Desperate to Conceive - but Full of Stress

I had my IUD removed over 2 years ago and we are still trying diligently. I hate it when people say, "just stop trying", because that is impossible for someone who desperately wants to conceive to do. You have to stop stressing, it isn't good for your body. Work on things you can control - making sure you are healthy, working on getting your sleep under control, enjoy your relationship with your husband, etc. Worrying about things you can't control just stresses your body and doesn't make anything happen. I also read Taking Charge of Your Fertility and started charting my cycles which has helped me understand my cycle more even though no conception yet. Good luck!

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A lot of others have responded with exellent advice. I especially agree that getting your health and job situation straightened out should be priority one and two. IN th meantime, I would suggest you check out www.fertilityfriend.com
It is an excellent resouce for women trying to conceive. I am 41. I have beenTTC since May and have not yet succeeded and that is without Diabetes, insomnia or job searching. Our bodies are complicated and timing is everything. I'm sure things will work out.

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Take a baby aspirin. My reproductive endocrinologist recommended that. Also, is there a possibility you have PCOS? If you have type II diabetes there is a good chance you may not be ovulating correctly. Personally, if I was 39, I wouldn't wait too long to talk to a doctor to see what your options are. Sometimes taking Glucophage can help regulate your ovulation and help with the diabetes. With that being said, you have to, have to, stop stressing about this. Believe me. I stressed like it was my job! and it didn't help. Try to enjoy the journey. Maybe get a journal and write down your feelings when you can't sleep. You write to your new baby! Envision yourself getting pregnant. Stay positive. Have you tried sleepytime tea? A bath with lavender oil to help you sleep? The other thing that might help is an antidepressant. If you cannot get your mind to shut off at night, your serotonin levels may be out of whack. Getting that under control can help with getting pregnant. Good luck and God bless. Let go and Let God!

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Holy cannoli, J.! Relax! You've been trying "diligently" for one month....that's not long at all. I had my son at 39 and had a normal, healthy, effortless pregnancy.
You've got time.
You've got a lot going on right now.
I would focus first on your health.
Talk to your dr. about the Ambien use. AND the insomnia.
I think a good chunk of your stress would resolve with a few good nights sleep!
Best of luck to you!

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You have heard and will continue to hear that you need to relax. I will expound. Stress can affect your cycle, delaying your period and/or inhibiting ovulation. Even in the best of circumstances, the statistics are that only 20% of fertilized eggs result in successful implantation and pregnancy.

My husband and I were "trying" for a year. I charted my ovulation (you can get ovulation test strips inexpensive from earlypregnancytests.com.) My husband is in the miltary which made the timing even more difficult for us as he kept getting sent off for training and I was getting more and more frustrated.

As December approached, I looked for a refill for my calendar (in which I was doing all of my charting.) I didn't find one immediately, so I decided to take a break from the charting and just see what happened. We had a wonderful trip to Disney World and the normal stress of the holidays. In January, we had a weekend just my husband and I ... in February, I found out I was pregnant.

One more note: If you are looking for a job (and need a job) finding out you are pregnant will just shift the focus of stress. Yes, you will be happy to be pregnant, but then comes the stress of how you're going to affort the baby if you don't have stable employment by the time you start showing. I'm not saying stop trying, just perhaps prioritize a little differently. Get your health sorted. (And yes, not sleeping is not healthy. You need to get that sorted soon because pregnancy will add to you fatigue but also contribute to insomnia.) Keep looking for work but develop a financial plan in case you don't find permanent employment before you get pregnant.

I wish you luck in all your endeavors.

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First take a deep breath and slow down!! First, worry about what you can directly control first, namely diet and exercise. Once you get your diet and thus diabetes under control, your sleep should improve. Physical activity usually helps with sleep in most cases. Then work on the job situation. You say you are expecting to start a new job in September, so keep looking, but wait until you get a yes or no on the job you are hoping for. Once you have all those things straight, THEN work on the pregnancy. The only people I ever met who got pregnant at the drop of a hat were usually folks who didn't want to get pregnant in the first place! I was 35 when I started trying and it took 7 months after years of being on the pill, and I had a stress free, super fun time trying! Enjoy the process, and the result will most likely come!

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If it were me i'd get a job first & make sure I have some paychecks coming in if your not planning on being a sahm.Second really your desperate did that happen over nite you were on BC had it removed & expect to become pregnant just like that.You can't possibly expect that to happen but maybe you do after reading your post.I have hard times sleeping to try switching to Benadryl or generic form it does help and can be used during pregnancy.Not all pregnancy test work it depends on the HCG levels.I had my 1st and received a + right away my second had to test twice my 3rd had to test at least 5 times till I gave up & went to the DR.
I'm sorry that your feeling this way but getting pregnant right now is that really a good choice for you don't know you don't know what your life is really like but just reading what you have written maybe some time off would be a start getting those interviews landing a job position paychecks making sure your taking care of youself(diabetes) then getting pregnant makes sense to me.Good Luck...

it's hard to hear just relax and easier said than done, but that's probably what you need, esp. since you are diabetic.
1. It usually takes a couple of months to get pregnant
2. the stress itself can be delaying your period
3. You may be pregnant and it's not showing on the pregnancy test yet -- sometimes it takes awhile to show.
4. I am sure you will get a job, but that always takes months as well.

Have you ever had your thyroid checked?

My mom and I have had insomnia as a hypothyroid symptom, and the risk of thyroid disease is higher with type one diabetes.

Once I started on thyroid meds I started sleeping better, and became a regular "fertile Myrtle".

Good luck!

This may be a simple answer, but give it time. If you've only been trying for a couple months, that's not long at all. Try not to worry about it and just let it happen. Maybe it's for the best that it's taking some time - you can be sure to get a new job before worrying about supporting the addition to your family. Hang in there.

J.:

Hello! I feel your pain. However, I can speak from experience - your body will NOT allow you to conceive when it's in a state of stress - no matter how much you want something your body will feel the stress and not let things happen.

We tried for 3.5 years to get pregnant - chlomid, tracking cycles, etc. - nothing worked until we finally gave up and started having sex again for fun!!! With no regard to the "timing" - it had become a chore, a job really - kinda like the movie with Kevin Bacon - can't remember the name of it - but it was sooo true.

Talk with your OB/GYN about your family plan. He/She should know of all of your issues and help you relax and have making baby fun!!!

Get yourself into a regular schedule with your day - SLOWLY cut out caffeine (Coke, Pepsi, Coffee, Diet drink products, etc.) this will help with you insomnia. The other thing that will work is write your stress out in a book and no TV Or computer 30 minutes prior to bed time. If you can't sleep, go to a quiet room and write in a lower-light setting - then go back to bed.

Things will work out. Just don't FORCE it. HAVE FUN and STOP TRYING - that's what we did and it made all the difference in the world. When we found out I was pregnant - i thought I had the flu!

i'm only 30 so my clock isn't ticking away or anything but i still have trouble conceiving myself because of my length of cycles being far apaart and always different. i have insulan resistance also. what i find helps me is knowing that if it is meant to be it will be. also not thinking about it helps. if i accidentally get my mind on it thats ok but i dont dwell on it. we have been trying 14 months now and every cycle it's another hopeful let down. for me i hate not knowing when to try. get ovulation predictor kits and/or take your temp every morning before moving as soon as you wake up. chart everything and soon you will see if you are ovulating and if so when. this will help you get pregnant and if anything help with the guesswork on when to test for pregnancy and such. and lastly but most importantly pray. not for a baby but that you can find comfort and peice with whatever happens and that you can know within you whats best for your body through this time in your life.
good luck!
ps one thing to remember is you just got off the iud so your cycles may be out of wack for about 3 months i think is the norm. some take a year to get back to normal. just something to remember.

Also started trying at 39 ... suggest you have a family planning session with your current GYN. After no more than 6 months of trying on your own, you need to see a reproductive endocrinologist. We had a miscarriage early, followed by multiple IUIs and a failed IVF. It is the HARDEST thing I've ever done. If you have to go the IUI / IVF route, you will need to make that the priority and find ways to eliminate / reduce your stress. I even took a week off work before the IVF transfer to put myself in a "stress free bubble". No blackberry, no email ... TTC is enough stress all on its own. I feel for you and understand more than you can imagine where you're coming from. We're not willing to put ourselves through the IVF wringer again (I was a wreck for weeks after it failed), so we're on to Foster-to-Adopt. Good luck and don't put too much worry on yourself. There's a great site at http://www.stirrup-queens.com/ that has LOTS of resources for more information. Mel's book Navigating the Land of IF is also a great resource.

Ok, if your cycle isn't regular there is one way to know if you are getting close to ovulation. If this is TMI I apologize. All women who are fertile secrete cervical mucus. The best mucus for TTC is very clear and very stretchy. Each time you use the restroom and wipe, check the tissue for cervical mucus. It should begin to appear a couple of days before you ovulate. The first mucus is not clear and doesn't stretch very far. Fertile mucus stretches over an inch as is very clear.

It does sound like your hormones are slightly out of wack. You might concider seeing a doctor trained in Naprotechnology. He would better be able to see what hormones are causing issues and work to get them corrected. Insomnia and an irregular cycle are two symtoms that would lead me to believe you hormones may need some supplimenting.

Good luck!

RELAX! Whoa! I can relate to multiple stress sources- my stresses are different but there is a lot now. NO matter how much you stress about any of this- it will not change the results so let it go and just let it happen. What I have learned in my years- pregnancy is totally out of your control. What you can control is your diet, your caffeine intake(do not drink coffee), and take prenatals when trying to conceive. I have had two miscarriages and two births, and am pregnant with number three. This third one was unplanned- and so all that stressing I did over the first four positive tests- was for nothing. There is nothing like the feeling of finding out your pregnant when you are not stressed about that at all! Unfortunately in your case, there will always be a little stress until you get a positive pregnancy test! good luck!

You really need to work on your stress. I'm no doctor, but I find to fall asleep, I have some nice meditative music I like to listen to. It's very soothing. Meditate, do yoga. Both help a lot. Plus, talk to your OBGYN. I would think you would need a few months after removing the IUD to be able to get pregnant. I may be wrong. But I do know, the stress is definitely not helping.