Hi all, I'm a long time lurker and have a few questions. I've been diagnosed with PCOS, I'm on 1500 of glucophage and that's it. I've had my progesterone tested the past few months. I'm ovulating, my husband has been tested and his end is working fine. My doctor wants to do do an HSG to make sure my tubes are fine. Here are my questions -

Has anyone had this done?
Does it seem like he's kinda jumping the gun?
This isn't covered by insurance so my thought is why wouldn't he try a few rounds of clomid first or something else?

Friends think I should find a new dr...however I'm comfortable with this one. Sometimes it seems like he's not all that helpful. I'm just so confused. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

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Molly

Many women with PCOS have had this procedure. The only reason I could think of your doctor not wanting to try clomid for a few rounds first is because 1) if your tubes are blocked then the clomid rounds would have been a waste (of money and time) and 2) if your tubes are blocked and your doctor will only allow so many (usually up to 5) rounds of clomid before moving you on to something else.

I personally haven't had the HSG, but I've had a similar procedure. I had very small amounts of cramping during and after the procedure. Some women say it is very painful, others say it's like having a papsmear.

If you are infact ovulating with the metformin then your tubes are probably not blocked, but then one could be and it could be the one that is producing the more mature (and capable) eggs and this is why you are not getting pregnant.

I think that if you are comfortable with your doctor and trust him, then you should stick with him. I know that the cost of the HSG is costly, but in the long run it could be best to have it done. It will actually give you a good feeling when you have the test done and it comes back ok or even if it were to come back that they are blocked because then you know what the problem is/was.

Good Luck and keep us posted on what you decide to do and the results

I had the hsg on my second clomid cycle, however, my insurance covered it as it's diagnostic. Had I paid out of pocket I may have waited awhile longer. I think my hsg ran about $1500( don't quote me on it )... hospital fee and doctor fee. That's just what I recall being submitted to insurance.

Did you just start ovulating while on gluc? How many months? How long have you been ttc? Is age an issue? Those would be some things I would consider before deciding.

As far as the procedure, I had some discomfort, but it wasn't painful. If one's tubes are blocked, I think it becomes painful then.

What type of S/A did your dh have done? The ob that did my hsg, did dh's first s/a and it wasn't as thorough as the one my RE did when we found male factor issues. We 'wasted' about a year due to that. I always like to mention it since back then I didn't really know the difference in tests.

I think it's great that your doctor is being proactive. IF issues can be quite costly though.

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Thanks for the replies!

Yep, I only ovulate on the glucophage. We've been trying for a little over a year...but not actively and really only recently with the glucophage...I had taken some time off of the meds due to the side effects. I've been taking them again for about 3 months straight and haven't had nearly the side effects I had before. thank goodness.

I had no idea that there were different s/a for the dh to have done. He had gone to his doctor to have it done. The only information that we rec'd was that his motility and count was average...should there be more than that?

I'm supposed to call the dr when AF comes around and let them know what we want to do. The HSG will be out of pocket, so we are going to hopefully do a few more rounds of clomid (we've only done one and that was a while back)...and if that doesn't work then I'll have it done.

I really appreciate everyones feedback...this is all so confusing.

Molly

I've had an hsg done and it wasn't painful for me, it felt like a af cramp to me. I didn't have to pay for mine either but I think it was about $700. They say when you have it done it "flushes" your tubes out and you are more fertile for the next two or three cycles. I got pg the second month after I had mine done and I believe that helped. Good Luck!!

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My dh's thorough one had a page of results.

Liquefaction
Appearance
Odar
Consistency
Volume
ph
Sperm Concentration
Total Sperm Count
Motility- Percents for: rapid progressive, slow or sluggish motility, non-progressive and immotility
Total Motility
Progressive motility
Morphology-{Percents for- normal sperm forms, sperm head abnormal, amorphous, midpiece abnormal, tail abnormal, tapered forms
White blood cells

That's directly from my sheet. I think that the morphology parts were done in at a national andrology and fertility lab. I believe everything else was completed by my RE.

The morphology results were pretty bad so it was important for us to know them.

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Just wanted to say thanks for all the replies...they were all very helpful. I had a consultation with the dr yesterday. He's upped my glucophage to 4 pills a day. It was difficult to get up to 3x's a day, and I'm just dealing with the nausea and other fun stuff....hopefully 4 doesn't kick it into high gear. He's also going to put me on a round of clomid for the next cycle and if that doesn't work then he wants to do the HSG for the next round....so that's the plan and I guess I'm comfortable with it. The only thing...he goes on to say that if none of this works he would refer me to an RE for injectables and so on. Injectables?? anyone have any info on that? cost? I know it's all expensive and we are prepared for it...just would like to know ballpark from people that have been through it. Or maybe I shouldn't worry about it just yet and concentrate on the next few months. I'm rambling..thanks for listening.

Molly

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Molly

I did one injectible cycle before ivf. My meds were about $500-$600. It all depends on how much you use. I was on 75 units a day which was one vial. I think I used 9 vials.

For ivf I used the follistim pen and each vial was 600 units and was about $500-600, I think. I'd have to check, but that gives you a ballpark estimte.

Hopefully, you'll adjust to the 4 pills easily. My body was happier on 2000mg rather than 1500mg and those were done at separate times, one before ivf and then another time 9-10 months later after not having been on it at all.

Sounds like you have a good plan!

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