Fertility

I know how you feel. I am having problems too. My son will be 5 this year, and I cannot seem to get pregnant again. We have only been seriously trying (counting the days in the cycle, etc.) since January 2007, and still nothing. I will be 32 this year, and I am getting frustrated. I just bought an ovulation kit to see if that helps. I think I might move to California though and start drinking their water since everyone in Hollywood seems to be getting pregnant. It gets depressing everytime I open my people magazine and see someone else's pregnant belly on all of the pages. Hopefully this will be the month it happens for me.

Hi S.,
Your story sounds very simular to mine, execpt I had a really hard time getting pregnant with my first. My cycles were all messed up and came to the conclusion that I wasn't ovulating each month. My doctor had me take Clomid, which is a fertility drug and to use a ovulation kit. It only took two months and I was pregnant.
I highly suggest trying an ovulation kit. They're very easy to use and tell you the exact day you're ovulating. I'm pretty sure Clearblue makes an ovulation kit. I've used a non-name brand before and it worked too.
Hope it works and hope you're preggo soon!

I am with you. I have an almost 2 1/2 year old and have been trying since he was six months old. I had a miscarriage before him and had no problems getting pregnant both times. Now I am still hesitant to try all of the over the counter fertility methods; it seems unnatural. My doctor called it secondary infertility--it sounds so bad. She also stated that we should try going to the ob/gyn and start the fertility process. It is so hard (and devastating every month) when you love motherhood and want a house full of children. I obviously don't have any advice, but my thoughts and prayers will be with you because I know how it feels.
K.

S.,

I say why not try the fertility doc? It cannot hurt, and you can still keep trying and figuring it out on your own still. Maybe do both, you don't want to waste too much time, and when you try and try unsuccessfully, I think it builds stress and that never helps fertility. I just wish you the best! It is a hard situation to be in, baby dust to you! Also, maybe try having sex everyday the whole week you may ovulate, it's possible that your cycle is different now, plus women's bodies are always changing. I also tracked my cervical fluid, when it was clear and egg whitish, I was ovulating.

I agree that you should try the ovulation kit first. Give yourself a couple months to really figure out your cycle.
So much cheaper then seeing a specialist. If the kit does not help your OB can give you meds to MAKE you ovulate and other pills to help with egg production (clomid)
I don't see the need to invest in a specialist till all these are tried first.
Good luck trying...I know how frustrating it can be:(

Hello S.,
I was excactly in the same place as you are now...except I was a few years older. I had my first child when I was 36 and never went back on BC..knowing we wanted a 2nd...so after 1 1/2 years and losing about 5 pregnancies (I never made it to the 5 week mark) I was not very hopeful. My periods were regular, but my ovulation monitor never really could give me a definate day of ovulation. I just went to my OBGYN and told him my story. I asked for and he gave me the prescription for clomid (3 months at the lowest dosage with the promise of a higher dosage and 3 more months if needed). This drug can cause mult. pregnancies..but it also indicates that if it hasn't worked by month 4...the chances of it working are greatly diminished-so you need to weigh that info when you request your dosage. It worked for me on month 3...but I didn't get too excited until after the 3rd month. I have a beautiful baby boy who is now 18 months old. I really think that my problem was I wan't ovulating regularly (that is what clomid does..it makes you ovulate at a specified time)and when I did ovulate....it was a "bad" egg that didn't make it very long. I really think the clomid somehow helped flush out a "good" egg that ultimately resulted in my 2nd son....of course the latter part of my email is mommy thinking and not supported by any medical findings...but sometimes I think it is more accurate... I hope clomid will work if you decide to try it...like you...I didn't want to go to a fertility doctor, but this seemed like a happy medium. Good Luck.

Hi S.,
It's nice to see you have received advice that supports natural methods for fertility. It sounds like you want to try going the least invasive route. One question to ask yourself is, "If I was pregnant what would I eat/expose myself to that is different than now?" Would you consider eating whole/organic foods? Would you consider reducing or eliminating the environmental toxins that could be part of daily life? I mean like commercial cleaners, detergents, glade anything, etc.? Those things can impact fertility dramatically. In other words, treat your pre-pregnant body the way your would if you were already pregnant.
You also received advice about acupuncture. Do you know there is a form of acupuncture available that doesn't use needles? It is called EFT-Emotional Freedom Technique. It's really amazing and works for so many things, including pregnancy etc. The website is www.emofree.com and there are success stories on their search engine for using it for infertility. Feel free to contact me if you want more info. on EFT. I use it every day and my list of miracles keeps growing.
I also know sometimes it is very powerful to imagine the child you want is already here. You can use the power of visualization to see and feel that baby as if he/she already exists. What is the sex of your baby? What color are it's eyes? How does that yummy baby smell? What would you say to your baby? You get the idea.
Your body knows what to do here, it just needs a little TLC.
I hope this has been helpful.
Warmly,
C.

If you can't temp, I would definetely try OPKs. We've been trying since last April. I have PCOS and in May my OB gave me Clomid. I started at 25mg, then 50mg, then 75mg, and finally 100mg. The 100mg cycle worked and we got pregnant w/ triplets. We lost them at 9 weeks in October. In December we went back to 100mg of Clomid. Last cycle we had some huge follicles, but no luck. This month my body has stopped responding to clomid (none of my follicles were near the size needed for ovulation). So we're onto trying a different drug next cycle.

With DD we were darn right lucky as we were getting ready to start treatments, but I ended up PG.

If you have no KNOWN infertility issues (like PCOS or MFI) then I would try OPKs to pinpoint ovulation. Since I'm on Clomid I actually get a CD 12 ultrasound and my OB can pinpoint the day I will ovulate (and he's been dead on each cycle).

Clomid is NOT a fun drug to be on...it's nicknamed CloMOOD! SO if you really don't need to be on it...I'd avoid it.

Hi S.!! Before we got pregnant the second time, I thought we were having problems too. I went to my OB/GYN and she did a blood test to test my thyroid levels, as well as my cholesterol level. She also said to have sex between the 15th - 18th day of your cycle. My blood work was normal and we tried it on the 18th day and it worked. I hope this help you. L. R

After 6 months of trying my doctor recommended the book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH. It is a great book and gives lots of information, pictures, and examples of ways to track when you are fertile. I got pregnant 2 months after I got the book and I am never regular. Good luck. I hope this book can help you.

The creighton model of natural family planning monitors your mucus production. You check everytime before and after you go to the bathroom. Your body creates more mucus when you're ovulating. Also, I would try taking vitamin B6...I had a hard time with both pregnancies and as soon as I took the vitamin B6 I was pregnant. Good Luck!!

You do have a short cycle, I have the same thing. When I got preggo the dr. had given me a slip to have my progesterone checked on day 20 of my cycle, thinking I may have low levels. If you have low levels it is more difficult to sustain a pregnency. Also short cycles are a sign of low progesterone. I would ask to have my levels checked and also go see the fertility specialist now.

I was 35 and having difficulty getting pregnant again also. I went to the Dr. and we tracked me temp, and figured out I wasn't ovulating either. I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and went on metformin, and also tried acupuncture. I truly believe the acupuncture is what did it. I had some very cool experiences during the treatment. Might consider this option before taking all those drugs and going through all the fertility stuff. I started to ovulate again within 2 months and was pregnant the next month. I am now 6 1/2 months along waiting for my little girl to be born. Best of luck, I know how you feel.

I think you're being too hard on yourself, sweetie. You're doing everything right! The only suggestion I would have for you is to relax, and maybe try Clomid, if it doesn't happen for you in the next few months? A glass or wine (or two) seems to work for me, in terms of relaxing! Good luck to you!

I tried for almost 2 years to get pregnant with my second child. It was weird for me too because my first child was a complete surprise(I was only off the pill for less than a month). We tried for a while then I did then temp thing. Finally after a year and 8 months my doctor referred me to a fertility specialist. I went for the consultation and in talking to the doctor I told him I was late but that my cycle was not regular and I was often late (which really messes with your head). Well, come to find out I was pregnant. So I don't know if it was just the release of the pressure to do it on our own that made us finally get pregnant or what but I said "Dang, your good" :) So I would say don't put off going to a specialist. Maybe it is something simple that is a quick fix and you are putting yourself through things that you dont need to. They may suggest the ovulation kit or maybe just do some tests to make sure all is good. Anyway you don't have anything to lose. And just as an aside, it doesn't mean you will have trouble again if you want a third child. We were surprised by baby #3 while using condoms. Sometimes God's timeline is just not the same as ours. Good luck and let me know how things go. K.

I had the same problem 3rd time around and lost 2 pregnancies also. I loved the book called 'The infertility cure' by Lewis. I used ovulation kits, started yoga and ate a very healthy diet - no junk food! I would have gone to a fertility specialist if these changes hadn't worked! I got pregnant this way without having had a period for 6 months too. Try it!

I agree with , use an ovulations kit. Go to Costco or Sams you get more for your money :) It took me 6 years of treatments to get pg with my son and only 3 months for my daughter, and I have been blessed BIG TIME! But since you already have one, I'm sure your just missing your ovulation.
Good Luck!

I havent read the other posts. Have they checked your progesterone levels?

get the ovulation kit.

it is cheap and it will let you focus your efforts on the fertile days.

Why waste your time at the fertility dr when you might be able figure things out at home.

Also the fertility dr is going to want to run tests and poke you with needles..

try a couple of months of the ovulation kit..

it worked for us.

S.,

I tried for 1 1/2 years to get pregnant with my daughter had no luck until I went to a fertility doctor. I must tell you this was the best thing I could have done. My husband and I felt very comfortable there. The people and the doctors are very nice and they explain things in detail for you.

If you are interested the doctor office is Michigan Center for Fertility 30078 Schoenherr Warren, ###-###-####

after a few minor test which included checking for a blocked tube I went on clomid and was pregnant the second month of trying.

Best of luck and don't give up. Sometime our bodies have a mind of there own.

P.