Natural FET vs. Medicated FET

anared

Hi Ladies, 

I am preparing to move forward with a FET cycle. My RE gave me the choice of a Natural FET or Medicated FET. Just wondering what the protocol is like for each and if anyone had any experience with both. I went in today for my CD 2 sono and blood work- I have yet to sit down and talk to my RE or nurse about the details of FET. Feeling a little pressure since I have only one normal embryo that made it to blast. 

NicWalker10

@anared For what it's worth, I would suggest the medicated FET.  It's usually just Estrace and maybe Lupron depending on your doctor.  The Estrace helps to thicken your lining and they can control that or help the thickening process with the esctrace if your lining isn't thickening naturally.   The estrace effects are not unlike the BCP, your normal estrogen effects of bloating and the like.  Personally, I also think the medicated helps to have some control over timining--natural it will be entirely up in the air from day to day,  your transfer date could change, it's very unpredictable and for me would add a layer of anxiety to an already anxiety driven process!  With one good embryo, I think medicated is the way to go. 
Good luck!!!!   

Holls214

We did a natural cycle that *tw* ended up working the first time. I also did progesterone suppositories instead of shots and those were 3x a day. I enjoyed doing the natural cycle and leaving it more up to my body. Like it’s said above, things aren’t planned exactly as with a medicated but almost just as much. Best of luck to you! 

anared

@NicWalker10 thank you! We decided on the medicated cycle because I do not have any flexibility in my schedule as a teacher. I can't come in late and it was a big problem during my IUI process. My nurse said it is really just a difference of one medication, estrace. Regardless of medicated or natural I would still have to take the suppositories, doxycycline and medrol. My timeline is the same for natural and medicated, maybe a difference of a few days. I was leaning towards natural just because I had a bad reaction to the BCP during the ER process. I never had cysts before and I developed one on BCP which affected the follicles in that ovary during stim. Even after aspiration it just filled back up. I have one now that is 19 mm- my RE is allowing me to start FET but said he may cancel it depending on what it looks like at my two week sono. 

anared

@Holls214 thank you! I really really wanted to do a natural cycle, but the monitoring is a challenge. My clinic starts at 7 but I have to be in my classroom by 8 and there is no flexibility. Also, my RE only does procedures on Mondays so I may not have him for the transfer, which is what happened during ER. I will also be taking suppositories rather than injections, so I am happy about that. My only obstacle is a 19 mm cyst I have that started when they put me on BCP before stims. It was aspirated during ER but came back, so they are letting me start but may cancel it depending on what it looks like at my next visit.