ERA and ReceptivaDx Results

I did the ERA and ReceptivaDx biopsies a few weeks ago and got the results on Monday. I was astonished by what my RE told me.

ERA recap: I thought that the ERA test would show that I was receptive on Day 6, as that is the day that V was transferred; but FET1 was Day 7 and FETs 2 & 3 were day 5. I had two uterine samples taken, one on Day 5 and one on Day 7, which I hoped would prove me right by process of elimination. 

ERA test came back as receptive on Day 5, so the lab didn’t run the Day 7 sample unless I wanted them to. (I chose to save $250!)

As surprised as I was to hear that Day 5 is a good day to transfer embryos, I was shocked by the ReceptivaDx test results.

ReceptivaDx recap: I was a bit skeptical about this test, which is marketed as a non-surgical way to diagnose endometriosis. I was diagnosed with stage II endo via laparoscopy back in 2001, so I wasn’t convinced that we could learn anything from this test. After all, I got pregnant with V a few years ago, so surely my endo status was irrelevant? My RE pushed for this test and I went along with it. After all, she’s the expert, right? ReceptivaDx tests for Beta-3 Integrin, which is essential for embryo implantation, and BCL6, which causes progesterone resistance.

ReceptivaDx test came back as abnormal. On both counts.

I tested negative for the Beta-3 Integrin and positive for BCL6. In other words, my uterus is coated in Teflon. Those poor little embryos never stood a chance :(

The treatment for not having Beta-3 Integrin and for having BCL6 is 11 weeks of Lupron, administered in 2 x single injections that last 28 days, and then 21 days after the second injection I take Lupron as daily belly shots for about 3 weeks. (Two weeks of the belly shots will overlap with estrogen, which will definitely mitigate the depressive side effects I experience on Lupron.)

The good news is that I won’t have to inject myself every day.

The bad news is each single-month injection costs $1,300. I can only hope that my insurance covers the cost.

In terms of FET4, we’re looking at 75 days from the day I start Lupron:

   28 days Depot Lupron
+ 28 days Depot Lupron } 3-week kit of Lupron overlap
+ 14 days estrogen } 3-week kit of Lupron overlap
+ 5 days progesterone
= 75 days

I have an appointment with a nurse at my Ob/Gyn’s clinic on Tuesday, so FET4 will happen the first or second week of November. The variables are: 1) if I am cleared to start estrogen at my first baseline ultrasound; 2) if I respond to estrogen appropriately, both in terms of lining thickness and quality; and, 3) if I don’t have any cysts or fluid, etc.

Labor Day weekend will be my final hurrah for all things related to alcohol and coffee. (I’d say this weekend, except my dear friend, Waiting for Bumble, is in town from New Zealand with her twin boys!)

I know come Tuesday I’ll be plummeted into a temporary artificial menopause—and I’ve put the people in my life on an apologetic mood alert—but I’m actually feeling quite hopeful overall. I know there are no guarantees. But these crappy results have a solution, and it may, just may, be the answer to why I haven’t got—and stayed—pregnant.

Fingers, toes, legs, eyes, everything crossed…