Doctor Appointments

[Sus09]

Ah, I understand now! It now makes sense as what you said made me understand what the doctor said as he did say that this test will confirm if I ovulate or not, together with the charts. I did not understand what they measured then.

They gave me an appointment on the 14th of november, but as you say I might have not ovulated yet... Following what you are telling me I might just phone and move the date if Ov early and delay it if I ov late.

Sorry I confused you with my crappy explanation, I confused myself as well

 

[keekeesaurus]

Inspired by this thread I've been proactive and booked a smear test and had asked for a gyn referral via my GP. The choose and book letter came this morning and I've booked an appointment online for 2 weeks today. That's a hell of a lot quicker than I thought it would be. I'm impressed with the NHS! I thought I'd be waiting months...now I feel a bit nervous about it all. Lol.

 

[Indigo77]

Keekee!

 

[dachsundmom]

 

[Natsby]

Good stuff Keekee!
Sus should be back from Spain today so:wave: Sus

 

[Indigo77]

:wave: Sus!

 

[Desperado167]

Keekee ,well done ,Sus ,

 

[Sus09]

Hello Lovelies!!!!
I am back
I am a bit sad as I had a wonderful 3 days with my familiy (Posted some photos on the happy holidays thread)

I missed you all and as soon as I landed I checked on my mobile how everyone was.

Keekee, I am gland that this thread inspired you to go to the doctor, I think that it is the best, Nats inspired me and after she had hers I booked mine. At least we will get answers now.

Inding, you still make me happy every time I see your little seed grows

Nats, the weather has been amazing, summer heat! Unbelievable. It was a great time. I will email you soon about Uma

 

[SWLondonMum]

Well, I dont want to be self centrered but I thought if I told in detail how my doctor appointment went then this might help other ladies who are hoping to have an appointment soon.

I did go to my GP today, to be honest expecting that they would just get rid of me without doing anything.

Well I followed all the advice that you ladies had given me, I wrote my list, I knew what to ask etc, and this did help.

Well I went in and I said that we were trying to get pregnant but we were not having any success. I did tell the white lie that we were trying to conceive for longer than whan we had (othewise they would had told me to come back in the New Year) Then I explained that my cycles were getting longer with more pains in between and before periods.

Well the doctor examined me and said that we needed to test hormones. Unfortunately we had just missed the day 3 one so we could not test that one this cycle but he is hoping to catch the 7 dpo one. With that he has ordered other tests, don´t knwo hwat exactly, but one of them is tests to follow up the molar pregnancy I had to check everything is ok now. He has also ordered an ultrasound scan. Hopefully we will catch the Day 3 blood work at the start of my next cycle.

He said that we will wait for all the results to come back, and depending on the results they will refer me to the specialist in January, who will be able to interpret what is going on with me better.

We also talked about medication, the importance of pre natals, and all that. He has reduced my ADs to 10mg of citalopram. We talked a long time about this, he said with citalopram it is borderline, it has not been proved that it is safe to use during pg nor that damages the baby. So he said it was ok to take it till I conceive, but once I do we will have to decide If I carry on, if they change the medication or stop it. It will depend how I will cope if I get pregnant.

Overall I am quite happy because they started doing something. So whatever comes out of this at least I will get some answers!

Hi, just wanted to add my bit. I also had a great first appointment with my GP - I had a m/c last Dec and nothing since then, so she referred me to a fertility specialist (as I am 39) and was basically very supportive and understanding. She didn't arrange any tests, just the referral, which was 2 months later. I've just had the appointment with the FS which wasn't so great - he just read though my previous results (I had some tests 4yrs ago but didn't follow though as became pg with DS1) and said that my fertility was probably pretty low (as it would have obviosuly got worse over 4yrs) so IVF would be my best option!! I'm going for CD3 and CD21 blood tests and have booked a scan but this is not for 3 months!
Anyway to back up what Sus09 said, if you are worried then DO go and see your GP, it seems that most people have sympathetic ones (and if you don;t it might be worth seeing another one, if that;s an option). And don't be put off by my FS appointment - it sounds like a lot of people get their tests arranged by their GP so I would ask the GP for that instead of waiting for the FS for that as it seems a lot faster. Presumably they will still refer you to the FS for interpretation/next steps but at least it will speed up the whole process. Like Sus09 I also feel better for taking the step and doing something about it - and lots of people will get good results which will at least relax you and put your mind to rest - and TBH even if my news wasn;t great, better to know now than in a year's time.

 

[Sus09]

SW, Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
It is true, it does feel better when you are in the doctors hands, to get answers and as you say if it is bad news better find out now rather than have false hopes.

Keep us updated on how it goes for you! Xx

 

[threebirds]

Hi ladies, I've been reading and lurking.
So far over the last yr ive had a few tests - day21, day3/fsh, clymidia, smear and maybe others i cant think of. Both me and OH are off to the dr in yhe morning for a bit of a chat about what next. OH was about to have SA when we did get our one and only bfp (which ended in mc), so he knows he'll need to do it now. Hoping dr gives FE referral. But worried how long the wait will be. I had a referral around the start of 2011, i think feb but didnt get apt and then came off that list when i got preg. So its looking like a 5mnth wait just to see FE which is crazy. We can hear the clock ticking, so i've also booked a private apt for next wk. I'll tell the dr about this tomor. Anyone know can you for example get IUI private while waiting for nhs FE and poss IVF - don't want to affect waiting time or possible treatment for nhs FE but have to do something and although it's expensive we could stretch to IUI & clomid private if it looked like that might help us. Will let you all know how it goes tomorrow & if anyone can think of anything we should mention at either appointments let me know! Thanks and good luck to you all x

 

[SWLondonMum]

Hi all, just an update - I saw my GP today for a follow up and she was really understanding and helpful. She has arranged for my husband's SA as thr FS I saw forgot! She is going to call me when she gets the summary from the FS so she can explain what he has said and what the next steps are, as he was very vague during the appointment (for example he said Clomid was an option as it would increase my chance of getting a 'good' egg but then said it might not be worth it as it would take longer - she can't prescribe it unless he says so). She is also going to get a copy of my original test results 4yrs ago (which were never received by the surgery so aren't on my file). We have various options from trying naturally to private IVF depending on how far we want to go.
to all of you and fingers crossed for you all.

 

[SWLondonMum]

First of all sorry threebird this is too late for you but it may help with future appointments. Anyway, I'm relatively new to all this but this is what advice I I would give based on my experience so far:
Take control of your situation and don;t rely on anyone to do it for you. I know it sounds obvious and most of us do it already but inform yourself (like we all do on here!) - if I had never heard of Clomid or IUI the FS would never have mentioned them to me. And take in a list of questions, and write down any key points the doctor or FS makes -it took me 2 months to get my appointment with my FS and I'm kicking myself that I came away not being clear about my choices and the next steps. Most women on here are aware of all the initial tests (bloods, SA, scan etc) so don't do what I did and walk out of the appointment with no SA forms because the FS forgot to give them to me! Make sure you are given all the tests you need! And when you see your doctor, try to get him/her to do the tests rather than waiting to see the FS (which is what happened to me, adding months of delay) - then the FS will have everything straight away to give you full advice. A lot of mistakes have been made throughout my investigations so unfortunately you need to be on the ball and make sure the right steps are being taken (this is not a dig at NHS staff - I guess like in many areas they dont always have the resources to carry out everything correctly). The misakes include:
*not being given a pregnancy test before an HSG and it being done when I was pregnant (had a bleed in pregnancy so didn;t knwo I was - apparently pregnacy tests are recommended for everyone to be sure
* my results of my initial investigations (4yrs ago) not being sent to my doctor so I never found out my results (ie my fertility was low)
*SA not carried out first time and FS forgot to give me the forms this time so was arranged by my doctor afterwards. FS nearly forgot to give me scan form (he said he'd seen so many people that day he'd forgotten who he gave what)

I hope I don't sound like I'm just stupid and this is all obvious but if it helps one person I'll be happy!

 

[AnnaLaura]

First of all sorry threebird this is too late for you but it may help with future appointments. Anyway, I'm relatively new to all this but this is what advice I I would give based on my experience so far:
Take control of your situation and don;t rely on anyone to do it for you. I know it sounds obvious and most of us do it already but inform yourself (like we all do on here!) - if I had never heard of Clomid or IUI the FS would never have mentioned them to me. And take in a list of questions, and write down any key points the doctor or FS makes -it took me 2 months to get my appointment with my FS and I'm kicking myself that I came away not being clear about my choices and the next steps. Most women on here are aware of all the initial tests (bloods, SA, scan etc) so don't do what I did and walk out of the appointment with no SA forms because the FS forgot to give them to me! Make sure you are given all the tests you need! And when you see your doctor, try to get him/her to do the tests rather than waiting to see the FS (which is what happened to me, adding months of delay) - then the FS will have everything straight away to give you full advice. A lot of mistakes have been made throughout my investigations so unfortunately you need to be on the ball and make sure the right steps are being taken (this is not a dig at NHS staff - I guess like in many areas they dont always have the resources to carry out everything correctly). The misakes include:
*not being given a pregnancy test before an HSG and it being done when I was pregnant (had a bleed in pregnancy so didn;t knwo I was - apparently pregnacy tests are recommended for everyone to be sure
* my results of my initial investigations (4yrs ago) not being sent to my doctor so I never found out my results (ie my fertility was low)
*SA not carried out first time and FS forgot to give me the forms this time so was arranged by my doctor afterwards. FS nearly forgot to give me scan form (he said he'd seen so many people that day he'd forgotten who he gave what)

I hope I don't sound like I'm just stupid and this is all obvious but if it helps one person I'll be happy!

This is great advice. I am doing this myself, am in the process of collecting all the tests that the fs will want to see. My (new) gynecologist is helping me get everything ready for my first appointment. And for me, this is also saving us hundreds of euros because the fs I will see is 5 hours away in an expensive city. So this way we can cut down on the time we spend there.

Informing yourself is the big thing. You've got to be able to make some decisions yourself. My first gynecologist said he would "never" prescribe Clomid for me because of the risk of ovarian cysts. While I appreciate his caution, I did not appreciate being cut off from a potential source of help based on statistics, if that makes sense. I know millions of women have taken Clomid safely and I have no history of cysts or anything like that. Plus, I'm a grown woman and am willing to accept the risks if Clomid is ever indicated for me. So I booted him and now have one who seems open and takes me seriously and who will be an effective local liaison with the fertility clinic.

I didn't mean for this to be all about me! Sorry! Just wanted to share my experience that being even a little proactive can make a lot of difference.

Good luck to everyone on this thread!!

 

[Sus09]

Thanks girls for sharing, it does help us all!
I have my 7dpo blood test next week, a bit nervous as it will confirm ovulation and if I have enough Progesterone...

 

[Sus09]

Well I am off to have my 7dpo tests...

I am a bit concerned at the moment as they are also trying to convirm if I have PCOS or not (I think I do as in the past I was tested for them) That would mean I don´t ovulate propperly.

Anyway I guess it is better to know and see what possibilities I have than live in denial!

Does anyone have any update on their doctor appointments?

 

[NorthStar]

I've been referred to a fertility specialist for testing

I saw a different doc, an older guy who one of the girls from work had recommended, he looked at my BBT charts, asked some relevant questions and said rather than wait another 6 months he was counting our NTNP time and referring us straight away.

Not sure how long I'll have to wait for my appointment, I guess with Xmas it could be a longish wait, but at least I feel like we are getting somewhere.

 

[Sus09]

That is great news NorthStar

My doctor has counted our NTNP as well. Oh I hope you get your appointment soon!

 

[Natsby]

Hi, Hope it goes well today Sus.
I got my results back from the last round of tests and so far all good. I don´t have any of the nasty diseases they tested for and my thyroid is normal too. I don´t know what the hormone level is like but I see the specialist tomorrow morning so I´ll ask her. I thought they had done a FSH, but they haven´t and I didin´t have another test on day 7 so I´m not sure whether we have to go for more tests next month too.
NS good news that they will refer you now, I hope you don´t have to wait too long.
I´ll check in again tomorrow and tell you what the Dr says.
Have a nice day all.

 

[Desperado167]

Good luck nats ,Sus and n.s