How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

DH and I have been trying for 17 months. So far no luck. DH had an SA and the tests came back normal. I have had and HSG and no blockages.

For whatever reason I am having a hard time "coming to terms" with needing help. I have put it off for a few months now. And DH and I promised ourselves that we would seek more help next month if this month doesn't take.

Just wondering how you ladies knew you were ready? TIA

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

I felt i was readyfor help because I am 35, dh is 40 and we had been trying for a year and a half, also i found out i had endometriosis although it is very mild thankfully, i didnt want to waste anymore time just trying and wanted to know if there was anything wrong, i felt it would take off some of the stress

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

I"ve only been seriously trying since June, and we didnt try in Nov b/c my cycle was wacked out..so this is going on our 7th month..

DH had an SA done that went awry with transportation so hes getting another one done Monday. Pending that, Im also supposed to have an HSG done as well but we're also going to do an IUI cycle this month.

My dr. just thinks our timing has been off since i Have no history of other problems. I came off the pill last year so i think im still messed up from that.

Is this my ideal situation...NO! but at this point im like just go for it. If we need help, so be it..thats what medicine/technology is for. Part of me also is having a mental breakdown b/c im turning 30 this month and feel like the world is ending b/c of it..LOL

There is nothing to be ashamed of in getting help. there could be underlying hormonal issues you're not aware of that you wont find out unless you get tested.

What does it matter what method is used to get pregnant..as long as it happens right? thats how me and DH are kind of dealing with it at this point.

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

How did I know it ws time to seek help? Because we wanted a baby and we had been trying for a year. Because we were mating like rabbits and still nothing. because my periods were always irregular. Because I was getting older. Because I wanted a baby

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

We tried naturally for the first 3 months, timing BD with when I thought I was ovulating. The next three or so months we used OPKs, still nothing. My periods have always been slightly irregular, so after 6 months of trying, I was pretty sure something was wrong.

It took me 14 months of TTC to seek help. My OB/GYN started testing us and they determined from DH's SA results and my bloodwork that we likely wouldn't get pg on our own. Much to everyone's surprise, we did. Next month will be two years since we learned at 9 weeks that it was ectopic. I had surgery and lost a tube. It STILL took me another 15 months to seek help. We just weren't ready yet.

When we were finally ready, we were referred to an RE and I cried while I made the first call. It was the best move I've made and only wish I had made it sooner. I'm not pg yet, but am getting closer.

I think when the time is right for you, you will know it. Good luck.

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

I always had irregular periods and my dr put me on bc. when we decided to ttc my dr put me on clomid after running some tests. he said i had pcos. i got preg but mc. I decided after my mc i wanted to be monitored if i had to go back on clomid to ovulate.
Ive been seeing a re now and i got pregnant again and mc again. Thankfully the re ran bunch of tests and we found out i have a clotting problem along with thyroid problems my ob did not detect.
Me personally if i had to ttc without medication i probally would have stayed with my reg ob/gyn for about a year. However once my ob told me i needed to be on clomid i really wanted to be monitored by a specialist.
Good luck!

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

We tried on and off for 3 years (yes YEARS). We would take a break now and then for job changes, for emotional reasons..etc. But then finally, we were like we are not getting any younger, I was just ready to take the next step and take charge of it..I was sick of playing the waiting game every month. And when I went to the RE, we had an "a-ha!" moment...both my DH and I have issues..so the chances of us conceiving on our own were a loooong shot.....I just wanted to get right to the point.

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

I started seeing a RE at 33 years old after 6 months of TTC with every trick in the book. When my friends and colleagues were getting PG within 3 months of trying, I felt like something was wrong. DH and I went through every test under the sun and we were diagnosed unexplained IF. It ended up taking IVF for us to get PG after 9 months of trying other fertility treatments. With that said, I think 17 months is plenty long enough for you to have been TTC without help. BTW, I used Long Island IVF and had success with Dr. Brenner. Best of luck!

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

I knew I would have issues because I have very irregular periods. We tried naturally for 3 months before I went to my OB. He put me on Clomid right away and had me try that for 6 months with charting. When I brought it all back to him after six months, he sent me right to an RE.

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

DH and I had been trying using OPKs, etc. for about 6 months with no luck when I had my annual exam with my ob-gyn. She felt that I should get the ball rolling on fertility testing. At first, I was surprised because I had just turned 28 when I saw her and thought she would tell me to wait, but was relieved because my gut was telling me that something was not "right". I didn't begin testing until the following month and saw an RE the following month (after 8 months of timing everything, using OPKs, etc.)

While I have some minor issues, nothing is conclusively causing my IF and I am dealing with unexplained IF. I have been treated by an RE since July and still no luck. Unlike some of the previous posters, I always have had regular periods.

ETA: When my ob-gyn first did my CD3 testing, my FSH was slightly elevated and she thought I may have PCOS (which I do not). She then did a sonogram and saw a uterine polyp. Those results are what made me go straight to the RE and not continue treatment with the ob-gyn.

Message edited 1/18/2009 12:22:52 PM.

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

With our ages, we thought we would get pregnant right away.

We wanted a summer baby (as many people who work in schools want) so we stopped using protection in 9/07. I had never been on BCP and had fairly normal cycles so we timed our BD around that. After that month, we started to use OPKs from October to December. We timed BD perfectly around ovulation and still did not get pregnant. In January, we started using the CBEFM. We again, timed BD around O from then until June and still did not get pregnant. Around that time (about 9 months) - DH had an SA done. We spoke to my ob/gyn who said to try for 3 more months before we could have an IF consult. We did... and I started temping during that time (which confirmed O) and again, we still didn't get pregnant. At the 12 month mark, we did an IF consult with my ob/gyn and went for CD 3 testing and an HSG - all were normal. After those results came back, we were referred to an RE and started our treatment from there.

I never thought we would have any difficulty getting pregnant - so when it didn't work after even just the first few months.. I had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. We've done 1 IUI with injectables and 1 IVF and are moving onto an FET next.

I had no problem seeing an RE because we want to have a baby more than anything! We are willing to do whatever it takes and so seeing the RE seemed like the next logical step when 12 months of perfectly timed BD just wasn't doing the trick.

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

Thanks ladies for all of your stories. I am now walking around with my CBEFM in my bag becasue I set it for noon hoping upon hope that if I time it right (again) that this will be the month!

Your stories have inspired me to take that next step next month, thank you

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

Posted by Domino

How did I know it ws time to seek help? Because we wanted a baby and we had been trying for a year. Because we were mating like rabbits and still nothing. because my periods were always irregular. Because I was getting older. Because I wanted a baby

Re: How did you know it was time to "seek help"?

i always had very irregular cycles, like 5 AF's a year. I haven't been trying for too long- went of BCP in March '08, started trying in June although i didn't have a period yet, and basically was trying for nothing because I wasn't ovulating. My OB wasn't concerned so I made an apptmt with an RE in November, they know what they are doing and their main purpose is to get you pregnant. It was a no brainer for me, I always knew I would need help so why waste time trying on my own.

Good luck!

Message edited 1/19/2009 12:20:51 PM.