TTC 5 years, miscarriage, clomid, blood tests normal, blah blah blah!

[spamgirl]

Hi! I am new to this and i am desperate and frustrated and wondered if any of you ladies could offer some advice because it seems that my doctors dont know or care.  Here is my story:  

I am 36, have 2 boys and have been ttc for 5 years.  I have had 3 IUI's over the last year. I know im not infertile because i did finally did concieve naturally in January but had a miscarriage in February :(.  That was my first miscarriage that i am aware of.  The tests i have had so far are:  tsh, t4, prolactin, free testosterone, FSH, LH, and an HSG--all normal.  My DH has been tested and he is within normal limits too.  I have been on clomid for 12 months and have been charting temps and using OPK tests and timing BD accordingly.  My LP is about 13 days on average and temps seem normal.  I am not overweight, eat healthy, workout regularly, etc.  With my first son (hes now 11) i had no problem getting pregnant.  With my second son (hes now 7) it took a year to get pregnant with him.  Now its taking 5+ years and I dont know what else to do.  I have three doctors (all OBGYN's that specialize in fertility)--one just wants to do IVF so he can get some real money, and the others are trying to help but clearly arent in as much of a hurry as me.  

Can someone please offer me some advice or see something that i am missing?   I am not opposed to natural medicines or witchcraft or anything either.  Thanks!

[BeeHappy76]

Does your RE know you are ttc for 5 yrs? Mine said that normally they would wait for 3 mc (i have had 2 mc and 1 chemical preg but he said the chemical doesn't really count), but since it took 18 mos. for me to get 1st bfp they started all the tests sooner - looking for things that could cause infertility and/or early mc. Maybe it is a little different in your case bc you have had 2 successful pregnancies in the past, so they can rule some things out. It just seems strange that he would be willing to proceed with ivf but not willing to proceed with other tests 1st...

For insulin resistance he did the 2-hr glucose test - same one they give to test for gestational diabetes where you drink the sugar drink and they test your blood every half hour afterwards. My obgyn had me do it 1st and tested only glucose, that one came back normal (no diabetes). RE had me repeat (fun!) and test both glucose and insulin at each draw - that one showed that insulin spikes to >5x normal level after drinking the sugar drink. From what I understand, you can develop insulin resistance at any time in your life. Bc insulin is a hormone, it has effects on your other hormone levels (estrogen, etc.) and women with high insulin levels have high mc rates and often have trouble getting pregnant. There is a really good book called the Fertility Diet that explains it all and also suggests what to eat to keep insulin levels from spiking.

[spamgirl]

Thanks for the advice.  I am seeing an RE-he's the one who just wants to do IVF.  He only did 2 blood tests on me-FSH and estradial-and says i need to have 2 or 3 miscarriages before he will test anything else.  I dont want to do IVF.  He's in the biggest and best RE group practice in the state so i dont even know if going to another RE in the practice will make a difference.  I just feel like i am in this alone.  Beehappy76-what test was it where your RE found you were insulin resistant and what injectiables are you going to be doing?  Will you keep me informed of your progress with the injectables when you start them?  Thanks so much for sharing.

[Kricket212]

What you are experiencing is called 2ndary Infertility.  I also would suggest going to RE.  Good Luck to you.

[BeeHappy76]

Have you considered seeing an RE? I have been ttc for 3 yrs and have had 2 mc. I was seeing an obgyn for about 2 yrs who ran a bunch of tests and found nothing wrong. I then started seeing an RE who ran some additional tests and found some things the OBGYN didn't pick up on (one being that I am borderline insulin resistant, which can cause infertility and mc, even though I am not overweight, eat healthy, and exercise). If you don't feel like your Drs are helping, maybe you can get a referral to an RE. Also, have they been monitoring you on the clomid with midcycle ultrasounds, etc? I just started clomid last month and it does not seem to be working for me (thinned my lining, caused ovarian cysts). I would not have known that it's not working right if RE wasn't monitoring me closely. I may be switching to injectibles because of that. Good luck to you and try to stay positive. I know how frustrating this journey can be.