How long did you try before seeking treatment?

Question

My husband and I are trying for a baby. I have pcos, when I was first diagnosed my cycles were 60-90 days long. Now they are 40...I have used opks every cycle for 6 cycles and never got a positive opk nor a bfp.

I went to my obgyn at kaiser and she referred me to reproductive health...where they want to put me through hundreds of dollars of tests not covered by my insurance.

A lot of you have said that your obgyn  prescribed you clomid. Did you have to get a bunch of specialized testing prior?

I am not sure what to do next??? We want a baby so bad.

Answer

U have to do tests u cant have clomid without testing because it might make things worse..
With pcos u have to lose some weight, exercise and take metformin which makes ur sugar levels normal to settle ur hormones
And for me, i think my baby was worth thousands of dollars i spent.. And i would spend more if i needed to

Answer

Your primary doctor can always run blood tests while you are saving and trying to figure out what is wrong. My doctor lumped in progesterone, testosterone, insulin, and several others with my annual CBC. Your insurance will cover it however they cover blood tests (I get billed for 20% coinsurance afterward, which is somewhere between $10 and $85, depending on how many tests they run).

Some OBGYNS will prescribe you Clomid without any tests or monitoring. Some will do the tests and monitoring, and others will just refer you to an RE. Mine prescribed one month of Clomid and Progesterone after looking at my OPKs and low progesterone taken by my primary doctor. My OBGYN didn't do any testing or monitoring. She just said, "let's hope it works!" It did not, and she referred me to an RE after one try.

I have a friend who found an OBGYN who specializes in treating pcos and endo, and he codes everything under those diagnoses, rather than "infertility," so her insurance covers a majority of her tests/treatment. I don't think REs at Fertility Clinics can pretend they are not treating infertility, though. I had to sign something that said they will not code things differently so that your insurance will cover infertility treatment.

Answer

GYN told me a year 
Ever since I took out my mirena my periods were abnormal every month I thought I was pregnant since my periods were sooo abnormal. Came to find out I had polyps in the lining of my uterus had them removed and was told to wait atleast 3 more months  to see if I get pregnant which I didn't so more tests were Ran my hormones levels came back normal my hubby had to get a semen analysis those were normal but then my GYN said I had PC OS due to the symptoms of infertility acne facial hair and abnormal periods and obviously the weight gain. So soon I will start my Clomid and was also recommend to do a hsg to make sure I don't have any blockage in my Fallopian tubes

Answer

After a year I was obviously concerned, I went to my gyno, she gave me a referral for my husband to have a semen analysis done and tested my thyroid stimulating hormone, the hormone came back normal and she won't test anything else for me until she sees the results from his semen analysis which I think is ridiculous. So I have to wait until we can pay for that test and my medical bills so far

Answer

I've been working on making me more fertile since I was 13, I'm now 25. We're at the tail end of a 10 year long aggressive fertility prep plan.

The next 3 years are about losing weight, keeping with my diet modifications. Then we take out Skyla, I got back on metformin, try for 3 months, if there's not baby we add in a drug similar to Clomid, but I always misspell it. If there's no baby after 3 mos then we switch to IVF.

If we do get pregnant at any stage I immediately go on lovenox, as I've had a blood clot before, I got from 250 mg metformin to 1500. Then I go for weekly scans till we deliver.

Schedule a preconception check up with your OB and then create a fertility action plan.

Also check out Soul Cysters and PCOS Diva, they have an overwhelming amount of information to help with PCOS management.

Answer

I've had a 10 year fertility action plan that was started before I met my husband. My current OB has tweaked it as my PCOS has changed.

Ask your OB, or fertility specialist for a fertility action plan, the timelines for when you'll switch up medicines and start testing.

How long did you try before seeking treatment?

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