learning4viv
New member
My husband and I have always been on the same page about ensuring we had explored a range of medical questions before TTC. Our current plan is to start TTC in January (so close!). I thought this list might give others some tangible steps that you can take while waiting that should make the path easier down the line (hopefully).
Best get yourself a beverage/snack, this is long.
The list consisted of:
When I first booked at the new practice, I asked if there were any Drs taking new patients who had a special interest in conception/fertility and was told that there was, so I made an appointment with her. I specifically asked for a longer appointment (a type B consultation, 30 minutes. Most consultation are type C and 15 minutes long). This would cost more (the Medicare rebate is increased a bit too) but I wanted to make sure I gave the doctor enough time to talk my husband and I through everything.
Later on I rang to reschedule the appointment (it was not last minute) and I think in this process we were given to a different doctor but I had no knowledge of this change. The impact of this (although nothing disastrous) will be seen in point 3.
The details and our results so far:
Wooping cough and flu vaccines are given during pregnancy so that immunity passes to the baby.
I was disappointed that given how clear we were about our desire to undertake genetic testing and gather as much data as possible upfront, our GP had not mentioned the existence of this test. This is where I saw the impact of the doctor switch that I mentioned above. I called the surgery and spoke to the receptionist to ask about the possiblity of the doctor signing the form for the Counsyl test. She was surprised that it wasn't mentioned in the appointment because the doctors had just received training on this test a few weeks back! Luckily the doctor was willing to fill out her section of the paperwork (I had pre-filled my details to save her time and increase the chances of them being willing to do it) and I didn't have to go back in, they scanned and emailed the form to me.
By the time my schedule allowed me to go and get all of my bloodwork done Counsyl is also just a regular blood draw), it was about 1 month later. I knew I still had to pre-pay for the Counsyl test so I rang the day before to give my details (I think you can also do it online). Turns out they had just lowered the payment amount to closer to $600! Procrastinating for the win! The QML collection centre I went to had never seen the Counsyl request form before but they took it in stride and all went well.
At our recent appointment to discuss the results we learnt that I do not carry any of the mutations that they tested for. This is great news! It also means that we will not be testing my husband as both parents need to be carriers of the mutation for their to be a chance of the child having the condition.
I'm really glad that we pushed for the broader test, this is something I won't have to test for again with future children.
My husband rang in advance to give them the heads up that he would be attending for an SA, you can't book but it ensures they are prepared to process the sample quickly.
Although our doctor had given us a sterile sample jar to take home, he felt more comfortable giving the sample at the collection facility so that he didn't have to drive with it and worry about keeping it to the right temperate. He obtained a sample cup from the receptionist and was then pointed to a accessible bathroom. No inspiration, no special room, just a bathroom. Then you walk the sample back to reception in a brown paper bag.
Our doctor discussed our results, everything is normal but concentration per mL was 14 million. This is considered normal (
Best get yourself a beverage/snack, this is long.
The list consisted of:
- Immunity testing
- General bloodwork to test levels (iron, vitamin D etc.)
- Genetic testing
- Semen analysis for my husband
- Come of the pill 3 months prior to TTC
- Start prenatal vitamins 3 months prior to TTC
When I first booked at the new practice, I asked if there were any Drs taking new patients who had a special interest in conception/fertility and was told that there was, so I made an appointment with her. I specifically asked for a longer appointment (a type B consultation, 30 minutes. Most consultation are type C and 15 minutes long). This would cost more (the Medicare rebate is increased a bit too) but I wanted to make sure I gave the doctor enough time to talk my husband and I through everything.
Later on I rang to reschedule the appointment (it was not last minute) and I think in this process we were given to a different doctor but I had no knowledge of this change. The impact of this (although nothing disastrous) will be seen in point 3.
The details and our results so far:
- I knew from previous talks with my normal GP that women are preferably tested for their immunity for chicken pox, mumps, rubella and measles prior to TTC. If you aren't immune, they will administer a vaccine, you must then wait 3 months before TTC as the vaccine can be harmful to the fetus.
Wooping cough and flu vaccines are given during pregnancy so that immunity passes to the baby.
- My blood work came back showing that my iron levels are ok (which is surprising given that I have had slightly lower levels consistantly in prior years). But I am lacking a little in Vitamin D, the doctor has said to take Vitamin D tablets for the next 3 months and then we will re-test. In addition, the most surprising is that my thyroid is lower than normal. I don't think I've ever had my thyroid tested. My Dr wants to re-test the thyroid in 1 month (which is soon) to see if it was an anomaly due to a small cold or similar.
- My cousin (not by blood) and his wife have a beautiful son who unfortunately has Cystic fibrosis (CF). This is a genetic condition which, among other things, puts him at great risk of being in hospital often and a life expectancy of 30-40 years. Neither my cousin or his wife had any family history of this disease, they did not know that they were both carriers of the gene mutation and were unlucky enough that both mutated genes passed to their son, resulting in the CF. 80% of
I was disappointed that given how clear we were about our desire to undertake genetic testing and gather as much data as possible upfront, our GP had not mentioned the existence of this test. This is where I saw the impact of the doctor switch that I mentioned above. I called the surgery and spoke to the receptionist to ask about the possiblity of the doctor signing the form for the Counsyl test. She was surprised that it wasn't mentioned in the appointment because the doctors had just received training on this test a few weeks back! Luckily the doctor was willing to fill out her section of the paperwork (I had pre-filled my details to save her time and increase the chances of them being willing to do it) and I didn't have to go back in, they scanned and emailed the form to me.
By the time my schedule allowed me to go and get all of my bloodwork done Counsyl is also just a regular blood draw), it was about 1 month later. I knew I still had to pre-pay for the Counsyl test so I rang the day before to give my details (I think you can also do it online). Turns out they had just lowered the payment amount to closer to $600! Procrastinating for the win! The QML collection centre I went to had never seen the Counsyl request form before but they took it in stride and all went well.
At our recent appointment to discuss the results we learnt that I do not carry any of the mutations that they tested for. This is great news! It also means that we will not be testing my husband as both parents need to be carriers of the mutation for their to be a chance of the child having the condition.
I'm really glad that we pushed for the broader test, this is something I won't have to test for again with future children.
- We asked at our first appointment for a pathology request for a semen analysis. We had no reason to believe that anything was wrong, but our thought process was that it is a non-invasive test and we know from the get-go what we have to work with. We also had friends recently who had a SA done early and it led them straight to IVF. They would have wasted a year without this knowledge, so why not just get it upfront?
My husband rang in advance to give them the heads up that he would be attending for an SA, you can't book but it ensures they are prepared to process the sample quickly.
Although our doctor had given us a sterile sample jar to take home, he felt more comfortable giving the sample at the collection facility so that he didn't have to drive with it and worry about keeping it to the right temperate. He obtained a sample cup from the receptionist and was then pointed to a accessible bathroom. No inspiration, no special room, just a bathroom. Then you walk the sample back to reception in a brown paper bag.
Our doctor discussed our results, everything is normal but concentration per mL was 14 million. This is considered normal (