Well after getting tossed around more than a crouton in a Caesar salad...I have decided to end my relationship with Dr.R.
He is very nice, but, he doesn't seem like he wants to be working anymore. Maybe it is because he just got his knee replaced. Maybe he isn't taking enough vacation. Maybe he is tired of his job. I'm just not feeling that I am getting the answers and help that I need. Questions asked and answers skimmed upon....i found better answers for my concerns online! Three rounds on letrizole, and no monitoring at all... And he said to me there is nothing more I can do but IUI. No counselling whatsoever about PCOS....and what I should be doing to help the fertility side of things... Just, 'lets do the IUI and see what happens there'.
I felt like a number.
Like one of his cattle in a big herd of women who were at his mercy for a baby. I couldn't give into his money making machine. Not yet... I wanted more. I need more. I had to get more answers from professionals about PCOS, fertility and how to make it work before investing $1000 per month to maybe get pregnant. I wanted my chances to be great...good..awesome even. But not "okay". Or to go in blindly and just hope for the best.
So I went back to my GP..Dr. G ..... and got a referral to another OBGYN. It just so happen to be Dr.R's colleague who worked in the same office as he did. I had heard mixed reviews about seeing this new Dr. H. I had heard that he had a reputation of being a bit rough around the edges. And apparently he had previously been an officer. Two of my girl friends had gone to see him. One got pregnant using letrizole, and had a great rapport with him. The other one was told by him that she would never get pregnant and that she should look into adoption. She later went on to have twins and is currently pregnant with her third (which she got pregnant naturally with no assisted drug help). BUT, I wanted to be open minded. Everyone deserves an even chance.
I went into my first appointment early to fill in health history forms and answers any questions the receptionist may have. Waited, waited, and waited some more until he finally seen me. About an hour of waiting at his office I got a 10 min consultation (standard for health care coverage in canada). He was quick, to the point, and pretty much made me feel like I was bring interrogated (clearly he did not leave his badge at the door!) I left with a requisition for blood work and an appointment for the following week. I went online to see the client reviews on Dr.H.... Some successful visits, some positive things .....but mostly, his bedside manner was clearly not his priority or his strength. I quickly got the sense that I was going to be feeling that same way too.
I tried to keep an open mind. Truly. I tried to be kind and open. I felt that I was as fair as I could possibly be. But I only have a certain level of patience ..... And then nitro ignites!! Every visit I had with him felt like I had done something incorrectly. Now I know clients can sometimes misunderstand their practitioners and not follow instructions properly but this was not the case. I work in the medical field. I know the jargon, I know the drill about taking medication and how important it can be. How getting blood work can be time sensitive. Yet, I was made to feel that I was not taking my medication properly and that i had gone on the wrong day of my cycle to get blood work done. REALLY? Every visit I had with him, made me more stressed than when I got there!
So he wanted me to get blood work done at his lab as to avoid any confusion or mistakes. His nurse came in (whom by the way was always very pleasant to me when we spoke) took blood work and the results of the test in the end came back the same. It was as if he believed that my PCOS was non existing... Or that the lab made a mistake when the second results came back. As for the medication, he said that he originally told me to take 2 progesterone pills instead of one. When in fact he didn't tell me anything. He told me to get it filled and to take it for five days.... That it should bring on my period. When I did receive the pills... It said to take one for five days. It was the pharmacists mistake ...but he didn't believe me when I told him that. He asked my for the container, and I responded to him that I didn't have it on me. (Really why would I be carrying it around with me when I took it once a day! Not multiple times a day!) I could tell by the look on his face that he thought that I was lying. The next visit I had with him I brought in that pill bottle in, reminded him of our conversation and showed him the instructions on the label. I was not the one that made the mistake. I had trusted in the pharmacy to provided me with the correct information for the proper dosage. No apology was given, and the bottle was returned to my possession. He then proceeded to tell me that after 2 months on this medication of trying to get a cycle going without success, that IUI was my only option. I was fuming...time wasted waiting for my appointments because of his tardiness, frustration with the quality of care, stress levels elevated without validation... I knew at that point that it was enough of Dr. H's "care" for me. I thanked him for his attempts, walked out of his office, and never went back.
I decided that after going almost a year straight of doctors appointments, I needed a break from it all. To figure out what I needed to do with my PCOS, and to just enjoy some down time with my husband.
**A few months after I left Dr. H's care, I heard that Dr. R was not longer doing obstetrical care. Interesting......**
