hello girls...
i'm new here. i was invited by my friend hillary and am extremely grateful i was. this infertility stuff isn't very fun and i'm excited and hopeful that making new friends that have similar problems will help with our journey to become parents.
my name is ashley owens and my husband, cameron, and i have only been trying to have a baby since last march. we have been married for over 5 years and are still madly in love. we know that we haven't had as much time as some dealing with infertility, but are quickly finding out that each and every month it doesn't happen that we are crushed and feel defeated. anyway, here's our story: i knew that something wasn't right after just a few months of trying. i have very regular cycles but was spotting about a week before each period...not really normal so naturally i thought i had a problem with low progesterone. knowing that wasn't a big deal to fix, i made an appt with my ob/gyn last november. he felt like i might be right in assuming low progesterone and he quickly prescribed 3 months of clomid to regulate my horomones and to make "better eggs," fixing the spotting in the mean time. cameron also had an SA and everything was "above average." well, we've done all 3 months of clomid and all were unsuccessful. it didn't really fix the spotting and consequently i had my progesterone drawn and it was 14 on CD24. normal. that's where we are now. i have an appt to see my MD again and we'll have to be discussing what our options are from here on out. i know he mentioned getting an hsg to check my tube patentcy and identify any obvious uterine problems. so there you go. i'm sure he'll offer to have us do IUI and maybe injectibles. what do you guys think??
if i always ovulate on my own would injectibles and IUI even be helpful?? especially if my hubby's sperm is great.?
or, would you just suggest a referral to an RE and skip out on the tests that the RE would probably just repeat?
i appreciate everyone welcoming me here and look forward to getting to know you all a little better. hopefully i can be of some support too, as this really is so hard when everyone around can do it so easily. thanks again...ashley
6 comments:
First of all.....WELCOME!!! We are so happy you found us and hope that this blog will be helpful, theraputic, and uplifting for you.
Oh I so remember the days counting down to ovulation and the dreaded count down to your period. It is not a fun thing to have to go through to say the least. On the positive side there is still so many options in front of you. For me personally if I could do it again I would for sure go straight to a fertility specialist. Why waist time and money when you could be giving yourself the best options right now. I'm not saying go schedule IVF tomorrow you still have so many possiblities. I just think you need to find a Dr. that specializes in infertility. I spent WAY too much time with my reg OB. He told me I had a tilted cervics and to lay on my stomach. WOW if that was only the problem. Most times the problem is simple and easy to fix. You just want to get to the problem ASAP so you can move on to bigger and better things, like a BABY. That is just my opinion, but you of coarse have to go with what you feel is best. As we all know it is a process and sometimes we have to take baby steps to get to where we need to be. There is nothing wrong with that. I just wish I had of known what I know now. I was finally diagnosed with PCOS 3 1/2 years after trying and my husbands sperms inability to penatrate the egg 8 years after trying. All this info would have been Wonderful durring those first few years. It would have saved us a lot of $ and would have led us to IVF a lot sooner. Hope this helps and good luck. Keep us posted on what is going on.
I agree with Kim. Move on to a specialist, get the basic tests done, and find out all you can about your body so you know what you're facing and can make informed decisions. A lot of us have great "hindsight" now and would love for someone to be able to benifit from it! :)
You may be able to answer your question about IUI's and if they are worth it for you once you've done more testing and had an expert opinion. Good luck!!
One thing that helped us figure out why I was spotting was finding out that I had pallyps in my uterus. They found that with the HSG, and then took a closer look with a water ultrasound. I wish I wouldn't have done a single IUI until I had my HSG and water ultrasound because yes, there is a reason it is not working. Good luck!
Purely my opinion here, but I am much like everyone else - skip out on the OB (even if they say they specailize in infertility) and go to an RE.
When I went to see my current RE (after 5 years of not trying) I was shocked to find out that many of the tests my "fertility" OB had done are now obsolete because they don't accurately predict your ability to conceive.
The only reason My hubby and I didn't see an RE earlier was because our insurance wouldn't cover any of it. I wish we would've made the sacrifice and just gone to see one early on.
Hope this helps, and GOOD LUCK!
I agree with everyone else. My OB sent us to do the SA, some blood tests for me, and referred us to a urologist for my husband to do all sorts of tests--all of which just cost a lot of money and didn't get us anywhere. I feel like we've made the most progress with our RE at the U. Plus, an RE can do all the same tests as your OB, so you might as well just go with someone who can sort of be more full-service. But you have to do what you and your husband feel most comfortable doing. Good luck!
Ashley,
Welcome, welcome! Absolutely goto the RE first. We were told by two different fertility OB's (specialists, mind you) that we would never conceive. Imagine our shock last fall (after almost 12 years of marriage) when an RE tells us that our chances are 'above average' for the possibility of conception among his infertility patients. Hmmm, a little info. that may have come in handy after we had closed that door forever. We've been dragging our feet ever since. Perhaps the possibility of success is a little too overwhelming to comprehend at this point. Our adoption was also a fabulous experience, so we may go that route again if we finally make a long overdue decision!
Good luck and keep us updated on any progress! Glad to see a new face (though not under the most wonderful circumstances).
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