Frustrated in Ontario! (a little long sorry)

MegsInOntario · 10-09-2008, 09:52 AM

Hi ladies,

I am completely frustrated and need some help. I'll try to make a long story short. About 3 1/2 years ago I decided to start trying to deal with my TTC issues not knowing at the time that it was PCOS. I hadn't been to my family doctor in a long time and apparently, they toss your file after so many years and then when you try to go back you aren't considered a patient of that doctor anymore and you have to start looking for a doctor that's accepting new patients...(my old one wasn't anymore). So while I was waiting for a new doc to come into town I went to a walk in clinic for my TTC issues. They referred me to a gyno which was a 2 month wait. The gyno was a huge B**** but she diagnosed my PCOS which I'm thankful for and I was referred to a fertility clinic to help with my TTC. I then went to my new doc who arrived in town and gave her all my files from the gyno. Started doing some testing at the fertility clinic and in the process spontaneously got preggers on my own after over 2 1/2 years of trying. So I guess I've ignored my PCOS for the last 2 years while pregnant and bf'ing.
I now have an almost 1 year old son and would like to start TTC again soon (but want to lose some weight first). However losing weight has been next to impossible and frustrating. I now have had a 3 month long period that won't stop. I visited my family doc which I'm not at all happy with but it's so hard to find a doc accepting new patients. She told me that she'd like to put me on Provera....are you kidding me? I want to lose weight and get pregnant and you want to put me on provera which will make me gain more weight, prevent me from getting pregnant and from what I hear, screw up my cycles even worse. So then she suggested bcp which of course won't help me in TTC either and will only mask my problems not help to fix them. My blood pressure was a bit high when I was in the office (probably due to my screaming son after waiting for an hour to see the doc), so she wants me to come back in a week to check my blood pressure and then she'll perscribe me bcp....that's it nothing else. I've been bleeding for 3 months and she had me leave with nothing. No blood work, no pills to stop the bleeding, nothing.
I'm looking now to find a doctor in Ontario that is accepting new patients and is PCOS friendly. I'm in Milton but will travel to Mississauga, Guelph, Oakville, Burlington for a good doc. I don't even want to go back to my current doc right now so I need someone I can go to without a referral. Any suggestions?

organic · 10-11-2008, 03:24 PM

I'm of no help with finding a doctor, but I've been reading a lot about acupuncture lately (my first appointment is Thursday). My GP actually used to be an acupuncturist and has given my hope that it'll work to sort out my cycles naturally. The gyno I was referred to gave me the same "go on the pill" story, so I've been trying the natural ttc route. There is a thread under 'Alternative Remedies' if you are interested.

babes4me · 10-11-2008, 10:04 PM

I hear you about finding a doctor. When I moved to Guelph and then to Kitchener from Burlington, I had a hard time. I ended up with someone older than Jesus who refuses to touch me! We just sit and chat. I stopped going to her after I got a referral to my obgyn.

Anyhow, I found that doctor by hitting up this website, and have a feeling I'll be using it again to find someone new.

http://www.cpso.on.ca/

I hope that works for you! Oh, and if you need an OBgyn in Burlington... see if you can get in to see Dr. Barry Hunter -- he was the best doctor (of any sort of practice) that I've been to. He's nice, he's positive, he knows what he's talking about, and I would still be going to him if I hadn't moved. Actually, my obgyn now knows him and is a big fan as well :-)

Good luck!

Daisychain · 10-20-2008, 08:21 PM

I hear ya on doctors. It's so frustrating! No suggestions on a doc though, I'm not in your area...

Have you been bleeding continuously for 3 months? Did the doc want you on one month of provera? That might have been just to give you a definitive start date for your next AF cycle, something as a start point for you to start a TTC chart? As for putting you on BCP, I know that's not what you want and it's so frustrating you want to scream, but a few months of BCP might help regulate your AF's....it might be worth doing it for 3 months before you get serious with the TTC...

BeetleGirl · 10-20-2008, 09:39 PM

I am sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience with the Canadian Health care system. It probably won't be getting better anytime soon.

Regrettably my DH and I had to learn about how bad our health care was by losing our b/g twins due to negligence of a nasty nurse. The only condolence we received from the doctor was future half price IVF cycles to ease his conscious. However living on the other side of the country doesn't help us, nor does the multiple factors we have since been diagnosed with. Sadly this mistake cost us $70000 out of our own pockets and most of all...our lives (they will never be the same).

I live in an area where there are over 100,000 people, and over 700,000 consider it a major medical hub however we don't have an endocrinologist. It's a huge retirement community and with the high prevalence of health issues (diabetes, etc) amongst the elderly...we shouldn't have just one but multiple endocrinologists for our area. Instead we have to drive 4 hours for an appointment with a mediocre doctor that at best received their diploma from a cutout of a cereal box!

It appears many of you are from Ontario....you have no idea how bad the system is in the rest of the country. It is by far incomparable. I never realized it until leaving the province of Ontario and moving west. But what I find astonishing is that people accept and make excuses for this poor quality and long waits of out health care out here. We pay a lot each month and get very little in return.

It’s sad when the only times things get changed are when accidents happen at the cost of someone’s life. Like the gentleman who died in Manitoba while waiting for emergency care. You should plan on things like this continuing to happen as health costs go up, and budget cuts continue.

eww · 10-20-2008, 10:46 PM

MegsInOntario- I'm from Guelph, but sadly I can't help you with drs here as i just moved. My gyne is in Hamilton but he's actually pretty amazing. Dr Richard Stopps. He's very friendly and VERY knowledgeable about PCOS.

And I agree with Daisychain, that it may seem counter-intuitive, but many people have had success with 3 months of bcp and then immediately TTC. Something about your body ovulating the first few months before the PCOS makes everyhting go haywire. It might be something to look into.

Good Luck!

organic · 10-20-2008, 10:50 PM

Now that I think about it, I did ovulate like clockwork for the first two months after coming off the pill. Then things went downhill.

MegsInOntario · 10-22-2008, 01:41 AM

Thanks everyone. In the meantime the bleeding did FINALLY stop on it's own...for now anyway! I'm considering the bcp after reading your responses but might wait and see what happens without it first. Thanks again!

smiley_ca1 · 12-02-2008, 12:33 AM

Try the New Life Fertility Clinic. Their main site is in Brampton (I think on Queen St), their second is in Mississauga (by 403) (both are full service [ie. IUI, IVF]. Their newest site is in Burlington (Brant St). They follow your cycles there, but don't do procedures if necessary. Dr. Soliman is great. I'm sure the others are too.

Dr Catherine Cowal, is an OBGYN on Cliff Rd (just N off QEW and East of Hurontario/Hwy 10). She diagnosed my PCOS when I was 16 yo. She is now the head of OB at Trillium Hospital in Mississauga. Some people think she's really dry, but she's very thorough and knows her stuff.

I am glad that your bleeding has stopped. That can't be too healthy. I'm surprised she didn't check your iron!

Mya · 12-02-2008, 10:03 AM

i know it is so hard to find a doc that is PCOS friendly and actually sees it as a problem and not just something to put a bandaid on ... i am not i your area but I see Dr Victory here in Windsor .. i have to say i was really impressed with what he knew and what he wanted to do for me ... he is an endo/gyno ... and i know he does work with some docs up in brampton area ... if you can;t find what you are looking for i say it might be worht the drive ... and he only takes about 1month to get into ... if you want more info just pm me ... i am off to have a baby tomorrow so may not get back to you right away ...

weemes · 12-08-2008, 04:43 PM

Megs: I'm so sorry to hear about your frustrations. Surely you can find a good doctor in Oakville. I'm not in Ontario any longer so I don't have any exact suggestions but it seems like these ladies have given you some great suggestions. I know another Cyster that had that continuous bleeding for months and it was very heavy, she often had to get up a couple of times a night to change her pad. Her doctor put her on 10 days of BCP and then started her on clomid. From what I know going on BCP is a great way to reboot your cycles and it can take 2 or 3 months for them to get messed up again. Perhaps that's an option for you?

Beetle: Are you in Alberta? Or BC?

BeetleGirl · 12-10-2008, 11:40 AM

Weemes,
We moved to Calgary almost 3 years ago. I loved it there but one day my husband came home and told me we were moving to Kelowna. So after 6 months in Alberta, we moved even further west. Not a day goes by that I don't regret leaving Calgary.

weemes · 12-10-2008, 12:47 PM

Beetle: That sucks that you had to leave Calgary. Did you ever go to the fertility clinic while you were here?

BeetleGirl · 12-10-2008, 07:42 PM

We were patients there for a short period of time. Unfortunately our experience there wasn't a good one and we switched as soon as we left but would have likely switched clinics anyways.