Hello!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Please read the house rules and keep this community safe for yourself and others.

Fertility treatment pre-transplant

Hi Just wondering if anyone else has had fertility treatment prior to transplant and how you found it along side getting ready for transplant.

I am starting the process this week to hopefully freeze embryos for after transplant it is very daunting and stressful when you already have so much to plan and prepare for ,but at the same time I have the time to do this before transplant so feel lucky in that way as it will give us a chance in the future.
I have now finished work to prepare for transplant later next month, so will be doing fertility treatment at the same time as doing the pre-transplant tests such as lung, kidney and heart tests.

Comments

  • Hi Becky,

    I don't know whether it will help but my wife went through fertility treatment years ago, but as part of IVF treatment rather than being related to a transplant. From what I remember (it's over 14 years ago now) there wasn't anything particularly complicated about it and for her it consisted of a series of injections to stimulate egg production followed by a surgical procedure to collect the eggs. I can't remember now if that was done under sedation or general anaesthetic.

    I don't know how the process works alongside the treatment you're already having but hopefully it shouldn't complicate things for either. As a 46 year old with a 25 year old daughter and 11 year old twin boys when I began treatment thankfully the prospect of being infertile wasn't something that worried me. I can imagine it is dramatically different for someone younger who might want to start a family later.

    I have heard of people who have had transplants who have conceived naturally afterwards, but you are right to be taking the precaution of having eggs or embryos preserved for future use.

    Good luck with both treatments and please share your experience on here as you go through the process as I'm sure it will be useful to others.

    All the best,

    Steve
  • My 20 year old daughter went through the process to freeze her eggs. She only had a short time frame to do this prior to her transplant and was warned that it may not work due to already having received strong chemo and also freezing actual eggs is still relatively new. However she decided it was worth a go. Yes it does add slightly to the stress levels due to increased hospital appointments etc but will be worth it in the long run. Good luck with your treatment. X
  • Hi Becky, I'm not having fertility treatment but have had all my pretransplant tests that you refer to - the hospital arranged for me to have them all in one day as I have a far distance to travel.....it was a pretty mammoth session but worked liked clockwork - 8 appointments in all including scans, chest X-rays, bloods, lung function tests even the hospital dentist! Perhaps your hospital may be able to do something similar if you thought that would help? Best of luck with everything x
  • Thank you for your comments, I am 29 with no children so as you say i think its worth it if it gives you a chance.
    I will be off on sunday for two weeks in London for fertility then back home for a few weeks before going back down for transplant.
    All the travelling and being away from home when you already feel ill and more treatment added to the mix when I feel like I should be getting the house ready and seeing family and friends is hard but I would regret it if I didn't give it a chance.
    Best wishes
    Becky
  • Hi Just an update I'm now on day 10 of fertility treatment and up to four injections a day including clexane to replace my warfarin, all is going well although taking a little longer than expected hoping to do egg retrieval next week. Not too many side effects so far just some pain and tiredness.
  • Good luck Becky, I hope all goes well with the treatment.

    Steve
  • Good luck Becky, glad to hear all is going well.

    Best wishes
Sign In or Register to comment.