Any advice?? Help!

I am 28 years old and my DH is 30. We have been TTC since November of 2005....a 15 month Iraq deployment fell in there but other than that, we've been consistently trying.

DH had an SA in May 2008. It showed 2.2 million density, 42%motility and 5% morphology. DH had a follow-up SA in October 2009 and showed better results 38 million density, 50% motility, and 2% morphology.

I had bloodwork done and all was normal in May 2008. I had an internal ultrasound of February 2009 that showed 5-6 pockets of fluid surrounding my uterus, bladder and ovaries....Florida fertility specialist said that was consistent with Endo. Moved back to Ohio and gyno started doing more tests...HSG done October 2009 and showed all normal and no blockages. Gyno said she's not convinced that pockets of fluid mean that. I am scheduled for another internal ultrasound since I did not have insurance the first time so my current gyno can see what's going on.

While all this is going on, I've been taking my basal temps and none have been consistent. It goes up and down, up and down all the time, all month long. I've been taking my temps with a basal thermometer AND a regular thermometer...both are showing up and down numbers. I have below normal temp as it is. My normal is around 97.6 but in the mornings I've been going all the way down to 96.8 some times.

Any advice or suggestions of what to do next would be helpful. Anyone been anywhere near this situation, I definitely want to hear.

Please and thank you!
Ashley

By ladyspain
Posted November 4, 2009 at 4:11 pm
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Have you done any ovulaton predictor kits? If not, I'd try it for a month or two. I tried charting my temp for 14 months -- but I have PCOS, and very erratic cycles, so I was never able to establish a "norm" with it. ---And if you can't recognize when you're about to ovulate, etc, then it won't help you to know when babymakin' time is! So I'd use a OPK over charting any day of the week. Basically, once the OPK shows that you're ovulating, I'd make sure you and the DH hit the sack every other day for a week... just to make sure you cover all the bases.

Keep moving forward with the dr apptmts... If you're only seeing your regular ob/gyn, ask them to give you a referral on to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE). Chances are, you'd need to move on to one anyways, and it's better to go through months of fertility meds while being monitored by your RE than just stuck with your regular doctor whose knowledge about IF only goes so far....

I wasted 6 months of going to my ob/gyn, and was miserable the entire time -- mostly due to the fact that she didn't really know enough about IF treatments to really help me. Once I moved on to a RE, things improved dramatically, and it gives me a lot more hope and confidence in all this mess.

Best of luck to you!

By dolphinlvr11
Posted November 4, 2009 at 9:51 pm
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Ashley. I don't have any specific advice except to make sure you get all the tests done that you can. Have you done any IUI's or IVF's? You could just have "unexplained" and with a little help, you could be on your way. I was where you were with the Iraq deployment, however I did treatments throughout that. I was hoping upon his return I would already be pregnant. It actually worked as soon as he got home, with IVF> I guess the timing was better.

GOOD LUCK!

Lisa

By mcmann05
Posted November 4, 2009 at 9:58 pm
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I was hoping for that to happen too when he got home. A friend of mine got pg on R&R and I was so frustrated.

Congrats that IVF finally worked for you though! I'm hoping for some more answers next week.

I tried a few ovulation predictor sticks when we lived in Germany and nothing EVER came back that I was ever ovulating anywhere near the time when I should have been. We have not done any iui's or ivf's. We assumed after the first SA that we would only be eligible for IVF but the docs are being more positive than we were prepared for.

By Laura143
Posted November 5, 2009 at 9:40 am
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I definitely recommend the ovulation kits too. I have the best luck with the digital ones. They're more expensive, but I can't stand the whole "is this pink darker than that pink" type. With digital, it either is (smilely face) or it isn't (circle). Also, my gyno blew off the sacs of fluid I had too and it turned out 2 YEARS later that I have stage 3 endo and very little chance of ever conceiving without treatment. Do you have any of the other symptoms of endo? Like long, heavy and painful periods, digestive problems, etc.? If so, I'd push for a laparoscopy if I were you. I wasted a year and half at my gyno (and 2 rounds of IUI) before I went to a specialist who scheduled my lap during my first appointment because she had no doubt it was endo. At least now I have a reason and I'm moving in the right direction. So much better than just month after month of BFN with no explanation.

By mcmann05
Posted November 5, 2009 at 9:47 am
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Thanks for that info! I keep thinking the exact same thing and I don't have money to waste, let alone I can't waste any more time (because emotionally I can't deal with it). I however, do not have ANY other symptoms of endo...I do have digestive problems (didn't know that was a symptom) but I have incredibly light and SUPER short periods (like 1-2 days). And, cramping is very minimal (if I take a tylenol once, cramps are gone for the whole rest of my period). very strange and the gyno gave me a look that most women do when I tell them that about the above. lol

I will have to try the digital ovulation predictor...I've looked at them recently but didn't know whether they worked but that seems to be the consensus of this discussion I started. :-)

By mcmann05
Posted November 5, 2009 at 9:49 am
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P.S. The thing that irritates me is that I just had a laparoscopy done in June for my appendectomy and I did not think about asking them to look while they were in there! Grrrr!

By koadoodle
Posted November 8, 2009 at 3:44 pm
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Your doctor can also do an operative hysteroscopy which can look at the inside of your uterus. This might be helpful. Are your periods regular? If not there is a good chance you are not ovulating. However, you are saying that your bloodwork came back fine. Did they do a Day 21 progesterone test? This will show if you are ovulating and if you are making enough progesterone to sustain a pregnancy. Do you have Tricare? They have paid for all my infertility testing. There are also several bases throughout the US which offer reduced cost insemination and IVF procedures. Let me know if you have any questions.

Michele

By SMaj
Posted November 8, 2009 at 4:06 pm
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I'd agree with everyone here about testing. You definitely want to be sure you know what's going on before spending money on any meds or treatments. Especially because if you do have ENDO there are dangers with the medicine which is why your RE/staff would monitor you. And about the kits... the two lines drive me crazy and just make me more stressed, I'd opt for the digital smiley faces!

Also, I've been dx with 2nd stage ENDO after a LAP, had 2 failed IUI's and now we're on to our 1st IVF after having polyps removed that were found in a saline u/s. Although I've had all the symptoms of ENDO, my OBGYN stressed the fact that not ALL patients have symptoms. He's had a number of females come in with very few symptoms but have 3rd/4th stage. But if you're not ovulating regularly that's also something that needs to be taken care of before moving forward. Here's a Web site I go to frequently for information concerning IF: http://www.advancedfertility.com/endometriosis.htm

Hope this helps!

By mcmann05
Posted November 8, 2009 at 6:59 pm
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Thanks Michele and SMaj,
I have not had a 21 day progesterone done...I will bring up on Tuesday abotu that and the Hysteroscopy. My periods are like clockwork....every 21-23 days and last anywhere from 1-3 days.

I do have Tricare (Tricare Reserve Select). They've paid for most of the testing but I do know they don't pay for any treatment. However, I have heard that there are cheaper places to do IVF and IUI. Is there a website where I can find the locations for that?? I live right by Wright Patt Air Force base and I have a feeling they offer it since it's the 2nd largest in the entire U.S.

Thanks girls! I appreciate anything anyone is willing to share with me about this process. It scares me but at the same time I want to be as educated as I possibly can be. My Aunt had 8 recorded miscarriages and 12 that she knows of. She never carried a baby past 4 months and had IVF done 3 times with no success. She was a little older when she started the process but the fact of this happening to me, absolutely terrifies me.

Ashley

By koadoodle
Posted November 9, 2009 at 10:08 am
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I have heard of people that did IVF at Wright Patterson. Just do a search online and you should be able to get some information. If not, just try to reach their medical clinic over there. Good luck.

Michele

By koadoodle
Posted November 10, 2009 at 9:26 pm
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From memory, I believe so. I believe the one person actually preferred them over Walter Reed which runs more cycles, but isn't as personable according to them. I am sure you can contact them and see what their success rates are. Good luck!

Michele

By mcmann05
Posted November 11, 2009 at 9:24 am
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Yeah, I found her on here. Thanks for the heads up! I'm not sure I can still go to Wright Patt for that type of thing. Since it's so discounted, it might be for active military only....we use to be active but are now reserves.

By odmc
Posted November 16, 2009 at 11:13 pm
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Hey Ashley -
yes we had one unsuccessful cycle at Wright Patt, followed by a successful cycle the next year (twin pregnancy; one baby died early on at 9 wks, the other is my DD who turns 2 this week). The setup at Wright Patt has changed since i was there, but my understanding is that the resident RE at Wright Patt (who works in the ob/gyn clinic) sees patients there for "simple IF" i.e. consults, testing, IUIs; but IVF location is split between WP (Rx, monitoring) and Kettering civilian hospital (surgery & embryology svs). What i don't know is if you can be seen at the WP hospital on TriCare reserve. Check with your Tricare office. what about prescriptions? can you get prescriptions filled on base? That's a large portion of IVF costs...Also if you can be seen on base, IUIs are covered by Tricare there. So it comes down to whether you can get appt on base. One last point about success rates: have you been to the CDC website? They post all ART statistics. Last data was from 2006 i believe.

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