Hi Amy!
Of course I remember you! It's great to see you again. I, too, had weird cycles after my miscarriage, although it was the exact opposite of you. They had trouble stopping the bleeding, though I suspect my tubal condition was responsible for this. Anyway.
Happy to hear that you're giving FET a go real soon!!!
I'm not due to take estrogen until AF shows up. Last time, though, it had a major side effect that was not great at all... I, too, tend to have strong gastro-intestinal symptoms on meds that are high in estrogen. Strangely, it wasn't so bad at all with the pure estrogen in Estrace. However, I had a rare side effect, which is elevated libido. Let me tell you, it wasn't funny... imagine being in your 2ww, in that state (and we're talking scratching the paint off the walls here), without any possibility to calm down your hormones! Too bad they keep you on PIO... it's for a good cause sweetie. Let's become preggers again and sail through pregnancy together all the way this time! *HUGS* I hope the nausea will subside...
Hi Kim, nice to meet you! awww ,your frosties are coming back home real soon!!!! Best of luck my dear! Keeping everything crossed for you!
My clinic's protocol is as follows:
Day 1 : call the clinic and let them know you want to do an FET protocol.
Day 21: start taking Suprefact and baby aspirin. Suprefact is deemed better than, say, Lupron, because downregging is as effective but less harsh on the hormonal system. Sucess rates went crazy when they made the switch, apparently.
Day 1: call the clinic to let them know AF started. Start taking Estrace (1mg twice a day I think) and Vibramycin (ouch, spelling), an antibiotic. Now the clinic prescribes 7 days of antibiotics for both the father and the mother (IVF fresh cycles), and only to mummies for FET. Although we do our best to keep the procedures sterile, sperm can be contaminated during ejaculation, eggs may be contaminated during ER and the embryos can be contaminated during transfer. Antibiotics provide a safer environment (vagina/urethra), and apparently it has an impact on success rates.
Day 2-14: Estrace doses are gradually increased to 6mg a day (three 2mg doses).
Day 14: ultrasound to check lining. If it's around 11mm, it's a go. Suprefact intake stops.
Day 15: Start taking Prometrium (progesterone pessaries; better than PIO according to my doctor because it provides a steadier dose over a 24-hour period compared to PIO, one big dose that slowly decreases over 24 hours). 2 pearls three times a day. Embies are thawed.
Day 16: embryologist calls to tell you how many embies survived; transfer is done in the afternoon. Assisted hatching is done automaticaly on each embie as a courtesy. The clinic has us rest in bed for 1 hour, and then we leave the clinic. Bed rest is absolutely not recommended after that (it's bad for circulation and can actually lower implantation rates).
Day 16-29: continue taking progesterone, estrace 6mg per day, and baby aspirin. Beta is taken on day 29. If positive, baby aspirin is stopped but the other two meds are continued.
Hope that helps... don't hesitate if you have other questions. Don't worry about the age of your frosties. My clinic used to offer blast transfers before, but they don't do it anymore, not typically. They said that the best place for an embryo to survive is the womb, period. The main reason why some embryologists insist on culturing the embies to blast stage is they want to discriminate which embies are the strongest. My embryologist told me that, with experience, they know right away which embies are the strongest, and they no longer have reasons to culture them to blast. So don't worry about that. Studies show it doesn't make a difference in the end. It's more important to choose the embies wisely.
Okay, time to say goodnight! Take care ladies, and good luck!!!!
Sophie xxxox
