I went in for my baseline bloodwork and ultrasound today (CD2) and all is good so I can start Gonal-F tomorrow evening. My only concern is this - my clinic doesn't do monitoring on Friday/Saturday (I know most North Americans will find it horrifying that we have no monitoring access at all during those two days, but here in Israel it is the norm due to Shabbat...I must admit it would be great if we at least had monitoring on Friday mornings). As a result, I was told not to return for monitoring again until next Sunday (CD 9).
My concern is this: on 2 out of 3 of my injectable IUI cycles, I stimmed for just 7 nights before triggering. Given that information, waiting until next Sunday (7th day of stims) before doing any monitoring and therefore deciding when to add in the antagonist (Cetrotide) seems like a horrible idea to me. I do get that on Thursday (CD 6), I will have only done 3 nights of stims so probably not a whole lot will be going on, but the alternative of waiting until Sunday before doing any monitoring at all given my previous quick response makes me very nervous.
So: 1) Am I just being my neurotic paranoid self or am I right about this?
2) If you agree that I should go in for monitoring on Thursday, should I just show up and do bloodwork and ultrasound (the way it is set up, no one is going to stop me from doing this and I have the bloodwork/ultrasound stickers to use at will...on the other hand it is basically not following the clinic's instructions) or should I call the clinic tomorrow and actually try to reason with them why I think I should come in on Thursday? (The drawback is they may just tell me to stop worrying...everything will be ok...oftentimes easier to explain your crimes than ask permission). I would especially like some guidance from my Israeli readers concerning question #2:)
because I live remotely and hence had to travel to the IVF clinic, I decided to go there on CD 8. I had bloodwork on CD 4 and it was ok, so they did no ultrasounds or bloodwork until my visit to the clinic on CD8. Of course I was not ready to trigger then, so one day more would have made no difference to me. I would not worry, they have done it this way for a while and they probably get good results.
ReplyDeletethanks for commenting on my blog! i love the "wild geese" poem by mary oliver on your blog.
ReplyDeleteso, if it was me, i'd go in on Thursday. I feel like the clinic has rules/instructions, but i'm the one that is going to have to live with the results of the cycle.
good luck!!
Good luck with your new cycle.
ReplyDeleteHi. My clinic closes all day Sunday and on public holidays (which it is today) and I think they try and get everyone in before.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in your situation I would go in on Thursday if I could, given what you know of your body and your past experiences.
That's a tough decision... but I know that if it were me, I would want extra monitoring on Thursday - so would do whatever gives me the best chance of achieving that :) Best of luck... Love always xoxo
ReplyDeleteI think I would be wanting the extra monitoring also. I guess it comes down to whether you ask for it, or just have it done!
ReplyDeleteBest of luck for this cycle. I hope it all goes well. xx
So, I would say go in on thursday. My doctor had me go in on day three of stims, and even though nothing was going on follicle wise it was still important to see what was happening, plus the blood works is important to see where your E2 is. Plus, thursday then sunday is a really good spacing of monitoring (my doctor tries to have it fall that way). I say also call the clinic, even if you say it's for your peace of mind. It doesn't cost them anything. Plus, from what I understand you are supposed to start Cetrotide on day 6 of stims. I had monitoring on Day 3 (thursday), didn't see any follicles but I guess based on my E2 he had me start Cetrotide on Saturday night, then monitoring again on Sunday and by then I had a whole bunch of follicles already at 14mm, then I triggered on day 8 (that tuesday). So, the short answer is yes, I think you should go, and I think you should tell your clinic that you would feel more comfortable. Email me if you want to discuss more.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to have the extra monitoring, but I completely understand your hesitancy to push the clinic too much. We've done all of our IVF cycles outside of the U.S. and it's crazy how different the clinics are.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Good luck hon! I would try and push for additional monitoring if possible :) The worst that they say is no right?
ReplyDeleteI would try and go on Thursday as well. It won't hurt to have additional monitoring!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback ladies! I think I will just play it by ear and see how I feel about things come Thursday morning. The one resolution I have made to myself is to NOT spend any more time until then agonizing on whether I should go in for extra monitoring or not because I think it will just stress me out unnecessarily...I know for now I should just go with the flow and then go with my intuition come Thursday.
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