Sad and Mad

[EllyMayMomma]

I am really sad right now (and very mad.) I have never take birth control pills, never tried to change my bodies hormones and I have been trying for a baby for 2 years now. My menstrual cycle has been wonky for the last couple of years. I have begun to have peri-menopause signs - especially night sweats, fatigue and a whole host of others.

Three years ago, I was in a car accident that left me with some nerve damage in my arm and some other pain and issues. I was on a specific medication for the nerve pain for the past 2 years. I stopped taking the medication 6 weeks ago because though it really helped my pain, it has caused me to gain 30 lbs and I have not been able to loose the weight with the extreme carb cravings it gives me.

I have just found out that the medication I have been on effects the female hormones, specifically decreasing progesterone and increasing prolactin. I am so sad. I have effectively been on a hormonal birth control. My cycle has been so messed up and I know it is from the medication. All this time I have desperately wanted a baby and I find out this is what has been going on in my body. My doc knew I wanted another baby, said it would not be a problem and if I got pregnant, he would just take me off of it.

I think last month was the first time I have really ovulated in a very long time. I temped for the first time and it confirmed O and this AF has been excruciatingly painful, heavy and exhausting.

Last month, I never felt like I would get pregnant that month but I was really hoping that this one would be it for us (now cd2). I had planned to take soy iso this cycle and start tonight and now just don’t know what to do. I don’t know if my body is going to recover enough to carry a baby. I don’t know if or how long it will take me to get my hormones back in right. Perhaps I should give my body a few months to work it out but I really don’t want to give up this month.

Thanks for listening!

[konayossie]

Just wanted to say I am sorry your doctor let you down. It's frustrating when our bodies don't seem to be cooperating and even worse when you find out it's been interfered with unbeknown to you. Here's hoping your cycle gets straightened out quickly--I'm guessing it will if all your cycle wonkiness has been during the time you were medicated.

[HulaJenn]

I always talk in depth with the pharmacist, because they seem to know more of the greater effects of meds than the doctors even do. I know that can't get you back the last 2 years, but just for future reference.....
I hope this revelation/medication elimination was all you need to get your BFP!

[Stevi]

Doctors can be pretty cold, in my opinion.

I'm sorry this has happened to you.

If I were you, I would still TTC, though I would do so completely naturally, with nothing extra. Then, after a couple months, maybe try adding something if you feel the need.

[Taxlady]

You will recover!

ElleMaeMama - this is a heart breaking realization. I honestly know exactly how you are feeling. For four years, doctors put me on all sorts of toxic drugs treating a disease (Crone's) that I didn't have any indicators for. They switched drugs on me sooo many times. When one failed, they put me on another instead of realizing I didn't have Crone's - I had something else. And it turned out to be something sooo much easier and less toxic to treat.

To make a long story short.. your body is a miracle, and it will bounce back. Just treat it lovingly and you can also find a non-toxic way to manage you pain. You may have to search for it - but hopefully by posting on here, one of the brilliant ladies or gentlemen will have an better answer for you.

You have been let down - but you can also heal yourself quickly. Everything will be back to normal before you know it.

[GolfAddict]

I really hate that happened to you. Makes you lose trust in every doctor now.

My cycles were off after my m/c in March. I'm on my second month (1st bottle) taking FertilAid and I think it made a difference this month, and I don't take it 3 times a day like suggested. My temp spike went from 97.9 to 98.5 and it was only about 2 or 3/10's of a spike previously. It hasn't really moved my O date back to my pre-m/c average like I wanted though. But maybe you just need a little something to get everything back in order.

[kalamos23]

Oh man - that stinks! It sounds like the meds effectively made it so that your body thinks that you are nursing - high prolactin is what happens when you are nursing. I would try 50-100mg of b6 and a b complex every day - b6 helps lower prolactin and raise progesterone. I would also do the soy iso - soy helps the egg be betetr quality which will help with more progesterone in the LP. Good luck!

[happysmileylady]

Big hugs for you. I would like to share my story in the hopes that it gives you hope.

My oldest is almost 15, she was conceived while using protection and carried to term with no problems.

So, when DH and I started ttc #2, when she was 6, we didn't expect any problems. Unfortunately, there were problems. Yeah, I had been on bcp since dd1 was born, but we never expect that it would cause problems. And, hormonally, I tested normal. Ultimately, we were diagnosed with unexplained secondary IF, even though DH has never had a biological child of his own. He was tested, his counts came back normal. In the end, we ttc #2 for SIX years, went through rounds of clomid, rounds of IUI, and did a round of IVF. The IVF thankfully took and we did conceive #2 after all that time. During the IVF, we were told that there were apparently some compatibility issues between DH and myself and that although his counts were good, the swimmers weren't swimming like they were supposed to, that he also had anti-sperm antibodies.

We knew after dd2 was born that we wanted another, but DH was 38 when she was born, we didn't have the money to do another IVF and there were all sorts of other complicating issues. I was terrified that we wouldn't have any more. It was a major contributing factor in the PPD I experienced after DD2 was born. When dd2 was 8 or 9 months old, I went to the doc for some help. I tried several different anti depressants, and ended up on Risperdal. It helped, but it also caused a weight gain and I later discovered that like the med you mentioned, it increased the prolactin levels in my blood. I began to experience all the side effects of BFing all over again, including the messed up cycles. Ovulation was all over the place.

In December of last year, I began to wean myself off the Risperdal. In addition to the weight gain and the messed up cycles, I was experiencing migraines and all sorts of other side effects. I couldn't remember when my last AF was, had no clue when to expect ovulation or when to expect AF to return again, because of the effects of the pills. I was fully off the stuff about a week to week and a half before Christmas. By mid January, AF still hadn't returned. On January 17th, I took a pg test before calling the dr to make an appointment to see what was up.

Well what was up was a positive pg test. I am due 9/22. I honestly believe that the effects of the antidepressants are what made the pg possible. I believe it reset my body in just the right way after dd2 was born so that at least one of the swimmers could get where it needed to go once I did ovulate again.

So don't lose hope. The body can do amazing things. My experience with pg leads me to believe that really, it's just not something we can control in ANY aspect. Your body will know when it's best to get pg. And you never know, it might just be that the bounce back will make it easier for you to get pg.

[forthekids123]

Oh my... Side effects are nasty things. I so sorry you missed so much time. I've been dealing with side effects of Flygl. Nobody tells you these little pills make a big difference on our perfectly balanced bodies.

Big hugs, and I so so glad you figured it all out.

[EllyMayMomma]

Thank you, ladies. I REALLY needed to hear this. On one hand I am heart broken to think that all the heartache from unsuccessful TTC might could have been avoided and I have lost 2 years of more fertile time (I am now 36). But, on the other hand, I am soooo hoping that I can now get pg.