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Ok! So, I'm 17. I've been with my boyfriend (24) for 4 years this May. We've been "Trying to have a baby" for 2 years and 8 months approximatley. Well, Doctors call unprotected sex "trying to conceive" so thats what I'll call it. Anyways, I've never been pregnant once in that entire time. We've just started visiting the Doctor for answers. Although the chances of them doing fertility tests on a 17 year old are low. But my concern is my future. Having children is at the very top of my list of things to do. I'm worried that there may be something wrong that my doctor will not want to go forth and find.. And I'm worried it may worsen over time. I wanted to know if anyone else out there, my age or older had a hard time conceiving. But then without notice suddenly got pregnant after an extended period of time. Or if you did visit doctors what kind of tests did you go through and that kind of thing. Please don't judge me, I'm not here for that. I'm here with concerns of not being able to start a family.. Ever. Be that now or later. If you have a problem with my age, simply don't post. Thanks anyone. ↓
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| Name: s12c | Date: Jan 10th, 2006 10:10 AM |
Hi. It sounds like you have been trying for a while, and should rightly expect to have got pregnant by now. Normally, no pregnancy after 1 year of unprotected sex with your partner would be classified (in the UK anyway) as a fertility issue. When my partner and I went through the same thing, we visited a private Fertillity Doctor who performed the following tests. First off, male sperm assesment should be carried out. This is not invasive and involves the man providing a smaple for analysis. Once a problem with the man is either confirmed or ruled out you can move on to the next stage. Checking the female out is more invasive and might involve an internal exam with an ultrasound probe. In my case, it was discoverd that we had Polycyctic Ovar Syndrome which had made my periods and ovulation irregular. Are your periods regular? This may be a clue. Once the Doctor had treated the problem, eventually we became pregnant and am expecting in May 2006. the important thing to remember is that it can take time, you are young enough to have plenty of fertile years ahead of you, and it will almost certainly happen soon enough. You should definitely visit your Doctor for starters.
Good luck. ↑ |
| Name: Ash | Date: Jan 10th, 2006 12:46 PM |
My husband and I tried for 2 years before we finally gave up and decided to leave it till later. During the time that we weren't thinking of getting pregnant we hit the jackpot. I've spoken to experts and they say they more you think about it the less chances there are of it actually happening. So just enjoy one another and before you know it you'll have your little bundle of joy. Also, are either of you under stress at the moment? That can also play a major part in conceiving. Trying for a baby itself is stressful so relax and take it day by day. I know sounds easier said than done but I've been there.
Good LUCK!!! ↑ |
| Name: Angela | Date: Jan 10th, 2006 10:20 PM |
| My fiancee and I tried for three months with no luck so we decided maybe we should wait a while and just take things day by day. Sure enough the first month we stopped trying we got pregnant! Anyway, I would just talk to your Doctor. My cousin is 21 and has a condition with cysts on her ovaries and they have done testing for her. ↑ |
| Name: AnonymousAngel | Date: Jan 11th, 2006 4:01 AM |
| Thank you you three for replying ^_^. Ok! We have started seeing our Doctor in the summer, I've been through a pap and we're going for the results of his sperm analysis tomorrow. s12c: I have some questions for you. How much did the testing that lead to the finding over the Polycyctic Ovary Syndrome? Was it something that was covered by your medical plan? And yes, My periods are VERY irregular. My last period was November.18th. Before that it was, August.7th. I think out of 12 months last year I had 4 periods. Is there any physcial things you noticed when you had Polycyctic Ovary Syndrome? And yes, it's the same here. One year of unprotected with no pregnancy and a couple is considered infertile. I realised lastnight after posting that we have been having unprotected sex for 3 years this month. Ash: We don't think about it a lot.. Ok so we do. But not during intercourse. Or anytime leading up to it. But yeah, we're usually under some stress. Mostly me because I let everything stress me out so easily. But around our home there is a lot of stress. Angela: 3 months is a bit different from 3 years lol. I remember my brother and his gf saying it took along time for them to get pregnant. They said 2 months was a long time, I felt like screaming at them. I always feel like that when I find out someone who seems quite undeserving gets pregnant. But Congratulations to you Angel. And s12c and Ash! Congrats! =D Thank you all! ↑ |
| Name: s12c | Date: Jan 11th, 2006 10:04 AM |
Hi,
I’m really happy to give you any advice / recount our story for you, but you should remember that both me, and nearly everyone else on these forums are not Doctors and nothing substitutes from hearing it first hand from a Reproduction Expert. Also, please bear in mind that I am in UK, so whilst I can tell you about our experience and costs, I don’t know how they compare to US – although we went to about the most expensive place in London, so I imagine it will cost you quite a bit less (and even may be covered by your health plan)
Anyway - to fill you in, I am the male half of the partnership – my wife and I tried for quite a while to get pregnant after my wife stopped using the contraceptive pill. Her periods had always been regulated by the pill, so when she stopped using it we figured her body would take some time to adjust. After 12 months, like you she had only had 4 or 5 periods, so we decided to get the situation checked out. We went to a private clinic in Harley Street for the tests, and like I said, I had to provide a semen sample and my wife had an examination too. That exam involves an internal exam with an ultrasound probe – my wife said it was not at all painful. The Doctor could see immediately that she had Polycystic Ovaries, and said that was the reason why her periods and ovulation were irregular. We were also told that PCOS (as it is known) is the most common cause of irregular cycles, and it is highly treatable which is good.
Our medical plan covered us for the investigation into the causes of infertility, but not the treatment of infertility. So all the investigation was covered and paid by insurance. It came to about £1,000 - $1,700 approx. My wife had to take pills to regulate her cycle, which were expensive for us to buy – approx £300 per cycle ($500 approx.) My wife regularly visited the Doctor for ultrasound scans to check on the development of the follicle in the ovary, and when it was ‘ripe’ she got a shot to make her ovulate. Then, it’s time for sex and a lot of positive thinking…After a few goes at this, we finally got pregnant.
The thing to try and remember is that it takes time. It’s very easy to be impatient, depressed, angry etc. It’s a real roller coaster, but you have to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. You’re always going to hear about people who tried for 2 months and thought that was a long time, or people who got pregnant by using their partners soap, and that’s hard to deal with. Try and think positive. Fertility treatment is incredibly technologically advanced. It is very unusual for a 17 year old woman to not be successfully treated. The first thing you need to do, is visit a reproduction specialist and find out the cause of the problem. It seems very likely that your irregular cycles are the main contributing factor. Luckily, that is very easily solved. Good luck. ↑ |
| Name: AnonymousAngel | Date: Jan 11th, 2006 10:24 AM |
| Thank you again s12c. No worries, I haven't forgotten that no one here are doctors. It's for my Doctor, or any specialist I see to tell me what the problem is. But yes, I've had internal. And my Fiance has sent in a sperm sample. We're going to visit our doctor and see what he has to say about it now. He said it's best to do the sperm sample before moving on to anything else. And yes, I also believe it has something to do with my irregular periods. So 17 or not I would really like to have the problem dealt with. I have 2 sisters, one who got uterine cancer and was told she could never have children. And another sister who has completely unexplained infertility. Luckily my sister who had the cancer now has a 7 year old. ^_^ But I'm afraid I'll end up like my other sister.. With completely unexplained infertility. Thats why I'm so keen on dealing with this now. 3 Years is long enough to let the mystery go unsolved! I hope our Doctor has plans on what we should do next. Thank you again s12c!! Ohh, correction for my last post. Angela** lol. I'll try to keep ya posted on what we find. ↑ |
| Name: s12c | Date: Jan 11th, 2006 10:46 AM |
Good Luck. If you have been examined, I would have thought you would be told there and then whether you have PCOS or not. Anyway....see your Fertility Doctor and reassess the situation then.
All the best. ↑ |
| Name: AnonymousAngel | Date: Jan 12th, 2006 1:08 AM |
| It was just a normal pap. Like, scraping of the cervix and.. Whatever they do haha. So yeah, we went to our Doctor today. He gave us bad news, his sperm count was very low. He said "2% normal, a lot are immature" =( He's sending us for another one. We may not have waited long enough. He asked if we abstained for a week. But we only did for 48 hours like they told us. So he wants us to abstain for a week.. I hope we get a better result. I'm really quite mad because usually when you get lab work they call you if something out of the ordinary comes up. But they didn't!! We did this like 3 weeks ago! We could have already had another test done and had the results of that one by now. But I'm going to call and set up another appointment today. This is depressing.. I almost started crying when he said it was low.. And only 2% normal. ↑ |
| Name: s12c | Date: Jan 12th, 2006 1:53 PM |
| That is a very high number of abnormal forms. Average is around 50%. It seems your parnter has 98%. If you have PCOS as well, it could be hard for you to conceive naturally - BUT with modern science as it is, all you need are one egg and one sperm, which can be harvested. Remember if the average sperm sample contains 30m sperm, 2% of that means there are 600,000 OK ones each time. You only need 1 for a baby. Don't lose sight of that. You must speak to a reproduction specialist. Not your local doctor. I have been misinformed by so many Doctors who don't specialise in Fertility Medicine. You gotta get yourself and your partner to a specialist. Check the web for one in your area. ↑ |
| Name: AnonymousAngel | Date: Jan 13th, 2006 7:40 AM |
| But won't that cost big bucks? Or could it possibly be covered under our medical plan. Plus, would they accept a 17 year old as a patient? -_- ↑ |
| Name: s12c | Date: Jan 13th, 2006 10:50 AM |
I don't know the answer to that - sorry. If you want to PM me to discuss any of this not on an open forum, you can get me at
[email protected] ↑ |
| Name: bay | Date: Jan 15th, 2006 3:35 PM |
| hi i have just flicked thro what you have sed so if youve got any question you wanna ask me add me i can give you advice n help you if you think youve got infertility probs? [email protected] ↑ |
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