I’ve never felt comfortable with my doctor in Coeur d’
Alene; I had heard from many people that the fertility specialist in Spokane
(Dr. Robins) was really good, even the best in the Northwest, but I didn’t want
to wait the 5-6 months to get in to see him. I felt that maybe if I could just
get pregnant under the care of this doctor, then I would be able to go back to
my own OB and never have to deal with him anymore. I was told by some family
that I should just stop going to my doctor until I could see the new one. I
guess I was worried that if I switched doctors, I’d have to start over
completely with the new doctor.
So what don’t I like about my current doctor? I had been
told by many that fertility treatment was just frustrating and that there were
certain things that all doctors did, and that’s the way it was. I guess I
warped this to mean that I should put up with my doctor and his crazy antics.
On our first visit, in his office – before he even examined me or talked to me
about my fertility health, he tells me he wants to put me on Clomid and start
doing IUI’s. Red flags immediately went up. When I told him my concerns about
Clomid and how I had heard that there were a lot of nasty side-effects, he told
me that I had been listening to my friends too much. He told me that he had
been doing this for years and that most of his patients didn’t have major
side-effects. This didn’t reassure me, but I felt that I needed to do what I
could to try to have a baby.
So I went on Clomid, then the HCG, then the IUI, then the
progesterone. I have been non-stop nauseous since I started the Clomid back at
the beginning of May. Along with that, I’ve had almost non-stop cramping that
is super painful, dizziness, a couple hot flashes, and moodiness. The HSG scan
didn’t go too well and I was prescribed hydrocodone on top of all that. For the
week after the HSG scan, I laid in bed crying and sleeping unable to move.
So needless to say, I was a little wary about going in to
see the acupuncturist today. I had felt that I had been poked and prodded
enough as it was, and didn’t care for more intrusion and more expense. I had
heard from a lot of people that it was quite painless, so that wasn’t it. I
think I just saw this visit as another frustrating bump in the road that I had
to get done. Luckily for me though, my insurance covered nearly all the cost of
the visit.
When I first got there, I filled out some paperwork about my
history. Afterwards, Dr. Colleen Smith came out and escorted me back to her
office. Dr. Colleen is an actual specialist in women’s health and holds degree in
herbology, Chinese medicine, and nursing. I sat in a chair next to her desk, and she
proceeded to talk about my history in more depth. She checked my tongue….not
sure why; and she asked me questions about my sleep, whether I’m cold or hot
most of the time, how many times I pee during the night…so on and so forth.
We talked about my fertility process so far and I was able
to explain to her my frustrations with my current doctor and the plan he had
for me. She said that Clomid was extremely bad for you and shouldn’t be used
unless absolutely necessary especially along with the HCG. She said that he
should have and could have proved that I did ovulate on my own. Because my
hormonal tests have come out positive in the past and I have always had regular
periods, she was positive that I ovulated on my own. I also told her that I had
to beg for standard tests to be done. She said that Dr. Robins, the specialist
in Spokane, refuses to use Clomid and always runs a series of tests at the
beginning, ruling many things out.
I told her about my concerns with waiting so long to get in
to see him, and she told me that it only took about 6-8 weeks to get in. Then
she told me that she recommended that I stop seeing my doctor completely until
I could get in to see Dr. Robins. When she told me this, I felt a huge weight
off my shoulders. I felt immediately relaxed and hopeful about my fertility
treatment future. I guess I realized then and there just how wrong this doctor
was for me. She validated my thoughts and apprehensions when it came to his
treatment plans.
She then went on to give me a list of Do’s and Don’ts when
it comes to my health and what I expose or put in my body. Here it is:
No
coffee
No
tea
No
alcohol
No
sandwich meats
No
soda
No
soy
Limit
refined sugars
No
white flour products, only whole wheat
Eat
pears
Eat
citrus fruits
Eat
cashews
Limit
red meat to 3x a week
Organic
if possible
Wash
produce in vinegar and rinse with water
Limit
use of plastics (don’t microwave food in plastic)
Clean
counters with vinegar water
Don’t
touch laundry or dish soap, use gloves
The
first 4 items on this list don’t even apply to me, so it won’t be hard going
without. I think the hardest things to give up will be the carbs, I hate whole
wheat. It will also be hard getting use to not using cleaners on my counter or
using gloves to do that laundry. All in all, I think I can do this and I hope
that it will help.
Colleen
wants to detoxify my body including the Clomid I’ve been using. She put me on
some herbal pills and vitamins.
The
actual acupuncture was painless. The ones she stuck on my scalp pinched a
little, and the one in my right arm irritated my skin and caused some hives,
but other than that it wasn’t bad at all. The acupuncture process only lasted
20-25 minutes.
She’s
going to have me come in several times a month for 3-12 months. It all depends
on how I respond to treatment.
When
I got home, I made an appointment with Dr. Robins for the 12 of August, and I’m
really excited and hopeful about the future. I’m relieved that I don’t have to
go back to the doctor in CDA or be on Clomid anymore.
