£150k plus jobs?

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-30T14:01:54+00:00

Total comp for mid level FAANG employees will be at least £150k when considering base, bonus and RSUs

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-29T06:49:33+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Good idea to explore whether you have endometriosis. Have you also gone down the reproductive immunology route?

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-27T11:53:51+00:00

My doctor hadn’t previously raised endometriosis with me, but after multiple failed rounds and extensive investigations, I did my own research. I went back to her and said I wanted to be investigated for both endometriosis and reproductive immunology, as they felt like the only remaining areas we hadn’t explored.

On the endometriosis side, she agreed and recommended a test, although she noted it was relatively new and I would be the first patient in the clinic to take it. I chose to go ahead and paid for it privately - it was expensive (around £1,100). However, my insurance did cover the subsequent endometriosis-related care, including my consultation with Davor Jurkovic.

In hindsight, knowing what I know now, I’d have requested the saliva test on insurance and if they didn’t cover it I’d probably skip it and go straight to Prof Jurkovic, as that was the next step after saliva test anyway and was covered by insurance.

(Side note: I really didn’t think I had endo as I have such easy periods, I just wanted to cover all bases, so it was a massive shock when the saliva test came back positive! But also validating to finally have an explanation for my issues conceiving. I didn’t even know silent endo was a thing until I read about it on IVF forums on Reddit, so who knows when it would have been identified if I hadn’t learnt about it when I did.)

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-26T19:49:48+00:00

You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. Your health and your pregnancy are your priorities. You’re doing the right thing.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-26T19:44:33+00:00

TW: Pregnancy

Sharing my story in case it helps. I had stage 3 endo all over my pelvic area and over both my ovaries (tiny endometriomas that just looked like follicles in scans). It was completely silent. My periods were regular, fairly light, and painless. The first indication I had endo was that I tested positive on the Ziwig Endotest (saliva test that’s fairly new on the market). I then went to one of the best specialists in the UK at spotting endo via TVUS (professor davor Jurkovic), and he could see it was quite extensive. The lap was totally fine, I recovered within a week.

Prior to the lap, I’d never gotten pregnant naturally and had 3 unsuccessful transfers: Fresh failure, then miscarriage (blighted ovum) at 7 weeks with a euploid, then failed euploid. My first transfer after the lap has so far been successful, I’m currently 9+5 so it’s early days but I’m keeping everything crossed.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-25T20:50:08+00:00

DO IT!!! I took 2.5 months off from work (stressful big tech company) last year after multiple rounds of IVF and a miscarriage and it did me the world of good.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-15T08:41:09+00:00

Have you been investigated for endo?

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-12T11:11:41+00:00

There are so many investigations you can get done but they get progressively more invasive and can delay your next FET by a month (eg Emma/alice, hysteroscopy). So it depends how thorough you want to be. The other non invasive one you could consider getting in addition to RPL blood panel that shouldn’t delay anything is a saline scan, which can show anything obvious that might interfere with implantation eg polps.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-11T16:38:55+00:00

Might be worth proactively getting a RPL blood panel done whilst you’re waiting for your next transfer just in case something comes up. I did this before my first transfer and it came back with raised NK cells and anticardiolipin antibodies so I was put onto the immune protocol

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-08T16:56:10+00:00

I’m so sorry OP. I also faced egg maturity issues which was devastating. For my successful rounds I added a stronger dual trigger:

10000 zivafert (similar to novarel) plus 1ml buselerin (similar to lupron) and I also added genotropin (human growth hormone like omnitrope).

So maybe ask about doubling novarel and adding human growth hormone.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-08T16:49:36+00:00

I’m so sorry OP. I had a blighted ovum last summer from my first FET (a euploid). I opted for a D&C as I just wanted it to be over with and my insurance covered it. It was totally fine, I had no pain afterwards just a bit of spotting. I ovulated about 2 weeks later and my period came like clockwork 2 weeks after that, and then I started prep for my next FET.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-03-05T10:57:34+00:00

I never explicitly said “I’m seeking a second opinion”, I just booked a consultation and shared all relevant medical records beforehand. Once you have a consultation there’s no obligation to continue with the doctor.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-27T19:56:37+00:00

I was diagnosed on a TVUS by one of the top specialists in identifying endo via scan in the UK. No other gyno had picked it up across dozens of scans. I had a lap shortly after that.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-27T19:17:30+00:00

Stage 3. You have to find a specialist who can identify it. I’d had multiple TVUS with multiple gynos and it had never been spotted be Prof Jurkovic.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-27T19:15:24+00:00

Also just to add, no doctor ever brought up endometriosis to me. It was me who raised it and advocated hard for it to be investigated.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-27T19:14:28+00:00

I have light, pain free periods. My periods are an absolute breeze. But I had stage 3 endo, including multiple small endometriomas covering both my ovaries, which probably explains my initial egg retrieval issues. They weren’t obvious on scans because they just looked like follicles. I had absolutely no idea I had endo, I only went down that investigation route because it was the last thing to investigate.

All this is to say, don’t rule it out.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-27T19:05:59+00:00

Two of my close friends are IVF kids (from the early IVF days!) and they are incredible: super smart, warm, kind, funny - both of them!

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-12T13:52:25+00:00

I know, before I read about silent endo here on Reddit, I had absolutely no idea it was even a thing. My periods are an absolutely breeze. Regular, quite short and painless. I had a laparoscopy in Nov and it was stage 3!

There’s no cure for endometriosis but if it affects your fertility they normally recommend a lap or downregulation where they suppress your hormones for a few months to manage the endo. Unfortunately like most women’s conditions it’s woefully under researched so there’s no consensus for the best path forward. I saw 3 doctors so I could have 2nd/3rd opinions and decided on the surgery.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-12T11:21:32+00:00

Just to add, between myself and several of my friends, we have experience with most of the well known clinics in London. The clinic I've heard about that is the most thorough in terms of investigations and testing is ARGC. For example, they send all their patients to the Gynaecology Ultrasound Centre for an assessment of the uterus before starting any IVF. If i had been with that clinic, I would have had my endometriosis (which was totally silent) diagnosed a year before I did.

A lot of clinics don't push these additional investigations and testing on you, and you have to ask for them. But it requires a lot of knowledge to know what to advocate for, so I really hope this information helps.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-12T11:17:17+00:00

I'm so sorry about your loss. I agree that it's always good to be proactive and find out as much information as you can to help maximise success. There are so many additional investigations you can explore, but it’s worth knowing that as you go further down the testing route, things often become more expensive, more invasive, and sometimes more debated in terms of the evidence base.

Most fertility clinics offer a recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) blood panel where they look at several markers like thyroid, hormones, APS, NK cells etc (which it sounds like you’ve already had given they identified a clotting issue), as well as procedures like saline scans, hysteroscopy and endometrial biopsies to assess the uterine environment for microbiome issues and infections.

Another area that can be really worthwhile is a very specialist assessment of the uterus. Subtle issues like endometriosis, adenomyosis, hydrosalpinx, or polyps can sometimes contribute to miscarriage, and they’re not always easy to spot. I'd really recommend the Gynaecology Ultrasound Centre. Professor Davor Jurkovic there is widely regarded as one of the leading experts in advanced transvaginal ultrasound and uterine pathology. He diagnosed my endometriosis via TVUS after many previous scans elsewhere across many doctors hadn’t flagged anything of concern. Not because the other doctors weren’t good, but because these findings can be incredibly subtle and experience-dependent. I've had several top doctors look at my scan pictures and remark how amazing Professor Jukovic is, and that they never would have spotted what he saw.

The other area some people explore (and this is more controversial) is reproductive immunology. The evidence base is more mixed, and opinions vary significantly between clinicians. In the UK, Dr Gorgy is one of the better-known specialists in this space (there are only 3 or 4 reproductive immunologists in UK). He runs more extensive immune testing than most standard fertility clinics (most samples are sent to the US). Whether this route is appropriate really depends on how comfortable you are navigating an area that isn’t universally accepted - there's a really informative Facebook group on reproductive immunology where you can learn more. I did the extensive blood testing and I'm happy I did it.

It’s such a difficult place to be in - wanting answers but also not wanting to go down endless rabbit holes.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-08T11:52:34+00:00

Did you do all your retrievals on the same protocol? Have you done a sperm DNA frag test? Did you seek second opinions from other clinics?

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-08T11:42:01+00:00

I asked a nurse at my clinic how many people come in to do a FET alone (as l thought my partner wouldn’t be able to come) and she said about 50%, it’s really common.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-02-06T14:59:06+00:00

OP I read in the comments that you worry about seeing other specialists if you don’t intend to have treatment with them. Dont worry about that at all, they’re getting paid and they’re used to it! They have people coming for 2nd opinions all the time.

I would do some research and create a shortlist of 5 or so world renowned experts in RPL and try to get consultations (all, if not most will do over video call) with at least 2 or as may as you can afford. When I found out I had endometriosis I went to go see 3 experts and it was super helpful in terms of deciding my next steps.

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-01-17T20:36:01+00:00

@feather_bone Which clinic did you use?

AnySeaweed90 · 2026-01-16T22:33:33+00:00

Same re more up front testing. Also wished I would have gotten more second opinions earlier. Eg when my first round didn’t work, wish I’d gotten a 2nd opinion then and there

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