What are the steps?

[bee0633]

Hey IDK what's considered a long time ttc, so I hope I don't offend anyone. I got off bc last March and did the ntnp until July. So I have been officially ttc for 13 months. I made my first consult with the gyno. What should I expect them to do. The lady that scheduled me acted like they would be putting me on clomid.... (I didn't even ask what to expect) I am just curious if they do test first... I seem to ovulate fine and regularly... does that still work for someone that doesn't seem to have an ovulation problem?... I just want to be prepared for this appointment, I am the first in the family to have difficulty on both sides of our families

Thank you!

 

[jjbubbles28]

I was LTTTC for 29 months. First after the year mark I had full bloods, HCG, and hubby had a SA done. Once that was clear they started me on clomid and IUI for 3 cycles.When they failed I chose to move to a fertility specialist to use injectables. But generally they say 4-6 cycles before moving.

 

[rebecca822]

Hi Bee!
I think most doctors say after 12 months you can begin thinking about seeing a doctor. We went straight to a specialist instead of going to our OBGYN.
We went after TTC for 7 months since we previously had 2 natural pregnancies which occurred after only TTC for 1-2 months each.
We were diagnosed with MF (male factor infertility) about a month ago.
You should consider seeing an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) as they are more experienced in this than an OBGYN.

Good luck!

 

[lisap2008]

After a year of actively trying good BD timing with confirmed BBT ovulation
we went in for testing of both of us, first I had a blood panel ran and cd 21 blood test to confirm I was ovulating and HSG was clear, so then we started looking at DH had a semen analysis done and SA was poor.
defiantly ask for testing before taking fertility meds and see a RE if you can.

 

[heychrissie]

We had been trying for around 8 months when we saw my GP - went in at less than a year due to me having irregular periods and a lot of health issues when I was younger. I got the impression that I would be started on Clomid very soon based on what my Dr said (the way it was put made it sound like a month or two) - this was not the case as I've only been prescribed Clomid for the last month (about 16months trying, so 8 months later - I do feel a little misled - and wish I'd been a little more direct with asking for time frames. I was messed around with tests a fair bit)
They should test for all suspected issues (certainly that would interfere with Clomid) first, and I know Clomid can be used with monitoring to give you 'a bit of a boost' with issues other than with ovulation.
GL!

 

[2have4kids]

We've tried for the past 6 years. This is a very brief synopsis of our journey...we were ttc for 6 months and then my doctor sent us to a fs. Turned out I had diminished ovarian reserves at the age of 34 (my ovaries looked like a 45 year old woman) and they gave me less than 5% chance of natural conception.
The frs ordered the HCG, he did the SA and we both did bloods. My fsh was super high although it was looking like I was still ovulating.
Treatments:
- 3 iui's with chlomid
- 3 failed ivf's
- I lost 60 lbs (BNI 31 down to 23) to help my fertility (being overweight reduces your chances exponentially)
https://sites.google.com/site/miscarriageresearch/obesity-and-miscarriage
- I mc'd a natural pregnancy that happened after I lost my weight.
- fresh donor egg ivf (mc'd twins)

Then I was tested reproductive immune issues with Dr Beers clinic in Los Gatos California. I didn't have to go there, just had bloods sent and all the consults were over skype (super easy and very worth while). Turned out that even if I did get pregnant I have severe clotting issues that my regular fs didn't even test for (thrombophelia & antiphospholipid antibodies). Fertility specialists often don't even know about immune complications and therefore won't test/treat.
-treated for immune issues with Humira, IVIG, Lovenox, baby aspirin, and prednisone
- 2 more donor egg IVF's with no implantation.
- got on the adoption list
- then I got a surprise natural pregnancy which stuck

I highly recommend that if IVF doesn't work for any of the ltttc'ers and there's a history of either arthritis, Chrones disease, or stroke in your family that you get tested for reproductive immune issues as well. No one ever talks about immune issues on this thread but it's very likely that implantation failure and unknown infertility is due to immunological issues.