First visit with RE

mrsjcrane

Hey all, 

I've been stalking these posts for several days and they are finally letting me post. I am seeing a RE tomorrow and was wondering what questions I should ask and what to expect. 
    A little back story, I just suffered a MMC with a D&C on 7/15 at 12 weeks (baby died around 9 weeks apparently). Prior to that I had one previous MC at 6 weeks back in 2009. No succesful pregnancies. With this last pregnancy, it took us 16 months to conceive with the last two cycles using femara. We were actually scheduled to see a RE in May when I happened to take a pregnancy test that exact morning and it was positive so I didn't end up going to that appointment. I'm 29 and DH is 32 so I don't really think age is a factor. 
Thanks for any answers! And thanks for the support form just reading other people's posts. We are looking to get back on the TTC bandwagon very soon.  

vlagrl29

So sorry for your losses. Welcome. I have not seen an RE. How did you like femara?

Mack2342

Sorry for your losses.  I'm currently seeing an RE.  I had a consultation which I had to complete a lengthy medical history for myself and DH.  RE went through that and discussed any health concerns based on our history and age as we are both 42.  Then he discussed each of the procedures and the percentage of success based on our age.  I didn't have to ask a lot, he covered just about everything. Then he did blood work.  *****TW**** I have a healthy 2 yr old so he really only checked the egg reserve as he basically thinks it's my age that's preventing a successful pregnancy now.  I would just make sure he/she knows both your histories and that you are given all options.  We took IVF off the table immediately as success rate was only like 15% and I couldn't see spending that when we have LC. So we started with femara and IUI for 3 cycles.   We are on a rest cycle but starting up with injections next cycle and IUI 

BornReady

----Lurking from grad board----TW living children mentioned. 

So sorry for your losses. I conceived this past pregnancy with the help of an RE through IVF with PGS testing. At your first appointment you will likely just talk about your history and make appointments to begin testing: CD 3 labs, antral follicle count ultrasound, HSG and 7 DPO blood work for you and a semen analysis for DH. We filled out a massive amount of paperwork too before even going to our first appointment that asked for detailed info on family history of miscarriages, testicular injuries for DH, information on my cycle history etc. We were both also tested for STDs, and given genetic carrier screens for any potential issues there. Then you will go back again and make a plan for moving forward. I live in a state with mandatory infertility coverage and was 100% covered for all IF treatment, so other places might not be this extensive.

In our case, we did one round of IUI which was a BFN. We moved on to IVF  the next cycle when it was confirmed that DH had sperm motility issues and that was our best chance of conception. We do have a living child that took 13 months of active TTC to conceive and a spontaneous pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. 

I found a lot of hope working with the RE who seemed smart and confident and always had a plan to get us pregnant. I felt like I was finally doing something after lots of time TTC. As a warning, things can get a little grim when they start talking about potential egg quality issues especially with a past history of miscarriage and drop off of quality at certain ages (early 30's for me). I was given the "all clear" from my testing which looked great and good cycle consistency, however, with a history of miscarriage and family history (my mom had 6 losses) there was always the lingering questions about my egg quality. Then with IVF I ended up with only 1 normal embryo after 11 eggs retrieved, so my RE surmised my eggs probably aren't all that great, awesome. Thankfully, that one embryo worked!

I would definitely ask for what they suggest you do in the mean time before starting treatment such as what supplements might be helpful, what the clinic's success rates are (they should post SART information online/you can look up your doctor's success) and what the availability is of staff to meet your needs if and when you cycle with them. My clinic was open every single day of the year and a nurse was available 7 days a week to answer my questions by email or phone. I can't imagine going through this process with anything less in terms of that level of support.

Wishing you the best with your appointment! 

mrsjcrane

Femara worked great for me actually. I didn't have any side effects and got pregnant on the second cycle, but unfortunately didn't last. @vlagrl29
@Mack924 @BornReady
Thanks for sharing your experience! It's helpful for me to hear other people's stories! 

Appointment today went well. We are still waiting on chromosome testing from my recent D&C which will guide the testing we need to. My RE sounded very optimistic and had a good plan for everything that could be wrong, which was very helpful to hear. So glad I finally requested to go to one!