Hello Ladies!
Just needing your opinion. In July 2009 (after two years of trying), my Dr. found two fibroid tumors in my uterus and removed them. Due to my endometriosis I need help with periods, and ovulation. I should add that I also have one viable fallopian tube...which doesn't help my situation any! My doctor has currently upped my Clomid dose to 4 pills on days 5-9 because I have yet to ovulate at a high enough #. I feel loyalty to my doctor because everyone I talk to says she knows what she is doing, and she sounds very positive and confident when I talk to her, but when should I start seeing opinions from another doctor (if I should at all)? I just turned 31 so I know there is still "time" for conception, but I don't want to be wasting time either. What do you all think!?!?
Thanks so much!
P.S. We are both open to adoption, but are trying to conceive on our own and until our options have distinguished.
Thanks everyone for all of the great feedback! It turns out I ovulated at a 1.5 this time (not good!), so after almost a year on the Clomid my Dr. is starting my on Femara. I told her of my concerns and how I was feeling like I needed to see an Endo. I told her I would give her a month with this and we will see what happens. Thanks again everyone!
I would be careful with the clomid. I took the clomid for several months...ended up not getting pregnant because it was causing my fibroids to grow. My husband and I ended up having an IUI when I was 36 and conceived. We had twin daughters...at 37.
Hi M.,
Without knowing your full medical history, I can tell you about experiences my daughter had.
When she was 17 she was diagnoised with terrible endometriosis and told it was bad enough she would probably never have children. When she was almost 21 it was so bad they were talking about a hysterectomy for her. Her Dr. asked her if she would try Lupron and see if that would put the endo into remission. Lupron puts you into a medicated menopause, so it basically cuts off your estrogen and there is nothing to feed the endo. She did a 6 month course of Lupron (boy was she fun then!) Anyway when she came off the Lupron, guess who got pregnant?! She ended up having a hysterectomy within a year of having the baby because the Lupron didn't work beyond it's prescribed course, but she did get her only baby out of the deal!
If I were you, I would be getting a second opinion for sure. It sounds like you have more than one issue complicating things and I would want to make sure that they are all addressed.
I can tell you from past experiences with other Dr.s - no matter how much you like your Dr., if you see one long enough there is always the possiblity that after a while they see you so much they treat the syptoms instead of addressing the cause.
Good luck!
N.
Have you considered going straight to IVF at this point? Our friends went thru treatments (not very aggressively) for several years and were successful with IVF on their first try. Not to say that it wasn't a tough road with the injections, meds, egg retrieval and such but now they have 2 beautiful girls. Good luck to you!
I have a friend who is going through some trouble getting pregnant. She did clomid for along time and she said she has read in several different articles that after so many months you should start looking at your options. Also, she recommend a book called " A few good eggs." I wish I could help more. I can't imagine how frustrated you are. My husband and I have been trying for 6 months now for baby number 2. It is very frustrating. Good luck!
You didn't mention if your doctor is an ob/gyn or a reproductive endrocrinologist....... I saw my ob/gyn for chlomid and had a friend tell me that I really should be seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. At the time I felt a great deal of loyalty to my ob and I resented the comment. So, really, only you know how long you want to continue with your doctor. You also wont' know if you made the right decision until you look back later. So, do what is comfortable for you now and know that you can change your mind at any time.
Here is my story and that of my friend so you know you are not alone. My friend tried for a long time, had an ectopic pregnancy, lost a tube and had problems with the other tube. Conceived through in vitro then a couple of years later thought she had the flu. After a few weeks she learned she had conceived without medical assistance.
My husband and I did chlomid. Then, went to a reproductive endrocrinologist (who I also adore and am very loyal to and he worked well WITH my ob). Tried intrauterine insemination, then did invitro and have two beautiful twin girls. I have another friend who got pregnant from clomid too..
So, don't lose faith. Anything is possible. You just need to do what is best for you and that will change as time passes! Good luck!
Bless your heart, Sweetie. I SO know where you are coming from. I tried for the better part of 10 years to conceive with no success. I had a fibroid tumor removed when I was 28 and that's when stage 4 endometriosis was discovered. I didn't try fertility pills, but at age 34 we did IVF. I now have beautiful 5 yr old b/g twins. I don't mean to be pessimistic, just sharing my experience. And I wanted to let you know I understand your pain, frustration, and heartache. You are not alone. Feel free to contact me if you want to chat. I pray the Lord will bless your family soon.
I second that you should be seeing a Reproductive Endocronologist (RE) if you are not already. They are more specialized than OB's in the field of infertility. Normally, you should seek help from a RE after 1 year without success (sooner if you are over 35, have proven that you're annovulatory- ie, charting, or have other issues). I honestly think that all OB's know is Clomid. If you have problems along with the endo, that you are not aware of, the clomid could be a complete waste of time. My OB started me on Clomid when she saw that I was not ovulating. When I had my first RE appt, they took 17 vials of blood! They found problems that I wasn't aware of (and neither was my OB). At that point continuing with only Clomid for me was not the solution (and the Clomid didn't help me at all anyway).
I tried for 2 years (with problems other than endo) and my RE was amazing. I actully got pregnant on our month off from the fertility treatments. Having 1 ovary or tube will not keep you from concieving. My left tube is twisted and I cannot ovulate from that side, but still ended up with my little blessing. My oldest sister had very bad endo and had to have a partial hysterectomy at 31. Two years later (by accident) my neice was concieved. (She had to have a full hysterctomy at 43 due to the endo.) My cousin also has very bad endo. With no medical help, she concieved after 2 years. They started trying right away to have another (thinking it would take another 2 years) and ended up pregnant with twins when her first was 9 months! She ended up with 3 girls under 3! I know that a lot of the other posts have mentioned IVF. It normally isn't covered by insurance, and can cost 10k to 15k for ONE try. My husband and I decided from the begining that we would not go into debt to try to have a baby, so that was never an option for us. It never hurts to just keep trying. Anything is possible. Good Luck!!!
Really look into seeing a Reproductive Endocrinologist for your situation. I too, had fibroid tumors. I had them both removed and had IUI's for the months to follow. It took about 3 months, but I was pregnant. I will say that the tumors came back with the pregnancy and I ultimately had to have my uterus removed. But I have one healthy beautiful child!
