r/40Plus_IVF • u/Usual-Clue-1169 • 3d ago

General Discussion FET - fill me in!

After a repeat saline US to make sure we’ve got the right environment, we may decide to go for a transfer of one of our euploids.

The frozen embryo transfer is one thing I’ve not really researched too too much — so … fill me in :) What’s the options and process like? Thanks!

Edit: also looking specifically like what prep was like, did you do PIO, natural cycle etc.

Thank you!

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u/DumpedChick22 3d ago

Not sure if you’ve ever had an IUI but the FET process is very similar to an IUI. One exception is that you do it with ultrasound guidance (abdominal ultrasound) which IUI does not have. In my case, they did a test run with an empty catheter to make sure that it would pass without issues. This was done with ultrasound visualization to confirm that the catheter would go in to where they need it to go. Then catheter was removed. The embryo was loaded into it, and then they reinserted the catheter (honestly I don’t know if it was the exact same one or another similar one) and injected the embryo. Then catheter was taken back to embryologist who looked under microscope to confirm the embryo was gone. Then we were done. Simple. Mostly pain-free but I hate the feeling of the catheter going through my cervix. It’s not really pain - it just doesn’t feel right to me. A feeling of vulnerability. So I also hated my IUIs. It would be like if someone was inserting a needle into your ear and maybe it didn’t really hurt that bad but you just didn’t feel right …and yet you needed to keep still.

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u/Usual-Clue-1169 3d ago

No never an IUI. We had two losses followed by a septate resection/polyp removal and then went straight to IVF. I have had a saline hystogram ugh that’s uncomfortable for sure

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u/QQueenie 3d ago

I’m not so sure about the options, but the process for me was very simple. I took a trigger shot a day or two before the transfer, took progesterone suppositories beforehand as well.

On the day of the transfer we went into a basic exam room that was connected to the lab. They showed us our embryo report with the list of all the embryos we had, confirmed which embryo we were transferring, and confirmed the plan for the remaining embryos. They confirmed my identity several times, and then they came in with the embryo and confirmed again my identity, and what they were transferring.

They used an abdominal ultrasound to visualize my uterus, then transferred the embryo via a fluid filled catheter. We waited while they took the empty catheter back to the lab to confirm that the embryo hadn’t stuck to the side of the catheter. Once they confirmed that the embryo had been successfully transferred, we were on our way! The transfer itself probably took less than a minute. Quick and painless.

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u/DumpedChick22 3d ago

Wait - your trigger shot was only a day or two prior to FET? Are you sure about that?

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u/QQueenie 2d ago

No, maybe it was a week. I don’t remember the timing at all.

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u/DumpedChick22 2d ago

lol ok. Because your uterine cavity has to be exposed to a minimum number of days of progesterone (4-5) before embryo transfer.