Natural or medicated FET?

[Kari55]

Hi all, we will be starting our first ever FET after 2 failed fresh cycles. This is not until January and I have some research to do. Our consultant suggested a medicated FET but also mentioned a natural as another option. He said that natural one has higher risk of cancellation. I haven’t decided yet which option to go with and I was hoping that you ladies can shed some light on the differences and how it worked for you. Thank you x

[Beechnut1]

Hi I've had both a natural and a medicated unfortunately both BFN. For me the natural cycle was hands down better. It was bliss not taking any drugs I felt like I wasn't even doing a cycle. I was anxious to begin with as this process makes you loss trust in your body but my progesterone levels were lovely and high. Just about to do my 2nd fresh cycle and if we need to do any FET's I'd definitely choose natural. Thats just my preference but I would listen to your clinics advice and do whatever you feel comfortable with. Huge luck with it all x x x

[Kari55 in reply to Beechnut1]

Yes, I lost faith in my body too. I would be so worried that my period will arrive before the otd. At least with meds I would be sure that I won’t bleed and have hope for longer. Fingers crossed your next cycle works out xx

[genten]

I've had 1 medicated and it was absolutely fine and I cannot complain at all. I would personally go with what the clinic suggest but if they think as they want to give you the best chance. Xxx

[Cinderella5]

Hi Kari, Ive always done medicated but this time I dont want to do down regulation so clinic are letting me have a bash. I will however be taking estrogen to help boost my lining and will be on progesterone pessaries....so I guess Im doing semi-medicated. I just wanted to try something different and the down regulation makes me feel like crap. If you have a look back, I posted a similar question so you can have a look back and see what others told me!xx

[Kari55 in reply to Cinderella5]

Thanks Cinderella, I will search for your post xx

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Kari. It’s nice not to have the drugs, and is good if you ovulate regularly. Trust your clinic, after all they want it to work for you too. Good luck! Diane

[Kari55 in reply to DianeArnold]

Thanks Diane. I ovulate regularly but I realised that I don’t have faith in my body to do it without medication

[Hidden]

I have done one natural cycle, it was great from the POV that there were no drugs. Less impacting on my life and less stressful in that sense. However, the stress part was catching my LH surge, so that was the biggest downside to it. I would rather natural over medicated, even with the risk of cancellation if I don't ovulate

[Kari55 in reply to Hidden]

The clinic said I would have to have a scan every day to catch the ovulation. No medication is very tempting but I feel like I have lost faith in my body

[Cinderella5 in reply to Kari55]

Hi Kari, just to add....check this with your own clinic but as I'll be taking progynova I shouldnt need to track my ovulation (as the meds are supposed to suppress this) so this might be another option for you if you dont fancy down regulation and didnt want to track ovulation!xx

[Hidden in reply to Kari55]

So many different protocols for the many clinics and situations. I had no scans at all.

Are you fairly close to your clinic? Are the scans do-able?

[Kari55 in reply to Hidden]

I work 20 min away from the clinic so I guess it would be doable.

[Penders]

I've had two medicated fets my clinic only do medicated so didn't have the option of natural. I found them to be fairly easy. I think the medicated cycle might be slightly longer as you have to down regulate. From starting down regulation to transfer was about 35-37 days. I only went to the clinic 3 times. Once for blood test to make sure I had shut down, lining scan and transfer. Both resulted in BFPs unfortunately the first one ended in mc and I'm currently 11+3 from the second. Good luck with whatever you decide xxx

[Kari55 in reply to Penders]

Thank you Penders and congratulations on your pregnancy xx

[Hidden]

I've had two natural FETs and preparing for my third. It's great having no medication to take (except for prog pessaries post transfer). My clinic monitors ovulation with blood tests from day 11 but I also take my temperature to have more control - I get a very clear temp rise the morning after ovulation so it reassures me of exactly when I ovulated and that my FET is scheduled on the right day. I do ovulate regularly though so it helps. If you go for a natural would definitely recommend temping at the same time for that extra control. xx

[Kari55 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Renee, that’s good to know. I ovulate regularly but I’m worried a bit about not having extra hormonal support. It will be a hard decision to make. Good luck for your FET xx

[Hidden in reply to Kari55]

Thank you You would still have the extra progesterone support which keeps the pesky period away. Definitely something to discuss with your doc in any case. Good luck with it all and let us know how you get on xx

[EmilyK5186]

I would suggest to go with your clinic's advice. I had a failed fresh transfer. When I was in the FET consultant meeting, my clinic asked me whether my period is 'precisely' regular with 28 days cycle. My period is very precisely regular but on a 33 days cycle. My doctor said it wasn't good enough for them to consider a natural FET on my case. They put me on medicated FET. It's not bad at all. Only to take the mild hormone pill three times a day and felt nothing different. I am now 4weeks + 6 days pregnant. So share your true condition with your consultant and also to express your concerns. Hopefully they can give you more detailed advice.

[Kari55 in reply to EmilyK5186]

Thank you and congratulations on your pregnancy! My consultant was more inclined towards the medicated FET. He said it’s less risky and they have more control over it. Maybe I will just listen to it and see how I get on but will have another chat with him about it x

[EmilyK5186 in reply to Kari55]

That's also what my doctor said. She said the frozen embryo would be thawed on the day and ready for the transfer. Mine was frozen on day 6. She didn't want to risk on the transfer date. Hence we didn't even kind of 'discuss'. I was 'told' to be on the medicated FET. Well, most of us are not the expert in this field. (We just want to get pregnancy! :P) Each clinic has to publish their success ratio. I am sure they would give the best advice. Give you all my best wishes xx

[Hidden in reply to EmilyK5186]

Oh, this is interesting, my clinic hasn't mentioned my cycle period, mine is 32-33 days, not the 28 days. It blows my mind how differently clinics work with their protocols to get try and get the same result

[EmilyK5186 in reply to Hidden]

Absolutely. You know I was confident that my period always has been very regular although it is slight longer cycle than 'normal'. So I was sure that I would be on an natural FET. But as soon as I said mine was 33 days, my doctor straight away said:'Well, I am sorry that 33 days cycle isn't 'regular' enough for us...'. It is so different from clinic to clinic..... x

[Kari55 in reply to EmilyK5186]

Mine is about 27 but occasionally it can be 26 or 28. Who knows what my cycle is going to be like after all the IVF hormones. I’m kind of leaning towards medicated FET now. Wouldn’t want to risk the embryos (will have 2 put back this time) x

[Tugsgirl]

If your ovulation is fairly regular you should be fine. I have had a medicated fet and personally I couldn’t do it again because of the side effects. I opt for natural fets now, modified fets, with progesterone and lubion. Good luck whatever you decide xx

[Kari55 in reply to Tugsgirl]

Thank you. Did you have side effects from downregulation drugs? Xx

[Tugsgirl in reply to Kari55]

Yes. Horrendous headaches. I actually ended up in A and E after my gp sent me there xx

[Kari55 in reply to Tugsgirl]

Oh dear, sounds horrible. Can I ask you if you had NK cells tests done - blood and uterine biopsy? The clinic suggested that I might want to do them but I read a lot of controversial things about them xx

[Tugsgirl in reply to Kari55]

No. We ruled it out because we generally have no reason to suspect an issue with these things and for financial reasons xx

[Kari55 in reply to Tugsgirl]

That’s why I’m quite reluctant to do them. I’m in perfect health and I have no reason to suspect that something is wrong. But I failed the cycle with s top quality embryo. Not sure how much it’s is down to luck or perhaps embryo was abnormal. The tests are very expensive xx

[Tugsgirl in reply to Kari55]

Sometimes I truly think it does just boil down to plain old luck, or lack of it. Ivf is only successful in roughly 1 in 3.75 attempts, so top grade, text book cycles or not, it isn’t guaranteed 😭 xx

[Libsie3103]

I'm just about to have my first FET and went for a natural cycle. I suffer from blood clots so the clinic were keen to try it as it limits the amount of estrogen which can cause you to clot. Initially I was concerned due to the risk of cancellation but now I'm pleased I have done it as it's definitely gentler on your body. My clinic have been great, I had scans on Day 8 & 11 to confirm I had a dominant follicle and also check my lining. On Day 11 my lining was only 5.8mm so they didn't trigger me as planned but put me on estrogen patches to thicken my lining and asked me to monitor for my surge for ovulation which was definitely the most stressful bit!! When I detected my surge they put me on progesterone pessaries and arranged for me to be re scanned on CD16. My lining was 8.1mm so we're all set to go ahead on Friday. Excited to be finally at the stage of my first transfer, but obviously nervous as well as I know there are no guarantees. I was really worried about the timing of my surge and keen to get it exactly right so they could schedule the transfer, the clinic told me not to be worried as it doesn't have to be precise but just confirmation that I've ovulated. Good luck with whichever option you choose!

[Kari55 in reply to Libsie3103]

Thank you x