If I am not ovulating...

[Anonymous]

I started charting and have reason to believe that I may not actually be ovulating. Getting positive OPKs but my cycles have been a bit strange and there is no temperature shift. This probably sounds really dumb, but what are doctors going to be able to do for me if I'm not ovulating? I met with an RE who told me that I have to be ovulating if I am getting my period. Clearly this is inaccurate and I need to find someone else, but am just looking for some kind of guidance and what to expect in the meantime. Also, I have endometriosis- could this be related?

[Anonymous]

I believe Clomid is the first drug of choice to induce ovulation.

[Anonymous]

Ovidrel. Your first question: what will doctors give you if you're not ovulating: ovidrel, or something of the same type, that will make you ovulate. No doubt they will also give you artificial FSH - clomid, folistem, etc. to force follicles to grow and then force ovulation.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am not sure how the endo may affect you, but I temped for the whole time I TTC and NEVER saw the temp shift. I figured I was not ovulating (a year of trying with no success), but then I got a monitor, and that worked the first month. I think I was just temping wrong and freaking myself out, and my charting was bad as a result. The monitor was super-clear about when things were happening.

Do you have more or less regular periods? Have you done a day-3 test? I wouldn't assume you're not ovulating -- you may well be.

[Anonymous]

it seems clomid is the first drug of choice to induce ovulation. if you are getting your period every month, you likely are ovulating every month. your RE is probaby speaking generally. but it also depends on your situation.

[Anonymous]

OP here: I am just such a mess right now. I am so frustrated. I don't know whether I am ovulating or not, obviously. My charts are ALL over the place, but part of it is that I am so stressed with everything that I am not sleeping right. I never sleep for three hours at a time without waking up in between, so that could theoretically be screwing my charts up (like what 21:51 alluded to).

The reason I think I may actually not be ovulating is that my periods have been really weird lately. Basically, I had a laparascopy for stage IV endo in early august and went on continuous bcp until late november, with only one "period" in the middle because I started spotting heavily with atrocious cramps and was told to just stop taking bcp for a few days to let my body do what it was going to do anyway.

I went off bcp and started ttc at Thanksgiving. I have had five periods since then, but they have been out of the ordinary.. very light. Not as much bleeding by a long shot.. not as much cramping.. and at first I thoguht to myself that maybe the laparascopy had worked and my endo was better, despite the fact that I knew they didn't get it all out.

What would make more sense is that I'm not really having periods, it's just my uterus lining shedding because I'm not ovulating. For example, I don't even know if I can say I technically have my period yet. I had a teensy bit of spotting last weekend, and started having heavier spotting wednesday night with some cramps last night and this morning.. but not even enough that I have to wear a tampon. I don't even know when to restart my chart with CD1 at this point. If I am still on last cycle's chart, I'm at CD33 today. Yesterday was the first day I saw some red blood though... there's just not much of it.

I am really just in tears. I'm so confused, I feel like my body is betraying me and I just don't understand it, my DH (I can tell) is starting to think that I'm the crazy one here, and none of the doctors are giving me straight answers. Called a new RE yesterday with a rec from this board and it's going to be another month before I am seen. Even if I finally find a competent doctor, I know my DH is not going to want to do Clomid, etc because he is going to be freaked out about multiples. I don't want multiples either but could probably be persuaded.

I just can't believe something so natural and simple could be so difficult. It probably seems like I am overreacting but you put this issue on top of the fact that I have stage IV endo and I'm just at a loss.