How often do you have contact with your RE?

eandk18

Your actual RE, not the nurses?  I have only met with him one time, yes, once!  I find it a little odd since most of you ladies seem to be able to actually speak to yours at least once a month?  

My DH and I really liked him when we met with him.  He sat down with us, went over our (my) "issues" and answered all of our questions.  He told us he could get us pregnant (pretty bold!) but that he didnt know which treatment would work so we got to choose and then move up from there.  So, I feel like we are kind of "choosing" our own treatments.

 I guess it's fine, he gave us the statistics, but sometimes I feel "on my own" and it would be nice to actually talk to him and see what he thinks about how things are going.  Maybe he will once we've done a couple of IUIs.

My clinic has outstanding IVF success rates and that's why I'm continuing with them.  The nurses are just ok.  A few are very friendly and the rest are just kind of "blah."  I just sometimes feel like I'm at a factory. 

jenjen930

I actually didn't see my RE at all after the first consultation until I had 5 failed clomid cycles, and then I had to go in for an IVF consult.  I know he looked at my file, and oversaw everything, but my nurses handled all of my monitoring, and even my IUIs.  They were great though, so I didn't mind.

eandk18

Maybe that's the norm then.  My RE overlooks everything as well.

My SIL and brother were IF also and they were always talking to their actual RE so that's what made me question it.  I guess every place is different!

notquiteblushing

I've seen him on the day of my consultation, the day of my HSG and the day I made an appointment to talk about our next step.  So just three times.  I "talk" to him when I have a question but I call the nurse and she calls me back with an answer.

Aurora1181

We had our initial consultation in January, met with him again in March and May, and I have another appointment in a couple weeks (so July). Basically every two months we have a "consultation" with him, but otherwise we just talk to the nurses. The nurse always returns my calls and the nurse also did my IUI.

RunningwithPearls

When I was doing clomid and IUIs, I'd see him after each monitoring visit (usually 2x a cycle) just to touch base about what they saw on the U/S, and then he would do my IUIs. Now that I am moving on to IVF, I probably wont see him until my ER and ET, but he'll be reviewing my files and blood work. When I call with questions, there has been time that he has called me back himself, and other times when the nurses did after talking with him.

Hinessn

I saw mine on our first visit, then he did my HSG, and he's popped in a few times when he's around and I'm there for monitoring, and then just the other day after we'd finished 4 femera/injects cycles to discuss new plans. 

I think when he has a minute or two and knows one of his patients are there he'll pop in and say hi and take a look at whats going on. Its one of the reasons I like him.

The norm is usually dealing with the nurses. They are the ones who answer questions, perform monitoring, submit scripts, etc etc.  

KMac570

eandk18:

Your actual RE, not the nurses?  I have only met with him one time, yes, once!  I find it a little odd since most of you ladies seem to be able to actually speak to yours at least once a month?  

My DH and I really liked him when we met with him.  He sat down with us, went over our (my) "issues" and answered all of our questions.  He told us he could get us pregnant (pretty bold!) but that he didnt know which treatment would work so we got to choose and then move up from there.  So, I feel like we are kind of "choosing" our own treatments.

 I guess it's fine, he gave us the statistics, but sometimes I feel "on my own" and it would be nice to actually talk to him and see what he thinks about how things are going.  Maybe he will once we've done a couple of IUIs.

My clinic has outstanding IVF success rates and that's why I'm continuing with them.  The nurses are just ok.  A few are very friendly and the rest are just kind of "blah."  I just sometimes feel like I'm at a factory. 

 

You have described my experience to a T, as well as my reasons for staying with this particular RE!  My clinic is pretty expensive though, so there is a trade off I guess. 

Killer Tomato

I saw my RE for the initial consult, then didn't see him again until he happened to be the doc on rotation for IUI #4, after which we sat down and discussed things. Then we had our official "moving to IVF" consult a little later. Otherwise, I always spoke with a nurse or the PA, who often said "I spoke with Dr. X and he said we should..." I always felt like my RE was following my case. I did all my monitoring locally, but I think if I had done it at the RE, I would have seen him from time to time, and I am sure he would have briefly touched base.

I love my PA, and the nurses all seem super sweet and helpful, though I've mostly dealt with the PA. 

Shoshie

Everytime I went to the clinic - unless it was his day off. He even came in on a  day off to see me and two other patients. Then I met with the nurse.

maggie2324

My RE does all of my ultrasounds, so I see her frequently. The only time I don't see her is when I'm going for bloodwork only. I wouldn't like not seeing her because I always have questions.

beth9409

maggie2324:

My RE does all of my ultrasounds, so I see her frequently. The only time I don't see her is when I'm going for bloodwork only. I wouldn't like not seeing her because I always have questions.

My RE does all of my ultrasounds as well. So I see him pretty much every time I go in. One time I was supposed to see the NP because his schedule was booked but he was the one I saw anyway.

Neesey

We met with him three times before starting treatment.  We have a meeting with him next month if we aren't successful this month.  I saw the other doctor in the practice for our last IUI that was a disaster because of uterine cysts.  My doctor is "on standby" today if my nurse has trouble with our IUI.  He writes notes in my chart that they discuss with me but I mainly deal with the three nurses on my team.  They are wonderful and I feel very taken care of even without seeing to doctor every month.

RmJohns92

beth9409:

maggie2324:

My RE does all of my ultrasounds, so I see her frequently. The only time I don't see her is when I'm going for bloodwork only. I wouldn't like not seeing her because I always have questions.

My RE does all of my ultrasounds as well. So I see him pretty much every time I go in. One time I was supposed to see the NP because his schedule was booked but he was the one I saw anyway.

 

I also see my RE or the on call doc from that team everytime. Our RE is on-call this weekend and I am looking forward to seeing him and possibly seeing if we can change treatment plans as I have only had 1 follicule while on clomid 1 month.

twistsandturnsto2

I've only seen my RE twice. Once at our initial consult, and then the next appt for monitoring. She has a fellow that works under her that I have seen every time I see her, and all but a couple of my other apps. She oversees everything like PP have said, but there are other docs and nurses that do a lot of the routine monitoring and even my IUI's. IDK if this will change if we ever get to IVF, but it does not bother me. I don't feel like my care is suffering and if I have any questions, the nurses are there to field calls and concerns. 

emmypants

I've only seen ours during our consult and my u/s.  Other times it's the nurses.  Depending on what I need it how often I talk to them lol.  Like I needed an RX adjusted, so I left a VM and it was sent in.  Then for lab results it's the same  We are meeting with our RE on Thu though, so then I can say twice

buckeyebaby814

Every appointment I have (except b/w only appointments), I see my RE.  He does all my u/s's, discusses all new plans, failed cycles, etc with me.  The only time I interact with the nurses is when they show me to the room or if I need to call for something.  Every practice is different, but this is one of the things that I really appreciate about my RE.