First off....let me mention that I have been bitten by the 'mommy bug' AGAIN. It happened after my boss who had trouble conceiving, finally conceived after almost a year of trying and she is now about 2 months along. Last week she gave me her stash of stuff that she won't be needing anymore, which included ovulation test strips, pre-seed lubricant, male supplements (for hubby) and two fertility books.
I found an interesting statement in one of the books: Soy suppresses the natural production of estrogen. When I read that, it occurred to me that earlier this year, in an effort to eat healthier, we had started eating more soy meat as opposed to hamburger meat. It seems that my irregular cycles began a few months after we began eating more soy. Mike says NO MORE soy for me!! He will finish off what we have left and we have bought turkey burgers for my personal enjoyment.
I also read on the internet that the supplement Vitex can regulate a womans monthly cycles. It is nicknamed "Nature's Clomid". I figured that I have nothing to lose, so I started myself on that last week. I also found online, a 'recipe' for fertility which includes taking 2 Vitex, 1 baby aspirin, 1 b6 supplement in the morning. And at night taking 2 Vitex, 1 B-50 Complex supplement as well as 2-4 teaspoons of Robitussin every 4 hours until ovulation. I am trying this too. Hubby is taking L-Arginine 3 times a day to increase sperm count, 1 Co-Q10 for sperm count and motility and 2 Vitamin C for clumping.
Yesterday (Nov. 19) I had an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist. Her name is Dr. Roach and I absolutely LOVE her! She is sooooo nice! I was almost disqualified from seeing her. A few days before my appointment with her, her staff called me to say that I needed to call my insurance company and obtain an authorization number from them. When I called, they asked me a series of questions such as, "are my cycles regular, have I ever had children, how long have I been trying, has either my husband or I ever had reproductive surgery." I admitted that Mike had a vasectomy reversal 2-1/2 years ago and the lady stopped and immediately said THAT disqualified me from seeing this specialist. I was flabbergasted and almost on the verge of crying. I asked, "Not even for a consultation?" She finally said the only way around it is if my PCP gave me a referral. I asked if it could come from my gynocologist because HE had suggested that I see an RE and she said "No", that it HAD to come from my primary care physician. So I called my doctor and they agreed to see me the very next day (Friday). Without a problem, I obtained a referral to see the RE!
The RE spent A LOT of time with me yesterday discussing my cycles, my eating habits, etc.... Then she performed an ultrasound and said my ovaries were a little on the small side, which isn't unusual since they decrease in size as we age. Although my gynocologist had performed blood work to check my hormones and said they were perfect and that I was nowhere close to menopause, Dr. Roach explained that we don't really know for sure, since our hormones fluctuate throughout our cycles and since we don't know at what point in my cycle I was when the blood was drawn, we don't know what the actual reading indicates. So.....when my next period begins (hopefully in a couple of weeks) I am to have blood drawn on either the 2nd or 3rd day of my cycle and this will indicate my actual hormone levels. She also mentioned doing a blood test that will check the quality of my egg reserves. I think this will be included in the blood work as well.
She suggested putting me on Clomid, but I explained that my insurance has already told me that they will NOT pay for any medications or injections :-( She said that there is a diabetic drug that would do the same as Clomid and she could give me that without the insurance knowing that it is being used for fertility issues. First we'll wait and see what the blood tests indicate (First things, first!).
She also went over hubby's sperm analysis from a year ago in way more detail than his own doctor did. She said that his sperm count is actually within normal ranges, and really it's just the clumping and low motility that is not in the normal range, however, conceiving is still possible even with that obstacle standing in the way. She asked if his doctor had recommended a mucus thinner and was very surprised when I said No. She suggested that he take 400 mg of Mucinex 2 times a day and this will serve to thin is semen. Who would have known???
I have also started monitoring my Basal Temperature and this morning there was a big drop in it, which indicates that ovulation MIGHT be right around the corner! Last night, I also ordered a saliva ovulation monitor. It is reusable and this way I won't have to spend a ton of money on ovulation test strips.
I have to admit that I had given up hope for a while there, but I feel very hopeful once again, but, I don't want to raise my hopes up too high and set myself up for a disappointment. However......this time I am ready to accept whatever the outcome is.....positive OR negative :-)
I found an interesting statement in one of the books: Soy suppresses the natural production of estrogen. When I read that, it occurred to me that earlier this year, in an effort to eat healthier, we had started eating more soy meat as opposed to hamburger meat. It seems that my irregular cycles began a few months after we began eating more soy. Mike says NO MORE soy for me!! He will finish off what we have left and we have bought turkey burgers for my personal enjoyment.
I also read on the internet that the supplement Vitex can regulate a womans monthly cycles. It is nicknamed "Nature's Clomid". I figured that I have nothing to lose, so I started myself on that last week. I also found online, a 'recipe' for fertility which includes taking 2 Vitex, 1 baby aspirin, 1 b6 supplement in the morning. And at night taking 2 Vitex, 1 B-50 Complex supplement as well as 2-4 teaspoons of Robitussin every 4 hours until ovulation. I am trying this too. Hubby is taking L-Arginine 3 times a day to increase sperm count, 1 Co-Q10 for sperm count and motility and 2 Vitamin C for clumping.
Yesterday (Nov. 19) I had an appointment with a Reproductive Endocrinologist. Her name is Dr. Roach and I absolutely LOVE her! She is sooooo nice! I was almost disqualified from seeing her. A few days before my appointment with her, her staff called me to say that I needed to call my insurance company and obtain an authorization number from them. When I called, they asked me a series of questions such as, "are my cycles regular, have I ever had children, how long have I been trying, has either my husband or I ever had reproductive surgery." I admitted that Mike had a vasectomy reversal 2-1/2 years ago and the lady stopped and immediately said THAT disqualified me from seeing this specialist. I was flabbergasted and almost on the verge of crying. I asked, "Not even for a consultation?" She finally said the only way around it is if my PCP gave me a referral. I asked if it could come from my gynocologist because HE had suggested that I see an RE and she said "No", that it HAD to come from my primary care physician. So I called my doctor and they agreed to see me the very next day (Friday). Without a problem, I obtained a referral to see the RE!
The RE spent A LOT of time with me yesterday discussing my cycles, my eating habits, etc.... Then she performed an ultrasound and said my ovaries were a little on the small side, which isn't unusual since they decrease in size as we age. Although my gynocologist had performed blood work to check my hormones and said they were perfect and that I was nowhere close to menopause, Dr. Roach explained that we don't really know for sure, since our hormones fluctuate throughout our cycles and since we don't know at what point in my cycle I was when the blood was drawn, we don't know what the actual reading indicates. So.....when my next period begins (hopefully in a couple of weeks) I am to have blood drawn on either the 2nd or 3rd day of my cycle and this will indicate my actual hormone levels. She also mentioned doing a blood test that will check the quality of my egg reserves. I think this will be included in the blood work as well.
She suggested putting me on Clomid, but I explained that my insurance has already told me that they will NOT pay for any medications or injections :-( She said that there is a diabetic drug that would do the same as Clomid and she could give me that without the insurance knowing that it is being used for fertility issues. First we'll wait and see what the blood tests indicate (First things, first!).
She also went over hubby's sperm analysis from a year ago in way more detail than his own doctor did. She said that his sperm count is actually within normal ranges, and really it's just the clumping and low motility that is not in the normal range, however, conceiving is still possible even with that obstacle standing in the way. She asked if his doctor had recommended a mucus thinner and was very surprised when I said No. She suggested that he take 400 mg of Mucinex 2 times a day and this will serve to thin is semen. Who would have known???
I have also started monitoring my Basal Temperature and this morning there was a big drop in it, which indicates that ovulation MIGHT be right around the corner! Last night, I also ordered a saliva ovulation monitor. It is reusable and this way I won't have to spend a ton of money on ovulation test strips.
I have to admit that I had given up hope for a while there, but I feel very hopeful once again, but, I don't want to raise my hopes up too high and set myself up for a disappointment. However......this time I am ready to accept whatever the outcome is.....positive OR negative :-)
posted by Wolfie @ 5:48 AM
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