do u ever get to talk to your RE??

elisem42 · August 2011

so i am getting FED up with a capital F. i never get to talk to my doc and while he has an assigned nurse, who gets back to me, there are certain things i feel i would like to run by him for five min here or there...and it's almost as if the nurses are trained to keep the patients away from the docs...

i know sometimes you have to go to a practice for the lab and not the patient care but i may need a tiny bit more TLC.

how does your practice work??

madelyn07 · August 2011

I rarely got to talk to my RE but that's because I rarely went to the main office (2.5 hours away) where my RE was. She only came to my local office once every few months. We did schedule video conferences with our RE when we had a lot of things to discuss or were going to change our protocol or something. Other wise I asked my NP most of my questions when she was doing my monitoring.

My clinic also has a number you can call and leave a message for the nurse and they'll call back to answer your question.

I did manage to talk to my RE on the phone w/o an appointment to do so a few times though.

ecleptic · August 2011

I usually see my RE once to set up the plan, once during monitoring (usually whenever monitoring happens to fall on the day he's at my office- its not planned and it wouldn't surprise me not to see him at all), and on the day of retrieval/transfer.

I don't really expect a lot of doctor interaction during my cycles. The nurses are well informed and if they can't answer they can forward me to the doc- but there's usually no reason they can't clear everything up for me. I love my nurses I like my RE too- but I'd be miserable if I didn't like/trust my nurses.

jessican08 · August 2011

I've talked to my RE on the phone before and I'm sure if I asked them to have him call me back to discuss something he would, but the nurses do most of the call backs for next steps and setting up appointments (presumably because the RE is busy doing procedures most of the day). I have had a few times where I wanted them to run something by him and they do and then call me back.

bhead81 · August 2011

My RE handles everything, ultrasounds, calls, etc. I have only had a nurse call me once with my bloodwork and it was normal so I didn't mind. I love that my RE does all procedures and appointments. I don't mind nurses calling on my bloodwork as that is the easy stuff usually. He also provides print out of the office note each visit so he knows exactly what he noted and what is going on.

shirz903 · August 2011

I have talked to the RE several times and he has done most of my tests himself and he pops in even when I am getting blood work. I see you are in NY- are you in the city proper or the burbs? I am in LI.

naybird · August 2011

I have my RE's email address and she always responds, even for the littlest things, and even when she's out on vacation. I prefer to email over phone, so I can go back and re read everything, so it works out perfectly! I'm just starting with her, but my friend who has cycled with her says she is always available and very hands on the whole step of the way!!

At my last clinic, everything went through my nurse, but I was much more comfortable with her anyways. Old RE use to do all my u/s herself and always asked if I had any questions, and then passed me off to my nurse to get instructions, med training, etc.

Good luck!

elisem42 · August 2011

shirz903:
I have talked to the RE several times and he has done most of my tests himself and he pops in even when I am getting blood work. I see you are in NY- are you in the city proper or the burbs? I am in LI.

i am in NJ....reputable practice...not liking my care at all ..:(

kzawisl · August 2011

At my first RE, she did our consult and plan, and thene I never saw her again. 6 monitoring appots and a BFN, and I never so much as caught a glimpse of her int he office, let alone spoke to her.

My new RE...we are going to cycle again in October and she assures us she does her own monitoring etc, so I will see her at least for those, which makes me feel infinitely better.

BeeBee08 · August 2011

I see an RE at every appointment. At every third appointment I would say I see my own RE. My practice is very good that way I would be upset if I didn't get to see my RE when I had questions.

Mrs.Adam · August 2011

I saw my RE at almost every appt more during clomid and iui cycles. During ivf it was a whole new story. There was an entire nursing/np staff that monitored everything in a whole separate section of the practice...but when the cycle had to be cancelled or there was a problem of any kind I did see him. Also, I had an ectopic pregnancy and I had to call after hours due to a problem. He called me back every hour to make sure I was still ok, to evaluate my symptoms and to decide if I should still stay home or go to the ER. SO, he is on the ball, but I don't get to see him at each visit.

missjul61 · August 2011

How frustrating. I'm sorry your clinic runs that way. I see my RE every time I go in, with the exception of days when I get bloodwork done only. But he stops to chat for a bit when he sees me. He performs all my ultrasounds and of course the consults.

babina868 · August 2011

I never see my RE unless we're changing the plan, and then we go in for a consultation. I do remote monitoring (my clinic is 2 hours away), so obviously I don't see her for those appts, and a nurse practitioner always did my IUIs. But I have my RE's e-mail address and she answers every one of my e-mails within 24 hours.

elisem42 · August 2011

thanks girls...i like the idea of even having an email address to talk to the doc...something! how can i enter a 2nd ivf cycle if i can't ask my doc any questions?? i trust the nurses, of course, but some things and their interpretation are much better understood when coming from a doc!! so frustrated...! thanks for the feedback!

tootlebug · August 2011

i think it just depends on the practice honestly. the fact that i dont see my RE every time i go in doesnt mean anything to me, as he is probably one of the best REs in the country. Northwestern in chicago is also one of the best hospitals and the RE department is fab. there is no way any patient would get to see their RE every time they go in. that being said, you can always leave a message directly for your RE....mine ALWAYS calls me back within 4 hours, sometimes 2. and he never rushes me, he will talk to me forever. one time, he called me with a blood test result and to discuss a couple other things...i was expecting the nurse to call me but he decided to....which was wonderful. many times you dont get that type of treatment with these big named doctors. i used to go to FCI in chicago (which i hated) and yeah, i saw my RE for the consult and then it was just dealing with the sh*tty nurses who think they know stuff when they really dont. when i requested to have my RE call me once initially he told the nurse to tell me "no" - to just wait until the next consult in 2 weeks. wtf?? i had just gotten my AMH back and it was terrible and he told me "no". i kept pushing so he did end up calling me but i could tell he was annoyed. it's like they want to charge you for the phone calls there.

NieceyK · August 2011

bhead81:
My RE handles everything, ultrasounds, calls, etc. I have only had a nurse call me once with my bloodwork and it was normal so I didn't mind. I love that my RE does all procedures and appointments. I don't mind nurses calling on my bloodwork as that is the easy stuff usually. He also provides print out of the office note each visit so he knows exactly what he noted and what is going on.

Same here. He leads every appt outside of bloodwork visits. My mom loves my RE b/c after my surgery he spent 45 minutes talking with her & my DH about how it went, what he did and what he thinks is our best plan moving forward.

Delta04 · August 2011

I definitely think it varies from practice to practice. At my clinic all u/s and b/w is done by the nurse. She also contacts me with b/w results. I call her when I have any questions. There are times when the RE will come in during my visits but most of mine are with the NP. However, anytime I want to speak to the RE or have a questions for her, I ask and she usually calls me that day or the next at the latest. I can't imagine going to a clinic where I didn't care for the nurses.

It must be very frustrating for you, which sucks because we are paying a lot of money for these medical services.

mtlaurel · August 2011

I mostly talk to my nurse. However, when it's about something that's beyond her, my RE has called me back. I am comfortable with the nurses, and actually feel like they're better with patient interaction.

tatum2424 · August 2011

If you are that upset you should absolutely switch to another practice. I don't think it is reasonable to ask what other people have experienced or felt. All that matters is what you are feeling and experiencing - and very clearly you are really unhappy with your current treatment. Follow your gut and go find a place that makes you feel better.

elisem42 · August 2011

tatum2424:
If you are that upset you should absolutely switch to another practice. I don't think it is reasonable to ask what other people have experienced or felt. All that matters is what you are feeling and experiencing - and very clearly you are really unhappy with your current treatment. Follow your gut and go find a place that makes you feel better.

thanks so much for this! i am on the road to finding a diff doc that actually speaks to me ! i am not saying i need to talk to a doc every day or even every week but a lot of your girls get someone on the phone or someone to email you and I am totally fine with either !!

pete2835 · August 2011

I am having this same experience. Highest success rates in our area, but I get to talk to my doctor for 2-5 minutes per visit...they don't do mid-cycle monitoring without me pushing, and I feel like the dr is more invested in making $$. We are looking for a second opinion if this month doesn't work bc we're moving to IVF.

pete2835 · August 2011

I am having this same experience. Highest success rates in our area, but I get to talk to my doctor for 2-5 minutes per visit...they don't do mid-cycle monitoring without me pushing, and I feel like the dr is more invested in making $$. We are looking for a second opinion if this month doesn't work bc we're moving to IVF.

elisem42 · August 2011

bellalou32:
After my surgery, I never got to speak w dr. He did, however speak with my mom and DH. I felt that I had ques that weren't answered and was having a heard time, as well, getting any answers. So, every time I had a question I thought of, I called the emergency line and spoke with a dr on call that was able to answer some of my ques for me. Maybe you can do that?

i am sorry that you have to call an emergency line to get questions answers...that's absurd. are these docs so holier than thou that they can't get on a phone...if i called the emergency line at my practice they have a NURSE call u back!!

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