I always encourage education, self-advocacy, and informed-decision making when it comes to matrescence, whether we're talking about fertility care, birth choices, or parenting awareness. Burdock reminds us (myself included) to continue being tenaciously pro-active in this regard; our own health is nobody else's responsibility. Remember the BRAIN acronym? When something doesn't feel right, ask yourself "What are the alternatives?" There are always choices, even when it comes to changing clinics or consulting with a different doctor. It takes a bit of effort, yes. (Sometimes, quite a lot of effort.) But we can do it!
For the past few months I’ve been focusing on optimising my physical and mental health with herbal medicine & acupuncture. And I did feel a lot better (like, a 1000% better!), but we still were not able to conceive naturally. If you’ve been here for a moment, you will know that I never stick around for too long if I don’t obtain the results I want. And so, not only did I choose to return to Western fertility treatment (with TCM), but I also transferred myself to a different clinic. And this really was a game changer in many ways. It dawned on me that my previous clinic had very dubious administrative practices and the way they handled certain procedures like the sono were not optimal. I wanted to share some of my experience and observations here in case it is of use to anyone looking for a clinic right now. Hopefully this can serve as general guidance.
The first thing I’ll say is this: your test results are yours, and you should not have to pay for them (at least, not in Canada). At the previous clinic, a nurse would call to provide the results over the phone a few hours after each test. But when I wanted a physical copy, I had to pay a flat amount of $60 (regardless of whether it was for one single cycle, or all my cycles). There was a possibility of having the results sent to my family physician “for free,” but even after numerous requests the results never came in. I think it’s important to have a copy of the results so that you can compare them from cycle to cycle. This helps to have a more informed conversation with your fertility team, especially if they (or you) are suggesting a change in your protocol. (In addition to releasing my results almost instantly, this new clinic also sends me written instructions after providing verbal ones over the phone. Thank you!)
A second red flag pertains to the policy regarding medication. When I first started consulting with the previous clinic, a nurse would send my prescriptions over to my chosen pharmacist. The insurance claim was processed directly by the pharmacy and I only needed to pick up the meds when they were ready. Later on, they decided to sell medication themselves (despite not being a licensed pharmacy). I didn’t have a problem with submitting my own insurance claim BUT! I found out that what the clinic charged for meds was a lot higher than market price; I could only claim about 2/3 of the invoice (and this was with both mine + my spousal insurance). In contrast, my new clinic has its own licensed pharmacy indoors (they process insurance claims directly) but nurses are always happy to send my prescriptions to any pharmacist if that is more convenient (provided that the meds are available at that location).
Something else that really bothered me about the previous clinic was their terrible customer service. There were usually 6-8 receptionists at any given moment, but they always seemed to ignore the long waiting line. Most of the time, I saw them chatting with one another (and they were not even on break!), or just focusing on entering data and never looking up. What’s more, even when I had an appointment for bloodwork & ultrasound I still had to wait after checking in. The usual waiting time for bloodwork was 10 min on a good day, and 20+ min for ultrasound. And I get it, fertility clinics are busy. But the most I’ve waited at my new clinic was 5 min (and there’s a self check-in counter). You really want efficiency from your fertility clinic, especially if you’re also navigating full-time work. Finally, if an appointment is at 7am, I expect the doors to be opened at 6:50 ish. Come on, now.
But an even more important issue was the high turnover rate of the nurses. The problem is, fertility treatment can be confusing. There are a lot of moving parts depending on the timing of ovulation. Throw in some brand new nurses every other month to the mix and you will very likely have clients going home with incorrect instructions. It’s happened to me. Luckily, I document all my protocols very carefully (this is in part why I journal on this platform, it’s mostly for my own future reference) and was able to question the information I was given. My advice: know exactly what your protocol is and if someone is telling you differently, question them with what you already know (and call in to ask a second opinion if you need to). This is also the reason why I really appreciate that my new clinic sends me written instructions as well. There is something to check against.
Now, I’ll just briefly touch on the sono. I’ve previously given some tips on using the breath to make it a little bit more comfortable. But in reality, lateral breathing is only useful if the doctor keeps the speculum in during the entire procedure. This is apparently not a common practice at all! More likely, the speculum will be used for a few minutes in order for the catheter to be inserted and then it is removed for the rest of the operation *gasp* (Lateral breathing remains quite handy regardless, so keep it in your toolkit for future use.) If the speculum is removed, natural & easy breathing is quite alright. You can also engage in a conversation with the doctor & nurse/technician (speaking = breathing) and occasionally take some slower belly breaths when the pinching & cramping become intense. And continue to use the breath to calm your nervous system after the sono.
There were a lot of other issues at my previous clinic, but I will spare us the details (this is starting to sound like a very long rant). The moral of the story is this: if you don’t feel comfortable with your current fertility team, look for other options if possible. I know some of us may live in areas with less choices but I genuinely believe that finding the right team makes a world of difference. With this new clinic, I often travel up to 90 min one-way (it’s a long trek involving car, train, and subway). And yet I don’t think of it as a chore or sacrifice. In fact I look forward to making the trip, because every appointment is a step closer to seeing my baby. (I worked a lot on shifting my mindset around this and having the right team definitely helps.) Final thoughts: we’re trying a different protocol with my new doctor. I don’t have much to say on the nitty-gritty, but I feel so good with the level of support I’ve received so far. I hope you feel the same with your team. We can do this, let’s keep going!
🌒 ♒
Decks featured:
Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle (Siolo Thompson)
Outgrow Yourself Oracle Tarot (Äkta Spåman)