I almost fell over when I was checking our voice mail the other day and we had a message from the fertility clinic. When my doctor told us she'd put in the referral we were told that the wait-list could be up to a year. Our referral was put in at the end of February so I didn't expect to hear from them this year even but we got in. We go for our consultation July 24th! I see my endocrinologist and gynaecologist on June 17th so I'll be able to get my charts sent over before we go in too so hopefully there won't be a ton of repeat testing.
So in the spirit of going to the fertility clinic I've been Googling questions to ask and I think I've found a good list to start with!
- What is my diagnosis, and how does this condition specifically interfere with fertility? Does my partner have a condition that interferes with fertility? Will these conditions worsen over time, improve, or remain constant?
- If the reason for my infertility is unclear, what diagnostic tests do you recommend? What is the likelihood that each of these tests will establish a diagnosis? Are there any risks associated with the testing? Does my partner need additional testing?
- What type of treatment would you recommend trying first? Does this treatment involve surgery, medications, or both? What are the risks of treatment?
- In your practice, how often does this treatment result in pregnancy? (Be sure to determine whether your doctor is talking about pregnancy rates or live-birth rates when discussing specific treatments so you can make adequate comparisons. For example, a treatment may have a 30% pregnancy rate per cycle but only a 25% live-birth rate due to early miscarriages.)
- Are less-invasive or more conservative treatments available? How do these compare with your recommended treatment in terms of risks and success rates?
- How many cycles of treatment would you recommend before trying another option? Do you recommend skipping a menstrual cycle between treatment cycles?
- Are there any lifestyle modifications that might help my condition and increase my chances of getting pregnant?
- (If this is an acceptable option for you) Would you recommend treatments using donor eggs and/or sperm? Does your clinic or practice offer these options?
- What is my prognosis? In your opinion, how likely is fertility treatment to be successful for me? (While no doctor can give you an exact answer to this question, taking into account your personal medical information and age, your doctor's past experiences may allow him or her to roughly estimate whether you will have an average, below-average, or above-average chance of success).
- What does treatment cost?
Does my insurance cover any of the medications, hospital charges, or doctor's visits? If I must pay out-of-pocket, do you offer any special payment plans? All I can say to this one is yay for Alberta Health Care and work benefits. We won't pay for hospital stays or prescriptions!
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