Hey LL, I so know how you feel ! Okay, first of all as a general statement I think there is a lot of rubbish out there about 'knowing your body' and that the natural therapies posse has a lot to answer for in terms of 'interpretation'. I have had friends recommending me all sorts of therapies - from wild flowers to homeopathy and acupuncture etc, and when you look into them there is nothing more than annecdotal stories.
That said, you need to find a doctor that takes you seriously . . . and allows for the fact that you may jump to conclusions that are not correct, but that is because you are not trained, not because you are stupid. I did engage quite heavily with 'interpretation' at the beginning (saw homeopaths etc) and I now feel that that was just delaying (or a process of not being prepared to give up on it not happening naturally). But I did find charting to be useful, and the subsequent scans I did on my IUI cycles correlated the data I had collected. For eg, I do ovulate on D15 most times - and always when my cycle is 28 days. I think that although charting has it's limitations it is a source of data that is not irrelevant.
My learning curve with this has been very interesting, the journey of getting to IVF has been also an intellectual journey where I have rejected a lot of my more 'holistic' views and taken comfort in the relationship with evidence that science has. My doctor (number three - who I adore and is with the NHS) likes NOT to speculate, and he never pretends to KNOW. His approach is very much that the whole process is diagnostic and uncertain, but at the same time he NEVER talks down to me when I offer information about my experience.
On a practical level though from what you have said I would say go ahead with the laparoscopy, this is a crucial bit of information that you need to have - if your tubes aren't clear there is no point taking Clomid. Also, your Dr is also right about having it early because not only do you have to worry about pregnancy, when I had mine on D21 the opening to the cervix was too small (post ovulation), and I had to come back on D10 next cycle.
Also if you have been charting and suspect you are ovulating then I wouldn't do Clomid unless it is monitored. If you have scans you will get more information, and also I would recommend IUI (insemination) to circumvent that other potential problem of 'hostile vagina'. At least this way you are addressing some of the potential problems before you move to IVF. And although it is not free like Clomid alone, it is a lot cheaper than IVF and at our age there is a balance between cost and time . . .
Whew - bit of an outburst, but you post just reminded me so much of how I felt a year or so ago!
Me, I am on my last week of downregging, next week I should be starting my injections. Starting to feel a bit nervous about the failure of another cycle already, but also having flashing fantasy's about possible success. I hate the rollercoaster analogy, but it fits so damn well!
Goodnight, Sooty