Period Came Early but Positive Pregnancy Test on OTD

[anz07]

Hello All, if anyone has been through a similar situation or has any advice right now, I would greatly appreciate it.

My OTD was today (Sunday) but I started bleeding last Thursday evening, which evidently was not implantation bleeding but my period. Obviously I was deeply upset and knew that my first cycle had failed (we only had one blastocyst with nothing left to freeze).

We tested a day early (yesterday) and the test showed a faint positive. My clinic advised that I carry on with my progesterone pessaries until OTD (11dp5dt). I was disappointed to see this morning that I am still showing a faint positive, even though I am bleeding heavily and know there is no hope. We did two tests, one was the one issued by our clinic and the other was a hCG one I purchased (see photo).

I decided not to take my progesterone this morning as I felt it was doing more harm than good. I wrote to my clinic informing them of the outcome and asked when I could have a follow-up appointment to discuss next steps. I am keen to start a second cycle, if possible, in the next two months.

My clinic accepted that I had stopped my progesterone and said they were 'sorry to hear that'. They said I was still entitled to a complimentary counselling session (which I was meant to have before starting the cycle but never used) but that a follow-up appointment with a consultant would not be available for at least another month. They did not ask me to re-test at a later date, nor did they mention any possibilities of a chemical pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy.

I know the world is going through a difficult time with COVID-19 and appreciate my clinic are likely dealing with a backlog at the moment. However, I have felt like I've been on a conveyor belt ever since starting this cycle; my clinic always seemed overwhelmed and rushed but I just thought to myself 'I'm lucky to be doing this; we could have been waiting many months for clinics to re-open' etc. But, at this stage, I am deeply upset to have to wait so long to discuss what has happened and understand how I can move forward from all of this. It sounds like I may not be able to start again until Sept/Oct time, and I get the impression my clinic really wouldn't care if I delayed or went somewhere else.

Any thoughts, experiences or advice would mean the world right now. Thank you. xx

[treezuk]

I had this once but naturally not after ivf I actually had a massive bleed and found out I was pregnant afterwards and then my sticks kept getting lines when I saw the hospital it turned out I had some retained tissue and I was taking progesterone or anything like that at that point

Are you sure it’s not implantation bleeding ? Because it can happen at any point

I bled at 5w2d pregnant with twins and had no idea if I was miscarrying but I wasn’t it was just a random bleed and I went on to have twin boys and never bled again.

Could you get a blood test done to check your level just to be sure before you stop all the meds ?

[anz07 in reply to treezuk]

Thank you for your reply - I'm really glad you had a happy ending. Unfortunately my bleeding became heavier yesterday and I passed very large pieces/clots (about 4 times larger than anything I would get on my period). There is no way this cycle has worked for me. I will run a pregnancy test again at the end of the week just to make sure all is okay health-wise.

I have booked my follow-up appointment which isn't for another month now so am completely in the dark as to what cycle number 2 will look like. I am deeply disappointed with my clinic's response; nobody has even called us but I guess this is due to the Covid times we are living in.

I hope you are enjoying life with your twin boys, it's lovely to hear a happy ending.

[treezuk in reply to anz07]

I’m sorry to hear that hun , hopefully next time it’ll be different 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 And thank you it took us a lot of heartache but we did get there x

[Hidden]

I'm surprised they wanted you to stop with a positive line (even faint). I'd keep going until they tell you to stop even with the bleeding. I'm so sorry it's not looking good. Sending hugs x

[anz07 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you runuphill. Unfortunately my bleeding became worse yesterday and I passed very large clots/pieces so am confident I had a chemical pregnancy. I haven't heard anything more from my clinic but have booked in a follow-up appointment (which I have to wait 4 weeks for). I'm feeling both emotional and deflated but it looks like IVF is just going to be more of a battlefield for all of us due to the pandemic.

[KiboXX]

Hi Anz07,

I honestly would carry on with your progesterone despite the bleeding whilst you still have a positive test, even if it’s faint. I know it’s hard and I understand you wanting to stop but people do have heavy bleeds and end up with progressing pregnancy.

On a side note about your clinic, if you don’t feel valued or listened to then I would change clinics. I felt exactly like this and I waited and went through another two failed cycles before we moved and I wish so much we had done it sooner xx

[anz07 in reply to KiboXX]

Thank you for your reply Kibo. Unfortunately my bleeding became much heavier yesterday and I passed large clots/pieces so know the cycle hasn't worked for me. I have left the medicine now as there's no way I'm pregnant.

I am completely torn re changing clinics. The difficulty is that this one is only a 20 min drive away. Anything beyond that, we're looking at minimally an hour's drive. I also know that all fertility services are hugely overwhelmed due to the Covid backlog. I have booked my follow-up appointment which isn't for another month - it would have been helpful to have had this sooner as I don't know what to expect. I won't feel comfortable if they recommend exactly the same (long) protocol again as it clearly wasn't very successful this time around. I'm just amazed that we part with so much money (just under £6,000 here for one round) and don't even receive a phone call after our bad news. We have to keep chasing them. I think I just have to come to terms with that and realise that we are living through Covid times and services are so overwhelmed, they are never going to take the time to follow-up with people like me.

[treezuk in reply to anz07]

I payed less that that abroad for one round of donor egg treatment - if you haven’t considered going abroad maybe look into it logicatally it sounds like a nightmare but it’s actually pretty straight forward. if you need any advice I’d it’s something you’d consider happy for you to PM me and I can talk through my experiance

[anz07 in reply to treezuk]

Thank you very much, I will keep that in mind xxx

[KiboXX in reply to anz07]

Hi anz07,

I’m really sorry to hear that, I hope you’re doing ok ❤️

I completely understand, my old clinic was a 20 min drive from me so I understand it’s not an easy decision to move. They actually never even attempted to follow up with me after my third round failed and that was the final straw. We ended up changing to a clinic in London, I live in Cambridge so it’s was a bit of a trek but honestly, still the best decision we ever made x

[anz07 in reply to KiboXX]

Thank you very much. It's interesting to hear your story - could I ask which clinic in London you attended? I live in Reading so London is a possibility for us. I'm really undecided as to whether Covid is just making everything 100 x worse, or whether my (very small) clinic closer to home is just consistently overwhelmed xx

[KiboXX in reply to anz07]

I’ll pm you the details xx

[aamiller405]

Looks like a chemical pregnancy..im very sorry..weve just had one too and i know how much it hurts.

Ot clinic is the same since reopening. So difficult to get to speak to anyone or get any kind of response. Just so busy and understaffed and rushing like you say. I worry well have to wait ages before going again now too.

But i wonder are all clinics just going to be like this atm because pre covid my clinic was Great x

[anz07 in reply to aamiller405]

I think it definitely was a chemical pregnancy which is something I really didn't know much about until the last few days. I'm very sorry to hear that you have also just gone through this. It really is awful. I actually feel somewhat lucky that I bled a few days before OTD; otherwise I would have been celebrating a positive that didn't exist.

I am also worried about having to wait a long time to start again. I am keen to start as soon as possible (which I think would be around late August/early September), but anticipate an even longer wait. I am torn on whether to move clinics...my clinic is very small and I did feel, even before Covid, that the wait times for appointments were rather long and there was always little flexibility. Perhaps I'd be better moving to a bigger clinic but it's difficult; once you have started somewhere, you feel it is easier to stay, particularly if it the location is closer to home.

I hope you are able to start again soon and wish you the best of luck on your next go xxx

[Cinderella5]

Im so sorry, it does appear that you have had a chemical pregnancy where implantation has begun to detect hCG but hasnt continued. I would ask about getting a higher dose of progesterone next time as in theory you shouldnt bleed on progesterone. Hugs.xx

[anz07 in reply to Cinderella5]

Thank you, yes I believe I may need to go on a higher dose of progesterone next time around. I will have to (tediously) wait and see what the doctor recommends at my follow-up appointment. Thank you for the hugs xxx