12mo ttc...now what?

[Still_Learning]

DH and I have been ttc#2 for 12 months now.

I used teh Clear Blue Easy fertility monitor, charted and monitored cm. Timing isn't the issue, I'm sure of that.

What do we do now? Fertility specialist? I'm hesitant for some reason. I don't want to take hormones and all that, but I'd like to be checked out to see what the problem is.

[songbird45]

Find an RE and get whatever testing you want (there's lots of resources on what kind of testing you should ask for/expect). You can't be forced to take hormones, so just be ready to stand up for yourself and take whatever time you need. I tried natural methods for four months after getting a diagnosis before deciding to move to conventional medicine. Just tell them "I'm not ready" or "I need to think about it" and do your own research once you have your test results back.

Good luck!

[hope4light]

I agree with the pp. At least then you will have an idea of what the problem is, and it may help to make any decision you need to make much easier.

I never thought that I would have been willing to go through all that IVF entails, but after we received all of our information in regards to the severe MFI, it made it easy for me to make the decision to move to IVF. DH and I agreed pretty easily on it because we both want a child so badly, and we had less that 1% chance of conceiving on our own, even with the help of any medicated cycles w/timed bd or IUI's/AI's because his numbers were so bad and not correctable.

GL on this journey, and I hope that your stay is short here! BUT, at least you have found this incredible group of woman that will make the travel much easier.

[papschmitty]

I agree with everything the PP have said. I scheduled my RE appointment as soon as we hit 12 mos of TTC without success. I took it slowly and started acupuncture and TCM as well. I loved my RE and never felt pressured to do more than I was ready for. Best of luck to you. It's a difficult journey but much easier when not done alone. I'm mostly a chronic lurker but I can tell you that this is an amazing group of very supportive women.

[OTMomma]

If you don't feel ready for an RE- your regular OB can do blood work and other tests to check your fertility as a starting point. My insurance wouldn't cover seeing an RE- so we did testing with an OB (one I found after ttc for 12 mos). I had to fight a little to get exactly what I wanted- but it worked out. After knowing the results of our tests, I was able to do my own research and decide that clomid should work for me- which I then asked for the OB to give me and we got preg with baby #2. (Wow, I made that sound a lot easier than it was- but you get the jist)