somewhat prolonged embryo transfer question

[Anonymous]

I had my embryo transfer today, and my RE is great, but I feel slightly nervous that the transfer was a little longer/more difficult in terms of him taking the time to keep fiddling around asking the fellow who was holding the transabdominal ultrasound wand to keep repositioning it, “wait, is that the tip, wait, move the ultrasound this way, wait, show me that,” while the catheter is in etc. like maybe it was more traumatic than it should have been. I've had a few cycles before, and a BFP with my previous child, and it was never this complicated. tell me i am being overly sensitive?

[Anonymous]

I would feel the same way OP. I had that experience with endo scratch, where they couldn't even position the speculum correctly. The more senior DR had to take over because the pain was horrendous. Never happened before or after.

[Anonymous]

Well it was more just like spending too much time obsessing about where exactly to release the embryo

[Anonymous]

Better they took their time and didn't rush though! A good sign, perhaps.

[Anonymous]

OP here: it was the top RE at Cornell, so he was no rookie or anything, it's just the catheter was in for what seemed like forever while he asked the fellow to move the ultrasound 15 different ways to get the best view of where to place it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: it was the top RE at Cornell, so he was no rookie or anything, it's just the catheter was in for what seemed like forever while he asked the fellow to move the ultrasound 15 different ways to get the best view of where to place it

Oh great, I have my transfer at Cornell on Thursday! Now I'm stressed, too, haha! But wait, are they using ultrasounds now? My last two transfers there were without ultrasound.

[Anonymous]

NP here: I would never transfer without u/s guidance.

OP: Try to rest assured that your doc was taking his time to get things perfect. GL!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP here: I would never transfer without u/s guidance.

OP: Try to rest assured that your doc was taking his time to get things perfect. GL!

I'm 23:07 - while I normally would agree, my last two transfers at Cornell without guidance did result in pregnancies. I miscarried which is why I'm back, but that was unrelated to the transfer technique.

[Anonymous]

We had some catheter placement problems, and it took a long time for the lab to come upstairs with my embryos, but I got my bfp this time anyway and am 16 weeks along. Don't worry, OP.

[Anonymous]

pP what do you mean catheter placement problems ? Like once it was inside or getting it inside?

[Anonymous]

I've done 8 transfers. Of the 8, 3 resulted in pregnancies and all 3 of those were without ultrasound guidance. 4 of the 8 were guided, and all of those were BFN. Not suggesting that was the cause, but just goes to show you that there isn't one magic step in the process that can guarantee your outcome or get in the way.

One thing you can note is that in your medical record they have to document whether the transfer was with or without difficulty and explain. You can ask for a copy of your record and read what they wrote about it.

[Anonymous]

Op here: rE said transfer went fine - $3 didn't see a problen

[Anonymous]

Try not to stress. Your doctor was just being careful. I had the same experience at my transfer at SIRM-NYC. It took forever - Doctor changed speculums, took his time getting the ultrasound just right, I had to relieve my bladder a little more. Finally the transfer was completed. I have a beautiful DC now. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

PP thanks for your story. He really just spent a lot of time getting the ultrasound right to make sure he could see where he was placing it and exactly where the catheter tip was.