Newbie, needing advice
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Planning Pregnancy (trying for baby)
Forum Name: Planning Pregnancy (trying for baby)
Forum Description: Trying to get pregnant? Going through fertility treatment? Just planning your first or second child? There are many people out there in the same boat to help and listen and share with
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=45100
Printed Date: 23 August 2025 at 3:41pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Newbie, needing advice
Posted By: Tara-J
Subject: Newbie, needing advice
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 1:50pm
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Hi there, I'm starting from the very first step! I'm 25 and my partner is 27 We have been ttc for 1 and 1/2 years now. I have been to my GP to talk about not being able to get pregnant, I have irregular periods and always have had this problem, I get mine about 3 times a year, I'm anaemic to my doctor told me to start getting my iron levels up to see if would help, it didn't, she also told me to lose some weight, i'm 72kgs at 5'2"  so she said to try get down to 60kgs which i'm trying to do. Nothing is wrong on my partners end, so it's all testing on me at the moment. I've been tracking my ovulation and bbt and keeping my sticks and info in a book and I'm going to go in to see my new GP with my partner to get this journey on it's merry way. Is there any advice on questions I should be asking? or tests that I could ask for? Thanks everyone any info will be greatly greatly appreciated |
Replies:
Posted By: 2furkids
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 4:20pm
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Hi Tara, the irregular periods should be a red flag for your GP - I would think they would be looking into things like PCOS and the likes? There are plenty of ladies with experience in that area who will hopefully pop along and give some advice. You mentioned you are charting, do you use fertility friend to do this? Are your charts showing ovulation is happening at some stage during your cycle? There is a great thread called the charting girls that can advise on charts (I used to hang out there but I am awaiting my own arrival). Hopefully some of the other experienced ladies will pop along and give more advice on the tests to ask for going forward - good luck!! -------------  Nov 2015, Trisomy 18 (14w3d) DS Born Sept 2016
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Posted By: Mushroom
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 5:41pm
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Hi Tara. With irregular periods like that, first thing you need testing for is PCOS - you might find you need medication such as clomid in order to ovulate. Doctors love to tell us to lose weight, which is obviously a good thing to do, but not always easy nor does it magically solve everything! (I'm slightly heavier than you atm and am also 5"2, so know what it's like) ------------- Me: 35, PCOS, endo, DH: 34, severe MFI 6+ yrs TTC#2 M/C 2012, clomid 2013, IVM 2014, IVF 2015, M/C 2015 2016 FET#1- BFP - MMC - Emergency D&C FET#2 - BFN Jul 16 - stage 3 endo removed. Oct 16 BFP |
Posted By: MountTaylor
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 7:41pm
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Hi Tara, before the beginning of our TTC journey I only had my period roughly 4 times a year for many years, charting for me was almost impossible when it was like this, there were just too few days in a year to get a gauge on when I was ovulating (and too expensive to use an OPK everyday for the several months in between periods! When I first began to see a fertility specialist he said that I did not have PCOS (I have had a 2 x laparoscopy for Endo years ago but that didn't seem to be an issue) but that ovulation was the issue. We tried for 12 months before I saw the specialist, in order to regulate my cycles i was given Letrozole (which is like Clomid) which has brought my cycles down to relatively normal 28 days cycles - mind you we still have a few issues with my cycle, but 28 days is a whole lot better than 90 days right!. Whenever we are trying now we use that. My suggestion is to try and get into a specialist asap because there is a little bit of time involved in them going through the blood tests etc. ------------- TTC#2 - 3rd Letrozole cycle since MC MC + D&C after SCH - 9w3d March 16 Four letrozole cycles - Oct 2015 - Jan 2016 MC - 8 weeks - October 2015 First beautiful baby girl - born Nov 2014 Miscarriage |
Posted By: Tara-J
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 8:05pm
Thank for taking the time to reply, my doctor did some blood tests at one point to check for pcos, and hypo/hyper thyroidism but said it was negative. IO had been getting nowhere with my old GP, I had only had her for two years upon moving to Hawke's Bay, So switching wasn't to much of a loss for me. I use Ovia to log all my info 
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Posted By: Tara-J
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 8:15pm
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Hi MountTaylor there thanks for the reply, My GP determined I did not have PCOS last year, so i have been doing ovulation tests every single day, along with bbt and logging in my info with the Ovia app. But with such irregularity in periods it's hard to find a pattern. That's why i've got myself a new GP and starting fresh :) |
Posted By: MountTaylor
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 8:24pm
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Hmm, I think its probably a wee bit unusual that you haven't been given a referral since you have been TTC this long now. I'm not sure what your financial position is, but my suggestion would be to get yourself into either a gynae or ideally a fertility specialist. I don't know where you are in NZ but Fertility Associates operate around NZ and are fabulous. That is generally where you end up if you need Fertility treatment in the end. Life with irregular cycles was really difficult, and I know that it was almost impossible for us to get pregnant in that space. Fertility associates described it to me like this - you have roughly only 2-3 days in each cycle, and only 20% chance of actually conceiving if you manage to time it right for those 2/3 days - if you are only getting your period 3 times then that is 6-9 days out of a year in which you can get pregnant. Tricky! Not trying to freak you, sorry. But you will get many more answers and you will have confidence that you don't have to ask the right questions if you are dealing with a specialist. I would request from your GP a referral, and stand by what you want. ------------- TTC#2 - 3rd Letrozole cycle since MC MC + D&C after SCH - 9w3d March 16 Four letrozole cycles - Oct 2015 - Jan 2016 MC - 8 weeks - October 2015 First beautiful baby girl - born Nov 2014 Miscarriage |
Posted By: Tara-J
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 9:34pm
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My old GP was a bit strange She wasn't really for it all, I had to really convince her to get me tested for pcos and hyper/hypothyroidism. She wasn't convinced it was anything apart from anaemia and being 70kgs at 5'2" she made me feel uncomfortable, that's why I took it into my own hands for a bit doing OPK tests, bbt, and logging every day and have been for a while and I was showing her these things and she kept telling me the same thing. I'm not a very brave person when it comes to saying what I think to the GP, and my partner only rarely gets to come with me to these appointments because he's busy at work, as am I. But now I'm going in full throttle. I live in Hawke's Bay and the closest Fertility Associates is in Wellington I think. Asking for a referall from my GP is on top of my list
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MountTaylor wrote:Posted By: MountTaylor
Date Posted: 12 June 2016 at 9:37pm
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Good for you, you will get there :) By the way there is a Fertility Associates in Palmerston North. But I think a good Gynae might be able to help. GOod luck :) ------------- TTC#2 - 3rd Letrozole cycle since MC MC + D&C after SCH - 9w3d March 16 Four letrozole cycles - Oct 2015 - Jan 2016 MC - 8 weeks - October 2015 First beautiful baby girl - born Nov 2014 Miscarriage |