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I've been pretty open about my "issues" on here but I'll recap for you :)
We've been TTC since June. I have PCOS with a history of irregular and annovulatory periods. I also have issues very low progesterone. The good news is that since June we've been successful in conceiving twice. The bad news is that neither of those pregnancies ended up being our take home baby. They both developed into MCs fairly early into my pregnancies because of my low progesterone. Right now we're in the middle of a month off so that I can get bloodwork done to allow my doctor to establish a baseline for my hormones so we know how to treat my hormone issues in order to help the next baby stick.
My doctor is very confident that we will be successful without significant intervention. We'll be coming up with a gameplan for next cycle at my doctor's appointment next Wednesday.
Good luck with your TTC journey :) There are quite a few bees on here with similar issues who are very supportive.
@Running Elley: I hope you guys get your sticky baby soon! :) Thank you for sharing. FI and I are going to wait until after the wedding (3 more months) before actively trying, but we're attempting to figure out if we want to start TTC immediately or if we feel we can wait a bit. It makes us both nervous to wait, knowing that it will possibly take us quite a while in the first place. But we shall see!
It's been almost 1 1/2 years since we started trying and without IVF I have 0% chance. (Tube issues) Plus, I have diminished ovarian reserve, so my RE said even if it weren't for my tubal issues, he'd highly recommend IVF, as I'm starting to run out of time. Personally, if I had Endo and PCOS, I'd use Clomid, as I know it can take a long time naturally. Good luck to you!
Glad your surgery went well and hope your recovery is smooth!!! :)
@AmeliaBedelia:We had the same struggle. On one hand, we thought it would be nice to have that time to ourselves (even though we've been living together for almost 3 years already) but, on the other hand, we knew that we would definitely have issues and raising a family has always been our top priority. We decided to NTNT the first month, I got a BFP and after I MC'd we really were positive that we just needed to continue trying, instead of waiting. Since it's taking a while we still get our just us together time but it feels like we're actually moving in the right direction :) It can be a tough decision to wrestle with but it sounds like you and your FI are on the same page so that's definitely positive :)
ETA: We're also pretty young, I'm 22 and he's 26.
(I clicked the wrong one, should be 8 mos to 1.5 years, not 1.5 years or longer. Sorry!)
We had our first appointment with an RE in June 2010 and we finally got pregnant in July 2011. I have unexplained infertility, all my labs come back normal but for some reason I don't ovulate or get periods on my own.
We did 4 cycles of Clomid and timed intercourse and 2 cycles of Femara and timed intercourse when we were with our first RE. When I was able to switch (due to a change in insurance) We did two IUI's with injectibles and on my 2nd IUI we got pregnant. I am now 20 weeks.
My advice is that if you find something isn't working, move on. I didn't respond to Clomid or Femara and I wish I had moved on to injectibles earlier. I also wish I had pushed more to do IUI instead of timed intercourse. Because I was only 27 when I saw my first RE he kept telling me I have time, I'm young, no need to move on yet. That was really frustrating. Be your own advocate and do as much research as you can so you can be informed of your choices.
Good luck and have a speedy recovery!
We started in Feb 2010 and got our first and only BFP in Nov 2011 - so 21 months.
We didn't have any major problems. I have an endometrioma on my left ovary, which could indicate other endo elsewhere, but might not since I don't have other symptoms of it. I also had a borderline short LP, about 10-11 days. Hubbys numbers were all fine. However, there is a history of reproductive disorders in my mom's side of the family.
We started working with an RE after about a year or so of TTC. We tried 3 cycles of femara and IUI, as well as one cycle of injectable medication (bravelle). Used progesterone to lengthen my LP in all medicated cycles as well. In the end it was IVF that brought our BFP, which we decided upon after about 1.5 years TTC. Our opinion is that we could wait and give it a few more years, and possibly end up pg naturally, or maybe we wouldn't, and I'd be that much older, and any small problems could be more advanced. For us, it was worth the investment in IVF to get those years of our life back. And honestly, none of the treatment was as bad as I anticipated.
I sincerely wish you the best of luck! There are lots of women with PCOS and endo that conceive on their own or with minimal intervention. (and sorry for the novel!)
@AmeliaBedelia: i recently listened to this podcast about a women going through your struggels and i thought it was very touching and wanted to share it:
http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/40442/every-baby-has-a-story-guardian-angel-grandfather
also if i were you i would try to get your husband to start trying right away.
good luck to you. good you are so young at least.
My story is a little different. We tried for 7 months, then had treatments (Clomid, IUI once) for 10 months (which for me was only 6 cycles). For month 18, we quit all treatments and surprisingly got pregnant on our own. In the end, weight loss and metformin seemed to help the most.
I'll chime in as someone who voted on "still working on it". We started NTNT over 2.5 years ago. After about a few months of going back on the pill, I went off officially 2 years ago and didn't have a period for 7 months. I went to see my GYN and was diagnosed w/ PCOS (with no cysts) in August 2010 and was prescribed Metformin, Provera (to start a cycle) and Femara. I had 2 rounds of Femara and 1 of Clomid and dind't respond in the slightest. After being referred to an RE in Jan. 2011, we found out my husband's ejaculate had no sperm (for some reason, I feel gross writing that. LOL). He produces them but needs a surgery to fix a blockage. In May of 2011 we decided to take time off.
My RE was pretty confident that, after DH's surgery, we should be successful with injectibles.
I agree with @sweetkate: - if something isn't working - switch. There's no reason to waste time, energy, and most likely tears, on something that isn't doing what it's supposed to. Also, be your biggest advocate. YOU know your body better than anyone else and you have to speak up for yourself. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!
We were TTC for 11 months when my family doctor did a bunch of labs, and referred me to a FS, in the meantime my labs came back and it looked like PCOS so I started on Metformin. At 13 months I saw the FS who booked us for a bunch more tests, and before I had a chance to do the testing I got my BFP. so metformin alone ended up doing the trick for me!
Still working on it - PCOS and irregular cycles/annov cycles, and I have only managed to really see any sign of ovulation TWICE in the 12 months since we started TTC.
Lame.
Clomid at the moment... which hasn't worked. I'm all for meds to help stimulate. It just isn't going to happen naturally.
@Running Elley: Yeah, we are in a very similar position. We've lived together for almost 3 years, we bought a house together a few months ago. So I only sort of feel the "just be a couple" thing because...that's what we've been doing. We're (as in, me and you) also pretty much the same age (though my FI is 23, not 26) but he would be at least 24 or even 25 before we had a child IF we were lucky. I don't think he's able to wrap his head around that part just yet. He's like "I'm 23, you could get pregnant while I'm 23." Lol. Instead of "Even if you got pregnant tomorrow, I'd be 24 at the end of a pregnancy." I think it's sort of a guy thing.
@Jenn23: So are you guys going through with the IVF? If so, I'd love to hear your experience as it progresses.
@sweetkate: Thank you. I'm going to sound way out of my league now, but how exactly does an IUI work? Injectibles? (I'm googling this as soon as I'm done replying, but I figure you'd explain it differently than google, if you don't mind, lol). Congratulations on your pregnancy. :)
@MerryC: I'm going to ask you the same question as I asked @sweetkate -- what exactly is IUI/injectibles? Also, IVF wasn't as arduous as you thought it would be? That's a good sign! I've heard mixed reviews on it. Congrats on your BFP!
@Audreysdance: We're sort of decided on June 2012 (our dating anniversary and our birthdays are that month) and we'll have been married a few months at that point. I think it takes the pressure off our wedding month for him, psychologically. I'll go listen to that podcast as soon as I'm done replying - thanks!
@heathaah: That is something else to consider. I'm more overweight than I'd like to be (thank you PCOS) so at my post-op, Doc and I are going to discuss some sort of hormone balancing that we can work on prior to TTC to help manage my weight better. I carry my weight in my stomach, like the typical PCOS'er and think it may increase our chances to get that worked out prior to really giving it a shot. Thank you for sharing. :)
@Candy_Nee: Right? I think it's weirder to talk about the guy stuff than the girl stuff too, haha. That's good that it should be fixed after that and you guys should be pretty good to go! Good luck to you! Xx
@Ms Mini: Thank you for sharing! Congrats! Based on most responses, Metformin has been the most helpful thing (other than IUI/IVF and other more extensive treatments).
@jaguar: Yeah...I've been tracking my stuff for 1.5 years (since trying to figure out WTF was going on) and my cycles are so wonky. Sometimes it'll be 90+ days, other cycles it would be 35-40. I have a pretty strong feeling I will at least need something to regulate and help with ovulation. I don't think mine will happen naturally, but like FI and I said earlier, we won't know until we try. Baby dust to you! Xx
@AmeliaBedelia: That's right - here's hoping you can be proved wrong! :) :)
Happy planning!
@jaguar: Wouldn't that be great? Ha. :) Thank you.
@Audreysdance: This interview is giving me goosebumps. Even her husband sounds like how my FI handles things. Wow. Thank you again.
Even though I'm not actively TTC I thought I chime in. We will be getting a second opinion and work up in the January but we tried for over 18 months. I have Endo, annovulatory cycles unless medicated, diminished ovarian reserve and only 1 ovary and fallopian tube. We were told by my first RE that our chance to get pregnant naturally is 5% and with IUI 15% if that and if we chose IVF it would be higher but I will not go that route. It's been a long road for sure but honestly I've come to terms with everything and accept what my body can or cannot do. Part of me doesn't want a second opinion but something in my gut is telling me to. It definetly won't be a roller coaster of emotions and tests this time around. I wish you the best and hope you get a BFP soon!!
@AmeliaBedelia: no problem. I thought it was a truly beautiful story of two people overcoming the odds. Good luck and my birthday is in june too, June 8th. When Are you guys?
It took 11 cycles TTC. I charted everyday but hardly used OPKs because POAS stressed me out. I had all my initial bloodwork done (my progesterone was low, both times), DH's SA was normal. We got a BFP unexpectedly - it was the cycle after an unusually short LP. I was just about to get my HSG done and was supposed to call as soon as AF came to schedule it. But it never came (and hopefully won't visit again for awhile now) 
No meds, just charting, Pre-Seed, prenatals, and OPK (internet cheapies) the month we conceived. I recommend buying the Clearblue Fertility Monitor, if we bought that early, we could have conceived faster (since I realized late that I ovulate even later than what I had thought).
We actually bought the Clearblue Monitor that same cycle, as a last ditch effort for motivation. It was shipped the day before we got a BFP! It's still here unopened.
My advice is to enjoy yourselves! BD a few days before ovulation and a few days after, just in case! Look into Maca as well and Evening Primrose (they're what I ordered with the Clearblue Monitor that are also here unopened).
BTW, I'm 34 and it's our first.
****Baby dust!****
@Vitsippa: what A great story. You should sell your monitor on eBay unless u plan to use it for #2. Many of the bees, including myself, bought em off there.
@AmeliaBedelia: Injectables are really just a next step of stronger meds after trying clomid or femara. My injectable cycle was actually femara for 5 days of my cycle followed by 4 or 5 days of injections (once per day). It's generally the same type of meds as an IVF cycle, but much lower doses. The injections are usually primarily FSH, and sometimes some LH. So they're hormones that your body already produces, the injections just ramp up the intensity and duration that the hormones can work - if that makes sense? Some people need the injectables to get a good egg response at all, and some use injectables to get a higher number of eggs, to have more targets for the IUI'd sperm.
And I was totally terrified and intimidated by IVF when I first learned about it. But the more I researched it, the less scary it became. So for us, it was really a pretty positive experience. I was able to stimulate well on low doses of medication (injections again), so it was 3 small shots a day for 9 days, and I had very few side effects. Obviously our positive experience was definitely influenced by those things, and the ultimate outcome of a BFP (and hopefully a healthy baby next summer). Some people have moral objections to IVF, but for us it wasn't a problem. We didn't have extra embryos to freeze, and our embryos resulted from natural fertilization (albeit in the lab). I will say that even with 2 dozen eggs, we only ended up with 2 embryos at the end - which was a big lesson in natural selection for us! We saw it as 2 years of trying condensed into a month ;)
I hope this actually helps, and isn't just totally rambly!
@Audreysdance: It really was. Yay for bunnies! ;) haha. I'm June 2nd and he is June 15th. Our dating anniversary is actually ON his bday! haha. Every year we choose to celebrate our anniversary a few days later so we don't have too much to do. Haha.
@Vitsippa: I'll admit I definitely had to google what all the acronyms mean. I was like "What is that?" Lol. Thank you for the advice, definitely will have to look up those things! Congratulations btw.
@MissGreen: Thank you. Yes, we are very open to most methods of becoming parents. :) Good luck at your appt.
@MerryC: So do you...inject them yourself? One of my mom's friend's did IVF, so I'll be picking her brain if we get to that point as well. She had triplets, but I think she had done several cycles of IVF and was older. Excited for you guys and I'll add my hopes for a healthy baby! :)
Bumping for a few more replies --- and out of boredom/curiosity. :)
I'm hesitant to even post because we haven't been TTC for long (5 months) but are only on cycle 4. I'm very stressed because I have lab results and have no idea what they mean. :(
I suddenly had irregular cycles with multiple LH surges, constant fertile CM and was noticing some breast discharge. My family doctor looked at my charts and offered to do CD3 blood tests. I appear to have a FSH/LH ratio of 1:2, with low estrogen and testosterone and high prolactin. It may be weeks/months before I see a specialist, and I am getting an ultrasound done on Monday to look for ovarian cysts.
DH has a SA done on Wednesday and we are waiting for results.
Hubby and I have been ttc since June 2010. I was diagnosed with pcos in August and since then have been on metformin to regulate my insulin resistance. It does seem to be working as I've lost 48 pounds, had a bit of natural bleeding last cycle and had ovulation for the first time in well over 1.5 years on this cycle! We are still trying, but I'm hopeful for this cycle and excited about the progress regardless. :)
We had a loss on Dec. 31, 2010. We tried naturally before attempting two medicated IUIs that didn't work. We tried one last natural cycle before moving onto IVF and got a BFP yesterday morning! I did do acupuncture and TCM herbs for nearly 9 months. Lots of luck to you!!
@dodgercpkl: O_O 48 lbs?! I need that medicine NOW! My PCOS has made me carry my weight (around the belly, of course) since I was in my teens. I am so ready for that part at least. People don't understand that it really is hormonal and half the time we don't catch it until after it's there. That is amazing progress - sounds like you are getting close ma'am!! *baby dust to you*
@MapleBecky: I don't know what a lot of that means either (I'm a noob to the whole TTC lingo as it is). I can sympathize with the cyst ultrasound - those are not fun ultrasounds! Oh, and if they don't see anything, ask your Doc if they could be INSIDE your ovaries. I have PCOS but my cysts are on the INSIDE. They didn't find it until I had my LAP for my Endo. Weird, huh? Good luck to you and your hubby - hope they can get you on the right track soon!
@1littlep: Oh wow congrats! I already congratulated you on your other thread, but again that is great! What was your experience with IVF? And the acupuncture and herbs if you don't mind sharing?
@1littlep: Oh congrats!!!
@AmeliaBedelia: Thank you! :) I do have to say that I think the change in diet that I've done has helped tremendously in the weight loss as well. I've cut out pretty much all processed sugar and carbs, all things like white bread, white rice, potatoes and am concentrating on eating much more healthy organic foods like veggies/fruits, whole grain bread, etc. I want my baby darn it! :) The great thing is that while my weight gain was in my belly for most of my life, the last several years have seen it going all over. I mean when I was a kid I was literally stick arms and legs on a plump little belly that I could use for a darn desk. But these days my arms and legs and face etc are all overweight. But I've been losing it all over with this. I've gone from a band size 44 bra to a band size 40... waist size 24 to waist size 18 in pants... and my face/chin have noticeable slimmed down too.
Sometimes I look in the mirror and have to look again because I haven't seen me like this in so long! :D
I know for the last 10-15 years I've tried diet after diet and nothing worked. Changing my diet to this (which is NOT something I'd tried) and combining it with the metformin, has really worked and I can't wait to get down the rest of the way to my goal of 190! :)
@AmeliaBedelia: wow! Double Gemini! Do you guys ever chat yourselves till you're hoarse? Hehe my fellow gem friends and I have chatterbox wars and anyone else in the room is s*** out of luck if they wanna get a word in.
Best of luck to you fellow twins. Let's hope double Gemini means quadruple the baby dust!
@dodgercpkl: So you have been on Metformin since THIS august? Like 2011? And lost 48 lbs? Obviously this is including the diet, which I know I would have a killer time with. But I would do it for baby dreams. :) How much is it usually supposed to work? I'm fascinated/excited/want some now. Lol.
@Audreysdance: Haha, oh yes. I'm much more talkative when it's just the two of us, but how others get a word in when we're in a crowd I have yet to figure out. We always joke that we'll have some really quiet, non-talkative child that will think we're both crazy. :) Which, they'll probably think we're crazy just because we're their parents, so that's cool. Yay lots of baby dust!!
@dodgercpkl: Wow! That is an incredible loss. Well done you! I wish my Metformin had helped this way - it helped by the initial loss (I got to 27lbs down) but most has come back over that time. I'm on the low GI/all browns diet.. and it still doesn't work! Gah.
@AmeliaBedelia: Sorry for disappearing on you, it's been a VERY interesting week! I'll get to that in a minute. I think weight-wise it works differently for each person. I know that I was/am VERY motivated to lose the weight because that was a big reason that I wasn't getting pregnant. I've heard though that it takes 1-3 months for it to start getting your hormones into balance and then another 1-3 months to get pregnant - on average of course.
What I just found out today, is that it took 3 months to get my balanced AND pregnant!! I'm a bit over 4 weeks along right now and I'm just sooo excited!
@dodgercpkl: YAY! congrats on your pregnancy! i have read and heard that losing weight or gaining if you are underweight, even as much as 10-20lbs, can really give fertility a boost. seems like your efforts paid off.
@AmeliaBedelia: Sorry I forgot to check back on this thread! Yes, you do the injections at home. My first round of injectable meds with IUI was only like 4 shots and I did it myself. When we did IVF, hubby did them all for me, so I could just relax and look away. Once you get the hang of it, it's really no big deal. Most of the shots are sub cutaneous and short, thin needles. And it was kind of a nice way for us to bond and work together through the process.
@dodgercpkl: Ooh CONGRATS! That is awesome! I have my Post-Op tomorrow and will be bombarding her with baby-making questions. haha.
@MerryC: That kind of freaks me out, though my Nanny (who is a diabetic) would laugh at me. Lol. I'm sure I would get the hang of it, and of course the motivation would be there, so it's different!
Kind of wanted to revive this poll to see if there are any new people wanting to contribute. :)
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So bees, after having my surgery on Monday we spoke to my Doctor (or rather, FI and my Mom did, I was out). She basically alluded to the fact that it will take us twice as long as the "average" couple to have children, assuming we can. More or less, she said to expect it to take 1.5 years, with the help of some drugs.
I have Endo, PCOS, and had some scar tissue. She removed the Endo as best she could, but the PCOS is inside my ovaries (not on the outside) and other boring details.
So, those of you that have been successful, how long did it take you TTC to get your BFP? Or if you're still going - how long has it been so far? I know every body is different, but I'm trying to get some "real life statistics" to base some decisions on. :) And if you don't mind sharing, what issue(s) did you have?
Thanks! And thanks again everyone for your wishes of recovery, etc.