I had my baseline check today, and we are cleared for stimulation.
I was a little put-off by the midwife who did the scan for me this morning. She wasn't very gentle with the wand, and she couldn't even find my left ovary. She just told me that it would stand out if there was a cyst on it, so it must be okay if she can't see it. Nor did she do a blood test.
I told her that I responded very quickly to Menopur, so she booked me an appointment for Tuesday (day 6 of stims), only to call me and move it to Wednesday (day 7 of stims).
I am not very good about standing up for myself. I don't know what is normal and what is not. Should I have requested a baseline blood test? Should I have insisted on a Day 6 scan? Or do I just need to relax and trust that this clinic knows what they're doing?
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I went with the "trust my clinic" method the entire time. Mine only did one beta. Since it was over 100, I didn't go back for two weeks. And I had a hard time with it, but I trusted.
ReplyDeleteNow, that being said, my baseline scan looked awesome and they were like, as long as the bloodwork comes back okay we are good to go. I got a call and found out that my estrogen level was too high and that that studies showed that high estrogen led to low chances of success. So they canceled my cycle, left me on Lupron for a month and we tried again the next month (which was when I had Henry). So...knowing what I know now, I would ask for the baseline blood work to check the estrogen. But I never would have known to if that hadn't happened to me.
Good luck with everything! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you!
I know every clinic does it differently but if everything goes good with my appointment today, I start my stims tomorrow and my first monitoring appointment will be Sunday so day 3 of stims. They monitor very closely, definitely because of my age. So, if I were you, I would call and insist a day 6 scan.
ReplyDeleteI had bloodwork and scans at baseline and again on day4 of stims. I'd want to be monitored sooner, and also check that my E2 was low enough to start.
ReplyDeleteGood luck sticking up for yourself!
Congrats on being cleared for stims! Thats great news.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what is normal and what is not, I think there is HUGE variation between clinics as to what is std protocol. My clinic always does a first scan on day 6 or earlier if you're a quick responder. I have always been a questioner at heart (i'm not pushy, I'm just a worrier) so I always ask a million questions to try and understand why they do what they do. There comes a point though that you've just got to kick off your shoes and trust them. Good luck
Hmmmm... I'm no expert on IVF monitoring so I can't say for sure. It does seem unusual for them to not have done bloodwork before you start stims, but again, I'm no expert. As for not coming in sooner for monitoring, I just have to assume that they have a different way of doing things where you are than in the U.S. Since we generally pay out of pocket for everything, my thought is that we are stimmed harder and thus need more monitoring. If they are only going to be tranferring one embryo, perhaps yours is a less intense protocol than, say, what I'm on (which is 150 gonal and 2 vials menopur / day). But I know I would have a hard time waiting almost a whole week to go back and find out what's going on "down there." So, I don't know if you should request to come in earlier or not, that's a tough call. Perhaps you could call and speak with the doctor and tell him/her your concerns and see what they say? Either way, I wouldn't worry TOO much. The worst thing you could do is let this occupy your mind with worry for a great length of time. Think positive!! I know you're going to DO GREAT!!!
ReplyDeleteNever fear sticking up for yourself. I am actually in a support group with a physician and she said going through this, she hates physicians now and has learned to be a better doctor and encourage her patients to stick up for themselves. Here's to happy stimming, I'll be cheering you on.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I would ask for a baseline. At the very least, they probably need to make sure you're well suppressed. Also.... how can you not find an ovary??? It's the big blob with all the little black circles on it... turn left at the uterus and you can't miss it! She doesn't sound too skilled... I would ask for the baseline! Looking forward to following your journey.
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