Thyroid and sticky blood tests

[emmaemma5]

I am hoping someone can give me some help and information regarding these tests which my clinic have recommended before our next transfer.

A little bit of my story so far. I have had 6 transfers, transfer number 4 gave us our little girl. My last transfer ended in a MMC at 8 weeks, not sure of the reason but I had light spotting throughout the pregnancy. I am 39 years old.

We have 4 grade C embryos frozen from the cycle that gave us our daughter. No matter the outcome from these we have agreed not to do another fresh cycle.

My clinic have recommended the above tests and they are fairly pricey so just wondering if anyone would mine sharing their experience and if they are worth it. Thanks

[MammaMia86]

I am not sure what is sticky blood test, but the thyroid is very important because if it is high it can cause a miscarriage as the baby won't be receiving enough nutrients.

In my case I had a blood test done in february, for something unrelated to fertility, and then in march for the fertility. The first one it was below 2.5 and the second one above 6.

Now I am taking medication and it is under control. So I recommend you to do this for sure!

Good luck

[RubyVet]

Hi Emma I’ve had numerous bloods done recently including the thyroid blood test. I have had this one done a few times with the GP. So it could be worth asking the GP if they would test it for you? I let them know I do private IVF and she was more than happy to help us! Your thyroid is very important when it comes to fertility so definitely worth checking your levels. I don’t know about the sticky blood one though sorry as I tend to just have whatever they say and not ask too many questions (it all stresses out me too easily)

Good luck xxx

[Pnw2020]

Hi. Definitely worth getting thyroid function checked. GP should be able to check this or if not you can check this via monitormyhealth at a very reasonable cost or medichecks. Sticky blood might be referring to Antiphospholipid syndrome, which can lead to miscarriages but not sure what the usual criteria is for checking that. You could also just ask them to prescribe aspirin and clexane or similar during your cycle. You may need to take clexane for months or throughout the pregnancy but NHS Dr at ante-natal clinic could prescribe that. Bear in mind GPs can often not prescribe injectable medicines. Wishing you luck for your next transfer x

[MrsOrangejuice]

I wasn't allowed to start treatment on the NHS until I'd had thyroid checked and even though it came back normal, because they wanted it 2.5 or under, we had to wait untilI got it down using levothyroxine before they'd start. Did the tests and got the prescription via GP. GP's always been happy to check it since even when we'd gone private. I also asked GP to do antiphospholipid (sticky blood) after an early loss following fresh transfer - came back fine and think it's a fairly rare condition, but it was good to rule it out. If you had spotting it would be worth getting your progesterone checked too, on day of transfer in particular, as you may need extra or different progesterone support. I think sometimes it depends on your GP but if they won't do the tests, there are private online companies that seemed cheaper than the fertility clinics.

[Jana483]

Thyroid is very important I strongly advice you to do it. The sticky blood test first time hearing about it

[Abs37]

Hi lovely, my first few losses were put down to ‘sticky blood’ I’m sure it’s also though as Hughes Syndrome. It’s more common than you think - definitely take the test as it can cause problems. I had slight thyroid issues too, I rang my doctors explained the situation and now my thyroid medication and checks are all done by the doctors. Good luck xx

[emmaemma5]

Thank you all for your help. I think I will contact my GP next week and hope they will help