U of Chicago PCOS doctors

[kpants]

no .. no studies.. just a regular appt. i'm on met and ortho cyclen .. i am totally willing (and planning on) to come off the meds but i'd like to first get to a better place with my weight loss. i'm on a strict D&E program but i'd like to not tip the balance right away. also i'd prefer to have a measure of my bloodwork with the meds, and then go off .. because that way if even with diet and exercise i can't control my IR, AF, etc.. then i'll know what's what and have more info to work with

[kpants]

also did they ask you to come off the meds even before your first appt?

[jill7755]

No, I just talked to a scheduler and told them I wanted to make an appt, bc I knew I did not want to go off my meds for any studies. They didnt ask any questions. What kind of questions did she ask you? If I were you, I wouldnt want to come off meds either, if I were you, your plan seems to be working! What kind of exercise program are you on?

[kpants]

i'm working out 5x per week - 2 or 3 strength classes at the gym, and i do intervals on the treadmill every day. i'm walking whenever i can, supplementing my gym schedule with occasional spinning classes or bikram (hot) yoga. basically just getting activity in wherever i can. i have super high anxiety so i find the working out to be therapeutic for that .. like if i go to the gym every day it prevents me from feeling anxious. i'm also eating low GI foods and keeping my cals around 1200-1500 a day. i'm trying not to go too low with the food because i lost 100 lbs before but gained it back because i feel like i lost too quickly by extreme dieting.. so this time around i'm doing it right!

[jill7755]

Wow, that is awesome! Great job! Your avatar says you are from NYC, did you recently move to Chicago?

[octx2]

When I talked to Abby she told me the same thing about meds. I just had a baby in October so I am currently not taking anything which is why I thought this was a good time to get a plan in place. I understand why they ask for that, but I also wouldn't want to go off of my meds if I was already in a routine. I have not had much follow up yet, but it is not totally their fault. I need to set up a sleep study and glucose test and they couldn't get me in until late April so I asked if I can just have the glucose test done around my house (I'm about an hour out the city) and have the results sent to them and then get on meds and do the sleep study some other time. It then went back to since Abby is his research assistant they didn't want to do the sleep study if I was medicated. So to make a long story short, I'm going Monday for my glucose test and then I am supposed to hear back from them after they get my results. I have been playing phone tag with Mary (his clinic assistant) to set up the sleep study which I'm not in as much of a hurry about.

I find that they call me back whenever I call but I have a hard time communicating with them because I am a teacher and I'm not available to take calls all day. So what happens is they never answer (Mary or Abby) and I leave a message and then they call back when I'm in class, UGH! I do feel that I'm getting somewhere it is just a slow process.

[kpants]

yes! well i live in NYC full time but I'm a writer and working on assignment out of chicago for the next 6 months or so .. but i have family here so am into the idea of finding a team of docs to work with in chicago. octx - that sounds pretty straight forward.. i'll keep you all posted on how it goes. did they not make you do the GTT at the time? how was it decided that you were even going to do that at all? did Dr. E recommend it?

[octx2]

I hadn't had any bloodwork done since before I had kids... so over 4 years ago so he wanted to do all levels. He did all my hormones, etc. that day but since I would have to fast for the GTT we couldn't do it at that time. So they thought they should have me do the sleep study and then the GTT first thing the next morning.

I have a follow up in May as well. keep us posted!

[tinyhens]

Just came across this thread posted and even though it's focused on U of Chicago PCOS doctors, I wanted to throw out another resource for those in the Chicagoland area. Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine has a website (pcos(dot)northwestern(dot)edu) dedicated to studies about PCOS and they're always looking for women who'd like to participate. Dr. Andrea Dunif, MD, is the doctor heading up these studies and I'm sure you can find a lot of additional information from these doctors if you wanted to specifically setup an appointment.

[hgielrehtaeh]

I had my first appointment with Dr. Ehrmann yesterday and met Abbey. They were both wonderful. I left feeling like I had found some competent, kind people who were going to work with me to get me healthy.

[ixchel3489]

I too am curious about the experience with the RE at Northwester

[MaraJ2005]

Just came across this thread posted and even though it's focused on U of Chicago PCOS doctors, I wanted to throw out another resource for those in the Chicagoland area. Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine has a website (pcos(dot)northwestern(dot)edu) dedicated to studies about PCOS and they're always looking for women who'd like to participate. Dr. Andrea Dunif, MD, is the doctor heading up these studies and I'm sure you can find a lot of additional information from these doctors if you wanted to specifically setup an appointment.

I have an appt. with Dr. Dunaif in October. I can post after that to let you know what they say about the studies. She is known as the PCOS expert in Chicago (or so I was told) but it takes FOREVER to get an appt. I called in July and the soonest appt. was in October. Plus, you need to send a letter from your doc that you have been diagnosed w/ PCOS already and you need to redo all your labs if they are older than 6 mos.

[hgielrehtaeh]

Wow, I just stumbled on this thread and I'm shocked that anyone had an experience like that with Dr. Ehrmann. I've been seeing him for 8 years now and I *LOVE* him. Seriously, best doctor I've ever had. He DID give me the met, but when I complained of the side effects he switched me to actos, which worked MUCH better for me. Spiro was never pushed on me, but when I asked for it he was happy to give it. He's pretty much always been willing to let me guide my treatment. His bedside manner has been astounding. Not only does he patiently listen to me, but he REMEMBERS what I tell him, which even my family doctor can't seem to accomplish. Dr. Ehrmann has also helped me get into several research studies for PCOS when he knew I was strapped for money, especially during our adoption processes. Aside from being a great doctor, he's a great guy too. When I forgot my purse at home, he paid for my parking so my DH wouldn't have to leave work to come retreive me and our vehicle. When I brought my daughter home from China he offered to help in any way we might need, specifically asking if we needed clothing, furniture, money, etc. Of course I wouldn't feel right TAKING his money and I politely turned down the offer, but that really sticks with me as an example of how much he really cares about his patients.

This, too, was my experience working with Dr. Erhmann and Abby Rue. They have both been amazing beacons of light for me in this time of pain and frustration.

I was broken into, and they offered to help "in any way possible" and have been super accommodating to anything I need. I'm kind of shocked other people had bad experiences. After I left the campus for my initial visit, I left home with tears of joy in my eyes.

[onVacation]

I have an appt. with Dr. Dunaif in October. I can post after that to let you know what they say about the studies. She is known as the PCOS expert in Chicago (or so I was told) but it takes FOREVER to get an appt. I called in July and the soonest appt. was in October. Plus, you need to send a letter from your doc that you have been diagnosed w/ PCOS already and you need to redo all your labs if they are older than 6 mos.

Maraj2005,
How was your visit with Dr. Dunaif? I am scheduled to see her in January and wanted to see what you thought of Dr. Dunaif.

I am very new to this board and pcos, recently diagnosed as lean pcos.

[Baby Maybe]

This, too, was my experience working with Dr. Erhmann and Abby Rue. They have both been amazing beacons of light for me in this time of pain and frustration.

I was broken into, and they offered to help "in any way possible" and have been super accommodating to anything I need. I'm kind of shocked other people had bad experiences. After I left the campus for my initial visit, I left home with tears of joy in my eyes.

thats always a good sign when you leave a doc appt!