Thread for anyone TTC with a bit of medical help!

[ChandlersFarang]

Hello ladies! I'm looking to start something like one of the normal TTC 'busses' but for any of us that are on the journey with a bit of medical assistance (but not full IVF, as there's already an established thread for that!). I'm talking: assisted ovulation, clomid, metformin, IUI, Femara, injections, all those helpful little pushes from the doctors as we may not quite get there on our own! Post your story below and let's cross fingers for lots of BFPs over the coming months - would love to hear from you

Lol ignore that, you have already told me you are!! That will help tons with your general health. I still haven't had my insulin resistance tested but my doc says she's pretty much certain I have it to a small degree. She's right I think. I put on weight at the drop of a hat!

Well, apt with the GP done and dusted.

He's not going to take me blood tests cause my cycles are irregular, he referred me to the fertility clinic instead. I got an appointment for me and DP the 28th of August.

I don't if that is good or bad... I think i'd like to get blood tests on cd 21, but he said there's no point.

Hello just wanted to hop on here with a positive message. I was diagnosed with PCOS in October via a scan. I have a nice doctor who happily put me straight onto metformin (started on 500mg upped to 1500mg by feb) in December (I'm 33). My BMI was 28 then. I went on a health kick - lots of juicing etc and I think I got pregnant on Valentine's (classy huh) and I have my 24 week appointment with the same doctor today. DC1 due 20th November.
All the best for those just discovering they have PCOS. I know I have been lucky but I have read that often your ovaries just need a kick start to get them going again.

Hi Whenwill! Thanks for the encouraging message!

Whenwillwe that's an amazing little tale of good news!! Thanks so much for sharing. So from diagnosis to BFP only took you 4 months? That's really encouraging!!

Just out of interest - you say you started on 500mg of metformin... How come the doc increased you to 1500? Did it happen gradually and on the basis of more scans..? Am intrigued. I'm only on 500mg at the moment, am wondering if it will be increased, and on what basis/test they would up it?

I'm glad you're enjoying your pregnancy, I can't wait to see what it feels like! Fx it's not too long a wait... Madness!!

Yes I was so lucky it only took 4 months, I thought it would take far longer. Due to wonky cycle I didn't know I was pregnant until I was 5 weeks pg and felt odd.
I think my dose was increased as my period was not getting more regular so dr was happy to increase. Also as it can give you a bad tum I think they generally start you on 500mg and increase it slowly to 1500mg or 2000mg. It didn't really make a difference to me bowels wise but I think you can get slow release pills if you react to them.
I also took it for first 3 months of pregnancy to help prevent miscarriage which can be higher for those w PCOS.

I had read about metformin being taken to help lower risk miscarriage in PCOS sufferers. Did you stay at the elevated dosage of 1500mg for that period? Interesting! It's amazing what they have discovered for PCOS isn't it. I was given Femara to stimulate my ovaries which seems to be a relatively new thing... It is only really approved as a breast cancer drug, I think. Has worked for me in producing this cycle's 3 mature follicles!

It's crazy you didn't know you were pg for 5 weeks... I guess with PCOS you can't set your watch by anything really can you! Were you tracking ovulation or anything like that? Or just lots of DTD?!

Hi all! (waves) after 2 MC last year and finally feeling mentally ready to get on the wagon again, I am starting to undergo testing (I know this usually takes place after 3MC but I am in a different country) I hope I fit into this category because I can conceive, I just can´t seem to have a bean that sticks.

Anyhow, I just had my blood taken this morning for Cariogram (genetic testing) and had swabs taken to test my CM. I have an internal scan next week to check the state of my womb lining. These three tests are the start of things for me.

I have hypothyroidism which is under control, am taking meds for that and high dose of folic acid for starters. I will have to wait the results of tests to see where I go from here.

Hi all, i'll join too if that's ok. I am on 'just shagging' but I am shagging with medical support so I can do both!

I started trying in March 2012 and started undergoing investigations in Jan 2014. Managed to get a natural BFP in April this year but unfortunately the pregnancy didn't progress past 7 weeks (MMC - found out at 11 weeks). Clinic were really good though and got me back in straight away and I am now on day two of clomid.

My actual problem is ovulation - LP too short - and the doctors always talk to me about PCOS but never have actually said 'you have PCOS'. I need to make a point to ask at the next visit.

Impressed with the support you've had so far escorpian, where abouts are you? Its interesting to hear how it works elsewhere.

Thank you for sharing your BFP when, I like the good news stories!

dulcet I am in Chile, but we have private healthcare so you unfortunately if you can pay you can have what you like done more or less. The public healthcare system here is shit.

Fingers crossed for you and everyone else!!

Hi everyone, chandlersfarang and brickphone in particular - I'm also in Asia, 30, TT#1...

I haven't been to the docs yet but came across your stories of speedy diagnosis and so just read through your thread. We've been trying since january so in the grand schemes thats not a long time but long enough to be concerned. I have 32 day cycles followed by 3 days spotting or possibly a 1 day real bleed. i think its too light and maybe an indication that somethings not quite right.

Its quite normal here to go to the docs BEFORE you get pregnant and have a full on health-check, immunity check, scan etc... which i haven't done.

if no bfp result this cycle i'll get my butt down to the hospital for checks (not covered by my crap health insurance but hey ho...).

anyway! just thought i'd say hi, chandlers your story sounds super positive, good luck for this cycle you sound like you're in with the best of odds!!

Hi there
Think this may be a thread for me. I'm TTC at the moment but have recently been told I have low hormone levels. I've been referred to Gynae Ward but don't really know what to expect with this. I have one DC who I had after a late loss the previous year. I had mmc last year at around 9 weeks and now I wonder if maybe the hormone levels might have been the reason for this. I have often wondered if I have pcos as I seem to have some of the symptoms and hope the gynae ward will confirm or deny this. Af has been very light since the mmc. I'm not a v reg poster (potty-training the DC so lots of running around with potties!) but I'll keep you informed and hope all goes well for you too. Good luck girlies we can do this!

Escorpion - good to have you on board! Chile, wow! Are you a Brit aboard or a Chilean MN fan? How long have you been away? It doesn't seem any overseas insurance covers fertility which is pretty annoying, but hopefully it's not too expensive for you? Definitely make sure you ask about a definite diagnosis for PCOS as once you know what's what, you can start making changes and getting the right treatment.

Dulcet - really sorry to hear about your losses!! And hope that the investigations get you some answers quickly.

NewLeaf - awesome, another asia expat!! someone else on my timezone too, love it. Which country are you in? From what we've discovered, Bangkok and China seem pretty good for speedy fertility treatment. And mine's not been too expensive!

Thanks for your enthusiasm re my recent 3 egg excitement!!! I'm currently 4DPO, but not sure what my chances are, because at 2DPO I suddenly came down with my first ever ear infection, so have been sofa bound, annoyingly taking paracetamol and antibiotics (pregnancy-friendly ones at least, but still doesn't feel great!). Not exactly the most welcoming environment for a little blastocyst to bed in and become a baby, but there you go! Fingers crossed anyway

HorseyGirl - congrats on your DC! And sorry to hear you've been struggling on the hormones front. I had my hormones tested at the start of this cycle and they were literally all too low! I got the print-out and out of 5 things tested, 3 had warning flags next to them. But then they put me on loads of meds - aside from the metformin, am taking progesterone for my LP right now, and sticking estrogen patches on my abdomen too. There's loads that can be done to sort all of these things out to get you into peak fertility so don't worry too much!

It's good to exchange info on here so we all know what's possible, what to say to doctors, what to ask for... It's taken a LOT of googling and questioning to build up what I know now but I bet there's loads more that we can tell each other!

don't worry too much maybe the bed rest will help it stick

I almost feel scared to do my usual running in case I jolt something out of place. crazy I know but still! maybe feet up is what u need

I'm in Indonesia. a bit of the reason I'm reluctant to go to docs here is they just dish out treatment or drugs like its going out of fashion. my DH went in with a fake indo-belly to get some sick leave/sick note (12 days annual leave for his company, sucks)... anyway he came back after blood tests, urine tests, and came home with SEVEN different kinds of tablets!

I googled the tablets And one kind is specifically anti nausea for people who are going thru chemo/radiotherapy!?! anyway whatever pills they give u I would do your own research first just to be safe. some things are treated differently.

Hi everybody !

Reading all your stories and experiences while waiting for my apt to the gyne.

Hey donttellmetorelax! Good luck in there let us know how you get on!!

NewLeaf - that's EXACTLY what they do in Thailand too! It's almost like they are new to the entire concept of medication and can't believe you can take something for everything - they are total hypochondriacs here and take antibiotics like they are going out of fashion! They went pretty hell-for-leather with me when I was first diagnosed by giving me injections and stuff the same day, as per my earlier post. However I've done exactly as you said and googled the hell out of everything to ensure I'm taking the right stuff. They wanted to give me IUI straight away and looked at me like some sort of old-fashioned freak when I said I just wanted the meds/timed ovulation and then to go home and DTD with DH like a normal conception process!! As long as you know what you're doing I think you're ok. The upside of course is that it's pretty cool not to have to wait for months as you jump through any NHS hoops...

Hi Chandlers I am British but married to a Chilean so I live here and have been living here since 2011. My sister directed me to the miscarriage boards to get some support there so that is how I got to know about MN. We pay a monthly fee for our health insurance, but you also still have to pay a small fee for doctors and procedures. I would say it is roughly what you would pay in NI contributions monthly. So it is dooable. This gives us access to the top clinics and professionals. Unfortunately if you have no health insurance you get access to the public system which is dreadful here. My heart breaks for those that can´t afford it and I feel truly lucky to be able to have access to a quality health service.

Interesting to hear your experiences from different parts of the world - Chandlers - that's good to know that gives me an idea of what I could ask for and even what questions to ask. I will ask them what hormones are actually low. I'm 42 so hope they will actually do something. The letter they sent said they would write 6 weeks before the appt (seriously?) so I'm going to ring up and ask if they could let me know if there are any cancellations as I could go at very short notice. Temping in office at mo so think it would be worth calling a 'sickie' in this case.

Glad to be of some help HorseyGirl! What's a 6 week wait all about?!?! You should definitely chase and see if you can be seen earlier!!

So are any of you guys aware of what point you're at in your cycles?

I'm 6DPO today, after last week's exciting 3 follicle haul..!! I have always had the same post-ov symptoms every time for my last few cycles - increased CM immediately for 5 days, and super sore nips from 1-3DPO. This time around I've had neither of those! Annoyingly, am taking a couple of new hormones this cycle (estrogen patches and progesterone pills) so I really can't read what's happening. Somewhat excitingly though, I have been absolutely roasting hot at night the last 2 nights... And it's not down to the climate, as here in Thailand our air con in our bedroom is constantly set at 22 degrees (me and DH usually have little tiffs as I am always cold, but he likes it like that!). So fingers crossed that might be a good sign!! Ha ha, I hate the TWW.

Chandlers Hold in there, 6 more days and you can test.

I'm 3 days po, if I ovulated at all. I got a strong positive opk 3 days ago, but with untreated pcos you never know.

Chandlers Hold in there, 6 more days and you can test.

I'm 3 days po, if I ovulated at all. I got a strong positive opk 3 days ago, but with untreated pcos you never know.