Progesterone Levels - Clifton Heights,PA

I too had problems and was sent to the fertility doctor. My insureance did not cover any of it either. I was put on clomid which did not work, i went through inseminations that did not work and the injectible medication which also did not work. So with all the money put out and still no baby. Then my cousin was starting the South Beach diet along with every other diet she tried and was reading in the book about stoires of women trying to conceive with no succes and after being on the diet they were able to concieve. The diet does something to your system and puts every back on track. I figured i really had nothing to lose and if i didn't get pregnant at least i would lose some weight. I had abnormal periods and the doctor did mention the Poly Cystic Overies. I started the diet the week that i had my period it was not planned that way just happen to be that way. 8 weeks later i found out i was preganat. Didn't realize till i was 8 weeks because with the abnormal periods i didn't think i would be pregnant. After 5 years of trying i was finally pregant and i believe the South Beach Diet had something to do with it. Now my second baby just turned 1. As soon as my daughter turned 1 i got pregnat with the second with no problem. It's worth a try and won't cost you much.

B.:

I recommend seeing a fertility specialist, even if you have to pay for the initial consultation out of pocket. I highly recommend Northern Fertility at Holy Redeemer Hospital (Holy Redeemer MOB #154, 1650 Huntingdon Pike, Meadowbrook, PA 19046, Tel. ###-###-####). I was in a similar situation and they helped me conceive my son (who will be 2 in November). The doctors are top rate (my primary dr. there was Dr. Freedman) and the staff is very supportive! Please give them a chance before you go off doing DIY solutions. Sometimes they cause more harm than good. Northern will be able to give you a complete picture of what's going on and what are the best options. Be honest with them about your financial situation. And they'll work with what you can afford. (I couldn't afford IVF or some of the other drug therapies and could only afford 6 cycles of IUI.) I love them and think they're the best! It's worth the drive!! Good luck!

Hi B.,

I am so sorry to hear you are having fertility issues. I too had trouble conceiving my first son. It took us three years, but my insurance covered treatment. However, a friend on mine used the progesterone cream and she did have a beautiful daughter as a result. She said there were no side effects except that it felt awful, kinda of like yeast infection creams. Good luck and my thoughts and prayers are with you. I truly know what you are going through. Your child when he/she arrives, and you will get pregnant, will be the most precious thing in your life.

Have you tried anything natural for infertility? There may be a homeopathic solution that may be be cost friendly. Are you under alot of stress. They say stress is a big contributor. I would do some research to look for things to balance hormones etc. I don't have a ton of time to research but I work in a holistic practice a few hours a week (I'm a nurse) so if i find any literature I will forward it. www.livegreeneasy.com

Did your doctor mention anything to you like PCOS? (Polycyctic Ovarian Syndrome). I have PCOS and it makes it hard to conceive, I had to go to a specialit as well and was put on Clomid and once I conceived was put on progestrone support (vaginal pills) to sustain the pregnancy. (I have miscarried twice because of progestrone levels). I know have two daughters since they realized what is wrong with me. Other symptoms of PCOS are weight, skin tags, darkening of skin around neck/armpits, acne, hair loss on head, and hair where you do not want it (face/and body), irregular periods, and fatigue. These are the most popular symptoms and keep in mind not everyone gets them all. That makes it hard to diagnose...it took 10 years to diagnose me! It is said the 1 out of every 10 women have PCOS but only half of them know it! It leads to serious diseases such as Heart disease, and Diabeties.

Arbonne has a wonderful, botanical progestrone cream. If you want more info on it contact me.

I hope this helps you! I and other women with PCOS are fighting to get the word out, Doctors are often ignorant of the syndrome. It is a syndrome, because unlike a disease, there is no cure.

The first thing I would say is to definitely go see a fertility specialist. I found that regular ob/gyn's that don't specialize in fertility will have you moving forward in a direction that may not be best for you. I'm also not sure about low progesterone in trying to get pregnant, but I was found to have low progesterone once I found out I was pregnant and had to use the cream and pills to increase my levels so that the pregnancy could continue. I found it interesting what one of the other ladies said about the South Beach Diet, b/c I do have PCOS and I tried for years on everything...Clomid, injectibles, and was ready to do IVF. I decided to take a break from the fertility and I started doing the Atkins diet which is similar to South Beach, had lost some weight and wouldn't you know I got pregnant on my own. I also feel that with PCOS, those low-carb diets regulate your cycle more and I do believe it had something to do with it. I was pregnant one other time, had a miscarriage, but again I got pregnant on my own didn't even know it until I found out I miscarried and again it was when I was doing Atkins. But until I got pregnant the second time, I never made the connection. My suggestion is to go to a good fertility Dr, I went to Main Line Fertility, and I loved them! They will properly diagnose you and then determine the best option for you to move forward. They will also want to test your husband to rule out any issues with him too. My insurance didn't cover any of this either, but once you at least find out what's wrong, it may not be as expensive as you think. Also, I found that my insurance didn't necessarily cover fertility, but in speaking more with my HR director, I did discover that they covered "monitoring of ovulation", which my Dr was able to categorize correctly and alot of my visits and tests ended up being covered. Good luck with all of this! It's always hard, but try to be patient and get the best advice you can.

B.-
i too have had low progesterone levels, but was able to get pregnant. my third pregnancy- started w/ miscarriage, they drew levels, it was around 6. then i got pregnant again, levels were only around 8. took progesterone until 13 weeks (makes you miserable- cranky, racing heart, etc), delivered a healthy baby. the thing is, i don't think it did a bit of difference, only made me feel sicker than ever before (nausea! i never had that ever!)
if you are going to miss, then nothing is going to stop it.
Clomid works to increase your fertility by releasing more than one egg at a time, thus increasing your chances of pregnancy.
progesterone bulks up the lining of uterus and helps cushion and prepare for implantation and retain the fertilized egg.
i don't know if clomid is the right drug for you, if there are other issues you have to deal with.
make sure you don't have endometriosis (several good friends of mine were unable to get pregnant, found out this was the problem, had surgery, and were pregnant almost immediately). also, if husband not tested yet, he should be. and lastly, recommend seeing a doc that specializes in this. regular ob/gyns are helpful, but i would want a specialty doc if it was taking up to a year to get pregnant. you don't have the time to mess around with it.
good luck, keep us posted on progress.

M.