What if I'm not ovulating

[dms621]

My husband & I have been trying to conceive since Jan of 07 (almost 2 years now) with no luck.  No pregnancies at all.  We're going back to the Dr in a few weeks (he's been tested and has above standard everything - motility, count, etc) and I'm just scared that it's something with me that's permanent.  The Dr did some bloodwork and we'll get the results at our appointment.  I'm not sure if maybe I'm going into early menopause or something because I get my period VERY infrequently (ex: 12/31/07, 5/10/08, 9/10/08 and then the med the Dr gave me brought it on 10/27/08).  Am I worried about menopause without cause?

Also, the Dr mentioned at our consult clomid is the first option.  Any idea on how effective this is?  My preference is no needles because I'm a needle phobe, so this seems like a good idea.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

[shart3414]

Let me tell you my story,please tell me if anyone has been in my situation. I am 39, have not had a cycle in 4 years without medication. I am in perimenapause and have taken clomid. This did not work. I have been through the emotional rollercoaster to the point I am just depressed. My doctor has told me my ovaries are not developing and are just there. I have tried every procedure possible and have taken vitamins nothing. I just can not ovulate for nothing. I did ovulate once with the HSG injection but I still didn't get pregnant. I have been to about 10 doctors and they try but nothing. Just came from the doctor this morning and he gave me 3 options: carry someone elses egg, adopt, or he will monitor me in a month. Is there anything else I can try or take over the counter?

[snuggles556]

HI! IM IN MY EARLY 20'S AND I LIVE IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA AND  HAVE ONLY SEEN MY PERIOD THREE TIMES IN THE YEAR OF 2008! I WILL BE GETTING MARRIED ON APRIL 18TH 2009 AND ME AND MY SOON TO BE HUSBAND WILL LIKE TO START A FAMILY OF OUR OWN. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN AND WHO TO TALK TO ABOUT MY SITUTATION. YES IT WILL BE VERY HURTFUL TO KNOW THAT I CAN NOT CONCEIVE OR IF IT'S A LONG PROCESS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE ALL WILL DO US SOME GOOD.

[beth0414]

baby dust for all of us!

[mountofolives]

Hi there.....thanks for the response. Im sorry things haven't worked out for you. I've been pregnant twice before aswell. Once right after I got married ( i think I conceived on my wedding night - believe it or not !!! - lol) But that resulted in a miscarriage, which was devastating. But then I got pregnant again which resulted in my son and that happened a year after the miscarriage. Then when my son was 1 years old, I found out I was pregnant again, that one didn't go forward for many reasons either, so now here I sit, hoping and praying I will have another. I don't know most times I'm wracked with guilt, other times I couldn't be bothered. I just "hate" when family and friends ask why I haven't had another one yet! It's annoying and kind of makes me feel like a failure! I know what you  mean about its easy to get depressed. Don't lose heart Dear....your time will come. I do have a strong faith in God, so all I can say is "pray" if you can ( I don't know what your beliefs are, but I know HE hears us when we pray !) I've been avoiding going to the doctor for fear of what they would tell me. Plus I know I need to lose all this excess weight. I can't imagine getting pregnant and having to gain MORE weight on top of what I have now. My feet wouldn't be able to carry me and my knees will totally give out ! ( i have small feet & a big body - lol !)*   By the way, I was wondering -- " did you ever have days when your periods were really late ( like 3 mons) and you just felt so " yuck " almost like you were pregnant - nauseated, bloated, tired etc....Thats how I feel right now. I'm also noticing that I feel hungrier than usual and when I do eat, it's still not enough. Am I going thru some weird " missed period " phase or am I .....dare I say " pregnant " ?...Gosh I wish !!! Anyway, as I said in my earlier post, my frd at work went to get her blood results yesterday after work. She wanted to know if she was pregnant or not and she was pretty emotional when she found out she wasn't !!! She really was hoping she was. She couldn't even drive home, she was sooo emotional she had to stop the car on the side of the road and call me !!!. Poor Girl !!!. Anyway, I hope my time will also come.
  So these treatments ( injectibles) you mentioned. Are they very expensive and what do they do, or what are they supposed to do?*. I will be seeing a fertility specialist next Friday and I'm sure she will end up putting me on something. I'm not too keen on stuffing myself with all kinds of meds, so this will be difficult. I heard that IVF is also verrrrry expensive and a very gruelling process. Another co-worker of mine said her sister and bro-in-law couldn't conceive for years....(15 years to be exact) and they tried IVF several times, but nothing worked for them. They eventually adopted two kids, a girl & a boy from Russia. That was also very difficult for them and a very lengthy and expensive process. No matter what though....don't give up faith or hope that you will get pregnant.

  By they way, how old are you? Does your age play a factor in this? Cause if you're in your late 20's then you shouldn't worry too much. My problem is that I'm already 31, and I only have a few good years left before it gets increasingly harder to conceive. I wish you all the best though & hope that one day soon you'll be able to send us a post saying " IM PREGNANT " !!!  Good luck to ya !!! God Bless !!!

[justwannaBmommy]

Hi
You are not the only one suffering from PCOS your problems are much similar to mine Thank GOD that you have one boy . I have been married for 3 yrs .Before my marriage I was treated for PCOS i took the pill for almost nine months and my cysts were gone . after i stopped the pill i started missing my periods again sometimes for 3 months and some times more than that. i concieved last december but miscarried in jan since then i am seeing a infertility specialist I did clomid cycles but no effect then did my first round of injectibles and iui but then negative pregnancy test. then on my second round which was last month i did injectibles but due to the PCOS I had too many mature follicles which was a risk of multiples so my RE cancelled the cycle this month i am taking a break as the treatment is expensive and more than that frustating. My hopes put me into depression. May be i will do third round of injectibles next month . I cannot afford to go for IVF so the thought of the net failed cycle scares me like hell.
Baby dust to you.

[mountofolives]

I was diagnosed with PCOS ( Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) in 2005 by a Doctor I saw for a routine check up ( blood pressure, eyes, reflexes...etc) I had not had my period for 3 months when I went to see him. This had never happened to me before in my life, so the fact that I had not had my period was really upsetting.( esp: because I knew for a fact I wasn't preggers, since my hubby wasn't even in the country at the time - LOL !!!)  My friend was with me that day at the Doctors office and coaxed me into telling the Doctor about my problem. He then sent me to have blood work done as well as an internal ultrasound ( vaginally)*  Anyway, it turns out I had small cysts ( fluid-filled sacs) growing on my ovaries. He said the endometrial lining of the uterus etc...was fine, but in cases like mine when a woman develops cysts on her ovaries, it can later lead to cancer, but if treated with Hormone replacement therapy, could be managed and held at bay. I tried the pills he prescribed but was weary within 3 days of taking them,of the long term effects of taking hormone replacement pills. I researched PCOS and the treatments. After a lot of prayer and intercession, I gave up the pills and just started exercising ( I had gained weight which was affecting my knees etc...I was never overweight in my life)* PCOS apparently makes you gain weight, grow facial hair, and even adult acne can result. I had it all. The acne is gone now after using Proactiv skin care products for the last 3 years, but I seem to have gained even more weight since 2005. Sad to say I am now 208 lbs at 5'5" ( size 16-18) where as I used to be 155 lbs in 2003. I have since been on no meds, have not been exercising ( as I should - ME BAD !!!) and I've missed my periods for about 3 months again. The last time I had my period was in August this year I believe. I have an appointment to see a Specialist who deals with infertility, as my husband and I would greatly like to have another addition to our family. We already have a 7 year old boy, but as many keep telling me, " he needs a companion " !!!. Does anyone else in here have anything remotely similar to my case?

  I have a frd who's also trying to get preggers but shes closing in on 40 next year and shes also a smoker. Shes had tests done and all seems well, but shes also very worried. Could poor diet, genes, chemicals in our food and household products, the atmosphere etc...have anything to do with the high rate of infertility in women and men today? Its very.....strange !!!  I just keep praying and hoping to God that one day soon ( in HIS time of course)* that I will be able to give my little boy a brother or sister he can play with, before he gets too big to play with anyone at all; including Mommy and Daddy !!!  Cheers !!!!

[candie429]

You're welcome, I hope they help.  Personally, I was started on Clomid last year about this time.  I took it for 4 cycles and it worked since I definitely O'd, but we didn't get pregnant.  My doctor then switched me to Femara, which I took for another 4 cycles.  Again, I O'd, but no BFP. :(  With Clomid, I had pretty bad hot flashes, was very moody, and very fatigued.  I didn't have that with the Femara, but did get headaches.  I know from reading other posts here, it seems like women have less side effects with Femara, but of course it can affect everyone differently.  

Good luck at the RE and hopefully he'll be able to give you some help and some answers so that you can get your BFP very soon!!!  :)

[dms621]

Thanks so much for the articles!  We're going to the RE tomorrow for my blood results, I'll be sure to ask him about it.  How long have you been on it?  Any good/bad side effects?  Yes, I've read that about the clomid too (about the birth defects).  It's like just about anything they say you shouldn't take any of it when prego.

Good luck to you too and thank you so much for the info!  keep me posted!!!

[candie429]

Yes, Femara was initially introduced as a breast cancer drug, but since it works by affecting the estrogen hormone, it was later found to be a drug that works similar to Clomid and can promote ovulation.  I did a lot of research on it too before I took it, and there are some articles out there saying it is linked to birth defects, but that is only if you take it while you are pregnant (clomid has the same warning).  Here are 2 really good articles about it.  I found them on the website of a fertility clinic (I never used this clinic, but found they had a lot of good resources).  There are a lot of women on the forum here that have taken it too, so if you ever wanted to post questions about it, you should get a lot of feedback.  Good luck to you!

http://www.soft-infertility.com/docs/PIFemaraForInfertility.pdf

http://www.soft-infertility.com/docs/PIFemaraForInfertility.pdf

[dms621]

I just looked up Femara.  I didn't find anything about it being used for infertility (it says it's cancer treatment).  I found this info on webmd.

"This medication is used with other medications to treat certain types of breast cancer (e.g., hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer) in women after menopause. Letrozole is also used to help prevent the cancer from returning. Some breast cancers are made to grow faster by a natural hormone called estrogen. Letrozole decreases the amount of estrogen the body makes and helps to slow or reverse the growth of these breast cancers.

Letrozole is not to be used in women of childbearing age (see Precautions section)."  

[dms621]

Thanks to all for your comments.  Yes, our RE has done bloodwork for me and put me on provera to bring in my period in order for the bloodwork to be done (day 3 of my cycle).  I wasn't aware of the Femara.  I'm going to do some research on that (thanks Candie!).  I'm inspired by your friend's situation and hope that works for me too!  :)

Good luck to you as well!!!

[beth0414]

thanx candie for that inspiring stories..im having this work up under my RE for about 2months ago..and your correct ive been having blood work most of the time..she had done sono for my tubes and thank God they are normal to blockage..the only problem she encounter w/ me is that i have a very low estrogen level and have very thin lining..thats why im not ovulating on my own..though accdg to my bloodtests i have still eggs in my ovaries..its just that my estrogen hormones are not enough to stimulate them..thats why last month she gave me injectibles GONAL F so as to help stimulate my follicles to grow/mature..last tuesday i ovulate and befor and after my ovulation we had a BD..and my RE gave me supplement PROGYNOVA and DUPHASTON in case i will be pregnant to prepare my lining for the implantation..i will find out soon(nov.20) if the egg that come out from my ovaries was fertilized..hoping..

[candie429]

Good luck at your doctor's appointment.  The first step of testing with us women is usually bloodwork to evaluate your hormone levels.  If everything looks good there, the doctor may suggest an HSG test (hysterosalpingogram) which is where they inject dye and use x-ray technology to make sure there are no structural problems with your organs (such as blocked tubes).  In your case, it really seems like it is an ovulation problem.  Clomid is usually the first drug of choice.  You would take it for a few days during the 1st part of your cycle and should then ovulate within 5 to 10 days after you take the last pill.  I'm sure the doctor will explain all of that to you.  The drug Femara (oral, not injections) can be another option if you don't respond to the Clomid.  Regardless, don't give up hope yet.  I know how frustrating it can be, but I'm sure the doctor will be able to put together a plan to work for you.  A friend of mine had infrequent periods like you, the doctor gave her provera to induce her period and then she took clomid and she got pregnant right away.  So, it can happen!  Good luck to you.  :)

[beth0414]

me too im not ovulating as in if i will not take a provera i will not bleed..and clomid is case to case basis..for my own experience for me it is not effective at all even at a higher dosed thats why im having hard time ttc..

since your having periods infrequently you must see a RE as soon as possible..maybe or im sure there is something wrong inside..there are a lot of causes that tigger irregular periods..and im sure your doc will rule out this: thru many bloodworks/fallopiantube tests..etc..your lucky coz your still have your periods its just that there are some reasons behind why your not getting preggy:

1)maybe your not ovulating(it means your egg is not released from the ovaries thats why your not getting period even your mentruating)-menstruation is the blood that is slough off by your endometrium lining and it shed bec there is no fertilization occured...or

2)maybe your intercourse is too late or it is not timely to your ovulation..ive read that the egg that is spelled out from the ovaries last only24hrs....

goodluck on your work up..just be patient ok!hope it helps you..

[RockyVT08]

I have a similar problem and the doc put me on provera to force the periods and ovulations. We have only been TTC for 5 months now though. There are a few different options that dont require shots though.

[Heather5]

If you're not ovulating regularly on your own, then yes, clomid is usually the first medication suggested. It's just a pill taken for five days in the early part of your cycle. Based on how your body responds, he might keep you on the same dose for future cycles, or increase it if you need a higher dose to ovulate. Good luck!