Hey lovelies
With four failed transfers behind me, I am wondering what I could possibly pay for privately to enhance our next NHS transfer (whenever that happens). We have 9 embryos in the freezer and pgs testing has been suggested because of our repeat implantation failure. What are you thoughts?
xxx
Hi cdwen,
I decided to do PGS testing after three fresh failed rounds. We were really lucky, we got 3 normal embryos and the first transfer of one of those worked and I’m 20 weeks today. I know it’s a personal decision, I wanted answers as to why our transfers weren’t working, I wanted to know if there was fundamentally something wrong with our embryos rather than keep just hoping it would work one day. This process is so draining in so many respects and I was getting to the point where I couldn’t keep going as we were. It was the best decision I ever made, aside from the fact I’m pregnant, I felt like I was finally getting some answers.
Happy to answer any questions you might have, the fact you have 9 embryos left is an amazing start!x
So happy it worked for you!! I am leaning towards it right now, especially as we have so many embryos. It would be really heard to waste so much more time and emotion on the gamble. I mean, I know it doesn’t guarantee results but it is one step. Did you have any other assessments for this transfer too such as the era? Xx
Thank you so much 😊 I didn’t do an ERA test, the only other thing we did was the thrombophila blood panel to check for clotting issues. It’s an expensive test but my previous clinic had put me on aspirin and blood thinners and new clinic wouldn’t prescribe them without a diagnosis as my new doctor believed taking something you don’t need can work against you. Mine came back all clear.
I completely understand how you feel about the gamble. It doesn’t guarantee results but it does give you a much better chance if you get some normal embryos back! Wishing you lots of luck whatever you decide x
I decided against doing this and we opted for ERA testing instead. I watched a good live session chatting about PGS/PGT via IVF explained on IGTV. I'll try and put the link below, lots of good info I thought. Good luck with your decision.xx
instagram.com/tv/B_YMwNdAWu...
Can I ask more about what led you that way Cinderella? My thinking is because they think chromosomal abnormality is the leading cause of implantation failure maybe we should rule that out first? I have also considered of doing an ERA, Emma, Alice test instead too. We can’t really afford either but if I do feel like I need to do something. Xx
Im not sure what your background is as you are fairly new here (age etc) but here's my thought process. We are using donor eggs from a young lady as Im now in my 40's (started IVF when I was 38 with my own eggs but failed). She has been karyotype screened for any genetic issues and so has my husband due to the fact he has a very low sperm count so clinic checked karyotyping for cystic fibrosis, klinefelter syndrome etc. Nothing found. I know there can still be chromosomal issues due to his sperm perhaps not being the best however we decided against it mainly due to the fact that the biopsies may not be optimal and also misdiagnosis. We both decided that we would prefer to put the embryos back and let nature do its thing. That can be hard as you need to go through the prep and 2ww but I would hate to discard embryos that could potentially yield a live birth, even if its a small chance. The other reason we opted for ERA/EMMA/ALICE is when we werent getting any positives my consultant decided to move the amount of days Id been on progesterone from 5 (which is the usual) to roughly 6 without to much thought on hours wise. We got our first positive, we did lose it, it was a late implanter and didnt stick too long. We then got another positive using the 6 day logic and lost that one too. For this reason it did seem that we had struck something but onthe next cycle we got a negative again. Opted for the ERA so we could be better timings and it showed we need to transfer at 144 hours +/- 3 hours (Ive posted my results onmy post below). It all added up as the transfers where we got a positive I was either borderline too early or too late in transerring and last negative, we were way over the transfer window. Fluke....perhaps but out of the 2 tests this made the most sense to us. I also know a few ladies that had success after this test too which was reassuring. Feel free to ask any other questions or PM me if you think I can help.xxx
healthunlocked.com/fertilit......
Thanks so much for that Cinders. I have actually been around a while but I was on another account that I can’t log into now because I got rid of the email 
this would be my fifth transfer and I am 30 so def at the stage where we are wondering what is going on. I am going to check out the era stuff and may take you up on picking your brains a little more xxxx
I don't get many embryos so far, so PGS would probably come after doing the ERA testing for me too. You have a great number though so I'm sure you have lots of options, best of luck to you xx
We opted out of PGS testing and just decided to take chances. Our 3rd IVF session was a success as currently pregnant. It is truly a personal choice, the clinic kept encouraging us to try it but we kept with our initial plans.
Do what you feel is best for you, no right or wrong answer!
We did the EndomeTRIO test after 2 implantation failures... I had zero lactobacillus in my uterus so took antibiotics and got my first BFP on the frozen transfer following. I miscarried, likely due to chromosomal abnormalities so am doing PGS on my next cycle. However am convinced the implantation failure was due to microbiome and that we wouldn’t have had a BFP if it hadn’t been sorted. Xx
Hi Peony85. Do you mind me asking what this test is please? Is it the same as the ERA/Alice/Emma tests or something different? Thanks xx
Yes that’s it! It’s just what they called it at my clinic for the combo of those 3.
Interesting! I took antibiotics before my last transfer as a standard so I wonder if that has already been covered? I am thinking about which to do first the era/Emma/Alice or the pgs. We can’t afford both, that is for sure.
You might be, if you had antibiotics. I also then took probiotics to repopulate with the good bacteria. It’s such a tough call. For me personally knowing what I now know I’m glad I did the EndomeTRIO test as I doubt a good embryo would’ve implanted without sorting out the bacteria issue and I wouldn’t want to waste one. That being said we are doing PGS next round to hopefully avoid another MMC.
I keep asking my consultant about PGS testing and he told me the number of live births per embryo is no higher than the average for non PGS tested embryos. I don’t mean to be negative and I am still wondering about getting it done .. but every failed round he says for the amount of embryos you need to make it worth while you are just as lucky to get pregnant with those embryos. I guess the fact you have 9 already frozen is great - I have never got enough to freeze so maybe that’s why he is so anti it
Good luck either way xx
Hey Daisy. You are right, from what I have read it doesn’t increase cumulative birth rate but it does reduce time to birth. My thinking is that with four failed transfers already behind me, testing could save us a lot of time and heartbreak. It could also move us onto the next investigation of a pgs normal transfer didn’t work. Where are you these days with your thinking on your next transfer?
Thats really interesting I hadn't realised that - a great argument to take back to my consultant!
I am about to start round 5 when my clinic will let me. Sadly I never get any to freeze so its my 5th fresh. The clinic are prioritising FET and people whose cycles were interrupted though so I think I have a bit of a wait which isnt ideal at 43!! Good luck with your next round and with the testing if you go for it xx
To add something to all the other valuable comments: if your embryos are already frozen, they need to thaw and refreeze them. Very little data exists on the success of that, but a loss of 5% is to be expected. My clinic does PGS for free due to a clinical trial and even then didn’t really encourage me to do it...
I think thaw refreeze if using vitrifaction doesn’t have much risk. However, it seems there is 4% chance of false positive/false negative with the screaning, which definitely plays on my mind. How many transfers have you done? Interesting that it is free at your clinic, is this in the U.K.?
No, I’m abroad. Our consultant said the few percent risk with the thaw and refreeze, and then also the risk of false results... made us think it wasn’t worth it. Our first transfer (second cycle, fresh) gave us a gorgeous girl. Four frozen transfers of all perfect looking embryos from the same batch as her all negative... we have three left.
Hi Cdwen, I’ve had a miscarriage before and couldn’t bear the thought of another. After psg, I ended with just one viable embryo which I am currently 14 weeks pregnant with. Which tells me if I had had a fresh transfer I prob would have endured another miscarriage. The cost of psg is so worth the peace of mind.
Congratulations, may i ask how many eggs your started with im in my 30’s so im worried
I’m 43 and was able to get 15-20 eggs all 3 cycles. But out of all that 6 made it to blastocyst, then frozen and tested. So making the eggs was not my issue, it was egg quality, most likely due to age. It’s all such a mystery!
Ahhh ok that makes sense, are there any side effects to pgs testing and do you know if they will offer this on nhs ?
I think the NHS only covers PGD testing for couples who are known carriers of a condition. Probably need to check with your CCG though x
It might depend on whether you’re checking for aneuploid/euploid or other conditions. If other conditions are a factor it is funded by NHS England not CCG and is based on known family conditions. It’s also upwards of £10000 in my understanding if you’re self funding for that level of PGD.
Someone has already mentioned the thaw refreeze thaw drop off risk. It’s also worth clarifying what happens if you get inconclusive results. Hopefully this wouldn’t happen but If half your embryos were aneuploid (Normal
For age 30) and you had inconclusive you could end up with having nothing to transfer.
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