Trouble TTC?

Bkess14 · April 2016

So I see a few posts about b/c but I thought I would see if anyone is in the same boat as me? 20 months so far and NADA!

holyguacamole79 · April 2016

We've been kind of TTC for around the same time. However, I've had fertility issues for a while, so I'm not terribly surprised.

Have you spoken to your ob-gyn? Are you charting?

kvruns · April 2016

hugs for you. What have you been doing (temping, charting, met with Dr, etc)?

banana468 · April 2016

It took DH and me longer to conceive DS than DD. I had an HSG and conceived DD that cycle. It took about 8 mo for DS to be made.

That said,
-Are you charting? Temping? Observing fertility signs?
-Have you seen an OBGYN? Had bloodwork done?

Are you observing fertility signs and reading up on the optimal time to DTD?

At the 20 mo mark, most OBGYNs start to do follow up testing. Have you looked into that?

jenna8984 · April 2016

Agreed with others, have you been charting, have you started tests with your doctor, etc?

Have you been on other websites with community of women in the same boat? There are several good ones where you can ask questions, and talk to other people going through the same thing. I really like the one I'm a part of and learned so much from them. Don't know if I'm allowed to say the website here but I can private message you if interested.

OliveOilsMom · April 2016

We are closing in on 2 years. I was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrome) 6 years ago or so. Since October we have been seeing a fertility doctor. After running a bunch of tests, my main problem associated with PCOS is insulin resistance.

So I've been seeing the nutritionist at the practice, working on a new way to eat (6 meals a day instead of 3), eating more of certain foods, etc. So far that alone has allowed me to lose 14 pounds ( I go back today to see how much more I've lost!) and it has also allowed me to have my first non-medically induced period in years. On my second ovulation since starting my diet, I did become pregnant. I lost the baby a few weeks later though, but the doctor said the fact I was pregnant is a positive sign that everything is working.

Are you seeing a doctor? I have been charting my temps and for a while was using a fertility monitor. I keep all my info in Fertility Friend app, yes - they have an app for that. I have long cycles, so that helps me to keep track of everything and allows me to answer the doctor's questions.

madamerwin · April 2016

Yes, I have had quite a bit of trouble TTC.

When I was 20, I was told my fallopian tubes were fucked and that if I wanted kids, I would have to resort to IVF. It was not an "if", but a "when." Fast forward to last year, H (then-FI) and I began working with a fertility clinic. I got all the blood work done (all normal), and then eventually had an HSG to look at everything. The doctor recommended surgery to remove my left tube, which was full of fluid, and possibly my right tube, depending on how things looked when she was in there. This would increase the chance of success with IVF.

Surgery was in October, and she ended up removing the left tube, but the right tube was too close to my ovary to remove without causing damage. That is the ONLY reason she left it. She did not think it was functional. We planned to start IVF in February.

February came, but my period didn't. Lo and behold, I was pregnant, without intervention. Not only that, but the egg came from the side without a tube, which I really didn't think could happen. It turns out that there had been fluid in my left tube, which was interfering with us getting pregnant, but that my right tube apparently works well enough, for now.

I ended up miscarrying a few weeks later because of a genetic abnormality, which is a random occurrence and not likely to repeat itself. The doctor told us that we should try to conceive naturally for at least six more months, and if we cannot, we will go back to IVF. So far, no luck, but this was our first month trying. Holding out hope that we can do this naturally!

I agree with PPs about temping, charting, etc., and also seeing a doctor about it. Fertility specialists start with non-invasive testing to see if they can pinpoint any issues - usually they start with blood work, which checks hormone levels, thyroid function, blood counts, etc. There could be some very simple reason you're having trouble, or it could give you insight into what else you may need to do. Good luck, and remember - a lot more people go through fertility problems than you know... Unfortunately it's a very taboo subject, but you're not alone.

Bkess14 · April 2016

Yes I have been charting for some time. Hasn't really told me much until the last few months. My cycles are about 42 days currently but have been as long as 127 days. My dr put me on progesterone for a few months to try and "kick start" my cycles. She said if I wasn't pregnant in 3 months time then I should go on clomid. I'm generally against all drugs unless medically necessary. I hated the way the progesterone made me feel. Told her I wanted to see how I did for a few months on my own. Cycles are much shorter than they were and things seem to be in working order. All my tests and my husbands tests came back normal.

ive posted on other fertility forums but never get any replies, lol

charlottesmom0626 · April 2016

@Bkess14 I just was told the exact same thing- just finished the first cycle with progesterone.

Question for people temping, because I'm super confused about this... do you set an alarm to wake you in the morning, or do you just wait until you naturally wake up? and if you wake up to pee or something, do you take your temp then too?

I'd say between having to pee, get a drink, let the dog out...I get up anywhere from 2-5 times in the night, so I have no idea how or when I should take my temperature.

kvruns · April 2016

charlottesmom0626 said:

@Bkess14 I just was told the exact same thing- just finished the first cycle with progesterone.

Question for people temping, because I'm super confused about this... do you set an alarm to wake you in the morning, or do you just wait until you naturally wake up? and if you wake up to pee or something, do you take your temp then too?

I'd say between having to pee, get a drink, let the dog out...I get up anywhere from 2-5 times in the night, so I have no idea how or when I should take my temperature.

I've read some people set an alarm at like 3am and temp every night. No effing way!!!! I would never get back to sleep. I opted to just do it when I got up for the day. H's alarm goes off an hour before mine, sometimes I can get back to sleep and sometimes I can't. I originally thought I'd just do it when his alarm went off but I found if I did the temping I'd not be able to fall back asleep at all. Plus on the weekends I (hopefully) wake up an hour or two later than weekdays and I didn't want to lose out on that potential sleep.

I'm sure my results were not perfect but I still was able to see the shift enough (I usually just mentally ignored the days that were way early or way late wake up) to tell that I O'd a few days later than the app would suggest and we adjusted accordingly. I know if I hadn't temped I probably wouldn't have figured out the right time since it was later (day 17) and we weren't the type to do it every day.

cgss11 · April 2016

When I tempted I did it when my alarm went off in the morning. My husband also gets up an hour earlier, and sometimes I stayed asleep and sometimes not, but I just still temped when my alarm went off. Weekends I would typically sleep about an hour later, but just temped when I woke up. I didn't want to be crazy with it.

I used the app Kindara, it was very helpful. You could mark temps as questionable, so if one was really off since I woke earlier or whatever, I just marked it as such.

laurad75 · April 2016

charlottesmom0626 said:

@Bkess14 I just was told the exact same thing- just finished the first cycle with progesterone.

Question for people temping, because I'm super confused about this... do you set an alarm to wake you in the morning, or do you just wait until you naturally wake up? and if you wake up to pee or something, do you take your temp then too?

I'd say between having to pee, get a drink, let the dog out...I get up anywhere from 2-5 times in the night, so I have no idea how or when I should take my temperature.

I take my temp first thing when my alarm goes off. If I wake up to pee and its after 3am I will do it then. I'm not sure how that effects the accuracy.

banana468 · April 2016

I don't do temping as part of my NFP but I think you're supposed to be down and asleep for a few hours for consistency.

It's supposed to be within the same hour every day.

Others observe CM and CP for ovulation signs.

Bkess14 · April 2016

charlottesmom0626 said:

@Bkess14 I just was told the exact same thing- just finished the first cycle with progesterone.

Question for people temping, because I'm super confused about this... do you set an alarm to wake you in the morning, or do you just wait until you naturally wake up? and if you wake up to pee or something, do you take your temp then too?

I'd say between having to pee, get a drink, let the dog out...I get up anywhere from 2-5 times in the night, so I have no idea how or when I should take my temperature.

It should be within an hour everyday. Having at least 3 hours of rest before the temping. I took this month off because I just was getting too wrapped up in it but I usually set an alarm.

occasionally if my husband gets up before me (usually about an hour) he will put the thermometer in my mouth for me, lol. What a dear he is

OliveOilsMom · April 2016

I just temp when I wake up. So during the week its at the same time and I do it whenever I wake up on the weekends. To make sure your temps are most accurate, you are supposed to do it at the same time everyday. But you also need to get at least 3 hours of sleep prior to temping. So if you have a night of tossing and turning, your temp will be off. Or if you are sick, your temps will be off as well. So in the app I use, there are these options to check off, so that the app can accept or reject a temp in determining ovulation. Also, make sure that you have a basal thermometer. If I need to get up in the morning before my alarm to pee, I will try to temp then.

As for the clomid, I would really recommend taking that with someone who will monitor you throughout your cycle. You only have so many doses of clomid you can take in your lifetime. I took clomid with my gyn and she did not monitor me. I really regret it for many reasons.

Also, you may be taking progesterone, but are you actually ovulating or are you just having withdraw bleeding from stopping the progesterone? I was taking progesterone to "jump start" my cycle too and it never jump started (because I had other issues), but I always had a period from it that seemed normal. It's just that there was no ovulation, the progesterone would build up my uterine lining and when I would stop it as directed, the lining would be shed but there was never any egg produced. I didn't really learn all of this, until I started seeing the fertility doctor.

If you have been trying for almost two years, I'd be inclined to take the next step to a fertility doctor, if you can afford it. I am lucky and have very good insurance, so my cost is minimal for my fertility doctor. But a gyn isn't as equipped to getting you pregnant as a fertility doctor is. They typically will not take all the necessary steps, for example monitoring you during clomid use. This is not to say that all won't, but its questions that should be asked of your gyn before taking any medication.

holyguacamole79 · April 2016

OP, do you have PCOS?

Bkess14 · April 2016

Nope, no PCOS according to the dr. She said everything is working fine. I've had positive OPK's more recently but in the past I would literally test everyday because I had no clue what/how long my cycle would be. I was on b/c for a VERY long time. I know they say it isn't supposed to affect your ability to get preggo but I honestly believe that my body never really figured out how to make hormones on its own. Things seem to be balancing out more recently so we are hopeful! I honestly think that since going vegan things have just been a lot better.

themosthappy91 · April 2016

@Bkess14 it's not clear from your posts (or I missed it, lol) if the doctor you're currently seeing is an OB or an RE, but if it's the former please do not take clomid from them! OBs have a reputation for prescribing it like candy and not monitoring it correctly- it's a really serious and potentially dangerous drug (if used incorrectly) and you definitely need to be monitored closely on it (if for no other reason than I believe you can only do six courses of it in your lifetime, so why waste one not doing it correctly).

So anyway, if you go on clomid make sure you get it through an RE (and honestly if you aren't seeing an RE yet you probably should be at this point anyway).

This may be a dumb question but has your H (FI? BF?) had his stuff checked out? I would definitely insist on that before considering any other medical interventions.

Also FYI- not that we aren't happy to discuss this stuff here- but I really like the Bump's TTC forum (they also have a specific Trouble TTC forum but I don't know the culture of that particular board/how active it is). It's a very similar vibe to this board (supportive but snarky when called for, very science-oriented) and they have a LOT of information on these topics.

OliveOilsMom · April 2016

Bkess14 said:

Nope, no PCOS according to the dr. She said everything is working fine. I've had positive OPK's more recently but in the past I would literally test everyday because I had no clue what/how long my cycle would be. I was on b/c for a VERY long time. I know they say it isn't supposed to affect your ability to get preggo but I honestly believe that my body never really figured out how to make hormones on its own. Things seem to be balancing out more recently so we are hopeful! I honestly think that since going vegan things have just been a lot better.

Have you had an internal ultrasound? There are so many symptoms and side effects of PCOS. It's almost a catch-all type of disease. Things that effect me because of my PCOS may not be an issue in other women with PCOS.

If you feel your body never learned to make hormones on your own, there could be an underlying issue that is causing your hormones to not regulate. You said you had testing done. Did you have to get tested on certain days of your cycle? My initial bloodwork when my gyn first started investigating why I was not ovulating was allowed to be done on any day. When I needed bloodwork from my gyn to figure out my hormone output when TTC, I had to give bloodwork on the 22nd and 4th day (I think it was those days) of my cycle.

laurad75 · April 2016

@OliveOilsMom Which app do you use?

OliveOilsMom · April 2016

@laurad75 I use Fertility Friend. You have the option to pay for "Pro" features, but I use the free version of the app.

laurad75 · April 2016

OliveOilsMom said:

@laurad75 I use Fertility Friend. You have the option to pay for "Pro" features, but I use the free version of the app.

That's what I'm using too. Last month I had a weird fever for a few days so my temps were all over the place. I just started charting a few months ago so I'm still getting the hang of it.

OliveOilsMom · April 2016

laurad75 said:

OliveOilsMom said:

@laurad75 I use Fertility Friend. You have the option to pay for "Pro" features, but I use the free version of the app.

That's what I'm using too. Last month I had a weird fever for a few days so my temps were all over the place. I just started charting a few months ago so I'm still getting the hang of it.

I just looked it up and the sleep deprived, illness, and fever are all listed under Specifics. I don't really use that part of data unless I am sick or slept poorly.

madamerwin · April 2016

OliveOilsMom said:

Bkess14 said:

Nope, no PCOS according to the dr. She said everything is working fine. I've had positive OPK's more recently but in the past I would literally test everyday because I had no clue what/how long my cycle would be. I was on b/c for a VERY long time. I know they say it isn't supposed to affect your ability to get preggo but I honestly believe that my body never really figured out how to make hormones on its own. Things seem to be balancing out more recently so we are hopeful! I honestly think that since going vegan things have just been a lot better.

Have you had an internal ultrasound? There are so many symptoms and side effects of PCOS. It's almost a catch-all type of disease. Things that effect me because of my PCOS may not be an issue in other women with PCOS.
If you feel your body never learned to make hormones on your own, there could be an underlying issue that is causing your hormones to not regulate. You said you had testing done. Did you have to get tested on certain days of your cycle? My initial bloodwork when my gyn first started investigating why I was not ovulating was allowed to be done on any day. When I needed bloodwork from my gyn to figure out my hormone output when TTC, I had to give bloodwork on the 22nd and 4th day (I think it was those days) of my cycle.

All of this. When I had all my blood work done (which, by the way, had to be done on certain days of my cycle for accuracy), my AMH level was high - not alarmingly so, but high enough to suggest I may have PCOS. The doctor told me they would not know for sure until they did the HSG (internal ultrasound) to see if I had cysts on my ovaries. It turns out I didn't, and I don't have PCOS, but they can't tell from outward symptoms alone. In the end, my AMH levels just point to me having a very healthy egg reserve, but it was good to rule out PCOS.

Knottie1459984638 · April 2016

I've been actively trying for 6 months now. I'm like you, don't want any medical intervention. If we can't do it on our own, it wasn't meant to be. I had a miscarriage over the summer, so I know I can get pregnant. That was my only pregnancy (as far as I know) and it was unintentional, not that we were being super careful. It was 10 years of not using contraception before we had an oops. Not sure how long it's going to take this time even though we're really not being careful. i think in a couple more months I will go to the doctor and let them know I have concerns. If it's a simple enough solution, I'm open to it, but I'm certainly not wanting to take clomid or anything. After you got your test results back, did you dr. Give you any next steps?

themosthappy91 · April 2016

@Knottie1459984638 are you temping to confirm you are ovulating when you think you are? It can take a healthy couple an average of one year of well-timed intercourse to get pregnant so I wouldn't worry about seeing a doctor until you've passed that milestone. If you are over 35 maybe go sooner rather than later but six months is nothing to worry about

.

Knottie1459984638 · April 2016

No, not temping. I wake up at least 5x's a night and doubt I will get an accurate readings. I have however had blood work and ultrasounds that confirmed ovulation. I know six months isn't that long, which I why I'm waiting to say anything to my doctor, but even she thinks it's odd that it took 10 years before he accidentally knocked me up.

madamerwin · April 2016

Knottie1459984638 said:

No, not temping. I wake up at least 5x's a night and doubt I will get an accurate readings. I have however had blood work and ultrasounds that confirmed ovulation. I know six months isn't that long, which I why I'm waiting to say anything to my doctor, but even she thinks it's odd that it took 10 years before he accidentally knocked me up.

I have to agree that if you are not using ANY birth control, and are not temping to avoid sex during fertile times, that it is a little odd that it took ten years to get pregnant. But if you're not pregnant in another six months, I would definitely talk to your doctor. Have you tried at-home ovulation kits?

Knottie1459984638 · April 2016

I do use ovulation kits and it appears as though I ovulate regularly. I get positives around cd18 and 15 days later like clockwork, af arrives. I have to say, I find the whole process interesting. I never tracked my cycles before the miscarriage and now that I am it's fun to see how predictable my cycles can be. Annoying to keep getting bfn's, but interesting none the less.

scrunchythief · April 2016

Knottie1459984638 said:

No, not temping. I wake up at least 5x's a night and doubt I will get an accurate readings. I have however had blood work and ultrasounds that confirmed ovulation. I know six months isn't that long, which I why I'm waiting to say anything to my doctor, but even she thinks it's odd that it took 10 years before he accidentally knocked me up.

Knottie1459984638 said:

I do use ovulation kits and it appears as though I ovulate regularly. I get positives around cd18 and 15 days later like clockwork, af arrives. I have to say, I find the whole process interesting. I never tracked my cycles before the miscarriage and now that I am it's fun to see how predictable my cycles can be. Annoying to keep getting bfn's, but interesting none the less.

There are methods to chart that don't rely on temps. Off the top of my head, Billings, Creighton and Marquette. It might be helpful to have an idea of when ovulation is approaching, rather than confirming after the fact.

Has your H had analysis of his fertility?

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