Intro

Kaylala27 · December 2014

I have been hesitant to post on here, but I am really starting to need a place with people who know and can truly understand what this process is like. So here goes nothing!

I am 27 as is DH. We have been TTC since February 2012. We did the whole try naturally thing and then finally last year, I decided it was time to do something about this. Since going off of BC, I never got regular cycles, so it was hard to really know if our timing was right. I did not bother using OPK's or checking BBT because I figured it would just add to the stress of getting pregnant. Last year, I began charting BBT, which helped, but no success. When we finally went to see our RE last year, we went through all of the tests. DH has no issues. I was put on Synthroid because my thyroid levels were higher than they would like. I also found out that my AMH is low (0.35) and FSH is at 7.5. (Definitely scary news for me. I had always been scared to wait too long to have kids because my mom hit menopause when she was in her early 30's.) So, right away I started taking Clomid. Clomid was great for regulating my cycles and making me ovulate, but no luck after 5 cycles, so we tried femara. No luck there at all! No ovulation, nothing! We had to take a cycle off (this past Nov.) because of a cyst. I was supposed to go in at the end of that cycle to get set up with injectables and get ready for IUI, but my cycle of course did not work as planned. It started a week before expected and I am certain that I did not ovulate. This leads me to where I am today.

I called the RE today to schedule my next appointment only to be told that I have to make my appointment on CD1. This had never been told to me before, but I am sure that this is because the meds I was taking made me regular. The problem is, my cycles are so irregular, ranging from 16 days to 54 days within the past 3 years. Now, I am a teacher. It is already difficult for me to take off time to go to any kind of appointment that I know about ahead of time. How the heck am I supposed to call out the instant I find out my cycle has started or even the two days after that!? I am so frustrated right now! I rarely call in sick because it's usually easier to go to work feeling awful than to make sub plans, so the thought of taking off for my baseline check with no notice kind of makes me feel guilty. I know that my personal dreams like this should come first, but it is a stressful thought taking time off as a teacher.

My question is, how do you all do it while trying to work? Are there any other teachers with experience with irregular cycles and trying to get through this?

Thanks for dealing with my rambling! I am looking forward to having a support system here!

Kaylala27 · December 2014

The office is an hour and a half from my school. I either have to take a full day or a half day. Appointments don't start at my RE until 8:00 and they close at 5:00. Unfortunately, even if the office was closer, I teach all blocks with no planning period. (Crazy decision, but it's only one year.) I wish there were a closer office, but I live and work in the middle of nowhere.

juneroses · December 2014

No advice, but welcome & good luck!

SND1231 · December 2014

Sorry for you dilemma. I agree my RE starts monitoring appts very early at 6:30 or 7 depending on the day. I only drive about 30 minutes to my RE so I usually am just a few minutes late and my work is amazing and flexible with my schedule. I would try to talk to whoever your supervisor is and let them know what is going on so that maybe y'all can work something out. Good luck!!

BunnyBerry · December 2014

Welcome! Though I am sorry you find yourself here.

I am also a teacher, but the schedule is a bit more flexible - I can often get to monitoring before work, and I can take less than half a day. It sounds like your schedule is really tough. Saying a little prayer for you to get through all that work!

I put this testing/treatment off for years, and a big part of that decision was feeling guilty about taking time off work. Like you, I rarely take off time, and every time I have to it makes me feel really guilty.

But finally it got the the point where I was like, screw it, I will never regret taking time off work once we have a child, but I already regret not starting earlier. And when I spoke to my supervisor (after I had been having a ton of appointments that she was asking about, and felt it was more professional to just give a reason), she made a big deal about reminding me that my family and having a child absolutely comes first in life. And it's the truth (as least for me!). So now I just hate the stress associated with missing work, but I feel like it's owed to me by the universe because I have a medical condition that needs treatment. No one would fault me for taking off to get cancer treatments, or even get a cavity filled.

It's not just the CD3 appointments that are difficult, though, I'll be honest. For monitoring, you typically find out on CD3 when they want you to come in for mid-cycle, but after that there could be 1, 2, or more additional appointments needed before ovulation without much warning at all. So maybe going into it just knowing that you'll have these unforeseen times?

Something that worked for me is planning each unit/course with a bunch of learning activities that reach goals that aren't necessarily part of a sequence, but separate skills or enriching content that are important to the standards. They can be pulled out to be used on any day of the semester that I can't be there, and they are still important for the students. That just pushes our regular work back a day, but I save a few days at the end of the unit/course for that (if we don't get to the activities earlier, then we do them at the end).

Good luck, it cannot be easy!!!

dancerspose · December 2014

I'm very sorry you find youself here, but welcome and good luck! As many others have said, my REs office does offer monitoring appointments starting at 7am even though the practice doesn't really open until 8. I think they know that this is all difficult enough without having to add in the work issues. But I'm sorry your office it so far away. Is there an OB that the practice may partner with nearby that you could maybe work out doing some of the basic monitoring and bloodwork?

Kaylala27 · December 2014

Thank you, ladies, for all of your advice! I will be calling my RE tomorrow to get some more information about how many appointments I will have to deal with and whether they have earlier monitoring appointments. I have been hesitant to mention any of this to my supervisor because we have new administration this year and I am not sure how they will react to taking time off for this, but I will try to figure out how to discuss it with them. Thanks again!

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