does Shady Grove put all IVF pts. on 21 days of birth control? Do other practices?

[Anonymous]

Does Shady Grove require exactly 21 days of oral contraceptives prior to every IVF cycle? Have you ever known them to vary from this amount (i.e. do only 2 weeks?)
What do other area practices do? I think my neighbor who cycled at GW started right on lupron and skipped the pill entirely.

We're trying to fit IVF into an otherwise packed spring work schedule. Before I bother my nurse about this I'm curious to find out what the precedent is.

thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

No, SG only did two weeks on the pill for me because I don't react well to the pill (although I ended up tolerating it better than the Lupron and stims). Hopefully they'll be able to work with your schedule. Although, are you aware that once you go off the pill and start the next phase (usually lupron or the stims), it is impossible to predict how well the "schedule" will be followed? I ended up on Lupron for another full week, for example - we were scrambling to reschedule things that we thought we'd be safe scheduling.

[Anonymous]

No, SG only did two weeks on the pill for me because I don't react well to the pill (although I ended up tolerating it better than the Lupron and stims). Hopefully they'll be able to work with your schedule. Although, are you aware that once you go off the pill and start the next phase (usually lupron or the stims), it is impossible to predict how well the "schedule" will be followed? I ended up on Lupron for another full week, for example - we were scrambling to reschedule things that we thought we'd be safe scheduling.

[Anonymous]

I did 2 weeks on the pill at SG

[Anonymous]

Most REs prescribe the Pill, lupron, and other meds based on the patient's specific profile. Honestly, the easiest way to get through IVF is not to schedule anything major for an extended period of time around a cycle . That may seem cruel, but you avoid a lot of frustration. As my nurse said to me one day (when I was crying frustrated, hormonal tears), when you are going through it, IVF has to be your number one priority, and you have to be extremely flexible. (I ended up having to find a new job at one point because my old schedule could not accommodate IVF treatment). This served me pretty well through two cancelled cycles, a cyst aspiration, and a cycle schedule that deviated from the original plan four times during 6 weeks.

I know this can be frustrating, aggravating, and not the greatest thing for your work life -but a BFP down the road will be worth it.

Also, from a medical standpoint, perhaps your friend was never put on the pill because she had a tendency to oversupress (this is common in poor responders). It wouldn't hurt to ask your nurse why the 21 days -but just brace yourself in case they seem inflexible. There could be a very specific reason due to your body's needs.

[Anonymous]

I think it varies a lot based on age or at least that is the impression I've gotten from talking to the nurses at GW. Good luck!!! 17;36, that's probably great advice but very depressing!

[Anonymous]

Op here.
Thanks to all!
I've done IVF twice before so I'm aware how ultimately a protocol can change.

I'm simply trying to best schedule this cycle against work, childcare and preschool schedules.

I think I'll call my nurse about taking a week of less pills. It would give us a much better cushion of time with regards to some upcoming events.

[Anonymous]

I'm 34, Male Factor, and was on 3 weeks of pills.

[Anonymous]

They changed the length of my time on the pill to better align schedules -- for example to work around their holiday break. In those cases, they had me stay on the pill longer, not less. When I went back for another child, and was a poor responder that time around, they changed me to the low dose pill and dropped the lupron.

[Anonymous]

I was the first time, but I asked to skip the pills the second time (very long story) and SG agreed.

[Anonymous]

PP Here. Oh, and I should note, during the time that I was waiting to start my cycle (and not taking the pill), I got pregnant naturally. Go figure. No one thought it would happen ever.

[Anonymous]

I was told by a nurse at SG that the reason they put you on the pill is for scheduling purposes. They will tell you it's to suppress you and control your cycle, but in reality I think they do it to manage their huge patient load and the number of procedures that comes along with having so many patients. I was on the pill for 2 weeks, but I think most people are on it for closer to 3 weeks. Before I came to Shady Grove, I did a cycle of IVF with a RE that did not take insurance. They had a much smaller patient base and didn't use the pill. But my understanding is that a lot of the larger practices do use this protocol.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

My RE said the pill is absolutely necessary for a select number of women...such as those who will have a 26 day cycle followed by a 14 day cycle. I have fit into that category, and withouth the Pill, never would have been able to start micro-dose Lupron shots...my cycles were just way too short if my body was left to its own crazy devices.