Beginning the TTC process at age 35, with a history of irregular periods

[Anonymous]

I didn't want to hijack the other thread with my personal details, but I came to this forum looking for similar advice.

I was very recently married, and will be 35 before the end of the year. We are not financially ready to TTC (I recently started a new business that is still struggling), but with my age, we cannot afford to wait either. I had an appointment with a new OBGYN scheduled for yesterday but due to the storms had to reschedule for the end of November. What questions should I ask, or what procedures/tests should I push for?

My periods are currently regular since I am on the pill, but when I am not on the pill they are extremely regular, often skipping entire months -- I just never know when they will come. I don't feel like charting will be helpful since once I go off the pill, my cycles will totally change.

Should I head straight to an RE?

I ordered "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" which will hopefully be informational -- I am feeling totally overwhelmed with where to start. Any advice from those who have BTDT will be extremely appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn't want to hijack the other thread with my personal details, but I came to this forum looking for similar advice.

I was very recently married, and will be 35 before the end of the year. We are not financially ready to TTC (I recently started a new business that is still struggling), but with my age, we cannot afford to wait either. I had an appointment with a new OBGYN scheduled for yesterday but due to the storms had to reschedule for the end of November. What questions should I ask, or what procedures/tests should I push for?

My periods are currently regular since I am on the pill, but when I am not on the pill they are extremely regular, often skipping entire months -- I just never know when they will come. I don't feel like charting will be helpful since once I go off the pill, my cycles will totally change.

Should I head straight to an RE?

I ordered "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" which will hopefully be informational -- I am feeling totally overwhelmed with where to start. Any advice from those who have BTDT will be extremely appreciated.

I meant that they are irregular when I'm not on the pill.

[Anonymous]

I would go off the pill sooner rather than later and then use other birth control methods until you're ready to jump in. That's something that I had wished I did leading up to TTC. Then start keeping track of your cycle (not necessarily temping, but cycle length).

Also, you could start using OPKs to get an idea of when you're ovulating. I have very irregular periods and I found it very useful. Particularly when I started noticing ovulation symptoms and then I could predict when I would get my period because I figured out what my luteal phase was.

[Anonymous]

Go straight to an RE - or have your OB run all the tests now, to give you a head start. They will do blood tests and an HSG, and it wouldn't hurt to get your husband tested, too. If you aren't seeing your OB until the end of November and can get a referral to an RE, I'd go ahead and do that.

It sounds like you are probably PCOS and if so, charting/monitoring probably won't help that much. "TCOYF" will help you get a better sense of your cycle and be better informed, but if you are like me (also PCOS) it didn't provide a lot of practical advice that was helpful in getting pregnant.

Many insurance cos won't refer you to an RE unless you've been trying for 6 months if you are over 35 (1 year if you are under 35), but you can easily say you've been trying for that long.

Also, you should go off the Pill ASAP. Even for women who do have regular periods, it sometimes takes several months for your cycle to "normalize" and for you it may take longer. If you don't want to get pregnant right away, use other BC methods in the meantime.

Hope this helps. GL.

[Anonymous]

No advice on who to see first, but I had always had very long cycles (35-50 days). In my case, the doctor tested my prolactin levels and found that they were to blame. No need to go into my particular details, but in the end a simple medication did the trick and I was able to get pregnant right away. Best of luck identifying your issue and getting the help you need!

[Anonymous]

I really wouldn't worry too much about the irregular periods. I have a 35 year old friend who had terribly irregular periods. She told me in April they were going to start to try and she was pregnant the next month. It just means your ovulation is a little off. That is fixable. Then you have someone like me who is 35 with periods like clockwork - not even a premature delivery or an ectopic pregnancy or any surgery has ever messed up my cycles. My period always comes on time. And here I am after 4 years of trying and still no baby.

I'm not trying to downplay your irregular cycles. Go get checked like the others said just to make sure. But irregular cycles are usually fixable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really wouldn't worry too much about the irregular periods. I have a 35 year old friend who had terribly irregular periods. She told me in April they were going to start to try and she was pregnant the next month. It just means your ovulation is a little off. That is fixable. Then you have someone like me who is 35 with periods like clockwork - not even a premature delivery or an ectopic pregnancy or any surgery has ever messed up my cycles. My period always comes on time. And here I am after 4 years of trying and still no baby.

I'm not trying to downplay your irregular cycles. Go get checked like the others said just to make sure. But irregular cycles are usually fixable.

Like PP, I don't mean to disregard your concern but for what it's worth, I had a long history of irregular periods and got pregnant within two months after going off the pill at age 37 and then again at age 39 within a month of the return of my period (following previous pregnancy). Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I agree with some of the PPs that you needn't assume there is a problem. I had totally irregular periods both on and off the pill (MONTHS and YEARS without a period), and I went off the pill, got one period two months later, and got pregnant the first time we skipped a barrier form of bc. I wish you the best!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the tips. I am going to call the OB today to be sure we can run all these tests at my first appointment. I am just fearful of losing a lot of time if we try unsuccessfully for 6-12 months, then have to start testing, etc.

[Anonymous]

Go off the pill now. NO reason to think you need an RE at this point. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Most insurance companies will not cover the RE unless you've been trying for six months at age 35, so keep that in mind and start with the OB. You don't need an RE anyway, unless you find out that something is wrong.

Go off the pill when you get your next period (do not do this mid-cycle) and start charting your cycles (fertility friend is great for this). Even though you'll have less than a month, it will still be helpful for your OB if you have an idea of when you may have ovulated (or if you ovulated at all).

Also take a list of anything else you have going on health-wise with you to your appointment (weight gain or loss? acne? hair loss? etc...). Other medical issues can sometimes help diagnose a hormonal imbalance or reproductive issues, if you have them (I'm not saying you do, see the PP's above who had irregular cycles). It will just be helpful information for your doctor to have.

[Anonymous]

Good lord - why are these PPs who are obviously so fertile even following this board??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most insurance companies will not cover the RE unless you've been trying for six months at age 35, so keep that in mind and start with the OB.

This isn't true for many. Many will cover testing with an RE, just not ART. Also, an RE is more likely to do a full work up. Some OBs are very knowledgeable about fertility issues, many aree not.

[Anonymous]

OP I really think you owe it to yourself to try for at least 4-6 months before even CONSIDERING getting any kind of testing or intervention done. You are adding a whole additional level of stress to the process when you have no real reason to think anything is wrong. Irregular periods are not necessarily indicative of anything. I get not wanting to waste time, but the fact is you can't just decide you want to get pregnant and snap your fingers and there it is. You're only 35, you have plenty of time to try for a few months and then, if necessary, seek further medical assistance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I really think you owe it to yourself to try for at least 4-6 months before even CONSIDERING getting any kind of testing or intervention done. You are adding a whole additional level of stress to the process when you have no real reason to think anything is wrong. Irregular periods are not necessarily indicative of anything. I get not wanting to waste time, but the fact is you can't just decide you want to get pregnant and snap your fingers and there it is. You're only 35, you have plenty of time to try for a few months and then, if necessary, seek further medical assistance.

I generally agree that it is premature to go to an RE before you even start TTC, but if having children is very important to you I would consider TTC sooner rather than later. While I know that many of us on this forum come from the minority perspective of having had significant trouble TTC (myself included), it's also worth remembering that statistically, for everyone, fertility declines after the age of 35. This isn't to say you won't be successful without intervention, but your odds diminish because the likelihood that any egg released is viable goes down. This isn't to scare you...many, many people are able to get pregnant easily in their mid-30's. But it's just to remind you that you don't always have time for everything to be perfect. I'm 34, a year into ART, 2 years into TTC. We waited a year after we started talking about TTC; because, I was waiting to settle into the perfect job situation. I don't know if I would have had a baby by now if we started sooner, but I do know that I regret waiting (and I'm not really the type to regret much).

As for whether to see an RE first, I don't think that's necessary before TTC. I went to my OB before starting, but scheduled with an RE after about 9 mos into TTC. TCOYF recommends seeing a specialist if you've been unsuccessful after about 4-6 cylces of TTC with charting...and I think that's about right. Charting should improve your odds of hitting your fertile time enough that if you aren't successful after 4-6 cycles, there is likely an issue. Many RE's don't believe in her method, though. what I can tell you is that my RE has asked me to use OPK's during a natural FET, and charting cervical mucus corresponded exactly to the OPK, even during a really weird cycle, so I think skepticism in the medical community is more that there isn't sufficient data to know how well people need to chart. The science underlying her method is the same as OPKs, it's just that she has you monitor the symptoms the hormones produce in your body while the OPK's monitor them directly.