First RE Appointment!

I was SO NERVOUS this morning before my RE appointment. It wasn't so much about meeting him as it was nervousness about actually liking him, whether I'd trust him to help us conceive, etc.

I got there 15 minutes early, then went in to have my vitals taken. I then waited for about 20 minutes or so after my appointment time and we were taken back to Dr. A. I explained by history to him, showed him my records, and waited to hear what he had to say. I actually learned a lot from him!

First, the doc put me at ease by looking at the image of my HSG from November. He showed me my uterus and said it was a "textbook" uterus, then said "It could be on the cover of a uterus magazine!" From that point, I cracked up and knew that I felt very comfortable with him.

In terms of potential issues, he noted that my FSH was high. Although it's well within the normal ranges that doctors recommend, while TTC, it should be below 2.5. My test showed a 2.75. This was about a year ago though, so I went for another test. We'll see what happens with that. We also discussed my past Clomid cycles and my current Clomid cycle. He is willing to start working with me now, so I get to wake up super early tomorrow to get a follicle scan ultrasound. We will see how well they are developing.

If this cycle doesn't work, my next step is to get another CD 3 test done. Well, I should say, get it done for the first time. When I was in the middle of an anovulatory cycle last year, the doctor had me do a panel that included the traditional CD 3 tests like estradiol and FSH. It's slightly annoying because after my first BFN cycle of Clomid, I asked my doctor if I should do a real set of CD 3 tests, since the last ones weren't technically on the right date. He pooh-poohed it and said it wasn't necessary. Dr. A disagrees. He did also mention that he didn't like using more than three rounds of Clomid, so because this is my third, my options are a bit more limited. He did say that we could try and use injects+IUI next cycle which would be fine with me, but my infertility coverage SUCKS. I only get a $5,000 yearly benefit which is definitely more than some people get, but sadly, it doesn't seem to be enough. Dr. A said that the IUI costs about $1000 with everything but meds included. However, when I include injects, he said the cost of those is like, $3,000. That seemed SUPER high to me, but I am not the professional! (Though, I did do some research with online pharmacies and the cost seems to be much lower than he anticipated, based on the number of days/amount of injects I'd need). If I can get the drugs for substantially cheaper, we could probably squeeze in two IUI cycles with injects, even if I had to pay a bit out of pocket. When I asked about the possibility of doing IUI+Femara, he said he doesn't like to use Femara because it doesn't have necessarily better results than Clomid, and he prefers to go straight to the needles.

All in all, I am happy with him. He seems like a great doctor and was awesome in answering my questions and making me feel at ease. I think that he could actually help us get pregnant, which is an amazing feeling to have. I am so hopeful for our reproductive future!

Open Letter to Dr. Girard

Dear Dr. Girard,

I thank you so much for taking the time to see me around March 2011. I know you're busy, so fitting me in 30-45 minutes after my appointment time was quite generous of you. And the fact that you spent a whole 7 minutes in the room with me felt very luxurious--I'm so spoiled!

I am writing now because I wanted to let you know how delighted I was to be reviewing my medical records the other day and learn that you think I have PCOS, especially since you never mentioned that to me. Since I am on unmedicated Clomid cycles, other doctors might be worried that the patient would develop cysts instead of follicles. Clearly those doctors just don't have confidence in their patient's ovaries like you have in mine! Surely I have nothing to worry about! And really, a disorder affecting one's ovaries isn't important to discuss when one goes to visit the doctor about issues regarding TTC, so I'm glad you didn't clutter my tiny non-doctor brain with all that information.

Hugs and kisses,
Trisha