My Doctor just called with my ERA (endometrial receptivity assay) results. If you want details on what this is Google is a far better resource but essentially it is testing to make sure your lining receptivity is timed the same as your embryo. In 20 percent of women the timing is off and it prevents implantation.
Surprise surprise but I am in the 20 percent of abnormal biopsies. No shock there- pretty standard with this journey. I have many emotions. First I feel exhausted that I have to do yet another mock cycle to try to uncover the right window. This means a transfer is now at least 2 months away instead of one week away. Secondly, I feel a tiny bit of hope that maybe fixing this will allow us to have success. Thirdly- I am grateful our Doctor is being so thorough and suggested this. And finally- I am just kind of sick of so many delays and twists and turns. I know I should be happy that a potential problem and therefor solution has been presented but in this moment the months ahead of more estrogen, shots, waiting, and oh did I mention waiting just makes my shoulders slump a bit. I guess I am not exactly in a race here but boy oh boy looking forward to this limbo being over.
My real reason for this post is I want to encourage any of you who have had implantation failure of a genetically normal blast to get this test done. I really did not want to do yet another test that delays transfer but am glad I did at the end of the day.
love to you all xo
Fighting Infertility 
Ya for a maybe answer. BUT, how disapinting to be facing another road block and another issue to figure out. It just isn’t fair. I wish I could help you pass this waiting time with a few glasses of wine and a giant hug. In the absence of th please know I’m keeping you in my thoughts and always sending love and hope your way.
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What I wouldn’t give for that glass of wine!! Thank you!
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I can totally understand your mix of emotions with this. Sorry to have found another thing that means more delays, but hopefully you are finally working towards a successful transfer, and it’s great that your doctor is checking this stuff. Sending love & positive vibes your way xx
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Thanks so much. Xo
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Do chemical pregnancies count as implantation failure?
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According to him yes. I have had two.
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Interesting. I might bring it up at my future appointments
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It is so frustrating when there are roadblocks during this process but I am hoping that this is less a block and more of a useful diversion that will result in a positive outcome for you guys. X
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Thank you friend!
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Glad you got an answer but it is so hard to be in the minority stats-wise. I hope they can quickly pinpoint the optimum transfer time quickly!
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Thank you! I hope so too. Really appreciate your support.
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I did not know you could even have such tests, having answers like this brings you a step closer to helping make this all work. The wait feels like a punishment right? I am playing the waiting game right now too as you know and despite everything about this journey being about waiting it does not seem to get easier. I hope the goes quick for you. Sending hugs. xo
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Hoping this is the answer for both of us! You’re one step closer!
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Thank you so much!
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Gosh I’d never heard of that. I’ve had two chemical pregnancies and I’m trying to figure out what tests I should be doing. I don’t think they test for ERA here. It’s also illegal to do any embryo screening so don’t know if mine were good or not. I hope you get some more answer soon.
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Thank you for reading and supporting. That must be hard to keep forging forward without answers. Feel free to email me anytime if you want any more details. I was still able to have my son with this uterine environment so it must mean pregnancies can happen to anyone at anytime. Hope you are next!
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See my reply below 🙂
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I am bummed you have to wait and deal with more crap, however I am so hopeful this is your answer and u will be bringing home your baby soon after ❤️🙏🏽
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Thank you love. Living vicariously through your continued good news. Xo
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Arrrrrg errrrrrg arrrrrrrg!!!!! I mean yes, potential answers are AWESOME, but waiting effing sucks! Like, it really sucks. I’m sorry you have to wait yet again. $&@(;::;)&&;;:. I’m coming over for that glass of wine with you and MPB. See you soon! ❤️
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Yes!! That would be dream! Xo
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Gosh, I can understand all of your emotions. Answers are nice but it is excruciating to wait and I can’t imagine going through all the IVF prep so many of you go through diligently month after month (or year after year). Big hugs sent your way. Hopefully this will be the last puzzle piece to getting your next child home. Xoxo
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Thank you so much! Hope so too! Xo
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Ahhhhh… sorry for the delay. What an emotional investment you’ve made and the expectation of things being pushed back is heavy. I’m sorry.
I’d heard of this test, but to honest I didn’t know much and thought it sounded kinda gimmicky. Like if this was true for 20% of women in this situation, why aren’t more REs talking to us about it? However, your post has encouraged me to have the conversation. I had convinced myself I just have major egg quality issues. And I probably do. But I guess I’m just always looking for that next beacon of hope… and knowing sometimes things can be isolated that make all the difference. 🙂
Hang in there. We will keep you busy for that extra month! ❤️
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I am glad you will at least look into it. From what my RE days is the embryo and lining send signals to each other via chemicals so having the embryo not grow inside the uterus for the first five days can throw off timing in some women. He says it is slowly growing more popular. Thank you for your good thoughts. Sending them back your way as well!
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Sorry for the extra road block and wait, but at least you were able to find some answers so the test wasn’t a waste. I’m interested in hearing more info about the test itself. Was it painful? How was recovery? How long until you heard results? I’ve seen it recommended by several people so I plan to bring it up at my next appointment.
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Thank you. It wasn’t at all painful for me- just felt like a little/ pinch or cramp. You do a mock cycle exactly like you at going to do a transfer and instead of transferring an embryo the doc inserts a little grasped and takes a small biopsy of your uterine lining where they would normally place the embryo. They send the biopsy off to Ivegen (something like that) and they run the test to see if you are a. Pre-receptive B. Receptive or c. Post- receptive. If you are pre or post they also recommend a different window to start the progesterone. It takes 7-10 days to get the results. I was pre receptive and they recommended I start progesterone 12 hours earlier. Then you do the cycle again with their recommendations and do another mock cycle and biopsy to make sure it fixed the lining issue. While it was frustrating to do the mock cycle and delay transfer, since I was pre receptive it was good I did it. I believe something like 20 percent of women with implantation failure are transferring at the wrong window. Let me know if I can provide anymore info. Good luck!
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Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the personal feedback from people while I’m researching info.
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I ended up doing the ERA and also got results back as pre-receptive. Did you repeat the test to confirm the window or just transferred based on the recommended timeline? I’m waiting to hear back from the doc but curious in the meantime.
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I repeated it. I found it mentally hard to do it but my doctor insisted on it. He said in his entire career he has never had a second pre or post implantation but he wanted to confirm it every time anyway. I felt like another month delay was worth the insurance.
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Thanks for the quick answer. My doctor is giving us complete control so it’s up to us whether or not to repeat and I think we will. I hate the thought of wasting another cycle, but the though of potentially wasting an embryo is more scary. I want to go into the next transfer knowing we did everything possible to help it succeed. I definitely hear you about it being mentally hard.
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