Pregnancy & Parenting

Have any of you had a fertility test done? Is this something that can be done right at your gyno's office? I understand it's mainly a blood work-up?

I would be interested to hear comments and information as well.

thanks for posting.

my husband had a fertility test done because he honestly thought he couldnt have kids.  well we had only been trying for a few months but he insisted on getting the test just to make him feel better.  so the test costed 60 dollars.  well we live about an hour away from the city and we had to get a sperm specimen to the doctor within a half hour.  well there was a motel 6 right across the street so we got a room and had our fun. the funny part was that i had made up a story so that we got our money back for the room (we were only in there for 10 mins!) and whatta you know a week later i found out i was pregnant ha :)

Hi all....I am new at posting, but a long time member.

Any way here are my stats and my tests.  Me 33 and DH 36.  We started ttc over 3years ago this past March.  After almost 8 months with no luck my OBGYN  did testing which was blood work on cycle day 3 of your menstrual period to check for your FSH levels and if I was ovulating.  My test were normal, so she wanted to check DH sperm count and his was normal out of the 3 things they check. We had to pay our copays and about $120 for the Semen test.  I believe your regular Ob can give you a RX if your test comes back showing you are not ovulating (most popular one is Clomid).  Fast forward another 8 months or so.....I called her and she gave me a referral to see a Reproductive Endcronologist (sp).  Now he did a ton of blood work (more intense) along with STD testing (which come to find out is a lot of reason for infertility) and another test to check to compare DH SA from his first test.  Well, my FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) came back a bit high.  They like to see 12 and under and mine was 16 :(  He suggested that the best way to get pregnant is with invitro due to my FSH which indicates my body is working too hard to produce an egg.  Needless to say we dove into that two times within 8 months with no luck...not pregnant and devastated both times.  We are praying for a miracle from God and a "free" natural baby.  Our insurance didn't cover any of the RE dr. or the invitro so out of pocket it was almost $30 grand.  Mind you I'm also not over weight and am in top physical condition.  Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you so much for the replies!

pagbaden, when you test FSH levels (what does this stand for) and they are normal, does this mean you are able to conceive as a woman and why you had your partner tested?

Sorry... I have 2 children and they are older. I am thinking about another and am worried because I have endometriosis although it's not severe! I'd like to get a blood test done to see if I'm able!

Hello,

When I was having trouble ttc#2 I sought help from my regular OBGYN.  She wrote a scrip for Clomid and sent my husband for a semen analysis.  I knew from my own reading that this was a wholly irresponsible thing to do.  The SA was the right thing to do, but Clomid is not something that should be used without monitoring and it should not be prescribed without some diagnostic tests first.

The SA should always be one of the first steps because it's cheap and easy.  Men are just as likely the reason for infertility as women.

When the SA came out pretty good (there were some morphology issues, but nothing that the lab thought could actually prevent a pregnancy), we decided to seek the help of a Reproductive Endocrinologist (fertility doc).

That doctor took vials of blood and sent me to get an HSG, to ensure my tubes were both open.  When all of that came out okay he proceeded with rounds of IUI with Clomid under strict monitoring.  After the first round failed I developed a cyst that made the RE suspect endometriosis.

Laparoscopic surgery was scheduled.  I do have endo.  He lasered what he could.

We were able to conceive on our own a few months later.

If I were in the same position again, I would seek the help of an RE over the regular OBGYN, as long as my insurance would cover it.  My insurance at that time covered all diagnosis and the treatment of the endo, but it did not cover the actual fertility meds and procedures.  We came out of pocket for that.

 

peg, Good luck to you.

When they check for your FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and it isn't high then that means you probably have plenty of eggs left :).  There are however many other reasons that could be preventing conceiving other than your FSH.  When it's high it's an indication that you may have less eggs that is why your FSH is high.....your body is working harder to produce that egg.  You are only born with a certain amount. Hope that helps!

I haven't had a FSH test done, but I use a Fertility Monitor (I have the Clearblue Easy one) to monitor estrogen and lutenizing hormone levels.  Its a POAS test, usually on the mornings of cycle days 8-18, to determine when ovulation occurs.  This and tracking basal body temperature are the methods that I'm using to track my cycles, so far.  I'm 35, and DH is 36; my Dr. said that he wants us to TTC for at least a year before going down the fertility treatment path...

 

Good luck,

D

defrog3 -Since you are 35, the standard wait is no longer than 6 months for 35 and older.  The older you are the more likelyhood of needing intervention.  Don't wait too long.