So my ERA, ALICE and EMMA results are finally back (after having to repeat it twice š).
Good news is the receptivity was "perfect" meaning the transfer should take place 128 hours after my first Utrogestan Pessary.
Bad news my progesterone levels at the time of the ERA was 15.3. My consultant was a bit surprised with this because of how perfect the receptivity was. He doesn't want to increase the progesterone before transfer so not to interfere with the receptivity but will increase it after transfer.
Bad news I have pretty much no good bacteria Lactobacillus (despite taking oral supplements since April) and I have high amounts of the bad bacteria Gardnerella. My plan is Metronidazole for 1 week then 4 weeks of daily Canesflor followed by another course of Metronidazole on the week of the transfer.
So basically my questions are.
1. Why is my Gardnerella so high? I never suffer with BV / Thrush etc.
2. Is there anything I should be doing other than the Canesflor? Like should my partner be wearing a condom? Would that make a difference?
4. Is 15.3 progesterone really low?
3. My consultant has suggested going from 400mg Utrogestan vaginally twice a day to 400mg Utrogestan vaginally three times a day from transfer. Are injections better than pessaries?
Thank you in advance!!
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JadeH92
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I suffer from BV and PH imbalance. I found Canesflor extremely difficult to insert. Have been using Floragyn ovuli (import from Italy), really happy with those. One course of treatment is 6 ovuli, one per night. Have been taking probiotics twice per day too.
Re: progesterone, mine was 23 on transfer day in August. My clinic said it was on the low side and essentially doubled my dose.
I can only comment on the progesterone, some people donāt absorb much with the pessaries so injections of Lubion are included. I am on those ones as well as the pessaries. But OMG that injection hurts! Also it is not very cheap.
My clinic did test me the progesterone on the transfer day though.
That is what worries me, but my consultant said there was no evidence between the injection and the pessaries.
The only thing that is making me feel a bit better is that the receptivity was "perfect". I am going to ask for bloods on the day of the transfer again but do you think if I ask they will do bloods after a few days / week on the increased progesterone to see if it is enough?
Thank you. I still have some of my Utrogestan pessary applicators left so have been using these for the Canesflor. However, before I found these I can totally see why you found them difficult to insert.
Do you think I should carry on with the probiotics? I stopped because I had been taking them daily since April and they had done nothing.
They doubled your pessaries? What to if you don't mind me asking because that worries me that they only want me to have an extra 400 a day. I was on 800mg daily and after the transfer I'll be on 1200mg daily.
Thank you for your reply, it was really helpful š
Perhaps worth chatting with your clinic about the probiotics or changing brand? Regarding the progesterone, they gave me crinone gel in addition to the two pessaries per day.
hey, sorry about your bacteria results. I donāt think anyone knows why some people have an imbalance. My lactobacillus was really low, and I blamed having the coil in for many years.
I donāt know if it helped us but we were too scared to have sex during the treatment bc we didnāt know what the cause was and we didnāt want to introduce any new bacteria while I was on antibiotics etc. Consultant said it was fine to have sex but we decided not to. It took us about 4 months in total to get my lactobacillus up. So, if you can maybe try to refrain while youāre trying to sort out the bacteria?
Anyway as soon as we got the all clear that my lactobacillus was high enough, we had sex and fell pregnant. This is after 3 years of trying, 2 early miscarriages and one failed transfer. Iām 36 weeks now, So I do believe that was the reason for our problems.
Wish you so much luck with this. I think if you can treat it, it will make a difference! Happy to chat in DMs if you have any questions. Xxx
That's interesting, I've had the coil in the past. I have also had multiple surgeries which I don't think is helpful at all.
Me and my partner have been using condoms just incase there is a chance of anything being picked up.
If you don't mind what did you use to increase your lactobacillus?
Did you do a repeat biopsy to find out your levels had increased? But that is amazing news congratulations on your pregnancy! Not long now how exciting š.
I just used canesflor. It was quite a long process! I did a week of antibiotics and then a week of canesflor which showed no improvement after a repeat biopsy. So my consultant suggested I do a double dose - one week of antibiotics, one week of canesflor, one week of antibiotics, one week of canesflor followed by one canesflor a week while I waited for my results to come through. On top of this at the same time as the second week of canesflor I took oral probiotics which I got from zita west clinic (not prescribed by my clinic but I figured it couldnāt hurt). My lactobacillus increased from 34% to 75% after another biopsy. I carried on with the probiotics as I was getting ready for my ivf cycle and wanted to finish the course in case I could improve the % any more but my period never cameā¦
Hope it helps you! It seems too coincidental to me for it not to have been the reason for our infertility, so I think itās worth a try! Xx
My consultant has suggested 1 week of antibiotics then daily Canesflor for 4 weeks. Then I can start the Estrogen and continue the Canesflor up until I start the Progesterone Pessaries and once I start them I will also start another course of antibiotics to cover me for the transfer.I will look into the oral probiotics because the ones I got from Holland and Barrett were not much good by the looks of it.
Do you think that will he enough? Also my clinic haven't even suggested repeating the bioosy, is that a worry?
I canāt really advise as to whether that would be enough. But I would definitely recommend a repeat biopsy. I read so many times that people didnāt have them and I thought I wouldnāt need one, but in actual fact after my first course my results were worse - I went from 35% to 34%! If I hadnāt had my biopsy I would have been none the wiser and carried on with a transfer. It was also really comforting to know after the second course that the treatment had worked. The repeat biopsy delayed things a bit but it would have been devastating if I hadnāt had it and just assumed everything had worked. It was only an extra Ā£200 which is nothing in the grand scheme of ivf treatment!
Hello I know you have been through a few biopsyās already but some people do a biopsy after the antibiotics and probiotics before transfering to make sure that the levels are good.
I was on prolutex the progesterone injection. The doctor told me that I could either have 2x pessaries a day and one injection. Or 2 injections a day as it was the same thing xxx
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