My first FS appt De-brief (excuse the pun)
Hi Girls,
well today's appointment went fine but we're both so tired. We had to wait around etc so we were there 3 hours all-up ! The best part was getting the ultrasound done, which in my mind was the "next step". The ultrasound doc was really nice. He even laughed at my "OK, as long as that's a magic wand" joke, which I think now was a bit gross, but I meant it like a fairy godmother, :lol: .
The ultrasound, thankfully, was a normal result. Definately ovulated, no abnormalities, size/lining/internal bits all looked fine. DH was fine too. Doc even looked at kidneys, liver etc with an abdom u/s so was very thorough and we were both given a clean bill of health.
The next bit, wasn't so fantastic, but maybe by that time I was just a bit "over it". We waited for about 45 minutes to see our specialist, and we were obviously the last appt of the day because she (the doc) made a comment to the nurse about being tired and "are these the last ones" etc. She asked me questions which I had ALREADY written in our "new patient" forms, tapping the answers into the computer (while i'm thinking, this is costing us a bomb for the initial and you're just going through the info in front of you!!!). She asked me the same question twice, which annoyed me, becuase I thought she wasn't paying attention. I asked her if she wanted to see my charts, but she didn't seem particularly interested, saying "we're going to look at all the hormones and work that out for you" so I didn't push it... I asked her a few questions but felt a little silly... she's definately a "medical model" type doctor.. she didn't even ask me if I knew anything already about my cycle / reproduction, she just started drawing pictures and explaining fallopian tubes etc. ... I also had to have an internal, which i wasn't really expecting, after I had the U/S, but it was OK i guess. Before the internal, I asked to use the toilet, so i was sent to the staff toilet, and I noticed the sink didn't even have any soap !!!! I told them about that when I got out. I really think that little things like that can really form an impression of a place... I also had to really concentrate to understand her, as she had a thick accent (I guess that doesn't mean anything bad, just made the whole process a bit more tiring).
When I read baback on what I wrote it sounds pretty terrible, but the day wasn't too bad - the FS did try to be nice, I think maybe i was just tired and a bit fed up with all the waiting by the time I got to see her. I probably wouldn't recommend her though, though the clinic itself seemed very organised (just very busy that day).
The nurse then went through the next lot of tests I need to do, ie wait for CD1 (and I'm hoping, hope I can CANCEL coz I get a BFP this cycle), then ring and make an appt for a CD2 bloodtest. I'll also need to do one of those tests where they put fluid through your fallopian tubes, and a possibly a post-coital test to check for CM fertility / "hostility" (another thing I've been a bit curious about... my CM has seemed cloudy while stretchy during O so I wondered if it was more acidic coz FF mentioned that cloudy CM is acidic)... I didn't share that thought with the FS for fear she might think I had overloaded myself with incorrect internet info or something.
Honestly, I reckon I've learnt so much in the last 6 months (and therefore felt much better about this process) because of you girls at Bellybelly !! I felt SOOO much more prepared for this appointment than I would have, otherwise. That's the reason I didn't ask too many questions, I felt I already had a bit of an understanding of the process.
The whole thing today though made me think about making another appt with my natropath, tho. She was SO sweet and seemed genuinely interested in finding out all about what I knew of my cycle.
Guess it can't hurt to cover all basis, medical and "natural", as well as do my own charts on BB. It will be interesting to see if the FS tests pinpoint O the same day that my own temping does.
So to sum up .... this process IS going to be expensive, but well worth it even just to put our minds at rest that nothing is wrong. And if there IS something found, then we're in a much better position to fix it and realise our dream of a little bubbie!!
Anyway, I should look at the positives: I got the test done I wanted, it was normal, both DH and I are healthy. There is a clear plan for the next lot of investigations, looking at hormone levels, fallopian tubes and CM environment. Doesn't matter so much if I'm not thrilled about my doctor, as long as she does all the tests that we need ! Maybe it'll take me a little while to warm to her.
