"Stand up, drop your pants." said the most boring man ever.
Yesterday I found myself for the first time extremely thankful for my visits with my OB. Stirrups and all; as two women, my OB and I find a way to acknowledge the awkwardness, make conversation, and refrain from eye contact during the pelvic exam.
My husband, C.J., had a second opinion appointment yesterday with a Urologist who specializes in infertility. We just wanted to ensure for peace of mind that we were not missing anything. We are a pretty independent couple when it comes to going to the doctor, but this time and from here on out we have decided to go together since we are in a planning next steps phase of trying to conceive.
The Urologist comes in the room with his laptop on a rolling desk that seemed obnoxiously large to be rolling from room to room. No introductions, just the clumsy roll of his portable desk to his stool. He reviewed C.J.'s previous results; semen analysis, blood work, the whole nine yards and proceeded to tell us everything looks fine. His personality, or lack thereof, was humorous as he stated his only suggestion is to see a fertility specialist but let me take a look too. We sat quietly for what was 2 seconds, but felt like 10 minutes because clearly neither one of us understood what he was implying by take a look. As he is sitting on his stool he tells my husband to stand up - he does, drop your pants - he does. No please, no thank you, no warming the hands like the OB does before a breast exam, just two no-nonsense commands. At that point all I could do was look away because an already awkward situation was not prefaced with any type of personality or attempt to alleviate the awkwardness. On top of that of course my husband joked on the way in that if he has to be examined.... well you know, three's a party.
While I am aware these doctors see this day in and day out and are probably immune to the awkwardness, my OB gives me faith in the patient-doctor relationship. It is not easy asking for help in any type of situation, but in our situation we want someone who we can trust to guide us; which calls for at least a touch of personality. No news is good news they say, so our journey continues.
