Posted by Mary on July 07, 19100 at 14:10:21:
In Reply to: medical negligence? help!!! posted by Lorraine Katz on July 07, 19100 at 11:29:10:
Lorraine--
I am so sorry to hear your cycle failed. That sounds hard. It also sounds like you do not have confidence in your fertility clinic any more because of this experience, so you might want to consider switching to another clinic where you feel more comfortable asking your doctors why they recommend certain actions (such as not increasing your thyroid meds), or trusting their judgment (it's not clear, did they offer you another round free?). Have you talked with your doctor about his or her decision not to increase your thyroid meds? Might there have been countervailing considerations? Was the endocrinologist who you quoted an RE familiar with DE? I would not be surprised if his or her general statements about hypothyroidism and pregnancy doesn't account for the specifics of the effects of your levels on DE. A frank discussion of what happened, and a switch to a new clinic if you still feel uncomfortable, are some routes you might want to explore for moving forward. I truly do not know the facts of your situation, nor am I a doctor (I am, in fact, a plaintiffs' lawyer), so I can't comment on whether your doctor acted appropriately. But bad outcomes do not always mean we received bad care. To be sure, doctors who are negligent should be held accountable; but negative results after the exercise of sound medical judgment are not necessarily negligence. I hope that you find some resolution with your doctors, and I really hope that your next round, or whatever path you take, is successful.
: What would you do if you found out after your failed DE cycle at a leading IVF program that your doctor's inappropriate response to a medical condition made it likely that the cycle would fail? I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid several years ago and take thyroid replacement hormone. While under my doctor's care my thyroid hormone dropped enough that I began to have symptoms just prior to donor's retrievel. At my prompting my RE ordered a blood test which confirmed it. I asked him if we shouldn't increase my dosage and he said he and the rest of the staff felt it was unnecessary. I told him I was concerned more than once and he said not to worry. When they called regarding the pregnancy test I was told my beta level was low and it was more than likely a chemical pregnancy caused by poor genetic material from the donor. Subsequebtly I went to an endocrinologist who said it would have been so easy to just increase my thyroid hormone dosage right away and that would have given me the best odds of conception and having a normal child. He said, "It is wellknown that the heightened estrogen levels from pregnancy ofetn cause hypothyroid conditions even in women who were not previously hypothyroid and some one who is already should have been closely monitored. The consequences of underactive thyroid are no conception, miscarriage or a retarded child." Have any of you had a similar experience and or any experience where your RE clearly screwed up and had them offer you another attempt? Help. Lorraine