# Im a newbie here



## Fairies24 (Jan 18, 2009)

Hi everyone, I don't really know where to start or whether I even qualify to be a part of this site. I imagine this message will be quite long as I want to explain quite a bit. So I'm sorry in advance for the essay. 
  I'm Jenn and I'm 22, my husband is 23. I'll start with the fact that I'd been actively ttc with my ex for 3 years without any luck, he's had children in the past so we knew there were no problems on his part, I wasn't ovulating and so I was sent for a laparoscopy with results saying there were no signs of endometriosis, scars etc. Well anyway, shortly after that we broke up and I found out at the time that he'd cheated and got someone else pregnant. 
  Thats just a bit of my past info and Im now happily married to a wonderful man. Ive been ttc with my husband since Sept 07 (ttc 16+half months). My husband had been analysed in previous years and was told everything was fine so because of my history with not ovulating my doctor decided to try me on clomid 50mg in Feb 08 -and- after 2 cycles I had found I'd ovulated on both but cycles but just not got pregnant. My doctor said at the time that it was too early to send us to the fertility clinic as we'd only been tcc for 5 months and she didn't want to prescribe more clomid so she suggested for us to try and conceive naturally as we were also going to have stressful times ahead what with getting married and moving house again. 
   So at the beginning of Jan this year we'd been trying for 16 months and we both wanted to push for tests and answers. I started reading "Fertility & Conception: the complete guide to getting pregnant", by Zita West. Also as silly as it sounds I've bought some Bach rescue remedy and an electric acupuncture pen to help the points of fertility. My husband decided to get a semen analysis done before doctors asking him to, but has found that although count and motility was great and high, he has a high percentage of 'abnormal forms'. So now, this combined with my not ovulating is getting us down and making us feel hopeless and like it'll never happen for us and we'd previously believed that age would also have been on both our sides. Im due for a doctor appointment on Wednesday 21st Jan so I'm hoping something will be prescribed for me or that we'll get directions of what happens next. Have any of you got partners/husbands that have abnormal formed sperm and have had success in any way? Or have you any advice?
Thank you so much for reading, it really helps to get things out. 
Takecare & baby dust to all


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Faries , welcome to Fertility Friends. 

Firstly  Infertility is not age discrimiate; it's hard to deal with at any point. With known issues I think you can reasonably expect your consultant to move forwards with full diagnosis and treatment at this stage, even if they have been a little reticent up until now.

The Zita West book is a great starting point to improving your and DH's lifestyle and getting you fertiltiy fit. Sperm takes 3 months to make from scratch and a simple little thing like a cold can decimate the count/quality significantly so, if you have only had one sperm analysis, I would suggest getting DH on a health kick, doping him up with some fertility-friendly vitamins (Wellman, Zita West's own or Fertility Plus) and retesting in 3 months. I would also ask your consultant if he/she will do a HSG or lap and dye to check the condition of your tubes (no point taking clomid to make you ovulate if the eggs can't get through) and scan your ovaries if you have not already had that done. If you have, then (depending on how bad DH's sperm really is) they may suggest more clomid or even IUI / OI. 
And yes, I have seen far too many natural miracles on FF from couples with apalling sperm counts who, rightly, should have needed ICSI so...never give up on that miracle!

You mentioned acupuncture. I am going to suggest that you might want to look at the complimentary therapy boards where you might find some advice on acupuncturists who specialise in treating fertility patients. A lot of FFers here have had great success either getting pg with the helpmof acupuncture, or regulating unruly cycles with it.

Here are some links you might find helpful at the moment. Please do have a look around and explore and start posting around the boards and making friends. FF is a wonderfully supportive community and you can only get the best out of it if you start posting and joining in so, please do so.

*What Every New Member Needs To Know (includes a list of common abbreviations) ~ *   CLICK HERE

*Male factors ~ *CLICK HERE

*Complimentary, Holistic and Spiritual Approaches ~ *CLICK HERE 

*FERTILITY INFO GUIDES ~ *CLICK HERE

You can have a bit of fun or just gossip while you are on FF too so check out the general chit chat / jokes / hobbies area:

*Girl & Boy talk - Community & Fun Board ~ *CLICK HERE Particularly you might be interested in the 20 something chit chat thread, which can be found here: CLICK HERE

You can also chat live in our excellent chat room. We have a newbie night in the chat room every week (*Wednesday at 8pm*), where you can meet other new members and get technical support with navigating the site and using all the functions available here.  CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON NEWBIE CHAT 

You can also "meet" and chat with people in your local area through the *Location boards*. This is especially useful to find people who may be using the same clinic and or in the same PCT area.

Wishing you lots of luck! 

C~x


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## Fairies24 (Jan 18, 2009)

Hello, thank you so much for your reply. It means a lot to me and I am very grateful for the advice you have given. My DH and I had talked whilst I was reading the Zita West and we agreed for him to take vitamins too so that's that bit done. As for what you said about doing the HSG and/or scan, i wasn't aware that I could ask or request these from my doctor. I just thought my doctor had to tell me what was next and then we try it. I will speak to her though and hope that she gives us the next step. I suppose at least now I'll feel a little more in control, as last year when she gave me clomid she seemed reluctant. Thank you again for your help    

Takecare, Jenn


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## larkles (Jun 29, 2005)

Hi Fairies24 (lovely name) 

Sorry to hear of all your troubles, as Caz mentioned it doesn't matter how long you've been trying it still hurts

You mentioned bach flower remedies, it doesn't sound silly, I have sent you a private message, hope you find it soon

Sorry that I can't answer your question re your dh's sperm but am sure you'll find someone here that can

Lots of love and best of luck  

Larkles
xx


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## Fairies24 (Jan 18, 2009)

Hi larkles, thanks for your reply I appreciate it. I have just been searching through posts and my profile to find your pm but it says under personal messages that I have no new messages. Does it usually come through quickly?
Thanks again, Takecare


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## Anthony Reid (Jan 1, 2002)

Hi  Fairies,

Welcome to FF.

The private messages come through instantly, my guess is larkles hasn't typed it yet 

You will see an announcement when you get it at the top of the page under your name 

Good luck with your Treatment.

Tony
x

*edit - I have set your account up so that you get a pop up when a new im/pm comes through


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## larkles (Jun 29, 2005)

Sorry-just got back from work an hour ago and have been catching up on all the news   

You have mail

Larkles
xx


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## Chilli Pepper (Nov 11, 2008)

hello there fairies

I was just wondering if you have ever had your FSH levels done... I'm sure your doctor will have looked at this at one point cos u have been ttc for a while... it's just that you never mentioned it - I hope this is because ur levels are normal!

I found out a couple of years back that I had high FSH (which meant absolutely NADA to me at the time...) and since then I've been on a high FSH discovery journey! It's no good just having one test as the level can go up and down, so I decided to just take myself off to the nurse at my GP on every day 2 of my period (I did that for about 8 months) - I never got charged. the results were not good but at least I knew what I was dealing with then.

as for acupuncture - DH is in same position as ur partner - high abnormality. I sent him off to my acupuncture lady (who is FANTASTIC) and his results have improved, so perhaps ask ur partner if he would be prepared to go.

Good luck!

Jill


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

Fairies24 said:


> Hello, thank you so much for your reply. It means a lot to me and I am very grateful for the advice you have given. My DH and I had talked whilst I was reading the Zita West and we agreed for him to take vitamins too so that's that bit done. As for what you said about doing the HSG and/or scan, i wasn't aware that I could ask or request these from my doctor. I just thought my doctor had to tell me what was next and then we try it. I will speak to her though and hope that she gives us the next step. I suppose at least now I'll feel a little more in control, as last year when she gave me clomid she seemed reluctant. Thank you again for your help
> 
> Takecare, Jenn


Hello again. Well technically you can't exactly ask or tell your consultant what to do, but you can go in there armed with so much information about what tests you ought to have to start off with that your consultant realises you mean business and doens't try and fob you off. 

I can sort of understand the reluctance to give you any fertilty boosting drugs when you are both so young and have not been actively ttc for all that long. Most GPs won't even order basic blood tests until you've been actively ttc for at least 2 years! However, now you both have some issues that you know about (your ovulation and your DH's sperm) then it's only fair to expect to be treated like any other patient with known fertility issues - age and time ttc is just not relevant and, if you think your consultant is making it relevant when you see her again, I would say so as, quite often, you can get them the back down if you challenge. 
Essentially the name of the game is to find out as much as you can, go armed with information and push, push, push until you get a satisfactory treatment protocol. In order to do that you really need to establish all the facts about your fertility that you can. There is absolutely no point in addressing one issue, trying a course of treatment, that not working and then having further tests to find out later there are other issues that meant it would not have worked. This si, more or less, what happened to me - I was prescribed clomid because tests indicated I don't ovulate, I did 8 months before a HSG revealed I had a blocked tube too and a TV ultrasound revealed I had PCO. That, coupled with my own DH's slightly dodgy sperm, meant I was a terible candidate for clomid; I should have had the HSG first before being prescribed it, espcially given that I had endo and was, therefore, a really likely handidate for tubal blockages!
Anyway, this is why I say go back, ask for a complete run of tests before you embark on any treatment. With luck it will just be your ovulation that is an issue and that can be addressed with clomid or OI but it is better to know than to try and fail and find out later why.
In summary, the minimum tests I think you should have had before starting treatment are:

FSH (day 2-5)
LH (day 2-5)
Progesterone (early cycle to check for imbalances and "day 21" to check for evidence of ovulation) 
HSG (checks condition of tube and uterus - sometimes done in conjunction with a laparoscopy)
Transvaginal Ultrasound on your uterus and ovaries (to check for possible issues / PCO)
Sperm analysis (possibly repeated in 3 months after inital test if results are not wonderful).

Of course this is all my opinion based on my own experiences. I am sure others here would suggest some other tests you migth have too. If you click on the Fertility Info Guides link that I posted above, and scroll through to the relevant guides, you can get an idea of why and what you are looking for.

 Please let us know how you get on on Wednesday. I have blown you some bubbles for luck!

C~x


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## Fairies24 (Jan 18, 2009)

Hello there, thank you all for your replies. 

Chilli Pepper; As far as Im aware I haven't had FSH levels checked. I have had blood tests in the past thought and certainly whilst I was on clomid so whether the doctor checked them then I don't know.

Caz; Thank you for your advice about going into the doctors full of information. I feel though, that even if I had an army of information following me today that my voice would still trail off into a polite mumble. Therefore, I'm taking my DH with me to reinforce my opinions      You were saying about having them check FSH levels, LH and Progesterone but as I said above to Chilli Pepper I have had a lot of blood tests in the past and for all I know they could have checked. I have also had a laparoscopy before and had an ultrasound - it was a while ago but they said on both that they couldn't see any abnormalities and that there was no reason why I couldn't get pregnant. Obviously back when I had these tests done, I was with my ex. And because i am ttc with my husband my Dr hasn't put me on the list to see my gynaecologist again yet. I guess that's why we were hoping she'd give me another shot at taking clomid, but then again that's just because we want to believe we'll get pregnant quicker when I know it isn't as simple as that. I know I have gone on with myself a bit today, please forgive me - I'm nervous about my Dr appointment this afternoon. I will go in there with information about tests etc and will see what happens. 

Hope you all have a nice day and I will keep you posted when I get back. 
Takecare & babydust to all


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## Fairies24 (Jan 18, 2009)

Hi all, I just thought I would sign in to give a little update on what's going on with me. I had a doctors appointment this afternoon. I asked what our next step would be. I discussed DH's previous SA results etc and mentioned about testing the different hormone levels etc. She told me that my hormone levels weren't anything to worry about and that because I've already had a laparoscopy and ultrasound aswell that I don't need to go back through that. So she's given me two months on clomid with blood tests at day 21, taking in to account that last year i'd had three treatments of clomid. She said that if I don't get pregnant after these two months she is going to said me to a different hospital than the one I used to go to. So now I just have to wait for my period, they are usually irregular varying from 22 to 26 days. So having said that, I should have my period anytime from the 29th of this month so there isn't too long to wait I guess. 
  Although I'm grateful to be on treatment instead of having to wait around, I have mixed emotions. I don't want to sound unappreciative when I say this but, I feel like I should be thinking postive that it's going to work for us on clomid, but instead i have nagging negativity that because other things haven't worked for us and because myself and my DH have had a lot of bad luck that this won't happen either. I know though, that I have to try to stay positive and see what happens. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I ovulate and that I also get pregnant.
Thanks for reading and supporting, I appreciate it.
Takecare & babydust to you all
x


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## Caz (Jul 21, 2002)

HI Fairies, that all sounds fairly positive. I know you feel a bit negative becuase you probably wanted something more than clomid (if it hasn't worked before then I understand why you feel that way) but at leats it's jusst 2 months and....who knows! It may well work this time! 
Even thoguh you feel negative about the clomid, give it a go and throw yourself into it (and enjoy it so to speak!) and if, at the end, it hans't worked its magic, focus on the referral as a light at the end of the tunnel.


C~x


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