IVF clinic said to go to GP if I'm worried about infection

[lala3000]

Dear Dr. Roseff,

I have read through some of these threads before and found them very helpful. Thank you very much.

3 weeks ago I had an egg retrieval. No bfp but there are some froze so we'll see. Clinic was out of state.

Now what is worrying me is I feel very fatigued. They didn't give me antibiotics after procedure. I called them and they said to go to my GP if I think there's a problem/infection. At first I thought this weird fatigue is just an after effect of the meds but for the first few days after procedure I felt fine so why would it be getting worse?

Also, I'm sorry about my next question because it's TMI - but when I pee I think there is a subtle difference in smell. It is not obvious smell of infection but something seems a little bit off. I don't have fever or pain.

My question to you is what should I tell my GP, now that the IVF clinic said to just go to him? It's Kaiser and he doesn't have any expertise or knowledge in this area. Plus I'd be going in as urgent care so I will just be getting whoever's available, any of the GP's. I am hoping to be able to communicate with them clearly.

Should I ask for doxycycline? What kind of antibiotics are prescribed to avoid or treat possible infection? Thank you for any insight you can provide and for all your help on this forum.

Sincerely,

L.L.

[Scott Roseff MD]

Hi,

It's standard of medical care to undergo antibiotic treatment around the time of egg retrieval. Putting a needle through the vagina into the pelvis to retrieve eggs has a potential risk for causing infection, so you MUST find out if your clinic gave you antibiotics. If not, that's not consistent with the level of care we uphold for egg retrievals (at least here in the U.S.).

Even if they DID give you antibiotics, it's possible to get an infection - Perhaps you have an ob-gyn who can examine you? Also, you may want to consider having your thyroid checked, as hormone treatments can cause a thyroid imbalance (which, if it exists, can cause great fatigue).

Hope this helps,
Dr. Roseff in FL (Have you seen why patients come HERE for IVF???!!!)