Austin OB/GYN

REW · 11-09-2007, 01:04 PM

I can not recommend Dr. Christopher Seeker and his staff highly enough!!! They are very kind and reassuring. You do have a long wait when you see him, but it is worth it! I saw 4 different OBs this year before I decided to go to him and now I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else.

Here is an example: Yesterday I had my 20 week nurse visit for paperwork. I haven't really felt the baby move yet, but I know it can take up to 24 weeks so I haven't been worried. My little girl wasn't cooperating when the nurse was trying to do the heart beat machine so she decided to do a quick sonogram so I could leave my appointment reassured that my baby was doing well!

NerdyGirl · 11-09-2007, 03:17 PM

REW~ Congrats on your little girl! Did you have to wait long for an appointment as a new patient or are you referring to the wait in the office? Is he familiar (and comfortable) with treating PCOS patients? My last ob/gyn (and her staff) were priceless, but they got kicked off my ins. I just checked and Seeker is on it, so it would be wonderful to find a new doc. I'm still waiting for my BFP, but I would love to have someone lined up once I have to leave my RE.

REW · 11-09-2007, 04:16 PM

Michelle, He seems very knowledgable about PCOS and supportive of everything I did to manage it (Met, diet, exercise) and he thought it was great that I had gone to an endo (my last Dr thought I had wasted my time). He also told me I could stay on the Met throughout the pg to help with GD, which I am all for because of my family history and the difference in my health since starting Met. and my Endo agreed with him.

If you aren't pg, it is a long wait for a first appointment, like 3 months if you want to see him but shorter if you are willing to see a nurse practitioner. If you are pg already, you shouldn't have a problem. Who is your RE? Are you going to TX Fertility?

I have to warn you that when you do have an appt with him, you will wait between 1 & 2 hours, but get in right away with the nurses and sonographer. This was a major reason I had waited so long to try him, but now I don't care about the wait because it is worth it.

When pregnant you also get quite a few u/s. 8wks with him, 12 wks with sonographer (nuchal scan), 16 wks with him and he will do gender if you want, Level 2 us at 24 wks, and 36 wks with him for sizing. I have Blue Cross HMO and so far only $7 hasn't been covered. I have also been impressed because they really include my husband when he is there and greet him specifically by name too.

HTH. If you have more questions, plz don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!!

REW · 11-09-2007, 05:21 PM

Michelle, I saw Dr. Hansard for a consultation and really liked her. We did decide to start with a regular OB since we were just starting TTC...and she didn't want to start me on Met.

I haven't met any of the NPs yet since I was already pg when I went to Dr. Seeker. I did have a nurse visit yesterday and I don't know if she was a NP or not, all we did was a measurement and quick sono, but she was wonderful.

Unfortunately you do have to pay for parking at Seton Medical Tower and they don't validate. I'm not thrilled at having to deliver at Seton since we live in Kyle, but I'll survive.

Another interesting feature of their office, they have a coffee bar which delights my DH to no end and helps him tolerate the wait

NerdyGirl · 11-09-2007, 05:28 PM

My friend here at work was living in Kyle and delivered at Seton, too. She has a different ins (Scott and White) and they originally told her she'd have to deliver at the Scott and White in TEMPLE!!! Hopefully, you have a nice early warning at a time with no traffic. Again, congrats to you and H&H 4 mo or so

REW · 11-09-2007, 05:40 PM

Temple - oh no!!! That's crazy!!!

Thank you for the congrats, we are very thankful for this blessing. To our great surprise it only took us 6 months of TTC on Met with low gi diet and exercise before we got our BFP - I was expecting it to be much, much longer. I'm sure everything will work out fine with Seton.

Good luck with Dr. Hansard!!! My fingers are crossed for you and this cycle it sounds good!!!!! Have you tested? I would be a wreck by now!!!

Babeecakes · 11-17-2007, 11:46 PM

Hi! I'm very very new to the PCOS situation; in fact, I haven't been diagnosed yet, but I have every symptom. I haven't gone to a gyn in a long time, and since I'm new to Austin, I'm trying to find the best one that will get me the right help for my problems. Can either of you recommend someone that will be great or at least can refer me to a specialist? Any help is deeply appreciated!

Completely overwhelmed & not sure what to do next,
Chrystal

REW · 11-19-2007, 11:03 AM

Crystal, It can be overwhelming when you first find out!! For treating PCOS I would recommend Valerie Espinosa, who is my endo http://www.texasdiabetes.com/staff.html. She is part of the well known TX Diabetes and Endocrinology off MoPac and Far West. They are a very, very busy office and you do have to wait for appointments...but she is fantastic and very personable. She also specializes in hormones. I had a rough time trying to get an OB/GYN to run all the lab work on me and she ran a ton to figure out where I was at. She also picked up on a problem with my adrenal glands in about 15 minutes when none of the last 4 OBs noticed anything wrong. You would need a referral to see them, but could get that from a primary care. I really believe in treating PCOS from the root endocrinological issues.

My experience with OBs in Austin is that they are focused on getting you pg, not necessarily helping to improve the PCOS. I saw 4 OB/GYNs in 7 months, but maybe I didn't see the right ones.

I would also recommend a book by Dr. Ronald Feinburg called "Healing Syndrome O" It was the first PCOS book I read and by far the most useful.

In Dec we found I was hypothyroid and I started taking thyroid meds. In Jan I started Met, low gi diet, and exercise and stopped birth control. By late Jan I felt like a new person! I had a HSG in May and a BFP in July...without any fertility treatments.

Good luck!!

Babeecakes · 11-19-2007, 04:55 PM

Thank you so much Ruth!!! Congrats!!! Can you tell me if you go by a specific book or "program" for the low gi diet?

REW · 11-19-2007, 05:48 PM

I read the "Low Glucose Revolution"by Jennie Brand-Miller. She is from the University of Sydney the experts in low gi. I didn't necessarily limit how much I was eating, but switched to low & med gi foods. I also swam 3x a week for 25-35 minutes, walked 5x week (1.5-3 miles depending on hot it was) and did fertility yoga (monica morrel dvd) a couple times a week.

Cynlu · 12-03-2007, 03:21 PM

I second REW's recommendation of Dr. Espinosa -- I just had my first appt with her last week, and she called me today with lab results herself. Dr. Espinosa is very personable and I appreciate that she took time to make the call, rather than having a PA or nurse do it.

chaucerg · 06-20-2008, 11:43 AM

REW and Cynlu-I'm taking my 19-year-old daughter to see Dr. Espinosa on July 14. I was wondering if she is the type who is open to any alternative treatments for pcos.

bowlwoman · 06-20-2008, 07:28 PM

I'm glad to see an Austin OB/GYN thread. I used to go to Women Partners in Health, and my doctor there misdiagnosed me (she didn't catch the PCOS) for 3 years. I went through the fertility workup, and she referred me to TFC. I saw Dr. Vaughn, and I was not impressed. He had my medical records and test results from my regular OB, but he didn't catch the PCOS either. He literally told me I had a hormonal imbalance because I was overweight. He put me on the pill to "regulate my cycle" and told me to come back when I lost 40 pounds and he'd put me on Clomid. We switched regular GP's right after that, and she took one look at my medical history, my hair growth, my weight, etc., and told me on no uncertain terms that I had PCOS. The borderline high testosterone in my blood panel helped confirm it, as did the fact she put me on Met and I had my first cycle on my own in years.

I took in a list of OB/GYN's my insurance covered, and she recommended Dr. Jeffrey Youngkin. He's an RE/OB, and as far as I know, he's one of the only RE's who also delivers the babies instead of passing you off to a regular OB. I've been with him for almost 3 years now, and he's seen me through both pregnancies. I like him a lot, mainly because I am overweight, but he has never once said anything derogatory or told me that all my problems are caused by my weight. In fact, when I went in before I was pg with my first, we talked about doing clomid. He said that if I could drop 5% of my body weight it would really help with the IF treatments, but he also said that if I tried and it didn't happen or if I didn't want to, then "we'd work with what we've got."

Just my $.02 on another doctor not previously mentioned.

REW · 06-27-2008, 11:35 PM

bowlwoman, I actually ended up switching to Dr. Youngkin and LOVED him. His office is so laid back and he caught that my baby was transverse BEFORE I went into labor. He also let me have some control over what I did...like I stayed on Met throughout my pregnancy even though current recommendations are to go off of it. He is also VERY educated on PCOS.

bowlwoman · 07-07-2008, 01:14 AM

REW: Yup, love me some Youngkin, and the nurses in his office are super nice (a necessity in an OB office, IMO). Also, he let me go home from the hospital the day after I delivered DD#2 last week, so that's another plus in my book. I love that he's willing to work with you and how you're feeling instead of adhering to a "you have to stay in the hospital for 2 days" protocol if you are ready to get outta there.

He recommended that I go off the met when I found out I was pg this time, but I have a history of really low progesterone issues during the first half of pregnancy and GD during the second half, so I guess he figured I'd be getting treatments other than Met anyway.