how busy is your RE

Peanutz21 · July 2013

I've been so down in the dumps!!!!

After our ER a few weeks ago, we were set for tentative fresh ET last sunday. They called and told me our cells were "lagging" therefore couldn't do a fresh transfer 'because my "lining wouldn't be optimal.'

Thankfully we were able to freeze 3 embies. Now on to the FET.

How busy is your RE? I'm told the earliest they can do my FET is Aug 24 (!!!!) They explained the lab closes for 2 weeks in July and the second they open up in August they've already been booked with 8 FET a day.

I'm terribly annoyed to have to wait that long. I got my period already ... was hoping I could do the FET soon. I finally talked to the RE (instead of the nurse) who explained that "waiting til august might be good ...." to give me some time to recover from the stims (although i had zero OHSS) whatsoever.

DH is pissed- he's threatening to move our embies elsewhere.

How busy is your RE?? I find having to wait that long is somewhat ridiculous. Heck i'm OOP here!

htn1763 · July 2013

that is frustrating. I go to a huge practice so they are open 7 days a week and never close. Whenever you need an appointment you just get it when you need.

The downside is that I barely ever see "my" RE and have seen a different RE for my ER, and both ETs now.

vegasbound0606 · July 2013

I'm sorry. It must be an RE "code" that they get 2 weeks vaca in July. I was going to have to wait until August too, but they thought I was only able to do a transfer on a Friday. Luckily, they called me back to ask. I can understand how frustrated you and DH are right now. It bites.

Roeni · July 2013

The practice I go to is huge and they close their lab down twice a year, once at the end of June and at the end of December, for 2 weeks. Both times have interfered with my transfers.

ball.and.chain · July 2013

I've always been able to cycle whenever I/my body was ready. There are 4 REs at my practice and if mine was on vacation, another would be covering for her. They've never been "booked up" in the year and a half I've been going there.

twistsandturnsto2 · July 2013

The closings are not due to vacation. Every clinic in the country, to my understanding, HAS to close down every 6 months for federal regulations. They have to re calabrate the microscopes, check all equipment, etc. The clinic I go to closes down every December and July. All cycles that use the embryology lab have to work around that schedule.

I understand your frustration, but it may not be as simple as your RE taking a vacation. I have had to work around these closings twice now and it does suck, but it does have to be done.

ETA: they close for 2 weeks every December and July.

APRILMW · July 2013

Mine is a 1 RE office. He only does IVF cycles every 23 months. Those are the only times he does ER's and ET's..

krdesi · July 2013

That ia frustrating but I think it will come in no time! My RE closes in August to recalibrate their machines and make sure the embryology lab is running full speed, so if I hadn't gotten my period when I did, I'd have had to wait till at least September!

darby17 · July 2013

I feel your frustration! My former RE's lab seemed like it was always closing. It took me from October to March to get in two retrievals and prep for a FET. My office doesn't do any IVFs between Thanksgiving and New Years. It seems like they were always closing. After I did a retrieval in January - I thought I'd be right on track for a FET next cycle. They made it sound like it was my body that needed to rest and recover - come to find out, the lab was closed again in February. So my transfer wasn't scheduled until Mid March. No one at my office was ever upfront about the timing of things. But now I know that they only do retrievals and transfers every other month. I could understand that there may be good reasons for doing that - but no one ever told me that. I wasted so much time between cycles.

Needless to say I am with a new Doctor now. I would encourage you to be a squeaky wheel and complain. Have your husband call and tell them how upset you are and you are considering going elsewhere. It may or may not help. In the big picture - it is only a couple extra weeks to wait... but I know how hard the waiting is and girls w/IF can't afford to waste time!

Good luck and try not to stress about it! Plus - I have heard that the pregnancy rates are better with FETs vs. Fresh

beachy6 · July 2013

Like the other girls have said, my RE closes 2 times a year for cleaning the lab. I had to move my cycle up by 2 weeks because of the Summer cleaning. However, I am able to cycle whenever I am ready around those close dates. I would never have to wait because of other couples cycling. My clinic is smaller and only 2 couples were doing IVF when I was doing mine and that is including DH and me. We felt very taken care of for sure. If you don't feel this way, your DH is right, just move them and go somewhere else. There is already enough stress and this extra added stress isn't necessary!

MrsSJE2011 · July 2013

htn1763:
that is frustrating. I go to a huge practice so they are open 7 days a week and never close. Whenever you need an appointment you just get it when you need.
The downside is that I barely ever see "my" RE and have seen a different RE for my ER, and both ETs now.

This exactly. My clinic has 10-12 RE's and 3-4 NPs/PAs and is a teaching clinic so they have residents and fellows also. If I schedule an appointment to meet with my RE I always get to seem him, but it is luck of the draw for ER/ET. They actually have an Operating Room schedule and rotate which RE is covering the OR what day. Since we have flexibility with our FET date I had my nurse tell me what RE is on what day during the week we were looking at and she let me choose which day it will be (there is one RE in the practice I refuse to see due to prior interactions)! While there are times I do feel a little like a number instead of a person, for us the benefits of going to a big clinic have outweighed the negatives.

From reading what others wrote, I would guess that the embryology lab closes down twice a year but that I have just been lucky enough to not have it impact my care.

Mimaloo · July 2013

We go to a large practice, but they are open 7 days a week. The worst part about our practice is that they are pretty busy, so they tell you what day and time you have to come in for whatever you're going in for - you have little say about when you get an appointment. However, DH and I both love our doctor and for the most part, we always see him as opposed to just seeing nurses or techs.

It sounds like the patients aren't coming first in your case. Our first RE was like that and we left the practice after our first IUI. I'd be pissed too if I were you and probably consider leaving the practice (unless you've already paid up front for the FET).

Smals · July 2013

Mines huge. Open every day. Including holidays. That's part of the reason I chose them. I don't have to worry about my cycle bc I know they're always available.

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