do you really need to try 1 whole year before getting help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might wait out the full year only because:

(a) Your age doesn't suggest you need to rush.
(b) Once you start, there isn't much going back and it can be a tough road with lots of time and money invested.
(c) You did get pregnant once before.

If it was me, I would take the next 3 months to try but not invest a lot in the trying. Give yourself this time "off" to just wait it out and have lots of fun sex around the middle of your cycle (or whenever you usually ovulate) but - maybe - leave the OPKs aside. I say this only because so many times I hear that people were surprised by success when they were taking a break and not worrying. You have the perfect situation in which you can take that break and know in three months you'll do something, so why not try?

People "go back" all the time. Nobody is forced to show up in the office on the first day of period or whatever.

I think PP is referring to the fact that if you start on the medications for IUI or IVF, it preempts your natural hormones. It's not easy to go back to trying TTC naturally, you have to wait for all the drugs to get out of your system, similar to waiting after a miscarriage. If there's not a real fertility issue, then all you've done is cost yourself a lot of money for nothing. And the only way to tell if it's an issue is to wait a year and try.

OP, have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? Are you using a monitor or OPKs? Are you temping? Are you charting? I think you should examine your TTC journey more before diving into further treatments. Sometimes you can even diagnose issues yourself (like a short luteal phase) which will be helpful if you DO eventually need to go to an RE.

I guess I don't understand your panic in waiting. You're only 33. You can't want like 6 kids, right? You have PLENTY of time to try for 5 more months and then go to an RE if necessary. I'm with your husband on this one, it doesn't make sense that you're in such a hurry. I know TTC is an emotional roller coaster ride, but try to take a step back and ask yourself what harm waiting 5 months would do. Even if there is a problem, you will only be 5 months older when you get to the end of the year. You're not 38, or 40, or 42. Seriously, give it some time. You may be amazed and find yourself pregnant in a few months.

I agree. It's really hard not to get caught up in it once you see an RE and it's really stressful.

[Anonymous]

OP, you've gotten several perspectives here, so you can take away what you will. I do want to reiterate some of the earlier posts, though. Going to an RE does not mean you have to pursue treatment. But they will be able to do testing that an OB can't. And that may give you peace of mind. Even though you have had a miscarriage before, you still don't have a healthy, viable pregnancy after 1+ years of trying. Many ppl on these boards are significantly older than you, but 33 is not young fertility-wisee.

There's no harm in getting more information about your fertility. And you know your body best. If you think something's wrong, there may well be. I look at most things in life as, I only regret the things I don't do. My only regret along this IF journey has been not seeing a specialist sooner. (With our dx, we would have needed treatments even if we were in our 20s.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I might wait out the full year only because:

(a) Your age doesn't suggest you need to rush.
(b) Once you start, there isn't much going back and it can be a tough road with lots of time and money invested.
(c) You did get pregnant once before.

If it was me, I would take the next 3 months to try but not invest a lot in the trying. Give yourself this time "off" to just wait it out and have lots of fun sex around the middle of your cycle (or whenever you usually ovulate) but - maybe - leave the OPKs aside. I say this only because so many times I hear that people were surprised by success when they were taking a break and not worrying. You have the perfect situation in which you can take that break and know in three months you'll do something, so why not try?

People "go back" all the time. Nobody is forced to show up in the office on the first day of period or whatever.

I think PP is referring to the fact that if you start on the medications for IUI or IVF, it preempts your natural hormones. It's not easy to go back to trying TTC naturally, you have to wait for all the drugs to get out of your system, similar to waiting after a miscarriage. If there's not a real fertility issue, then all you've done is cost yourself a lot of money for nothing. And the only way to tell if it's an issue is to wait a year and try.

OP, have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility? Are you using a monitor or OPKs? Are you temping? Are you charting? I think you should examine your TTC journey more before diving into further treatments. Sometimes you can even diagnose issues yourself (like a short luteal phase) which will be helpful if you DO eventually need to go to an RE.

I guess I don't understand your panic in waiting. You're only 33. You can't want like 6 kids, right? You have PLENTY of time to try for 5 more months and then go to an RE if necessary. I'm with your husband on this one, it doesn't make sense that you're in such a hurry. I know TTC is an emotional roller coaster ride, but try to take a step back and ask yourself what harm waiting 5 months would do. Even if there is a problem, you will only be 5 months older when you get to the end of the year. You're not 38, or 40, or 42. Seriously, give it some time. You may be amazed and find yourself pregnant in a few months.

33 is not young for not even being pregnant with a first child. OP might not want 6 kids, but what if she wants 3? Even if she gets pregnant tomorrow, she is likely to be AMA for her second child and will likely be pushing 40 with her third. Of course, if she know that she will be "one and done" then she can wait a bit more.

Also, going to RE doesn't mean you have to get medication much less go to IVF. And there are plenty of people who have gotten pregnant with "bodies full of medications". Different bodies react differently to fertility protocols and it's by no means a given that, if OP were, say, to take Clomid for a few cycles she would then not to wait for several months before trying naturally.

[Anonymous]

Where did you get your treatment done and who is your doctor? I need some recommendations. Thx.

[Anonymous]

At 33 we tried for 5-6 months before going straight to an RE, bypassed my OB all together. We wouldn't have necessarily gotten treatment at that point, but why wait to at least get the initial tests (blood, sono, HCG, sperm count)? I there had been something clear cut we would have considered treatment sooner rather than later, and if not - probably would have kept trying on our own for a couple of months. As it turned out, we got pregnant during the testing anyway.

I woudn't wait too long to at least get the initial tests done- keep in mind that getting in to see an RE, completing the testing, then going back for the follow-up appointment can easily take 2-3 months.

In our case (BCBS), insurance fully covered all the testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At 33 we tried for 5-6 months before going straight to an RE, bypassed my OB all together. We wouldn't have necessarily gotten treatment at that point, but why wait to at least get the initial tests (blood, sono, HCG, sperm count)? I there had been something clear cut we would have considered treatment sooner rather than later, and if not - probably would have kept trying on our own for a couple of months. As it turned out, we got pregnant during the testing anyway.

I woudn't wait too long to at least get the initial tests done- keep in mind that getting in to see an RE, completing the testing, then going back for the follow-up appointment can easily take 2-3 months.

In our case (BCBS), insurance fully covered all the testing.

Yup! These things tend to move slowly.

[Anonymous]

One easy thing to start with is to visit the doctor on day 2 of your cycle and get your FSH tested. (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) You want it to be low. The test is sort of a bench mark for where you are at, fertility-wise. In the most basic sense, it tests ovarian reserve-- i.e.-- how many eggs you have. (this is really simplying things.) Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Please don't lie about how long you've been ttc to the RE-it is very important that you are truthful so you can get the proper diagnosis and care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please don't lie about how long you've been ttc to the RE-it is very important that you are truthful so you can get the proper diagnosis and care.

Nobody suggested she lies to RE, just to her OB/GYN. 8)