The Middle Stage: after the decision, before the specialist...

[Elle]

We have been TTC since February. Everyone keeps telling me that I have not given it enough time. I probably haven't, but I am nervous that there are problems because of my age. It also doesn't help that my best friends got pregnant in a snap.

But I am not ready to see a specialist just yet. I want to try other methods--whether they be old wives' tales or common sense--before we go to a RE.

I thought we could share ways we are TTC that involve not going to a fertility expert just yet. It could give some of us ideas that we haven't thought of.

I am:
-charting, although, I admit, I am not diligent with the temps. I plug in the periods, baby dancing and CM, and follow when I am fertile;
-just bough an ovulation kit. Wow, they are expensive! Seven sticks for $20.00. But, a store brand--does that make a difference?;
-I am drinking green tea;
-Ok, this does involve a expert, but I want DH to check his sperm out. From what I gather, it's pretty harmless, and why not get that out of the way?

What are you doing? ;)

[ktsb]

My OB basically said BD every other day from day 10 until 18. She didn't recommend any of the other stuff especially since they can get costly. I know however there are lots of women who find success with the OPKs.

Age does have a signficant factor.

My biggest point of advise based on the information you provided would be to get diligent with the temps. See if you have clear pattern or lack of pattern and go from there.

My OB also said if you don't get pregnant after 6 months it's not a bad idea to consult and RE.

Good Luck!

[ShelbyMay]

DH and I have also been TTC since February. We are not planning to seek medical help unless it takes more than a year. That being said, I know that the 6 month mark has been very difficult for us, emotionally. This cycle, we are going to try using FemGlide instead of our usual lubricant. I am also going to try taking Robitussin to increase my fertile CM. I can't talk to my doctor about this even if I wanted to b/c our current insurance doesn't cover ANY infertility tests or treatments. If we get to the one year mark, we will have to start shopping around for new individual health coverage, and we don't want this "on our record" as a preexisting condition.

[AusMarchBride]

One small thing regarding OPKs.

Before I saw an RE, I tried using OPKs and never ever got a line on them darker than the control line (which is what confirms you are ovulating). My line was always much lighter. I was pretty certain I was ovulating (wasn't charting) because I always had very regular 30day cycles.

We decided to go to an RE (mainly as I was 37 and didn't feel I had time to waste), who told me that it's not unusual for a woman to not get a positive OPK but still be ovulating.

Moral of the story, if you use OPKs and you don't get a dark line, don't assume the worst. But I would see an RE to confirm ovulation is occurring.

[jennylou]

OPKs get best results if used twice per day. It's very easy to miss the LH surge otherwise. You should also take them in the afternoon, at the same time every day. Target has their brand OPK's, here, they are $14.99 for a box of 7.\

Try to be more dillegent in your charting. In the event that you should need to see a specialist at some point, the more complete your charts are the more information it will provide to your RE.

Make sure you're taking your prenatals.

Your husband taking a SA, would be one of the very first steps that your Dr. should set up. It's the easiest of any tests. The second easiest is bloodwork from you. She can check your hormones on day 3 and also on 7 dpo. If your progesterone is low on the 7 dpo test, s/he will be able to give you supplements to help.

Good luck. :)

[Soulmate]

I would agree with everyone that charting will be your most useful tool. Other than that I would stay away from any of those "home remedies" because they can screw you up more than anything. Unfortunately good ole time and possibly medical intervention (if needed) will do the trick. I've been TTC since May '04 and have tried everything in the book. I believe life will give you (or not give you) what you need when *it* chooses to. Not fun or easy to hear 6 months in but once I hit the 1 year mark it keeps my sanity.

Like jennylou mentioned you can get CD3/7DPO bloodwork done at your regular ob/gyn and it will be covered. I had 7DPO tests done by just asking for it and didn't have to pay.

My only other advice it to make sure both you and DH are exercising and at least taking a multivitamin (DH too). My DH is a little overweight, was eating like crap, and not exercising. He has recently gotten into taking care of himself better and I truly believe it will help his little spermies.

[Scooter]

Getting an SA doesn't necessarily involve a specialist. My DH had his done through his regular Dr. We just called them up and requested it over the phone. He said we've been trying for x amount of time and want to take this step before I go to an RE. Others here have said their ob/gyn was able to order their DH's test, so you might want to look into that before going to an RE. I also had my cd3 and 7dpo bloodwork done at my ob/gyn's. Those are the first things an RE would do, anyway.

OPKs: I haven't had much luck with the internet ones, unfortunately because they're cheap. I get mine 10 for $20 at Costco, so you may want to try places like that--and maybe Sams Club, Big Lots, Target has good ones-- to find some better deals.


and I just wanted to comment on this: try taking Robitussin to increase my fertile CM Robitussin doesn't actually increase your CM. Only water, green tea, and grapefruit juice do that. (And some say carrots or carrot juice.) And with the green tea and GFJ, some people have opposite results. Robitussin (guaifenesin) just thins out your mucous membranes (including your CM), like when you are congested during a cold and it thins it out. If it made more mucous, no one would take it when they had a cold! ;) Robitussin is therefore good to take when your best CM is creamy, because that will make it more watery. If you are getting any EWCM, it will just thin it out and make it less fertile.

[ShelbyMay]

I get a day or two of slightly stretchy CM, but it is always a few days before I "O" and I don't think it's lasting long enough to be effective.

[angelgirl8]

what i did before moving on to an RE and everything was to call my obgyn when we'd been trying for awhile and nothing was happening. she ordered a sperm analysis first, since that was the easiest thing.

the other things we did before moving on to the RE were to get 2 simple blood tests done for me that would show if there were any big, obvious problems that were going on: a CD3 blood test (to see how the hormones are doing there, FSH, etc.) and a 7dpo (or CD21, they call it) blood test to see if ovulation was occuring and progesterone levels were normal.

[mermccau]

Well, it sure feels interesting to be posting in this "neck of the woods".

I have to keep going back to the thread of TTC abbreviations to know what anyone is talking about! :D

Anyway, I am a long time WC user who is over here now. I was married on WC and will baby plan here. :)

I took my last pill on March 12th. I will be 35 years old next week.

I have been pretty laid back about this whole process but now I would like to pay more attention so that I get some idea of what my body is doing.

I bought those ovulations strips on Ebay and find I have the same issues that another poster stated - a strip but a light one, making things a bit confusing.

I think it will be great chatting with you ladies about this :)

PS - I have a question:
What is a good website to chart on? Fertility Friend has membership fees. I do not want to pay.

[Smillow]

mermccau - Fertility Friend has free charting in addition to a VIP charting service. I have used it for about a year now & although it doesn't always interpret your O date correctly it has worked fine for me.

I would second the bloodwork recommendation posted be angelgirl8 - especially after 35 (I'm 38) - best to know your levels are ok from the get-go!

I have been taking FertilityBlend (only from CD1 through O) in hopes of success - I have been trying 14 months after a 10 week m/c and have recently consulted an RE.

Good luck to all!

[mermccau]

Smillow - I must not be exploring Fertility Friend 100% because it seems that I hit "VIP access only" when I try to go into analysis. Keep in mind, this is all new to me - it is like a foreign language!

Thanks for the tip on the bloodwork. I will think about giving my doctor a call to get those done.

[Smillow]

mermccau - There is a "Free Charting" button on the banner at the top of the Fertility Friend homepage just below the "Charting your way to Conception" headline that is in the upper right hand portion of the page. HTH!

[CityGirl]

One option you may want to consider is acupuncture. DH and I have been TTC since November (Off the pill since last July). My cycles are really irregular, and I know that the first step in Western Medicine will be Clomid. I'm not ready for that yet, but am still wanting to do something. At our 6 month mark, I started acupcuncture and herbs. It hasn't resulted in a BFP yet, but my body is changing, so I'm hopeful.

[melissafromnc]

Instead of OPKs I'd recommend a fertility monitor. Jenny is right that you'd want to do opks twice a day and that will add up quickly. You can get a used one on ebay fairly cheaply (and the sticks as well) and it will be more accurate than the opks. Also, if you get a used one you can reset it.

I'd combine the fertility monitor and charting. If you find you aren't ovulating or your luteal phases are short you might want to get checked out. You can chart for free at Fertility Friend but you can try out the vip stuff and see if you like it. I don't remember how much it was for a lifetime membership (maybe $20 or 40 or something) but it was totally worth it for me. It was less than I spent on opks in one month.

Also getting CD3 and 7DPO testing is good to get out of the way.

If you decide to go to an RE they'll likely want a number of tests done ahead of time including the basic bloodwork and an SA.

Keep in mind that the recommendation for when to seek an RE is ttc for 6 months when you're over 35 and 1 year if you're under 35. Waiting longer than that isn't likely to be helpful. If you find something from charting (super short lp or something) you should go to an RE more quickly. It can also take a long time to get into see an RE once you decide (often several months) so you might make an appointment for the future and just cancel it.