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Question for those with fertility issues
I'm just curious, if you've had/have fertility issues...how long did you TTC before seeking medical help with it?
We didn't go through the TTC process with Grey. I had been diagnosed with PCOS just 2 months before accidentally getting PG. We weren't trying, but I was very very worried that when the time did come for us to try that we would have difficulties.
Now I feel like we're getting closer to trying again (hope hope) and that same worry sets in. I know I normally only get 3 or 4 periods a year (with IUD I get none, but I know I have ovulated a couple times). My ovulation schedule is so wacky that i'm not even sure how i'd chart it. Plus with Ben's touring schedule...I just fear it will take a very long time or not happen at all.
Should I start talking to my OB and my endocrinologist before we start trying? Or should we just try on our own and chart on my own for a few months before looking for help?
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Re: Question for those with fertility issues
I'm the same way as you, only about 3 or 4 periods a year. I was never diagnosed with PCOS but it was always in the back of my head, and when I went to get my yearly "oil check" the last Dr said "yeah, you might have it" but nothing else was ever said or done.
I would talk to your OB now, not only because of the PCOS but also because of Ben's schedule. It won't hurt to talk to them and hopefully it will help set your mind at ease. The whole charting thing is like a different language to me so I don't get it at all, but with wacky periods, it would be even harder.
I hope it all works out for you. I'll cross every finger and toe and anything else I have to cross that your TTC adventure is a short and happy one.
I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 15, so I've always known I needed help with the TTC part.
J and I decided to try for a year before seeking help. Of course, we ended up going to the doctor about 7 months is, but that was because I hadn't had a period for 5 months straight, so I knew I needed to get an artificial period through progesterone because it wasn't healthy for my body to not do that for so long. When my OBGYN looked at my file and what I had told her, then we decided to go into the IF clinic and do the necessary steps to get the treatments going with my OB.
I sought help 3 months after going off the pill since I hadn't gotten my period and I had a history of irregular cycles. She ran some basic bloodwork to confirm I wasn't ovulating and recommended some further tests (HSG for me plus testing for DH) and when those also came back slightly abnormal referred us to an RE. The RE diagnosed me with PCOS. I started infertility treatments 6 mos after we started TTC and am glad I was so agressive as I never ovulated on my own the 13 mos we were TTC and have not yet ovulated since M's birth.
I started charting when we first started TTC, but it was incredibly frustrating since I wasn't ovulating. I think charting is a great tool for those who ovulate, but am not sure it is worth the frustration for those of us who don't regularly ovulate. I plan to wean M at one year. If I haven't had my period 3 mos after weaning, I'll go directly to the RE for help getting PG again. I know we have problems, I know we want to get PG again, and I don't feel like we have a lot of time to waste TTC for something that would not likely happen on its own.
I think my situation was different than your in that you've got the PCOS diagnosis.
In my case, I saw my OB after 12 months ttc. She recommended I see an RE and attend the Kaiser IF seminar. We did. We then dragged our feet before taking the next step because neither of our health insurance policies covered IF treatment- I knew as soon as I got the IF label, all insurance coverage was off. My OB was nice enough to order the first round of blood work for me. We met with the RE once and decided to pursue IF treatments the next month- what would have been June. However, I got my BFP just a few days before our next appointment. When all was said and done, it took us a long 18 months to get that BFP...
I did not have near the issues that some gals on this board had but we TTC for 12 months, I did get a diagnosis of PCOS but that was sort of a fluke as a result of a cyst and subsiquent m/c.
Even with the PCOS my OB wouldn't refer me to the IF tract until we'd been actively ttc for 12 months. in month 12, I researched the schedule for the IF class, I had already done the IF bloodwork (he did give me that after much persistance) and was ready to schedule the classes when I got a BFP. So I didn't have to go though the classes.
We didn't prevent pregnancy for 2 years (otherwise we weren't using birth control but also not aggressively trying either). By year 3 we started to get concerned and talked to my obgyn. Shortly after, I ran into medical problems where my doctor said get pregnant now or don't get pregnant so I stepped it up into aggressively trying mode.
As per your question, yes, start your conversations now. Educate yourself. No need to really chart before. I would just start with a consult based on your medical history and go from there. Although charting doesn't hurt. It would just put your conversation off by a few months. I would have the consult now and then do a follow up with charts in a few months.
I too was finally diagnosed with PCOS a little over a year before we conceived Caroline and had been off BCPs for two full years. I wasn't diagnosed with PCOS until I started having hemmorhagic cysts around was I believed was the time of ovulation and a great doctor finally listened to me and started doing u/s. I was put on Clomid and Metformin for two rounds (which didn't work, and I somehow got pregnant the month after going off them, might've been the Met that did it, though). I also had started charting a few months before my diagnosis, so I had something to show the doctor.
I've been thinking that when it comes time for us to try for another baby, we might start a few months earlier than we would ideally want to, and I would begin charting, so I guess that would be considered trying for a while on our own first. It gave me a much better starting point when I needed to get my doctor involved last time. It seems like there's not much you can tell your OB or endo before having evidence of where your body's at other than giving them a heads up that you're trying, IMO.
I was dx'd with PCOS as a teen, so I figured we would have problems TTC so I went straight to my OB when we decided to start trying. She ordered a panel of bloodwork and found my thyroid was off, which can affect TTC and needed to be fixed before we could start trying. Fast forward a couple of years we were finally ready to go to the RE and start things. There were irregularities in my endometrium because my periods were so infrequent and my hormone levels were so off, so another waiting game to get things regulated there. (more details in bio)
After everything I've gone through and everything I know now, if I were in your situation I would probably pay my OB a visit now to get initial bloodwork done to make sure there aren't any other issues involved and start charting now so that you know if you're Oing or not. Then when you're ready to officially start trying you have a better idea of whether or not you'll need more intervention (and hopefully you won't again).
Even though I'm not insulin resistant RE still put me on metformin and that really helped to regulate things. Just something to think about, but you may check into this and talk to your OB about it to see if that's a possiblity for you.
If you have any questions or want any reading material about PCOS, etc. I'm happy to help. Here's hoping you get to start TTC #2 soon!
You've received tons of great advice. We charted and used OPKs for 12 cycles before getting help. I was ovulating like clockwork and we had lovely charts but weren't getting PG. I was a spotter -- 2-3 days before AF. It made me insane.
We did lots of testing (bloodwork, semen analysis for DH, HSG, sonohsyterogram, hysteroscopy for me) and ended up unexplained. We did 8 rounds of meds, 6 of those with IUIs and had only one barely there pregnancy. By the end of it we were emotionally spent, broke and still had no baby and no idea if we'd ever have one.
We took a break from aggressive TTC and concentrated on getting our health back. I lost weight, took extra b vitamins (per our RE), excercised more, etc and after three years we finally conceived. I miscarried again and then we got pg right away with Charlie.
When we are ready to try again, we will take it slow. I will try what worked last time -- rest, excercise, good diet, b vitamins -- and hope for the best. If it doesn't work by one year, I'm not sure what we'll do as we really hope to avoid treatment again, especially since it did not help us at all the first time.
I think if you are already diagnosed with PCOS, then the 12 months-trying- on-your-own concept just shouldn't apply (imho). Don't let them string you along for months without startign with some basic blood panel work to see if you need Metformin, or thyroid meds as the pp have suggested.?
Good luck to you when the time comes to start TTC #2!
PS. I linked this post in the Still TTC Check-in post over on the other board:
https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=6125315#6125315?
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You've gotten some great stories and advice.
I wouldn't wait to talk to your doc. Do it as soon as you're ready to start trying and spare yourself the possible months of negative pee-sticks and depression.
Good luck
Photo by Zemya Photography
With a diagnosis already, I wouldn't wait, I would talk to your doc as soon as you're ready to try and work out a plan.
I was in a similar situation as I had known ovulatory dysfuntion (not PCOS, although I would go 3-4 months between periods) and I had the diagnosis of endometriosis. My OB asked me to try for 6 months on my own, but that was mainly to see if my body had regulated at all...I was on the pill for 10+ years (non stop, meaning no periods, because of the endo) so we had to be sure I still wasn't ovulating. I wasn't, started testing at 7 months and spent well over a year in different treatments until we did IVF.
I also wouldn't chart if you have PCOS, it's totally not worth it. I did chart a lot because I found it interesting, but it was no help as far as fertility or TTC. With ovulatory dysfuntion, the signs like cervical mucus and such can spring up anywhere in a cycle and doesn't mean you're ovulating...or you're not...so it can just drive you batty. I really feel strongly that if you have a diagnosis and are willing to do treatment, that you shouldn't have to wait.
I think my answers probably won't apply but I'll respond anyway. We tried for Ryan for 18 months. For the first 5-6 months, we just 'played' and hoped that something good would come of it. For the next 2-3 months, I used OPKs. (I couldn't handle the whole temping thing). During this whole time, I was afraid to seek additional help. Afraid of what they'd say...and just not wanting to deal with it. What can I say, I'm a chicken. If I had to do it over again, I'd talk to someone up front (which I did then too) and come up with a more solid plan.
Good luck!