What should I demand at a Gyne appointment?????

[sweetheart]

I have a gyne apt next week as we have been ttc with no luck.

I am a bit annoyed with my doctors as they have not taken blood samples already - I thought they could have had the results at my gyne appointment so that we do not have to spend any longer waiting.

I'm fairly sure - as is my doctor - they are going to find I have PCOS. Is there anything I can demand at my gyne apointment if I feel they are being too slow - ie could they do a scan straight away which would show up any abnormalities.

I don't just want to go and have blood taken and be told to come back in a few weeks, I want some action taken straight away!!!!

Or am I just being impatient????

anyone???

why dont you just ask if you have PCOS and can they do tests to prove otherwise

sorry I am useless at this kind of thing. i would have thought whoever you see will explain things properly to you

Message withdrawn

fio2,

could try that angle, except last time I went I had a really shitty woman who had me in and out faster than I could blink!!!!!

I think the gynae people would probably want to do their own tests anyway. When I had trouble ttc, they also took a sample of my womb lining, then booked me in for a vaginal ultrasound, where the pcos was confirmed. Hope this doesn't take too long for you.

lou,

I wasn't aware until just now that the scans they do are internal - i though they were the external ones, like you have when your pregnant.

Slightly scared at the prospect of going now - will they ask dh to leave the room???

It doesn't hurt. I guess it would be up to you if he stayed or went. Iirc it looked like a mini light sabre . They can see the ovaries better that way I think. I got a great view of all these little cysts clustering around my ovaries.

Message withdrawn

I was never givena normal scan, just the tv one. I didn't know it was coming either, she just sort of whipped it out and told me to spread em!.

I had an internal scan when expecting my DS twins.
It was not at all scary and DH stayed with me.
He seemed to find it quite amusing especially the look on my face when , the radiographer pull a condom onto the prob.

I would badger your GP to at least get a sperm test done (to eliminate any further testing of dp/dh). I'm afraid that they will want to take bloods, but at several points during your cycle - yes you may have PCOS, but they will need to check other factors at the same time. I believe that "best practice" is to have a monitored cycle, so from Day 1 of your period you are set up for a series of bloods and scans to check out what exactly is happening. But even a dx of PCOS doesn't mean that it can be fixed overnight - it gives you a label which may give you some reassurance, but after that it is working out what the best treatment will be for you - and especially with PCOS that may be a bit hit or miss. The good news is that usually there is some treatment which will work for you - it just seems to be that there isn't one route that will work for everyone, so if you're on NHS be prepared to start off on the cheaper treatments first.

Good luck!

Message withdrawn

essbee,

There are many reasons I think it's PCOS and my Dr agrees, this is pretty much just a formality:-

Irregular periods
bad skin
excessive hair growth
skin tags
weight gain
family history
uncomfortable sex in certain positions (TMI - sorry)
etc, etc, etc

I'm glad I've been pre-warned about the internal scan - thanks ladies, I shall go prepared for that

I'd actually rather my dh wasn't in the room - I'm not normally funny about these things (will even go to the loo infront of him) but I think this would make us BOTH feel uncomfortable

Again if you're on NHS, don't necessarily expect a scan - you may be given a separate appointment for this, esp if you're in a gynae clinic rather than an infertility clinic. But you would most likely get an internal exam anyway - IME worse than the tv scan - but then I've had over 50 of the latter!

this is what I mean - if they just chat with me and do nothing at my appointment couldn't i ask that a scan be done there and then to rule this possibility out???

I don't want to have to wait even longer!!!

I'm off home now but will check for any advice tomorrow

Agree internals are worse than tv scans.

They would probably have to book you in for one though, I doubt hey would do anything apart from taking bloods, maybe womb sample, and ask your dh to get a sperm sample done as well.

G'night.

It depends on where the scanning equipment is and who is able to use it - quite often the "doctor" is not the best person to actually scan you. In over 4 years of infertility treatment, under 9 different doctors, I have only known 1 who was able to scan. In the private sector of course they will get you scanned by an appropriate person on the same day, but I'm afraid in the NHS it is likely that it won't be on the same day unless you happen to be very lucky - there simply aren't the resources to have a sonographer hanging around "just in case", though they can always get you scanned as an "emergency".

If speed is absolutely essential, and you can afford to, then go private if you're not happy with your gynae appt. With hindsight it was my one regret - we waited a couple of years before going private.

It is a NHS appointment.

How much does it cost to go private? The annoying thing is that I have medical insurance but I don't think it will cover me for this as I had been reffered to a gyne before it was taken out - I hadn't actually seen the gyne but I think because it's on my notes they won't pay for me to be a private patient.

Thanks for the advice

Costs will depend on the hospital - I was a patient at the Lister Hospital, London. Initial consultation is £140 (including a scan). Semen analysis is I think £90, and cycle monitoring is £480. An HSG (to check tubes) is more expensive. It is definitely worth asking your NHS hospital as to how long they think it will take to run the various tests - for example when I first went through the tests, it took over 10 months for my diagnosis to be confirmed (I had been dx'd with PCOS when 22, but for "infertility purposes" they still have to rule out any other factors - eg you could have PCOS AND blocked tubes say, or PCOS and a sperm factor). The time factor in my case was mainly due to the waiting list for the laporoscopy/HSG.

I would repaeat that if you can get your dh tested out before your gynae appt, then this may result in faster action - for example they may be willing to try you on clomid whilst cycle monitoring say. Definitely push your GP on that one, as otherwise you will have to wait for those results before they are willing to start anything - and with the men it is usually that bit more straightforward: if he passes the sperm test, then end of story. With women they still have to go through all the other tests.

I would still check on your insurance - some insurance policies will still pay out for cost of tests (but not for treatment).