Pre-conception visit???

Jo&Matt6609 · August 2010

Hey ladies..I was wondering how many of you made a "pre-conceptual" doctor appointment before you started TTC. I go on Sept 1, and I'm actually excited because it means that DH and I are truly in baby-making mode. I've read on the Bump about pre-conception visits, and that you should do this prior to TTC, but I was wondering about your personal experiences..What did the Dr go over? I'm assuming family history, personal health history of DH and I, and....? I don't know if they'll do another PAP, I had one done in Jan..And will they do blood work? TIA

MidwestTexan · August 2010

Nope, no visit for me.

My OB and I discussed TTC #2 at my annual check up back in November, but that's about it.

iluvmylab · August 2010

We decided to start TTC right around the time my yearly exam was due, so I just combined the two visits. I just made sure the doctor knew that I had these intentions so she could schedule enough time for my visit to allow me to ask questions. She did ask me a few questions, but didn't really do an in depth history, but all doctors and situations are different.

picklesx · August 2010

I went for one/consultation because it was a new doctor. Got all of my questions out of the way and she went over briefly medical history of my family & myself and basic medical knowledge about DH and just went over some "dos & donts" sort of info. They did not do another PAP because I also had my annual in January and my insurance only covers one per year, anyway. They did a urinalysis and did a basic exam to make sure that everything was in order.

macdidlyicious · August 2010

I went. Basically we talked about when to stop the pill, if I was taking PNVs, she asked some family Hx questions, and said to have lots of sex. I wasnt due for an annual until November so we didnt do that.

If I didnt have specific questions I probably wouldnt have gone.

bwrgolf · August 2010

I also combined it with my regular visit. I hadn't had a pap test in a number of years, so when I scheduled it, I let the receptionist know that I was also interested in talking to the dr. about TTC.

At the appointment he just asked about my cycle and family history and gave me an idea of the TTC process and what days would be best that month (which happened to be in 2 days). We bd and now we are waiting out the final days of our first 2ww.

GL!!

MrsTran021310 · August 2010

So bored tonight...can anyone tell?

I myself didn't have a pre-conception appointment per say. I had my annual last November and while I was there I told her once we were married we were going to begin ttc. She pretty much just told me to contact her if we had any touble. I've been off the pill since Feb. So, here I am 5 months later and I just went to see her a week and a half ago.

FyreFry5 · August 2010

If you've been getting your yearly exams, there shouldn't be too much else I think they'll do, really. They should have all your health history information from your regular visits. If you have any problem that you've noticed, it hopefully would have already been brought up and addressed. If you haven't been lately, they will collect all this info. Your Dr. will probably tell you to pay attention to diet and exercise, alcohol/drugs/cigarettes...all the stuff you'd expect. He/She will probably either prescribe or recommend a prenatal. Mine also said that if we were having regular sex and didn't conceive within 6 months, to call for an appt.

AndBabyWouldMake5 · August 2010

I scheduled one, but only because I wanted to check that all my medicines were safe. Actually it was nice b/c I cut down on medications which saves me about $40 a month!

Write down any questions you have so you don't forget. If there is anything in your family history with ttc that you are concerned about you can ask.

No pap, no blood work ... I had an ovarian cyst in April so I had had a sonogram and seen the ob/gyn a few times, so all my tests were rather recent.

Good Luck!

Jo&Matt6609 · August 2010

Thanks guys for your responses...They do know at the office it is a pre-conception visit, so that the time is allotted. And I do also have a list of questions I've written down to ask. I guess some of my angst is the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities, although I probably shouldn't worry too much. DH had a sister born with T18, and was stillborn, so that's always in the back of my head..Also, DH was born with Syndactyly on his right hand (fusion of bones - his middle and ring finger are fused on his right hand, shortened index finger), but chances are that isn't chromosomal..But I guess this is all stuff that would be covered in a genetic counseling appointment, which would be different..?

Jo&Matt6609 · August 2010

OH yea, that was another reason I wanted to do the visit - I'm on a bunch of meds myself, and I wanted to make sure that I could still take them, or if I shouldn't be taking them...

Thanks again guys

writergal49 · August 2010

I scheduled a pre-conception appointment with my OB/GYN, mostly because I hadn't seen her in three years (I'd been getting my regular annual pap through my primary care doctor).

Along with answering some questions and giving me advice, my ob/gyn ordered some pretty extensive bloodwork (when I went, I wasn't sure if I was getting bloodwork done or donating blood!). Because I've been struggling to lose weight (despite lots of exercise and eating well), she wanted to test for any possibility of PCOS, so she also scheduled an ultrasound for me. I also had my visit when my pap would have been due with my PCP, so she did my pap also.

Thankfully, all my tests came back fine and at my follow-up appointment, she wished me luck and told me to come back and see her when I got a positive at-home test or if I'd gone six cycles without a BFP, whichever came first.

Good luck with your appointment! And yes, write down any questions you may have. I know I was pretty nervous during my appointment and I forgot some of the questions I had for her (fortunately, we had a follow-up to go over my results, but you may not need one...)

funny bunny · August 2010

I had mine about 3 mths before we started.

Got updated on my tetanus shot, as well as some other vaccines I needed updating on.

Dr. tested me for everything that could compromise a pregnancy as well as my usual annual stuff.

We chatted about my ulcers & IBS..

It was helpful to me to do all that in preparation.

vegetara · August 2010

DH and I originally planned to TTC as soon as we got married. Since my pap was also due, I did a pre-conception/annual with a new doctor. Since I have cats, she tested me for toxoplasmosis immunity (which I DON'T have even though I've had cats for much of my life, so, he gets cat litter duty Big Smile ) and chickenpox immunity (which I thought I never had, but, apparently I had a mild case somewhere along the lines) and other stuff.

I also asked her about my OTC medications and other questions I had. She started me on OTC vitamins, discussing which nutrients I need in particular.

Unexpectedly, she advised me to hold off for at least a little while before TTC because of the stress/whirlwind of the new marriage, etc. I discussed it with DH when I got home and we ended up waiting until my implanon expired (last week) to get it removed instead of doing it in the spring. It was actually good advice as we are a little more settled now and those few months that we 'lost' don't really make a lot of difference.

One other good piece of advice is that she said it's important for us still have sex for basic pleasure and just to connect and not to only do it during O time.

Overall, I think it was very worth it, especially since I was surprised by some blood test results and didn't know the doctor before this.

amdraza · August 2010

I didn't schedule a separate appointment. Instead, I pushed my regular annual exam up a couple of months. My doctor just asked if I had any questions, did the usual pelvic exam, and took blood work. The blood work wasn't anything special just routine to check the usual stuff.

She then said that if I did get a BFP within 6-8 months after starting that I could make another appointment to get checked out further.

I don't think they would have done anything differently if I scheduled an actual pre-conception appointment. My theory is that the reason pre-conception appointments are suggested are for people that may not go to the doctor regularly.

Jo&Matt6609 · August 2010

Wow, guys..You have given me so much information..It seems that every doctor does things differently, which is to be expected - bloodwork, no bloodwork, vaccines, etc..Thank you for all the great information - I have a much better idea of what to expect

dana1318a · August 2010

I tied one into my annual exam, just told the receptionist when I scheduled my appointment that we were going to start TTC, so she wrote it on my chart. I've had the same doctor for years, so my was pretty easy. She didn't have to ask me too many questions about family history, etc because she already has it all in my chart. But basically she just answered any questions I had, and wrote me a script for prenatals. Painless! Good luck and Congrats on officially entering baby-making mode!!

picklesx · August 2010

Totally unrelated to the topic of the post, but I'm pretty proud of myself for knowing what Syndactyly was....thanks Nip/Tuck!

Noreen and Chris · August 2010

I didn't set up a separate appt, I just spoke with my doctor during my annual and I told her we were going to start trying so she told me to start taking any PNV that had 400 mg(?) folic acid and also to up my calcium intake even though I finish off a gallon of milk each week (surprisingly that is still not enough !). We went over family history, personal history, and she also scheduled me to take several blood tests for cystic fibrosis, hepatitis (because I have tattoos) and I forget what else but there were about 5. I think the blood work just depends on your gyno because I haven't met anyone else who had blood work before TTC. Good luck!!

Jo&Matt6609 · August 2010

I've only gone to this OB/GYN once, so they don't have that detailed of a history for me..Plus, Noreen, you brought up a good point about tattoos and Hepatitis (although I have one guy that has always done mine and is clean, but you never know though)...Great advice guys..I'll let you guys know how my appt goes, if you're interested

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