Could I get your help please?

[pooh8402]

Hey all, I'm a TTTC graduate. I'm doing some information gathering.

I just started a new job as a fertility NP. Super pumped. One of my duties will be to revamp the patient education in our clinic. I thought to reach out to those I know who have infertility and have gone through the process. What do you wish you knew more about the process, or what do you wish could have been better explained? I want to get our patients the information they want to know, and not only the information that we providers think they need to know.

Thank you all, and good luck to all of you!

[shananasplit]

Nov 2, 2021 21:23:19 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Hey all, I'm a TTTC graduate. I'm doing some information gathering.

I just started a new job as a fertility NP. Super pumped. One of my duties will be to revamp the patient education in our clinic. I thought to reach out to those I know who have infertility and have gone through the process. What do you wish you knew more about the process, or what do you wish could have been better explained? I want to get our patients the information they want to know, and not only the information that we providers think they need to know.

Thank you all, and good luck to all of you!

It's been several years since I went through IVF, but I'm now going through an egg donor cycle. I was lost. Insanely lost. For someone who went through IVF myself, I had no idea how the timing, process, legality worked. At. All. 

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, or if your clinic uses egg or sperm donors, but I feel really compelled to share. As I started out with my journey with donor conception, I had no idea how important it is for future children's well being to have a known (non-anonymous) donor. I'm trying really hard to be an advocate for this, and I think that will have to eventually happen within the clinics themselves to see meaningful change. If you have opportunities to speak to this, that would be amazing.

As for IVF, I'm only remembering one glaring thing. Because doctors review ultrasounds and blood work in the late afternoon, twice I received phone calls at 3:45 that I would be doing stims an additional day and would need more Gonal F. The first time, the pharmacy closed at 4:00 and I was on day 13 of stims and out of meds. If someone had prepped us for the possibility and the timing of that phone call, my husband would have been waiting at the pharmacy at 3:45 for that phone call. Instead, we had to beg the pharmacy to stay open and my husband drive 45 minutes there breaking all sorts of laws to get my meds. We were better prepared the second time. 

[shananasplit]

Oh! Also. Better support when a loss occurs. My last loss was a cluster. I was out of embryos, the clinic was well aware that I was no longer a candidate for IVF, and when I asked for a WTF appointment to understand how we lost a euploid pregnancy with perfectly tracking betas, I was met with shrugs, a doctor calling me from her car with none of my paperwork in front of her, and a "better luck next time." Having a protocol in place to guide patients through a loss would be ideal <3

[pooh8402]

shananasplit, I am so sorry you went through all of that. How awful!

Yes, we do utilize donor eggs/sperm/embryos. I am less familiar with the legalities and everything involved with donor cycles, so I will definitely look into this further and our clinic policies and procedures. I do agree with utilizing known donors, not only for future physical health, but also mental and emotional health (knowing one's biological background). Thank you for that input and perspective!

I have found this clinic to be caring and compassionate with losses. I do know of a local pregnancy loss support group, which is headed by a colleague of mine. I also want to form a relationship between our clinic and Through the Heart, which is HoneySpider's organization.

[HoneySpider]

Nov 3, 2021 10:39:43 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

shananasplit , I am so sorry you went through all of that. How awful!

Yes, we do utilize donor eggs/sperm/embryos. I am less familiar with the legalities and everything involved with donor cycles, so I will definitely look into this further and our clinic policies and procedures. I do agree with utilizing known donors, not only for future physical health, but also mental and emotional health (knowing one's biological background). Thank you for that input and perspective!

I have found this clinic to be caring and compassionate with losses. I do know of a local pregnancy loss support group, which is headed by a colleague of mine. I also want to form a relationship between our clinic and Through the Heart, which is HoneySpider 's organization.

Yes, we would love that!

[pinkpeony08]

I agree with adding loss resources. I think this is an area in general that needs more awareness and support. I think there is a free meditation after loss at circle bloom? I also found the online course from meaghan Schultz really helpful - you should be able to find it on google. It’s not free but it’s only like $20 and is 21 days long.

I didn’t need iui or ivf, so I don’t have direct thoughts on them. I know my sister in law struggled with some communication issues with their clinic, but I didn’t hear much else from them about their experience with their clinic specifically.

[pinkpeony08]

Oh and congratulations on the new position! Fellow NP here ☺️

[pooh8402]

Nov 3, 2021 15:45:29 GMT -5 pinkpeony08 said:

Oh and congratulations on the new position! Fellow NP here ☺️

Thank you! What area do you practice in?

[pinkpeony08]

Nov 3, 2021 16:21:51 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Nov 3, 2021 15:45:29 GMT -5 pinkpeony08 said:

Oh and congratulations on the new position! Fellow NP here ☺️

Thank you! What area do you practice in?

Palliative care - outpatient.  Pretty much the exact opposite of the life spectrum!  But I really like it though I can't say this was where I expected to end up while I was in NP school!

[stellelinds25]

I also agree with the loss resources. My RE is the one who actually called with my beta results indicating a loss, which was great, but no other information was offered about what happens next, what I should expect, just a "call us if you need us, otherwise come back in a week for another beta." I had to ask the questions and obviously getting the news that you're miscarrying, what questions to ask is the last thing on your mind.

This may be out of scope a bit, I also think it would be great if there were social media outlets for each specific office...my RE is part of a larger practice nationwide that has a main Facebook group and a tristate Facebook group, but there isn't one for my specific office. It would be nice to be able to connect with locals going through what I am to create a support system of people you can meet up with that "get it."

Congrats on your job! I think it's amazing when people who have been through it are the care providers. My RE also did IVF and I think it makes her so much more understanding and relatable.

[Jalapeñomel]

I agree with better care after a loss. I was sort of shrugged off after my loses, even when reaching out for therapy, they gave me a number and sent me on my way.

[artgirl823]

Optional lessons on how to give the shots, along with the opportunity to have a nurse watch you try. We were sent links to videos and told to watch them on our own time. I don’t learn well from videos so the first few shots were terrifying because I had no idea what I was doing.