Transvaginal scan - help

[JoCM]

I was offered a transvaginal scan the week of ovulation but was worried it would make it more stressful/it might somehow affect things? I've gone for beginning of cycle instead.
Wondered if anyone who had one had any tips/info on timing/when is best? And they won't give me results then, but will the consultant be able to tell me anything?

It depends on the reason for the scan. I've had loads; most during pregnancy and two outside of pregnancy. Once time they were looking to make sure a D&C was successful, and another time to investigate pain.

As they were looking for different things each time, the results they gave me were somewhat different. Some things stayed the same such as the tiny cuboid they found.

Are you having the scan to check for ovulation? Irregular bleeding? Pregnancy?

Having the scan will not affect anything, it's very safe. I've had at least 9.

Sorry I should have said. I'm having this along with an AMH for initial fertility tests/consultation, as have been ttc for a while with no success.

I'd read that it might be better to have at beginning of cycle, and thought I might be more stressed during ovulation week. Though maybe it would be useful if they could tell me I had or was about to ovulate...hard to tell!

It won't affect anything, it's literally just an ultrasound. The probe itself only goes up to your cervix.

It would have been more beneficial to go with the week of ovulation

Usually just do what your specialist advises, what you read on line is just random opinion at worst and may not be relevant to you at best.

Can I check why it might be more beneficial to go with week of ovulation? I should be able to change it.

Were you not told to go at any particular point in your cycle?

If you go mid-cycle they should be able to see if your ovaries are preparing to ovulate or if an ovum has just been released.

Yes, they did say any point in my cycle was fine, I think I was just overthinking it. I will see if I can change it

It won't affect anything. It's not a stressful procedure, you just lay there and let them get on with it. Not fun, but not terrible. I suppose but embarrassing the first time, but they do it all day and honestly don't bat an eyelid.

If they said any time is fine then they're probably just looking to see the environment as a whole. Mid-cycle could give indication of ovulation - this way, they'd be able to tell you whether you are about to ovulate or have already ovulated and from which side.

Hey!!

I’ve had my fair share of internal ultrasounds over the last few months, one of which was for the reason you are getting yours (fertility MOT). My clinic recommended to have the scan CD10 as they can look for a “dominant” follicle which is the one which would produce an egg this cycle. It meant they could give a guide as to when I could ovulate ect. They also checked for any fibroids, cysts, any pelvic issue ect on the same scan. It definitely had no effect in terms of conception as I actually got pregnant the cycle I had the scan. I did have a MMC but absolutely nothing to do with the scan, if it was unsafe or could cause problems they absolutely would not be carrying them out given the reasons you are having the scan. They carry out these scans internally when you are very early on in pregnancy too and no risk to the little bean growing.

So, in a nutshell a few days before you typically ovulate would tell you a lot more about whether your body is ovulating and they can still look how many follicles you are growing that month and look at the overall health of you ovaries, womb, cervix and pelvis. If you have it done earlier, you wouldn’t get any information in relation to ovulation. I hope this helps 😊

I have PCOS and had fertility treatment, so I have had many many TV scans. I agree with pp that if you go the week of ovulation, they will be able to see the follicle(s) developing and whether it is about to release an egg etc.

Thank you so much @KittyFantastica @KT199 @CrispAppleStrudels this is really helpful and reassuring, as I've been very anxious about making the 'right' decision.

My choices were between what I think will be day 6 or day 13 - i seem to ovulate different days every month, though this time was day 14 - so it seems like day 13 might be the best bet.

@JoCM It really depends what they are checking for. If it's to check your antral follicle count, it needs to be done in the first half of your cycle but not right before you ovulate. The reason for this is that at the beginning of your cycle your FSH level starts to rise, which causes the follicles to develop. Too early in your cycle and they won't see anything yet. But then as you approach ovulation one of your follicles will become dominant and the others will die off, meaning that just before ovulation they won't be able to get an accurate picture of how many follicles you had. I used to have scans at around day 11 to check my antral follicle count, but I tend to ovulate a little later than average, around day 18-21. If you tend to ovulate on day 14 and your options are day 6 or day 13 then I'd go with day 6.

It's a little worrying that they haven't explained this to you. In order for the scan to give them any useful information about your fertility it needs to be done at a certain point in your cycle.

Where are you having the scan done? If it's at a private fertility clinic (the sort that purports to give you a sort of fertility MOT and tell you whether you need to be worried or not), I'd proceed with caution. I have at least two friends who went for a fertility check up and weren't even told that it's pointless having a check up if you're on the pill, which both of them were. I'd be worried that a clinic which doesn't tell you which cycle day you need to come in isn't a serious clinic and is more interested in taking your money than actually giving you any useful information about your fertility.

@MissScarletInTheBallroom It is private, though it’s also an NHS facility.
Its being done at the same time as an AMH test before an initial consultation. I did ask if it needed to be at a particular point in my cycle and they said no…
I haven’t had any scans before so I think it’s an overview of everything. I don’t know about antral follicle count - I did ask but the person on the phone didn’t know if they’d be doing that or not….im not sure how important it is for them to check, so slightly unsure what to go for now.