I got the packet from the RE's office yesterday, so I spent last night filling it out. It really wasn't a major deal, just several forms to fill out. They will be going back out in the mail this afternoon.
I had a panic attack on Tuesday b/c after I found their website I read something about a $200 fee for the initial consultation that was due prior to your appointment if you were self-pay or your isurance wouldn't cover. After fretting a few hours I decided to just call the clinic. Basically as long as my OB gave me a referral then my insurance would cover that fee. I realized that they would also cover those tests needed to diagnose IF, too. So, I called Dr. S and they were already working on my referral for my HMO and Dr. S would be writing a letter to Dr. H stating my history. That made me feel a little better and the lady I talked to was quite nice. Of course I also spent Tuesday typing out my history which I imagine is better than Dr. S's. Plus I printed out my charts for the past 2+ years and put in a nice report cover. :D I also scoured some websites on questions to ask and things of that sort. My list is as follows right now:
1 - How often are you in town? (His normal office is an hour away and Dr. S said they are in town 2x a month, which concerns me a bit.
2 - Who does callbacks w/ info and/or results? If I have a question the nurse can't answer how long til I get a callback from the doc? End of day? Next day?
3 - Will I have a consistent nurse/coordinator throughout my process or will it vary depending on procedures?
4 - Opinion on acupuncture?
5 - What do you think our prognosis is?
6 - IUI - Costs, meds
7 - Dr. H's recent stats. I couldn't find this on his website, nor was it in the packet of info I got from them.
8 - Do you think stress plays more of a role on me? History of depression not only w/ me, but in family as well.
For those of you who have been to an RE, do you have any advice, tips, etc.? I don't think IVF will be anywhere in the near future. We don't have a lot of money to spend on treatments at the moment. I do have a positive outlook that this guy will give us a diagnosis. I can accept the fact that X is wrong and they can either fix it or not, but I won't accept "unexplained". I just don't believe it. To me "unexplained" simply is a lazy way to say I don't feel like doing anymore tests. I know we haven't exhausted all of our options and maybe if/when that times comes and we still don't have an answer I will beging to accept "unexplained". Until then I won't hear/speak of it.
Please if anyone has any advice, tips or knows of other questions I should ask, please comment or send me an e-mail!
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4 comments:
Hmmm...well when we went to the RE he was a total wack-job, so I don't know what a good RE experience is like.
I guess what I would say is don't be shocked if he suggests IUI right off the bat for you guys. Since you've done the clomid thing for awhile and you've had a LAP recently, he may see this as the next step. Since it's been over a year from your last HSG, he may say to try that first and possibly another SA on hubby.
Keep in mind that RE's are there to get you pregnant - that's their sole goal so it will be a different experience than when you see your regular OB doctor.
I guess I was a bit shocked when the RE we saw suggested IUI as the next step. The RE is probably going to be more aggressive in regards to "procedures" than you may be used to.
Good luck and I hope he's a great doctor and fits with your goals and ideals! Nov 30th isn't that far away!! :)
Agreed they might go straight for the IUI. They did this with us. We ended up opting for partial IUI basically ovulation induction and then going home and hubby being the method of IUI. *chuckle* My insurance covered the ovulation induction and the drugs but would not have covered the actual IUI procedure at the dr. office. If you are not comfortable with the full IUI you might want to see if they will do the ovulation monitoring w/ fertility drugs etc and then home you go... it worked for us in 2 cycles! However keep in mind our issue was with keeping a pregnancy initially not in getting pg.
Nov 30th come quickly! I'm keeping fingers crossed for you guys. :)
I would definitely say if you're doing injectables, go for the IUI if anything to maximize your chances, but also, you're going to feel like someone shoved baseballs in 30 of your ovaries. It's uncomfortable. There's a good chance you won't be wanting to have a sex marathon.
Also, ask him what their protocol is for cycle cancellation. Every clinic is a little bit different on how they go about cancelling your cycle. Ask them what percentage of their patients suffer from OHSS (which kind of ties into the previous question) and what they do if that circumstance happens.
Another question I would ask is how often do you expect to need to come in for bloodwork/ultrasounds in a cycle?
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