Expat - a little help

[RocketStar]

Hi, 

I'm sorry if I write in English but I don't speak Dutch yet so fluently.

 

I am an expat of almost 37yo, I started being treated in Belgium by Dott. Platteau and I need to perform monitoring here in the Netherlands due to the travel ban.

Do you know a center in Den Haag that would allow me to have follicular development monitoring and hormonal blood test without waiting 2 months for a first appointment? If this is not possible I need to interrupt the current treatment and restart God knows when. I know the Dutch health system but I am wondering if there's a way to get treated, even paying, to continue what I have done before.

I feel very low mood, bureaucratic barriers are even worse then hormones, aren't they?

Thanks to anyone who can have a little piece of advice for me. 

 

[Paulma]

Hi RocketStar

I am not familiar in Den Haag, sorry so I cannot support from my own experience.

But maybe another tip...  depending on your health insurance you can ask if they support with "wachttijd bemiddeling". This means they will align with a center around the waiting time. Or that they can find another center that can support you immediately. So you can at least try if they can help.

Really hope you find a center

Good luck!

[RocketStar]

Thanks a lot Paulma, I didn't know about this possibility, I've checked and my insurance allows this.

I will try for next cycle, I had a full day of calls and I found no one able to ensure an ultrasound and blood test for February 5th, when I needed it. That's very bad when you feel time is running away from your hands.

Thanks again!

[Sunandsand]

Hi Rocketstar,

You could try Nijgeertgen in Elsendorp. And I believe in Amsterdam there is a facility that can do this, maybe other ladies know the name.

I’m curious to hear what the hospitals in The Hague said as I live in same area and thinking about going abroad for treatment. Are HMC and Reinier de Graaf in Voorburg not supporting treatments abroad?

Hope you will find a solution before 5 Feb.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Sunandsand

[Paulma]

ohh yes Sunsandsand, I have been at the vrouwenkliniek zuidoost (https://vrouwenkliniekzuidoost.nl/) for certain checks when the hospital had to close in spring due to corona. Really friendly staff

A friend of mine also went their for certain checks while she was in IFV with another Clinique. So RocketStar if you have the opportunity to go to Amsterdam, I would recommend them.

Happy to hear I could give you new information but a pity it didn't help to find a solution! 

I really hope you can go somewhere before the 5th, it is really frustrating when you see time slipping away (bit depending on your age maybe, but I turn 39 next week. I see you are 37 so maybe feel a bit the same) and logistics are holding you back....

 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Paulma

[Kitje]

Hi Rocketstar, I am not a familiair with clinics in Den Haag, but I have done treatmant abroad, didn't need bloodtests, only Ultrasound.
I went to https://www.echoeindhoven.com/medische-echo/#gynaecologische-echo
It's a bit far from Den Haag, but they do all kinda ultrasounds you need for fertility treatments.
Maybe they can also advise you about the bloodtests you need.
 

[RocketStar]

Hi,

Thank you all for the answers!

I didn't manage as I should have started taking pills before knowing if I could do the checks... I didn't want to bet, I don't want to play with my body in this moment. I only managed to get an appointment on the 2nd of February to discuss with a doctor if I can have an appointment for the checks :( .

Now in March borders with Belgium should hopefully reopen again, at least I have more time to arrange.

On 1/28/2021 at 10:34 AM, Paulma said:

I really hope you can go somewhere before the 5th, it is really frustrating when you see time slipping away (bit depending on your age maybe, but I turn 39 next week. I see you are 37 so maybe feel a bit the same) and logistics are holding you back....

Yes, I feel sooo frustrated... After one year of trials, I have lost other six months between call, make the first appointment, first general check, second appointment, second check, third appointment... they wanted to let me go and wait six months more because I was "in good health", I insisted to have the ovaric reserve checked and they only checked the AMH, which was "not reassuring, perhaps we should to other tests"... and then I decided to go abroad, to my expenses, to speed up this madness. And I discovered I lost a lot of time without knowing that time was the only thing I shouldn't have lost. Now that I have a solution... I found other bareers. We shouldn't do all that to get listened and cured.

On 1/28/2021 at 7:26 AM, Sunandsand said:

I’m curious to hear what the hospitals in The Hague said as I live in same area and thinking about going abroad for treatment. Are HMC and Reinier de Graaf in Voorburg not supporting treatments abroad?

It was HMC Bronovo. They told me they do that but only for blood tests, not ultrasound because they are reserved to patients with are under their care due to corona (this is what they told). Of course it also depends from the doctor, Platteau is known for being ultra precise and therefore very demanding, maybe in Spain is different.

He told me in advance that Dutch patients usually go to him by car for the 5-6 checks he wants before the pickup because they don't manage to get all the checks he needs in the Netherlands (in other countries you always have the "private" option), but that some of his patients managed to get something done with Bronovo, at least most of it. Pandemic has done the rest. For sure I didn't manage convince my GP to prescribe the medications and I had to pay all of them them using my doctor's prescription. I hope the insurance will reimburse them, it's quite an amount...!

Thanks all for your help, it's really great not to feel alone.

[RocketStar]

On 1/28/2021 at 7:26 AM, Sunandsand said:

I’m curious to hear what the hospitals in The Hague said as I live in same area and thinking about going abroad for treatment. Are HMC and Reinier de Graaf in Voorburg not supporting treatments abroad?

Hi, also VivaNeo in Leiderdorp (the ones who I visited first) refuses to do that.

I am honestly wondering if this is legal. I have a referral letter from my GP, can they refuse to do the monitoring I have been prescribed???

I am seriously risking another month due to bureaucracy and I cannot travel to Belgium for the monitoring. Even if I wanted to have the IVF in the Netherlands the waiting list is tremendous... :(

[Jules40]

If you can try to contact Medilca Center Wetering in Amsterdam if you have a referral letter from gynecologist /huisarts. I am from the Hague (expat/you can drop me a message here). In that center they do follicle development monitoring as well I believe, I was th for endometrium check before the transfer abroad, before corona. They asked though a digital letter via a special system to be sent by a huisarts (mine is at International health center and they did it for me). 

 

[Jules40]

When I was checking for the same I also found a contact of a doctor (he seems to use to work at one of the Asmterdam centers such as Wetering) but he has a praktijk in Haarlem.  I contacted him per email at that moment when i considered to do a protocal remotely. https://www.echocentrum-haarlem.nl/contact.php;  email: info@echocentrum-haarlem.nl Try to contact him but I have no clue how good he is.