Unicornuate Uterus

emilynoel810

Hi all, just joined this site and excited to have so much support! My DH and I have been ttc for a year now and started seeing a RE early since I knew it would probably be difficult for me - PCOS since I was 18, thyroid problems, and high risk for blood clots due to a genetic condition. Long story short, we just had our first FET on 7/20 and will have our beta test 8/3.

Before my FET I had to have a polypectomy and during that procedure my RE discovered that I have a unicornate uterus. I don’t have a rudimentary horn and my kidneys are normal. Anyway, I looked for a thread related to this and they were all old, so I thought I would start a new one. Any other unicorns out there?

soccergirl23

Hi @emilynoel810--I was just actually looking for your backstory (I recently joined the Jan IVF/FET thread) and came across this post. I actually have a unicornuate uterus as well! I had no idea until I went to see a RE and they discovered it through their initial testing. Since you are now pregnant (ahhh!!:):)) is there any advice that you can give or anything that your RE did for the unicornuate uterus that helped this one stick?!

emilynoel810

Hey! Sorry that we are both in this club that no one wants to be in.  They found mine when I had surgery to remove a polyp after my retrieval. I was completely freaked out and devastated.  My RE has basically said that it shouldn't affect my ability to get pregnant, it just may be a problem later down the road with growth/ might need a C-section. They want me monitored by a maternal fetal medicine specialist once i graduate from the fertility clinic. The only thing I have heard that can help is to take a blood thinner (baby asprin may be enough, or lovenox which I was on already b/c I have a risk factor for blood clots) since there may be an issue with somewhat less blood flow to a unicornate uterus compared to a normal one. I am currently on both. Do you know if you have a rudimentary horn? I don't, but I had to get an MRI to confirm that, and to confirm my kidneys were normal. A rudimentary horn can sometimes mean you have endometriosis which can cause implantation problems.  As for my experience with FET, this one that worked was my 3rd transfer.  The first one was before we PGS tested them so my RE thinks that one was probably genetically abnormal.  The second one was a PGS normal embryo and they don't know why that didn't work, all they could say was "bad luck" (very frustrating!).  This third one was also PGS normal and I didn't change anything in my protocol since the second. I guess it was just "third times a charm!" (Third time being a charm has been a theme for myself and my husband throughout our lives so we were extra hopeful this time and I guess it worked out!) Would love to hear any insight your RE has on UUs... I also am part of the Unicornuate Uterus TTC group on Facebook and have found it very helpful to hear from other like us as well!  

soccergirl23

Thank you for sharing all of that, it’s super interesting how people find out about having one! I also don’t have a rudimentary horn. I actually did not know I had a unicornuate uterus when I was pregnant with my son (sorry, I don’t know how to do the spoilers feature yet), but it didn’t cause any issues throughout the pregnancy, I was actually able to carry him to full term (37.5 weeks). I did however need a c-section because he would not flip (looking back, probably due to the shape of my uterus) but honestly the c-section wasn’t bad at all, the worst part was the IV and not being able to find a vein. This is my first FET and we’re also using a PGS normal embryo, we only have one from my first cycle of IVF so I’m hoping we get lucky but trying not to get my hopes up. My RE wants me to do daily PIO injections once we get to that step because she said that people with a unicornuate uterus can sometimes not absorb progesterone as well so we’re being conservative - did you do/are you doing PIO injections? I’m so nervous about those.

emilynoel810

@soccergirl23 yep! I’ve been on PIO all of my transfers and they will have me continue it until at least week 8 of pregnancy. I didn’t realize that was a UU thing, I got the impression my clinic does it for most peopleS

That’s great and encouraging that you were able to carry your son that long! I am actually totally okay with the idea of a c section and maybe would prefer it? My mom had 2 for me and my sister and she said it was not bad at all! 

soccergirl23

@emilynoel810 how different/worse is the PIO from the stims injections? IM injections freak me out a bit more than subcu -- any tricks that you have found help ease the pain, etc.? My RE said that normally she would recommend the PIO injections every 3 days, but with the UU, to be conservative, she recommends every day, but I think each clinic is a little different tbh. There is something to be said about a short procedure to get the baby out without hours of labor .

emilynoel810

@soccergirl23 I have found that PIO doesn't hurt or burn nearly as much as the stim injections. The main difference is that the PIO serum is thicker so it takes longer to inject it which means the needle is in you longer, but its not painful, just weird.

soccergirl23

@emilynoel810 thank you for that, it makes me feel a lot less nervous. I was reading horror stories online about PIO which was adding to my nerves.