TTC again after years of primary IF (children mentioned) LONG

[luckymamato2]

We have been actively ttc for several months. I'm not counting because I figure I'll get too obsessed.

So we originally ttc'd 2001-2003 using BBT, OPK, IUI, IVF-ISCI x 3, and all were BFN. I had a natural cycle pg but it was chemical in 2002.

We decided to stop ttc, even though they could not explain why IVF-ICSI did not work 3 times! We adopted our ds and I had taken meds to induce lactation. I had suppressed my cycles since a few weeks before he was born. I bf'd him for 6 months and then stopped - it was too painful/stressful.

So the first time I ovulated after having been supressed from 9/04-5/05, I got pregnant. Very strong pg, gave birth. Is there an explanation for that? I don't have symptoms of endometriosis. Was dd's conception some miracle or do you think the suppression had something to do with it? We both (dh and I) had problems according to our test results. One tube blocked, an underproducing ovary on that side, and morphology issues. Also when they did IVF they found that my ovaries did not react as quickly as they were used to, and eggs were often immature (possibly due to the wrong meds, wrong timing?). I was 24, 26, and 26 at the time of my IVFs.

I am currently having problems with a bump/polyp/cyst on my cervix. The last GYN couldn't feel it , and thought prometrium could help stop the irregular bleeding I was having and get my cycles back on track. That was a few months ago. I started bleeding/spotting this month at 6-7dpo. I am still bf'ing my dd at bedtime for 5-10 minutes, but trying to wean. That GYN seemed to think weaning would be the solution to regulate my hormones. He did an u/s to look at my ovaries and uterine lining, both fine. He did not see any polyps/cysts on the u/s. The bump I'm feeling has not been there long. It was definitely not there in 2000 or even 2007. I discovered it this past summer, but had not been checking my cervix in a while.

I spot brown for several days before every AF, and this has been happening for several years, since going off the pill in 2000, I think. I can find no explanation for it. I am seeing a new GYN in 2 weeks about the bump on my cervix and the irregular bleeding. I will be disclosing everything possibly related and will likely inquire about hormone blood tests, laproscopy, and ttc.

Since IF treatment did not work for us in the past we are not willing to try it again. I would consider blood testing for myself and possibly a lap if they believed I had something that needed fixing. Otherwise we are just hoping for another miracle - call us silly, but if it happened once...

Any advice? Thanks for reading.

[Barefoot Farmer]

Luckymama, you have quite the story. Sounds like you and your DH have been down a long road to build your family. My only suggestion would be to try some alternative therapies to work on your cycle. I have had issues w/ polys/scar tissue and irregular hormones (to what was believed to be associated w/ minimal bf and then when weaned it had no effect) and acupuncture and some eastern herbs have helped greatly. Just some thoughts. Best of luck to you.

[cincynana]

The brown spotting sounds a lot like endo. Do you also spot around ovulation, or have painful periods? You may want to consider a lap to check out that possibility. The recovery is pretty easy (or at least it was for me!) Or you may want to try acupuncture to see if that won't help you.

As for the pregnancy, maybe that suppression helped? I have 3 friends who tried for years to become pg. All 3 become pg with fertility treatments. All 3 became pg after their first pp af. I know these stories are somewhat urban legends and those suffering through the pain of infertility hate to hear them (just like the I had a friend who went on vacation.... stories). But I've read that pregnancy can sometimes regulate a body. When you induce lactation, you're fooling your body into thinking its pg. So maybe that helped your body to have a nice strong ovulation. I sometimes wonder if going on bcp's for a while would help regulate my cycle and get things back in order.

Maybe some simple blood work for you and another analysis for your dh would help just to see what's going on. Although sometimes I wish I didn't know as much as I do now about our fertility. I think it has added a lot of stress to an already stressful situation. But knowing can at least help decide what to do next, whether its fertility treatments or a natural approach.

Best wishes to you and your family!

[gumby74]

Not sure if this helps, but I have been having a difficult time with spotting pre-Af for awhile now. My progesterone levels have always come back fine, but the month I took prometrium....no spotting. Recently, I was diagnosed with PCOS and told that I needed to be on BCP for a cycle and then I would get three to four months of "good" eggs. Apparently, the BCP suppress the LH and after I go off the pill, it produces a higher quality egg. I find it interesting none the less. When we convceived DS,it was with follistim and an IUI. According to my new doc.....the reason it worked was because the follistim's gonal-f made a higher quality egg. Again, not sure if any of this helps you or not, but thought I would share

[luckymamato2]

I don't spot around ovulation and I don't feel like my periods are very painful. However, I sometimes have really bad gas pains (terrible after IVF#2 and 3) which would be comparable to going straight into the worst pushing contraction 0-60. They've gotten better over time. I also experience pain with sex (certain positions which happen to be dh's favs). So those are some symptoms of endo, but is it enough? I am afraid of the recovery and that it will limit my birth choices.

I suppose we are going for the extremely laid-back approach. DH is 100% not willing to do any treatments or tests.