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For what reasons are you doing IVF?
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How much estrace? Ask to up the dose or up it and start using it vaginally. What about viagra? Also, head to acupuncture, take l-arganine and vitamin E. I also ate foods rich in those vitamins and did yoga meant to increase blood flow to the uterus. My clinic doesnt do any progesterone if lining is still thin bc progesterone thins lining (thats why normally once you start PIO they stop doing lining checks)
Thank you all for your responses, I had to take a few days off to process as I was really freaking out. I ended up talking to my RE and went in for another ultrasound right after speaking with her. It turned out they thought my lining was at a good thickness before starting the progesterone — especially in my case (I’ve had other issues in the past, including fluid in my uterus, which threw off lining measurements and got my transfers cancelled). This is my first transfer, so I also had no idea that the lining thickness referred to the lining on estrogen only, prior to progesterone.
She said she wouldn’t have gone ahead with this transfer if she didn’t feel good about, as she hasn’t hesitated to cancel my other FET cycles pretty early on as soon as lining issues popped up.
A1, similar to what you said, my clinic also typically don’t measure the lining once progesterone has been started, since it does change the shape and compacts the lining a bit. It seemed like they had either done it b/c they wanted to double-check that the fluid hadn’t come back and the tech who told me the thickness wasn’t aware of that, or it’s just always standard for the nurses to assume you are there to do a blood draw and then send you to do an U/S (and it just so happened that morning my RE was tied up and the tech was making the rounds / unaware of why I was there). Long story short, my RE said that measurements can look different depending on how the wand is held (amongst other things), that the decision to proceed is based on the lining before progesterone starts (plus hormone levels after that), and that every woman’s body is different, particularly in terms of the lining result. She did another check for me and thought it looked as good as it’s ever looked for me (pattern, thickness, finally no fluid!), so that helped a bit.
While I am nervous, my husband and I have decided to place our trust in the doctor and will go ahead with this cycle. I think one of the most frustrating things about IVF that I’ve seen with myself, as well as friends (and also reading a bunch of forums), is that it can be very hard to trust the doctors, which is probably partly attributed the fact that there is still so much unknown about fertility, we are pretty Type A about controlling everything, and there is always Dr. Google.
Right now, I’m cautiously hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst. It is frustrating, but I am also aware that even the most “perfect cycle” might not yield the perfect results and we have to start somewhere.
Thank you! I had my transfer on Sunday. Trying to stay off the internet and keep myself busy, but it’s hard!
Sadly, the FET didn’t work... took some time to ugly cry, wallow in my sadness, but now trying to prep myself for next steps. I just had a debrief with my RE and we’re going to do a mock cycle for the next round, with some tweaks to try to optimize my lining. She also agreed to do all of the possible tests this cycle to rule anything else out that might’ve caused issues. Wish that I had the patience to address this earlier, since I also have a fibroid that was partially removed a few years ago, and may or may not have impacted this.
For those who took Vitamin E and L-arginine to help with building up your lining, were there any brands you would recommend (or are all more or less the same)?
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Up the progesterone? How many times a day are you on it? Also, progesterone in oil shot might be a better way to get it into blood stream more than suppositories, but I'm sure your doctor has the best guidance on this
...so just waiting around to hear “the results and next steps” after the doctor reviews with my blood tests. 😞
An update... a bit frustrated by my clinic’s (lack of) communication. Instead of cancelling my FET would due to my lining, they’ve sent me next steps, seemingly moving ahead with the transfer as scheduled. I still haven’t been able to speak to my RE, only a nurse who said she couldn’t really answer my questions, so now I’m waiting for a call back from the doctor tomorrow. I’m freaking out a bit because this would be my first FET, and I’ve seen all the literature that says the lining should be at least 7-8mm for a successful pregnancy. Am I missing something here, or am I right to be concerned about this??
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When I was going through my IVF cycle, my doctor would order blood test every other day and based on the hormones levels, he would adjust the dozes. That was my 5th attempt and to be honest I think that’s the only reason why it worked this time ( 4 other were unsuccessful as I followed a standard dosage). So perhaps this is something worth asking your doctor - whether he could customise your protocol ?
OP any updates?
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OP, I’m so sorry to see this update. Can you give a rundown of what testing you have had done/what the plan is moving forward etc? I have tons of FET advice but don’t want to repeat a bunch of stuff you know. I would definitely address the fibroid. I just went for my third hysteroscopy to remove more that formed during my last clusterfuck of a failed pregnancy so I know how important it is that everything be nice and clean in there and it gives your RE a chance to perform a uterine scratch while they are in there.
Thanks for the info! I had no idea that Letrozole could quiet mild endo (I’ve only taken it for follicle stimulation during ERs). I did take prednisone for 10 days during my last FET cycle, it seems like the standard protocol at my clinic — did you continue with it after transfer?
I’m also not sure why my last doctor didn’t get the entire fibroid. From my understanding, since it was in the uterine tissue, they didn’t want to disturb it too much and potentially end up messing anything up. I’m having another check with my RE for my monitoring appointment this week, so will see what she says about the fibroid.
I’ll ask about the receptivadx and the HCG wash — I hadn’t heard about those two. I also went to see my endocrinologist today about my thyroid, since she’s run a full panel before, will see how these results look. Strangely enough, she told me not to worry so much about the TSH levels moving around as long as it’s within a band, but also caveated that the “ideal” range for pregnancy is also a bit arbitrary.
I hear you on the woowoo stuff... even though I like a science-based approach, I still ate pineapple core before the FET and did some acupuncture before my last egg retrieval. Whether it really helps or not, at least it kind of sets your mind at ease that you’ve done everything and left no stone unturned. I actually liked acupuncture because it was so relaxing, but I probably need to find a place that specializes in fertility — the acupuncturist I saw before was very hesitant to do anything as we got closer to egg retrieval, but is also now closed due to covid.
Anyway, thanks so much for the tips! I should probably work on my diet too....you’ve given me a lot of ideas of things to ask my RE about and some diet / supplement changes to make!