Back in January when we started ttc, I had my annual visit at the gyno. Told her my past problems with irregular cycles and going months with out a period. I told her in the last 6 months I had actually had 4 periods which for me was alot. She said to try on our own for 6 months and then come back, that many many many couples with irregular cycles conceive on there on, sometimes the very first time.
So that was it, I off with a scrip for prenatals (she prefers the high end ones) and her advise to use opk tests.
5 months later (just because I couldn't wait that extra month...um, gut feeling??) I was back. She said, lets start you on clomid and tested my progesterone to confirm I didn't O the cycle I was in. That was it, she said give the clomid, estrogen, progesterone protocol 3 months and then come back.
Well, that brought me to the RE's office 2 months later. I really started doing my research and found a nice article on clomid as the Valium for women who cry to the gyn about not getting pregnant. (so wish I could find it again to post here). That got me fired up, my problems were real and I felt my gyn wasn't taking me seriously.
On my first visit to the RE she went over medical history for both me and dh. RE's don't let you take clomid with out monitoring you! why? because you could develop cysts, you could think you have your peroid and really be preggo when you start your next cycle, or it may not be working at all! So after a quick sono it was pretty easy to see that I have PCOS. So if my gyn had taken an extra 5 min (or scheduled another appointment even!!) she could have seen that too, all of 8 months ago! I had blood work that day to confirm it and the HSG schedule. She said I could give the clomid another month but I was to come in on day 12 for another sono to see if it was doing anything. Well, despite what the opk test were showing I was not ovulating at all. A retest of the blood work 5 days later still showed nothing was going on. So in conclusion....if my gyn did even one blood test while I was on clomid it could have saved me a few months of useless hot flashes!
Next, I voiced my thought on having my husband get a SA to my gyn before I started the clomid...I told her how he has played very active sports a few times a week for YEARS! She said, yes that could effect his count but most guys who play sports father children with out a problem. After the 3 months of clomid she would test him.
RE- nope, going to test him right away. She says first off its such an easy test (compared to the more invasive HSG for me!) there is no reason to wait. And of course we find out his counts are not good...so even if I had o'd on one of the clomid cycles it wouldn't have really mattered. If the gyn had tested him we would have saved of few months of side effects and tears. Plus, you are limited to 6 clomid cycles and by not testing him 1st it waisted 3 of them even if I had o'd.
As a side note: the RE left it up to me if I wanted to start my third clomid (I still had the gyn scrip) but she would run the tests and monitor me. Not wanting to waste a month I started it before we had the SA. Though she said not to take the estrogen or progesterone because you only need those if the blood work shows it...and by taking them it mimics your cycle giving you the feeling that the clomid is working when its not.
For the PSA- Take your health care into your own hands. Call your insurance and find out what they cover! Even if you don't have IF coverage most tests to find our if you are going to have problems are covered. And don't think you need a referral to go to a RE, check with your insurance. Just because their practice is labeled a "clinic" doesn't make it any different then going to a dr. office. An RE will see you if you have had a history of irregular cycles. And if they run the tests and everything shows normal, you can still try on your own. But if they find something you will save your self months of stress!
