What to except at first RE appointment?

MrsS728 · August 2014

So our first RE appointment is this afternoon. I'm nervous about it. I don't know why, I just am. (It doesn't help that I dropped a knife in my kitchen on Sunday and now have 3 stitches in my leg that have been bothering me for 2 days now). I thought I'd be super excited and everything, but now that it's actually here, I'm SO keyed up. I guess with all of this rambling, my question is, what should I except? I noticed on my patient portal that I have an u/s scheduled too. Thank you for your responses!

Background on us:

I'm 34, OB/GYN diagnosed me with PCOS in August 2013. Husband is 35, SA came back excellent. We've been married for 2 years, together for 6 1/2. We've been trying for 19 months now, with no luck. I've had my cycles(33-40 days), but haven't ovulated at all. I've already been on Clomid for 2 cycles (didn't ovulate on 50mg or 100mg). Had I known that I should be monitored I wouldn't have taken it :-/ but I've never been to another OB/GYN and when she said that she wanted me to try 2 cycles before she would refer me to an RE, I trusted her. Needless to say, I will not be returning to her as my regular OB/GYN.

catlover790 · August 2014

Hi and welcome.

I was very nervous too when I had my first RE appointment! I would recommend bringing a pen and paper, there can be a lot of information.

You say you have cycles that range from 33-40 days; that's not too bad actually. When you say you haven't ovulated at all, were you temping? Also, because you weren't monitored on clomid there's no way to know if you ovulated or just ended up with bfns.

As for the appointment, I would expect to spend time talking with the RE. At mine, ours told us about how they go about diagnosing IF, the chances of conceiving, and how they diagnose PCOS/ovulatory dysfunctions since that was why I made the appointment.

After that, you said you have an ultrasound (which I had too). The nurse took my blood. Then, they did a transvaginal ultrasound, so be prepared for that! They looked at my ovaries and uterus. It was pretty quick.

Then, we signed some papers and they will probably give you directions of what to do next. Since your DH has good SA results, they may let you do a medicated cycle with a testing cycle. I would ask the RE what they recommend as the next course of action in terms of testing and treatment for you. Good luck!

ky29 · August 2014

I was really nervous before mine too! I went by myself, because my husband couldn't take off work. I had filled out the giant stack of paperwork - but we knew going into it that we were MFI. He glanced through everything, told me that we'd be starting with CD3 labs & an HSG - and that was basically it! My husband had already seen a uro, so there wasn't much more needed on that side of things. He just sat back and asked me questions to get to know me. It was very laid back and the fact that he made it more personal really helped me relax.

Good luck & like the other ladies said - take a paper and pen because some of these appointments can get overwhelming!

shirleymaeby · August 2014

The other ladies have done a great job preparing you for what to expect and I don't have anything to add. I just wanted to say good luck at your appointment this afternoon. FX that you are able to get started on a treatment plan right away!

BethKate2 · August 2014

I was also super nervous before mine. Just calling to make the appointment seemed like such a big step, and I was a nervous wreck.

My RE's office had us fill out medical history questionnaires online ahead of time, so the RE had all of that info prior to my appointment. Like PPs, we just talked a little about how long we'd been TTC and medical history stuff. I was mid-cycle, so we didn't do any blood work that day. She gave me some paperwork on HSGs and SAs and an at-home collection kit for my H's SA. She told me to schedule an appt. for the SA and to call on CD 1 to schedule blood work and an ultrasound for CD 3, and an HSG for CD 5-12.

BethKate2 · August 2014

Buttmonkey34 said:

@bethkate2 my voice was literally shaky when I called to make the appointment. Like WTF is wrong with me? Am I calling a boy for the first time in high school?

@Buttmonkey34, yep! My hands were shaky after I got off the phone. I knew the first appt. was just a consultation, but I was still such a nervous wreck about starting the whole process. I'm kind of a Nervous Nelly anyway, though.

catlover790 · August 2014

BethKate2 said:

Buttmonkey34 said:

@bethkate2 my voice was literally shaky when I called to make the appointment. Like WTF is wrong with me? Am I calling a boy for the first time in high school?

@Buttmonkey34, yep! My hands were shaky after I got off the phone. I knew the first appt. was just a consultation, but I was still such a nervous wreck about starting the whole process. I'm kind of a Nervous Nelly anyway, though.

Me too! I was so nervous and was trying not to cry! Idk what came over me because I felt fine until I started talking to the nurse who asked some background questions (what my cycles were like etc) I purposely called when my H wasn't home because I had a feeling I'd be nervous too!

TiffW2012 · August 2014

Good luck at your appointment! I was so nervous for my consultation appointment, but it wasn't a big deal at all. I had to fill out a lot of paperwork in advance, so my RE had that info before our appointment. I didn't have an ultrasound, but I was in the middle of a super long cycle and he prescribed be with progesterone and told me to call him on CD1.

The lab was already closed for my blood work, so I just went a couple days later to have that done. Once CD1 started, I got an appt, and H came in for his SA. I hope everything goes well.

doucettechristina · August 2014

Good Luck today! I don't have any info to offer since my first RE appointment isn't until September. Anyone have any suggested questions I should ask when I go?

Thanks in advance!

MrsS728 · August 2014

Thank you so much ladies! You all helped to ease my fears a little before we headed over. It was SO overwhelming. My husband was able to go with me. I'm on CD10 Clomid #3, so we decided that I would be monitored this cycle (I have to go back on Monday for another u/s and BW). The u/s today looked like there were 2 follicles on my right. My left looked like a tiny brain. Last year when I had my first u/s the tech stated that the PCOS was obvious on my left and not so much on my right. They also won't accept my husband's SA because it was from the VA and not their office, so he'll be doing that again.

Our only point of uneasiness was with our doctor. He wants to jump right to IVF, which right now my insurance doesn't cover, but we will be picking up my husband's insurance and they cover it and then some (Thank God!)! We had to state multiple times that we want to use as little medical intervention as possible first and then if IVF is necessary, we will do it. His biggest reason for wanting to go to IVF is that he could control the possibility of multiples. However, we've talked about the possibility (since identical twins runs in his family) that while not necessarily ideal, we could handle it. At this point we want children, period. Have any of you experienced this?

I sobbed after I hung up from making my appointment. I was fine in my OB's official, until they had me waiting to check out and then handed me the business card as I was leaving.

Thank you again for all of your support and help. I truly appreciate it. :-)

BunnyBerry · August 2014

I'm not sure why your doctor is so concerned about multiples with you if you don't do IVF. Everything I've read about twins (since they're in our family too), identical twinning is totally random, and fraternal twinning is genetic and also tied to AMA, right? That is really strange....

adejde · August 2014

ky29 said:

I was really nervous before mine too! I went by myself, because my husband couldn't take off work. I had filled out the giant stack of paperwork - but we knew going into it that we were MFI. He glanced through everything, told me that we'd be starting with CD3 labs & an HSG - and that was basically it! My husband had already seen a uro, so there wasn't much more needed on that side of things. He just sat back and asked me questions to get to know me. It was very laid back and the fact that he made it more personal really helped me relax.

Good luck & like the other ladies said - take a paper and pen because some of these appointments can get overwhelming!

We are also dealing with MFI, so I have been curious whether the appointment will be mainly for DH or if I too will have tests. What are CD3 labs and is that standard for any female, or was there a reason for the labs? Sorry, I'm new to this!

BethKate2 · August 2014

adejde said:
We are also dealing with MFI, so I have been curious whether the appointment will be mainly for DH or if I too will have tests. What are CD3 labs and is that standard for any female, or was there a reason for the labs? Sorry, I'm new to this!

@adejde, if you haven't had any testing done yourself, you don't know for sure that you're just dealing with MFI. You could have a diagnosis of some kind as well. You should have blood work, ultrasounds, and an HSG before starting any treatment to make sure your uterus is normal, tubes are clear, hormone levels are normal, etc.

adejde · August 2014

BethKate2 said:

adejde said:
We are also dealing with MFI, so I have been curious whether the appointment will be mainly for DH or if I too will have tests. What are CD3 labs and is that standard for any female, or was there a reason for the labs? Sorry, I'm new to this!
@adejde, if you haven't had any testing done yourself, you don't know for sure that you're just dealing with MFI. You could have a diagnosis of some kind as well. You should have blood work, ultrasounds, and an HSG before starting any treatment to make sure your uterus is normal, tubes are clear, hormone levels are normal, etc.

Thank you! I would be happy to have tests of course, just didn't know if RE would just do them or if I would have to request them.

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