What is a withdrawal bleed? What happens after hcg drops on FET?

[Fingerscrossed38]

I had a natural fet on 20th August of a 5 day pgs hatching blastocyst. I should be 13dp5dt but yesterday's hcg results show my hcg had dropped again from 62 to 18. I've stopped progesterone now and I guess I had wait for af? Dr said it should arrive in roughly 10 days but I keep hearing about withdrawal bleeds. What is that? Is that different from af? Does everyone get it? How long does it last? If it's not the proper af, how long should af take to arrive after withdrawal? I'll be doing an ERA/Alice/Emma afterwards so I need to get it right...

[Cinderella5]

Im so sorry to hear of your loss, its gutting having this happen! For me on my last BFP/CP once I stopped meds I had a bleed 2 days later. It is very much like a period, you get cramps and bleeding, some clots etc. Mine was very short but I know that isnt the norm for most people. A withdrawal bleed is just like a period as its due to the drop in progesterone like what would happen in your normal cycle if that makes sense, its just that its induced by stopping meds so they call it a withdrawal bleed as opposed to AF. Hugs.xx

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to Cinderella5]

Yes it totally sucks! Panicking a bit now because I truly thought the cause of my previous natural miscarriages was chromosomal. So was under the false impression that pgs normal blastocyst would do the trick. It didn't

Thanks for the pointer. So basically whenever I next bleed is the start of my next cycle? Have you had the ERA/Alice/Emma biopsy done? Is quite a rigmarole in that I have to basically go through the motions of an FET but instead of the transfer I do the biopsy. But hey, I'll do it if it gets me answers! Xx

[Cinderella5 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

I havent had an ERA but I know about it and know someone that had it done. Sometimes there are just no answers to miscarriage or BFNs unfortunately and its just bad luck. Good luck, hope it goes well and you get some answers. Would love to hear how you get on!xx

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to Cinderella5]

I just feel like there has to be something more to it than bad luck. It's my 3rd early loss. It's so disheartening

[Cinderella5 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

It is really hard, Ive had 2 after 4xBFNs......very tiring indeed!! Have you had your progesterone levels checked? I was on fairly high progesterone dose but at my last lost we checked my levels and they are far too low to support a pregnancy. Also Im not sure if you have looked into prednisolone to try too incase of NK cells, might be worth a shot.xx

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to Cinderella5]

I was on really high progesterone levels 135 so I know it's not that. I think having the chemical is what had thrown me because it was a pgs normal embryo there was nothing wrong chromosomally so issue must be uterine or auto immune. I did intralipids this round too. I am running out of things to test for

[Cinderella5 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

Well at least you can rule out progesterone being a problem. Have you tried prednisolone? Ive had intralipids but I have done intralipids and prednisolone and thats then only 2 times I have managed to get a BFP.xx

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to Cinderella5]

The nk testing I did showed steroids did nothing to suppress my immunity. IVIG and intralipids both suppressed it significantly so we did intralipids this round. Maybe I'll just do prednisone too even add ignore the tests.

How far in advance of your fet did you administer intralipids? We only did it 2 days prior. Maybe that wasn't long enough to work its magic?

[Cinderella5 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

My tests showed that I didnt need prednisolone and cant say 100% if its what made the difference but its the only time Ive had a BFP so far doing both intralipids and steriods. I asked for it specifically as I was running out of things to try and had seen other ladies on here that had success. I had intalipids on my day of transfer.xx

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to Cinderella5]

Ah ok that's interesting. Guess there is no harm in throwing everything at it!

Did you get your second bfp in the immediate cycle following your first chemical? Or did you wait a few cycles before trying again?

[Cinderella5 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

My clinic made me wait 3 cycles before trying again....this is their standard protocol as I had a loss around the 6 wk mark prior to that. It was encouraging that we got 2bfps on the trot and finding about my low progesterone levels has perhaps given the reason for my problems.xx

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to Cinderella5]

And when will you do anther fet?

[Cinderella5 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

Im going to start meds on my October AF which again is my 3rd AF. My last loss was 5wks 2days. Seems like ages away.xx

[aamiller405]

Aw im so sorry to hear the bad news, its not easy, take care of yourself.

I think everyone is different, I didnt find out about my loss until 6weeks, stopped the meds and started bleeding about 2hours later. I bled very heavily for about 2 days with severe pain and large clots and have continued to bleed lightly for about a week. But some ladies have very light n bleeding and no pain.. And it can take up to about 2 weeks to start so there is no normal as such.

Again sorry for your loss xox

[Fingerscrossed38 in reply to aamiller405]

Thanks missy.

Life is shit! I just want it to hurry up now so I can move on with things. Thanks so much for the info and sorry for your loss too xx

[aamiller405 in reply to Fingerscrossed38]

I know it's a horrible time.. I was glad mine started quickly.. Wishing you luck with the rest of your journey xo