I haven't posted anything in a while here. Great to see so many happy endings and for those of you who are still on the journey, I really hope it happens for you soon.
So we finally started IVF ICSI treatment with NHS after almost a year and a half long wait. I was put on a long protocol last November and it got cancelled before stimulation phase because my husband tested covid positive. December to March our clinic was closed. Long protocol started again in mid April for us.
Long story short my monitoring scans and response to medication all went well. My clinic did not say l that I have a risk of OHSS!! I had an EC for my first cycle on Wednesday 19th May; 14 eggs were collected and 9 fertilised. 5 of 9 responded not so well and 4 are going strong on Day 1 so they booked a transfer appointment for us on Monday 24th.
Received a first call yesterday on Day 3 to inform that all 4 embryos are going strong and then later in the second call they told us they will freeze all on Day 5.
I was on my luteal support medication and now everything stopped. I asked the reason and told risk of OHSS, no medical justification. There was nothing to confirm that I have OHSS. I have been only having minor cramp like pain which my nurse said is normal and I was advised to take paracetamol every 6 hours. First two days I had a mild diarrhea. I was drinking lots of water and feeling my body as normal no bloating no vomiting or nausea.
We have waited for so long for our treatment and when it happened, they didn't let us try with a fresh transfer means NHS fresh cycle no more for us only 2 funded FET cycles.
What are my options now - Has anyone transferred frozen embryos from one clinic to another clinic in the UK?
I feel I cannot wait 2 more months to start my FET cycle
Has anyone had a similar experience or can offer any advice or hope?
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Myrainbow_2020
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Unless you have underlying health conditions that could be linked to OHSS I can’t see why they have done this - 14 is a reasonable number but it’s not off the scale!
My sister had 24 eggs collected as she donated to us, they said because of the amount she produced she could be at risk of OHSS so she was given medication
From what your saying because their freezing these the NHS will now only pay for the FET’s not full cycles?!
If that’s the case I would have a raised eyebrow that this is a money saving exercise because an FET transfer is considerably less financially then a complete cycle
As of now I am not aware of any underlying health conditions. I will surely ask this question at my next consultation and let you know what they say.My CCG funded for 1 full fresh cycle and 2 FETs. Because they are freezing all, now the NHS will only play for the FET. It does sound unfair doesn't it.
No it doesn’t seem fair!! Saying that the midwife said to me that our situation hadn’t been fair, I haven’t had any children, my husband had 1 from a previous marriage so that disqualified us from funding and had to go private.
I really can’t see why they have frozen all then, it stinks of clearly trying to save money
Hi, I may be I'm the same situation! Had my last scan on Friday and have 24 follicles. At the time the nurse said no risk of OHSS, booked me in for collection (it's tomorrow) and transfer next Saturday. I then got a call in the afternoon to say the consultant thinks I have a mild risk of OHSS so I'm now taking Cabergoline and might be a freeze all.
I really want to do the fresh transfer, like you I don't want to wait any longer! They told me they will know more after collection depending on how much fluid I have on my ovaries.
They also said that if it is a freeze all, when they can do the transfer it would count as part of my fresh NHS round so I wouldn't lose a go.
Hey beautiful, I hope you don't go through what I went through. Keep strong and do not think about OHSS if you can. This is a great assurance if is a freeze all then they would count it as part of fresh NHS round. Hope EC went well for you. Take it easy after and rest x
No experience I'm afraid but just to say I hope it still counts as your entitlement. Some clinics prefer frozen as it gives your body a chance to calm down after the drugs etc. Frustrating for you though as it wasn't what you were expecting!My clinics frozen transfer rate is actually better than their fresh cycle rate so hopefully that's the case for you too. Xx
Thank you beautiful, I hope this is the case for me xxI have a consultation review next week. Finger crossed that they it still counts as my entitlement.
Hey, the same thing happened to me. My clinic did tell me from the outset of my stims monitoring scans that there was a chance I’d have to freeze all due to risk of OHSS. In my clinic they say they base it on number of follicles (not number of eggs collected) but they also look at other things such as fluid in the cervix etc.
I was really disappointed with the freeze all, which is totally natural. I felt completely fine after the EC and was back exercising a couple of days later but did get a bad stomach about 2 weeks later.
Anyway, I had my withdrawal bleed, then one more cycle, then could have a FET.
They say it’s to give you the best chance and I did enjoy having 4 weeks of not thinking about IVF.
Unfortunately my FETs failed and I’m about to start my second round of stims. This time I’ve asked that in the event they think I need to be a freeze all, that a consultant consider and speak with me. Because last time I felt like the nurse just decided without any discussion with me or thought for what I wanted.
Might be worth asking more questions about the basis for the freeze all so atleast you have some answers xxx
PS - what do you mean about nhs funding? We are also nhs and we were told that each egg collection counts as a round, doesn’t matter if you don’t have a fresh transfer x
Sorry to hear about your first round struggle. Are you on a funded second round? It was my first IVF round. I will get more clarity on what it exactly means for us x
Hi MyRainbow- sorry your transfer got cancelled. I had an unexpected freeze all in 2 of my cycles. The first I had over 30 eggs collected, I never got OHSS but it was precautionary. The second was at another clinic where I wasn’t given the appropriate trigger for someone prone to hyper stimulation, so I ended up with OHSS even though they only collected 15 eggs.
The explanation of your clinic probably needs some questioning.. with my second cycle they were making attempts for fresh transfer, they gave me Cabergoline and I had a scan on transfer day. My ovaries were too large from overstimulation and i decided not to take the risk. The clinic can’t know you have OHSS unless you have symptoms or they have scanned you to confirm.
But aside from waiting, FET still has good success rates so hopefully all of this won’t affect the big picture.
I had many other issues with the “OHSS clinic”, so I had my embryos transported and started an FET immediately at my old clinic. It was much easier than I anticipated and was a smooth process. It took less than 2 weeks and you only need to liaise with the embryo courier company, who message you constantly with updates and you can even track the transport in real time.
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means NHS fresh cycle no more for us only 2 funded FET cycles.
Fresh Embryo Transfer today 🤗
Feeling low and disappointed - please please help...
Fresh or frozen transfer? 
Era test and fresh transfer
