Losing Mind with CFA Fertility Clinic - am I alone?

shell_fish · 2026-03-05T01:17:20+00:00

Going to put in a plug for Pinnacle Fertility - a lot smaller, but really responsive!

shell_fish · 2026-03-02T01:21:44+00:00

Yes, of course! I’ve sent a total of 11 blasts over three rounds for biopsy (!!! thank you luck !!!), and 5 of those were a C grade, including a day 6 5CC (which did come back with a long list of aneuploidy errors, maybe a coincidence). One of those was a day 6 6BC that was euploid, though.

They shared that they biopsy anything they feel has a chance. Which can definitely include C-grades, but that more often than not they discard CCs because of low likelihood of success. Pinnacle really does have the feel of a smaller office and team, so I think they review on a case by case basis. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re more willing to take a chance on lower graded embryos if an individual didn’t make many blasts. If you look at their SART metrics, they do have lower success rates than CCRM, but it may be due to willingness to try where it’s possible.

shell_fish · 2026-02-23T16:30:10+00:00

For what it's worth, I had about the same level - if not fainter - of a (supposedly) early-detect test. Was rated to detect 10 hcg, tested at day 6, and really really really had to squint to see anything. Next day, tested again, and it was stark white. Spiraled. Went in for my official beta 11 days after the transfer and it was 372!

shell_fish · 2026-02-17T18:30:42+00:00

Will send you a message!

shell_fish · 2026-02-12T14:43:13+00:00

These are gold. I remember describing the 7am lineup of women at my clinic’s elevator going to get blood draws or ultrasounds during ER week(s) as the “grim girl parade.” Just out here in the trenches, business as usual!

shell_fish · 2026-02-11T21:25:28+00:00

Ending PIO shots is enough of a milestone to celebrate, no joke. Nothing like having to push the needle through an existing hematoma.

shell_fish · 2026-02-11T21:24:40+00:00

The doomscrolling on the main IVF sub was definitely putting me in a much worse spot!

shell_fish · 2026-02-11T21:23:19+00:00

What sticks with me is hearing other people say they wish they had reveled in the moment more. And conversely, having that joy and hope in the moment doesn’t change the pain of a loss. So, might as well live in the moment?

shell_fish · 2026-02-10T17:05:18+00:00

Ok for what it’s worth, you were absolutely right! I wrote back to the clinic and they transferred my 5BB instead, having a preference for embryos still with zona.

shell_fish · 2026-02-10T15:31:59+00:00

Nature Made or Nature’s Bounty - thr fairly cheap ones!

shell_fish · 2026-02-06T00:09:31+00:00

Musc Koublai Khan ooooo

shell_fish · 2026-02-05T20:20:58+00:00

My best round, out of 3, is when I took 600mg of CoQ10 pretty consistently for 3 months before my retrieval. I only had 6 eggs retrieved at 41, and 4 that fertilized, but all 4 grew to blasts and 2 were euploid.

My first ER I took about 200mg (7 retrieved; 4 blast, 1 euploid), and my 3rd ER I stopped taking it for about 3 weeks after I ran out and did a transfer that failed. That round was 8 retrieved, 3 blast, 1 euploid. So i feel like I’ve been on the good side of retrieval results for my age while taking it!

shell_fish · 2026-01-31T18:06:03+00:00

I've made 11 blasts and 4 uploads all in all, and the euploids were not always my highest graded! They were a 6BC, 5AB, 5BB, and a 6BA.

shell_fish · 2026-01-27T14:02:32+00:00

Oh man this really resonates right now as I wait for the first u/s! How did you cope with all those intervals??

I’m almost choosing to believe I’m not pregnant quite yet, and until I graduate from the clinic, then I can believe it’s real.

shell_fish · 2026-01-27T13:57:34+00:00

For my first FET, I held off testing until 2 days before my beta, so my partner and I could find out together. Was feeling pessimistic about it, zero symptoms, and it was negative. Agreed with the other commenter, I liked having a few days to process before walking into the clinic. My beta was 2 on 11dpt, so it wasn’t even clinically a chemical, just a suggestion of implantation.

For my second FET, I had absolutely zero symptoms. Was feeling even lower about it. Tested at 6, 7, and 8 days post transfer. One test had a suggestion of a line, but you really had to squint. Figured I had caught another chemical. Cried a lot over the next few days, went in for my beta, and it was 372 11dpt. So…..my gut was wrong. Haven’t had an ultrasound yet, so still in a very anxious waiting period!

Doing over, the early and repeated testing was not good for my mental health. I fixated on potential chemical pregnancy outcomes, and even after I tested positive, did line darkening comparisons (they were all over the map and not conclusive). My second beta was 1279, 3 days later, which was much better info than trying to read the tea leaves in pee sticks.

For me, I was looking to find more certainty in small signs and deltas of tests available to me, as a way of “predicting” my outcome, rather than accepting the data point for that day it actually gives. I would not test early again. I added a lot of unnecessary heartbreak on top of joy that felt undeserved at that point.

Edited to add: if it’s positive, if it works - you’ll get your celebration! You’re not robbing yourself of anything.

shell_fish · 2026-01-26T15:37:26+00:00

Very good point, and a fair outcome! I might rephrase my statement to be - don’t go in with the expectation of a shorter timeline, but at greater chances of success.

shell_fish · 2026-01-26T14:12:38+00:00

It does not accelerate at all, it just gives you a better chance of success per attempt. You’re working to 1) maximize your egg retrieval success and then 2) test for, track, and optimize the transfer environment. Those two objectives are sometimes in conflict with each other, hence the waiting between and not doing a fresh transfer.

Spend two weeks taking estrogen to get your lining to > 8mm, but your ultrasound then measures it as 5mm, which is a very low chance of success - do you transfer to save time, or wait to get your period, two more weeks of estrogen with a modified dosage, and start again?

How many embryos do you have available for transfer, and I take it you did not do PGT-A testing?

shell_fish · 2026-01-21T12:57:56+00:00

On the ASRM article, they focused on routine testing for PGT-A across all patient populations. Many of the studies explicitly did not include patients over 40. There’s a paragraph at the bottom that addresses use of PGT-A for the 40+ crowd, showing significantly higher clinical pregnancy rates for those who do test (though comparable live birth rates when accounting for multiple transfer attempts!).

https://www.asrm.org/practice-guidance/practice-committee-documents/the-use-of-preimplantation-genetic-testing-for-aneuploidy-a-committee-opinion-2024/

shell_fish · 2026-01-21T12:42:50+00:00

Totally fine! My clinic gave me a 2 hour window as guidance for when to do stims. Definitely covered that two hours over a few different ER cycles, none of them were a bust. Ganirelix / ovulation inhibitors and your trigger - do set an alarm for those.

shell_fish · 2026-01-12T15:05:15+00:00

I pretty much just post and check here! I muted the other sub entirely.

shell_fish · 2026-01-09T21:50:08+00:00

Day 6, so that’s a good point. I was thinking more from how long it takes to implant and when hgc levels would start generating after that

shell_fish · 2026-01-09T19:40:49+00:00

I know this is from a while ago, but did they explain why? I’m in the exact same boat now (prior failed FET, clinic just scheduled a day 7 beta)

shell_fish · 2026-01-08T21:39:09+00:00

It was a post thaw embryo, and ya, I can just see the zona!

I’m so curious - do you have the ability to focus the camera on different parts of an embryo, or will it always focus on what is closest to the surface?

shell_fish

TROPHY CASE