Are You !@#$% Kidding Me?

Alright, since nobody except Anonymous cares about the photos I took in the last post, I'll post about how my appointment went on Friday. It's taken me a couple days to gain the courage to post about it, because it was a very emotional day and I didn't want to dwell on it.

It was not a bad appointment, but it started off with me wanting to cuss out the receptionist and walk out. It takes a lot for me to get that angry, but they managed.

I had an appointment scheduled for the 6th and they had to reschedule for the 16th at 8:15. I am NOT a morning person, but they assured me I would be her first patient of the day and I would have as much time as I needed with the doctor. Since I filled out all my paperwork the week prior, I didn't need to get there early. I arrived at 8:05 and signed in, feeling good about the appt. After waiting for 10 minutes (now 8:15- my appt. time), the receptionist handed me a clip board and told me to fill out the new patient paperwork. I assured her I already had and that they were with my records. "What records? Did you bring those with you?" Are you effin' kidding me? They LOST my records. They didn't know who I was. I should have known when they didn't call to confirm my appt. the day before that something was not right. I refilled out the stupid paperwork, but not until I gave her the look from hell and sighed very annoyingly, a few times. I waited and waited and all the people who had come in after me were already called back and were leaving. Some new patients that had to fill out paperwork that arrived after I did, had already been seen. A mother with her crying newborn (sitting 2 seats down from me) had already been seen, and I was still waiting to see the fucking doctor!!! At 8:50, I told the receptionist I had to be somewhere at 10am. She assured me I would be seen right away and I was. There were no empty rooms for me to go in, so they made some bitchy pregnant women who was wandering in the hallway, move to another room. HA, take that!

As I waited for the doc in the cold exam room, I just started to cry uncontrollably because I was so upset. The doctor walked in about 5 minutes later and I wiped my last tear from my face. She asked if I was okay and I said I was just a little frustrated. I wish Mr. H was there with me. Although if he was there, he would have cussed them out and we would have left way before I ever had the chance to be seen. Dr. I apologized for her staff and made it very clear that it was unacceptable and she would take care of it. We talked briefly about my history and what my purpose for being there was. I really like her and she made me feel important. She wants to help me find a reason why my cervix is incompetent (she also apologized for this terminology and said is made me sound like I did something wrong when I hadn't), and she wants us to have a baby. She immediately wanted to run tests, did a pelvic exam and swab, and scheduled me to come back in on the 27th for an abdominal U/S to check my non-pregnant cervical length. She wants me to get an HSG (hysterosalpingogram) after I have my next period. She wants me to start on my own, so she's giving me until my next appointment to start and if I don't, then she'll give me something to ovulate (not Clomid- the last thing I need is to get pregnant with multiples, she says). She wants to talk with my peri to discuss a TAC (transabdominal cerclage) and when would be the best time to do it. She is thorough and aggressive and I don't feel like she's wasting my time. I feel like for the first time, she has my best interest in mind.

We also talked about freezing my eggs and Mr. H's sperm. This all has to be handled through a fertility clinic (right next door) and my insurance doesn't cover it- at all. The first appointment for consult and u/s is $675! That was the amount I paid in rent for my first apartment. It has to be paid in full, but at least they take credit. I have an appt. scheduled for Jan. 17th. That was the earliest they had, but I have to call back on Monday to speak to someone about a surrogacy program. Since the eggs and sperm are a back up plan, and will only be used if I absolutely cannot carry a child, then we will implant those into a surrogate, later down the line. Do I have any volunteers? I inquired about the costs of IVF- $13,000 (not covered by my insurance). Hopefully since all we are doing for now is collecting and freezing, it won't be so much. Dr. I made it clear that this has to be done prior to getting pregnant, and since my appt with the fertility clinic is not for another 2 months and the egg retrieval at a later date, I may have to put off TTC a little longer. Ba-humbug!

I asked most of my questions, but since she hadn't reviewed my records because they were misplaced (not lost) asking specifics would have been a waste of time. I will save those for next week. The receptionist called me Friday afternoon to let me know my file was found and all was good. She then apologized for not having them when I arrived at my appointment. That made me feel better.

In the meantime, since Thanksgiving is 4 days away, and I promised to give you the recipe for Cinderella cake in the last post, head on over to my new baking and cooking blog "Lick The Bowl" Good for some sweet Thanksgiving treats.