Yesterday was my doctor’s appointment. I’m a little bummed to say that I didn’t get any answers, but I at least have a outline of the direction we are heading within the next few months.
I’ve been seeing the ARNP at my doctors office for the past 6 years and with my first MC I saw my old OB/GYN’s partner. So when my doctor came in the room she went over my history, and then asked what I was in to see her for. She could see from my charts that I had a MC back in September and chemical pregnancy in December (I’m not convinced it was a CP due to the massive cramping/bleeding I had afterwards, but whatever). I explained to her that TJ and I had been trying since November, 2008 and I was to the point where I’m starting to want some answers.
She was very kind and didn’t give me false hope, or answers in which she didn’t really know the answer. She said that she doesn’t deal with fertility that much, and if I wanted to get a better idea of what could be wrong (or right – glass half full here!) then I should see a fertility doctor. That made my heart sink, I went in thinking that she could do some sort of testing and that I could avoid going to an RE. I’m not to the point where I think we need an RE yet.
She looked over my charts a bit and said that it is a little worrisome that I ovulate late and have a short LP, plus the spotting prior to starting my period. She explained that she could put me on Progesterone or Clomid if I wanted her to, but I don’t just want to take drugs and hope that it’s the hail Mary which will win the game. I want to get tests done to make sure I’m not screwing myself up more by taking unnecessary medication. She said there are test that could be run, but there isn’t much she could do with them and they would probably have to be run by an RE again if we did end up having problems.
I was glad that she felt like we still have a good chance of this on our own. She said that a couple is considered infertile after a year of trying without success (which I already knew). She also said that since I was able to get pregnant within that year window we wouldn’t be considered infertile, which I was hoping. She stated that they don’t typically test for recurrent miscarriages until 3. . .so, one more try.
My doctor gave me a few recommendations, she said that we could pursue an RE right away, we can keep trying on our own and see an RE in a few months, or we can keep trying and if my next pregnancy ends up in another MC we should see an RE right away.
When TJ got home from work we talked about where we should go. I would, of course, like to get this thing rolling, but TJ is more hesitant to get poked and prodded. He’s also worried about the costs, since my insurance has zero coverage we’d have to pay for the fertility testing. He’s slow at work right now and he’d like not to have to dip into savings to pay for testing, and if needed, procedures.
So, what’s next? We are waiting until March/April. If I’m unable to get pregnant before then we’ll call the RE. If I get pregnant but have another MC before then we’ll call the RE right away instead of waiting. If I get knocked up, hallelujah!! Pray, please. :)
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After a year of trying, some heartache and a little pain we are finally a family of three!! Follow us on our journey through parenthood.
2 comments:
I've "met" you on the bump boards and found the link to your blog there. I went to an RE in 2007 which luckily resulted in my pregnancy with our DD. Your OB is right in that the RE will probably want to re-run any tests that she does, so it might not be worthwhile to have her do them. I was able to get my insurance to pick up all tests related to diagnosis because they were coded to ogliomenorrhea (spelling?) because I ovulate very late in my cycle. For me the testing consisted of blood work and an u/s. Other common early tests are an HSG to check your tubes and semen analysis although we didn't do the latter because we were pretty certain that I was the problem. Eventually I took clomid and then femara, which is what worked for me. I also suspect that your RE will take the recurrent m/c's issue a little more seriously than the OB.
My recommendation is to call your insurance to see if they cover diagnosis of menstrual problems. I went to Seattle Reproductive Medicine and they were very helpful.
Good luck!
it sounds like our stories are a little similar- TTC since Nov 2008 (albeit with a 4 month break); later ovulation, shorter luteal period, spotting before period, but no CPs or MCs.
I have some answers now from seeing the RE and it helps me feel so much better, even though I wanted to postpone seeing him for as long as possible. Knowledge is power for me and it is easier to know that I have a problem than to endlessly wonder what's wrong.
In my case my main problem is endometriosis and endometrioma cysts. I've had the cysts removed through surgery in Dec. THAT was the cause of the spotting before period for me- now I don't spot before my period at all. I'm hoping I'll get lucky soon.
hopefully you get pg soon!
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