I’m already getting nervous about my RE appointment. It started yesterday. Truck Driver Burt told me he’s taking off of work that Monday so he can go with me. I don’t know why I assumed that he wouldn’t go… because I’m an ass I guess. It is going to take us a little over an hour to drive to this appointment. Because we live in a small town, we have to drive an hour for everything… Good groceries, doctor’s appointments, clothes, shoes, etcetera, etcetera. That’s why I’m worried that this appointment is going to be a blow off for my RE. I get that it is the first appointment but at least draw my blood! Examine me! Do something! My husband is here! Check his sperm! He won’t mind, I promise! I feel like since we are having to drive an hour and my husband is taking off of work, it should be a little more than a consultation… And, trust me, I have no problem being my bossy, assholic self and telling the doctor how to do his job. It just worries me and makes me nervous. So I wanted to ask you gals what your first appointment was like with your RE. Was it completely pointless or did you actually start with all the testing?? – The Infertile Housewife
It’s okay to be nervous! For my first appointment with my RE, we had to fill out a looooong medical history questionnaire before going in. Then at the appointment, the resident went over each piece of the questionnaire and asked additional questions. That part was about 30-40 minutes. Then the doctor came in to discuss my diagnosis (I was diagnosed prior to seeing the RE), and possible treatment plans. After that, he did a pelvic ultrasound (i.e. wand up the vag) and lots of blood work. He wrote out a prescription for my husband to have his sperm checked, but I don’t think it could be done that day.There are a few “rules” to getting that checked (like he HAD to have ejaculated in the past so many days, but not in the past 48 hours or something like that). So I’d check on those rules prior to your appointment in case they will allow him to do the semen analysis then.
Anyway, I think you’ll actually feel better after you go. Nervous as I was, it still felt good to finally be DOING SOMETHING beyond timed intercourse to get pregnant. Cause clearly, that wasn’t working!
I was stressing before my appt. with my OBGYN (who specializes in IF) because I was on cycle day 3. Turns out that it was a good thing! They took my blood that day and then scheduled us for an SA(sperm analysis), HSG (hysterosalpingogram) and ultrasound. I have to drive 1+ hours to all my appt’s too, so we were able to schedule the HSG and ultrasound the same day…I believe the HSG has to be done on certain days of your cycle, 11-13 I think, so I was able to get all our testing done rather fast. The way I understood it was that all testing, besides the SA, were all dependent on what day of your cycle you’re on. The previous poster was correct on the SA, it was the same for my husband.
Hope this helps! One good thing to do prior to your appt is maybe do some research. The more you know about what procedures there are and tests that will be run, the more confident you will be when discussing things with your doctor. I bought a book, A Few Good Eggs, and while I haven’t read all of it (it can get a bit overwhelming) it did teach me a lot!
Good Luck!
I had two first RE appts (I switched Docs in feb). They both lasted about an hour and a half and included a consult in the office to go over history and discuss options (bring a list of your questions… I would have forgotten all of mine, it was all so overwhelming). Both docs did do a pelvic exam, but my second doc did a vaginal ultrasound and an antral folllicle count as well. I think only the pelvic exam is as far as they usually go on your first visit, so my new doc went above and beyond that for me which was very nice of him). For you to make the most of this first visit with your husband being there, I might consider calling the office to ask if they could also plan to do some sort of testing at that appt, after your consult with the doc (depending on your insurance coverage, it would cost more, of course). Not sure what else they could do though besides ultrasound. The HSG requires an appt and most blood work has to happen on certain cycle days. A lot actually depends in where you are in your cycle, in terms of testing. So I say feel free to be as demanding and assholic
as you need to be to get things done! Good luck!
Yay! Thank ya’ll so much! Made me feel a lot better!