Infertility Evaluation Advice

mitchsmom · Jun 7, 2005

I don't think there is a "written in stone" time period, although I've mostly heard a year, or sooner if you are older or maybe if you have been tracking ovulation & still no go.

Jenny, you sound fairly savvy if you've been charting, checking LH, etc.... plus you said it has been 14 months... I think sometimes they shorten the time they say to wait for an eval if you've been doing temps and have a good idea of when you are ovulating and it's still not happening - you have probably already eliminated the first step they might tell someone else to do & can probably go on to step 2. I would go ahead and go. Baby vibes to you :)

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 7, 2005

SBE - I normally hate to contradict you, since you usually agree with me.
But the OP said she was 33, didn't she? Does this make a difference to an infertility specialist?
Alison

sorry I did miss that. What made me see "35", I don't know. THANK YOU allison!!!! :)

Anyhow, I think an eval won't hurt.

Stitchie · Jun 7, 2005

Jenny - - I'm sorry for your losses.

I know that it is a painful experience and can be heartwrenching to hear it 'just wasn't right for you'. I have heard that more times than I can count and I can only say that most will say that when they don't know what to say.

Take your DH with you. He needs to be evaluated also. There are male issues that the RE can screen out.

You might simply need to have supplemental progesterone to help you sustain your pregnancy, since you are able to conceive.

If there is a problem then you will have not wasted time, energy and money on treatments -- you'll be able to pinpoint it sooner.

Good luck to you.

ConkyTonker · Jun 8, 2005

First off, thank you so much for your thoughtful posts, prayers, positive vibes, Board congrats, and personal insights. I knew I came to the right place.

To clarify, yes, I am 33 years old. I'm pretty sure the 35 year old thing is a guideline, and it has been 14 months since we started trying. There were two conceptions and two losses during that time, the last of which was 22 1/2 weeks ago. After the second loss, my regular OB told me that we will start looking deeper into the situation should a third miscarriage occur. He chalked up the two losses to "bad luck". I understand that three consecutive SAB's is considered the magic number in order to qualify for the horrid term "habitual aborter" (I loathe that term and "incompetent cervix" too, FrumDoula). The second loss was detected during an u/s in my regular OB's office. I'm not sure if I was in full-blown denial or what, but I got a second opinion from my dear friend's uncle, who is an OB/Infertility/R.E. guy, and the pregnancy was indeed lost. He told me the same thing that my regular OB did regarding further investigation being warranted after a third loss. I think it sucks that I should have to go through another miscarriage in order to have this situation investigated.

So it has been fourteen months trying to achieve a viable pregnancy. I'm just not sure how the two losses figure into the one-year time frame evaluation for women under 35. In other words, are our five cycles' worth of TTC subsequent to 2 SAB's adequate for an R.E. to run tests or make additional recommendations? Even with all the stress attendant with nursing school, graduation, and Boards, we still managed TTC attempts on days suspicious for ovulation based on BBT and LH surge data. My BBT charts are biphasic, and I get LH surges anywhere from Day 15 to 22 (wide range, I know). I have found spinnbarkheit difficult to assess with the presence of semen from the attempts.

I did receive a well woman checkup in January. Normal pap, nothing unusual on internal exam. I take a very good prenatal vitamin, eat a sensible diet, exercise regularly, and make every attempt to get adequate rest.

Alison, I'm ordering the two books you recommended next week (i.e., next paycheck). I'm not Jewish -- I'm a Southern Baptist-turned-Theosophist -- but I am wide open to exploring the spiritual aspects of conception, such as the mikvah. I'm all for creating a positive mind/body connection. Also, I find nothing "weirdo" about any of the advice I have received from any of you. I have found every bit of it helpful, and I am very appreciative of your insights.

As far as my friends/family making insensitive comments goes, I know their intentions are good. Nevertheless, the platitudes sting, but I try not to hold it against them. After all, they have been blessed by The Divine to never have walked a mile in these shoes. I completely understand the urge to try to comfort someone I love by saying something, anything, even when that "something" probably isn't the most therapeutic. A simple, sincere "I'm sorry" and a hug goes a VERY long way.

Live, laugh, love,

Jenny

FrumDoula · Jun 8, 2005

sorry I did miss that. What made me see "35", I don't know. THANK YOU allison!!!! :)
Anyhow, I think an eval won't hurt.

Hope I didn't offend you, SBE. I'm an overly crazy pregnant woman these days. :)

Alison

LnDNurse2Be · Jun 8, 2005

Hi,

Infertility sucks. We tried for 3.5 years before we had our baby.

I second/third TCOYF by toni. there is a website for it too, tcoyf.com you can download software to help track your charting. there is also messageboards where you can ask questions.

I like tcoyf (ovusoft) better then fertility friend, for me it is easier to work the software.

Take Care

Ang

JUSTYSMOM · Jun 8, 2005

Jenny,

I am a former IVF patient. My six year old son is the result of a miraculous IVF cycle. I had blocked tubes (now I have none due to multiple ectopic pregnancys). I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't spend years wasting time & money trying to get pregnant. I immediately went to an RE instead of my OB/gyn. It was quickly determined IVF was the only way for me to ever get pregnant. I was 32 when my son was born.

Now, obviously you have a history of proven fertility. The fact that you have given birth before is considered a positive. It sure sounds like you are now experiencing secondary infertility (which is common unfortunately).

The rule of thumb from an RE's perspective is this. If you 35 and under, one year of unprotected sex (not resulting in a pregnancy) is considered a posible problem. If you are over 35, six months is considered a possible problem.

My sister was in the same boat as you. She was having a very hard time getting pregnant with her second. She also suffered a few miscarriages. She was about 34 at the time. Well, I referred her to my RE. I would say within 1-2 months of seeing him, she was pregnant. She underwent 1-2 iui's (intra uterine inseminations). Her son is now six years old (like mine- actually 10 days apart!)

Now, there are very good OB/gyn's who deal with infertility. In fact, my own doctor was a "specialist" in miscarriages. He has helped thousands of women get pregnant & go on to successful birth.

It's just that I am the type of person who wants to go to a doctor who specializes ONLY in infertilty. That is why I highly recommend going to an RE. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hugs,

Julie

SmilingBluEyes · Jun 8, 2005

Hope I didn't offend you, SBE. I'm an overly crazy pregnant woman these days. :)
Alison

no offense at all taken. Thanks for pointing this out to me. :)

Stitchie · Jun 10, 2005

Jenny -- one other thing. I don't know where you live, but if you look up "Resovle" it is a support group for anyone experiencing difficulties such as yours. They offer everyting from adoption information (domestic, surrogate, international, foster-to-adopt) to basic doctor referrals (RE docs, that is). And on the helpline, just support, an someone who has been there/done that.

If you want to PM me I had been struggling with infertility for five years and we did everything under the sun TTC. I didn't know that babies could be made w/o test-tubes, a team of surgical nurses, nurse anesthetist, an embryologist, an OR, a social worker and days of waiting to see what fertilized and didn't. We even had strangers involved donating, well, various parts necessary to make a baby.

So if you want to hear about our journey in excrutiatingly lurid detail, PM me and you'll get more than you EVER wanted to know.

In the end, my DH and I a lost perfectly healthy twin pregnancy at 11 weeks. Strong, regular heartbeats, supplemental progestorne and estrogen patches, weekly ultrasound and blood work, then nothing. The fetal heart tones starting to drift downward and I ended up having an emergency d&c.

On a happier note, my DH & I adopted twin girls from Poland late last December. And that, my friend, is another long story.

JUSTYSMOM · Jun 11, 2005

Jenny -- one other thing. I don't know where you live, but if you look up "Resovle" it is a support group for anyone experiencing difficulties such as yours. They offer everyting from adoption information (domestic, surrogate, international, foster-to-adopt) to basic doctor referrals (RE docs, that is). And on the helpline, just support, an someone who has been there/done that.
If you want to PM me I had been struggling with infertility for five years and we did everything under the sun TTC. I didn't know that babies could be made w/o test-tubes, a team of surgical nurses, nurse anesthetist, an embryologist, an OR, a social worker and days of waiting to see what fertilized and didn't. We even had strangers involved donating, well, various parts necessary to make a baby.
So if you want to hear about our journey in excrutiatingly lurid detail, PM me and you'll get more than you EVER wanted to know.
In the end, my DH and I a lost perfectly healthy twin pregnancy at 11 weeks. Strong, regular heartbeats, supplemental progestorne and estrogen patches, weekly ultrasound and blood work, then nothing. The fetal heart tones starting to drift downward and I ended up having an emergency d&c.
On a happier note, my DH & I adopted twin girls from Poland late last December. And that, my friend, is another long story.

As a former IVF patient, (and mom to my IVF miracle son & my beautiful adopted miracle baby girl) I wanted to give you a cyber hug ((((((HUGS)))

I can relate... I am so sorry for your losses...

Good luck, god bless & CONGRATULATIONS on your twin girls from Poland!

Julie

Stitchie · Jun 14, 2005

Thanks Julie. How kind of you. Our successful adoption made all of this trouble worthwhile, and we feel complete as a family.

If you are TTC -- the resources are out there, and everyone on this BB is great at helping each other out.

Jenny -- I found that just the stress of TTC had a physiological effect. I really liked the doc, but after my twin SAB post-egg donation, I knew I'd reached my personal limit.

You are really on top of things and honest w/yourself -- you are far ahead of many people. Problems with TTC can strike anyone, and no one thinks that she will have problems. Before I completed nursing school I worked as a clerk in a busy ER, and there were no fewer than 8 RN's having difficulty TTC -- 6 (I'm including myself here) were at the same doc. Most of these women went on to have healthy pregnancies; I know of one other woman who was not successful and has chosen not to pursue adoption.

You have many strengths. Good luck to you, and please keep us posted.