Initial FS appointment

Hi I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their first FS appointment experience with me.

My partner and I drove 6 hours, then waited over an 1 hour to see the specialist for all of about 10 minutes. We quickly established that our problem is with my partner and was told we would need a sperm count done through their lab,( we had already provided 2 from our local lab) however, he just seemed in a big hurry to get us out the door. No time was spent explaining anything to us or offering any advice for us while we waited for our next appointment in 3 weeks. ( and another 6 hour trip just to get there)
Im not one to ever complain but for $300 we expected to come out with a little insight as to what to expect, instead we felt very let down with our choice of Dr.:shakehead:

Is this the norm?
Many thanks

Sadly, yes.

Our first appointment with our FS was us being asked question after question, and then being sent for tests upon tests - for both of us. We had questions, but they weren't answered.

At the second appointment, once all the test results were in - that's where we got our money's worth. Fact is, they can't answer the questions you have until they have all the details in front of them. They could spend ages going through different scenarios only to find they aren't relevant.

As for the sperm analysis - the IVF clinics do it differently to other places and will pretty much all require another sample to be done and analysed through them - particularly as things can change in time.

BW

As butterfly_warrior said, sadly it is exactly what usually happens :( I dont think its a reflection on your choice of FS just a reflection on the whole process. Our first appointment pretty much made a date for a laparoscopy & sperm analysis.

I found that once the ball started rolling we found some really beautiful nurses at the IVF clinic and thats what made everything tolerable.

Im sorry that you are feeling so let down and do hope that when the FS speaks to you next its a little more insightful and helpful to your situation. Remember if you have any questions to write them down so that you can ask, I always felt a little overwhelmed at my FS office :hug:

Thank you ladies, its good to know that that it was not just us then. Ive practically had to drag my partner there after about two years of persuasion and I certainly heard about it from him the way the appointment panned out. I feel a little better about our appointment now and I will be able to assure him that it is just how they work and the next one will be more informative.
I did take a list of questions to ask but it didnt feel right given the way the appointment went. Ill definitely take them with me for our 2nd appointment.

I've already had a little experience with one of the lovely nurses already being that we had made our first nurses appointment for the following day thinking that it would save us a trip, but as the Dr was not ready to make a plan for us he asked us to postpone it. The nurse was very accomodating. I felt silly, like we had jumped the gun, but really was trying to kill two birds with the one stone. The nurse was very understanding and allowed us to make another appointment with her after our next FS appointment and pulled a few strings to get the semen analasis done on such short notice. Was very impressed with that :D

Thanks again ladies. I am so glad I came accross this forum. I had been stalking anyone I knew who had IVF done but its sometimes awkward especially when my partner doesnt want anyone to know what we are doing. ( I think he is embarrassed) So i have been sworn to secrecy otherwise he wont do it. Very hard considering i am a bit of a talker.:lol:

I think I must have been lucky enough to find a caring fs who took all the time we needed to get our heads around everything. Our first appointment went for about an hour, where he gave me an ultrasound, went over our options, booked me in for a laparoscopy and scheduled our first IVF cycle and rest our minds at ease.

We had already had our geneticist appointment by this stage, so it was pretty much a no brainer we would do IVF with PGD.

He has always given us as much time as we needed, always encouraged us to discuss our concerns with him and never to leave with questions looming over our heads.

i feel very lucky to have him as a FS.

Our experience with FS was a bit of both sides I guess.... We spent about an hour with her discussing various things... I had an ultrasound, swab test, pap smear and then also a handful of various tests were ordered for both of us (Various BT's and a more intensive Ultrasound for me, BT's and SA for him). I got to ask all my questions (although as PP said not all of them could be answered specifically because we didnt have data to refer to). At the end of the appointment we were left feeling like we were doing something and getting at least a few steps closer to the goal. As PP suggested most of the answers did come at subsequent appointments...

I've just been to see my THIRD FS! After 3 years of TTC ... I finally know what I'm talking about. When you haven't started your IVF journey, nothing ties in and there's SO much to know ...

All the different blood tests, hormone levels, procedures, protocols ... even if you read up on them, they still don't make sense until you start the journey and go through a few results...

With our first, we just kinda sat there, absorbed what we were told and did what we were told (except we insisted on trying IUI first- more natural :wall:)

With the third, I spent over 1/2 hour asking questions which he patiently answered

Now, I'm a lot more proactive with the cycle and getting answers.