Waiting after failed fet

jodes727

So I had my first fet in January and unfortunately it failed (with a pgs tested embryo).  My lining was anywhere from 7.8 at the thinnest level and 8.8 at the thickest level.  My re wanted me to take this cycle off of meds because she wanted to see what my body was doing on it's own, because she is wondering if this is 'the best' my body can do for a thick lining (I was on 4 estrogen patches and estradiol injections as well).
So I went in today on cd14 to have a mid-cycle u/s to check what I am doing on my own....my lining varied from 5.3 to 6.5, which of course if very thin.  The kicker was neither ovary had any mature follicles growing!!  We were very surprised to see this.  We aren't sure if it because of all the meds I was on that this cycle is 'off' or what is going on.  So now she wants to me to wait anther cycle and repeat the mid-cycle u/s again to see if things change.  
I am very frustrated to have to wait these two cycles and I truly don't know what information she will collect.  So I am wondering if there are any questions you can think that I should be asking or any thoughts.  We only have one embryo left for our next fet and we will not be doing another retrieval.  

[Deleted User]

I'm so sorry your first transfer didn't work out.  It sounds to me like your doctor is trying to do everything they can to give your second embryo the best possible shot.  I dont know what to ask in terms of questions - I dunno if endometrial scratching may help?  Assisted hatching? Embryo glue?  I don't have any personal experience, I just know women who are trying these procedures to give their embryos an edge... Hang in there.  The wait will be worth it if s/he <i>sticks</i>!!! (((Hugs)))

mtpbadger

Has your doctor brought up the Endometrial Receptivity Array (ERA)? You basically prep for a FET but instead of the transfer, they do a biopsy to ensure that you are transferring on the optimal day of progesterone. Some people need one less day or additional days. It can be a little pricy, but my insurance covered the biopsy portion, not the actual testing though.

Another thing to possibly discuss is being put on blood thinners (Lovenox) which can help with implantation. My RE didn't even do any testing on me, she just put me on it since it doesn't really hurt anything and I had little to no side effects on it (just some bruising from the injection site). ***TW*** The one cycle I was on it was my only positive from IVF but it ended up being a chemical most likely due to my lining being too thin. My RE said for any future transfer she will most likely put me on it again, just in case.

Also, different forms of estrogen - you could do estrace orally or vaginally. I know my body reacts differently to different forms (doesn't do anything on the injections but patches and estrace vaginally seem to be the key for me). Sometimes it's just trial and error to see how your body responds best and if your lining isn't responding, you can always cancel before transferring and try something else.

Wishing you the best of luck!

omarismyhomeboy

I'm so sorry- I, too, had a PGS embryo failure and it's a really tough thing.

Jumping on what @mtpbadger said about ERA biopsy:

*TW*
The cycle after my ERA biopsies I got my very first, so far, so good, BFP. I'm 11 weeks now. 

jodes727

Thanks so much ladies!  @BusinessWife  I asked about the scratch and she said at our clinic they have not seen great results after the scratch has been done. But she also said she is open to me trying it if I want to.   @mtpbadger and @omarismyhomeboy  she has brought up doing the ERA. I am open to trying that as well as I know it has brought upon many positive results for many of the ladies on these boards.   She thinks she can run it through insurance as a diagnostic test since we are completely out of pocket for everything.   I will also ask about different types of estrogen and see if that might be the trick for me. 

 She did call back yesterday with my blood results and both my estrogen and progesterone were extremely low. She wants me to come back on Thursday to repeat an ultrasound and test my blood levels as well. 

Thanks ladies and congrats @omarismyhomeboy!  I remember reading about your bfp around NYE, so exciting!!!!