Long story (kind of) short - I had an appointment today with my OBGYN. I stopped BCPs in early December and my cycles have not regulated yet (I know this is normal and it can take awhile). I saw a naturopath last month just to check in and make sure that I was doing everything I could to stay healthy and help my cycles regulate. She felt like it would be a good idea to get some basic lab work done at this point. My insurance won't pay for it if the naturopath orders it, so I ended up making an appt. with my OBGYN to check in and have her order the labs.
Basically, it was a total waste of time and I know now that she is NOT the doctor for me. She doesn't know how temping works - she pointed to my crosshairs and said, "what does that line mean"? I told her that I was concerned about my short LP and her response was, "well, you always ovulate 14 days before your period". I told her that based on my temperatures and OPKs, my LP is only 10 to 11 days. She said, "no, your temp rise must have been on the wrong day. Everyone ovulates 14 days before their period". Ummmmm, WHAT??? Shouldn't she know how this works? Her nurse was trying to be "helpful" as well by telling me that a lot of their patients get pregnant once they decide to take a break and not focus on TTC (yeah, that makes a lot of sense!). To top it all off, my doctor asked me if I wanted a prescription for clomid. Yep, I have 4 cycles under my belt, have had no blood work or anything, but she offers to write me a clomid prescription today. Also, on her way out the door, she says, "btw, BCPs did not cause this. It's just the way your cycles are". Ugh!!!!!! I can't handle the stupid.
Thanks for listening:) I just have to say that I am so glad I found this board and I appreciate all of the knowledge and logical advice you gals share.
Obviously, I will by finding a new doctor ASAP. Anyone else have experience with this kind of thing? What's the best way to go about finding a knowledgeable doctor? Can you interview doctors before you decide to switch to them?
Re: My doctor is an idiot (vent)
Wow that is nuts! Definitely find yourself someone new. I'm not sure how it works there, but here you can just have your family doctor send you to someone new. I have been through a couple in the last few years until getting my most recent one that seems to be very on the ball and her clinic staff is just amazing and friendly.
Best of luck!
BFP #1 09/15/09, MMC 09/28/09

BFP #2 06/04/12, EDD 02/09/13, MC at 6w3d on 06/18/12
BFP #3 01/16/13, EDD 10/04/13, Born 09/17/13
Ummm....that's terrifying! Can you imagine all of the poor women who DONT know what's really going on and trust this Doctor? Yikes!
BFP 8/03/12 EDD 4/18/13
Just curious, what made your naturopath decide that you needed to go in for bloodwork?
And, not that it makes it ok for your doctor to offer you clomid like it's candy, but most OBGYNs are used to dealing with pregnancy after the fact. They are highly skilled in monitoring pregnancy and delivering babies . . . not always in assisting with getting pregnant.
This was my first thought too...
I left my last OB... but he wasn't incompetent so much as his billing dept was incompetent and rude... and his incorrect diagnosis of our infertility didn't help. I asked a friend who she used... because she seemed really pleased. Good luck on finding a new doctor, OP.
July - Nov 2011: Testing with OB... OB said everything looks good
March - Sept 2012: Moved to RE.. 4 treatment cycles - responses of one or no follicles
09.03.12: Diagnosed Poor Ovarian Response.. DE IVF only option
Feb - Nov 2012: Pursued Adoption. That door slammed shut.
12.23.12: Surprise BFP (first ever)... 12.25 - 12.31: Natural M/C
All of this. An RE would be the specialist to help you get pregnant. NOT that you are at that point yet with only four cycles under your belt.
I was going to say this - OBs aren't specialists in reproduction and fertility. But, it is scary that she's throwing Rx's around.
bfp#4 3/19/2014 edd 12/1/2014 please let this be the one!
beta @ 5w0d = 12,026! u/s 4/22/14 @ 8w1d it's twins!
My BFP Chart
My naturopath recommended basic blood work just to 1) rule out any super obvious issues, like a thyroid imbalance, and 2) to check my hormone levels (I'm mostly interested in making sure I have enough progesterone). I know it takes time, but after 7 months off the pill, I was hoping things would be somewhat regular. She said that the blood work was definitely not necessary, but if we did get some baseline values, it could help her figure out how to help me better.
I realize that OBGYNs do not specialize in getting people pregnant (although OBGYNs do specialize in "dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state", so I do expect a basic knowledge level about this sort of thing). I am not at that point yet. I took the approach of "it's been 7 months, things have not regulated, and I'm wondering if you can order some basic lab work". She took it from that to "BCPs didn't cause this, here's an order for an HSG, here's an order for a SA, and do you want this Rx for Clomid?".
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the advice and I am looking forward to finding a new (awesome) doctor!