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.

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?

I always had wacked out cycles, but was told by my gyn (at the university's health center) that it was normal for someone my age, who was overweight, to have longer than average cycles. No biggie, I thought, they put me on the pill and my cycles were like clockwork. Fast forward about 5 years.... I went off the pill about 6 months before our wedding, as we intended to start our family right away. I had no cycles at all for those 6 months. I was told by my new gyn, with no tests, no bloodwork, just an ultrasound "You'll never have babies!" I was incredibly devastated. I moped and cried and freaked out for about 6 months and then decided to hell with him, I was getting a second opinion. I went to a new gyn, who specialized in IF and had a 2 hour consult with him. He ran tests, bloodwork, etc etc and dx'd me with PCO. He told me that it might be a long road, and that it would be work, but he would never say never to me. So, I guess I had an inkling before my consult with Dr. B that it might be hard...but I had no idea how much blood, sweat & tears would actually go into making a baby.

I've always had irregular cycles and all my doctors warned me that I may have trouble conceiving so once we started trying, we didn't wait to long to see an RE. I also have PCOS so I knew it would be difficult.

I had pretty irregular cycles when I was younger, so much so that my mother took me to a gynecologist when I was 13 (yeah, that was fun). He said things would even out over time, that that was normal for young girls just starting their cycles. They did seem to level out a bit as I got older, but I was never what you'd call "like clockwork". Once I got on bcp before I got married, I *was* regular as clockwork, and I really didn't give much thought to whether I might have problems conceiving when we decided it was time for children. I certainly never suspected I'd have to deal with IF and end up conceiving with the help of IUI, though - nothing in my history really prepared me for that possibility. Because of my age, though (I was 33 when we started trying), I didn't wait too long to ask my gyn about running tests - we'd been TTC for about eight months with no success when I first started the testing process and asked for a referral to a specialist.

When we started TTC, I did not think there was anything wrong with me. I had a previous pg when I was 17, and although it ended in miscarriage, I was quick to get pg, and just figured that maybe "there were other plans for me" at that time. (I was in HS :blush: )
DH and I started TTC in 2001, and originally, we thought he might have problems. He was exposed to laser radiation every day at work. Almost all of the men he worked with had daughters, and everything that I read said that usually some environmental factor contributes to that. So, we started trying with amazing gusto.
By six months, and no baby, something was going off in my head that said something was wrong. I sent DH off to our family Doctor to get a s/a. The Doctor knew I was getting depressed about this, so he didn't really wait. DH's levels for two s/a's were well within normal ranges.
So, we kept on trying, taking breaks here and there. I can't tell you how many vacations we went on that year to help "relax" and create the mood. In April, my period was late, but it wasn't until I saw my Doctor that we found out it might have been a miscarriage. I refused to test because I was too afraid to have a BFN. At this point, we had been trying for 9 cycles. My cycles were like clockwork for the most part. I had 35 day cycles, and although I ovulated somewhat late in the cycle, my Doctor didn't seem concerned. My luteal phase was fine, everything seemed fine according to my charts. I'd get triphasic readings, and I always had + opks, and we timed everything, but nothing was happening.
So, I asked my Doctor what was the next step and he said laparoscopy because he wanted to see what was going on. I started flipping out. I was so afraid that I was going to find there was nothing wrong with me and that my Doctor will tell me that everything was in my head.
My surgery was longer than they expected I had laparoscopy and a HSG with a D&C. My Doctor never told me the complete outcome. He gave me bits and pieces, but I know how he is.... his manner was disturbing. This is a Doctor who told me jokes before I went into the OR, and was now very serious. He told me that my tubes were damaged and scarred. He said that the one was completely blocked, the other looked as though it could have been completely blocked at one time, that maybe I wasn't pg the previous month like we thought, but perhaps a fluke. I was devastated. Elated that we knew what my problem was, but devastated that I was so broken. I mourned that "fluke" like it was a pg, and I rarely talk about it now because it hurt so bad.
I honestly would never have imagined there was something wrong with me. I have had painful cramps all my life, so I didn't think that mattered. My Doctor told me that it was probably just an infection that got out of control and spread to my tubes... could have been something as simple as a yeast infection.
I was told that due to the shape that my tubes are in, I could have this problem again. Right now, I am currently suffering horrible cramps from AF, so in the back of my mind, it makes me wonder if my tubes are clogging up again. :(

Mandy

Honestly..I had no idea. Before we got married I hadn't really thought much about it. I had regular AF's, ect. When we got married I started taking BCP's and that is where the trouble started. We've narrowed it down to thinking it's my weight now.