Nk cell testing Coventry

[Mahriya]

Hi ladies.

I’m a bit excited and worried at the same time. I had a LH surge on Saturday and booked my consultation with Coventry university about nk cell biopsy. All the immunity blood tests done through GP came back normal but the clinic doesn’t offer nk cell testing due to covid and not much evidence around it.

Plan is to do a biopsy before xmas and another one in January so I’m postponing my natural FET and cancelling my endo scratch appointment. I think they perform a scratch during the biopsy anyway so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.

I need some reassurance from anyone with experience going through this and of it is a painful process? Can I go alone considering it’s a few hours drive? Not sure if hubby can book a day off.

I’m hoping to only postpone the FET for a month and go for it in Feb instead . Do you think it will be ok or do I need to wait longer?

I’d appreciate it if anyone can share their thoughts or experience.

Thank you all xxx

[Krystal_43]

I’m just going to be honest. I found it very painful but it only lasts 10 seconds (they count!). The pain was like very intense period cramps. I felt a bit shaken, but would have been fine to drive home after ten-fifteen minutes

I still went back for the second one and was fine (still intensely painful for the 10 seconds it lasted, but manageable, albeit they did give me gas and air!).

Other people have found it less painful. But I guess what I’m saying is - if a wuss like me can do it - you can do it too.

[Mahriya in reply to Krystal_43]

Aw bless you, knowing what to expect will help me to manage it much better so thanks for sharing this with me. Best of luck xx

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi. Anyone replying to "Mahriya" please do not mention clinics by name unless done via private message. Thanks. Diane

[IVFat40]

Hi hun, I had this testing earlier in the year. Similarly to Krystal I did find it quite painful but it's so short and over so quickly it's very manageable; I'd suggest taking an over the counter pain killer before hand (if I'm remembering right the clinic may suggest this).

I drove myself there and back from quite a long way away with absolutely no trouble, I'd be totally confident going on my own again.

The only thing I would say is there can be a bit of a wait before you get the results from both biopsies and the suggested treatment plan (which in my case included the scratch and steroids), so it could possibly be that you might be looking at more like March for your FET (but that said I might be wrong and the results could come through in time!).

Uterine NK cell testing is the best thing I ever did in the ivf journey, after transferring 7 blastocysts with no success (one very early chemical), I'm currently pregnant with my 8th transfer and the first one using the protocol suggested by the implantation clinic. It's still incredibly early days (5+3) but this is by far the furthest I've got.

Good luck hun.

[Mahriya in reply to IVFat40]

Hey hun, thanks for the response. I’m so glad to hear it ended up helping you with your journey. Did you have any specific reasons to go for the biopsy like family history or immunity issues or was it because of the recurring implantation failures? Did they also do a scratch for you as part of the process? xxx

[IVFat40]

Thank you so much 😊 It was the recurrent implantation failure (and this forum) that lead to me looking in to NK cell testing, but I have also had quite bad allergies for a long time and I do wonder if there's a common link to an 'overactive' immune system. I'm realizing there's sooo much we don't yet know about immunology. For me I was also going doing the ERA test, so I had that after the NK cell testing, in the cycle immediately before my transfer, so it was the ERA that doubled up as the scratch.

[Mahriya in reply to IVFat40]

Well it’s great it worked out well for you 😊 I myself found out about nk testing through this forum and I’m giving it a go. The clinic only wants to keep repeating the same procedure and I don’t have much faith in that really. Xx

[IVFat40 in reply to Mahriya]

My clinic also didn't recommend NK cell testing, I'm so glad I didn't just rely on their word. Wishing you all the luck hun.