Hellobee Boards

Welcome!
Your first visit will just be a lot of questions - medical history, family history, etc. They may draw blood at the first appt or schedule you to come back for it.
They’ll probably have you sign a bunch of paperwork.
They may schedule future appointments for testing that isn’t able to happen tomorrow - for example a sperm analysis for your husband, day 3 testing for you, saline sonogram, etc.

In my experience it’s a somewhat slow process before you actually get going. I went in knowing I needed IVF with PGD. And even knowing exactly what treatment was needed it was still about 2 months each time before it actually started. First time I went in Early October and started meds in late November (like the 26th). Second time (for LO2) I went in Ealry/mid July and didn’t start meds until early sept.
So I would be prepared that it might take a couple months to get started (just depends).

Good luck!

Similar to others as well: questions, requisitions, maybe a pelvic exam. And yes it takes a long time to get all the preliminary testing done. And then to schedule the follow up to discuss, then to actually start the treatment. That’s the part that drove me the most insane so just be prepared even though you’re probably already feeling anxious to get started right away. For example, we had a consult for our second child in May, started IUI in August, December IVF (and that’s considered pretty quick for Ontario)

@msginkgo: Oh and since you had some testing done already, bring those records with you. Might be obvious but just making sure you know. They will probably want to test on their own but it will give them a clearer picture.

@msginkgo: In my experience they don’t care much about our own charts or use of OPKs. My RE kind of just waved them off. It can’t hurt to bring! But just don’t be surprised if they don’t really look at them.

@msginkgo: maybe It’s different here in the US? Everyone I’ve spoken to said their own charts didn’t matter.

@msginkgo: I know what you mean! As someone who has a big issue though (balanced translocation) I can say that while it sucks im glad to know it and that there’s a way around it. It’s not easy and it’s time consuming, but they knew how to handle.

Similar to others, our first appointment was basically paperwork about family and medical history for both me and DH and an overview of the process. I was able to book my CD3 monitoring at that appointment since my period had just started. We also got requisitions to do blood work that we were able to do at any lab. Our clinic didn't ask for any charts.

I'm also in Canada, and our process has luckily been fairly smooth and fast. We had our first appointment in September and just completed our second IUI.

@msginkgo: in regards to charts, my doctor appreciated I had them and could speak to patterns but she didn't actually want to see them. My first visit was a long consult and a physical with a transvaginal. I was able to start my other testing immediately after and actually had a treatment cycle the same cycle bc due to PCOS and my hormone levels being CD 3 at CD 10 or so.

@msginkgo: I am in Ontario and similar to others, it took about 2 months or so to get through all the testing and stuff that they wanted before we were able to start with any treatments. Even though they book 30 minute time slots I would say to anticipate the appointment being at least an hour long. They will probably review all your forms, talk to you about any other health issues you or your partner may have and explain the different treatments that are available. Then they will probably discuss testing they want done and provide you and your partner requisitions and instructions for when/where to get everything done.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

@Umbreon: no, we didn't have to do anything beforehand. Our experience was my family doctor made the referral and a few weeks later the clinic called to set up an appointment for our first meeting. At that meeting, the doctor gave us the requisitions for the blood work plus a few other tests we had to do at the clinic. They did an unmediated monitoring cycle while we did the tests. About six weeks later we went back for our follow up with the doctor to review the results and discuss next steps.

@msginkgo: honestly whenever I have to meet with the doctor I plan for a longish wait... it's never been fast and my clinic also books 30 minute intervals. It's a bit annoying for figuring out how much time to book off work, but luckily I haven't see the doctor very often. Most appointments are with a nurse or just for bloodwork/ultrasounds and those have always been pretty quick.