New here, seeing the OBGYN for the first time tomorrow!

Andanism · October 2014

I don't know if I belong here or not, but I'm 24 and my fiance (23) and I have been trying to conceive for a year and one month. We are getting married on the 22nd of November (just over a month away now!) and have been together for 6 years.

I am seeing my OBGYN for the first time tomorrow. My new family doctor is about 90% sure I have PCOS and I have been having trouble with my cycle since I was about 15, my previous family doctor would not send me for the proper testing or to the gynecologist when he should have so my issues have been untreated for just as long. On three occasions I have had a cycle ranging between 140 and 200 days, spotting consistently through at least half of it! Most of my cycles tend to be anovulatory. For some reason, this was never cause for alarm to him. I was put on a bout of "hormone therapy" for 13 days the last time this happened (in May, I think?) and since then I seem to be ovulating every cycle, but it's still very irregular.

I'm hoping within the next little while I can finally get some answers.

I know that conceiving can take up to a year, and I wasn't even worried about it for the longest time. I've had baby fever BAD since I was about 20 and for a while it was tolerable and it would come and go, but eventually it just stopped going and it just consumed my life. This isn't why we started trying, but it was like a huge weight off my shoulders, and now it's just getting frustrating again. I don't even have anyone in my real life I can talk to about it aside from my fiance, and my mother, while initially happy for me, has been very unsupportive as of late.

Like I said, I see the OBGYN for the first time tomorrow morning and I'm super nervous, I have no idea how to be prepared for the first visit and I don't know what to expect.

EDIT: I have had regular pap smears, my hometown is very small so we don't have a gynecologist within 3 hours of there, normal doctors often do the pap smear. This is nothing unusual here, so at first I wasn't really sure why it was so shocking, haha...

I also live in Canada and OBGYN's here are very careful and when they do prescribe things like Clomid they monitor their patients very closely. I know in America they aren't as careful. They do all the proper testing here, I was told to expect an HSG, Blood and Ultrasound on top of a pap smear since it's been a while (not looking forward to that).

curve31 · October 2014

My OB diagnosed me with PCOS. He did bloodwork and an ultrasound. He also ordered a semen analysis for MH. When it came back with a zero count he referred us to a urologist. While we spent months dealing with urologist, OB referred me to an RE as well.

So that being said, you can take the first diagnostic steps with your OB if you want but like previous poster said, don't let them treat you for infertility. Its not their job.

AnonymousNurse · October 2014

Andanism said:

I don't know if I belong here or not, but I'm 24 and my fiance (23) and I have been trying to conceive for a year and one month. We are getting married on the 22nd of November (just over a month away now!) and have been together for 6 years.

I am seeing my OBGYN for the first time tomorrow. My new family doctor is about 90% sure I have PCOS and I have been having trouble with my cycle since I was about 15, my previous family doctor would not send me for the proper testing or to the gynecologist when he should have so my issues have been untreated for just as long. On three occasions I have had a cycle ranging between 140 and 200 days, spotting consistently through at least half of it! Most of my cycles tend to be anovulatory. For some reason, this was never cause for alarm to him. I was put on a bout of "hormone therapy" for 13 days the last time this happened (in May, I think?) and since then I seem to be ovulating every cycle, but it's still very irregular.
I'm hoping within the next little while I can finally get some answers.

I know that conceiving can take up to a year, and I wasn't even worried about it for the longest time. I've had baby fever BAD since I was about 20 and for a while it was tolerable and it would come and go, but eventually it just stopped going and it just consumed my life. This isn't why we started trying, but it was like a huge weight off my shoulders, and now it's just getting frustrating again. I don't even have anyone in my real life I can talk to about it aside from my fiance, and my mother, while initially happy for me, has been very unsupportive as of late.

Like I said, I see the OBGYN for the first time tomorrow morning and I'm super nervous, I have no idea how to be prepared for the first visit and I don't know what to expect.

First of all, welcome! I hope your stay here is short. I highly, highly recommend reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility". You will learn SO much and it will be so helpful to you. It would also be very helpful for you to join Fertility Friend and read the tutorials on there.

As others have said, you really need to be seeing a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE), not an OB GYN. They know very little about getting you pregnant - their job is to keep you pregnant, which is another speciality in and of itself.

Have you really never seen an OB GYN before? Have you never had a pap smear or anything? This is blowing my mind a little. It is totally not your fault, so please don't take it that way, it just amazes me how inadequate our reproductive healthcare can be in some places.

Good luck at your appointment tomorrow. If you have truly never been to an OBGYN, then you do definitely need this appointment to get your general reproductive health assessed. If your OB starts talking about clomid and such, please let them know that you would like to see a Reproductive Endocrinologist. Your doctor may be the best OBGYN in the world, but they still are not equipped to treat you properly. Many try to do preliminary testing/treatments and just end up wasting patients' time and money, not to mention causing them actual harm by not treating them correctly.

dancerspose · October 2014

Everyone else pretty much covered it so I'll just say welcome and good luck!

Andanism · October 2014

iPutKetchupOnKetchup said:

Andanism said:

Like the first time ever? Please tell me you've had a speculum in your vag before..

I have yes, but it was a regular doctor who did every time, we don't have an OBGYN in my hometown since it's really small, they only refer you to one on an emergency basis there. We moved to the city and have three of them here, though. I think they actually mentioned they'd be doing a pap smear this time since it's been a while since the last one.

mmmKayy · October 2014

Welcome!

Here's an interesting thing my RE told me (and I looked it up online as well)... The standards for pap's have changed and it's suggested to get one every 3 years beginning at the age of 21 (thru 29). In my day, it was annually beginning at 18. So I've been seeing more and more young ppl in the dark about the health of their hoohah.

WishUponAChild · October 2014

Welcome and good luck. I grew up in a town with zero health professionals. I couldn't get a band aid without having to drive 45 mins away so I know how you feel... I would recommend having a big ol written list of questions to take with you. Maybe they would be willing to do phone consults for non exam/testing visits too.

SND1231 · October 2014

Welcome... I am sorry that you have had to find your way here.. FX you wont have to stay for long... I also had all my normal pap smears etc done by my PCP.. There were plenty of OBGYNs in my town but I loved my doctor and she was wonderful.. I honestly went to my PCP because at the time I had no insurance and they were the most affordable.. Once I started having issues and had insurance I of course moved on up to a real OBGYN and now a RE..

Shauntee · October 2014

Welcome and good luck. Before I knew better, my PCP did my check ups. You are lucky that your PCP is suspecting PCOS, mine had no clue and kept telling me my irregular periods were due to stress. Like PP I urge you to go to an RE as soon as possible.

Shauntee · October 2014

@BlueFairy5‌ I wish I knew. I told them about my irregular period very time I went in and got the stress answer. Once I hit about 14 or so my mother and I had a running joke about immaculate conceptions because due to my hella irregular periods I would have to take a pregnancy test EVERY time I went to the doctor. Why they didn't catch it then, I have no clue.

AnonymousNurse · October 2014

BlueFairy5 said:

@Shauntee What is it with their obsession with stress?? Every doctor until my RE brushed off my concerns with "it's stress." Even my OB, whom I had to strong-arm into ordering a diagnostic US for me.

Seriously! The "fertility specialist" at my OBGYN's office told me to do yoga, get some massages, and come back in 6 months ("but you won't need to because I bet you'll be pregnant by then!"). WTF. Fast forward a couple months to my first RE appt where my PCOS was diagnosed in about 2 minutes before any bloodwork/tests were completed.

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