# egg donor IVF treatment abroad and aftercare in UK



## aruck (Jan 24, 2007)

hello , 

I just wondered if any of you  can help me with some information. 

I am planning my first ever  donor IVF treatment in Czech Republic in May and after a long 2 year wait ,I can't believe it's only a few months away. ..

I have read widely on ff during my time ' in waiting' , especially the Czech and treatemnt abroad threads. 

One of the things I remember reading about is that some women have written about undergoing blood tests back in the UK. They had to be carried out  within only  2-4 days of their embryo transfer( abroad)  , to measure something in their blood that starts wit H I think, or maybe it's progesterone ? - t okeep a close eye on levels  - when levels don't rise, this  then usually  indicates that a chemical pregnancy/ miscarriage will  result  ? ( if this occurs, can something be  done at this stage to reverse it ? ). 

The  'standard 'advice from clinics  seems to be  that they ask you to carry out a pregnancy test  a fortnight after the embryo transfer . However, some clinics have high miscarriage rates  and some women who this has (sadly) happened to have written that they wish they had had these  tests done with hindsight very early on  . 

I thought if I find out now,  I can ask my GP the next time I see her about whether  I could get these blood tests done privately anywhere. I have had a previous miscarriage and obviously want to do anything I can  to minimise the risk of having another one and  Iwant to be well informed in advance . 

D oes anyone know what I'm talking about and if yes, please could you shed some light ?

Many thanks !

Andrea


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## B777 (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi Andrea

I think you may be talking about the hormone HCG. This is what the pregnancy tests measure (pee stick & blood test) and you need to wait till test day to do this. If you test early, you may get a false reading or most likely a negative. Once your blood test shows you are postive, you then go back 2 days later for another blood test to make sure that this HCG level is doubling, this will give an indication that it is viable and not ectopic. There's nothing you can do to prevent it from not doubling I'm afraid. 

If you do a search on HCG on this forum, I'm sure you'll get lots of info on it. You should also look into the threads for miscarriages too. There are tests that you can do ie immunity issues, blood clots, blood flow to womb, but I'm no expert on this and maybe someone else can help. 

Good luck with your TX. 

Bea


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## aruck (Jan 24, 2007)

Dear Bea, 

thank you so much for replying. It's really quite simple about the HCG isn't it ? but I had got myself all confused. 

I did some surfing on the site yesterday  (into the early hours ! Been feeling  knackered all day... )and  Ithink I've now got the general gist. 

So happy to read your happy news. Does this mean you fell pregnant with your friend's eggs ? good on your friend. I wish you all the very best for your pregnancy - I still treasure the moment when  Ifound out that  iwas pregant 3 years ago it must have been the happiest moment of my life ( but sadly miscarried). 

Do you mind me asking : when you mention that you got a 5 1/2 week scan , does this mean 3 1/2 weeks post egg transfer ?and  1  1/2 weeks post pregnancy testing ? Is this the norm to have a scan at around this time  ?
How often did you have your HCG tested ? Only the once, 48 hours after the first testing ?I take it when you know that your HCG is doubling, you are kind of out of the woods / or at leat you can eliminate very early miscarriage. 

Sending you hugs and bubbles .

Andrea

So many questions !


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## B777 (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi Andrea

I did my HCG blood test 3x over 5 days so on day 1, 3 & 5. This was ordered by my clinic. The scan I had was early because I was travelling and my doc just want to make sure it was viable. The first scan is usually at 7 weeks where you can hear the heartbeat. Yes, 5.5 weeks means my embryo was 3.5 weeks old. There is a pregnancy calculator on FF that will give you your exact due date. 

Doubling of your HCG means you are pregnant but it does not eliminate a miscarrage. 

Thanks for your well wishes. I am very blessed to have a friend to donate and I will never forget her generousity. There are not enough words for me to express my gratification, my awe and my emotions for her. I'm keeping everything crossed that I'll have a smooth pregnancy resulting in a healthy baby! (touch wood!!). 

Take care
bea


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