natural vs medicated FET- pros/cons?

groovygrl

So AF is due any day & the original plan was to do a medicated FET, starting w/ BCPs and lupron after CD3 bloodwork, then moving into estrogen patches up until transfer, which would be during the week of Dec 16...

I don't really mind the needles, etc but I do have some reservations about all the medications & hormone fluctuations that come with the whole IVF/FET thing and for me, the less meds in my body, the better, so I really lean toward doing a natural FET since my cycles are regular. However, the nurse tells me that I will have to come in every day for bloodwork so that will be inconvenient I guess, and then I won't have the 'control' over the possible transfer date like you do w/ medicated....

 So, here is my pro/con list- can anyone add anything to it? How many days do you have to go in for the testing/bloodwork for an FET vs medicated (only twice I think prior to ET)?

Most important, are there success rate differences? 

 
Natural

pro- no meds except PIO, more aligned w/ natural cycle, shorter start to finish

con- daily b/w, less control over ET date

Medicated

pro- control over ET date, fewer morning appts

con- more meds, longer start to finish

Thanks!
 

lnle

I think those pros/cons sound about right. I don't know about a difference in success rates. My RE didn't give me a choice about a natural cycle - I had to do medicated. It has been killer to wait so long to get to ET (almost 6 weeks), but it was definitely a stress reliever to only have 2 appts during that time and to know my ET date weeks in advance. The medication side effects have not been great though. good luck with whatever you decide!

smilee

Hey:

I am doing a natural FET. ?If AF shows this weekend, then I will have my baseline appointment Mon. In addition to the PIO, I will also be taking an estrogen supplement ( starting Mon.)

?

The way my RE explained it to me was that since I ovulate on my own and have *mostly* regular cycles, there was no need to do a medicated cycle. ?

?

I don't have any info on the difference in success rates.

Good luck!!!!!?

alison43

I did a medicated FET due to my PCOS....I really appreciated the flexibility.

I thought that with an unmedicated you just kinda chilled along, maybe did OPKs to pinpoint LH surge and then had the transfer?  But I could be totally wrong here.

Sorry I don't have any pros/cons to add!