I'm beyond fed up at this point! Why do things continue to go downhill when I thought I was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel?
As the time gets nearer for me to change jobs, I'm becoming more and more anxious. I HATE that we cannot move forward with any type of testing until August. And this puts TTC off until fall. I am, however, waiting for the results of my blood work that I had done after I came back from Holland. These include my Thrombophilia labs: Antithrombin III, Protein C &C activity, MTHFR, Homocysteine, Factor II and TSH, T4, Antithyroid antibodies, Prolactin, (Fasting) Glucose and Insulin. I'm hoping to have the results this week.
Once my insurance kicks in we will proceed with the immune testing & the cycle day #3 labs: FSH, LH, Estradiol. We may pursue the immune testing while on Cobra since this will probably be an OOP expense either way. The other testing that is on hold is the SHG and semen analysis.
On top of this we are still dealing with DH's endocrine issues. I don't think I've mentioned this before. The short story on that is DH was diagnosed about 6-8 months ago with hypothyroid and low testosterone (Low T) by his PCP. He has since gone to an endocrinologist. Despite being on Synthroid he was still not feeling all that better. The endocrinologist, Dr. P (I'll call him), was not happy with his hormone levels and wants to increase his synthroid as well as put him on Androgel to increase his testosterone. Dr. P seemed certain that these issues have nothing to due with my RPL. However, Dr. Corley was pretty adamant that this is not the case unless a semen analysis was performed to determine this. Why is no one ever on the same page?
So the WTF news of the week, is DH called Dr. P because we are having trouble getting the Androgel approved by insurance. Dr. P mentioned we may want to consider freezing DH's sperm because Androgel may decrease his sperm count. Excuse me? Why was this not mentioned before?! He damn well knows our history of RPL and wanting to conceive. DH thinks its just to cover his tail, which I understand but this is a HUGE deal in my book. And I'm disgusted that he hasn't ordered a sperm analysis at least a comparative one before and after Androgel to see if this does affect his count.
So at this point I have emailed Dr. Corley and his nurse Lisa to let them know where we stand and to acquire his opinion on whether we should do a sperm analysis before starting the Androgel.
It is important to DH that we do something and soon. His symptoms continue to get worse and both the hypothyroid and Low T are most likely related. The hypothyroid and Low T have affected his sleeping, increased fatigue, inability to lose weight, loss of hair, mood swings, weakness, occasional ED, and muscle cramping.
Any other monkey wrenches?
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
SIRM
I recently found the Sher Institute for Reproductive Medicine also known as SIRM. I first came across SIRM after my 2nd m/c. I read a book named "Is Your Body Baby Friendly?" that mentioned SIRM briefly. I never further investigated them at the time. Shortly there after I became pg for the 3rd time and then for the 4th time.
A dear "sister" of mine kindly returned some books that she had borrowed from me, right before my 4th m/c. Little did I know that I would yet again turn to "Is Your Body Baby Friendly?". It was one of my favorite m/c books that I've read. It explores all medical avenues. Now I do have to worn that it can be a bit over the top especially if you do not have any medical knowledge. I remember reading it the first time and skipping over parts because I had a hard time following it and I'm in the medical field. With that being said, it provides excellent material. The author, Dr. Beer was certainly ahead of his time in his field.
Anyways, my "sister" Amy and I met on a public chat board and later we became part of a private chat board. I believe I talked about her and shared her blog in a previous entry. I call her my "sister" because we are part of a family and consider all of the 150 posters on there to be my sisters. This has become a huge support system in my life. These women have helped me to grieve, listened to me when I needed an ear, reassured me that my feelings were/are normal, swapped information, talked about IRL (in real life) issues other then pregnancy loss and so forth. They have allowed me to vent and most importantly they understood me when the closest people (DH, family, co-workers) to me could not.
Getting back on track...I'm not quite sure how it came about. I don't think I really realized at the time Amy was going to SIRM. I recall asking her questions about what she thought of the books, etc and then she shared her story about going to SIRM. Shortly after I started investigating SIRM myself and what they were all about. I decided that this was something I wanted to pursue.
I filled out a Request a Consultation with a SIRM Physician. I also filled out a Patient Questionnaire. The very next day I got a call from SIRM and scheduled a FREE phone consultation with Dr. Corley. I faxed over my questionnaire and records. I couldn't believe how quick they were able to get me in and accommodate me.
I had my appt with Dr. Corley on April 21. The appt lasted about 45 minutes and was a little overwhelming with all the information he had given me. The nice thing is the next day he emailed me and reiterated all the information that he had covered the day before. He was very nice and the things that stick out in my mind is he was just as unhappy with the lack testing that my RE & Ob have performed (including NOT testing the tissue from my last D&E). He almost sounded shocked that no one has followed up with very simple blood tests.
In 2008, my RE, Dr. Dodson ordered some Coagulation panels; Factor V Leiden, Lupus Anticoagulant & DRVV. He ordered Homocysteine levels which were inconclusive and never repeated (most likely the lab messed up and never drew my blood for this particular test). He ordered some endocine testing; HbA1c, TSH and Free T4. He also ordered some rheumatology labs; AnticardA, CardiolipIgG, CardiolipIgM & B2Microglb. We also had a chromosome analysis of DH & I. All the tests at the time came back within normal limits, WNL.
Dr. Corley has ordered the following:
1) Cycle day #3 labs FSH, LH, Estradiol, TSH, T4, Antithyroid antibodies, Prolactin, (Fasting) Glucose and Insulin.
2) Immune testing APA and NKa. If Nka is positive we will check DQalpha when you are pregnant.
3) The rest of the Thrombophilia labs: Antithrombin III, Protein C &C activity, MTHFR, Homocysteine, Factor II.
After my quick trip to Holland recently, I came back and was able to complete most of the labs except the cycle day #3 FSH, LH, Estradiol & I did not have the immune testing done yet.
The immune testing, I have to call MILabs tomorrow and they should send me a kit. The kit will include everything I need including the tubes. All I have to do is find a phlebotomist and then fed-ex over night to MILabs, located in Chicago. These two tests will most likely be out of pocket (OOP) expenses (around $400 to be exact) because most insurance companies consider these "experimental tests". :::flicking off insurance company::: :-D What do you guys know anyway?! ;-)These immune tests are only performed at special laboratories across the US.
We also have a new issue. I am taking a new job for a few different reasons that I won't bore you with. Less then a month ago I found out at my current job that we would be going to a new insurance plan and have a family deductible of $4k. Did I stutter?! Yes I said...$4000! So this is one of the reasons I wanted to find a new job. We don't have the option of taking Mike's insurance because its over $1k OOP and $5k deductible. :::choke me::: So I took a new job and my insurance will not kick in until after 90 days. So cobra we go to. :::sigh::: But I will only have a $500 deductible with the new insurance plane. Remember there are many reasons I took this new job but it just throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing and puts many things on hold, including TTC any time soon.
So overall I am very pleased with where things are going except for the new monkey wrench. I have an appt schedule with Center for Women's Health, June 28th. I'm looking forward to hearing from Dr. Corley soon regarding my labs. Hopefully we will get some answers.
A dear "sister" of mine kindly returned some books that she had borrowed from me, right before my 4th m/c. Little did I know that I would yet again turn to "Is Your Body Baby Friendly?". It was one of my favorite m/c books that I've read. It explores all medical avenues. Now I do have to worn that it can be a bit over the top especially if you do not have any medical knowledge. I remember reading it the first time and skipping over parts because I had a hard time following it and I'm in the medical field. With that being said, it provides excellent material. The author, Dr. Beer was certainly ahead of his time in his field.
Anyways, my "sister" Amy and I met on a public chat board and later we became part of a private chat board. I believe I talked about her and shared her blog in a previous entry. I call her my "sister" because we are part of a family and consider all of the 150 posters on there to be my sisters. This has become a huge support system in my life. These women have helped me to grieve, listened to me when I needed an ear, reassured me that my feelings were/are normal, swapped information, talked about IRL (in real life) issues other then pregnancy loss and so forth. They have allowed me to vent and most importantly they understood me when the closest people (DH, family, co-workers) to me could not.
Getting back on track...I'm not quite sure how it came about. I don't think I really realized at the time Amy was going to SIRM. I recall asking her questions about what she thought of the books, etc and then she shared her story about going to SIRM. Shortly after I started investigating SIRM myself and what they were all about. I decided that this was something I wanted to pursue.
I filled out a Request a Consultation with a SIRM Physician. I also filled out a Patient Questionnaire. The very next day I got a call from SIRM and scheduled a FREE phone consultation with Dr. Corley. I faxed over my questionnaire and records. I couldn't believe how quick they were able to get me in and accommodate me.
I had my appt with Dr. Corley on April 21. The appt lasted about 45 minutes and was a little overwhelming with all the information he had given me. The nice thing is the next day he emailed me and reiterated all the information that he had covered the day before. He was very nice and the things that stick out in my mind is he was just as unhappy with the lack testing that my RE & Ob have performed (including NOT testing the tissue from my last D&E). He almost sounded shocked that no one has followed up with very simple blood tests.
In 2008, my RE, Dr. Dodson ordered some Coagulation panels; Factor V Leiden, Lupus Anticoagulant & DRVV. He ordered Homocysteine levels which were inconclusive and never repeated (most likely the lab messed up and never drew my blood for this particular test). He ordered some endocine testing; HbA1c, TSH and Free T4. He also ordered some rheumatology labs; AnticardA, CardiolipIgG, CardiolipIgM & B2Microglb. We also had a chromosome analysis of DH & I. All the tests at the time came back within normal limits, WNL.
Dr. Corley has ordered the following:
1) Cycle day #3 labs FSH, LH, Estradiol, TSH, T4, Antithyroid antibodies, Prolactin, (Fasting) Glucose and Insulin.
2) Immune testing APA and NKa. If Nka is positive we will check DQalpha when you are pregnant.
3) The rest of the Thrombophilia labs: Antithrombin III, Protein C &C activity, MTHFR, Homocysteine, Factor II.
After my quick trip to Holland recently, I came back and was able to complete most of the labs except the cycle day #3 FSH, LH, Estradiol & I did not have the immune testing done yet.
The immune testing, I have to call MILabs tomorrow and they should send me a kit. The kit will include everything I need including the tubes. All I have to do is find a phlebotomist and then fed-ex over night to MILabs, located in Chicago. These two tests will most likely be out of pocket (OOP) expenses (around $400 to be exact) because most insurance companies consider these "experimental tests". :::flicking off insurance company::: :-D What do you guys know anyway?! ;-)These immune tests are only performed at special laboratories across the US.
We also have a new issue. I am taking a new job for a few different reasons that I won't bore you with. Less then a month ago I found out at my current job that we would be going to a new insurance plan and have a family deductible of $4k. Did I stutter?! Yes I said...$4000! So this is one of the reasons I wanted to find a new job. We don't have the option of taking Mike's insurance because its over $1k OOP and $5k deductible. :::choke me::: So I took a new job and my insurance will not kick in until after 90 days. So cobra we go to. :::sigh::: But I will only have a $500 deductible with the new insurance plane. Remember there are many reasons I took this new job but it just throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing and puts many things on hold, including TTC any time soon.
So overall I am very pleased with where things are going except for the new monkey wrench. I have an appt schedule with Center for Women's Health, June 28th. I'm looking forward to hearing from Dr. Corley soon regarding my labs. Hopefully we will get some answers.
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