I think hope this helps xx

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to XxjustmexX]

Great thank you!! Xx

[Anna00 in reply to XxjustmexX]

Hi hun, you doing your scratch just few days before your transfer? My dr said I should do it a month before! Don’t know why they do the same thing in diffrent ways! Hope all goes well for you xx

[XxjustmexX in reply to Anna00]

I’ll ask them how long after it is might got that bit wrong always so Much to take in and thank you when do you start yours xx

[Anna00 in reply to XxjustmexX]

Not sure when I’m starting tbh. Probably June or July, I need to get mentally ready for that xx

[XxjustmexX in reply to Anna00]

I know sometimes that’s the hardest part xx

[Ssharu123]

You dnt have to take too many injections in a FET

You will be given medication to improve uterine lining

If the lining is not optimal they may give you injections once or twice

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Ssharu123]

Great thank you!! Is it the pessaries to improve your lining!!! Do you no if they give anything to stop bleeding before test day!! Or is there no such think xx

[Ssharu123 in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

Yes they will give you progesterone pessaries a few days before transfer

But I dnt know about bleeding as I have never experienced it

[Lizzielizzielizzie]

Mine was medicated but not down regulated, so no injections just oestrogen tablets (3xper day) from day 2 of my period which made me feel a bit pants but then added in progesterone pessaries and felt normal again. Had progesterone for five days before transfer as my embie was five days old. They matched it all to my normal cycle so I had fet five days after when I would normally ovulate, but the oestrogen tablets stopped me growing a follicle so I didn’t actually ovulate that month.

I found it all much much easier than a full cycle.

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Lizzielizzielizzie]

Fab thank you!! Ours was a 6 day embryo that was then frozen!!!

Did you start your new transfer straight away xxx

[Lizzielizzielizzie in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

I had had a freeze all cycle so it was a bit different to your situation. Your clinic will advise you about when you can start.

My understanding is that they treat a six day frozen embie as a five day blast as that’s the technical stage of development so you will probably still only have five days progesterone before transfer at a guess.

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Lizzielizzielizzie]

Yeah that’s right I think, it just took a bit longer to develop so they left to day 6 then froze.

We just have the one frozen so if that fails too it would be another whole process!! We can do this 🙈 xx

[Lizzielizzielizzie in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

You definitely can!

[abcgirl in reply to Lizzielizzielizzie]

My process so far has been similar to Lizzie. Except I started progynova on day 1 and have a lining scan on day 11. I will then take 7 days of pessaires - I have day 5 embryos in the freezer. Really curious about the slight difference on protocol...

[Lizzielizzielizzie in reply to abcgirl]

As far as I can tell, every clinic is different!

[PyjamasandCrumpets]

Mine was completely natural no medication at all. Several scans and peeing on sticks to determine when ovulation happened and that was it really. Very straightforward but I'm fairly regular...

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to PyjamasandCrumpets]

Ok thank you!! So they wait till you ovulate then transfer after that xx

[PyjamasandCrumpets in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

They did the transfer a week after ovulation.

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to PyjamasandCrumpets]

Thank you!! Ive no idea when will happen with us I’m just trying to guess lol xx

[PyjamasandCrumpets in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

Guessing is the only way forwards half the time. Good Luck!x

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to PyjamasandCrumpets]

Think it is!! I’m just impatient xx

[PyjamasandCrumpets in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

Oh yes I know that feeling - think it's completely normal when you're basically in limbo waiting for things to happen.x

[Mrsgled1982]

Im having a totally medicated FET atm. Took prostap injection to down reg 9 days ago, im due a scan next week to see if its worked. I will then start my progynova.

Every clinic works differently. Im thinking it will be around 4 weeks from begining to egg transfer for me.

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Mrsgled1982]

Ah ok how do they decide if it’s medicated or not!!! Xx

[Mrsgled1982]

Im not sure lol. I have PCOS so dont have a regular cycle. Have you had your review appointment? They discussed our next steps there after i miscarried in December. Xx

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Mrsgled1982]

No it’s in two weeks!!! Another 2 week wait 😩!!! Xx

[Mrsgled1982 in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

Oh no I feel your despair. Its taken 3 months for us to get started again.

I had the review appointment almost straight away as i got a cancellation appointment but could not start anything as i still had pregnancy tissue in my womb. Xx

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Mrsgled1982]

Yeah they booked me in for a scan with the positive but then when I didn’t need it they said still come that day and see the consultant!! Oh no really!!! How do they get rid of that??? Xx

[Mrsgled1982 in reply to Lisaworthy1981]

My body got rid of the remaining tissue on its own otherwise i would have had to have a d&c.

I had medical management to start the miscarriage on the 27th of December but didnt get discharged until feb as thats how long it took to go back to normal xx

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Mrsgled1982]

Oh poor you!!! Bet that felt like the longest time ever!!

I’m guessing they’ll scan me when I go but might be different with a chemical pregnancy!!

Xx

[Hidden]

I’m on a long day 21 medicated frozen transfer cycle. Started down regulation on day 21 and had an endometrial scratch. After two weeks I will have a scan to check down regulated and then onto oestrogen patches to prepare lining and then transfer after about 10-14 days. We decided on the protocol at our review appointment after our failed fresh cycle. Options were for natural or medicated - We opted for medicated to reduce the risk of missing ovulation etc. The consultant recommended a long day but not quite sure why over short but then I was on long day to begin with. He’s also added in progesterone injections rather than pessaries this time too. Good luck!

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Hidden]

Wow it all sounds so complicated but guess it can’t be as hard as the first go, with all the injections etc!!!

Thank you xx

[Lynnr54]

So I think the answer to your question is it depends on your clinic and which cycle they put you on. You can either be on a medicated, unmediated or partially medicated cycle.

With unmedicated they go with your natural cycle. You use OPKs to find out when you’ve ovulated then have a transfer 5 days after that (assuming you have a 5 day frostie). I have heard of some clinics giving progesterone support for these after ovulation but not all do. The benefit is meant to be that it uses your natural hormones so your body isn’t full of drugs. Of course, depending on your reason for infertility this might not work for you as you might need the meds to overcome whatever your issue is. Also, my clinic doesn’t allow unmedicated cycles as they say it’s too unpredictable and they need to schedule transfers more than 5 days in advance. So if you like the idea of this then you need to go into your appointment armed with reasons why it’s right for you just in case your clinic has the same policy mine does.

With a fully medicated FET you can either do long protocol or short protocol. Both have a down reg and a lining prep phase but with short protocol both happen at the same time. My long protocol was the same as some of the other ladies described above: a single injection on Day 21, a scan 2-3 weeks later, oestrogen tablets for 12 days, another scan to check lining was built up properly then booked in for FET. Oestrogen tablets carry on throughout but introduce progesterone pessaries 5 days before transfer. Both oestrogen and progesterone carry on throughout 2ww and if successful to week 12 of pregnancy. My sister is just about to start her long protocol and she’s not having the injection on day 21, she has nasal spray to take for a few days instead (sorry not sure how long) so it seems clinics can differ in their approach to this. The benefit to this protocol is that there is flexibility in the timing of everything so it can be fit in around clinic’s and your other commitments (e.g on the day of transfer I was due to be at the other end of the country for work and would have found it very difficult to rearrange so I simply started progesterone a day later than planned and moved the transfer back a day).

With short protocol the main difference is that you start the oestrogen tablets with your period and start down-regging on the same day. For me this was an injection every day for 8 days (I think). The rest is the same as for long protocol.

Then the ladies above have explained the partially medicated FET. I’ve never come across it before so have never asked my clinic about it so can’t help with the benefits. From what the ladies above have said it soubds like you don’t down reg and the medication is used to support your natural cycle but I could be wrong.

I have done one long protocol and one short protocol and for my next FET I’ll be doing short again. My first one was a long protocol. With IVF I used a short protocol so I questioned my clinic why I was using long for FET. Their answer was that the short protocol with fresh is to avoid overstimulation and as frozen doesn’t have any stimulation there isn’t the same risk. Sounded sensible. So when they put me on the short protocol for the second FET I was a bit confused and I asked them what the difference was between long and short protocol and they simply said the short one took less time so most people were happier with it. I therefore have no idea why I was put on it for my first FET!

Sorry for the long essay but hopefully it’s helped you understand the different potential options you have. Good luck with it all!

[Lisaworthy1981 in reply to Lynnr54]

Wow thank you for your reply!! I’m guessing we won’t no which road we’re taking till we go back to the hospital In a couple of weeks!!

Just hope we can straight on with our next transfer!! Xxx