First Steps

[TeamViddy]

Hi Folks-- I hope you can help me figure out how to prioritize. I am hoping this is the right place. Two couples I know took a year and a half to conceive their first and didn't worry about fertility so sometimes I feel a little uptight worrying about it.

We have been NTNP or TTC (depending on the month) since August of 2011. I got pregnant in May of 2012 and lost it at 8 weeks. As we are approaching a year since conception I've had blood tests and a sonogram and got DH to take an at-home sperm count test. I have had three hormonal blood tests over the past four years and all are OK. Both of my sisters have PCOS and I am on the heavier side so the OB asked me to check for PCOS. I have regular cycles, my hormones have always been within "normal" levels and the sonogram showed no signs of PCOS.

I am pretty obstinate about my weight as I am a healthy eater and athletic, but I started on a program to lose 30 lbs in the next four months since I assume that will help too. Autoimmune gut diseases run in my family so I cut all cow dairy (I usually just avoid dairy w/lactose), gluten and coffee, which I already know to be irritants. DH has stopped letting the cat sleep in his lap. We also got Preseed, and I can't believe I waited this long to get it. It takes a ton of pressure off since we don't have to ensure that we have a long, relaxing stretch of time before DTD.

I am trying to think of next steps. DH could use a more in-depth analysis of his swimmers, so there's that. What else would you all recommend besides losing some weight and just continuing to do what we're doing? I think the last time I had to take antibiotics was 2005? so I am almost wondering if I have a hidden infection, as suggested in Making Babies...

[monkeyscience]

I think you've got some good ideas already. One thing you might add is an HSG (hysterosalpingogram, I think?) to make sure your tubes are clear. Are you using any form of charting to determine fertile days and verify ovulation? If not, I would recommend that, too.

Good luck!

[rcr]

It sounds like you are on the right track. definetely get DHs swimmers checked out, because if that is the problem it could be as simple as supplements to fix it. There is a saline u/s that you could do that is pretty non-invasive to make sure you don't have any polyps in your uterus, which could make implantation difficult.

Also, you don't say how old you are, which I think can make a big difference about whether or not to seek help now. If you are mid-late 30s or so, you may want to get help from an RE (which doesn't have to mean IVF - most good REs take less invasive routes at first), so that you don't "waste" time while you are still young.