how long did you wait between MC and FET?

[Hopewhite]

hi I hope you’re all well and going strong in your journey!

I’d like to learn from your experience how long did you wait between MC until next FET ? We have been told I need 2 periods in between, I first thought the MC was the first , and after next period you could start planning for FET. But not sure if they meant 2 actual periods. What worked for you ? How long did you allow your body to recover before trying again? Did you do anything differently?

This wait feels sooo long , I was told about the non viable pregnancy at end of June, given it was MMC it took ages to complete (end of July), I’m still waiting for 1st period, but trying to arrange a trip to see my family abroad , and I cannot work out if they meant the earliest I could have FET would be then in October? Is the trigger for FET also the start of period like on a fresh cycle?

Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated xx

Thanks all, Sending you loads of positive vibes and good luck your way xx

[Kt8e21]

Hi. So sorry for your loss.

I miscarried at 12 weeks on 31st Jan.. I was told I needed that withdrawal bleed (lasted 3 weeks) and then another period (March). I then started medication on my next bleed which was mid April and transferred end of April. Unfortunately that one didn’t work. But tried June (had to have a period in between FETs) and that one worked. Currently 13 weeks pregnant.

In terms of medication for FET.. I started them on first day of period.

Good luck for your next transfer!

[Hopewhite in reply to Kt8e21]

Hi, thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I’m very sorry that you had to go through this. Congratulations on your pregnancy, you must be so excited !! I hope everything continues developing perfectly , all the best wishes xx

[Asha82]

Hi, I'm so sorry for your loss, I also had a missed miscarriage in May and I waited a month to get my first period then I waited to have another period and did my frozen cycle after my second bleed and I'm currently 9 weeks pregnant, I wish you all the best with your future cycle

[Hopewhite in reply to Asha82]

Hi Asha, thanks for explaining this, from what I’m reading it will be definitely October until we can try again. I’m very sorry that you also had a MMC. On the positive side ,it’s lovely to read your next transfer worked, congratulations! wishing you a smooth pregnancy, I hope everything continues to develop perfectly xx

[LSandJ in reply to Hopewhite]

Mine was a bit quicker. I had a MC in June, had the withdrawal bleed and then started the FET on the next bleed (July) so transfer was 1st Aug (and currently almost 9 weeks pregnant with that one!) It did feel a bit rushed and I had to push to get it done, but I wanted to try again quickly, and even the doc said there could be some truth in being more fertile after mc.

My mc was pretty straight forward (if it can he described that way). But I started bleeding just before I was 6 weeks along and continued bleeding for just over a week, so my mc and withdrawal bleed was all one relatively short process.

My clinic did want me to test some other things before having another go, but they weren't sure on timelines for those tests, and that's whybi pushed for another FET when my period came instead! I think it's often hard for their planning so prefer a longer wait, as well as some preferring to let the body rest. I was happy to go, and obviously for me it's worked (but also changed some of the protocol!)

[Hopewhite in reply to LSandJ]

Hi LSandJ, I'm very sorry that you also had gone through MC, thank you for sharing this. Glad you had a "straight fwd" process on that (sorry I know it's awful to go through it regardless). Mine took ages, got medical management after 11 days of nothing happening and that didn't fully work, so I went through it all over again like a 2 weeks or so later . Your journey to recover sounds much quicker as well, how true it is that each body is different, glad you have bounced back quickly from it!.

May I please ask, if UK based are you on private or NHS? this was an NHS and they didn't recommend anything different, just go ahead with FET, and check Vitamin D. It does sound like they may push it for convenience, I have the consents call this week and will raise the question again, although given I'm still waiting for my period perhaps is not such a bad idea to wait a bit longer. It feels so hard to let more time pass, I asked about the warwick clinic implantation tests, but then i got to the same conclusion that you did, that it would be best to just try another FET xx

On the positive side, congratulations!! very happy to read about your pregnancy, I hope everything continues to go perfectly! wishing you all the best.

[LSandJ in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you! I really hope this is the one (these were embryos 9&10 do they were happy to let me try something different)! I did have to push for it still as they wanted the implantation clinic tests, but I'd already had most of them elsewhere! I had added steroids and hcg prior to transfer. All private UK clinic, not nhs though. I think with nhs they have longer wait times and less likely to try protocols that aren't 100% proven (unfortunately nothing is 100% proven and there needs to be more research!!!) But overall I'm not sure how much it matters and how much is just luck!!! Massive massive luck and hope its a bit more straight forward for you next time. Sounds like you've had a terrible time, so wishing you some of that luck!!! X

[Hopewhite in reply to LSandJ]

Thank you very much ! I’ll keep my fingers and everything crossed for you! Xx my clinic confirmed today I need to wait until 10 days before the second period to start, so October will be our lucky month 🤞🏼🤞🏼

[Asha82 in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you so much I really appreciate it and I wish you the best of luck for October xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Asha82]

Thank you Asha xx

[Asha82 in reply to Hopewhite]

Your welcome xx

[Fruitandflowers]

I'm sorry you experienced this. I had a pregnancy of unknown location that needed surgery around 9/10 weeks. I wanted to go again straight away and my clinic said wait for hcg to get to zero, have the withdrawal bleed and then it's OK to start FET meds from the next period after that but they preferred to have an additional period in between for me because of the surgery. On two prior losses (which were much earlier) I was able to start meds on the first period after the withdrawal bleed and one of those in my daughter. So I think it really depends on your individual circumstances physically and mentally, and your clinic. The FET process is much gentler and easier than a collection and fresh transfer, and they can control and time things a lot more and schedul it more easily, so if you want to wait a month or two because of personal plans, it's usually fine x

[Hopewhite in reply to Fruitandflowers]

Hi MrsOrangejuice, thank you for sharing your experience, I'm sorry that you have had a tough journey, but happy to read that all the perseverance paid off and you have your daughter, and I have also read about your miracle story!, i hope everything continues to develop perfectly xx wishing you all the best of luck!

Apologies for my ignorance, would the withdrawal bleed be the same than MC in my case? I had such a long and weird experience that all I know is for the MC I had 2 heavy bleeds (2 weeks apart), and must have bled like for 4 weeks in total. I'll ask again if they'd allow me to try on my first period after which should be happening soon i hope!! many thanks again

[Fruitandflowers in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you (and yes, I am in total shock and was rapidly losing hope after the PUL, but my consultant didn't seem remotely surprised and said it's quite common after/during IVF - even if it doesn't work I now feel completely differently towards my body and chances).

With the two early losses I suppose they were more typical withdrawal bleeds as I just stopped the meds and it came a few days later. With the PUL I stopped the meds and nothing happened, so I ended up in surgery couple for weeks later. The bleeding I got was straightaway from that and was longer and heavier, but it did have a definite end so although not technically a withdrawl bleed I still thought of it like that. I think you could think of the last bleed you had as similar, and then the next actual period possibly you'd be ok to start a FET, but your clinic may want you to wait. I also tracked my ovulation so I could see when my body was getting back to normal - it took a lot longer after the loss to ovulate than a typical cycle but then my period came as normal two weeks after ovulation. It may be worth tracking ovulation (if you do ovulate) as you won't ovulate if there's any leftover tissue or your hormones aren't back to normal.

[Hopewhite in reply to Fruitandflowers]

It’s such an amazing story , it will work 🤞🏼🤞🏼, I’ve heard similar from people I know getting the same lovely miracle surprise after struggling for years xx

thank you for explaining this , I’ll follow your advice and track for next month, I didn’t buy test but I think I did ovulate as I saw changes to the cervical mucus, it also felt much later than it would normally. I had a call with one of the nurses earlier and they definitely want a period in between first, and said I can plan for the FET 10 days before the second period, so I’ll have to wait until October to have the FET and November to see my family ! Not sure how it happened but she nearly booked me for a baseline scan tomorrow, my DH was in shock 😂, he pushed me to ask if the body would have recovered and she realised it had been a MMC and said she was sorry but I needed to wait until next one. I think I’d have gone for it if they had let me haha

[Fruitandflowers in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you! And yes, I would probably have gone for it in that situation and then worried myself sick that I'd made a mistake. A month or two really doesn't make any difference and goes quickly (and as it's a FET there's not that awful pressure of time ticking and egg quality which makes you panic - that' how I ended up pushing ahead with a disastrous round earlier this year when probably circumstances were not ideal). Hopefully if you track next month you'll find you're back to a normal cycle and can be confident your body is good to go whenever after that x

[Hopewhite in reply to Fruitandflowers]

Thank you for the reassurance !! you're very right it's better to be patient, it's just very hard as I feel I've been waiting for so long already , but it's definitely the sensible thing to do, like you say better to be on the safe side xx

[Freshcucumber in reply to Fruitandflowers]

Thank you for sharing your experience and sorry for your losses.

My clinic is insisting that I wait for the Hcg to be negative before we start another FET and I am upset about it - I don’t see the point of potentially wasting several months for the Hcg to become negative… what is the reason? My level has been checked several times and it always decreases but it’s very slow (still positive after 10 weeks) and it’s getting slower…. I just don’t see why keep waiting for the residual hormone to disappear from the system ☹️

[Fruitandflowers in reply to Freshcucumber]

I think one of the reasons is to make sure all the pregnancy tissue has gone - if there's even a small amount left it can carry on producing hcg and leftover tissue can become infected and I think cause problems for implantation, so they'd want it at zero. Also while there's hcg your body can't ovulate and start normal cycles again - not sure how this would impact a FET as the meds take over everything but they probably want to ensure everything's as good as can be. I understand how frustrating it is though - after my last loss my clinic wanted me to wait two periods before doing a FET, so had to wait for hcg to drop, then two months more. But ultimately it's probably better than rushing and then if it doesn't work always questioning your decision x

[Freshcucumber in reply to Fruitandflowers]

Thank you for your reply and sorry for your loss. That’s a good point, I will try to have a scan this week to make sure it is all ok…

still if the Hcg takes months to come down there isn’t much I can do about it I don’t think 😐 I was hoping to have a FET in November / December but doubting it now xx

[Hopewhite in reply to Freshcucumber]

I’m so sorry that you’re going through this, it’s quite frustrating when the physical side drags on (on top of the emotional pain it causes). I’m by no means an expert on this matter but I think they want to give the body an opportunity to reset and I believe if there’s any small residuals the body eventually gets rid of those on the next period, hopefully you’re not too far from getting a negative. I think it’s cruel that we have to do pregnancy tests to find out, have you had a scan after the MC? Maybe getting that checked would help? , I ended up asking for one to the EPU because my experience was quite lengthy the MMC just wasn’t happening and the medical management partially failed, I went through it all twice 2 weeks apart, it took 1 month all in all for the MC to conclude, so I asked to get checked for residuals and they finally said it was all clear , also the test finally came back negative! I send you a big hug , it is a tough experience to go through , I hope you have good support around you to help you bounce back from this heartbreak xx

[Freshcucumber in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you so much for your support! It means a lot to have a chance to reach out to other women who can relate.

Can I ask what prompted you to have a scan? I don’t have any pain or bleeding… but after 10 weeks my Hcg is still 16iu/L (positive) and I have not had a period yet. I checked the Hcg four times already and it always goes down but painfully slowly…. Aghhhh….

As much as I am not looking forward to it I think I may go get a scan too. Hopefully if everything is ok, the clinic will allow me to go ahead even if there is still a small amount of Hcg in my body.

[Hopewhite in reply to Freshcucumber]

Hi happy to help, it’s very useful to have this forum as these practicalities were fully unknown to me as well. It was because the test was negative after the waiting the time they had recommended for testing, even after having medical management, but mainly because naively I thought the tablets had worked and I had been lucky with a very ‘good and bearable’ experience , then two weeks later I lived everything again (heavy bleeding, clots, cramps, etc) so realised something wasn’t right, when I called the EPU they said it sounded like the tablets hadn’t fully worked and I was almost told off because I should have known that 🫠 and I should have called right after apparently … so I asked for my options and they offered me more tablets or a scan. You can explain your concerns as it sounds like you’ve been waiting a long time and it’s better to discard the possibility of retained tissue. Ring your EPU directly if you have their number or maybe your GP can refer you again. All the best of luck , please feel free to Message if you have any other questions.

[Freshcucumber in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you! I cannot believe they almost told you off… 😐

I will get a scan as much as I don’t like the idea the idea at all..

[Hopewhite in reply to Freshcucumber]

all the best of luck, i hope that helps you as reassurance x

[Freshcucumber in reply to Hopewhite]

Thank you! Good luck on your FET! Keeping everything crossed for you x

[Hopewhite in reply to Freshcucumber]

Thank you very much xx