i am no longer a dildo-cam virgin. this afternoon around 3pm i had my deflowering session. it was actually quite interesting to see my lady bits & pieces on the screen.
so- i'll back up- the hub & i went separately. i was a few minutes late, but no big deal. i have to say my very first impression was not great. i'm a designer & the slightly shabby, fairly dated office threw me off. they have floral wallpaper, blech! the front desk staff was very nice though &i relaxed somewhat. then we were brought back by nurse grumpy who took my height, weight (unfortunately i haven't really lost anything despite the thinner appearance & looser clothes lately) & blood pressure. she was the one who informed me of said dildo cam plans for the visit. needless to say i thought i would be much better aquainted with my doc before we got to that. i don't even have good nickname yet dammit! but the doc got us into his office quickly & went through our histories & his whole speil. i naturally knew pretty much everything he said already, but i knew the hub would listen so i let him go on. he's big on diagrams, both showing & drawing. i'll have to scan what he gave us for our calender so you can see the beauty. he's very nice, was excited to find out i am part hungarian since he is also. he said that there were a few yellow flags in our histories that could have something to do with our fertility (mainly smoking & the hub's infant hernia surgery) but he didn't see anything that was a bright red flag.
he wants me to have my fsh levels checked & their protocol to do that is with a clomid cycle. i am hesitant to do that right off the bat for a few reasons.
-a very good point brought up by my sweet hubby is what if his s/a doesn't check out? i think it makes sense to get him checked first & then see if there's a need. since my day 1 could be tuesday & the earliest he will get a sample in would be monday- i think i'll skip this round.
-i also want to make sure that we do all covered diagnostic tests first. a full clomid cycle is a grand- nothing covered. due up front. there is no way we can have a grand in a week after the 2 weeks we've had. in another month that could be very different.
- something just tells me to wait on it. i really don't think i have a problem ovulating so i don't see the point of clomid for me until some other tests have ben done. has anyone ever had to do a similar clomid challenge? i don't remember hearing about it before & i'm curious.
- an iui is only another $375 on top of the $1000 for the clomid cycle. if i'm in for a pound already... what's another $375. i would want to jump right in because it makes much more sense financially & statistically.
so i think i will be calling around tuesday to schedule my day 3 bloodwork & my hss & hsg- which they do together. in about a week we could know if i have any problems that are immediately evident. the hub's a little hesitant about his s/a. he's nervous- he actually asked Dr. S (still working on that name) "how do you propose to retrieve the semen sample?" i know he meant is it in office or at home- but the doc just half looked away & said that it is a ma.stur.bated sample unless he has a problem with that & then they have other options. i almost died right then & there! hysterical! thank goodness the front desk nurse took us back after the appointment & told us all the nitty gritties. she handed him his bag & instructions after finding out we are less than half an hour away- they need it in the lab within an hour. he has to bring it himself too & show id, so he can't have me bail him out on that part.
oh- and my valentine's gift was that among the audience at the dildo-cam of Dr. S., Nurce Nice, & Smiley Resident was my devote hub. he stayed up by my head, but he was there. how's that for love?
13 comments:
You certainly got more action than me hun, Happy Valentines Day:P
And Good luck with your tests. My fingers are crossed for ya.
Welcome to the dildocam club! and on the most loving day of the yr. I did a clomid challenge test like 3 yrs ago - i wish i remembered it. so i am no help but glad the appointment is over sounds like it went very well! congrats
why can't they check FSH without the clomid? Can't they just do it in day 3 bloodwork? Take your time it can get overwhelming.
The doctor I go to did all the testing first and then we scheduled our first insemination. I did do a number of unmedicated cycles and either you have to be superb at knowing when you ovulate or you go in for monitoring appointments which can add up financially. The clomid does help to define ovulation so you aren't going in over and over for those monitoring sessions I mentioned. The Clomid isn't covered by insurance, but there is a generic. It cost me 24.00 at the local Rite Aid and it turned out my insurance covered it. It just had to be preapproved. I've heard good things about the clinic at the hospital you're using. My best friend went there (and actually her husband is a doctor at that hospital). I used to use Abington when I lived in the area and all of my experiences were positive. Ya like the dildo cam? The nurse keeps showing me my eggs and I have no idea where it is, LOL. Anyway, I hope the S/A goes well!!
Yay for your first appt! I know it's not something anyone wants to do, but you know what I mean ;-) I think it's good your clinic is a bit aggressive rather than lackluster. Even though this doesn't mean you need to start treatments right away, it means they wont "hold you back" when you decide it's time. Best of luck hun! =)
"How do you propose to retrieve the semen sample?"
Oh that is FUNNY.
I would definitely do the SA first. My doctor said we needed to do that since it was cheap ($100) and would rule out Al before we spent more money and did invasive things.
Since Al turned out to have azoospermia, that saved us from starting anything with me. Of course, now I would have preferred there was nothing wrong with him.
BTW, I think clomid is on Walmart's $4 drug list.
Wow! Cool! Good on Tom for standing up by your head. Very, very sweet of him.
And MAN! I almost fell out of my chair laughing about him asking how the sample was retrieved! Hah!
I'll be thinking about y'all and hoping that the tests come out well for you.
Well it sounds like things went well overall. I agree with you on getting the CD3 b/w, s/a and HSG out of the way before trying a clomid challenge. $1,000 seems steep to me. A clomid/IUI cycle ran me about $600 with 2 u/s. What all is included in the clomid challenge cycle?
thanks everyone for all the great comments & answers!
I do think it's important to do the standard tests bfore jumping in with clomid. Especially the s/a which could be as early as Tuesday! He's calling to schedule on monday.
We've decided to get that, the day 3, the HSG & HSS, & I think maybe the 7dpo b/w done this month- which will still cost about $150 because b/w isn't covered if they process there... I think.
the clomid cycle includes all b/w & monitoring. I have to pay for my scripts, (thanks for the Rite Aid & Walmart tips ladies!) So i'm not quite sure what the grand is for.
I was pleasantly surprised by the dildocam- I don't know why I expected a more horrific process, but other than the full audience it was less embarrassing than a pap- at least I got to keep my shirt on. ;o)
wow, I didn't get my first dildo-cam experience until my IUI cycle's follie check. My first visit with my doc (OB not RE, though he specializes in fertility) just involved getting history and a pelvic exam similar to a pap. Then we scheduled b/w, HSG, and PCT (doc thought PCT would be easier on DH than s/a). Since PCT showed low count and motility (done about a week early though), we did the S/A. It was only after the low count on the s/a that they suggested IUI.
The comment of staying up by your head made me think of something. In my RE's exam rooms, the examination table is always in the corner, so the closest place to my head my hubby could sit is at my knees. heh.
I took the Clomid Challenge challenge test a couple of months ago. My doc recommended it because of my age (36). I took it in conjunction with my CD 3 bloodwork so that the only additional items I paid for were the Clomid itself and the CD 10 bloodwork. I don't understand why it would cost you $1000. The Clomid cost me $5 and the bloodwork cost a couple hundred max(with insurance -it was viewed as diagnostic not fertility testing), and I live in an expensive East Coast City.
The Clomid Challenge test is viewed as a typical cycle by my craptastic insurance since FSH levels can be checked independently of it. So my clinic charges their standard rate for a clomid cycle. This includes all u/s & b/w. Unfortunately it IS a pricy cycle- which is why we're waiting to get the regular covered diagnostics done. I'll still have day 3 b/w done this cycle, along with an hsg, hss, hubbies s/a.
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