off and on

Ditto Jami.

Also, competent OB's or RE's will not just stick you on meds. You and/or DH will go in for testing. You may get a pap and then blood work, and DH may be asked to provide a semen sample for analysis. There are options depending on your results. I am not on meds, I'm on herbs to treat a few "problems".

actually, I have to disagree with Jami. Generally, if you yave had regular unprotected sex for a year, it is recommended to see someone. If you are charting and know you are ovulating, having correctly timed intercourse, it is recommended to see someone after 4-6 months.

There are some things you can do personally to try and increase fertility naturally.
What is your weight? Do you have regular cycles?
Do you chart? If not, you HAVE to.
If your cycles are regular, what is your LP (luteal phase)?
Do you have pain during your periods, ovulation, intercourse?
History of any gyn problems/infertiltiy/miscarriages/PCOS in your family?
You can tell a lot about how fertile you are and what your problems might be simply by knowing tha answers to those questions.

And actually...the very FIRST step in infertiltiy treatment...get DH checked!!!
Seriously...the process is simpler and cheaper than ANYTHING they can do to you, and it is a no-brainer to start there.

So...if you are charting and KNOW you are ovulating, and dh KNOWS he has good sperm....and you are doing it when you are supposed to (best timing is 3 days before to the day of ovulation) than you should be preggo in no more than 4-6 months.

If you do decide to go to see a doc, you should be sure to get a thyroid panel (blood test) as part of your work-up, and a sugar check w/ultrasound to check fdor PCOS. regardless, but Especially if you are overweight.

Best of luck!

jess this is what my doc told me he also said next step if they aren't is to get them charting to find out if they are timing it correctly and if htey are ovulating.

I'm not disagreeing that is what you are told, or what your doc uses as his personal protocol, but the general guidelines for infertiltiy are what i have stated above. As you know, individual docs are free to use whatever methods they choose. It sounds like your doc has you go a LONG time before intervening with meds, etc. I'm not saying that's bad or anything (my understanding is that in the UK, it is normal protocol to go 2 yrs of unprotected sex before resorting to fertiltiy treatment) but not what is generally recommended here in the states.
The standard is 1 yr of unprotected sex for women under 35, and 6 months for women over 35 (so as not to lose out of valuable time when you might be entering menopause, etc) and also, some docs will admit women after 4-6 months if they have charts which show ovulation and correctly timed intercourse not resulting in a baby.
Also, women with known fertility problems such as PCOS, very irregular periods, endometriosis, history of miscarriages, can usually be treated in less than a years time.
The only thing I would question on your docs protocol is waiting and then getting them to chart.....that makes no sense. If someone is having problems getting preggo, it seems like you would get them charting right away, not after they have waited a year???? or maybe i misunderstood what you said....
But I do think a thourough discussion of fertiltiy/timing/etc is in order at the FIRST visit. I know this might sound silly, but I have talked to MANY, MANY women online who were TTC who had no idea about how the cycle worked, etc, and who were timing intercourse completely wrong.(like believing you wait to ovulate and then start having sex, or you just have sex on day 14, regardless of cycle length, etc, etc)..so if it is a simple misunderstanding like that, it can be corrected quickly....

Here is a link to some info for the OP
This one is to the medline plus website for infertiltiy....tons of links and info.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/i...itutesofhealth

This one is the one About.com infertiltiy site, also tons of links and info, from slightly more down-to-earth, less doctor-medical than the medline site.

http://infertility.about.com/

Since i know nothing about the op, i can't really give much more detailed info......have you had a child before? How are your periods? medical/gyn history? miscarriages? charting? cycle length, LP length? medications? has dh been checked? does dh have any kids?

The only other piece of info i can give is NOT, i repeat NOT to waste time with an OB/Gyn. for maybe an initial visit and exam, but do not ever stay with an Ob/Gyn for more than about 6 months of very basic infertilty. Get an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) preferably or an Ob/Gyn who is CERTIFIED as a specialist in Infertility. Go spend some time on a infertiltiy board...the one thing you WILL hear over and over is how much most of the women wish they had not wasted so much time with an Ob/Gyn. Ob/Gyn's are simply NOT TRAINED in infertiltiy. at all. Now, indiviual docs differ, of course, and some might have attended training and stuff, or took it upon themselves to learn more about the field, but most don't know much beyond how to prescribe clomid. Don't waste your time.