How do I start my OI treatment?

Once you have been seen by the doctor and have been booked for OI treatment you can start your OI at any point in the following 12 months. An OI treatment always starts with a period. You will need to call the fertility unit (622 8869 or 662 8344) on the day your period starts and will need to come in the following day for a scan. When you call us, we will let you know which clinics are open for scans. If your period starts on a Sunday please call and leave a message (662 8344 or 622 8869) telling us that your period started and that you are coming in for a scan on Monday. All scans are done between 7.00 and 8.00 am Monday – Friday (both clinics) and 8 – 9am on Saturdays (Medical Associates clinic only), on a first-come first-served basis. If you arrive after this time then there may not be staff available to perform your scan and you will need to come back the next day.

FIRST MONITORING VISIT
Attend the clinic on day two of your period for a vaginal scan and oestradiol blood test by the clinic nurses. You will be given your fertility medication (Clomiphene, Letrozole or the stronger FSH injections) and asked to wait for a phone call later that day to confirm that your results are normal and to start your fertility medication that night.

If your scan and hormone blood test are normal, then start the fertility medication as advised by the nurses and return for your second scan as advised.



PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING READY FOR PREGNANCY BY EATING A HEALTHY DIET AND TAKING A FOLIC ACID SUPPLEMENT DAILY.

SECOND MONITORING VISIT
Attend the clinic as advised by the clinic staff for your second vaginal scan and oestradiol blood test to see how your eggs are growing. This visit is usually

• on day 9-12 of your cycle (Day 1 of your period = day 1 of your cycle) if you are on fertility tablets
• on day 6-8 of your cycle if you are on FSH fertility injections


Our clinic doctors monitor all the results and depending on these results you will be given information by your clinic nurse on how your eggs are growing. Often the eggs are not quite ready yet and you will be advised to do some home urine testing and come back for a third (and occasionally a fourth) monitoring visit. Sometimes the eggs are ready and you are ready to be sexually active and try to achieve a pregnancy, at other times the eggs might need an injection to help them release so that you can be sexually active and try to achieve a pregnancy.

HOME URINE TESTING & THIRD MONITORING VISIT (IF NEEDED)
Urine testing is often advised at your second (or later) monitoring scan if the eggs are growing well, but not looking mature and ready to ovulate just yet. The urine tests that we give you look for the hormone LH being released in your urine. This LH hormone is released 24-48 hours before the egg(s) ovulates. Usually we will give you between 2-5 days of home testing and then ask you to return for a third monitoring visit if you have not released any ovulation hormone. If you do release the LH hormone then we will advise on sexual activity to try and achieve a pregnancy within 12-24 hours of a positive LH urine test.

If you need to return for a third monitoring visit, then the vaginal scan and blood test are looking to see if the eggs are growing properly and you will be advised what is needed later that day when the results are received and reviewed by the doctor.