Monday, January 18, 2010

Day One: First Appt. With Fertility Doctor

My husband and I visited Abington Reproductive Medicine's Lansdale office today for our first infertility appt. We showed up early to fill out new patient paperwork (just before 9:30 a.m.), but we weren't actually seen by the doctor until 45 minutes after our scheduled appt. of 10:00 a.m. The doctor was both kind and apologetic.

We haven't been diagnosed yet as we're in the preliminary testing phase of our journey. I have no expectations beyond wanting to know why we haven't been able to conceive. We both gave blood samples and urine samples, being tested for everything from disease to genetic mutations. I also had a vaginal ultrasound and the doctor said everything looked OK from the images we saw. He took time to explain everything on the screen. It was neat. Both Jeff and a nurse were present at the time.

We were given, #1. paperwork by the office manager, including instructions/information on upcoming tests that needed to be done, #2. a run down on how to contact our insurance company to see if our pharmaceutical plan included coverage for various fertility drugs, #3. instructions to contact our insurance company to figure out our coverage for fertility procedures (i.e. responsibility, 90/10, 80/20, 100% or no coverage). Abington had contacted our insurance company ahead of time and determined some of that information, but we had to confirm and to clarify the rest. Jeff spent alot of time on the phone with the pharmaceutical people (2 different calls) to try and determine our fertility drug coverage, another phone call with the insurance company to determine coverages for fertility procedures and our deductible, and a call to the doctor's office to let them know how it was going.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you're thinking about going to see what your options are, you'll need to be prepared to bring your driver's license and provide your social security number, employer information etc. and sign a hippa form. Gentlemen get to provide a semen sample (can set an appt. to provide at the office or to set an appt. to bring one in), get a blood test, and give a urine sample as well as provide their medical history. Ladies also provide a blood test, urine sample, and medical history. Both must provide information on family medical history as well. My docs wanted to know if my periods were regular, when I first started my period, the date of my last period and when my mother entered menopause.

Our nurse told us she'll only call with results if something is wrong, and that at the end of all the tests, we'll get an appt. to discuss all the results at once. I still have three tests to go: the Clomid Challenge Test, the Hysterosalpingogram or HSG Test, and a Hysteroscopy.

The Clomid Challenge Test involves taking Clomid and seeing how my body responds to it in egg quality and quantity production.  I get a blood test to measure my follicle stimulating hormone or FSH level.

The HSG (HIS-ta-ro-sal-PING-o-gram) is a test that lets your doctor examine the inside walls of your uterus and fallopian tubes using dye and x-rays. It's done at a hospital in the radiology dept.

The Hysteroscopy lets your doctor examine the inside walls of your uterus. It uses sterile salt water and a tiny telescope to visualize the inside of your uterus. The doctor also perform an endometrial biopsy to rule out an infection or an inflammation of the uterine lining. It's usually done at a surgical center.

When I reach Day 1 of my next cycle (aka when my tampon is full) then I call the doctor's office to schedule a test. I'll let you know how it goes.

4 comments:

  1. We'll definitely be praying for you guys as you walk though this difficult process. It can be emotionally exhausing and may tax your marriage a bit, so be sure to give yourself plenty of date nights and give us a call if you ever want to talk.

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  2. love you Rigel!! Thanks so much for sharing what you guys are going through. One of my girlfriend's here is going through the same thing...love you and many prayers.

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  3. Wow thanks for sharing. I'll be praying for you. As for the Hysteroscopy I've had a cervical biopsy and I'm not sure if they're similar, but the biopsy was pretty painful, if you're able to (ask your dr) I'd suggest taking pain meds before the procedure. Good luck!

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  4. Hello friend! I will be praying for you! I wish I could take you out for a cup of coffee....

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