Topic: Logistics of treatment

My DH and I are at a bit of a loss. He has a vasectomy reversal that was unsuccessful and we are now looking at doing IVF/ ICSI. The trouble is that I run my own business and have families that arrive at my house at 7.30am so I need to be home in the morning by then. It seems that in order to do all the ultrasounds etc in the morning there is no way I can get back home in time and my business is such that I can just be unavailable with only a few days notice - not regularly anyway. We were going to try and do 1 cycle at Christmas when I can take some holidays but what if that doesnt work? Any advise?

Re: Logistics of treatment

Hi masm,

Sounds like you are stressing even before starting fertility treatment! So you might want to engage in some pre-treatment stress management technqiues - e.g. boundary setting, yoga, exercise or relaxation techniques and perhaps consider some financial planning to possibly deal with income loss related to treatment.

Unfortunately there is no simple solution to your issue about timing - all fertility clinics need to complete bloods and ultrasounds in the morning so that they can accurately monitor and provide advice on the next step in your treatment programme. The time issue is a dilemma that all busy couples proceeding with treatment face. Some couples overcome this issue by employing someone who is available to assist them during the busiest times of their treatment cycle - it's not a bad strategy as unpredictable aspects of pregnancy and or of childbirth/early parenting may render you unable to work  so having an employee trained in advance gives long term relief of mind. Other couples just accept that IVF treatment may represent an income loss but the priority of becoming pregnant is the choice they need to make. This is particularly so if you are approaching your forties.

If treatment doesn't work - then it would be important to seek advice from your fertility specialist who will help maximise treatment options or seek the emotional assistance from an experienced infertility counsellor.

Good luck.

Iolanda

Re: Logistics of treatment

Thanks for the advise but it is not possible to hire someone, I run family day care, it is only me. Families rely on me and it is just not feasible to be having every second day off for ultrasounds at short notice. The nearest clinic to us is a good 45 min drive and doesnt open till 7. I dont think yoga and relaxation are going to help when there are no feasible solutions and it means we may lose the chance to have a child of our own. If there was a clinic within a feasible distance (like under 30 min) we could do it but the system seems so ridiculously rigid that it wont work for us. Very frustrating

Re: Logistics of treatment

I've checked to see if there are earlier opening times but to no avail. I have worked with patients who have operated family day care centres - ultimately they have spoken to their families about short term early morning interruptions and most have been surprised by the support from families they have received - again no easy solution and does depend on the families you work with. In the end it might come down to cost analysis and putting yourself first - there will always be time to re-develop a business - reproductively there may not always be a time to have child.

Good luck with your decision making.

Iolanda