Hi, my name is Lauree. I am from Illinois. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for over five years now. I got pregnant in August 2002 and miscarried in October of 2002. It seems weird to me that I have gotten pregnant and now NOTHING for over five years. How can two people have unprotected sex for that long and NOT get pregnant. The doctors can find nothing wrong with either one of us....except that my progesterone is alittle low so he has me taking prometrium/100mg. My husbands sperm has a good count, I have had numerous tests.....blood tests, vaginal ultrasound, endometrial biopsy, HSG, insemination, taken Clomid for five months, used ovulation tests so much that I think we are going to go broke, my periods are VERY normal.........WHAT IS GOING ON???????? Not sure why my doctor had me on Clomid....I was ovulating without it. Not sure if any of you can relate...sometimes I wish there would be something wrong so they can FIX it. Not knowing is just killing me. I am 33 and my husband is 29. We want a family so badly and we can't get ANY answers. Everyone I know who has had infertility problems has had something wrong with one of the partners....in my case, neither has anything wrong. I have tried everything and honestly am tired of trying. It's hard to see all my friends having babies or already done with having kids. My husband and I have been married for almost six years and have already had ENOUGH alone time....he he!!! It's way past time to start a family. If anyone has any suggestions or advice or your own stories, I would love it hear them and maybe make some new friends in the process.....thanks for listening....Lauree

Hi Lauralee,
I am SO SORRY you are going through this. Sometimes there are just no answers for why a couple can't get pregnant. Have you considered adoption? Let me tell you a story that may give you hope. My cousin and his wife tried for like 4 years to become pregnant and nothing. They had test after test after test and they thought there was a problem with his penis (try not to laugh cuz the way I put that is kind funny) It was something with his veins in it or something...he tried to explain it to me but being his first cousin I was a little uncomfortable talking about his penis with him. So they thought they had fixed it but still nothing. They even did IVF and nothing. They chalked it up to her going into early menopause at the ripe young age of 33. They also didn't think the quality of her eggs were very good to be able to sustain a pregnancy. They were devastated.
So they started the adoption process and after about a year and a half they went over to China to get their daughter. During the two weeks in China Jen was not feeling well (I'm sure you can figure out where this is heading) and a day after they got back from China she went to the doctor and they told her she was pregnant. They had a 2% chance of ever conceiving on their own!!! Well they now have a beautiful healthy baby boy. They basically just took the pressure off and BAM it happened. They decided against doing IVF again cuz she had a horrible time with all the meds she had to take...just had intense reactions to all of them.
It's weird how some couples have no trouble getting pregnant and others just can't. I was told as a teen I would probably have trouble getting pregnant d/t weird screwed up cycles and not ovulating. Well I proved him wrong. Our first daughter was conceived ON THE PILL (she's five now). Our second daughter was conceived using 50 mg of Clomid on the very first month of trying (she's 3 now) We plan to start ttc our 3rd this August using 50 mg Clomid again.
Here is my advice to you. Are you absolutely positive you are having sex at the right times in your cycles? Do you chart? Temp? Since temping and charting are worthless for me to do d/t not even getting a period unless I'm on birth control pills here is what I suggest. Have you ever heard of Clear Plan easy fertility monitors?? This device is totally amazing and so unbelievably accurate. I like them better than ovulation predictor kits cuz it gives you the days up to AND including ovulation vs the kits where often times by the time you've tested you've already ovulated. It's best to catch the egg when it's high up on the fallopian tube and young instead of catching it towards the bottom of tube where it's aged as there is more of a chance of miscarriage. With the fertility monitor you pee on a stick and insert it into the machine and it reads your fertility and tells you when to have sex. The monitors are kind of expensive (mine was $175) and sticks are 30 to a pack but worth every penny in my opinion. You could even check Ebay or Craig's list for one.
I hope this helps. Feel free to write if you have more questions. I've heard often that's it's when you aren't "trying" that pregnancy happens. Just try to go about your life and not make making a baby the only thing on your mind and maybe it will happen. Again, I'm so sorry you are going through this. But maybe some of this advice will help.

Kara

PS If you do get a fertility monitor post me and I'll tell you exactly how to use it ok? I'm a pro with mine

Sorry I meant Lauree

Kara

Keep trying! I have nothing wrong with me but DH has 0% morphology so our chance of concieving was slim to none we decided on IUI with donor sperm. 8 rounds with no luck! Finally #9 resulted in a pregnancy that ended at 12w, but it showed me I CAN get pregnant. I think the clomid is to increase your chances of more mature eggs which in turn will up your chance of conception. Have you considered IUI? It is relatively inexpensive when you don't need a donor and you would know for sure that you were getting the stuff in the right place at the right time.

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TTC 8+ years
2003- 3 unmedicated IUI's w/o monitoring
2004- 3 50mg Clomid cycles w/o monitoring
2007- 3 100mg Clomid cycles w/ monitoring and Ovidrel Trigger
11/11/07
1/4/08 U/S confirmed Missed M/C
1/9/08 D&C
March & April 2008- 100mg Clomid cycles w/monitoring and Ovidrel
May 2008- Follistim+Ovidrel
5/29
6/3- Chemical Pregnancy

We have tryed an IUI....once and it didn't work. I know we should try more but our insurance does not cover a dime on infertility and it's $250-$350 each time. I am going to try a fertility monitor next and see what happens....if that doesn't work then maybe we can try an IUI again....it was pretty painful for me the first time. Do you or anyone else know why when he has done the endometrial biopsy, the HSG, the vaginal ultrasound and the IUI that he has had major problems getting past my cervix...he told me that since I have had no children that the opening is smaller....is this true and is he feeding me a bunch of crap???
khickey, thank you for your insite...it's great to hear from people besides my husband, family and friends. I love the verse....I am a christian and I have never heard of that verse...thanks.

I have had 2 RE and 1 OB since we have been TTC and I have never had any of them tell me anything about the cervix being smaller but I don't know. My insurance has never covered any IF treatments so I understand where you are coming from. As far as it being painful, I think it could have been a poorly timed IUI. My first 6 tries were only monitored by OPK's and they were all painful. The last 3 have been with a new RE who monitors you with internal u/s and gives you a trigger shot to insure that you ovulate. All of those have been fairly easy on me. As far as the quote, I am not exactly sure where it came from and friend of mine's mother sent me a consolance card when I lost the baby and she has this qoute in it and she had written where it was from but I don't remember. It has been something I think about everyday as a source of inspiration and hope. Don't give up hope Lauree, something WILL work for you. If I can be of any help please let me know.

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TTC 8+ years
2003- 3 unmedicated IUI's w/o monitoring
2004- 3 50mg Clomid cycles w/o monitoring
2007- 3 100mg Clomid cycles w/ monitoring and Ovidrel Trigger
11/11/07
1/4/08 U/S confirmed Missed M/C
1/9/08 D&C
March & April 2008- 100mg Clomid cycles w/monitoring and Ovidrel
May 2008- Follistim+Ovidrel
5/29
6/3- Chemical Pregnancy

I have done IUI - I've never had children, but I've never had any trouble getting any of these things beyond my cervix. A tight cervix can inhibit the ability of sperm to get through, so trying a few IUIs could possibly resolve that issue.

Now, it is possible for other "problems" to exist - have they tested to see if DH's sperm are capable of fertilizing eggs, or checked for anti-sperm antibodies? I wish I had more information for you. If you can save up the money, do you think IVF is an option? Sometimes that works when nothing else does.

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Lauree, I've also been TTC for what seems like forever. This month marks our fourth year!

I can not believe what a toll it has taken on my husband and my sanity. We both have gone on prozac to keep us sane.

I struggle with hope. Should I be more hopeful? Or would that just make the BFNs harder to take.

At our last IUI the nurse did mention that my cervix is lower and tipped which may be why we aren't getting pregnant.

Everything else with us is normal too. We have good counts and as far as we can tell I am healthy. Our next step is u/s on day 11 with maybe a trigger shot later. Dunno about that though...

We all feel your pain and anguish, this is a hard road to take! Many warm thoughts to you, just know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Missy

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Missy

TTC 4 years
mc 9/06- molar pregnancy
Started Clomid, yuck
IUI 12/1, 3/4
Missed IUI #2 due to gall bladder surgery 1/4
u/s scheduled for 4/4- follies too big and too small skipped IUI
June- triggered and on prometrium...bfn
July & August- taking cycle off, I'm broke! Babies cost too much!

I'm fairly new to the TTC (9 months) but i have an aunt who was in the 4 ish year range so it helps to have someone who's been there around

She had fibroids removed among other stuff (clomid rounds and such), and watched her sister have two kids during their TTC. And they had said they would either have a kid or not (no adoption) But finally got pregnant and my cousin turns 15 this year

so she's been giving me advice and will listen to me vent.

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Me - 28, anovulation
DH - 26 Nothing wrong
TTC #1 since Sept. 07

Dec. 07 - 50mg clomid - no O
Jan. '08 - skipping a month, cysts
Mar. '08 - 1st IUI , AF showed before I could even test
Apr. '08 - 100mg clomid twice, IUI
May '08 last clomid run -150mg, IUI (clear HSG)

Jun. '08 - come on b-day luck!!
Starting follitism 6/9
First u/s check 6/13

I just wanted to wish you well, I myself have been trying for 5 years to conceive after a tubal reversal, and have done almost everything under the sun, including frustrations with $$$, my insurance covers nothing as well. It seems like everytime I get a few bucks saved, something breaks or some bill pops up.

You're not alone,, wishing you the best,,,

Misty

Laura, Im lurking from Due in January, but i just wanted to wish you all the best of luck and tell you my story. My story is not the norm, but I thought it might give you a little glimmer of hope. After TTC DD for 13 months, I was so frustrated. DTD was no longer fun, it was a chore. DH and I were fighting, he said I was putting stress on him and giving him performance anxiety issues. We decided to "stop trying". Well i know everyone says, when you stop trying it will happen. But I mean we really stopped. We had an "ovulation kit burning party" on New Years Eve. We took all out TTC paraphenellia, charts, thermometers, you name it, and we burnt them in our fireplace. We got really intoxicated and just had a good time. I got a BFP 2 weeks later. Fast forward to TTC #2. after 4 and a half years of TTC we were at our wits ends. We had been to a reproductive endocrinologist and had every test done. We were diagnosed with Unexplained Infertility. Meaning like you above have said, everything was normal. I had normal periods, DH's sperm were great swimmers, etc...everything was normal!! No one could explain WHY!! We did about 12 cycles of clomid, which according to OPK i o'd every month day 17, we had IUI's done. We were lucky enough that our insurance covers 3 lifetime trials of IVF with no out of pocket expense. We decided this was the route we had to go. Now I just had to wait to get my period again, to start the medication for the IVF. I was suposed to get my period, wait 4 days and start the meds. By 3 days after AF was suposed to come, i hadnt gotten my period. I called the RE, and he said, "dont be too happy, its probably just late, if you dont get it in 3 days, we will give you meds to bring it on". Something told me to go buy a HPT. I went to the store and bought one, and you guessed it , I had my BFP, the day before I was supposed to start IVF. It is a christmas miracle. I cant tell you how much we prayed for this. The RE said that with unexplained infertility, your chances of conception with IVF were 82%. In our minds, we were basically all but guarenteed a BFP the next month. Now all the stress was off, there was no thinking about it. We just had a good time, and look what happened. I know that stress and mental attitude play such a role in this! I just wanted to let you know my story, because it has a happy ending. I know many people have probably told you to stop trying, and it will happen. Keep up the prayers, the good mental attitude and just let nature take its course. I believe it is all in gods grand plan, and it will happen for you. Good Luck!

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KIMBERLY 35
DH JOHN 36
DD ASHLYN 5 1/2










Estimated Due Date January 2nd + - 3 days



The day you deliver, outside will be breezy. Your baby will arrive in the early evening. After a labor lasting approximately 7 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 6 pounds, 6 ounces, and will be 19-1/2 inches long. This child will have blue eyes and be almost bald.