RE confusion

I am currently a patient at the RSofNY. I think the girls that work there are very nice and the for the handful of times I've seen the drs they are too. However, I am not feeling confident at this point. I can't put my finger on the exact thing that is irking me, but I feel like it is a factory there. I dont like the fact that i barely see the dr and their nurses (not sure of the title) make the calls on what my next step is. is this typical for REs? I've debated going to a new dr but I don't know if that is the right move given this is only my second cycle trying Clomid and progesterone treatment.

Re: RE confusion

i am not a patient there but bottom line if you are not happy,then you are not happy and should switch

RE confusion

I am not particularly unhappy, I am just concerned they are not being assertive enough. However, my lack of experience in all of this is the reason I'm hesitating to move on. This very well may be common practice for my situation at any RE.

RE confusion

I have been going to rsny of mineola since the beggining of January and I kinda feel the same way. IMO it does feel like a baby factory and Im only giving it another month there. I like the Drs and some of the nurses but I get so aggravated driving there in the morning. Good Luck

Re: RE confusion

RE confusion

I understand where you are coming from with the whole 'baby factory' thing. I was a patient at the Mineola office but for the most part I would see my RE when I did my FET cycle. I think it was more one on one with that cycle being I had 4 failed cycles at NSUH then one failed fresh there my RE wanted to make sure that we got it right my last cycle and we did 21 weeks preggo now. If he was to leave I probably wouldn't go back.

RE confusion

Its all about your comfort. Yes its not a one on one practice but you have to be your own advocate with whichever practice you go to. I was a patient at NSUH and all you see are drs and for some that is super important. I dont need to see a dr everytime and when I do need to I can or I make sure I see one at RSNY. You have to be firm and not take any $hit from anyone.

Re: RE confusion

RE confusion

Any of the real fertility clinics have a bit of a factory feel but that is because they set up monitoring at a certain time and appt during another block etc. IMO this is better. Otherwise you would be waiting forever for a quick bloodwork appt.

Also the nurses may give you your protocol but they in no way make the decision on what it will be. All the clinics I research were set up basically the same way. Drs review your results and set any protocol and nurses notify you.

If you aren't comfortable I would change. I had 2 different drs along the way and they were night and day. My second was a clinic setting and I actually feel like I got better care.

RE confusion

I left LIIVF to go to RS of NY and can tell you its 100% better....much shorter waits, nicer nurses and you actually SEE the doctor every time, if you insist. That wasn't an option at LIIVF. I thought LIIVF was HORRIBLE.
What has helped me at RS of NY is ask everyone their names, get to know the nurses, etc. and it will feel more friendly and personal. Always be your own best advocate though and don't hesistate to ask for additional private time to ask your questions if you should need it.

Re: RE confusion

I left RS of NY bc of this! I was having a cyst that would not budge and every monitoring visit the nurse would say "I have no idea what's going on" or "you are producing an egg!" at cd2 lol.... I had to tell them repeatedly that I have naturally high estrogen and a cyst causing it to look like I am producing an egg! This two months in a row and I said adios. Plus when I asked to speak to a Dr, they had to schedule me out a month bc she's busy. No more of that for me!

Re: RE confusion

Re: RE confusion

RE confusion

I go to RSONY and I often leave there so very confused. I know that I should also be advocating for myself and asking questions and I need to just speak up when I'm confused, I think they will respond to that. The last time I went I did ask to see the Dr and waited for her to get there. When she got there we had a good chat and I felt better about our plan. I think that what they are focused on there is making babies. And all I want is to have another baby so I will deal with the factory feel if it gets me the end result.

Re: RE confusion

LI IVF Melville definitely feels like a baby factory. I feel like no one knows me or cares about me and have thought about switching. I got there at 6:05am yesterday morning to be the first person for monitoring. I was sitting in my car waiting for them to open up. When they did, the women in the car next to me bolted out of her car and ran in to sign in in front of me. I was soooooooooo mad. Wish i had the nerve to say something to her. ECF Plainview was even worse... i'd have to get there before 6am to be the first at monitoring.

I'm doing one more round of clomid/IUI that i just started - if this doesn't work then i will really consider switching. I can't fathom doing something more invasive like IVF or injectibles without a doctor who cares.

Where are the clinics where people feel that they get personal attention?? I've heard good things about Dr. Zapantis on here.

Re: RE confusion

I left RSofNY after two failed IUIs for Dr Zapantis. I never wait more than 15 minutes and he does all my sonos and sonetimes even blood draws! He answers all of our questions and we (DH and I) have so much input into our cycles. He is up on all the latest studies I think he's awesome! No factory feel at all

Re: RE confusion

I was a patient there last fall, and felt the same way...I also felt like it was "factory"ish... I never really got to sit down with a doctor after a failed cycle to discuss possibilities on why it failed or discuss other options... i felt like i had to advocate for myself on things.... Finally one cycle I pushed to take progesterone supps because even though they kept telling me my bloodwork was OK ,i knew that i had a shorter than normal LP... well when i finally took the crinone that was the cycle i got pregnant. could be coincidence but still. when it comes time for a 2nd, I will prob look into another RE that gives more individualized attention.

Re: RE confusion

RE confusion

I took the advice that many of you gave me and called the RE today. I left a message around 2:30 and heard back from the nurse around 3:30, so I was impressed with the return time for my call. She was extremely nice and very helpful. I asked a lot of questions and had her go through everything that was explained to me the other day when I went. I feel a lot better, but I think moving forward I am going to keep my appointments with Dr. Trivax who is really who I want to be treating me anyway. I am going to see how it goes this cycle. As I explained above, they increased my clomid from 50 mg (5 days) to 100mg over 5 days. Once they see me on Saturday I will probably start the progesterone then. The nurse did mention to me that if this cycle doesn't work then she thinks the next best step would be to try an IUI with the Clomid. I told her that before I made that decision I would want to sit down with Dr. Trivax so go over all that is involved in IUI since I know very little about it.
Is this a common next step to take to go from clomid to clomid with an IUI after only 2 tries? Just curious.

Re: RE confusion

So sorry you feel this way. I am a patient at Stony Brook and it isn't like that. I almost always see a doctor at my visits. Once in a blue moon I see the RN Susan but a doctor always writes down the protocol. I guess it varies location to location. If you are not comfortable bottom line you should switch. Good luck!!

Re: RE confusion

I was a former East Coast Fertility patient and recently started with Dr. Zapantis. Although he's super nice I'm not all too impressed with their response to blood results. I have to keep calling for them, I've left him a few messages and still no call back. With my last DR, Dr. Pena, we constantly emailed back and forth and LOVED that. Dr. Z doesn't do emails. He just leaves me with a bad taste since I was super excited to use him for my next attempt. We'll see. I decided to make the switch of Doctors, especially since East Coast merged with LIIVF and I always loved Dr. Z when I'd see him occasionally at morning monitoring. However, time will tell if I've made the right decision. I guess no practice is perfect.

eta: If anyone who uses Dr. Zapantis now and has the same issue that I am having or has any advice for me about this please let me know.

Message edited 5/23/2013 8:46:45 PM.