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My friend is 30 and has had abnormal or infrequent periods all of her life. She is going to her gyno to get her eggs counted to see what her chances are of getting pregnant. She keeps saying her "biological clock is ticking" and wants to start getting pregnant as soon as possible. She feels that she doesn't have that much time left to get pregnant (if any time at all-depending on what her gyno says). Fertility treatment is out because she doesn't have the money for it (even the shots). She also said that she has a collapsed ovary. Anyway, I am just trying to understand her situation a little bit more. I have to admit, I am a bit put off because I don't think her and her boyfriend are really in any position to think about kids (lack of financial stability and emotional maturity). But we are really close, and it is obviously important to her....who am I to judge?
So, I am posting to see if anyone can direct me to some good websites that explain this fertility stuff or who can share their personal experiences. Does having abnormal or infrequent periods make it harder to get pregnant? What is egg counting about? Does being 30 really matter? And has anyone ever heard of a collapsed ovary? Much thanks in advance!
A lot of insurance plans do not cover infertility treatments. They are elective and expensive. I do not know what a "collapsed ovary" is. maybe a term for non-active ovary, but not sure.
A woman suffering from abdominal adhesions, endometriosis, previous pelvic inflammatory disease, etc, can have a more difficult time conceiving, even to the point of it being impossible. Sometimes a laparoscopy, hysteroscopy (looking inside the uterus) and/or an HSG (hystero-salpingogram - a test to study the structure of the internal uterus and tubes, using a dye and x-ray) are necessary.
The necessity of any of the above are usually determined by either a board certified gyecologist or a reproductive endocrinologist.
It is not uncommon for these procedures to run in the thousands of dollars, cash in advance, usually with no guarantee of success.
If you go to the National Institute of Health web site:
You can also "google" INFERTILITY, and have a multitude of links as well. Just do not trust the "wikipedia" link. It can be edited by anyone, and the information is not always valid.
The only thing I can add to this is if her periods are not regular, her ovulation time may not be either. Before she does anything extreme, I would recommend an ovulation kit. This will help determine when she ovulates for the month and when she is most likely to conceive. Jeannie
Ovulation does not equate to conception. BUT- certainly using the kit is a less expensive method of trying to conceive.
She could ovulate, and have blocked tubes, in which case, the egg goes nowhere, and the sperm are restricted.
Additionally, she could have fibroids which can impact on the fertilized eggs adhering to the intrauterine wall, thus producing a spontaneous abortion. This is not detectable by pregnancy or ovulation kits. It would be through pelvic exam, laparoscopy or hysteroscopy.
There are a number of conditions/problems which could be impacting. Is she taking any medications or herbals? These can impact as well. Then again, maybe she needs some specific meds to help her situation.
I hope she is seeing a good OB/GYN that also treats infertility. If her periods are irregular she likley has some hormone problems, since hormones are what controls our periods. If she has hormone problems she needs to get that taken care of because even if she does get pregnant she could lose the baby if she is off hormonally. I doubt they are counting her eggs, that makes no sense. People generally release one egg per month, sometimes more, usually one. They might be looking with ultrasound to see if she is indeed ovulating at all and if that egg looks healthy or not. At 30 I have no doubt she does feel an urgency to get pregnant, but should be more responsible and not get pregnant if she cannot properly provide for that baby. She really needs to see a good doc for this.
Ultrasound could show evidence of ovulation by detection of a corpus luteum cyst on the ovary, something indicative of ovulation. It will NOT however, demonstrate the health of the egg. That would take the expertise of the embryologist.
One more thing to add...She could have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). Some women with this only ovulate 2-3 times a year and even when they do, the eggs can be immature. Women with this syndrome often have serious infertility issues.
I agree that having children is a serious decision that should not be taken lightly, but your friend may not be able to conceive at 35 or 40. No one can make that decision for her.
Another posibility would be endometriosis. My sister has this and was told at age 32 that she had @1 year to get pregnant before it would be necessary to remove her uterus. If she didn't have a child immediately, she wouldn't have had one at all.
I had fertility issues with all of the accompanying tests and treatments. To be brief: she should check with her state. Some states have mandates that require someone with no insurance to be able to have fertility treatments (Illinois is one). An egg check would reveal whether she has many, weak eggs, or few great ones for example. Age 30 is still youngish in my opinion. I had in vitro successfully, lost the baby, then had in vitro again. Gave birth to my only child, a healthy baby boy, a few weeks shy of my 40th birthday. One trick I learned through all of this: (she needs to check with her doctor first), take doses of cough syrup. It will thin ALL of your secretions. Sometimes this is a barrier to the sperm getting to their destination. I drank bottles of Robitussin. Most importantly, she needs a new boyfriend/stable relationship before she does anything.
I had fertility issues with all of the accompanying tests and treatments. To be brief: she should check with her state. Some states have mandates that require someone with no insurance to be able to have fertility treatments (Illinois is one). An egg check would reveal whether she has many, weak eggs, or few great ones for example. Age 30 is still youngish in my opinion. I had in vitro successfully, lost the baby, then had in vitro again. Gave birth to my only child, a healthy baby boy, a few weeks shy of my 40th birthday. One trick I learned through all of this: (she needs to check with her doctor first), take doses of cough syrup. It will thin ALL of your secretions. Sometimes this is a barrier to the sperm getting to their destination. I drank bottles of Robitussin. Most importantly, she needs a new boyfriend/stable relationship before she does anything.
Illinois MANDATES the insurance companies to pay for fertility, an elective modality costing thousands of dollars? I hope they mandate vasectomy and tubal ligation payments as well.
Curiosity question: did you doctor know you were drinking "bottles" of Robitussin?
My friend is 30 and has had abnormal or infrequent periods all of her life. She is going to her gyno to get her eggs counted to see what her chances are of getting pregnant. She keeps saying her "biological clock is ticking" and wants to start getting pregnant as soon as possible. She feels that she doesn't have that much time left to get pregnant (if any time at all-depending on what her gyno says). Fertility treatment is out because she doesn't have the money for it (even the shots). She also said that she has a collapsed ovary. Anyway, I am just trying to understand her situation a little bit more. I have to admit, I am a bit put off because I don't think her and her boyfriend are really in any position to think about kids (lack of financial stability and emotional maturity). But we are really close, and it is obviously important to her....who am I to judge?
So, I am posting to see if anyone can direct me to some good websites that explain this fertility stuff or who can share their personal experiences. Does having abnormal or infrequent periods make it harder to get pregnant? What is egg counting about? Does being 30 really matter? And has anyone ever heard of a collapsed ovary? Much thanks in advance!
I went years having infrequent or no periods, and was told by several Doctors I "must have a hormone imbalance". I was almost 30 by the time I saw one who thought to do an ultrasound to check for any physical issue, and found I had cysts due to PCOS (polycystic ovaries). I didn't think I would be able to get pregnant, but at 35 I went to a fertility specialist (my insurance covered most of it). I took Clomid for only 5 months and got pregnant with my one and only child (only wanted one). It was actaully very cool because every month they did an ultrasound to make sure there was an egg, so I saw her before she was actually fertilized, and at about 10 days after fertilization.
I got very lucky - I know some people can try for years. Anyway, have your friend ask about being checked for that. Apparently some doctors can't figure that one out for themselves. Infrequent or missing periods are number one symptom of that.
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