low estridol= underdeveloped follicle?

[livinzoo]

I'm 31 and DH is 35. We are on month 9 of ttc with charting. I had my thyroid dr pull blood and test my hormones. Well it just happened to be day 14. Everything was within range except my estridol was 58.

Went to ob-gyn and asked them about it and they said they don't pull labs on day 14 and it is fine. They did labs on Day 3 and 21 for me. Every thing looks good.

My DH is going for a SA on Wednesday so we will find out if he is a factor in our failure to conceive.

I found this article http://www.inciid.org/printpage.php?...lity101&id=249

I found this interesting:

A low estradiol level in a woman's blood correlates with an inadequately stimulated, small follicle. A woman having a spontaneous ovulation cycle (that is, ovulating without the aid of fertility drugs) generally has peak estradiol levels ranging from 100 to 300 picograms (one trillionth of a gram)/ml. A woman may have enough hormones to produce an egg, but if her estradiol production by the follicles is low (less than 100 pg/ml), she may not adequately stimulate her cervix to produce fertile mucus or stimulate her endometrium to get ready to accept a fertilized egg for implantation.

So if that is the case what can I do to correct it? Since I'm only on month 9 I have had a hard time getting my drs to do anything. They keep saying that we aren't infertile till a year of ttc. Even when I say we have been charting and show them my charts. I even tell them I don't think it is fair that someone who is charting and knows when they ovulate should be lumped with couples just randomly BDing. They say they won't do anything till the one year mark.

I'm so tempted to go to a new dr and lie and say it has been a year.

Any advice?

Thanks so much

[bluegirl91695]

I have monitored cycles while TTC due to taking meds and having IUIs performed. My Reproductive Endocrinologists always check my estradiol mid-cycle (days 12-14) so I think that you have valid concerns. I've had to take medication to increase my estradiol before my inseminations when my estradiol is low. Low estradiol also has corresponded to the ultrasounds showing a thin lining.

I've heard of doctors that only require 6 months of TTC for patients over 30 so you might want to check into other doctors. Good luck!

[FtMPapa]

The 1 year rule is such bunk!

Basically, you need to be on injectable medications with levels that low, according to the OBGYN I saw last week. My levels are that low, too. 19 on CD 3 and I havne't had new blood done but I'm hoping to on CD 14 this month so we'll see what it says.

However, did you actually O on day 14? If you didn't O until day 20, those numbers could be fine. When did you O that cycle?

Clomid *could* help so your doc will probably eventually want to try it, but if you're already ovulating on your own every month (maybe 1 annovulatory cycle is a year is completely normal) the clinical research shows that Clomid doesn't raise the pregnancy rate. (So if you think Clomid is the magic bullet, think again, but your doc may say "well it can't hurt" in which case, push them for a follicle study ultrasound as you're getting ready to O.)

Relistically, I know it's frustrating, but if you have infertility insurance coverage, it will likely kick in at the 1 year mark. You've been trying for nine months, were you preventing before that? Is it possible to book a new doctor's appt and say well, we've been TRYING for nine months, but we weren't using any contraception for the year, the five months,whatver, before that. . . .You don't actually have to be trying in the sense of doing everything you psosibly could to qualify.

Or you could just go to a new doc. I'm a big fan of that strategy.

[lesliesara63]

I know in my situation that it takes a few months to actually get into an RE. This time around I called my family doc to get the referral on Aug 24 waited until Sept 9 for an appointment. From there when my referral got sent I waited until this week to find out that my appt is Nov 14. I'll have had three periods by then. By the time all the paperwork rigamorale happens you'll probably have been at it for a legit year anyhow.

[livinzoo]

We have been charting to avoid prior and using condoms only when I was fertile....so I guess you could say that we have been at it for 2 years. lol I like that.

The month I had Day 14 labs I ovulated on day 14 according to my chart.

My day 3 estridol was 37pg/ml, FSH 6.7mIU/mL, LH 5.0mIU/mL
Day 21 Progesterone 12.7ng/mL

So everything looks fine except the day 14 estridol.

Our state isn't one of the one that has mandatory infertility coverage, so I'm not sure if it is covered.