endometrial scratching??

rlk2

Hi ladies!  I am a lurker here but post over on IF vets and IF....I am currently waiting to cycle again in April and my doctor mentioned possibly doing endometrial scratching this cycle.  Any insight would be wonderful.  When in your cycle did your RE perform this?  Was it painful?  Will I have to take off work?  Any negative side effects?  Success?  I am just worried that this will cause bleeding and my last transfer was cancelled because I had a blood filled cyst and blood in my uterus.  Of course I will go over this with my RE when the time gets closer but this "off period" has be bored to death and wanting to do something IF related to make me feel like I am moving towards my goal!  Thanks ladies!  So happy to see so many familiar "faces" that are doing so well!  I hope to join you ladies someday soon!

FloridaSun82

We did NOT do the scratching, but my RE said that if they have someone that went through 2 unsuccessful IVF cycles, they recommend it because it does increase success rates. He said we could have done it if we wanted, but that some people say it is one of the more painful procedures that they have done, so we opted not to. However, I want to say someone on the IF board did it and said it wasn't so bad. I'm not sure what their outcome was, though.

JSM0801

I had the scratch done after 3 unexplained failed ivf cycles. I was basically considered a case of "unexplained implantation failure", so the scratch seemed to be a last hope. Well, I am now just over 19 weeks pregnant with twins. Obviously, there is no way to ever know if the success was due to the scratch, but it certainly didn't hurt the situation, so I think it was totally worth it!! I did it in the cycle before my FET, so I am not exactly sure the timing of when it is done for a fresh cycle. I am pretty sure that it is also supposed to be done the cycle before retrieval and not in the same cycle. As for pain, it's not the most fun thing, but it's also not the worst. It is a very short (15 sec) procedure. They scratch 4 quadrants of the lining, so my doc would say 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00, as he went around and scratched the 4 areas. I closed my eyes, held my breathe, and it was over. Expect to be a bit crampy and just take it easy and be a couch potato for the rest of the day. I never had any bleeding, maybe just a teeny bit of spotting, but everyone is different. I was perfectly fine the next day. Also, I would suggest taking Advil or something about an hour before the procedure. None of these procedures are enjoyable, but I would do it again a million times over if it helped get me to where I am today! Wishing you the best of luck and hope to see you over here soon!! Oh, and if you have any more questions, feel free to pm me! 

Just curious- are they planning on doing the biopsy to check for the beta 3 integrin or just the scratch? 

chucktgirl

I've done the scratch. It didn't work magic for me, but I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, because I think there are very few negatives to it. My experience was very similar to @JSM0801. It was pretty painful- but only for literally seconds. 4 scratches, then done. I took Tylenol before. I spotted & cramped minimally immediately after and was completely fine the next day. I don't remember where in my cycle it was, but maybe my sight says it? (I'm mobile bumping so I can't see it) Look at IVF 4. Good luck!

zazu13

Edit: double post, sorry

becomingmommyagain

I had the scratch at CD1.  It was not painful at all and only a mild cramping after...but it was also on CD1!!

I did a 14 day course of antibiotics before.  I was also unexplained implantation failure and one of the potential explanations was infection. 

Good luck!

zazu13

zazu13 said:

Edit: double post, sorry

Well, I don't know what happened to my double post so here are my answers again:

 

When in your cycle did your RE perform this?  It was around CD 14 the cycle before we stimmed.

Was it painful?  Not any worse than a pap smear for me. It was much less painful for me than the saline sono and the HSG.

Will I have to take off work?  I did it on a Friday afternoon after leaving work so I went home, but in hindsight I could have gone back to work.

Any negative side effects?  Just some spotting the same day. I took Tylenol as a precaution.

Success? Yes. Not sure if it's attributable to the scratch, but certainly no regrets here.

cherylanne3550

I did it twice and felt fine afterwards, good luck!

Musicianlala26

Thank you for posting this!! I'm doing IVF starting March 2014 and it's with an IVF Study through RMA NJ, part of the study is that we have the Endometrial Scrape and I was told it will increase our chances of implantation! GOOD LUCK to you keep me posted!