FertilityFactor.com Home

sorry i forgot to add that i only found out the actual results today as i went to the surgery to get them as i am considering going to another fertility clinic. i had a HSG done back at the end of September and although i was told at the time there were no blockages, i've never had a copy or been told the full results. is this normal? I live in the UK, is it like that in USA?

Hi Ciara, I too am from the UK , in Wiltshire. This is all so complicated isn't it. I may not be able to advise on the FSH as yet as this morning I rang the local hospital to ask if I can have an FSH test on my next cycle as this will be my sixth month of clomid. (Apparently you can only be on it for six months max). The reason for ringing the hospital was because of this website and mainly ladies from the usa telling me that it seems to be standard practice over there to have scans, FSH and prostregone levels done when ttc on clomid or to check ovualation. I have had the 21day blood tests taken to check my progesterone levels, but nothing for FSH. The lady at the hospital was trying to persuade me that there was no reason for me having it, so I told her what I had learned about it from this forum and that I was adamant as being that it was my last month on clomid and this had never been checked, I wanted a 'clomid challenge test' done and that regardless of what my progesterone level are, I still need to know if my ovaries are working? It was a real battle I can tell you, anyway, she is sending me the test form. Regarding the progesterone levels, my doc said he wanted to see mine reach 35, my last test on 100mg of clomid was 42.5. Good luck to you.

Hi Boo, it's so frustrating over here, it's a real battle to get any kind of help. I even went to see two private doctors as i was so desperate for advice and they just brushed me off as if my concerns were trivial. the general attitude here really seems to be that we shouldn't bother these doctors with our pathetic little problems as obviously there are other people dying out there!! I am now considering going to a specialist fertility clinic to try IVF and i have to get all my tests together. FSH test is important as it shows how your ovarian reserves are, if the results are bad then it may mean that you have very little reserves left and that you won't respond to fertility drugs, your only hope is to have IVF with donor egg so it's so important to get these tests done. though this is all i have read from the internet, it would be nice if a doctor had bothered to sit down with me and explain things. In fact i think these tests should have been the very first step for us before giving us drugs, etc. You would have thought if someone comes to you with fertility problems one of the first things they would think is - right what are your eggs like and are you actually ovulating!!! that's great news on your progesterone level, make sure they do the estradiol and LH levels at the same time.

The first time i went to this doctor, she told me she didn't know what i was worried about as she had patients who were trying for 5 years! i just thought if people had bothered to give them the right treatment they probably wouldn't have been trying so long!!!

Ciara, I'm kind-of unfamiliar with how the medical system works in the UK, but if possible, seek out another doctor and go in there armed with all the questions you want answered. The more knowledge you show that you have, the less he/she will be able to jerk you around. By the time I went in to see my new doc, I had probably 20 questions written down, and both the doc and my husband were stunned by how much I know. And yes, I learned it all by taking part in this forum. I asked everything about PCOS, endometriosis, clomid, injectables, IVF, and laparoscopic surgery. Due to my age, we decided a laparoscopy would be the first thing we would do, so I had that done on July 7th. Then the doc monitored me on a natural cycle to see how my body was working on it's own, and the next cycle I did injectables with back to back IUI's and am pregnant. Had I not had the knowledge, formed my own opinions, asked the important questions, etc..... I'm not sure we would be PG today. Change doctors, I did.

We posted at pretty much the same time. There are people out there who try to conceive for five, even ten years, but that doesn't mean that you want to put yourself and your relationship through that. My sister tried for 5 years to conceive her second child, and it took two months of clomid for it to happen. Two other people I know tried for 10 years and both got pregnant on their first cycle of injectables. It took me two and half years of actively trying before getting PG with the help of the shots and IUI's. I was NOT willing to wait five or ten years before seeking treatment. At this point I am so glad I live in the US (which I don't say very often) because I got to choose my destiny and I was at the mercy of noone. Like I said, I don't know what it's like over there, but seek out the doctor who listens to you and shows some compassion. Then you will know you are in the right place.

thanks Tracy - you're always so helpful with everyone's posts. i definitely won't be going back to her anymore. Sometimes you just don't know what to think and i feel like i am over reacting because i am so desperate to get pregnant. but you are right, she shouldn't be comparing us to other people. Congratulations on your pregnancy, it really gives me hope as i know you've been posting here for a while and i think we may have chatted on previous posts way back! god it just makes me so angry to think of all the months we've wasted when a better Dr would have been trying as many alternatives as possible.

I wasted time with the wrong doctor too. That's why I think I push others so hard to just move on if they are not happy with the way things are going. I second-guessed myself and put too much faith in the doctor without realizing that I am my best advocate. I had an appointment with a great doctor, but cancelled it because I would have had to pay everything out of pocket. So I went to a doc who would bill my insurance and I wasted an entire year with him before coming back to the doc I had originally wanted to go to and who ultimately ended up being the one we got PG with. My husband said, "Don't ever try to cut corners again when it comes to something this important." I was just so fearful of how much everything was going to cost, but in the long run, I probably spent more by cutting corners and wasting so much time. I thought your question in your initial post was a great question and that's why I think you should ask a doctor with great ears.

Hi Ciara & Tracy, Tracy I read you are now past your three month stage and everything is going well with you and your baby, that is so great!! Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. Ciara, I agree with you, we may have an NHS system, but we sure are made to feel like we exagerate our needs when trying to get help from it with being able to concieve. Makes you wonder why we pay NI for it doesn't it!! Thank you for explaining the FSH test for me. My symptons of ovulation last month have not happened this month, so I'll wait and see if the blood test can confirm whether I did or not, last month I think we did not bd at the right time as I was not sure when I was ovulating, I think after a while you start to imagine every little thing as a sign. ;-) I asked the lady at the hospital if I am likely to ovulate after my clomid ends and she bluntly replied NO, I said what happens then and she said I would just have to see how it goes and maybe accept that it's not likely to happen for me!! Of course, I do not beleive this, mainly because of the succes stories on this site. From my next cycle I have decided to start using the clearblue fertlity monitor to see if I can trace what is happening. each month I am using it. I have got an appointment with a private consultant on the 5th December 06, but have also been referred to the NHS. I wil keep my appointment with the private consultant , I have to agree with Tracy, sometimes if you do not have time on your side, it is best to do what you can. If the NHS do come back to me, then at least I can compare notes ;-) I've been told locally there is a six month waiting list at our hospital just for an appointment with a consultant. Good luck

Your high estrodial levels may be caused by a functional cyst(s). Maybe that is why your doctor wasn't too concerned, those type of cysts give off estrogen, but usually dissolve on its own after a few weeks. But still, I would recommend ultrasounds to check to see if that for sure is what is causing the off estrodial levels. They should be 25-75 pg/ml on CD3. Levels on the lower end tend to be better for stimulating. Your high levels on day 3 may indicate the cyst or diminished ovarian reserve too, but I tend to think your FSH level is very good, so I don't think that your ovarian reserve is in question.

Hi Linds, you seem to know you stuff on all these issues, do you have any advice for me which I can take to my consultant? I am conscious of the fact this is my last month of using clomid, is there something more I should be asking for? (even though its a struggle in the UK to get anything done!!) Where are you with you TTC?

Sorry, twice in that last post I meant to say YOUR...duh!!

Hi Bo, That lady at the hospital is wrong to say what she did to you. It is actually mean of her in many ways to say that. Sometimes Clomid kick starts the body's ability to produce estrogen well into the next cycle after clomid has ended. Why? Because clomid is known to remain in the body for nearly 60-days after administration...that means into your next cycle. Sometimes a clomid cycle can cause a follicle to develop and grow at a normal time, by CD 14 or so, however, the woman's luteinizing hormone is not kick-started, so the woman is actually ready to ovulate and is ripe but then the LH level is off and or the estrogen levels are not high enough, so those factors may cause a luteinized unruptured follicle. But talking to a few woman post-clomid use, they have moved to injectionables and have had better luck in terms of response. Maybe you will be moved to injectionables and will produce a better, quality ovulatory cycle compared with clomid cycle.

Thanks Linds, i will definitely ask about this when i get an appointment at the new place. When you don't know why you are infertile, little things like these can tip the balance. If it wasn't for this site i wouldn't be questioning any of my treatment or my results and just be relying on the doctors! Hopefully the new clinic will be much better. They also offer free counselling as well, it will be so great to get my frustrations out in the open. Boo, i can't believe that nurse was so horrible to you, but it is so typical over here! I thought if I went to a private consultants that it would be different - i got an appointment quicker but their attitude was still not very sympathetic. the first private consultant was a man and i remember after the first u/s i had, i asked him afterwards if i was close to ovulating and his reply was "I don't know, I wasn't looking for that!" despite the fact that we had arranged to have the u/s for around the time i was ovulating. But at the time i guess you're placing so much of your trust in these people that you don't really question anything and you dont even know what questions you should be asking.
Boo is the consultant you are seeing at a specialist fertility clinic or one at a general clinic. I went to one where the consultants all work in NHS during the week but come and sit at a private clinic once a week, where i saw them, both the consultants were very experienced in the infertility field so i really had such high hopes, but i guess they must be working with other people who they see as priority cases. Boo did you know that we are all entitled to at least one free IVF cycle on the NHS? Though god only knows how long those waiting lists will be! i'm hoping that if all goes well then i will be able to start IVF early next year, the new clinic said they would also put me down on the NHS waiting list too so that i'll get a second chance. But to be honest i don't know what to think about any of it. i've even started doing acupuncture and taking chinese herbs now to see if nature will help. Tracy you're so lucky you don't have to go through all of this, though i'm sure all pregnant ladies have their own worries too, but it must be so exciting to know that in only a few months time you'll be holding that little baby.

Hi Linds
Thank you so much for your input, I will definately mention this to my consultant next time I see him. What are the injectionables exactly so I'm prepared? I am not even near to being ready to give up, I will keep ttc. From what I have gathered most of us have had encounters with medical staff who have been less than helpful. Ciara, thank you for that info, I was not aware that I could get one IVF on the NHS, maybe it would be an idea for us both to register our names on the list, so the waiting time seems less if the other methods we are trying fail to work. My consultant is at Bath Clinic which I believe is an all private treatments facility, I'm not sure if he does NHS as well, but he was very nice and helpful, considering my regular consultant did not want to work with me on ttc. I'm not so sure how helpful he is going to be when I go to see him with my long list of questions this time though :-) I will keep you updated on my progress, as I hope you will also do. Baby dust

Bo, I have no idea what injectionables would be prescribed for your case, as I have no idea what your issue may be. But I have read many women on the forum using (I believe it is called) Femara after clomid and getting pregnant. See if you can ask someone here on the forum about injectionables, as I have not done them myself...I am going right IVF this cycle after three rounds of clomid. Good Luck!

I did injectables after 3 failed clomid cycles. They are shots you give yourself starting around day 3 of your cycle. I like to think of them as fertilizer that helps your eggs grow and reach their full potential. I'm not sure how they act differently than clomid, but I do know that when clomid fails, they move you to injectables. When you do IVF you are essentially doing injectables also, but the only difference is that with IVF they remove the eggs from your body and then put them back once they are fertilized. IF you do just injectables I recommend them to be done with IUI (Intrauteran Insemination).