# How many days after ovulation is an embryo transferred on nat cycle?



## Violet66 (Dec 28, 2007)

I should know this but can't remember. Trying to work out what time to book off work!


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## Dominique (Dec 31, 2009)

I'm guessing it depends on how old the embryo is.  A 2 or 3 day embryo would go in 2 or 3 days after ovulation.  A blast, 5 days.  Or is that too simplistic?
The main problem is probably knowing when ovulation will take place, unless you are very regular of course.
D.


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## Danni (Aug 25, 2004)

Violet
you should  check at least twice a day for the LH surge on your urine. when you get the LH surge you add one day for ovulation and another 5days for a blast transfer, or 3 days for day 3 transfer, 2days for a day 2 transfer, etc. Ovulation is taken as the day after the LH surge even if you get the surge at night. 
good luck and   

Danni xxx


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## Violet66 (Dec 28, 2007)

thank you ladies.


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Hi

With FET there can be a little more leeway...well, there was on my natural FETs.

Our clinic do not use OPKs to detect LH surge prior to ovulation, they prefer to do regular scans as it helps give clearer picture of what's happening with follicles and womb lining.  If your clinic use OPKs then you'd usually ovulate around 36 hours after the definite positive OPK (although it can be anywhere between 12-48 hours later !).

With first natural FET I had scan as close to cd1 as possible...so had one on cd2.  Not the most pleasant of scans as you can imagine but our consultant likes to ensure that there are no cysts on ovaries and womb lining shedding properly.  I ovulate naturally on cd14/15 every month but they wanted to check developing follies so I had more scans on cd9, cd11 & cd14 and to exactly time my ovulation, I had HCG trigger injection early hours (2am) of cd15...I then had ET on cd18 (so approx 2 days after I would've ovulated, assuming this happened about 36 hours after the HCG injection, and this would've been later than my "natural" ovulation).  So the timing was 2 day old embies put back 2 days after ovulation.

My womb lining was good but the reason I had more scans with 1st FET was because on cd9 I had 4 follicles (2 at 9mm, 1 at 10mm & 1 at 11mm) and they were concerned I may naturally release more than one egg (which I do sometimes)...  Luckily by cd11 I only had 1 dominant follie at 14mm !!  (The sonographer even had to double check notes as thought I was on fertility drugs - I wasn't !!)

With 2nd natural FET I had scan on cd3, cd12 and then by time went for scan evening of cd14 I'd already ovulated that morning !! My womb lining was a little thin (just under 8mm which is the minimum they like) so I was prescribed some oestrogen tabs (HRT - Climeval) to help thicken it up and then I went back for a scan on cd17...all was fine with womb lining by then and so I had ET on cd18 again (but 4 days after ovulation).

I was concerned that with the 2nd FET my embies were 2 days old but I was having them transferred 4 days after ovulation but consultant said that with FET there is a tiny amount of leeway so was fine to transfer the embies slightly later but when womb lining was better for me.....and I'd been on progesterone from ovulation onwards as additional support.

Both FETs resulted in BFPs....although sadly short lived   

Good luck
Natasha


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## Violet66 (Dec 28, 2007)

Thanks for that Natasha - I'm sorry that the BFPs didn't stick - although (weirdly) maybe it was some small comfort to know that FET did at least seem to work - even if only initially. I'm hoping that frozen will work where fresh has failed - I'm working with my natural cycle but using donor eggs. 

My consultant seems to think I have immune issues (still not totally convinced by whole immune thing to be honest) and he reckons FET are, for some reason, more readily accepted by 'hostile environment' wombs like mine....we'll see!


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

Violet66 said:


> Thanks for that Natasha - I'm sorry that the BFPs didn't stick - although (weirdly) maybe it was some small comfort to know that FET did at least seem to work - even if only initially. I'm hoping that frozen will work where fresh has failed - I'm working with my natural cycle but using donor eggs.
> My consultant seems to think I have immune issues (still not totally convinced by whole immune thing to be honest) and he reckons FET are, for some reason, more readily accepted by 'hostile environment' wombs like mine....we'll see!


Hi again 

Yes, it's amazing that with both FETs we've got further along than we have with any of our fresh cycles (5 fresh in total) which were all BFN. Sadly, I had 2 naturally conceived early mc's before we even started IVF and I was already prescribed medications for diagnosed immune and blood clotting problems which I was taking through all my treatment cycles, including both FETs.....and then we had another early mc, naturally conceived last year (so 5 early mc's/chem pgs in total). We know we can get pg, just can't hold on to them 

We've still got 6 frosties from a few years ago so will use them at some point, not sure when but won't be leaving it too long as I'm 42 in January....so yes, like you, we're kinda hoping that the FET(s) will work again and maybe last the full 9 months 

Good luck to you  
Natasha


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## Violet66 (Dec 28, 2007)

good luck to you too darling - doesn't get any easier does it? !


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## greatgazza (May 27, 2010)

Hi girls

I know this hasn't been posted on for a while so I hope you're still around.  Minxy I know you've been very helpful to me with some other questions I've had and you seem very knowledgable about this and explain things well so I hope you can help.

I am possibly thinking about DFET at Reprofit in the new year as I just found out i have 'balanced translocated chromosomes' which gives me a 1 in 3 chance of mc or abnormalities.    

I'm just trying to get my head round this and how it works and i was curious as to what happens to our own eggs when we are having frozen ones put back in. I thought maybe they are just doing transfer after ovulation so the eggs are gone but i was a bit confused with your 1st FET and having 4 follicles and you mention how they were concerned you'd release more than 1 follicle.  What difference would that make then? Why does it matter how many follicles you have and what size they are? What part do they play?

Also, while i'm here, what are the different options for DFET, natural or full on? does the full on just mean meds to help thicken lining or is it anything like a full on IVF cycle?

thanks

GG x


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## Violet66 (Dec 28, 2007)

with natural FET you would still ovulate. Four follicles doesn't equal 4 eggs - and it's very unlikely you'd release 4 eggs on an unmedicated cycle - one, maybe two is the norm. 

On a medicated cycle your system would be supressed - and your lining artificially thickened with hormones - but there would be no ovarian stimulation. 
So you'd probably inject/sniff to stop ovulation and then start taking estrogen and progesterone to prepare for transfer.


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## greatgazza (May 27, 2010)

thanks violet

I'm still a bit confused  .  What do they do/want to happen to your own follicles/eggs you are producing if you are having frozen eggs put back.  Do the ones you have produced stay in there alongside your frozen transfer?  Or do they wait for those eggs to go away and then transfer the frozen ones so that they are the only ones in there?

What are the pros and cons of choosing natural FET over stimulated FET.  Obviously you're not taking all the drugs but what are the differences in success etc?  Also, not sure if you'll know this, but does it make a difference if it's your own FET or DFET?  With donor is it necessary to do more preparation/definitely have the drugs to help your body accept embryos from a donor or doesn't it make any difference?

GG x


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## wanabmum (Jul 30, 2009)

Hi - could i butt in please i have a stupid question!   In Aug i went for my 2nd cycle which i over stimmed so 16 embrios have been frozen e/c was the monday and they were frozen on the Tuesday = so does that class them as 1 day old, going for my bloods tomorrow(wed) so will i then have them back Thus? Thanks


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## Violet66 (Dec 28, 2007)

I' m having donor eggs - so mine are past it anyway. 

Otherwise if you are on a natural cycle and having FET - then you would simply ovulate as normal - and your egg would go unfertilised as you'd be advised to abstain from sex. 

The reason I'm having FET is that it is supposedly more effective in women that may have immune issues.


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## greatgazza (May 27, 2010)

Thanks violet

I'm not sure how to do this quote thing so not sure if it's worked but this is the bit that Minxy wrote that confused me:



> "My womb lining was good but the reason I had more scans with 1st FET was because on cd9 I had 4 follicles (2 at 9mm, 1 at 10mm & 1 at 11mm) and they were concerned I may naturally release more than one egg (which I do sometimes)... Luckily by cd11 I only had 1 dominant follie at 14mm !! (The sonographer even had to double check notes as thought I was on fertility drugs - I wasn't !!)"


Why does it make any difference how many follicles you have as with FET you are not using those eggs but the ones you are having transferred back in?

GGx


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

greatgazza said:


> Thanks violet
> I'm not sure how to do this quote thing so not sure if it's worked but this is the bit that Minxy wrote that confused me:
> 
> 
> ...


Hi GG

Follicles contain eggs so as Violet has mentioned, if you have sex around the time of ovulation when having natural FET, there is always the chance that one of the eggs released naturally can be fertilised and implant.

With FET you don't have eggs transferred, you have embryos transferred (as with IVF). So in theory, you could have a naturally fertilised egg, which goes on to become an embryo and implant...PLUS the embryos you have transferred.

When I mentioned I had 4 large follicles detected during one of my FETs, this was naturally, no fertility drugs at all. Whilst I do sometimes release more than one egg (as confirmed by scans, progesterone blood tests etc), on that particular FET cycle, by the time of my next scan, only one of those 4 follicles had become dominant and I only released one egg from that follicle (corpus luteum seen). I then had the thawed/frozen embryos transferred but there was always a chance that if we'd had sex that the egg I released naturally could also have fertilised and subsequently implanted.

By the way, I've never been advised to abstain from sex during FET.

With natural FET, those follicle(s) developing follicles will produce oestrogen which thickens the womb lining and then when it/they rupture and release an egg, the area where egg popped out becomes the corpus luteum which releases progesterone....and it's progesterone that prepares that thickened womb lining for any possible implantation and sustains any pregnancy until the placenta takes over completely at around 10-12 weeks.

Hope that explains things a little more......

Good luck
Natasha


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## ☼♥ Minxy ♥☼ © (Jan 13, 2005)

wanabmum said:


> Hi - could i butt in please i have a stupid question!  In Aug i went for my 2nd cycle which i over stimmed so 16 embrios have been frozen e/c was the monday and they were frozen on the Tuesday = so does that class them as 1 day old, going for my bloods tomorrow(wed) so will i then have them back Thus? Thanks


Hi there

Yes, that's correct, if you had embryos frozen the day after EC and fertilisation then they would be 1 day old....you count EC as day 0.

When you have them put back depends on your clinic. They may want to thaw them and let them divide/grow for a couple of days so you have a day 2 or 3 (or even day 5) transfer to help determine which are the strongest.

Good luck  
Natasha


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