is it time for an RE?

Hi Ladies,
I have not posted much because I am trying so hard not to be fixated on all of this.... basically trying to ovulate! I have PCOS and moved to a different Ob/GYN who specializes in infertility in March. Since then I have been on provera and then clomid... going on three time. Even with the Provera I have ony had af once. I am not sure if it is time to move on to an RE. I want to be aggressive, but I also want to remain as patient as possible. Some of my friends/relatives who have gone thorugh all of this say make an appointment now... it could take awhile to get one. What do you girls think?

Thanks so much!
Alison

Re: is it time for an RE?

IMO... Yes.

Most OB/GYN's do not have the extra years of studying infertility issues. RE's are required to have extra years of training. I know this shocked me too but most ob/gyn's know next to nothing about infertility issues.

As far as the Clomid, I've read a few articles that say that women with PCOS are very poor responders to Clomid which might explain your situation. On the other hand we respond too well to injectables. I don't have the articles or link but if you do a search you can probably find them too.

Clomid does not address the underlying cause of your PCOS which is most likely insulin resistance. You do not have to be diabetic to have this. I swear, doctors throw Clomid at every single inferility case when it is not a "one size fits all drug" It gets me mad because it just winds up wasting women's time.

In my experience I had PCOS for over 7 years before I even knew what it was and in that time saw 4 ob/gyn's that all dismissed it and told me "Oh, we'll worrry about it when you are married" WEll, my system was suppressed for YEARS.

It took four cycles of Clomid, taken for 8 days at 150mg for me to ovulate 1 eggs.

I switched RE's and not 30 seconds into the 2nd RE office visit he said, "You need to be on Metformin". First month, I ovulated on my own but later in the cycle... day 25. I'm prety sure with that IUI the egg fertilized and may have implanted but I lost it quick... I felt very different...

Long story short, after 4 combined IUI and the fact that I have the summer off we moved onto IVF. I'll be 36 in Oct. and DH is 38... we are tired of waiting.

They had to give me a fraction of the meds they give the typical IVF patient because of the potential to hyper-stimulate.

I would call an RE asap. It often takes a couple of months to get an appointment.

Good luck

Re: is it time for an RE?

For me, at 33 I was told to wait it out 1 year. I just turned 36 and had I known then what I know now, I would of gone straight to a RE. With a RE, they are much more specialized and have extensive training. I just feel that I wasted a lot of time with OB's. Oh yeah, not to mention that at the time I had Infertility insurance and now, our new insurance does not cover it!!! Here we are trying to figure out how to pay for IVF.

Good Luck with your decision!!

Message edited 7/23/2006 5:06:51 PM.

Re: is it time for an RE?

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I think I will call somone my friend used asap. Thanks again!

Re: is it time for an RE?

I agree with everyone...I would look into a RE

Re: is it time for an RE?

Alison good idea - if you need references most of us have been to a few places...!

Re: is it time for an RE?

Definitely move on. I wasted time with my doc thinking they actually new something--but they didn't. It was so worth moving on to an RE. I thought it would take forever to get an appointment, but it only took a week.

Re: is it time for an RE?

I am 28 and I starting seeing an RE at 27. I think it has nothing to do with age. I went to see one as soon as I realized that I was only getting about 6 periods a year. My doc placed me on metformin to treat PCOS. Still waiting for results...but I def agree with all the other posters about going to see an RE