Went in for bloodwork and ultrasound around (yawn) 7 a.m. this morning. Will came along and we signed all the consents and put the cycle on our credit card. Guess it's official.
The fellow did the ultrasound today. The antral follicle count was "more than five, less than ten" on each ovary. Good enough for me.
She then thumbed through my records. "So your first cycle was a success but your second was not."
I gazed at her and said, "Our first cycle was also unsuccessful. "
The fellow looked down at her notes for a minute and then back at me for a minute and then seemed to decide not to say anything more. I knew what she was getting at with her comment, but I couldn't let the teaching moment go. Note to fellow: a baby with double aneuploidy who dies in the first trimester is not exactly what I would classify as a "success." Certainly not the kind of success that we're looking for.
The IVF nurse will call tonight and tell us what dosage of Follistim to use and whether I start today or not. There's some question since we'll be away Wednesday through Saturday for the holiday. And although we'll be in a major metropolitan area with a fantastic medical center, the nurse made it clear this morning that our IVF center doesn't really trust us using any other lab. So they may delay my start date.
We'll see...I'll keep you posted.
Mo
Major Update
5 years ago
Posts
arg! for the love of all....wtf? at the beginning it doesn't really matter, does it? they just check an E2 and your lining. It's funny how some labs and clinics get.... if they delay you I suppose that it is not that bad of a deal...just wish that everyone could just get along.
ReplyDeletemy fellow last year was trying to work something out where i could get bloodwork and US in San Antonio when I was there for a week conference. I decided just to skip it, but she was at least willing to try to find a place!
i actually like the beginnings of cycles...makes me feel like i am *doing* something and i have not started to stress about my body's response to drug. :)
hang in there.
I, too, love how centers think that no one is capable of processing an estradiol level but them! Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWell, good luck! And I love your "teaching moment." Good for you! Sounds like she may have "gotten it." Hopefully, this will help the next person she sees...
I love that you took the opportunity for a teaching moment. I had a patient a few months ago that was still very distraught about the same comment made to her after losing IVF twins at 22 weeks. They're making a ton of money. They could spend 5 minutes educating the providers that there is a difference between their clinic's success and success for the couple.
ReplyDeleteI'm super excited for your cycle! Keep us updated.
Wow. How insanely removed from reality must they be to call that successful.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
kudos to you for standing your ground so politely and also using the opportunity to teach some human manners to the nurse!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with this cycle. The whole thing is just so stressful. As least the nurse could have apologized for her insensitive comment. Oh, and thanks for adding me to your blogroll!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!!! I must agree that a cycle ending with a m/c is not a success. Here from ICLW.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your cycle! Your follie count sounds good to me also. My baseline appointment is tomorrow so we will be cycling right around the same time. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that they don't delay you!
ReplyDelete"a success" nice. I applaud your restraint in not hauling off and decking her.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your cycle.
celia
Thank you so much for putting that nurse in her place. Hopefully she'll think twice before making the same mistake again.
ReplyDeleteHurray for teaching the new crop of docs some bedside manners! I hope she really got it. Good luck with this cycle!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you said something. When I was beginning this cycle, my own clinic made a similar comment about my previous "successful" cycle.
ReplyDeleteUm, not so much. Glad to help boost their stats & all, but it was a dismal, horrifying, world-altering failure from this end.
I wish I'd spoken up at the time. Well done.
Wow. The ignorance of some medical "professionals" is just astounding sometimes. Good for you for not punching her directly in the throat after the "success" comment. Yikes. Wishing you the very best for your new cycle! :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. I LOVE that I've found a fellow PubMed junkie. I could scour research articles for hours!
Hi Mo,
ReplyDeletedon't worry. It wasn't necessarily your post. There are plenty of women out here counting antral follicles. :D
Happy Thanksgiving!
I would really like to write a manual for professionals who work with infertility patients, then maybe patients like you could avoid being on the receiving end of "teaching moments"!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!