Yesterday I had my annual lady bits appointment. I had been looking forward to the appointment because I wanted to hear what my doctor thought of our inability to get pregnant so far. I came armed with five months of temperature-taking charts. After studying them she concluded that I am ovulating, but my luteal phase (the time between ovulation and my period) is probably too short. Basically that means that even if CP’s sperm meets my egg, then my uterine lining is not thick enough for anything to implant because my body is not producing enough progesterone.
CP and I will now be undergoing a few tests:
- On Day 25 of this cycle I will have blood drawn to check my progesterone levels. If they are low, then my 10-11 day luteal phase is too short.
- CP will go in for semen analysis. The clinic will check out the volume, sperm count, shape and movement to make sure his swimmers are okay.
- If both of these tests come back normal, then I will have dye shot into my lady bits and then I will be X-rayed. This is to make sure that there are no blockages in my tubes (i.e. I could be ovulating but either sperm can’t get to the egg or the egg can’t go anywhere). If there are blockages, my doctor said that often the dye test will remove the blockages.
These are the basic “infertility” tests that are not too invasive and not too expensive. After getting these done we will evaluate whether we want to continue getting tested or just hope for a surprise.
If my progesterone level comes back low, my doctor suggested putting me on Clomid. I asked her if there were any side effects and she said none at a low dosage. However, after doing some research today, I found that there are side effects. Hmmm. They are not major, but I don’t like doctors not telling me the whole story. CP and I also would like to stay away from drugs if possible.
The book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” recommends taking B6 supplements instead of Clomid, however it does warn that you can take too much B6. Depending on my test results, I will bring up this idea with my doctor.
In the meantime, life continues….
7 comments:
I hope you get good news! I'm glad you're able to take these steps to figure it out.
Well, it sounds like you are one step closer to having answers! Best of luck to you
hooray! doing something=good
Every bit of information is one step closer for you guys, so yay to finding out (and trying) new things on this journey!
Will be thinking of you as you guys get some things looked at. FWIW, I took B6 to extend my luteal phase prior to this pg. I think I took 50 mg/day (had to cut pills in half) since I was breastfeeding and that was enough to add a couple days to my LP. I felt more comfortable with supplementing w/something like B6 as it's a water soluble vitamin and your body should theoretically just pee out the excess (though this can be tested if you go nuts, of course). Good luck!!
I've had 2 friends who were both trying to get pregnant for over a year. They both had the dye procedure and both got pregnant immediately after that.
good for you for seeking out as much information as possible!
This is very exciting! at least you'll have some answers and a plan of action after that! Crossing my fingers!
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