Fresh v frozen

[Sunbeam]

Okay I need advice. I will have the chance to do one more stim this year so I'll be going ahead with that but I won't know till tomorrow whether I will be able to do a fresh transfer from it or have to freeze and do the PGD and transfer next year due to my clinic closing down over Christmas.

Here is my question, should I just freeze anyway and have a nice chilled Christmas away with my parents and a relaxed holiday and a few stress free drinks on New Years etc and come back to it all refreshed next year rather than push to do a fresh transfer and stress all Christmas and potentially have to deal with bad news over the holiday if I don't get a BFP or worse still don't get any good embies????

I know 7 IVF babies and they were all FET, is it just that much easier on your body? Any advice?

[Phteven]

I think that current thinking is that FETs work better than fresh so you may as well enjoy your holiday.

[nothing2lose]

My recent info appt at my new clinic they were at pains to tell me that FET is better than fresh statistically. But who knows There's always a study to contradict another study in ivf!
Another consideration is cost. If you do another cycle next year, you will have the added expense of not having reached the threshold for 2013.

[Andie78]

replied in other thread, but my opinion would be to enjoy your christmas & have some time off from ivf. ive read that frozen is slightly better too, however i am of the opinion that if it's an embryo that's going to work - it wont matter if its frozen or fresh. goodluck.

[TaRhLi.]

My 3 are all FET babies

If you have the choice I would wait and do the FET in the new year and give you body a chance to recover after your stim and EPU. With all the meds in your system and still recovering from a surgical procedure to then have a fresh transfer for me was painful, and to be honest my successful FET which resulted in DD was after we had a month break had a holiday and just stopped thinking about the whole trying to get pregnant thing. Then once back from our break we were going to have 1 more go before taking a longer break and that was the successful cycle that resulted in a baby

[~TT40~]

FET are more likey from the result if a 'natural' cycle eg.. you have a cycle and they put the emby in at the right time rather than a stim where you have all the meds and your body is artifically made to ovulate etc. might be why there is more sucess ( and i know this isnt the case for everyone and fets.) in saying that Spock was a fresh from a stim cycle.

[onthefly]

If you wait, will you be able to let it be and have a smashing christmas? Because, if so, then enjoy yourself and make merry and bring on baby in 2013

[vic261]

I have had 7 transfers. 3 fresh 4 fets. I got both my bfps with 2 fresh. Having said that I have heard that fets have a slight higher sucess rate. I guess only you know how your feeling x

[Sunbeam]

Hi Girls

Thank you so much for all your advice. I have decided to freeze embies from this next cycle and enjoy a carefree Christmas and then do a FET in Jan

[Mrs P]

Hey Sunbeam just another response for you but I've had 3 frozen and 2 fresh transfers, and it was the frozen ones that resulted in my DD and my current baby bump. Interestingly my clinic's success rate is something like 40% for fresh and 41% for frozen but it was frozen all the way for me. I also found it much much easier on my body.

Have a lovely Xmas

[juniper76]

From what I've read, some of the new theory behind frozen being better is related to inflammation. The stims for the fresh cycle can put a lot of stress on the body and create inflammation and other unfavourable conditions. I'm not saying that means every fresh cycle is doomed to failure (far from it - our DD is from a fresh cycle), but for those women who are more sensitive to those effects it could make a big difference doing the frozen cycle.

That said, you also need to consider how many embryos you have and thaw rates for the freezing process to be used (vitrification has the best thaw rates). We've never had many embryos (last time we only had 2), so freezing would be a big gamble for us.

[Cass72]

Hi Girls

Thank you so much for all your advice. I have decided to freeze embies from this next cycle and enjoy a carefree Christmas and then do a FET in Jan

And this is EXACTLY what I'm doing.... wishing us both a wonderful relaxing christmas and BFP's in the new year!!

[nothing2lose]

From what I've read, some of the new theory behind frozen being better is related to inflammation. The stims for the fresh cycle can put a lot of stress on the body and create inflammation and other unfavourable conditions. I'm not saying that means every fresh cycle is doomed to failure (far from it - our DD is from a fresh cycle), but for those women who are more sensitive to those effects it could make a big difference doing the frozen cycle.

That said, you also need to consider how many embryos you have and thaw rates for the freezing process to be used (vitrification has the best thaw rates). We've never had many embryos (last time we only had 2), so freezing would be a big gamble for us.

It's interesting you say this because my new protocol is designed to reduce the effects of inflammation and the immune system. I wonder what they do for FETs???

[Sunbeam]

Wow lots of really interesting information thank you girls. I feel really happy with my decision to freeze this next cycles embies and chill out over Christmas to come back to it all refreshed in the New Year. I think given my tendency towards OHSS it makes even more sense for me.

Juniper - That makes sense about the inflammation, I'm still bloated from my EPU and even though the pressure from my tummy has gone I still have cramping from it around my uterus. My clinic will use vitrification for my embies this next cycle but the ones frozen by the PGD clinic were frozen the slow way so it will be interesting to see if that affects thawing.

Cass - Whoo to a easy chilled out Christmas and New Year and to making gorgeous 2013 babies

[thirdtimelucky77]

I think you've made a great choice - i had to do this last year due to Xmas.

Stim cycle in nov and then single embie FET transfer at end of January.

I now have 7 week old identical girls and it was nice to enjoy Xmas with a few champagnes

X

[Queenluxury]

I got my BFP from FET natural cycle. It's so much easier on ur body.
After my stim cycle, I even tell me fs that u should have freeze my eggs and do fet next cycle cycle lol
I was suffer from ohss and have to go in ER twice. I knew I wouldn't get BFP from my fresh cycle.