Not Ovulating

Most doctors won't do anything for you before a year unless you have a history of some kind, miscarriages, and such. I saw Dr. Dorine Day over at Lutheran with my last one and really liked her. ###-###-####. She explains everything and is very knowledgeable. Most everyone I saw there was pregnant, so I think she probably has some good ideas for increasing the possibility. She also deals with high risk pregnancies, which it was nice to have a doctor who did both as those who have difficulties getting pregnant usually are at higher risk for complications, although that's not always the case. Right now, though, you need to not stress. Stress is the major cause of infertility. I think one doctor told me 90% of cases. After a year, then you have something to talk about. My first one was due 2 years to the day after my first, so we had been trying for over a year before he came along. It can happen. GL! I hope you get good answers.

Just wanted to share a quick story about a friend of mine that was in the same position. Her and her husband did the whole ovulation kit, she wasn't ovulating, she was kinda freakin' so her doc gave her a mild med that was supposed to spike the ovulation which it did... but no baby. After a year of this, they went to a fertility specialist and started that whole thing. After 7 years of thousands of dollars, injections, hormonal freak outs, disappointments and tears... still no baby!

She and I were having some girl time one night and I told her that she was just too worked up over the whole thing. Babies need peace and happiness not nerves and sadness, so I recommended she just stop the baby thing and enjoy life! After more tears and torture, she stopped all of it two weeks later and planned a trip to Hawaii.

I am happy to say that 6 months later she was pregnant!

In short, enjoy the ride! Making the baby is one of best parts of getting pregnant. The baby will come when the time is right and pushing it only causes stress. Let your little one come to a calm and peaceful world, you will have so much more fun with the experience.

Good luck to you!

If you are looking for a more natural route before you move on to a fertility specialist, I would try acupuncture. Many of my friends and clients who were having issues conceiving saw an acupuncturist for a couple months and then got pregnant! There is a great sliding scale place downtown that many of my clients love called Meeting Point Acupuncture. Best of luck and let me know if you have anymore questions or need anything!

W. Nichols-Dewey, CD(DONA)
www.birthfirstdoula.vpweb.com

If you want to try herbs, herballegacy.com is a great place to start. Good luck.

Hello,
I really don't have any medical suggestions, but I just wanted to share a bit of my story. My husband and I never really tried to get pregnant, but hoped maybe it would happen at some point. I knew it wouldn't be easy since I have ovarian cysts and have had 2 surgeries. Dr's said I would probably need some kind of help. After 6 years of marriage and many years of charting, timing and stress about trying to have a baby. We gave up...not the idea, but the stress, the everyday thinking about what and how to do things. We decided to take time just for ourselves. It was great to put it out of our heads for a bit and just enjoy each other. The best part, 4 months later we found out we were pregnant! Shocking! We now have 2 incredible girls 3 and 1. Sometimes I think we cause some of the problems by over stressing and worrying. The moment we relaxed my cycles were more normal and I started ovulated again. I guess my advise would be to just take a breather, relax, enjoy the time alone you have with you husband (because you will never be alone again with kids) and make an appt. with a specialist for the new year.

I would need to go look up my FHS levels when we went to the fertility clinic... I can't do that right now. We went to Dr. Trout fertility clinic near Rose Hospital and it worked for us on the first try (IUI). However, I have sent people there since then, and they have not had good expeirences with the clinic, so I asked my OB who to go to and she said the place to go is Dr. Schoolcraft.

My advice is don't wait - get tests done. We went 2 years with no pregnancy. We had a bunch of tests done, and there was no reason we weren't getting pregnant. We tried IUI and it worked immediately - I have BC/BS and I think the total bill was $300. I just wouldn't mess around with doctors who don't know what they are doing. The process can take a long time to figure out what is happening, and then when you do, figuring ut how you will work with it. There is no time for "as far as I know" kind of responses!!

I think it would be good for you to get yourself on some high quality supplements ( I like these ones: www.shaklee.net/anbrw)to ensure you're body is getting all IT needs to create and sustain another human being.

See a Chiropractor, you'd be amazed how well the CAN work.

I HIGHLY recommend learning how to read your cervical mucus. I know, I know, that sounds gross but it's a significant part of fertility and, in fact, can make or break any attempt at reproducing. You can get a gist of the technique here: http://infertility.about.com/od/tryingtoconceive101/a/cer...

I seriously suggest looking here: http://www.creightonmodel.com/

If you want to learn about this you can generally contact the hospital and ask if and when they are having a NFP (Natural Family Planning) class. Or you may try contacting a Catholic church near by to ask if they know where a NFP class is being taught and if it's the Creighton Model? NFP is they only conscious conception (birth control) their church supports. This is NOT to be confused with the "rhythm method" is has nothing to do with that.

Good luck honey.

There are fertility yoga classes offered through Belly Bliss in Denver. BB also has a number of great practicioners, accupuncture, rolfing, etc., all of whom are a great source of information.

While there isn't much hard and fast science that says yoga and meditation will do the trick, but its an inexpensive way to increase your receptivity!

Hope thats helpful! Best of luck!
E.

Arbonne International has a wonderful, natural (botanically-based, pure, safe and beneficial) hormonal balancing cream. I have been told many have used it to help get their bodies back on track to help them try to get pregnant. If you would like to know more, please contact me through our website at www.feelpure.myarbonne.com, and Contact Us. All our products have a 45-day money back guarantee.

I don't know why,....but Bikram Yoga fixed all of my menstral issues. Then we had twins! Anyway, they have a studio in sandy and one in sugarhouse. The first month is a special deal where you get a lower price and can go as many times in that month as you want. I didn't sign up for month 2....but went tons during that first month.

I had very painful and irregular menstal cycles for years. I had gone to doctor after doctor and yet not a lot of help. I went to an OBGYN and they have to do a laperocapy to find out that I have endomiterosis. Six months after that surgery I go pregnat with my son. It is a very serious condidtion so you might ask your doctor to check for that.
K. C
Moms helping Moms
www.internetceomoms.com/kammicorman

a friend if mine and i were just talking about this. she did clomid to get pregnant with her second child, but with her third she went to a naturopath who put her on a regiment of hormones which made her body ovulate and was able to get pregnant within in two cycles. before trying something like clomid which shouldn't necessarily be in your body, you might check into a naturopath who could work with you on something like this. . . good luck, it can be so frustrating trying and waiting on getting pregnant with no luck.

Not sure if you have considered this, or are open to it, but there is an acupuncturist in town that specializes in fertility and women's issues. She deals with ovulation and temperature issues, as well as hormone balance. You can check out her website for more info, but she gets cases like this all the time and can usually balance things out and get things going very quickly. She has a huge sucess rate for helping women to get pregnant. Her website is BabyByBlunk.com. If you don't take my word for it, check it out. If you really want a baby, be open to alternatives like this. good luck, and tell her T. sent you!

I know it's frustrating to wait, but I think a lot of docs won't do much until you've been trying for a while.

I use fertilityfriend.com Such a great website! Keep taking that temp and using the Ovulation kit. Chart everything and then you'll have the data for your doc.

Also, trust your gut. If you feel something is not right, get a second opinion. You are your own Primary care physician!

Hi K:

My husband and I had our first child 4 1/2 years after trying. I learned from my experience to keep getting to know my body (which it sounds like you're doing) and to give the information to a good doctor. It took time, but I found a fantastic fertility specialist (in Texas, sorry I don't have a good referral for the area here). Now I have 3 children. Not all of my friends have had the same success rates, but it seems like we've all gone through a similar process of paying attention to our intuition, charting our cycles, searching for information, and seeking out a doctor with good knowledge and skills that we trust.

Best wishes, and know you're not alone.
E.

I'd get to a good fertility specialist. Like someone else said, he/she may not be willing to see you until you've been trying for a year, but get there as soon as they'll let you see them.

I wouldn't worry too much about your FSH level. My first specialist said that I'd never have kids because I had a high FSH. I got a second opinion at the University of Utah's Fertility Clinic (amazing doctors, sorry you don't live near them) and they said that their research has shown that FSH may not indicate anything about a woman's ability to get pregnant. We did IVF, put two embryos in and now have two very healthy (and very normal) 16 month olds, so obviously the first doctor was wrong.

I guess that's my other advice - don't be afraid to seek a second opinion if you don't like how things are going with your first fertility specialist.

Good luck!

I see that you have had a lot of good responses. There is a lot of good resources out there, and many options of things to try. I am an acupuncturist and I specialize in working with fertility and obstetrics. Acupuncture and chinese herbs, along with lifestyle adjustments can be very effective in supporting the your body's fertility. And if it gets to the point where you need to work more with an MD for fertility treatments acupuncture can help support those treatments so that they take better. I would really consider trying acupuncture with someone in your area.
If you are in the boulder area and interested, I work at Sensorielle Spa, www.sensoriellespa.com. Otherwise it is good to to find a Chinese medicine practitioner/acupuncturist that works with OBGYN and herbs.

I hope that you find something that works for you, and make sure that you are taking good care of yourself and reducing stress for yourself as well.

I'm no doctor and I don't even know what an FHS is, but when my husband and i were trying to conceive I used a site called fertilityfriend.com. It has a lot of useful information and it charts your stuff for you. You just have to make sure that you take your temp at the same time every morning, or close to it for the most accurate results and chart any other symptoms, it takes feeling sick even into account.
My charts did not look like the "typical" chart, but i charted them for a couple months and then we decided to go for it. It gave us a five day window and we went for it. WE got pregnant our first try.
I don't know if I am just a fertile-myrtle or what but my best friend used the site successfully too, She recommended it to me.

Like Melissa B, I have PCOS. This is the leading cause of infertility in women and effects up to 6% of the population. I would be surprised if your doctor hasn't talked with you about this. Do some research on the internet to find out if you fit the most likely symptoms (there is no diagnostic test, it is based on having enough symptoms). If your doctor doesn't know anything or much about it, as was the case with my first several doctors, find one that does. It makes all the difference. And trust your body. If you don't feel right, and not just because you aren't pregnant, find out why. Also, ovulation test kits don't work with PCOS. We were blessed to be part of a clinical study testing whether chlomid or metformin or a combo of them helped PCOS women get pregnant. We found out through that that I did not ovulate but that chlomid was successful for us. Now 2 chlomid kids and 1 surprise kid later, our family is complete. I so agree with the others about stress too. That is the harded thing when you want a baby so badly is to not stress and worry about it. Best of luck.

We had the same sort of problems. But, you need to get to a fertility specialist who will sort this all out for you. Ordinary OBs don't know as much about what is available and practical in these circumstances. I would highly recommend Dr. Deb Minjarez in Dr. Schoolcraft's office. (CCRM) There are usually low cost procedures or practical solutions that can help you. It is amazing how much more relaxed you can be about this issue if you put yourself in the hands of a professional. It stopped me from worrying every minute of the day about it as I knew there was a plan we were following...and I now have a happy, healthy 3 year old! :)

Hi KK

I had the same problem and I am now pregnant with my second. Sometimes I wasn't ovulating at all. And sometimes I was ovulating too late in my cycle and then my period would come before the egg would have a chance to really implant. I tried Metformin (usually prescribed for PCOS patients) both times and it didn't work. Ask your doctor about Chlomid though. It encourages ovulation at the right time in your cycle. Most DRs will wait a year to start treatment, but I think that would be if you are obviously ovulating and just not getting preggo. You should be able to start treatment now with the right doc. I see Dr. David Forschner downtown. I'm in Westminster, but drive down there because he is so awesome!

Forschner David C MD
1601 E 19th Ave
Denver, CO 80218-1216
###-###-####

Good luck!
M.

Well, I don't have much advice, but if you haven't already, go to www.tcoyf.com and order the book on the website. It's full of very helpful information on charting your cycle and pinpointing fertility issues! Honestly I would try this first before spending tons of money on fertility doctors. I didn't get pregnant for the first 4 years with my husband but it only took 2 months once I started using the method in this book. It is worth trying first and really gives you a better understanding of your body.

Get a better doctor who will really listen to your concerns! I have never ovulated without help from the drugs Clomid and Metformin, in my case I have PCOS and those are the best treatment for me to get pregnant. I have two healthy daughters and I am now 13 weeks pregnant with my third baby after 18 months of trying. I hope that you will find the help that you need! Hang in there and don't let some Doctor make you feel like you are not being heard!

Hello KK,
I am a Clinical Herbalist and I specialize in a form of massage called Mayan abdominal Massage. I specialize in women's reproductive health and fertility. I have successfully worked with many couples and you may want to try this option. Feel free to check out my website www.holistic-pathways.com for more details on the massage and organic herbs we offer. There are combinations of herbs that can lower the FSH levels (i.e. postpone menopause), and support the body's ability to ovulate.
I have a clinic in Denver in the Washington Park Neighborhood. We are located at 423 E. Alameda Ave.
The phone number is ###-###-#### and you can feel free to give me a call and I can talk to you privately...free of charge.
Good luck on your journey and know that there are MANY options out there to enhance your fertiliy.
Peace, L. Golub

You can either go to another MD for a second opinion, get a referral for a fertility specialist, or First Response makes a "Fertility Tester" now that is supposed to be 95% accurate in letting you know how FERTILE you are. This is different from their pregnancy tests and ovulation kits. It's a new product. Try their website, and best of luck to you. We are also TTC and have had no luck yet. Baby dust to you!

Chrissy

Hi KK,

It seems like you have two options and it depends on how quickly you want to conceive and how hard you want to work at it to make it happen soon.

You are either not ovulating or not releasing your follicle, so there could be a couple of things going on. If time is not limited (due to your age, patience, etc.) you might consider seeing a wholistic practitioner--perhaps a naturopath--and work on getting your body into balance. They would probably recommend nutritional therapy, herbal therapy, and perhaps some other practices like Mayan Abdominal Massage or accupuncture. This would treat the root of the problem and get you to a place of good health instead of just getting you pregnant ASAP. My belief is that this would be the best option.

However, if you aren't naturally inclined or don't feel you want to take the time for this approach, I would recommend you see a reproductive endocrinologist. A regular doctor isn't going to be able to "hard-target" the problem and will probably spend more time on trial and error. But remember that even aggressive reproductive technologies are nothing more than bandaid solutions and the root cause of whatever is impacting your fertility will still be there.

You can also make some lifestyle improvements while you decide what to do: improve your diet (eat organic, cut out soy and all processed foods, only eat whole grains, etc.), work on getting more sleep, exercise, lose weight if you're overweight, etc. All of these will boost your fertility, but naturally take a while to correct any problems.

Good luck!

G.

I don't see why your Dr. would not prescribe you Chlomid, which is usually the firstline solution for ovulation. My temp. never spiked even when I knew I was ovulating (based on ultrasound), and the ovulation kits never showed anything for me either. Maybe you are young and she doesn't want to push it yet? My periods were always irregular and I could never tell anything based on the "Take Charge of Your Fertility" stuff that you are also doing.

I had that problem as well - irregular periods and not ovulating. Luckily, my doctor said that would not enable me to get pregnant very easily and put me on Clomid. Got pregnant in 2 months (had to do 100mg). The next time around I wound up with twins (only a 5-7% so not an octomom type drug) after trying only 1 month!

Based on your "research" and how long you want to try, consider talking to your doctor about it.

Good luck.
S.

Hi There,

My ob was able to do a lot of tests that a fertility specialist would. But she did wait until we had been trying for a year. Once she had done everything she knew I went to a fertility specialist, Dr, Swanson, he is very good. Your ob should be able to do a test called a chlomid challenge test. This could set your mind at ease and you can continue to try with less stress. Or it could indicate there is an issue and you can start working with a specialist to help. Also, clearblue easy is the best out there for the dedecting a surge. I have used others and they are not a consistent. The box also says do the test in the morning......don't! A fertility specialist will tell you to do it the same time everyday between 4-8pm. And remember it can take awhile even if there are no fertility issues. It took my sister in law 1.5 years to get pregnant the first time and she now has 5 children. Sometimes it just takes your body awhile. But it never hurst to have tests done that help you know for sure!

Best of luck!!
C.