Q for those who had trouble TTC

PolarBerry

First a little background... we have been ttc for a year now.  My gyn knows that I was having trouble a couple months back when I had my yearly exam (i told her i had gone without a period for four months) and she did a blood test for some stuff, but I can't remember what she tested for except I think she was testing something thinking maybe i had pcos.  In any case, she said the tests all came back fine.  so, since then, luckily, I have gotten my period more often, and it seems to have leveled out to me having about a 45 day cycle most times.  Not wonderful, but I take my temps, and I'm pretty sure i'm ovulating from temping, so that is good.  In any case though, I think that I would like to go back to the doc to see if there's anything else I should be doing, or any other tests to run etc since we still are not successful.  Should I go back to my gyn?  Or should I think about looking for an RE now?  Or would the gyn recommend one to me if she thinks i need it?    Also, when did you call up your insurance company to ask what they cover regarding possible fertility tests/treatment?  did you give them your name when doing this?  thanks for any help.

cat81305

I would go to your PCP or GYN and see what they can do.  I found that when I was not taking my temp, is when I got pregnant.  I have been diagnosed with PCOS but not a severe case of it (have had 2 pregnancies now).  I was on Metformin and was taking my BBT every morning for many months and the month I stopped doing my BBT and said I was taking a break, I got pregnant.  Then with this pregnancy, I stopped preventing the end of Dec and got pregnant right away.  Your body could just be stressing over it.  I also had long cycles.  Talk to your docs.  I would not hop to infertility treatments yet.  If you work close with your docs, they will be able to let you know when to go to an infertility specialist.  It could also be something with your DH not you (you never know til everyone gets tests).  Good luck!

rachel06

Per my doctor infertility is not being able to become pregnant after a 1 year of having regular intercourse.  I think it's up to you if you want to see an RE or not. It just depends on how fast you want get pregnant.  It's very promising that you are having regular cycles even if they are long & have that temperature spike. Also it might be worth looking into your husband just so you know for sure that he is good to go.  We have been TTC for awhile now & I have yet to have a period on my own without taking provera.  I would definitely talk to your GYN about the problems you are having & they will be able to guide you in the right direction.  For me I am not having AF on my own & I am not ovulating at all. I have been charting my temps since last fall & have yet to see a spike besides the time I had the flu.   I was put on clomid & I have taken 2 different doses. Neither worked. As far as insurance goes, unfortunately hardly any insurance companies cover much of anything. Mine covers oral medications & injectibles only. But I have been told  bye some people who have gone through this it's all in the way your doctor codes things.  So depending on how their office is will depend on if more is covered. If that makes sense. It's not to say that some doctors are shady or anything like that but they just code things differently. I don't know if that's true or not because I myself have not gone through this step yet.   If you did go to the doctor they will likely be able to tell you what is covered. In fact when I called my insurance company the lady was not able to give me a definite answer & suggested I speak with the billing department at my doctors office. Sorry this is so long. I hope this helps. Good luck!!

hannah&ben

The general rule of thumb is to seek the help of an RE after 1 year of trying to conceive on your own (if you have no known fertility issues).

OR

Find an RE after 6 months of trying to conceive if you are advanced maternal age (35+) or if you have a fertility issue.

It's not always the woman who is having the issue that's causing it to not work out... an RE can do some testing for your DH too (like a semen analysis to see if he has sperm issues).

hannah&ben

cat81305:

I would go to your PCP or GYN and see what they can do.  I found that when I was not taking my temp, is when I got pregnant.  I have been diagnosed with PCOS but not a severe case of it (have had 2 pregnancies now).  I was on Metformin and was taking my BBT every morning for many months and the month I stopped doing my BBT and said I was taking a break, I got pregnant.  Then with this pregnancy, I stopped preventing the end of Dec and got pregnant right away.  Your body could just be stressing over it.  I also had long cycles.  Talk to your docs.  I would not hop to infertility treatments yet.  If you work close with your docs, they will be able to let you know when to go to an infertility specialist.  It could also be something with your DH not you (you never know til everyone gets tests).  Good luck!

I know you meant absolutely no harm by this post and are only trying to help but unfortunately your situation is not the norm.... taking a break or relaxing or whatever will not help most women with trouble TTC get pregnant... Working with a doctor, finding out an accurate diagnosis, and moving on from there is what is most likely to help... relaxing can't make your husband have more sperm if his count is super low... not taking your temp won't make you ovulate if you do not ovulate on your own or lengthen your luteal phase if you have LPD.... kwim?  While it's great you've gotten pregnant twice by "taking a break" and not temping it's not likely that the reason she's not getting pregnant is because her "body is stressing over it".

And not all OB's will send someone to an RE even when they should... most women need to be proactive in making that decision to move on themselves... all to often OB's think they can handle it themselves or don't understand what the real problem is... but it's not really their job to - OB's take care of pregnant women - RE's job is to get women pregnant

 

cat81305

hannah&ben:

I know you meant absolutely no harm by this post and are only trying to help but unfortunately your situation is not the norm.... taking a break or relaxing or whatever will not help most women with trouble TTC get pregnant... Working with a doctor, finding out an accurate diagnosis, and moving on from there is what is most likely to help... relaxing can't make your husband have more sperm if his count is super low... not taking your temp won't make you ovulate if you do not ovulate on your own or lengthen your luteal phase if you have LPD.... kwim?  While it's great you've gotten pregnant twice by "taking a break" and not temping it's not likely that the reason she's not getting pregnant is because her "body is stressing over it".

And not all OB's will send someone to an RE even when they should... most women need to be proactive in making that decision to move on themselves... all to often OB's think they can handle it themselves or don't understand what the real problem is... but it's not really their job to - OB's take care of pregnant women - RE's job is to get women pregnant

I know my case is not the norm (have many friends who are having a lot of difficulties with infertility and PCOS).  I guess I just got lucky and have a PCP and OB who deal with this on a frequent basis.  I know that it is not always the norm but you hear about stories all the time of people who have had troubles and then adopt and get pregnant and they say it is because you are relaxed.  She is having her periods on a regular (45 days) basis so that is why I mentioned that.  I know there are many out there that don't have that even.  Thanks for catching this and making me more aware, I was just going off the info she gave us.

PolarBerry

Thanks for all the opinions/advice.  I appreciate the info/experiences. 

Rose.9.6.03

Personally, I'd go to the RE now.  I've seen too many women waste too much time with an OB who doesn't know what he's doing.  I would particularly encourage you to go to an RE if you want treatment - I've heard many a horror story about OBs who prescribe Clomid like candy as a "cure-all" for IF and provide no monitoring.   Also, it's really important that your DH get tested b/c half of the time IF issues are male.

If you aren't ready to move ahead with further testing and treatment, then it's fine to stay with your OB.  But when you do decide to move ahead with that sort of stuff, I'd go to an RE.

 Best of luck in whatever you choose.