new here, young and ttc for almost a year -help!

[angelttc91]

Hi, I've come here looking for advice for something that has to be honest troubled me for a while. This may be long so bare with me, but I've had suspicions I may have trouble conceiving for long before me and my P got together.

I'm 21 nearly 22 and obviously young to be worrying about this sort of thing but basically, Iv been with my P nearly 3 years, stopped taking the pill (which I've took on and off for years, not really for contraception but dianette for moderate hormone related acne) in Feb/March this year, as I'd like to have my first baby. Obviously I am young but am lucky to be established in work and ideally want to start a family in the next few years.

My worries for my fertility stem back to when I was with my first love, who I was with from 16 to 18. I dont want to be crude nor want to be judged for any past behaviour but we had a lot of unprotected sex without using contraception for about a year of our relationship (I was on dianette for the majority of the other year), and I never got pregnant and this worried me. I know it was silly as I was young etc but this is what made me first believe I had fertility problems.

I will add that age 16 I caught chlamydia from a ONS which I do regret but i was young and silly, I didnt have it for long until it was cleared and havnt had anything else since.

Anyway, me and my current DP who Im very happy with want a baby, and have been actively trying for about 8 months. I have a long cycle that is pretty irregular and have been charting this in my diary since 6th July when I started my period and thus a cycle. My period lasts 4-6 days, quite a lot of blood first 2 days and then it gets weaker and usually is gone on the 5th day.

Since July I am only on my 4th cycle! with the past 3 cycles lasting 40 days, 48 days and 43 days. Me and P have been having regular sex although we tend to have a few days with loads of sex and then none for a week (and similar sexual patterns to that)- i really dont like 'organising' sex, I do enjoy it as does my P and in one session he can ejaculate in me up to 3 times

not only that his sister has just found out she is pregnant and told me over new year her and her P had sex 5 times in the last year! how is it she can get pregnant barely having sex but me and P dont get pregnant having pretty frequent sex? Not only that im worried at my age that I should be very fertile and wondering why Im not getting pregnant :( Sorry its so long and you may say Im too young to worry properly but I am worried

Iv thought of possible PCSO before due to getting hormonal acne that goes with dianette (though its never been very bad where i couldnt decently cover it up with make up), but im not overweight and dont have excess hair.

Iv been to the docs with my worries before me and P started ttc as I said I had them previously anyway due to not getting preg with exP, and they just told me to come back when I want to conceive. But im fearing they wont help me due to my age even though iv been ttc for about 9 months now!

I will add my p is young too and hasnt been checked for sperm problems etc but as I said due to my past issues im 100% sure its me thats the problem

Can anyone advise and help me? Theres a lot more to this but Id rather just post this now and try and get some advice on my immediate situation?

Thanks everyone xx

Anyone? Sorry but Im really anxious and worried about this and would love some advice please xx

Hi sorry your going thru this. Maybe get started by going to see a doc see if they can give u some more advice.

Im thinking of going back and hoping they take me seriously this time as last time she pretty much put it off and said to come back when I want to conceive

I imagine many on here think i have nothing to worry about as Im only young and havnt been actively ttc for that long, however with my cycles being long and irregular im very worried

any tips on how to start improving my chances of conceiving? and thanks babyrose xx

Yep, off to the GP with you. You've been trying for almost a year now so they should take you seriously.

I'd put money on them finding PCOS with what you have told us - acne, long cycles, subfertility. You don't have be big to have PCOS (I am a slim PCOSer and so is a good friend of mine). I do have some excess hair but no acne. It's a syndrome so not everyone will have every symptom.

Your partner will need to be tested too.

Your most fertile time is 12-16 days before your next period, so based on your recent cycle lengths you can roughly work out when you should make sure you are getting down to it (but please don't only do it at these times!).

Thanks Euroshagmore, tbh I've suspected PCSO for years but have never got much from the doctors, theyve just put me on dianette since about 14 15 for acne which did help, I also get slight hair thinning on my head which i read somewhere is a symptom of PCOS

how do I get them to test me for it? i find getting anything out of the docs with re to this is practically impossible, they just suggest putting me on the pill which i obviously dont want

also if you have PCOS, what are the chances of getting pregnant and is there any treatment that can help you get pregnant? when i was 13 I remember I had no periods for 6 months at one point and in the last few years atleast one time iv gone like 3 months without a period

I find eating a low(ish) GI diet helped enormously. I also think that acupuncture helped bring my hormones into balance. Also, my symptoms were worse when I was very slim. Since I have put on a few pounds (not a lot, just enough to get me to the middle of healthy BMI rather than the low end - being overweight is not good for PCOS), my periods have got more regular.

There's a book by Theresa Cheung and someone else called the PCOS Handbook that helped me far more than any dr to understand the condition. I got it ftom Amazon a few years ago. There are also good forums on the Verity PCOS website.

The main reason PCOS affects fertility is that it blocks ovulation or makes it very irregular. If you can get your periods regular so that you are ovulating regularly, you should be able to get pregnant. The drs can give you a drug called Clomid that will help. You should be monitored on this though, so the best thing would be to ask your GP for a referral to a gynae or a fertility clinic so you can be properly investigated. Your partner needs to be checked out too.

Thankyou, im going to make an appointment tomorrow, il update with how it goes! xxxx

Hello:) I have been on dianette from a young age and for about... 5 years on and off!! I also had the contraception injection last year sometime (I don't even remember which month it was which is annoying as it can take 1 year to come out of your system). Anyway, me and my boyfriend have been trying to conceive for about 5 months. I've never worried about being infertile or having problems although I do have acne (hence dianette) and I completely skipped a period in november. My periods have been all over the place- I had a 3week bleed in December!! And my acne is ridiculous. Anyway just thought I'd let u know you're not alone. Any woman's going to worry something's wrong although you have got another few months that's still consider the "normal" time to conceive in. Please let me know how u get on. Im very worried and getting impatient too and I dont know what else to do to make pregnancy come faster. I've been advised gym and eating fish by my friend who's just conceived so hopefully that will work. Good luck!!

Laura its great to get support from someone in a similar situation, I, like you honestly never thought Id have this much trouble conceiving and have always though 'oh well maybe we havnt been doing it enough/at the right time), but now after 8 9 months solidly trying Im very worried

However I am aware I have plenty of time and havnt tried any treatment yet so Im hoping that I will be able to have babies eventually :D

i do work out anyway usually but trying to moderate it to an hours dancing every other day as I find working out everday loses me too much weight! Im a size 8 10 at the moment and would like to stay that way

I heard eating tuna is bad when your ttc? anyone know if this is true as its my favourite food and I like tuna and jacket and tuna mayo salad butties :x

Il definately come back and update how I am doing, although small this thread has helped me immensley so thankyou all :) xxx

I did not have to read much of your initial post to suspect PCOS; the taking of Dianette is also a clue here. This has anti androgenic qualities and is often given to women who present with PCOS in the first place. Also you should not be on Dianette indefinately.

I would put money on it that PCOS is the root cause of your problems now and lack of periods. As your cycle is so irregular (another indicator of this) you could have blood tests done according to calendar days. You certainly should have a day 2 test done to check and compare your LH level against that of your FSH level; these I think will not be the same (there is often an excess of LH to FSH).

Do not forget that PCOS is infact a very individualistic disorder; not everyone who has this condition has excess hair, is overweight or has adult onset acne by any means. There are also lean PCOSers as well; the commonality between all is the cystic follicles on the ovaries. Hair thinning can indeed be symptomatic of PCOS.

An important thing for you is to try and remain within the correct weight range for your height; being overweight can and does exacerbate symptoms.
Some PCOSers follow a low GI/GL (glycaemic load) eating programme with some degree of success, it can be easier to follow this in the longer term as well.

I would seek medical advice asap and have blood tests done. They may also arrange for you to have an internal ultrasound scan done to see if your ovaries are polycystic in appearance (the polycystic ovary can appear larger than its normal walnut size). You may well need some medical help in order to conceive.

Ovulation is not an exact science and a person can ovulate earlier, later or not at all in any given cycle. It is not correct at all to assume that your most fertile time is around 14 days before the start of the next period; ovulation does not work like that at all. Have sex when you both feel like it and not just when you think its ovulation time. With PCOS you are likely not to be ovulating regularly if at all.

If your GP is unhelpful then change GP practice. No point in dealing with someone who is uncommunicative or tries to fob you off.

Also your man should be tested at the same time as your initial tests are done to see if there are any male factor problems. Subfertility is not the sole preserve of the woman.

Thanks, what is a FSH level? I know the LH is lutinizing hormone (sp?) but dont understand these things at all

i have thought about OPKs in the past but due to suspected PCOS and irregular periods I figured there wouldnt be much of a point

my doctors are hit and miss some are good and get straight to the point, others fob you off! I think that I will ask them for tests as I believe I have PCOS and tell them about my trying to conceive so they dont try and put me on the pill to solve my problems

If they fob me off Ill ask to see someone else as this has caused me considerable mental anguish

I will search low GI diets but have to admit im useless at this sort of thing (knowing the right foods to eat, cooking them etc) xx