I have an appointment with an implantation clinic which is NHS but self funded clinic. It’s not close for us but my home clinic suggested to get their advice on implantation issues and autoimmune etc.
Has anyone else had an appointment with a similar clinic specialising implantation and found it helped them? I believe they complete a biopsy from the uterus and test this for NK cells testing and also tests when I am optimal to have transfer as we may be transferring to early/too late etc- im not sure to be honest!
Please let me know as I’d be really interested to hear experiences, positive or not! X
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Mlove12
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I went to one linked to a university (not sure if same one?)and was a bit of a drive for us...5hr round trip for a 20 min appointment!! It has been useful for me, if anything to rule something out or identify where might need additional support (eg steroids). The team there are very good - perhaps slightly research focused but no bad thing.
Hey, yea the university one lol! Oh wow that is a drive for you! Our drive isn’t that long but luckily it’s a video call initially. Did you have any tests with them? Think they offer a biopsy package which i personally think sounds quite good for what they test for etc. I’m glad it was beneficial for you, fab to hear x
Yes it was about £500 I think for two biopsys and some new blood tests they are doing. The biopsy is about 10sec of pain, like a bad smear test but otherwise all fine. You then get emailed the response with a follow up zoom call with the consultant. I think they do ivf at the clinic so the consultant is helpful in providing another perspective. We still need to have our second consultation, my results for unk cell were very high on first test but low on second so not sure what that means yet. I'm not sure what other tests they do, mine was around repeated implantation failure. The consultant was more sceptical on the other tests (is it EMMA etc?!) as the results seem to change cycle to cycle so only gives you an answer for that cycle which may be different for a forthcoming cycle. I might be paraphrasing slightly.
Oh that’s quite good. How strange the tests came back differently first and second time. Did they suggest steroids etc for implantation failure? I also have the same issue and have autoimmune issues so wondering if NK cells would be high. I have heard of EMMA tests but have avoided them so far as they are quite pricey and also wasn’t sure how accurate they are. Thank you for your reply and sharing your journey
After my 3rd transfer failed, I opted (was exactly this time last year actually) to get implantation testing done at a specialist private clinic in London. My own clinic was a regional satellite of this group, so I figured whatever the Implantation doctor said, my own (quite conservative!) consultant would have to put in practice for our next FETs 😆 I found it really helpful, and would recommend it if you're wanting to leave no stone unturned - even though we didn't ultimately get lucky with IVF! I liked their approach as they offered 3 tests in one, i.e. with just the one biopsy. They send off bits of your sample to 3 leading labds across Europe who test for the following:
1. your levels of uterine natural killer cells (so testing to see if your body's immune system is overacting and preventing the embryos from implanting and/or developing properly
2. your vaginal and uterine microbiome (sometimes there can be high levels of bad bacteria that shouldn't be there, or a lack of key bacteria that should be there! and you need to take special probiotics or antibiotics to get an optimal environment
3. the best timing for your transfers. Clinics always (as best I can tell) give women 5 full days of progesterone before a transfer. But the ERA test can supposedly calculate your ideal amount of time on progesterone, to support implantation. Some people need longer on it, some less time.
Tests 1 and 2 came back normal, so the consultant didn't recommend taking action there (sometimes doctors will prescribe steroids without the results of such tests, but this clinic told me their view is it can be detrimental to give this stuff if you actually don't need it). So that was reassuring. The ERA test however showed I needed an extra 24 hours of progesterone for my FETs, and I felt that was very important to know!
Hey, thanks for such an in-depth reply! All of what you have said is extremely helpful to know. I’m pretty certain I will go ahead with the biopsy, it also mentions 3 stages of tests that I have read on the brochure they sent me but your description is much more detailed and super handy to know! I have autoimmune issues to especially interested to see what the NK cell comes out as. My consultant wanted me to get advice from a specialist in case I did need steroids as they don’t feel comfortable giving them out otherwise, and thanks to your reply now I understand why!
Progesterone wise that is definitely handy to know moving forward for you. Worth the testing to get that accurate result. I hope any further rounds/tests have positive outcomes for you! x
You're very welcome. Happy to share clinic details by PM is helpful. I'd definitely do an all-in-one if you can, rather than paying for all the separate tests and doing different biopsies each time, which aren't always brilliant fun! I should add that I've seen ladies on here with repeat implantation failure whose doctors have given them steroids to address overactive NK cells without having had biopsies and tests, but generally pretty low dose i think. Most seem to want to test first, but as always in IVF, annoyingly you rarely get consensus on these sorts of things! But I did feel that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' as dampening my immune system when not required might knock-off other parts of the implantation enigma and do more harm than good.
Thank you for your kind wishes! I'm hoping praying I won't be doing any further rounds... I had a surprise BFP in October, after 4 fresh IVF cycles and 4 transfers, none yielding anything at all! Still pretty shell-shocked but we're at 14 weeks and I'm trying to stay positive that we might be ok! 😂 xx
I think I know which clinic you’re talking about as I had a zoom consult last month.
Their testing has changed - previously they used to do 2 separate biopsies each in different cycles, but now they only need to do the one. I vaguely remembering the professor mention it’s because the digital endometrial function test they now offer is more accurate which is why only one biopsy is needed. The price has gone up to £700 as well!
I’m just waiting for my next cycle and then will hopefully have my biopsy. After 3 failed transfers and a MMC I’m hoping any recommendations following this testing will make the difference!
Glad they have made it into one test now instead of two. How was your consultation? Were they helpful or pushed for you to have tests? We’ve been ttc for 3 years and have only had 1 transfer out to two ivf cycles but was top grade one and still didn’t work. I know their criteria is normally 2 or more implantation failures etc so will see what they have to say
Sorry, just saw this now! The consultation was great, Prof Brosens is lovely- even when I had no idea how to switch my audio on on Zoom and sat in front of the screen like a lemon!
He was not pushy at all and took a detailed history, and explained the purpose of the testing they do and how it works. I found him reassuring.
I was so glad to hear that they only need to do one biopsy as the it’s the waiting that gets to you. You just feel stuck and in limbo. But I reassure myself by saying more information is a good thing and tbh I wish I’d done this last year and not now after 4 failures.
As it’s self- funded I don’t think you’ll have any issues with regard meeting the criteria.
is this from university of Coventry? My NHS doctor has mentioned it in one of my follow up appointment for implantation failure and from my memory of reading in this forum they sent the samples to a lab in France hence taking up to 6 weeks for the results.
Yes that’s the one. I didn’t know they sent them off to France, blimey! We’ve got an appointment end of the month so hopefully their testing can give us some answers
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