FET - medicated/non medicated???

Hi girls,

We have one frozen bub left and will probably look at having it transferred in about March/April.

I have been doing a bit of surfing of forums etc and was wondering what the difference between a medicated cycle and a non medicated cycle was. I know its probably pretty obvious.....is there reasons why they will do a medicated as compared to a non medicated and what is involved in a non medicated? Is it just you keep an eye on when you ovulate and they insert the egg. If that is the case then how does that work as I wouldn't think that inserting an embryo would need to worry about when you ovulate.

Sorry I know this sounds like a really dumb question - I have no idea when it comes to all this :-(

the hormone levels are key when doing an FET - they can't transfer too early (before O)as the embryo needs hormonal support from the progesterone released after ovulation

essentially, in a "natural" or non-medicated cycle, they monitor ovulation, and then, depending on the age of the embie (day 3/day 5), they transfer the emby at that point post ovulation as the hormone levels are most appropriate for the embryo at that time

for a medicated cycle, no ovulation occurs - they essentially put you on hormone replacement therapy (like what post menopausal women take) and build up an endometrial lining - when that is sufficient, the clinic create a "dummy" ovulation day, start you on progesterone supplements, and the same number of days later (day 3/day 5) embryo is transferred

in a natural cycle the corpus luteum provides the progesterone support until the placenta takes over - for a medicated cycle, you will continue on meds (both HRT and progesterone) until placenta takes over about 12 weeks.

there are "in between cycles" where they might help to force ovulation, but they are considered a form of a natural cycle as ovulation still occurs...

HTH

BG

hey kasam

just wanted to wish you all the best for when you do got to ET

have everything crossed for you hun xxx

;)just thank you for asking this i needed a brain refreher as im doing a NAT FET in march and as always the wonderful BG has answered my questions,thank you
ps..so do you just have daily BT or something bg when it gets close to ovulation ??;)

DD was our BFP on a natural FET cycle :)

I had to start monitoring for ovulation from day 12. I had a scan on day 10 of my cycle to see whether a natural follicle was forming properly to ensure that I was definitely going to ovulate that cycle. From day 12, I used a OPK everyday first thing in the morning to start to watch for when ovulation would be, and I had BT every second day to pick up the surge from day 12 also. I surged on day 14 (so two BT and three days with the OPK), meaning ovulation on day 15, and I had two embryos transfered three days after ovulation (so day 18 of my cycle), as they were day 3 embryos. BT was scheduled for 2 weeks after transfer, but the first HPT to come up positive (quite faint though) the day AF was due, which was day 29.

HTH, Smithy and kasam.

Miss C :)

I've got a follow on question, how long does progesterone support last for after a medicated FET? My FS said to stop the meds at 9 weeks. What have other people done/heard of?

Ruth - our medicated cycle would have had us on meds til 12 weeks - so approx 10 weeks post embryo transfer if our baby had stuck around. essentially they keep meds up until the placenta is formed and will support the pregnancy.

smithy, as was mentioned, you may need OPK's or BT's to monitor for ovulation - if you have a really regular cycle, it's pretty easy - if it's a bit out of whack, can be very exhausting! for some people, they end up having scans and may even have a pregnyl shot to ensure ovulation occurs...

Thanks for that girls.

I am hoping to go maybe late March? Depends on what happens with DH's work and my cycles etc. I am on full time with my work but DH is only casual and they have slowed right down so we are just going to keep on eye on that for a while. Damn money! lol.

It is very interesting though how many different scenarios you can have when it comes to this!

;) oh thank you girls you have really helped.
BG- my cycles have been very weird since the last ectopic i can get them and they last for about 2 weeks if not longer:doh: so im just wondering do you think maybe if it doesnt settle down that ill need a med fet ??
thank you in advance girls

kasam hun we might be starting around the same time were the same just depends on work now ive just started a new job and am flat out so maybe around march good luk anyway hun ill be watching out for you

BG has answered the question really well. I'm currently pregnant from a HRT FET. The reason I had to have a medicated cycle was due to my cycles being all over the shot/non-existant (PCOS). So rather than risk waiting months for me to ovulate I took HRT and then progesterone pessaries.

Ruth - I kept up the pessaries until I was 10 weeks pregnant. My FS and OB said there is not any proven data that shows taking it for any longer assists the pregnancy. By the time you are 10 weeks the placenta has taken over most of the hormone control.

Best of luck.

Janie xxx

Hi

BG has answered your questions fantastically.

I just wanted to let you know that my 2 previous FET's were medicated HRT cycles(ie: full medication) as I don't ovulate.

However due to my last HRT FET not making a perfect lining in the usual time for optimum transfer (about day 17 - 3 day emby) I ended up having the transfer at day 24.

This time however I am on a new protocol where we are trying to mimic a natural FET by me taking clomid day 2-6 and then a scan at day 10. If we have a lead follicle then I will get a trigger injection (probably around day 14) to make me ovulate and then the FET will be done to coincide with a natural cycle.

When doing both FET options, I have to take progesterone support from approx 3 days prior to FET and if successful for a further 10 weeks (ie: 12 weeks gestation) until the placenta kicks in. I have to do the support twice daily which is a bit inconveinent and expensive (about $5.50 per pessary) so $77 per week. If you have Privte Health Insurance you might be able to get some of the costs back (if you have presciption cover) but if not you can't claim anything back from Medicare, so just to give you a heads up on another cost apart from your FET cost.

Good luck and I hope your frostie is your BFP.

Hello all,
Our current pg is from a non-medicated FET. My cycles are a little irregular, and I can ovulate anywhere from day 14 to 20 - but as I normally do ovulate, we still stuck with a non-medicated cycle. For me it just ment that once I had my first scan (day 11) I had a bit longer of using the LH prediction and backed them up with 1 or two blood tests. For my first 2 FET cycles I also had an extra scan to see what was happening, as my follicle seemed to get to the right size and then do nothing (rather than ovulate as expected), and THEN ovulate - so that threw things out and just required extra monitoring.

Good luck kasam and smithy
FG

Hi,

I have just had an FET today and my protocol was a little different to those above so thought it might be worthwhile posting.... I have irregular AF and do not ovulate (mild PCOS). I had Provera to bring on a bleed the first week in Jan, then I had 75iu of gonal F for 7 days from Day 3, then I had an Ovidrel shot on Day 11 to trigger ovulation and get my lining ready, and then tfer today day 15. The only support i am now on is another ovidrel shot on day 20. The reason I had gonal f rather than Progynova tablets is that the Progynova had the opposite effect to thickening my lining - it thinned it and I had about 3 weeks of bleeding....my FS thought I had fibroids so I had tests but all clear so that's why he put me on this protocol. Well it's got me to FET today so very happy and lets hope it works.
GL Kasam and I hope you can achieve your FET and BFP in March

Aleenta - this is very similar to a "natural" cycle - or the type of cycle used for IUI - and the one that i wanted to use but wasn't able to! it's essentially ovulation induction - and because you ovulate, you don't need long term progesterone support as you will have a corpus luteum to help you out

hope it works for you hun

BG