If your AF showed up during IVF 2ww

EMNTOM

A post below reminded me that although sometimes IF can be lonely you are not alone. AF showed up before my beta and I hadn't really ever though more about it until recently. My RE didn't discuss changing my progesterone protocol for the next cycle (I was on endometrin supp once daily). I know that I will bring it up before our FET but was wondering if anyone else's RE changed or will be changing their progesterone support for the following IVF/FET cycle. If so, did it at least help you get through the 2ww?

TIA

Mrs.McIrish

I bled through crinone after IVF#2 four days before beta. I too thought the same thing about the P4 I was taking not being enough since it didn't keep AF away. I asked the RE at my WTF and she said no, that they did studies about PIO vs crinone etc and that basically if the embie didn't implant, AF was going to show up. She said it wasn't the P4 dosage that that was problem etc.   My current RE was putting me on more P4 though for IVF#3 but  I didn't have an embies to transfer for IVF#3 so I wasn't on P4 after that to know if it would have made a difference.

jukeboxgirl

This happened to me, too -- AF showed up in full force 4 days before my beta.  I used suppositories last time and this time we're using PIO.  However, I'm going to a new RE that always uses PIO.

Mrs.McIrish, that's interesting -- I feel like I never got a straight answer when I asked if a higher progesterone does would have stopped AF from coming so early. My new RE did say that it's unlikely that low progesterone levels caused the last IVF not to work, which is probably just another way of saying that if the embryo doesn't implant, AF may very well come early no matter what.

So, in short, I don't know if my first cycle would have been any different if I'd been on PIO.  But I am glad to be trying something different this time. And I'm also glad that my new RE will check my P4 blood levels two days after ET, which I believe you can't do with suppositories.  So at least I'll have peace of mind! 

ThereBeDragons

Be your own advocate with progesterone.

I've been put on crinone twice and while I didn't have breakthrough bleeding- my blood numbers were abysmal. You know how they try to reassure you that it won't show up in blood work so low numbers are okay? Mine were barely 3 both times and even my nurse was flustered and recommended supplementing further. My body simply doesn't appear to participate in the progesterone production early on.

I don't think it gets marked in my chart though. Because they still try to convince me to try Crinone for every cycle. I do great on PIO though and so I now specifically ask for PIO. My clinic no longer prescribes PIO as a standard so it's something I have to fight with the nurses to do. And if I lose (Like I did this last IVF cycle) they always call me up a couple of days after transfer and tell me to ratchet my dosage through the roof or go back to shots. They have many patients- but you only have to advocate for yourself. If something feels off- make sure it's being attended to.

theworms

I would ask to take PIO.  It's measurable in b/w and is used by my current clinic (s.i.r.m.) and my old clinic (cor.nell).

It's a PITA but I hate supps and prefer the shots.  I'd rather have too much progesterone than not enough.

GL

ETA - my clinic only does supps with IUI's.  if your clinic dosen't want to budge than you should be doing supps more than once a day