7 replies to this topic

[babiesta]

Hi Everyone,

 

Wanted your opinion on whether fresh transfer is better or FET. I am really confused.

 

My clinic has a general practice of FET the following cycle. But I am not sure about FET. 

 

It wold be great if you can share your experiences.

 

Thanks,

[CdnHockeyGal]

I've always thought the question isn't as simple as "Fresh vs Frozen"...it assumes equal footing...which is, in my opinion, inaccurate.  Fresh transfers have higher success rates often because the embryologist is picking the "best" looking embryo to transfer.  Anything that wasn't the "best" is then frozen...so...when going through the Russian Roulette of FET...you're now wading through embryos that were considered less than optimal.

 

Some clinics believe that the body does better on a FET as your system is under less stress with the drugs and I believe there is a school of thought that holds the belief that the lining is more receptive to just estrogen/progesterone preparation (i.e. no gondatropins.)  I don't know that there is enough data yet on Fresh vs FET as vitrification is still a new technology to be able to say one way or another with definitive certainty.

 

Best to ask your clinic to explain their rational and determine with your RE if that makes the most sense for you.

 

Good luck!

[Merry33]

CHG made some very good points. And there really is no simple answer.

 

For example, it very much depends on your response to the medications/how high your estradiol levels get. If they go very high, I am personally a big proponent of FETs, both because of the decreased risk of OHSS and because I do believe that there is some truth to the theory that a body is more receptive under more "normal conditions".

If the estradiol levels are not that high, I'm not sure if a FET is any better.

 

Also, it really depends on how many embryos you get. Some people do one round of IVF and have several embryos to freeze. If you are as lucky as I always was the question might not even present itself as you might only have very few embryos left even on Day 3 and might not want to risk losing them all.

[babiesta]

Thanks CdnHockeyGal for the response.

 

I asked the nurse today about the difference and she just told me matter of factly, that we do FET unless the embryo can not survive the thawing. That answer was not satisfactory at all. 

In my mind I want to have fresh transfer and get it over with for this cycle rather than wait for the transfer followed by a gruesome 2 ww. Also I am nervous about hat if something goes wrong with Vitrifiation. 

The dr. I am seeing is also not always available for answers. so its basically the nurse I have to listen to. 

I go in for ET early next week. Nervous as hell.

[babiesta]

Thanks Merry33.

 

So I guess I will get to know next week when they do a Egg retrieval.

My baseline follicles were 14... I hope I have good eggs in them.

 

Baby dust to us all.  

[Merry33]

Don't worry about the freezing/thawing. The techniques are so good these days that almost all embryos survive the process.

 

I know that it is always more intuitive to do a fresh transfer, but sometimes it just really is not the best thing to do. You pay a lot of money for this and go through a lot physically and mentally, and you should therefore try to focus on what gives you the best outcome, eventhough it might mean more waiting. Best of luck to you!

[smurfette_w]

i've had success with both and have to agree the FET was a lot easier on my body, but i also had very mild ohss on my fresh transfer so that made my fresh transfer harder on my body.

[babiesta]

Thanks for the response everybody. I think I will not know until the ER.

 

At what day was your egg retrieval done? Today the nurse told me it will be day 16 or day 17.