I saw this question in another thread, and thought it would be interesting to hear other's thoughts. For those of you dealing with IF, did you know before you even started TTC that you'd have problems? That is, have you always had some sort of health problem or menstrual issue that you knew would make conceiving more difficult? Did you at least know very soon after actively being to try that something wasn't right? Or, did finding out you had infertility come as a total shock?

I've always had irregular periods, but as a teen, I kept reading that having irregular cycles was normal for the first few years after a girl starts. However, as I got older, the weight issues, acne, and menstrual irregularities never got better. Then, I got pg by accident when I was 19; I ended the pregnancy, but assumed that when we were ready (I was with DH already, but this was before we were married), we'd be able to conceive again. Actually, I was in total shock at being able to get pg at all, because I knew that having irregular cycles (easily going 6 months or more w/out one) should have made the odds of getting pg very slim. (And please don't judge me for what I did; believe me, I kick myself and regret my decision every day of my life, and often feel that I'm being punished for it.)

Now, five years later and almost three years after we began TTC, we cannot get pg again. :blue: I knew, once we started seriously considering having children, that all the problems I had would need to be dealt with, and I got tested very soon after we made the decision to try. I've been DXed with PCOS by a gyn, but an RE has told me that I don't have it, per se: she simply told me I have ovarian cysts and "ovulation problems". :rolleyes:

So, did you know from an early age that having children would be difficult? Or, did you try to conceive for a long time, thinking that at any time it would happen, before you finally got checked out and discovered a problem?

First, :hug99: I do not have any fertility problems, but my best friend did. Actually her husband did. She was perfectly okay, but he had bad morphology and motility and a bunch of other stuff. When they decided to TTC she charted for 6 months and went directly to a fertility clinic because of those issues. They didn't wait too long, but they did have to borrow the money from her parents to get the ICSI done. They have boy/girl twins who are going to be 5 soon. :eek:

Yeah, Lisa's here.

Okay, to answer the question. I somehow always *knew* that I would have problems. I think I first realized it when I was like 17 or so, and my bf at the time and I were not careful at all. I thought it to be funny that I didn't get PG, but I was 17-I wasn't worried because there was still time for all of that. Still though, in the back of my head I knew. My periods were out of wack starting at age 18 and I was dx'd with pcos when I was 19. So all in all, yes I knew. I'ts just like when some women know they're pg, even before the pg test. I do have a *feelin* that I will pg by end of summer...so we'll see if that feeling is right.

:wavey: Hi Lisa.

Well, I had completely normal, "by the book," periods from the time of my first menses at age 13. I got on the pill in January of 2000 and stopped taking it in January of 2003. 15 months later and my cycles are still all whacked. I have only ovulated on my own twice in the past year (I practice the Fertility Awareness Method). I knew it might take a long time to get back to normal after the pill, but after a year I knew something was up. A few OBGYNs suggested I might need Clomid to help me ovulate but didn't really investigate. A few weeks ago I finally met with a RE and got an answer. My body produces too much LH (luteinizing hormone) most of the time which causes and imbalance in my ovary so instead of ovulating, the egg sort of shrinks back. My RE says that 5% of "thin, young woman" like me have this random problem. DH and I plan to start TTC in May and we're going to try naturally for a few months. Then we'll try Clomid, although I don't think that is the best thing for my situation, and if that doesn't work, I'll be having another chat with the RE. Talking about it and reading about IF really helps me not focus on how sad the situation is. I'm keeping faith!

I had totally normal cycles growing up, so I never really thought I'd have any sort of fertility issues. I did start charting before we were ready to TTC, and as soon as I started charting, I realized there was SOMETHING wrong...but I didn't know what it was.

I took those charts to my OB and she did some bloodwork...based on my charts and the bloodwork, I was immediately referred to an RE and we only TTCd under his care.

My husband never suspected he had issues until my RE made him give a sample...and that's when we discovered his issues.

Ladies, thanks for sharing your stories. :)

I hope that we can get the IF forum, and IF topics in general, more active and in depth so that we can give each other support. I also posted this question, and another one, in the IF forum, since I posted them here before I realized there even was an IF forum. :doh:

And, hi Kasie and Beav (sorry, I don't know your name!? :blush1: ) It's nice to "chat" with you over here, too. ;)

and Beav (sorry, I don't know your name!? ) It's nice to "chat" with you over here, too. It's Shannon...its now back in my ghetto-siggy :) I hope this forum gets active too!

I had irregular periods all throughout, except when I was on the pill. I *knew* I'd have trouble getting PG when I was 16 and (STUPIDLY) fooling around w/ my BF w/o protection :blush: I was never diagnosed with anything specific (had bloodwork to rule out common problems). However, because I was charting, it was obvious that I wasn't ovulating and my GYN put me on clomid. I got PG the 2nd cycle taking it.

We are TTC again this summer and I will try clomid again if my cycles are still screwey. I only stopped BFing a month ago, so I don't know whether I will get normal periods (never did w/o the pill) yet.