Anyone elses really confused about the treatment we get here to what they get in USA

gyesy · 09-07-2004, 12:21 PM

Hi all,

i think the title says it all, my gp wont give me met until i see the fertility doctor!!!!!!!, ive been waiting three months already for an appointment.

I am desperate for a baby and feel that my GP has just fob me off!!!

When you read the other thread on here from ladies in the USA, they seem to get an alful lot more support etc.

Thanks for letting me rant

Sarah

AndreaC · 09-07-2004, 01:57 PM

Hi Sarah,

It's so true. It really amazes me. Both countries pay for their healthcare, just in different ways. I think because ours is done through our taxes, we're a little short changed on the service.

It riles me, it really does. What I do though is try and learn from their experiences and use the info to help myself. if you're confident and appear to know what you're talking about then you can pretty much get what you want.

I first got Met from the Endocrinologist I was referred to by my GP for the PCOS. They said I wasn't overweight enough. I was at least 50+lbs overweight. I started to recite facts and figures about it and they gave in. They also gave Clomid and I conceived my son.

As you know, I'm now ttc no.2 and this time I asked for Met from my GP but he wouldn't give it me cos i am ttc (Duh!!!!!). I have put a call into the Endo today to see if they can re-prescribe it me because I think it helped the Clomid work better and I'm not having much luck with it at the moment.

BTW. I am on the waiting list for an apt. with the Endo but I *begged* them to let me do the leftover Clomid I had in the meantime!!! - If you don't ask, you don't get!!!!

I would just advise that you learn as much as you can off here before your apt. Tell them that the root of the PCOS is Insulin Resistance and can they at least test you for that before they say you can't have Met.

i hope the secretary calls back about my Met soon. They probably wouldn't give it me if they saw me though. I've lost 5 and a half stone since they wouldn't give it me last time! I'd have no chance now!!

Andrea.

(BTW. I'm from Manchester, forgot to answer that the other day!!)

pam24 · 09-07-2004, 06:49 PM

Hi

I agree about the waiting, we seem to have to wait months for an appointment, i saw my GP in April, he sent me for an ultrasound (6 weeks waiting)and then referred me to the endocrinologist i got my first appointment in July, he confirmed PCOS by previous bloods and ultrasound, did new blood tests and i have my next appointment for thursday for results (and hopefully meds).

I really hope you get seen soon as i know how frustrating it is wanting a baby and no one is helping, is there not another doctor in your surgery you can see? maybe they can chase an earlier appointment up for you?? i wish you luck

Pam

cat180 · 09-08-2004, 09:47 AM

Hi all

Its so true how difficult the system is.

I went to see my G.P and she said she would refer me to see a Gyno about going on met and she said that it would probably take 8-12 weeks for my appointment.

After 3 weeks i still hadn't received an appointment letter so i phoned the hospital who (after lots of transferring to different departments) said they hadn't received the referral.

I then phone my G.P and the receptionist told me it was on file that the letter had been sent but that they would send another.
later in the day i get a phone call from my G.P to say that she thinks she forgot to send the referral but would send another that day.

So 5 days later i phone the hospital and they say they still havent received my referral but any referrals can take 7-10 days to be registered on the system. I phoned back after 10 days and they had FINALLY received it. So besides the original waiting time of 8-12 weeks i have now had to wait an extra 4 weeks!!!!!!!

So hopefully i will see the Gyno before Christmas!

Pam, all I can say in knowledge is power. Find out as much info as you can (as i am sure your know Soulcysters has some great info/advice) and TELL the doctors what you want. Like Andrea says we are paying for this service so make sure you get what you want/need.

Good Luck!

Love Lucy xx

pam24 · 09-08-2004, 10:27 AM

Thanks Cat

I am reading everything today as i need to be prepared for tommorow morning, i am going to tell the endo i want to go on Met and Clomid and see what he says. i had my glucose test this morning should have results on that by friday.

The people on here have been a mountain of info for me, so a thankyou to all on here for your help

I hope you see the endo soon its such a nightmare to have to wait so long. Good luck to all

Pam

moonshadow · 09-13-2004, 11:09 AM

when i was living in california i had to get a referral to an endo to get met. i had to wait a while to see the endo, maybe a bout a month? i'm not sure. this is probably because my insurance was through my university rather than at some big hmo. i had to be referred off campus to see the endo.

here i was referred to a gyno. i wound up with the same results- met should help you get af, so here you go (this time i was given clomid, too). a bit of a wait, and meds in the end.

if i was still in the california, i would be having problems. my health insurance ran out at the end of the summer that i graduated uni, and i couldn't get insurance on my own due to pre-existing conditions. if i'd managed to find a full time job, then i'd probably be able to get insurance. this is not necessarily the case though: my sister still lives out there, works full time, and has no health insurance (she had cancer, so can't get her own insurance, her work doesn't provide insurance). one month's worth of one of her meds is about $100 (here my meds are free because of my pre-existing condition!!!!) my mother-in-law should be working full time, but her company recently made all non-management cut their workdays by 1/2 an hour, so she's no longer full time, luckily she's got insurance through my father-in-law. from what i hear, this is becoming a fairly common practice to save companies money when it comes to things like insurance.

so, i think i'm glad i moved back here. things take a bit longer at times, but you are treated. i'm sure i wouldn't be pg yet had i stayed in california. waiting for treatment is a better option for me than no treatment at all or paying out the ear for treatment.

all this being said, both systems have room for much improvement, don't they?

kim22 · 09-13-2004, 04:55 PM

I agree with all that long waiting................ I last see the gynocologist last august, I was told the last time I see him was to have two 28 day cycles then on the 3rd one to have a blood test to check my ovulating then to book in for a hsg then after that to book into fertility clinic. My periods decided they didnt want to come on time as normal, so I kept phoning and kept getting fobbed off all the time going though loads of different departments so in May I sent them a letter explaining what was going on and what do I do next, after about a month I got an appointment letter and have an appointment for the middle of october.

cat180 · 09-16-2004, 05:41 PM

Hi all

I finally got my appointment through to see a gyno - its 5 weeks away which means i have had to wait 10 weeks in total but hey at least the appointment has come through and hopefully i will be put on met

I am feeling more positive allready

creme brulee · 09-16-2004, 07:58 PM

Hi ladies,

I really feel for all of you. I lived in the UK for 8 years and worked as a midwife, so I know the system well. However, I now live in the US and find the health care is so much more advanced primarily because the drs over here have a HUGE insentive to see pts because if they don't see pts, they don't get paid, whereas in the UK the drs get paid by the government, so it doesn't mater to them who they see or when they see their pts. Another problem is that resources over there are so limited. The NHS does have pretty big advantages for those who can't afford health insurance. In the US if you aren't priveleged enough to afford health insurance, you're screwed.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it all swings in round-a-bouts. Hope you all get see soon and have a few cadbury's chocolates for me *yum* - I miss those the most.

strixca · 09-18-2004, 01:24 AM

i found out i have pcos last nov, i was on a waiting list 10 months to find it out, but for 6 years before i was asking what was wrong with me.

now i knows they have done nothing, they sent me to a dietison (sorry about spellings) who didn't even weigh me and told me different things from what my USA friends said

HELP

alex · 09-26-2004, 02:53 PM

I agree about the waiting...and because I'm not ttc or overweight, my Dr isn't interesting in treating my PCOS or even monitoring - just the Pill and thats it. Refused my request to check if I was insulin resistant on the grounds it was too expensive if I wasn't obviously overweight.

However...I really try to be grateful for what we've got. I am in the sort of financial situation where I would very possibly not have health insurance if I lived in the US. People really do go without treatment and bankrupt themselves over certain types of treatment. Even if you have health insurance, you may find that it doesn't cover all your needs (I'm thinking mental health problems in particular). Plus, you may get PRESCRIBED all these wonder drugs, but then you have to PAY for them. A lot of Americans have taken to sourcing their medication from Canada, on the Internet, because their own pharmacies are so expensive.

There are pros and cons I think....

dockers · 09-28-2004, 07:33 PM

Hi everyone I am a newbie, first time on here not quite sure how it all works, so here goes!

At the age of 18 I went to my GP to see about my periods and ended up being told after some blood test and a scan that I had got a mild form of pcos and then was told that there was nothing that could be done until I wanted children and that losing some weight would be of benefit to me. Could not understand were the wieght came from would never over eat or eat alot of junk food as parents would watch carefully what we ate. Now ten years on I have tried every diet almost know to man, went on a strict low fat diet due to gall stones lost two stone which I feel was not enough as I was at the gyn five times a week for a good two hours at a time and did not move from there.
Since then I have had my gall bladder out have to watch what I eat, but have never eaten so called greasey fatty food and have put on more weight than I lost. I have been back to my new GP'S and wanted to know what could be done to help with all of the synptoms of PCOS to be told that all the tests were inconclusive, it has then taken six months to get a scan in which the radiologist told me that my ovaries were enlarged a great deal and that is not consistant with PCOS and that I would need more test's. I never realsied that it can run in families and have since found out that three of my cousins have got pcos and have all been treated with metformin and have all lost their weight and feel much better in their selves and they are allot younger than me. Is there something that I am not doing? I am sick and tired of looking the way I am and feeling the way I do sometimes and the older I get the more selfconscience I get. If anyone has got any ideas they would be greatfully recieved.

sarahmarsh · 10-01-2004, 08:50 PM

Hi everyone, don't know if the link to the article below will help but I wasn't getting anywhere with my GP, I just went along for a repeat prescription of Dianette and saw a new doctor in the practice, he couldn't believe that I was being given Dianette when I suffer from migraines - apparently it's a really dangerous treatment option. I searched the internet for ages to find a good article on PCOS that was written by a British doctor, not an American doctor, showed it to my GP and hopefully am getting Metformin shortly, he's just waiting for some further test results to come back.

Hope it helps.

Sarah

http://www.ask.co.uk/redir?qsrc=2004...cts%2fpcos.htm

alex · 10-02-2004, 10:25 AM

That's a really good article, thanks!

Lynzie · 10-09-2004, 05:11 PM

I'm with Alex on this one. If you think it's difficult trying to get help to conceive, it's almost impossible to get treatment if you're not. Many health professionals who deal with PCOS seem to equate 'healthy' with 'pregnant'. If you're simply trying to get well, get your life and dignity back, and carry on with your life, then you're often shunted to one side, given a scrip for Dianette, and forgotten about.