Greetings and Salutations

MandyBeeSLP

Hello, my name is Mandy. I joined TB last year when I started TTC and was pretty active on TTGP until about December, and then I took a break. My husband and I have been married for (almost) 8 years and we have been TTC for a little over a year (14 cycles). I temped for the first 6 months, and then felt like I was obsessing too much over my charts and took a break from that as well. I'm planning on starting up again next month/cycle. I read over the rules, and I feel like I am having trouble TTC, but if I'm too close to the cut-off let me know. I don't have any formal diagnosis. I suspect my luteal phase is to blame. When I was temping, I had a range of 6-15 day LPs. I'm ready to take some first steps and talk to my doctor, but my hubby wants to give it a little more time. He doesn't really want to seek help 'til we've been trying for more like 1.5 years. So that's my condensed TTC story. I look forward to getting to know everyone! 



Edited: because I forgot how to gif.  

zigzag8412

Welcome friend!  I'm sorry you have to be here but this is a great group of ladies!  Fx your stay is short.  I totally get needing a break so it doesn't consume your life.  Despite best efforts it does often seem consuming.  You're not to close to the cut-off cause I'm ttc 12 months.  I wasn't to keen on getting tested right away either but it just kinda happened at my annual and I went with it.  Come to find out- there's a reason I was having trouble!  Knowing that answer helped with a lot for me.  Best wishes!

hoffmanr7

Welcome, I hope you don't have to be here long.  DH and I have been trying for about the same, about 14 cycles.  It does become a little obsessive, even without trying.  I remember when DH and I first started with the "We won't 'try' we'll just stop trying to prevent it'.  That lasted about 2-3 cycles for me. Lol. We haven't started any testing yet, but I have my first appointment with a gyno who specializes in subfertility next Monday. This is a good first step joining the board.  

BTW, I LOVE your gif.  That is one of my Mom's favorite Disney shorts and makes her crack up so hard every time she watches it.

harleyquinn0621

welcome! due to weird AF cycles i always kind of knew when we were ready to be serious about TTC i'd have to see an RE- so luckily when we were ready DH was on board.... i hope your stay here is short ! good luck

MandyBeeSLP

Thanks for the welcome @zigzag8412 and @hoffmanr7 . It's already so nice to have people who understand my frustration. I've been reading a lot of the previous threads and so many of the sentiments are exactly what I've been feeling. Only a couple good friends know we are TTC (and they just had a baby after PCOS diagnosis, so she does get it) and my mom (who does not get it). I dread the "So when are you going to have kids?" or "So, do you guys want kids" question because I don't know how to answer without telling them a long story with TMI. 

MandyBeeSLP

Thanks @harleyquinn0621

ReesaAnne16

Hi @MandyBeeSLP I'm sorry you find yourself here, but you are very welcome. I think we're on cycle 13/14 ish too.
I definitely know how frustrated you feel with the "Don't you want kids?" questions. People are so insensitive!

I hope you can find some camaraderie here  

SoonToBeMommaHowe

Welcome @MandyBeeSLP. My DH and I stopped preventing in October of 2013, had a loss in May '15 and have now been back at it for 11 months. I was freaked out about testing too but it definitely gave me a little peace of mind. For some reason I'm anovulatory but everything else they ran bloodwork, ultrasounds, SA came back normal so it's nice to not be sitting here thinking there might be something majorly wrong or even worse to be thinking I might be KU every cycle when in reality I'm not ovulating.

You could definitely do some preliminary testing (cd3 bloodwork) now so you can naturally try to correct things if anything is wrong while waiting for DH to be ready. Like now I know that diet, exercise and stress play a big role in ovulation so I'm taking the summer to try to correct those on my own before going back to meds in the fall. 

Plainjanie

Welcome @MandyBeeSLP I hope your stay here is short!

I'm with the others, getting basic testing is a good idea. My GP did a lot of basic testing for us prior to referring us to anyone.

MandyBeeSLP

Thanks for the welcome ladies. How did you bring up your fertility concerns to your PCP? I don't have an OBGYN, my PCP is a woman and she has done all my exams. I last talked to her in November after I had an ovarian cyst. She wasn't at all concerned at the time and said my cyst would not effect fertility. That was only 6 months into TTC though. Other than just telling her I've been trying for over a year I don't really know what the next steps are.

@SoonToBeMommaHowe, you mentioned CD3 bloodwork. What does that tell you? 

SoonToBeMommaHowe

@MandyBeeSLP CD3 bloodwork can check for different hormone levels:
LH
AMH
FSH
Estrogen
testosterone
DHEA

Im not exactly sure what else off the top of my head but you can obtain a lot of information and its a test that takes two minutes.

harleyquinn0621

@MandyBeeSLP i would be open and very straight forward with your doctor. Let her know how long you've been ttc- you have concerns that so far its been unsuccessful and you would like to start investigating whats going on. If she continues to not take your concerns seriously perhaps look into making an appointment with an OBGYN or an RE ( if your insurance allows without a referral ) 

good luck!

MandyBeeSLP

Thanks again ladies. I appreciate the advice and information. I think I may make an appointment with my doctor after all. She's always super-packed so it would probably be 2 months before I could get in anyway. 

Ducks&Cats

Hello, you are in good company here! I have been ttc 14 months as well.  I got testing through an obgyn. I never saw an obgyn before having fertility issues. I don't need a referral with my insurance so I just called up a local office and made an appointment. My partner had his SA done right through his pcp.  Good luck with everything and keep us posted on updates!