Solving Fertility Issues

Hi D.,
My daughter and her husband had a similar problem as it took them a year to conceive. She was on the pill for many years before and we felt that was one of the reasons it took so long. I consulted with a personal friend who has been a nutritional consultant for 30 years and the program we put her helped her to finally conceive and now they have a very healthy child. If you would like more information, contact me at ____@____.com. J.

It sounds like you want to take a natural approach to this. Holistic treatments may help without going through the trouble of determining the cause of your infertility.
First, you want to be sure that you are ovulating. Even if your periods come regularly, you might not necessarily be ovulating. Taking Charge of Your Fertility is a great book to learn all you need to know about charting your cycles and your own fertility signs. Once you know when your fertile, timing sex is easy (though not always convenient!).

We struggled w/ unexplained infertility for 5 years. I had many tests and treatments done, but nothing worked. Eventually we decided to adopt. Wouldn't you know, I got pregnant the week before we left for Russia to adopt our first son! No, I wasn't relaxed - it was the most stressful week of my entire life. No, I didn't "stop thinking about it" - getting pregnant was constantly on my mind. But I did have something else to focus on. Perhaps that helped? Or perhaps God just had His own plan for us?
Now we've been trying for another child - it's been 3 years and no luck. I'm not doing any treatments this time. Even herbal remedies were too much. I've decided to leave it in God's hands.

I'm in the same situation as you. We have one beautiful son, almost 2, and have been trying for about 6 months to get pregnant again. I see my OB/GYN in April for my annual exam, I'm going to talk to him about it then. But, I agree with you, stress and time are HUGE factors, everybody keeps telling me 'it'll happen when it's supposed to happen', a little annoying. You should talk to your OB/GYN, see what he/she thinks. When I called to make my appointment, I explained my situation to the receptionist and she said he'll probably do a few tests (minor ones) to see if there's a problem. Maybe yours will do the same.
Good luck.

D.,

When i was trying to get pg with my daughter after my tubal reversal i came across and a website that i loved and it's filled with women going through the same thing you are. it's free and all you have to do is reg and post away. I'd say check out the link i'll provide and look through some threads over there and see what you think.

www.fertilichat.com

You can buy an ovulation predictor kit in the store for about $30. one of my closest friends swore by it. stress is a big factor but valentines day is tommorow and is supposed to be a day of romance. relax it will happen. up to a year is normal. i think some of it is in gods hands.
it will happen when the time is right.

It can take up to 1 year to get pregnant. Also you may not be actually ovulating each cycle. You might want to try charting your cycles online at www.fertilityfriend.com. They teach you the basics of charting and you can chart your information for free. If you want you can pay a small fee and they analize your chart for you. If your chart indicates you are ovulating then keep trying. If there are signes that you are not ovulating then talk with your OB/GYN. If you are ovulating and after a year, if you are still not pregnant (or after 6 months if you are over 35) then it is time to see your OB/GYN as well. I got pregnant easily with my first child, now 8 years old, but then went through 2 years of infertility and treatment before becoming pregnant with my now 3 month old. You may also want to read "The Infertility Cure" by Randine Lewis. It is a wonderful book about Ancient Chinese Medicine and goes over many different treatments and herbs. Good luck!

Hi D.-I've been through the whole infertility issues for years...the best advice is to exercise, eat well, and if you're over 35 and have tried for 6 months, go get some tests done. Accupuncture is said to work well in conjunction with fertility treatment, but there are other studies that suggest that accupuncture will also work without anything, but you have to give it at least three months of solid treatment. Many herbs are out there to aid in fertility, but check first on any side effects-some of the same herbs that help a woman get pregnant can also cause her to miscarry. If I think of anything else, I'll respond again. Good luck!!!!

D., after several months of ttc with no results we went to a specialist who discovered a foreign body in my uterus that was likely the culprit. they couldn't determine what it was, but similar to having a built in iud. i was scheduled for surgery and was told that we were unlikely to conceive until that was removed. the weeks inbetween learning this news and surgery, we went on vacation and surprise, got pregnant! no surgery needed after all. we used the ovulation kits, bbt, charting, everything and all we really needed was to relax. best of luck. it will happen and you will have a beautiful sibling for your son.

Hi D.

I know quite a few women who had fertility problems and then were given the proper nutrition and their body did the rest as far as correcting & healing itself, so that they were able to conceive easily & without the help of drugs. You may think you're eating a healthy diet and you may very well be, but you're just not able to get the proper nutrients that your body needs through the foods we eat. Everyone is deficient in some essential vitamin or mineral. When the body is fully nourished, it can then operate optimally, as it was designed to do. Stress definitely plays a role too when it comes to the body functioning as efficiently as it can.
If you're interested in learning more, please feel free to call me.
C.

Been there - first go to Fertility specialist to rule out any medical issues. I had adhesions but still had trouble due to stress. First, I am afraid of needles but got accupressure through Shistu massage. It really helped me to relax. Do whatever massage you are comfortable with. The 2nd time around I went with reflexology. What helped me through my 5 years of infertility after I tried every medical proceedure was going to a support group. It's a hard subject and not very many people understand. Lots empathsize but unless you've been through it there are no words of comfort. We are so tight and even though its been 7 years now we are all like sisters. There are lots of good books and relaxation tapes by Alice Domer who specialises in this field. Get them.

Your situation sounds a lot like mine. I was very regular, my husband checked out fine and we still had trouble conceiving. I tried everything from accupressure to accupuncture, altering my diet, etc. If you haven't seen a specialist, I would highly recommend it. I went to Dr Check in Marlton. He gets results. It turned out my eggs were "old". But you don't find that out until you go through some in vitro cycles where the embryologist can better see your eggs and their development. I now have 4 month old twins!

When we decided to have kids with the first one I got pregnant right away...with my second and third it took about 6-9 months for each of them which according to my doctor was actully a more normal time span. To be honest, I think I only was "fertal" durrning the same time frame every year (my three girls have birthdays within 3 weeks of one another). My best suggestion to you is to make yourself as healthy as you can. Take the pre-natel vitimens, get plenty of rest, eat well and excercise. with your mind on all that and your son, you'll get pregnant in no time! Good luck & best wishes!

Timing is very important too. Using ovulation kits, basal body temperature charting, and observing cervical fluid are great ways to get the timing right each month.

Here are some tips about charting your temperatures - http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/natural-family-planning/