Hellobee

Part 1

Before I met with my reproductive endocrinologist, or RE, my husband and I had to fill out a very comprehensive questionnaire.  It asked very detailed and personal questions about our TTC history.  There was also a section on genetic testing and family medical history.  It took me six weeks to get an appointment with this doctor, so we had plenty of time to fill out our New Patient Packet.  Our first visit was scheduled for an office visit, where we would meet with the RE, review our medical history, and discuss treatment options.  Before starting treatment, though, we needed to find out exactly what was going on with my body.  Why was I having such irregular cycles?  Was there something wrong with my husband, too?

My first visit was informal and lengthy.  I was weighed and had my blood pressure and temperature taken.  My husband and I discussed with my RE, at length, our TTC journey and my irregularity.  We discussed our family history (to rule out genetic testing) and my family’s history of infertility.  She reviewed with us the different treatment options and steps, like Clomid, IUI and IVF.  She told us about her office’s success rate and payment plan options, along with their office hours.  Their office is open seven days a week, all year long, which increases your likelihood of conceiving.  This means that depending on our cycle lengths and course of treatment, I could be seen on a Saturday or a Sunday!

It was a very lengthy and thorough visit; we were there almost three hours.  The first step, for us, was to have some routine blood work done on me.  The blood tests were two-fold.  The first was a set of routine blood tests, where they did a complete blood count and tested things like my thyroid and metabolism.  She also tested my follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estrogen, and prolactin levels.  The second needed to be done after my period had ended to see if I had ovulated.   This seems simple, but was a huge setback for us.  Since my cycles were so irregular, it took me two months before I actually had this blood test done.  I was also sent for a three hour glucose test to see if I was diabetic.  My routine blood tests and fasting tests came back ok, but my other bloodwork indicated that I did not ovulate, so a Sonohysterogram was ordered.

A sonohysterogram is an outpatient in-office medical procedure that is done to determine if any abnormalities are in the fallopian tubes or uterus.  The tricky part is timing this test — I needed to call on the first day of the start of my period.  Then I’d be scheduled for the sonohysterogram some time after my period had ended, but before ovulation was supposed to occur.  Since my periods are irregular, it took us a few months to get this particular test scheduled.  My initial consult with my RE was in June 2010, but my sonohysterogram wasn’t scheduled until October 2010.  At this point, we’d been having infertility troubles for more than two years.  I called my insurance company to confirm that the testing was covered, and was told it was covered in full.

The sonohysterogram was uncomfortable, but not painful.  I took Advil beforehand which really helped alleviate some of the discomfort.  You can read about the specific details of the procedure on this website.  Since the test was done with my RE using ultrasound, I was able to have the results read to me as soon as she saw them.  We discovered that I had a string of pearls around my ovaries.  She instantly diagnosed me with PCOS.  My husband came along with me to my next office visit, where my RE talked to us about PCOS and what this meant for us.  She explained that PCOS is a syndrome, which means a person can have one (or all!) of the symptoms of the disorder and still be classified as having that disorder.  For me, this meant irregular periods, unexplained weight gain (and trouble losing weight), and infertility problems.

The good news was that I finally had a conclusive diagnosis.  This meant we were able to come up with a game plan and hopefully conceive. The bad news was that my sonohysterogram wasn’t covered by insurance, like I’d previously been told.  My RE’s office policy is that all balances must be paid in full before you can be seen again.  It took us two months to pay our bill which means that even though we had a diagnosis and treatment plan set in October 2010, we didn’t actually start a cycle of Clomid until December 2010.

…. to be continued