# first donor egg embryo transfer from Reprofit in Czech, seeking advice!



## aspiringmum (Nov 20, 2010)

Hi everyone, thanks for being there! Yesterday I had my first ever embryo transfer. It was with DE and my partner's sperm. There were two grade 1 embryos. I am 45. Reprofit said no bedrest was needed and I went home to Prague by tram and train. Then I cooked dinner and went to bed. Does that seem ok?! At 4 a.m. I awoke feeling very hot, like a fever but not a fever, although am ok now. My stomach was also a bit funny and I have very mild cramps where I guess my ovaries are. Am guessing this probably is unrelated to the dreaded 2 week wait? 
Forgive my ignorance, but I did as little research as possible before embarking on this journey because I didn't want to become obsessive. My friend used Reprofit and had twins so I decided to follow in her footsteps. 
I do however feel their communication skills are awful. The doctor asked me about payment in the transfer room 1 minute after the transfer! And right before my transfer when I was asking what psychological screeening donors go through -- I hadn't thought of this that much before -- the doctor wrote back that I should have asked about this in my one and only 30 minute in person consultation I had 2 months earlier! I am trying to laugh at all this and wipe away the negative energy. I just feel that as they gave me not emotional support or even reading material -- I realize they think that it is my job -- it has not made this an optimal experience.  Anyway, I want to be positive now but also be prepared for a negative result, so that if that happens, I will not break down to pieces. Thank you!!!!!!


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## suitcase of dreams (Oct 7, 2007)

Dear aspiringmum,

Yes, it's fine to travel home after embryo transfer and to carry on more or less as normal. Standard advice would be no energetic exercise - so no gym/aerobics/running etc (walking and light exercise is good), and no sex. But other than that, most clinics will tell you to just live your normal life during the 2WW. Many of Reprofit's patients (including myself) come from overseas and we fly back to our home countries, some travelling over 1-2 days to return to the US and still have success, so please don't worry about your trip home

The funny stomach, cramps, temperature fluctuations etc are all 100% normal - you are presumably taking oestrogens and progesterone, both of which can cause all sorts of minor symptoms and side effects. The only advice I can give you re the 2WW (having been through at least 8 or 9 of them myself!) is to try not to over analyse everything. This of course is much easier said than done, but ultimately any symptoms you experience could be simply down to the medications and the only way to know for sure if it's worked is to do a pregnancy test approx 12 days after transfer (some people get their positive test early, maybe 9-10 days post transfer, but to be sure wait for 12 days at least)

As for donor screening - well, they are asked about the medical history and that of their family and I assume this includes mental as well as physical health. There are also actual screening (blood) tests done to check for certain physical/genetic conditions. However I guess there is no test to really check for physchological screening - I can only assume that the nurses/doctors recruiting the donors have become pretty expert at identifying those who are 'right'. Is this what you meant? Or did you mean whether the donors had counselling or anything to help support them through the process?

In my own experience (of both Reprofit and a major London clinic) I have found in general that the doctors are not that good at the emotional side of things. In the UK most clinics have counsellors and they recommend you see the counsellor to deal with that side of things, the doctors are there for the medical/practical stuff. It's disappointing, especially when you consider how much money we pay for this service, but then again I'd rather they were medical experts and delivered high success rates than they were brilliant at the people side of things. I get my emotional support from friends, family and of course this wonderful community here...so if you have questions or need any further reassurance, do just ask - there are so many women here who have been to Reprofit who can surely help   

At the end of the day, success rates with DE (assuming no problems with the sperm) are around 50-60%, so there will still be 4 or 5 women in every 10 who are disappointed. However, I believe over 3 attempts success rates rise to ca 90% - so 9 out of 10 women are pregnant after 3 attempts. Hopefully these figures will help you to feel positive, yet realistic

Wishing you the very best of luck for your 2WW - perhaps join the sept/oct/nov Reprofit thread where you can chat to others who have recently been to the clinic and are right now going through the same 2WW challenges

take care
Suitcase
x


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## aspiringmum (Nov 20, 2010)

Dear Suitcase,
thank you so, so much. You are right, I think I wanted the doctors to be my pals too but hey, that's just not how it is here. Although their lack of diplomacy, with all the money, still makes me furious.  All that said, what you just wrote about 90 percent after 3 tries is an amazing reassurance. 
How you did this 8 or 9 times I will never know! But I guess it gets easier.
I want to focus on life and not make my partner crazy, the poor guy, since the medicines do make me (and I think everyone else) a bit wacky!

Best,
Aspiring mum


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## Ceri. (Sep 6, 2004)

to FF!

Please have a good look around the site and feel free to post in any area, and make yourself at home. There are many who are on their TTC journey, and others who have been fortunate to have little ones with assistance. You will soon discover that our members are very encouraging of one another and offering advice or just simple hugs. There's a vast amount of information here for everyone, so start reading, posting and getting to know others. You will make some great friends too, lots of members often have meet ups locally too, for chats, coffee, shopping or even nights out! You can share conversations with one another freely, simply because we all understand each other. It's hard when family and friends don't fully comprehend what this journey entails and the emotions that go with it. That's where we come in!

Here are some links which you should find really useful at the moment&#8230;&#8230;

*What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~ *   CLICK HERE

*Complimentary, Holistic and Spiritual Approaches ~ *CLICK HERE 

*Donor sperm/eggs ~ *CLICK HERE

*TTC over 40 ~ *CLICK HERE

Czech Republic thread ... http://www.fertilityfriends.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=347.0

While undergoing treatment, you might find it useful to join other ladies having treatment at the same time. The Cycle Buddies threads are just for that. Just pop along to the appropriate month and say "Hi" when you are ready to start treatment.

*Cycle buddies ~ *CLICK HERE

*2WW, Ladies in Waiting ~ *CLICK HERE

Wishing you lots of luck    and 
Keep in touch
Ceri xx

PS I have also sent you a pm (private message)


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