Secondary Infertility

I have two children, my first son took 4 months to conceive and my second took 2.  I have been trying to conceive my third and last child for 9 months now with no success. (I am 30) I had the Nuvaring through Dec 09 and the month following that I took soy isofalvones  day 1-3 and was diagnosed with a cyst the following month.  My Dr put me on BCP for two months until the cyst could be rechecked and upon recheck the cyst was smaller so I went off the BCP and began to try to conceive again.  Since that time I've had 25 day cycles with positive OPK on day 10.  I always have light bleeding for 1-2 days just before the positive OPK.  The past two cycles have now lengthened to 28 days but still the light bleeding midcycle.  (Not spotting, actual bleeding)
I am going to see a Dr in 2.5 weeks but we are military and my husband is leaving soon on deployment and if we don't get pregnant before we will probably not end up having a third because of timings.  Any idea what my problem could be?  Would clomid help?  Did I cause this by taking the soy isoflavone supplement way back in January?

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
First of all, don't worry that you have caused anything.  Soy supplements taken in small quantities are harmless, and any effects have most likely worn off long since.
Second of all, as far as fertility issues, your biggest problem is most likely your lack of time--given enough time things will probably click.

If you were my patient, I would want to do a saline ultrasound to rule out a polyp as the cause of your mid-cycle bleeding.  The most likely possibility is that you just have ovulation bleeding which is normal and experienced by 20-30% of women.  If it is bothersome, it can be treated with estrogen supplements around the time of ovulation, but need not be treated at all.

Hope things happen for you!
Good luck!
Dr B