In September 2011 I went to my family doctor and told her that I suspected something was wrong and I felt that I would never conceive. Even though you have to wait for 12 months before getting a referral, my family doctor said that she would refer me anyways because technically we have been trying for almost 2 years since we have been having unprotected sex for 2 years after coming off of Depo Provera. I was so relieved and happy when she told me that she was going to refer me. I have been seeing her for 2 years now, and my family doctor that I had before her would have never referred me. He never referred me to anyone.
I had my first fertility specialist appointment on October 12, 2011. The appointment went very well, and I liked my doctor. He ordered a semen analysis for my husband and blood work for both of us to check for infectious diseases like AIDS. I have to call them on cycle day 1 of my next cycle to book some tests. That should be on or around November 4. I have to go in on cycle day 3 for an ultrasound and blood work. I have to book a saline sonohysterogram before cycle day 11. I have to go in for blood work on cycle day 21, (7 days past ovulation). I also have to go in for cycle monitoring where they give you ultrasounds starting on cycle day 10 to check for ovulation. I then have to make an appointment with the doctor after all the tests have been completed.
Before I had my appointment with my specialist I was curious to know if our government would pay for it. I live in Ontario, Canada. It turns out that they cover all of the testing needed, but they will not cover treatment. They will pay for one month of cycle monitoring, but then if I want to I have to pay $250 for a year. They gave me a list of medications with price next to them and they all seemed cheap for medicine except for some that are needed for IVF.
Monday 17 October 2011
How It All Started
Trying to conceive is driving me nuts, so I thought I would start a blog to write about it.
I was on Depo Provera for 7 years. My periods were absent for 7 years. They finally came back in December 2010, three months after I started taking Provera. I was so happy when my periods finally came back because I was so ready to start trying for a family even though I was getting married 4 months after that in March.
I originally started using OPK's (ovulation predictor kits). I bought the ones from Clearblue that give you a smiley face when you are ovulating. I read the instructions and started to POAS (pee on a stick), starting on cycle day 9. I would pee on them for 7 days until I finished all of the tests, but I never got a smiley face :(. It was very depressing and I couldn't figure out why I went from month to month without ever getting a positive OPK.
So, after 6 frustrating months of negative OPK's I went straight to Shoppers Drug Mart and bought a Clearblue Fertility Monitor and a basal body thermometer. I bought the fertility monitor on cycle day 7 and was so upset when I discovered that I had to use it from cycle day 1-5. I started using it in June 2011.
After using my Clearblue fertility monitor and charting my basal body temperature, I finally figured out why my OPK's were never detecting ovulation. It turns out that I ovulate really late in my 27 day cycle, so I was using the tests too early. I also discovered from charting that I have a luteal phase defect. That is when your luteal phase (the time from after you ovulate to the day before your next period), is too short to sustain a pregnancy. My fertility specialist says that even if I were to get pregnant I would probably miscarry. :(
I have been trying to conceive for about 11 months now, so it is time for a checkup.
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