Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Infertility overtesting - doing tests “ just to be sure”

I see many infertile couples who have a very had a wide range of tests done. Some of these tests are extremely expensive , and don't provide any useful information as regards their fertility. These include : tests for TORCH; tests for NK cells ; and testing for TB.

It’s very easy for doctors to order a battery of tests - and because patients expect doctors to do tests in order to find out what the problem is , they are quite comfortable with doing whatever the doctor suggests.

Read more at http://www.drmalpani.com/infertility-overtesting-doing-tests-just-to-be-sure.htm

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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:55 PM

    Dear Dr,

    I had lymphocyte immunotherapy (because of shared HLA alleles between my husband and me) in which lymphocytes from my husband is injected under my skin inorder to prepare my immune system for pregnancy (some complicated immunology stuff!). It is pretty costly. The therapy was advised to us after 3 failed IVFs. We are educated enough to decide whether we should undergo LIT or not. But after 3 failed IVFs fear gripped us tightly. We just obeyed what doctors told us. It doesn’t feel right to undergo LIT when I think of it now. Afterall, India is a country where there are lots of consanguineous marriages (even first-cousin marriages) and there are high possibilities that those couples share their HLA alleles and they are very fertile! This is just an example how infertile couples are lured into all kinds of unnecessary testing and therapies (and also an example how well-read people do obey the suggestions by their doctors without any second thought!). When we are in fear anything which appears to save us (anything which might give us a baby) appears right even if it has no logical proof. As Betrand Russell said, 'To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom', every infertile couple should learn to conquer their fear so that they can wisely decide about their treatment options.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true - but fear causes patients to leave their common sense at home and it's easy for doctors to persuade them to do unnecessary tests and treatments

      Delete
  2. Anonymous3:59 PM

    Hi doctor
    I had 2 very good looking blastocyst transferred on the 11/04/2016 the following morning I had light pink blood that went away soon after. On Wednesday I felt so weak and ill the following day I was back to normal yesterday I noticed some brown discharge with pink blood later the afternoon I started spotting red having period like cramps. Through out the night I had bleeding when passing urine and had a clot come down. Today I'm on bed rest still bleeding slight cramps that comes and go pad still clean. I'm also experiencing chills, warm in the inside and cold in the outside. Dies this mean that my cycle has failed?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:54 PM

      It's very unusual to have so much bleeding after an embryo transfer

      Can you send more details about your IVF cycles ?
      DO YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF YOUR EMBRYOS ?

      You can see what embryos should look like at http://www.drmalpani.com/knowledge-center/ivf/embryos

      What were the meds which were used for
      superovulation ? What was the dose used ? How many follicles did you grow ? How many eggs were collected ? What was the E2 ( estradiol) level in the blood ? What was the endometrial thickness ?
      How many embryos were transferred ?
      What was the embryo quality ?
      Can you please send the printed treatment summary from your IVF clinic ?

      Delete
  3. Anonymous7:13 PM

    Dr Aniruddha,

    As my bladder was too full at the time of ET, I had to urinate immediate after my ET. Are my embryos still safe?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:22 AM

    Hi Doctor,
    I am on 14days post a 3day transfer. Today my beta is 62. My doctor asked me to repeat it on Friday. I am nervous now. Is that number good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's bit lower than we'd like, that's true. Did he give you a HCG injection after the transfer ? This can cause a false positive HCG result

      Read more at www.drmalpani.com/knowledge-center/articles/hcg

      Repeat the test in 2 days. In a healthy pregnancy, it should double

      We look forward to helping you to have a baby !

      Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD
      Malpani Infertility Clinic, Jamuna Sagar, SBS Road, Colaba
      Bombay 400 005. India
      Tel: 91-22-22151065, 22151066, 2218 3270, 65527073

      Helping you to build your family !

      PS Watch our infertility cartoon film at http://www.ivfindia.com

      Read our book, How to Have a Baby – A Guide for the Infertile Couple,
      Online at www.DrMalpani.com !

      Read my blog about improving the doctor-patient
      Relationship at http://doctorandpatient.blogspot.com/

      Delete

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