NSAIDS (e.g. Advil) and annovulation - Any info from REs?

[RosieL]

I hope this is the right place to ask. I'm not long into the TTC process, so I really don't know if the link between Advil and (reversible) infertility is. I came across this http://www.fertilityplus.org/faq/nsaids.html, a site with a list of research articles about the connection. It's AMAZING to me that there are no clinical studies in humans IN ENGLISH on the matter, but that's neither here nor there. 

I'm not a doctor, so in reading the literature I can't really figure out what the likely dosing issues are. My question is, do you have to take Advil (or Asprin, or other COX-2 inhibitor) immediately before ovulation to delay it? Do you have to constantly take it? Or would taking a couple Advil when AF shows be fine, since that's typically two weeks before ovulation anyway?

I realize that since there aren't enough studies, this question really isn't answered. But someone with knowledge (an RE?) might be able to extrapolate from the animal studies what the potential dosing timing and ranges would be. 
 

Why take it at all? My concern is that I can't sleep or function when AF comes. The cramps are pretty incredible. So usually I pop a couple Advil a couple times a day for two days. I will not do that this cycle, but what if this goes on for a year? If Advil only affects ovulation if you take it around the time of ovulation, that would be a big relief!

Also, is this widely known? I assume it is as far as REs go, right? I mean, there were even papers stating that people are researching COX-2 inhibitors as emergency contraception.

[aphel]

I'm not sure about the effect of NSAIDs on ovulation, but I do know that I was told not to take it while TTC due to the possibility that it could interfere with implantation.

I had rough, rough periods, so for me, it was extra strength tylenol and tethering myself to a heating pad for the first 24-48 hours.

[Laurucha]

Rosie, As I mentioned on the other thread in which this came up, I am the same way as you. I cannot imagine getting through the first day or two of my period without ibuprofen. I have found no other drug that even puts a dent in my cramps. So I would like more information as well.

I can tell you that my fertility clinic tells women to take an ibuprofen before an HSG, which is done sometime between CD 7-12. I have this in writing even, so it's an official recommendation. So there are definitely REs that do not recommend against ibuprofen while TTC. However, I don't entirely trust my doctors to give me the best advice. That leaves us in the difficult position of trying to figure out what's right on our own, while there are too many ideas and not enough definitive information out there!

Personally, unless someone provides more definitive information, I think I will continue to take my ibuprofen. Missing sleep and writhing in pain has got to be bad for my fertility as well!

[julieven]

The information from my RE was more directed at the safety NSAIDs while pregnant, not TTC. If you are having a HSG, I assume you had to have a negative pregnancy test that day. Same with a SHG (sonohystogram), scheduled for day 3 of a cycle (period = not pregnant). I can tell you when I got a severe pelvic infection from an otherwise uneventful IUI that landed my in the hospital for 3 days last summer, until I started my period and the blood pregnancy test came back negative, I was not prescribed anything other than tylenol by my RE. I had a 103 degree fever, couldn't stand up for the pain, and still the risk to the baby (i.e. miscarriage) meant nothing but tylenol.