Trying to Get Pregnant - Westlake,OH

This may sound crazy but quit trying. Just have fun and don't do the ovulation method. My husband and I tried for a while and we had trouble until we quit trying and just went for it. I was pregnant 3 months later. When you have a cycle like that (I do too) you really don't know when you're going to ovulate. Seeing as you don't have a normal cycle you can't really tell or even guess at that. I would just try going without calculating any days. Good luck!
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 wonderful boys ages 10,7 and 4.
P.S. If you don't get pregnant after 12-18 months go see a fertility specialist.

Most docs will tell you the pill will not interrupt or irregulate a period but rather, keep you on track. Even after you finish taking it. It's more a stableizer than anything.

Now, for getting pregnant. Six months is a decent amount of time to wait and still get nothing. I don't know specifically what ovulation kits you tried using. Was one of them a basil thermometer? I would try that next.

If you go a couple more months and still have nothing, I'd see a doctor. They may do some blood work and the solution is easy.

Good luck!

You are already doing all the advice I would have to offer. I will say most docs won't help with getting pregnant until you have been trying for a year. It seems it is just harder for some people. It took my cousin 5 years to get pregnant with her first and over 4 to get pregnant with her second.

Congratulations on trying to have a baby! It can be an emotional and frustrating experience. I, too, have a history of irregular cycles. I am now pregnant. It will happen. I don't know how and I don't know when but I'm sure you'll get there.

I vote, don't worry yet. Take some time to gather information and educate yourself about reproduction. There is so much they don't teach us in school and our parents either didn't know or didn't tell us.

I also vote for reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" for advice and guidance. It is a very informative book and can help you figure out what is going on. You might also consider contacting Resolve.org

Finally, I vote that you talk to your GYN at your next appointment about your desire to be pregnant. I would take with me information about cycle length/history and a list of questions. If you need help coming up with the questions let me know, I'll be happy to help.

Best of luck!

I have dealt with infertilty and am now pregnant with #3 thanks to Prometrium (to start a period) and Clomid (to ovulate). I'm 32. Because there are many causes of infertilty, I think you should have a consult with your doctor immediately. You are over 30, and fertility usually dramtically decreases after 30. I took charge of my fertility at age 26. I knew I wasn't ovulating and did reasearch on things that help with ovulation, and I just outright asked my doctor for help.

For those who say "just relax!" "don't worry", and "just wait"; I think that stressed me out more than anything because nothing would take my mind off trying to get pergnant, and here my friends were saying "don't worry" and they were getting pregnant left and right. And yes, scheduling sex for procreation purposes isn't the most fun way to do it, but if you've never experienced infertility it can be heartbreaking and those of us who did have problems getting pregnant, we have to do what we need to do.

Good luck J.!

If you have been irregular all your life, you may want to see your doctor. You could have PCOS (polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). There is where the egg never gets fully released from the ovary and then sits on the ovary...they you have 1,000s of little cysts on your ovaries. They will be able to see this on an ultrasound. I have PCOS and started with Clomid as soon as I wanted to get pregnant. Even thought the ovulation kits were + and I was having my period, my mid level progestrone check (horimone check to confirm ovulation) was coming back very low. So I think it is possible to have a positive on an ovulation kit, get your period and not ovulate.
I had ovarian drilling done and 2 months later I was pregnant.
Go to your dr since you are irregular.

Hi J.,
Not sure where you live, but there's a great massage therapist in Yellow Springs named Marybeth Wolf. She practices Maya abdominal massage, which might help. You can learn more about the massage at http://arvigomassage.com/.

Also, I recently read that having sex _every_ day (rather than every _other_ day) is better when trying to get pregnant.

My best advice is to relax and enjoy yourself! Good luck!

J.,

Be patient--it takes a little longer after 30. We took 18 months, and did not use any artificial methods to assist. I didn't even use an ovulation kit. I had our first son when I was 35. Nice thing was, after I started menstruating again, it only took 3 months to get our second.

I recommend you just be relaxed and don't rush off to pay a bunch of money to a fertility specialist. Keep us informed, OK?

Best wishes,
K.

read taking charge of your fertility - it helps you track your cycle with morning temperatures, cervical fluid & other signs. I learned so much more about my body from reading this book. Anyway, it will help you to know what's going on month to month and to pinpoint when you're ovulating, etc...

Hi-
I went through infertillity treatment for 3 years. Had IUI's, IVF, etc... Now have two healthy children.
You may just have issues with being irregular. I'd call the doctor (endocrin-fertility specilist) after 8 months. I wasted too much time with my OB/Gyn. They can only do so much. You may need something like Clomid???
I would tell you to get the following book.... Taking Charge of your infertility. This book has been used by a few of my friends & all have gotten PG. This book tells you a lot of information regarding how to perfectly time it out, looking for signs of ovulation...
Best of Luck!
M.

Hi J. - as I read through the responses, I was pleased to see so many different suggestions for treating fertility (and infertility). We struggled for several years to get pregnant with our first. I will say this -- you are very early in the process and I hope that you don't get overwhelmed or nervous when reading everyone's postings, which ranged from fertility drugs to adoption. There are so many possibilities that could be causing your irregular cycles and the best way to find that out is to talk to your doctor. Just take it one step at a time, that's the easiest way I know of to reduce the stress involved. You can get caught up in researching all the possible explanations and can quickly get overwhelmed or depressed. If you are in Central Ohio, feel free to email me and I can give you the name of a wonderful OB/GYN who does not make you wait one year to start testing (which is common of many OB/GYNs). Good luck and remember to take time for yourself that isn't baby-focused...a massage, pedicure, quiet reading time...whatever works for you.

It really couldn't hurt to have the doc give you a good once over just to make sure that everything is where it needs to be, etc. I had a really hard time getting pregnant both times. The 2nd time though was really tough. The doc found that I had cysts on my ovaries and polyps in my uterus. I had those things taken care of. He said that he would give me until Feb. to get pregnant before he started me on fertility meds. I got pregnant that December and had a healthy baby boy (19 months old now). Anyway, having the doc give you the ok your ready thumbs up, can't hurt anything. I would get checked first then go from there. Believe me, I know how frustrating it can be to wait and wait every month. Good Luck, Shannon G.

J.,
I can relate to struggling with this. It took me two years and two miscarriages to get pregnant with my son. My doctor wouldn't give me any fertility drugs or even start all that testing until I had been unsuccessful at conceiving for one year. I was on the pill a long time too and it too us 9 months to conceive the first time, then I lost that baby, then another 6 months and I conceived again, lost that one and then only about 3 months to finally conceive my son. It was a long hard battle, but worth it to have a beautiful baby. Maybe your doctor would have some advice, but keep trying!!!! Good luck.

This is a little late, but I am just getting to my email this week.

My husband and I tried for a little over a year and a half before getting pregnant. I tracked my ovulation with the tests and tracked my temperature too. Ultimately, the thing that did the trick was having lots and lots of sex. Sounds silly, but I'm serious. My sister-in-law suggested having sex for 12 days around the estimated date of the positive ovulation test (i.e. 5 days before and 7 days after). If that is too much, you can always try every other day for 12 days. We tried this method and now we have a beautiful 5 month old baby boy.

Exercise, healthy diet, and sex everyday!

J. here is my advice....I have been through a similar situation which would take to long to write, but needless to say 4 kids later. I will tell you what worked for me. I got this information from a fertility MD. First they recommend OvuQuick, One Step, and Q-Test. Barron's pharmacy carries the Ovu-Quick. They used to ship free of charge. ###-###-#### is the number. I was told to disregard the instructions that come with the test. For all ovulation predictors, upon rising in the morning, empty your bladder and then collect the second urine specimen of the morning 1 to 2 hours later. Then go from there with trying to conceive. I was told that trying for up to a year without conceiving is normal. My periods were very irregular also. Also after intercourse lay with a pillow under your hips to help gravity and don't get up right away.
Blessings Jeanette

The ovulation kits are a good way to go but can get a litte expensive...there is another good way to detect ovulation. Its by charting your basal body temperature and cervical mucosa. There is a really good article, printable chart, and sample chart on babycenter.com. Here is the link to the info: http://www.babycenter.com/search/showResultsForContent.ht...
That web site also has a lot of other very useful information about conception, pregnancy, and babies.

I have had irregular periods since I was 14. By the time I was 21, I only would have 1 a year. I had 5 Drs tell me that I could NOT get pregnant because nothing they were doing would straighten up my periods. After 5 years of marriage and several drs, we put in for adoption. Less than a year later, guess who got pregnant. Same thing happened to friends of ours. It don't always work, but may be worth a try. We were only able to have 1 child. Our friends have 2 adopted and one of their own. Another friend of mine is unable to have any children, so they have adopted over the last several years 3 very nice girls. One at 5 days old and the other 2 were sisters and they didn't want to split them up. Hope this helps or at least calms you. The drs told me that it might also have to do with stress at work that wa keeping me from getting pregnant.

Hi J.,

I know how frustrating it is to feel like you are waiting so long. It took about 11 months to get pregnant with both my girls. I felt like I was doing everything right...like I was fulfilling the formula and it should just work. :o) I too was very irregular and it was frustrating to try to figure out the 'best' time. My advice is to stop using the kits and try to listen to your body. When you feel the friskiest or things feel better than usual...might just be a better gage. :o) Try to relax and enjoy this alone time with your husband and it will happen. I wouldn't worry yet, especially since you are still young. My friend tried fertility treatments for 10 years and when she finally stopped and gave up, she got pregnant and now has 3 kids.

Take care and good luck!!

J.--I know it's been forever since you wrote this--but I just found it. How's it going? Did you get pregnant?

If so, congrats! If not, I recommend 2 things:

Read the book TCOYF (Taking Charge of Your Fertility) and

Get yourself and Your hubby checked.

We have male-factor infertility and no one told me to get him checked until I had already had a medical procedure to un-block my fallopian tube (we conceived one son without ever using my fallopian tube!)

Where do you live? I know about awesome fertility doctors in VA and a bit about some in GA and Ohio.

Good luck! C.

J.,

I went to an OBGYN specializing in infertility. when you go, tell him/her how soon you would like to be a parent and how aggressive you want to be. When you really get in this you do lose your privacy and feel that the whole world knows when you are having sex. Please remember that the goal of sex is for the two of you to enjoy each other, not to make a baby. Many people forget that and their marriage starts to crumble. We were fortunate to have a christian OBGYN that kept reminding us of that. We tried to get pregnant for 7 years and did all the tests to only find there was no real reason why we couldn't get pregnant. We did not do in-vitro or some of the other things because we felt they were wrong for us to do. We did find out there was a reason why we couldn't get pregnant - God had two beautiful little girls waiting to be adopted at the right time. I am so proud to say He picked out the perfect girls to help me be a better mom. Good luck and let me know if you need encouragement.

J. ~ I am 27, and am in a similar situation. My husband and I have been trying for about 5 months now, with no luck. I was on the pill for about 8 years. Even though my cycles have been regular, I am still really anxious as to why nothing is happening yet - even though everyone says 6 - 12 months is normal. I just hear about how much can go wrong and how many people have difficulties that it makes me scared. I will be devastated if I cannot have kids - it's been my dream all of my life. I have been using ovulation kits, and charting my temperature/cervical mucus. Babycenter.com has a great chart for that, by the way. I am not sure whether or not to go see my doc either - I figure I should wait until it's been at least 6 months before I go in. I wish I had solid advice for you - I really just wanted to extend my support and let you know that you are not alone. I am glad to learn that I am not the only one who has these questions. Good luck to you!!

I know you got a ton of responses. I didn't read through them but wanted to throw some things in there just in case nobody else mentioned them.

The Pill
It can take up to 18 months for birth control hormones to work their way out of your system, so be patient.

Fertility
I believe that it is important to understand your body and how it works so that you are better able to 'help' in getting pregnant or avoiding it.

Charting is an excellent way to learn about how your fertility cycles work. When I started learning more and began charting, it took us only three months to conceive our daughter. Couple to Couple League International (I think it's ccli.org) was a great resource for us. They have a home study course that you can take that includes a textbook, charts and a basal thermometer for you to use in charting. There is a charge, but they will also let you do the course for no charge if you are in need of that. It is a Catholic organization, so if you aren't Catholic, you just take the 'meat' and leave the rest. Regardless of religion, our bodies still work the same, lol.

Psychological affects on fertility
You can affect your chances of getting pregnant by psyching yourself out and stressing over it. Stress affects the body in many ways and fertility is not exempt from that list of things. I freaked out once thinking I was pregnant. Because I stressed like crazy about it, my body went nuts and I ended up being three weeks late (which had NEVER happened to me before and never has since). Then, when we decided to try to get pregnant, nothing would happen because I was stressed about it. Hoping to be late enough to need to take a test for over a year can take its toll on a person.

My advice
Consider starting to chart your fertility. Don't stress yourself out. Be patient and pray.

God bless,
A.

There is a wonderful book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, MPH. I used the fertility awareness method described in the book and was able to concieve both my children in one cycle. Prior to the book, I used the ovulation kits, but after 7 months my OB/GYN told me about this book.

You should also be doing TONS of homework on how poor nutrition and chemicals, etc. can effect trying to get pregnant. Our society has SSSOOOO many more problems with that than we used to and our diets, as a whole, are CRAP!!! When you don't have the proper nutrients for the fertilization to take place, you end up frustrated and spending a HUGE amount of $$ on something you could have taken care of in the first place.

I'm not saying this is the solution for EVERY situation, I just KNOW for a fact that it has a HUGE impact on the process. Do your homework!!

Hi J., My Husband and I been married since High-School Graduation, and had 2 Beautiful sons, only in between Pregnancies I had 5 Miscarrages! Your Difficulty is trying to get Pregnant and I can only give advice on who to try and see, ok? There's a GYN/OB Clinic at Cleveland Metro. Hospital and they care for High-Risk Pregnancies and/or other Concerns too. You might wish to call and ask? I onced was on the Pill also after our first son was born and learned many yrs. ago that the Long-Term effects can make it tuff to become Pregnant, so getting a "Hormone Blood Test" will give any Good GYN/OB an Answer to what could be lacking in the Hormone Dept. ok. Good-Luck as I know Pregnancy can be very Frusterating when it comes to getting the right answers too.OK? K.: ____@____.com

We had trouble with our second child. What finally worked was charting temperature to target yur fertile time. My doctor gave me sheets but you should be able to find info on-line if you look up basal temperature.

I think the best thing is to relax and put your faith in God, nature, yourself or whatever your belief system responds to. Stressing yourself out will not help. I've heard of so many stories where women tried and tried, then when they finally accepted thier fate (or whatever you want to call it) they finally got pregnant!

But you should also check out katie singer's books. She has a lot of good information about the truth of a woman's cycle. And she tells you what to watch for and how to chart your personal cycle. It's good information to know for natural birth control, and natural conception.

Don't worry yet. Give at least a year and then start talking to your doctor. It took us about 11 months, and my cycle (and age) are exactly like yours. I didn't know about the ovulation kits until the 11 month. When it came back positive one morning, we waited 24 hours and did our thing and it worked.

But, if you haven't already, I would definitely call your OB and schedule a pre-conception visit.

I don't think it's time to worry yet, try charting your basal temperature. You don't need a special thermometer. Just take your temp immediately after waking up in the morning. Keep track every day for at least one cycle, if you're irregular - longer. Then show it to your ob/gyn. When I was in your situation this is the first thing my ob/gyn asked for and he found a luteal phase defect - easily fixed.

Don't start to worry yet. It took my husband and I two years and two miscarriages and we are finally pregnant (13 weeks last Friday)! We did the ovulation kits too, but I have read that sometimes those kits give a false "surge" so you think you are ovulating but that might not actually be the case. I had irregular periods also and was under the mistaken impression that everyone's cycle is or should be 28 days and everyone ovulates betweeen days 11-14. I would strongly recommend the book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility." I started charting my cycles and looking for natural signs of ovulation and within 2 months, I was pregnant! Good Luck!

I was on BCP for 16 years d/t period issues. At the beginning I got a through exam and was told if I wasn't pregnant in a few months he would send me to an infertility specialist.

I found the book and website "Taking Charge of your fertility" "www.tcoyf.com" about charting and a host of other things. My temperatures were all over the place. I had been seeing an acupuncturist for different issues and decided, along with my dr's okay, to give it a try for fertility. The woman I went to used my charting to plan my treatment. I took it to every appt. Within a week of the first treatment my temps started to level off and during 2nd month of treatment, I was pregnant. Of course there is no way of know the acupuncture was the reason or if I'd be so lucky again, regardless, I give a lot of credit to it. Of course if you and your Dr.think its a good idea - some think it's hocus pocus- some don't -, make sure you find a reputable and accredited one.
There's also a magazine that comes out every other month you can find at B&N or Borders, called Conceive, http://www.conceivemagazine.com, they have a lot of storie of woman and different approaches etc.

Try not to worry, I was 35 when we had our son and my husband was 39, we tried for 10 months. Calling your dr again is never a bad idea, if it puts your mind at ease.

a lot of people TRY TOO HARD... just relax and it will happen if that is God's plan

we tried for our first and second - our third was a total surprise!!! That is God's plan - our little guy is such a blessing! All three are but the surprise really turned out much more than I expected!

Hi J.! I am Sue, I am 28 and expecting my first child. My husband and I tried for a year to get pg (he is 31) and trying was the hardest thing I ever went through emotionally! I was on the pill for 8 year (due to never having a regular period) and I knew that I was going to have issues when 6 months after stopping the pill I still had not had a period and no positive pregnancy test. We went to the doctor tried progesterone and ended up doing 2 rounds of Clomid to get pg! WOO HOOO! During the year of trying I was charting which I HIGHLY recommend! It is a great and cheap way of detecting ovulation. I recommend using www.fertilityfriend.com to keep your chart. You are right that it takes most women an average of 6 months to a year to get pg. Most healthy women under the age of 30 will not be able to receive much medical help until they have been trying for at least a year. But since you are over 30 your doctor might be a bit more willing to help out or at least make sure that your body is doing everything it needs to do to get pg. So my advice is to start charting (just because you have a period does not mean that you have ovulated) and talk to your doc (especially if you have not had your annual exam this year.) If you are interested in charting and have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. In the mean time good luck!

Even though you are not considered high risk since you are only 31, you may talk to your doctor about using clomid or something like that, that will give you a better indication on when you are actually ovulating. Most doctors are in the very least willing to talk about options and the next steps that you and your husband would need to consider. Getting this conversation started and letting your doctor know you are wanting to be more aggressive will only instigate your doctor moving forward on these next steps.

We got pregnant right away with our first and have been trying over a year now for our second. Good luck!

I would also encourage you to look at a natural/nutritional approach. Below is a link to a presentation about creating a healthy baby through nutrition. If you have questions or would like more information after viewing the presentation, please send me a message. I can help you with a nutrition program and/or give you the contact information for Dr. Sandy who is the specialist giving the presentation.

Creating a Healthy Baby (pregnancy) http://www.theglobalsuccessteam.net/resources/FLASH/Creat...