Re: New Members

[Guest guest]

and and other new members,

I wanted to take a minute and welcome you to this group. I still

remember when I first joined and I could not believe the support and

help from the women on this site. I wish you the best of luck in

your journey with Ashermans. For the question you had regarding

travelling to another state for treatment, it is definitely

possible. I live in Georgia, in a very small town with only two

separate OB practices. The doc at one practice, delivered my child

in 1999 when he manually removed my placenta and 4 weeks post partum,

I hemorrahaged and had to have a D & C and blood transfusion. This is

how I got AS and that doc never diagnosed me with AS for over 2 and a

half years while I continued to see him. I eventually decided to

research this myself and found this group. I found the list of

specialist on the files section and read as much as I could from the

database as well. I decided to make a phone consultation with Dr

Palter in NY since NY was one of the best locations for me to travel

from where I lived. I also picked him because he studied at Yale and

my husband graduated from there. We had several phone consultations

and then planned surgery and treatment. It is very doable and Dr

Palter takes most insurance. Other docs on the A list are excellent

choices as well, it just depends on where you live and your

insurance, etc. There is a Dr Valle in Chicago that a few women have

used and I think that is close if you live near Cincinnati. If you

have friends or family you could stay with in a city with an A list,

that would be even better. I stayed in a hotel for a week, but am so

very thankful I took that huge step. I feel certain if I had done my

surgery with anyone other than A list, I would be back at square

one. Dr Palter told me I was the second worst case he has ever

treated and I was in surgery for over 2 hours. I hope you continue

to find hope and help within the group.

W

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for your advice. I'm so confused about what to do,

but I guess I have to decide soon. My doctor wants to start me on

the injections once I have my period again. When you got back from

NY, who did you see? Did you go back to your old doctor? I just

don't know how I would tell my current doctor that I want someone in

NY to do the surgery and not him. Then, when I get back from NY I'll

probably have to go back to him for further treatment. How did that

work out for you? Do you have any suggestions? I can't believe how

closely your situation resembles mine! I'm assuming a piece of

placenta was left in with you also? I started hemorrhaging at 3

weeks post partum and was very close to a blood transfusion and

hysterectomy. Did you have any surgeries after the D & C to cut out

scar tissue before Dr. Palter? I'm sorry I'm asking so many

questions. I just am so grateful that I finally found someone with a

similar case to mine. I also am really interested in knowing how

things are progressing along for you. Does anyone else in this group

have a similar case? If so, I would love to hear your experiences

as well. Thank you so much.

[Guest guest]

,

Welcome to the group and I'm sorry that you have a reason to be here.

When I was first diagnosed with AS(I had a D & C for retained placenta

and hemmorhaged after a loss of a 19 week pregnancy)my OB did not do

this type of surgery(he only deals with high risk pregnancy) but he

referred me to one of his collegues for treatment. I had the surgery

all set up with her and then I found this group and I decided to go to

Dr. Olive (A-list). He was 4 hours away and when I told my OB about

him, he not only encouraged me to go to him, he called my HMO after

they denied my coverage and got them to cover treatment outside of the

network. He has been great about doing my follow up treatment. I

have had 2 surgeries so far and he did my follow up for both and my

balloon removal. I was afraid of offending his collegue but instead

she called Dr. Olive and asked to observe the surgery and afterwards

it was decided that they wouldn't treat any more AS and they will be

referring them to Dr. Olive. You should not worry about offending a

doctor. If he is truly good, then he should want the best treatment

available for you and be willing to help you get it. Yes, you might

lose your OB but what is more important, your fertility or your

friendship with a doctor? I'm sorry if this sounds forceful but I

have heard from so many members who went to doctors because they were

nice and then ended up having even more damage done and then having to

go through seeing an A-list for help anyway. Your best chance of

having your fertility restored is with your first surgery. I know it

is easy for me to say because I have an A-list 4 hours away and my

insurance has paid, but I can't stress enough the inportance of having

someone with proven experience treat your AS. Please take your time

and don't rush into making any decision until you have all of your

facts. Please post any questions that you have. You have found a

wonderful group of supportive women and you are not alone!

Roxie