Natural vs medicated FETs?

[Ytrewq123]

Hello, I wondered if anyone had tried both natural and medicated FETs and whether there’s any evidence around natural working better? My clinic have suggested I try a natural FET next, due to multiple failed cycles, but I have PCOS and am a little worried about a) whether I’ll get ovulation right as can’t rely on LH testing being accurate with PCOS, and b) whether it’s actually worth the extra time it will take (my cycles are v irregular) if there’s no actual evidence around natural FETs working better? Any thoughts would be so appreciated! Thank you xx

[JA-fnuk Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hope you get some helpful replies to your post as this forum is a great source of info and peer support . Have you spoke to your clinic about your concerns ? They know your history - results etc and should be able to answer your questions

Good luck for the future

Janet-Partner

[Ytrewq123 in reply to JA-fnuk]

Thanks so much Janet. Yes thankfully I do have an appointment booked, but not for a few weeks, so hoping any thoughts might help with questions that I could ask xx

[AshleyJB]

Hi there. I can only go by my own experience and I don't know the statistics. I had 3 medicated frozen transfers that all failed. I had a natural frozen transfer back In November and I'm now 11 weeks pregnant. I have PCOS with an AMH of 260 which is unbelievably high I'm told. My body never seemed to like any of the IVF meds and I always had a lot of side effects at every part of the process. My consultant told me to give a natural transfer a go. I still went on cyclogest twice a day after ovulation and one aspirin a day to aid blood flow and it worked!

Maybe it was a coincidence and it would've worked regardless but hand on heart i don't think so. I think my body needed a chance to try and do it without much interference.

Loads of luck to you xxx

[Ytrewq123 in reply to AshleyJB]

That’s so helpful to hear, thank you, useful to know you still went on cyclogest post transfer. I’m so happy you have had a good result, wishing you all the best with your pregnancy! Could I ask how did you manage getting the date right for transfer under a natural cycle, or is your cycle regular despite PCOS? Were you given scans or just LH tests? Xx

[Twiglet2]

I’ve tried both and when I looked into it the stats seemed to be pretty even on which had more success BUT my clinic said that is if you have regular periods and ovulation then natural should have the same odds, like you say if more irregular and/or hard to track you might want to discuss that in more detail with you clinic as they might have some specific data on that.

I went back to medicated after my natural FET as whilst it was much easier on the body at my clinic it takes ages to get booked in for a natural one as they only take 1 or 2 a week! Medicated FET worked for me for my little boy in 2020 but also hasn’t worked a few times for me trying for a sibling (neither did natural) and now several fresh haven’t either so I think a lot of it is down to the actual embryo but I do like to try different things they suggest just in case xx

[Ytrewq123 in reply to Twiglet2]

Thanks so much for your thoughts, yeah I guess there’s a a few questions to ask my clinic about how the cycle will be tracked etc. As you say perhaps it’s worth considering something different just to see if it helps. Thank you! Xx

[Doodlebug23]

I’ve done medicated and natural. No success but a chemical from 1 medicated.. My clinic have no real preference but wanted to try natural. I prefer the control from medicated. And for me it’s cheaper as I have to pay the scans and I needed 3 times as many for natural.

[Ytrewq123 in reply to Doodlebug23]

I deffo agree with medicated being much simpler to time and control! Were you given scans on natural cycle to monitor the follicles and check ovulation? Were you given a trigger at all or just ovulated naturally? Thanks a lot for your reply xx

[Doodlebug23 in reply to Ytrewq123]

Yes I had 2 extra scans to see what my ovaries were doing and a blood test to confirm second scan that I had ovulated - naturally. 3rd scan to check lining as usual for FET X