Not LC related--has anyone gone for an infertility workup?

[Andrea]

If anyone has gone for an infertility workup, would you mind letting me know what it entails after the initial blood work? You can PM me instead of posting publicly.

Thanks!

[kimblanchard]

But are other people interested in this? It may be worthwhile to post some of the replies that you get pm'd if you get them. That way the author remains anonymous but the info gets out to everyone interested.

Curtis

[Andrea]

that makes sense---if you PM me and would not mind if I posted your reply anonymously let me know.

[gail]

I'm not shy, but I am old. My infertility was a good 14 years ago--and I'm sure things have changed since then. My suggestion is get a good doctor (but we all know that, don't we), and try to stay calm. Infertility is horrible to go through, and no one talks about it.

I was one of the millions with "secondary infertility", had one child and unable to get pregnant again. I did the tests, but no drugs, for reasons I will not go into.

Let me know how it goes for you.

gail

[gerbil runner]

I was also treated for secondary infertility. I went in first, and after a questionaire and blood test was diagnosed with irregular, non-ovulating periods. I had gained weight and was having problems with depression, also. Bob had 3 sons already, so he was not an immediate suspect .

I was put on a low dose of Clomid. It made me ovulate, but I still didn't get pregnant. I was also put on Prozac for depression.

After 6 months, my periods were regular again, but we opted not to increase the dose of Clomid due to increased risk of twins/triplets/etc. I did feel much better and was starting to lose the weight. My husband and I were very busy building up our business, so we decided to back off treatment for awhile.

About 6 months after, I conceived Danny.

When Danny was 18 months old, I conceived a JJ . We had neither decided for or against another baby, but he was a surprise.

I would recommend reading "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" as a start. I forget the author's name.

Good luck - I was very fortunate, and now have 3 terrific kids.

[Ry]

Oh hell I'm not shy either but it's been so long my info is probably way out of date. First, you are not considered to be having a problem conceiving until one year after trying (the average is one year after trying to conceive). So since you are a newlywed...you have some time before you have to worry. One infertility doctor here will only take you after a year of trying on your own.

The work up begins with the simple stuff first, 1) that you are ovulating and 2) that your husband has an adequate sperm count. You can do number one yourself as there are kits that test ovulation now I believe. I had to do the basal thermometer thing every morning (record your temp every morning and when it dips you ovulated).

There are lots of great books out there, the one I used at the time was called something simple like "How to get Pregnant". Any good book will tell you the signs your body will give you that you are fertile. One being how to tell from your mucus...this is a weird one and maybe better in a PM

Now after all the work ups and procedures we went through they found nothing wrong and said we had "unexplained infertility". So we adopted. Then John started Zyban to quit smoking and blamo...Jillian.

Happy to answer any questions Andrea and good luck. But really don't worry yet, its too early.

Rochelle

[Remembering Dave]

Andrea - I HAVE!

I had FIVE YEARS of IF treatment.

I know more about it than I ever cared to know. So does Dave for that matter. In fact, he became the resident expert of female troubles in his office full of women.

PM me and I'll send you my email address.

Of course, I think I told you before that store bought is better than homemade anyway.

No, seriously, IF testing and even treatment is very important because if your female parts aren't working right, that very well could be symptoms of other illnesses. They found a few things wrong with me, early detection of which is preventing possible bigger problems down the road.

Karen

[stand4hope]

I am shy . . . I sent you a PM. My fertility studies probably beat the long ago record of everyone else here (about 33 years ago), but from what I've read so far, everything sounds about the same. We kept at it for 4 years and then adopted our son.

Have fun, Andrea (muahaha) (Did I do that right, Becky? )

Love,

Peggy

[Melinda]

I'm not starting yet (heck--I need to manage to get married in Feb.!)--but what a wealth of knowledge and support you all are on ALL fronts.

"Mucus", Ry? The things I don't know (and don't even know to ask about!) about my own body...

I LOVE YOU GUYS.

Melinda

[Remembering Dave]

Man, Katie B, if only you knew how many people need a WHOLE lot more than that!

Obviously you don't, but after five years of CONSTANT IF treatment, you do learn, you get to know about all of those people who are suffering along with you, just as we all are on this journey on LCHelp. All those folks who need much more than a simple blood test, sperm count and checking their temperature every morning.

Andrea - check out www.inciid.org. It's a website similiar to this one but jam packed with info on infertility issues, which QUITE frequently are symptoms of greater underlying physical problems or diseases.

I'm on two prescriptions drugs for life right now, directly related to illness/malfunctions that were discovered during my IF journey. And I'm far from unique.

Boy, if it were as simple as a sperm count and ovulation function.

LOTS of things can make you not ovulate. And lots of those things are symptoms of bigger problems.

OK, I'm repeating myself, time to go back to work and QUIT lurking, it's too tempting!

Karen C.