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Sorry for the delay in my response. I have been on vacation. My opinion is moot at this point. So, what happened? I may be able to give you some insight, albeit, after the fact.

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okay- well my transfer was a day 5 (last Thursday). I had 2 really good blasts. They froze 3. The doctor said we did not need ICSI. I had 15 retrieved, 13 mature & 10 fertilized.

I took it easy on Thursday, Friday, Sat, Sun & Mon. I returned to work today. For the three days following the transfer my breasts were so sore I couldn't even touch them. They are still sore, but not like they were. Today I have been experiencing alot of cramping. Like AF cramps. I fear that it might be AF knocking. Will my period come (if I'm not BFP) anytime now? Can it come while I am on the Progesterone oil shots? My first beta is on Saturday. My retrieval was on the 28th. Does this mean I am 10dpo? Is there any chance of implantation still happening for me (if it hasn't happened yet)? The whole breast tenderness has thrown me off & I was up crying all night thinking it didn't work. I am driving myself crazy.

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Take it easy. You can't trust anything your body is telling you right now. You are on high levels of progesterone and are coming off high levels of estrogen. Your homonal balance is all out of kilter. Some patients experience the breast tenderness and cramping and are pregnant, others not. Hang in there for the pregnancy test. By my calculations, your test will be on day 9 POST transfer (in our program we don't count the day of transfer). That is the earliest that hCG can be detected in your bloodstream. Seems a bit early for testing to me as you may get a low hCG value, but its still alright. Best of luck on Saturday.

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thanks for your reply. the doc's office just called to tell me to start taking Estrace. My estrogen level was at 61. Is this ok? Does it mean anything?

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thanks for your reply. the doc's office just called to tell me to start taking Estrace. My estrogen level was at 61. Is this ok? Does it mean anything?

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Your E2 is low. E2 rises during the 2WW, if you are pregnant (250-800). Supplementing with Estrace will bring the E2 up, but will not change the outcome. I have seen pregnancies from patients with low E2 (i.e. <100), but they are rare. Things don't look very good. Sorry if I bummed you out.

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thanks doc. I appreciate your honesty.

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Also- I kind of knew it. On Friday & Saturday my breasts were enormous and on Sunday when I woke up, I felt like I was going to get my period and my breasts did not hurt anymore. Could it have been a chemical pregnancy?

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Your pregnancy test will determine if it was a "chemical" pregnancy. If you had a chemical pregnancy, your will some hCG in your system, but will be low (i.e. <50) and it will not rise appropriately.

The breat tendernous was caused by the progesterone. Progesterone levels also drop if there is no pregnancy (even when you are taking supplements). As the progesterone dropped, the breast tenderness went away and you felt your period coming on.

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Yes the progesterone levels did drop.
11/4- my progesterone was greater than 40 & my estrogen was 962.
11/7- my progesterone was 17.4 & my estrogen was 61.

I wonder if sustaining high levels of estrogen & progesterone with meds would help with implantation for a BFP???

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Sabre - I've been following your interesting saga... Have you had your blood test done and had wonderful news? I'm 5 days before getting my blood test from an ICSI/AH blast transfer on 11/6, and I have learned from your posts that breast tenderness goes away as progesterone levels drop. Mine are getting less tender each day, so now I'm not hopeful anymore. But it's good to have a realistic mind-set.

Question: you (and several others) clearly know all your "betas" and such... my clinic did the transfer and said, "See you in two weeks!" Are you taking blood tests during your 2ww? Now I'm starting to doubt the caliber of my clinic... :-\

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Hey Zoe

My first beta was 9dp5dt or 14 days past retrieval. After my transfer on a Thursday- I was told to come in that Saturday & then the following Tuesday for a P4 & E2 blood test. Many clinics don't test the progesterone & estrogen levels during the 2ww. My doctors office just recently started this. I'm glad I went because that Tuesday they found my E2 levels to be very low. They gave me Estrace & when I went in on 11/11- they told me my first beta level. I wouldn't worry so much about the sore boobs thing, becuase my boobs are still not as sore as they were. Can you call your doctors office and ask if they can draw blood for your P4 & E2 levels today? Maybe your levels will be fine- but maybe you need more Progesterone or Estrogen?? Good luck to you. PLease let me know what happens today. I went for my 3rd beta today. God- I pray!!!!!!

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Hey, did I miss something? Sabre, are you pregnant?

FYI, there is data to suggest that supplementing E2 can assist in maintaining a pregnancy, IF implantation has occurred. But, as I mentioned before, the data is sketchy that it will actually help in implantation. That being said, for several years now we've been calling our patients back on day 7 and then again on day 11 post transfer to determine their E2 and Prog levels and adjusting medication as necessary. Parathetically, that's how I know that E2 usually rises during the 2WW if you're pregnant.

The whole boobs thing is outside my area of expertise. I'll leave that to the experts.

ZoeCalifornia - Sabre is right. Most IVF programs haven't caught on to this and do not supplement E2 during the 2WW. Does it make a huge difference? Probably not, but every little tweak can help.

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hey- just an FYI-

My first beta was 40
Second beta was 69
Third beta was 71

The office called us yesterday and told us it's not a viable pregnancy & to go off the Prog & Estrog.

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Sorry to hear that. There is a silver lining. A "chemical" pregnancy indicates that an embryo can attach and initiate implantation. It good to know that. Now, knowing that your estrogen tends to drop after transfer, they may supplement you right from the start. You have frozen embryos as back up and an FET cycle is more physiological. Hang in there. It ain't over yet.

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thanks doctor. i appreciate all your input. you have been wonderful throughout this process for me. I am still trying to eduacate myself on Chemical Pregnancies though. I thought this means that the embryo fails to implant or starts to implant & then is stops.

What is the cause(S) of a chemical pregnancy?

I heard that when you have endo- you may have an underlying autoimmune problem and you may have NK cells that kill off the embryo. Can this be possible? I wonder if I should do the immune testing before I waste anymore time & money.

Like you said, we do have 3 frozen- i hope that at least 2 survive. I think I might have to skip a cycle before doing this.

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