The day has arrived....the one where the hubs and I had to head across town to visit with a new RE. "Dun..dun....DUN!" *insert suspense movie score here* After two failures, we decided that maybe it was time to check out other options. Different doctor, different plan maybe? We head over to Dr. Webster's office for a mid-afternoon visit. This is unequivocally the WORST time of day to be a new patient. The front office staff and nurses are already over it, the doctor is juggling late day rounds with lab results, peppered with the occasional interruption of a new patient needing a H & P that he doesn't have time for really. Ugh. As promised, the secretary was kind of snotty, and made sure it carried all the way through her little glass window. Once we'd gotten past Atilla and moved into a conference room (yes, a full-on conference room, complete with table and wall screen for projection), things lightened up.
The nurse who took our history was super sweet. I just wanted to take her home and make her the cruise director of my life! She was kind and helpful, and gave us a heads up as to the doctor's demeanor and way with his patients. Unfortunately, she overestimated his "bedside manor". Webster came in and asked why we were there. Um...this IS a fertility clinic, right? We're here to get knocked up. Duh. We went through a brief history of our fertility struggles and then spoke a bit about where we are now. I explained the short pregnancy, what I thought went wrong, and asked if he had any particular preferences for treating women with my condition. The hubs and I listened for a while as he basically told us the same things the old RE had said, with one caveat. This guy....this 60 year old man with hands like oven mitts looks me square in the eye and says, "Your eggs are pretty old, but can we get you pregnant? Absolutely!" Say what, now? My eggs are OLD?!?! Sir, I will have you know that my eggs are a fresh 37 years old and are doing just FINE! Ugh. I thought he'd have the wherewithal to stop there, but alas....no. He went on to tell me that if I were 27, he could work it out no problem, but being that I'm 37, my eggs have been around a bit too long. Now, if you know me, you know that I couldn't let that slide without a reply. "Let me ask you a question. How long have you been dealing with fertility issues in women?", I asked with an eyebrow up. "Around 30 years.", he replied. "And do you think that those two hands of yours are any worse at shooting embryos through a straw today than they were 30 years ago?", I shot back. "Touche, counselor.", he said with surprise and a nod. "Touche." Strike one.
We talked for a bit longer about NK cell testing, other factors that might affect my ability to carry a baby to term, and how he would treat these issues if they were, in fact, present. "Oh, pishaw!", he said, waiving a meaty hand. "NK cells aren't something we worry about with conception at all. There's no real link between the two, so why waste the time?" How odd. My old RE said most doctors felt like he was barking up the wrong tree when he did this kind of testing, but I didn't expect an immediate dismissal. As I asked deeper questions, Webster continued to turn the conversation back to his anticipated success, which would be our anticipated success. I felt kind of deflected and I didn't like it. If you don't agree, that's ok. But tell me why. Don't treat the situation as you would a two year old asking "But, why?" over and over again. Strike Two.
We finished our visit with a quick ultrasound to see how my lining might be looking as the RE and nurse discussed when I might be able to get started on their next cycle. As they explained they'd be starting again in early January, the RE himself measured my uterine lining and said, "I dunno what the fuss is about. You have a nice 10.6mm here." What the what?!?!?! Of course I do, now that I don't need it yet. Huh. Go figure. I got dressed, took a copy of their fee schedule and calendar from the nurse, and was instructed to call the office within the next week if I wanted in. The fees were close to my old RE, but slightly less (just about enough to cover the $500 cost of my meds) and the time frame was about the same. Nothing jumped out at me as prohibitive or beneficial, so I said I'd think about it.
The hubs and I went home and immediately recapped the visit and compared how we felt and what we had heard there to RE #1 and his protocol. We agreed on one thing: the only difference between #1 and #2 was the cost, and it wasn't enough to go crazy over. #2 didn't even suggest a protocol that was much different from #1. We slept on it a few nights and eventually decided to stay where we were. At least our embryos were ready to go, our doctor knew us well, and the support staff knew what to expect when looking for a response to meds. I called #1 to schedule our next appointment and sighed at having made the decision, finally. I hope it was the right one.
Update: NK cells testing results came back by mail about 10 days later. Everything was normal! Yaaaaaay! Its nice to know that my body isn't trying to evict my em-babies. One less thing to stress about...whew!