FET, PUPO & Beta- What does it mean?

FET- Frozen Embryo Transfer

Today was our 3rd frozen embryo transfer and it was one of the more easygoing days in comparison to past FET's. I felt a lot more prepared mentally and I think it's because of my new hypnosis/meditation practice. When I had my 1st appointment with a hypnotist, we went over how to meditate and he also gave me a 20-minute recording for self-hypnosis. I did that every single night before my FET and then again on the car ride to the clinic in downtown Chicago. Once we arrived at the clinic, we were told that there was a delay and we'd have to wait longer for our procedure. The challenge with that was the fact that you need to come to your FET procedure with a full-bladder. I was used to waiting 30-45 minutes but not 1-1.5 hours. I also took my valium pretty early on which helps with relaxation prior to transferring the embryo. I was nervous this would wear off by the time it was our turn to go into the procedure room.

The embryologist came in to tell us about our embryo which was a 3BB Day 5 embryo. Then the nurses came in with our gowns to change into. Then during the long wait, my husband and I used that time to create ridiculous TikTok's to distract us from our nerves. We actually had so much fun and were giggling pretty hard for the extra hour we had. Brent and I don't take ourselves too seriously and I think these moments of laughter made it a less stressful experience this time. If we don't laugh, we quite literally would cry. Finally around 2pm, the nurses came into our private waiting room to walk my husband and I back to the FET procedure room.

Allow your arms to feel heavier from the shoulders to your elbows to the tips of your fingers with which you will hold a healthy newborn, 9 months after your transfer - a blurb from my hypnosis recording

PUPO

The transfer itself takes about 15 minutes and is pretty painless, straight forward and exciting. They show you the catheter on the ultrasound when they officially implant the embryo into your uterus. At that point, you're consider pregnant until proven otherwise 'aka'-PUPO. We had a long drive back to the suburbs after leaving our clinic in Chicago's West Loop so we simply drove home after the transfer. The discharge instructions tell you to take it easy for the next 2 days, don't lift anything over 5lbs, don't drink more than 200mg of caffeine a day, and a few others that are common sense like no alcohol/drugs/sex. I always take the day of transfer and the following day off of work so that I can lounge around with minimal stressors.

Beta Day

There are typically 2 bloodwork appointments set up after your transfer and the first is to check your hormone levels. Afer this first appointment, the nurses will call you to provide any instructions to modify or continue your medications. In the past, I've typically had to either increase my PIO dose by 1ml or keep it the same. About 10-12 days after your FET, you will have your Beta HCG blood test which tells you if you're pregnant. This is the 'two week wait' period but with IVF you're transferring anywhere from a Day 3 to Day 7 embryo. It's only 10-12 days from FET but it ends about being about 2 weeks depending on the type of embryo transferred. (day 5 embryo + 9 days after FET= ~ 2 week wait).

This time period is one the most underestimated mental battles of the entire IVF journey. Everyone thinks the needles, hormones and blood draws are the most challenging but the 2 week wait truly tests your emotional stamina. The doctor suggests that you wait until Beta to confirm whether or not you're pregnant but women have seen positives on home pregnancy tests as early as 4DP5DT.

4DP5DT- four days post 5 day transfer*

This is a time reference to how many days have passed after the transfer

& the type of embryo, in this case 'day 5.'

Here's the issue with testing at home, it can drive you insane but many of us still do it. Let's say you test at 4DP5DT and it's negative, well you're officially on the testing train because you'll continue to test the next 5 days until Beta. Some women will get their positives eventually, at 5DP5DT,6DP5DT and even later at day 8 or 9. However, if you continue to get negative pregnancy tests, it can be really discouraging to even continue medications and it's super depressing to go into a Beta day when you know it's negative. Let's say you don't test at all, you make it all the way to Beta, then you get that super exciting call and the nurses say that you're pregnant. You avoided a week of peeing on a stick and you experience a happy surprise that are rare to find on an infertility journey. Unfortunately, some people don't get exciting news on Beta day but at least you protected your mental psyche if you don't test at home prior to getting the call.

When I first became pregnant from IVF in August 2021, I saw a faint positive line at 5DP5DT and I compared the pink lines on Free Response sticks every day, sometimes multiple times a day, up until 12DP5DT. I was convinced that the lines would fade and I would potentially lose the pregnancy. The last two transfers, I tested at the same time and they were both negative. I try to wait until at least 5 or 6 days after transfer before testing. Personally, I know I don't have the patience to wait until Beta and I was able to process the failed transfer sooner when I tested at home. By the time Beta came around, I already knew what I wanted to do with next steps for my next transfer. I'm a Virgo with a type A personality so this is just how I roll. I expect to be on a similar crazy train here in a few short days. Until then, we're going to pray this embaby sticks around and perhaps we will get our 2nd pregnancy, third time's the charm!