« The women's movement was something that happened to other people | Main | Be scared. Be very a-scared. »
04/17/2004
Freaking, then squeaking
An update on my most recent freakout:
I was concerned about the amount of Lupron that had been prescribed to me — twice as much as I'd been given in the past. For a couple of days I traded phone messages with the nurse; the conversation reached its conclusion yesterday.
She didn't say the dosage had been an oversight, but she did say they'd prescribed the 20 units before we knew I'd be on birth control pills for my lingering cyst, and never adjusted the protocol after that. In short, "The doctor says it won't make much difference, but why don't we drop you down to 10 anyway?"
I'm glad I called. I find it hard to believe that twice the amount of Lupron wouldn't make much difference, considering how much better I always feel when I switch to a half-dose upon starting stims. (Headache: gone. Hot flashes: gone. Blinding urge to disembowel innocent bystanders: reduced. Slightly.)
I'm relieved to have the amount reduced based on past performance, even though "the doctor didn't feel your response has been that bad." When I've only gotten three decent embryos out of three bouts with Lupron, resulting in an ectopic, a miscarriage, and a negative, I am inclined to be vigilant.
Posted by Julie at 10:45 AM in Notes from astride the stirrups | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834518e0569e200d8345ced6f69e2
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Freaking, then squeaking:
Comments (11)
Whew, how to you spell "relief." I spell it "don't oversuppress me, motherfuckers."
When do you start?
Posted by: getupgrrl at Apr 17, 2004 11:07:04 AM
I'm glad you called too. Who was it who said the price of ART is eternal vigilance? Oh, and tens of thousands of dollars too.
Posted by: Lisa at Apr 17, 2004 11:31:12 AM
And this is why we pay them the big bucks!
How can they be so effing casual, the effing effers?
Posted by: Liz at Apr 17, 2004 12:26:52 PM
Jesus Christ.
Sorry, Mel, it just slipped out.
Come ON!!!! Who is the damned RE here? I'm sick that you are yet again saving your own day when it comes to protocol. I want to kick something, but the last time I did that I fucked up my toe for weeks.
Zhu-lee, I hope it all goes brilliantly well, despite the shortcomings of the medical professionals around you.
(making guinea pig noises in helpless fury)
Posted by: Mollie at Apr 17, 2004 12:47:05 PM
How infuriating. I really hate that sense of knowing more than the medical professionals around me.
I'm glad you stuck to your guns, Annie!
Posted by: Julia at Apr 17, 2004 1:24:17 PM
Oh, god. I am seething on your behalf. How effing irresponsible of them! No, no, why would we look at all that stuff we wrote down in that silly folder? Why, we went to medical school! Grr.
But good for you, smart woman. I give you an A+ in ART! (Like that's what you'd want, right?)
Posted by: Jo at Apr 17, 2004 2:48:44 PM
Julie, I'm so glad you called. When you said you were on 20 cc's of lupron, I just thought about my own experience:
10 cc's of lupron first IVF, with three vials of stims, and I get 7 eggs, 5 viable.
20 cc's of lupron second IVF. 4 vials of stims. I'm so supressed I get cancelled.
Now I'm on no lupron, just took bcp's. 4 vials of stims. Don't know how things will go, b/c I haven't been in for another u/s yet, but hopefully we'll get more eggs.
I HATE feeling like I know more than my doctors (and I'm going to write something about this soon, too--it's happened to me on a few occasions).
Good for you for taking charge. Cornell is such a huge place, but they are usually organized. Unfortunately, you still have to be on top of your own file; I really wish I could be assigned my own RE who would work only with me, you know?
Posted by: Karen at Apr 17, 2004 2:51:53 PM
WTF??
They should give you a 10% discount for being smarter than they are.
Posted by: Moxie at Apr 17, 2004 3:09:57 PM
Nah, it has nothing to do with knowing more — but it does have a lot to do with caring more. I am just a touch more heavily invested in this than any doctor could be.
I confess I was hoping there was some good reason for the initial high dose. I'd have felt a lot more confident if I'd gotten a doctorly pat on the head along with an explanation (even a condescending one). I'd rather believe I'm a high-maintenance dumbass than that I'm paying closer attention than my doctors.
Wouldn't it be great if we could just take drugs, show up, lie back, and trust someone else to do the thinking?
Posted by: Julie at Apr 17, 2004 4:23:36 PM
I have to agree with the comments above. Don't you just LOVE it when you have to self-diagnose...and correct the medical profession? Oh my god. As for your response being "not that bad," have the doctor try a little several-year dose of infertility, miscarriages, and painful (and fruitless) procedures and see how "not bad" it all seems to him. Don't bother being pissed, Julie. There are a lot of people busily being pissed on your behalf. :) So you get a day off!
Posted by: Mel at Apr 17, 2004 4:51:34 PM
I sometimes wonder if they really know what the right amount is or if they are just guessing. If I remember correctly I had to take 20 cc's of Lucrin (what must be the European or Dutch version of Lupron). Thought that that was standard procedure. There's no reference, is there? Results of the procedure were different both times. Why? Nobody knows. Since every person reacts differently, aren't they just trying with us as they test-subjects? (OK, they want to help as well, but I guess they learn while they get along) Statistics tell them what helps in most women, but who knows where in the statistics you are? You might be one of the (un)luckyone where everything goes differently. Well, anyway, I hope this cycle will turn out right for you. Good luck!
Posted by: Monique at Apr 17, 2004 7:14:44 PM
