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Hi Ladies, I'm new to this website - do you mind if I join you?
Hubby and I have been TTC for almost a year now and I've just booked an appointment with my GP to see if he'll refer us for some help. We're both 34, so not exactly spring chickens.
I'm pretty sure I ov as was charting my temps and using ov sticks for quite a lot of my cycles and my body seems to be working OK. Although my cycles are a bit erratic (anything from 25 to 35 days - although I know this isn't much variability compared to some poor ladies). And my LP can be a bit short, but again this varies from cycle to cycle. I tried Agnus Castus for a while and it seemed to help a bit, But the only advice everyone seemed to want to give us was "just relax and it'll happen". I really don't know how you're supposed to "just relax" when it's all you can think about though! I find myself thinking about not thinking about it! So for the last couple of months we decided to do our damndest not to think about it and just BD like rabbits. But still the witch got me.... this month early and last month so late that I really thought we'd done it. Oh well.
At least we're going to do something positive now. It's a bit scary though - can anyone tell me what the GP is likely to tell us? Are there any tests he can do right away, or will he need to refer us to someone else?
Just looking for some friendly voices really....
Thanks
GoGo xx
Hubby and I have been TTC for almost a year now and I've just booked an appointment with my GP to see if he'll refer us for some help. We're both 34, so not exactly spring chickens.
I'm pretty sure I ov as was charting my temps and using ov sticks for quite a lot of my cycles and my body seems to be working OK. Although my cycles are a bit erratic (anything from 25 to 35 days - although I know this isn't much variability compared to some poor ladies). And my LP can be a bit short, but again this varies from cycle to cycle. I tried Agnus Castus for a while and it seemed to help a bit, But the only advice everyone seemed to want to give us was "just relax and it'll happen". I really don't know how you're supposed to "just relax" when it's all you can think about though! I find myself thinking about not thinking about it! So for the last couple of months we decided to do our damndest not to think about it and just BD like rabbits. But still the witch got me.... this month early and last month so late that I really thought we'd done it. Oh well.
At least we're going to do something positive now. It's a bit scary though - can anyone tell me what the GP is likely to tell us? Are there any tests he can do right away, or will he need to refer us to someone else?
Just looking for some friendly voices really....
Thanks
GoGo xx
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Replies
Very sorry that you find yourself in this position... But you have definitely come to the right place. The ladies here are all lovely and can sympathise with your situation.
Obviously not every GP's approach will be identical, but for the first appointment they will probably ask a few questions to build up a picture of your fertility history. It's nothing too taxing, but they will want to know how long you have been trying, any previous pregnancies, roughly what your cycles are like, how often you have sex, contraception history, any medical conditions, etc.
The NICE guidelines state that they will refer you for tests after 12 months of TTC, or after 6 months if you are 35 or older. I was 34 when I first visited the GP (after TTC for 8 months) and at first my GP was a bit hesitant to refer me straight away, but I pushed and said I would shortly turn 35, so it was worth getting things moving. (In retrospect, I could have avoided this conversation by telling a white lie and saying we had been TTC for 12 months...)
The tests the GP will (probably) refer you for are:
- You: 21 day blood tests (or 7 days after you think you have OV'd) to test your progesterone levels
- You: 2-5 day blood tests
- You: chlamydia test (unless you have had one recently as part of a rotuine smear)
- You: a scan
- Your husband: a semen test
(Ladies if I have missed anything from this list, shout - it's been a year since I did these tests so I may be forgetting something!)
After these tests, we were called back in to discuss them. We were then referred to the fertility unit at our local hospital. There were some more tests after this - but you can cross that bridge if you get to it.
It does feel like a big step to see the doctor. But for me it also felt great to be actually doing something positive. If there is an issue (and I hope for you there isn't) it is so much better to know about it rather than go on hoping and feeling that crushing monthly disappointment.
My doctor very helpfully told me after my first appointment that we should "keep trying" while these tests were happening. Er, yeah, as if we were going to stop!!
Best of luck
MrsD
I feel so much better already, just knowing that there is someone else out there who knows what this feels like and has been through it (not that I would wish it on anyone mind!)
So, did you get your BFP?? I really, really hope you did!
GG xx
I think MrsD has pretty much covered everything. The only tests my GP did were 21 day bloods and semen analysis for DH and then we were referred to the local fertility clinic. That was a year ago now and we are due to start IVF in the New Year. Be warned, there is A LOT of waiting about while you're going through your investigations. Unfortunately it seems to be just one of those things.
Anyway, hope you have an understanding GP and that your appointment goes well. It does feel like a big step but it's worth it.
Good luck and feel free to ask questions on here. They really are a bunch of well informed ladies and you can pretty much guarantee someone has been through whatever it is you are going through. We're all here to support each other and I would have been totally lost without the ladies on here.
xxxx
Hope your appointment with the GP goes well - I wasn't tested for anything apart from the lovely list from MrsD above.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
xx
I hope you all get your BFPs really soon.
GG xx
Thanks for asking, but I'm still waiting for my BFP after nearly two years.
The tests showed I have polycystic ovaries (though not PCOS), but I still OV every month and have regular cycles. MrD's SA wasn't great - motility and morphology were both below recommended levels. We have managed a pregnancy - in January 2009 I got those magic two pink lines (so I know we can do it!) but it wasn't to be and I had an early MC.
I'm just going through round #4 of IUI treatment, and assuming that doesn't work we start IVF in January 2010.
No offence to anyone on the LTTTC board, but to be honest I feel my time has come and I feel very ready to graduate to the PG forum now!!!
Do let us know how you get on with the docs.
MrsD