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The first steps for me were lots of bloodwork, abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound, and pelvic exam. They did a workup really early on me because of amenorrhea.

For me the first steps with an OB were blood tests to confirm ovulation and a sperm analysis for DH (which of course wouldn't apply in your situation). It wasn't until I met with an RE that they ran a panel of blood tests that looked at hormones like FSH, AMH, thyroid check, Vit D check, etc. An RE can diagnose you pretty easily, but in my experience a GP or OB can be much less helpful. Hoping yours is better than mine!

It did. My insurance covers only covers diagnosis. They didn't ask any questions, but I know mine was coded as amenorrhea. I'm not sure if that makes a difference. I would call the number on the back of your insurance card and just ask. They were really straight forward about what they would cover and if I would need a referral when I asked about getting a second opinion.

ETA: My OB did order most of the panels my RE ordered later. I think it really depends on your OB. Mine was in a large city and her practice is connected to a fertility center, so that might have made a difference. My OB definitely wasn't as helpful at explaining the numbers as my RE was though.

@2farmmoms: the general insurance rule is trying for 12 months if you're under 35 or trying for 6 months if you're 35+. That was supposed to be documented in your medical records I think, but I don't know how they'd know. However, my insurance only applied that rule to ART (IUI/IVF) and the diagnostic tests were all covered regardless of how long we'd been trying. If I had gotten a diagnosis (I didn't - I'm unexplained IF) then insurance would have covered treatment right away. We ended up waiting until the 1 year mark to start treatment.

As for finding an RE (which I highly recommend, if there's one nearby), try this website: http://www.sart.org/find_frm.html

@2farmmoms: Question for you... do you get annual exams (pap smears) through your OB/Gyn? You said you don't go to the Dr's often.

I guess you could get them done at your GP but I always felt a little better go to a OB/Gyn for that.

ETA: I just read your intro post. Very interesting. I hope you and your partner get pregnant soon. We have a blogger here on HB (with her partner) who now has two kids with the use of donor sperm. Lots of luck to you. It might be worth it to call a fertility clinic. Unless you have IF coverage, you won't need a referral. Fertility clinic know that not many people have IF coverage. Unless you want to stay with your GP to get things coded and try to get it covered under regular tests, but I would be afraid that 1) they wouldn't exactly know which tests to look for and 2) that your fertility clinic would want to do their own tests and not use the ones you have or did. I would call a local fertility clinic and ask.