Sorry, another Ovidrel question (I see there are a ton on this site ) Last month when we did our IUI, the fertility clinic has us do the insemination first and THEN gave the Ovidrel shot. Does this seem normal? I thought Ovidrel comes first and then the insemination?
It's usually first to trigger ovulatation, but I have heard of other people on here doing it after as well to boost hormone levels. Maybe ask the clinic to explain. How long after inseminating are you doing the trigger? Ive done the shot 12 hours before if I had already started my natural surge and 36 hours before when I hadn't started my natural surge.
I've heard it's best to have the swimmers in there before ovulation, even with IUI. That way you don't run the risk of missing the egg's 24 hr. survival time by being too late. The trigger shot would be to make sure that the sperm don't end up dying before the egg releases if you went too early. That's not the way we did my IUI's, but mine didn't work, either. I've heard of both ways; it seems to be a clinic-by-clinic thing.
Oh, it does sound like it may vary from clinic to clinic. I always get worried about the timing, but I just remind myself if they weren't getting people pregnant, they'd change their policies.
As I recall, we did ultrasounds and blood work until we got close to O, then OPKs - one in the morning and one in the evening because the surge can be short - until I got a smiley face. I called the my NP (nurse practitioner) when I got that, and she'd tell me when to come in for the IUI. The OPKs would have been expensive, but we had a good idea of when to start using them through the ultrasounds and because I've been tracking my periods since 2009, when I realized I wanted to be a surrogate again. With that long a view, I had a good average for when I'd see the surge, but it still came a little earlier than we'd planned a couple of times. It's tricky stuff, this pregnancy business! Who knew? Chelle
We did bloods and ultrasounds. Then one day they said come in tomorrow at lunch and we will do the procedure. I figured it was a clinic by clinic thing - and like gingmg, I too have been questioning the process LOL. But they are a highly referred clinic so I assume that they know what they are doing. New hurdle it seems - she has high prolactin levels? And the Dr has booked us for a follow up appointment on a day where it is possible we are doing an insemination. Shouldnt the follow up occur before we try again? This is becoming confusing, and a tad stressful.
I don't know much about prolactin levels, other than the fact that there are medications you can take to help with it and it can impact egg development. I would guess that your follow up is to discuss the prolactin issue without putting your IUI on hold. It might mean that they don't think prolactin is much of an issue but want you to be aware, or it might mean that they weren't paying attention to their schedules. If it's a small clinic, give them a call and ask. My clinic was tiny, and they kept things scheduled so that patients wouldn't really run into each other (in case that was an issue for some, I guess) so there were long periods where someone was at the desk without having to deal with people, so was free to take calls.
I also had a call with high prolactin levels. I had to go and get another blood work to see if it has gone down because apparently a lot can affect that and one high number those not mean anything. It turned out to be a one time thing and it was back to normal. For the ovidrel shot, both time we did iui i was advised to give the shot 36h prior to the insemination. We were monitored by ultrasound. Ask your doc next time why he is doing it after and not before, he probably has a reason for it as everyone is different.
Feverbaby- my guess is that they detected a LH surge on bloodwork, and that's why they had you come the following day. My clinic said the shot not only triggers ovulation, but also gives the eggs a bit of a boost, so that's prob why they did it (seeing as she had already started a natural surge). I could be wrong but that's the only thing I can think of.
