Having Troubles Getting Pregnant Even with Fertility Drugs

We had unexplained infertility and after 8 yrs of tests drugs, etc. we decided to have HSG test. The interventional radiologist told me that 95% of her patients became pregnant within 6 mos. of having HSG. Almost 6 mos. to the day we found out we were pregnant:)Just wish I had done it sooner.

I had great success with this site: http://infertilityworkshop.com/

If you want to read more on clomid there's an article here: http://www.infertilityworkshop.com/articles/gettingstarte...

Have the doctors checked your thyroid? My cousin went through 2 years of fertility treatments & nothing happened, she switched doctors when she moved, she had a son when she was 19, she just couldn't seem to get pregnant again 6 years later. The doctor asked her when she got pregnant before what was differnet than compared to now, she told him she got pregnant while taking birth control. He put her on birth control & she got pregnant. The problem had something to do with her thyroid. Since than she has had to wonderful pregnancies & had a girl & a boy! Although she needs to take the birth control to get pregnant instead of using it not to be. LOL

Sweetie, why are you on Femara!!!!??? That's a cancer drug and no good for fertility. Please stop it immediately and give your body some time to clear it out before pregnancy.
http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/femara_birth_de...

Having an HSG increases your chance of getting pregnant for up to 3 months.
I had one and two months later, I was pregnant. It's not the case for everyone, but studies show that it does increase the chance. Good luck!

I totally agree with the previous post about seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. OBs try to prescribe drugs and waste a lot of your time and money because it's not their specialty. Really you shouldn't try any drugs or anything until you've had the HSG because it's h*** o* the body if ovulation is not the problem, and usually it's not.

I had many fertility problems and had to have an HSG and many other tests and surgery. It's the best bet because you would rather find out what the problem is rather than spending money on drugs that aren't addressing the concern. I had scar tissue blocking both tubes from many previous surgeries and he tried to clean both out but was unsuccessful, so he had to seal one off and we ended up doing IVF. But IVF doesn't work if there is a blockage or inflammation in the tube because the body won't accept the embryo if it thinks there is a problem nearby, if that makes sense. The HSG was a little painful like cramping but not bad.

Know your frustration. I just turned 42 and had 2 miscarriages after having my son 4 years ago. I did fertility treatments and 4 IUI's still did not get pregnant. I got preg about a year after the treatments but lost the baby and am now preg again .. 13weeks and have my fingers crossed all is ok.

My ob had me try Clomid and when that didnt work she suggested Dr Harper, here in Huntsville and I loved him and his staff. The first thing he did was the procedure w/ the dye to make sure my ovaries were not blocked and that the dye flowed thru evenly. One was fast the other took a minute but he said all looked fine. Now he did say and I had seen Women get preg after that procedure as it sorta cleans out the tubes so that the eggs flow thru better. After a few times of timed intercourse we tried the IUI and did that 4 times. Nothing. After that it was suggested IVF and that was BIG bucks and my husband and I decided that we had one child was was blessed w/ that and he would be needing college money some day so we decided to just let nature takes it course. And low and behold got preg twice since having the treatments a year or so ago.
Know this was long, but wanted to give you as much info as I could. I wish you the best of luck.

I got pregnant right after my HSG and found wome things that I needed to fix in the process. It is not a bad procedure. There is no pain and recovery is very quick. I would say "go for it"
Shirely R
mother of 5

Hi K.,

I had the HSG test. It was not a good experiance for me. I don't want to scare you but, you should not go by yourself. (Just in case) I had a lot of cramping, bleeding and also upset tummy. My doctor did not tell me this would be the case so I went alone and then dove myself home. I hope you have a better experiance than I did. Good luck.

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles hun. I never had any problems getting prg. so I can't imagine what it must be like. I do have several friends though that have gone thru treatments and tests of different kinds. One in particular tried several things for over a year. Then, her OB/GYN put her on BCpills for 3 months, then took her off them, the next month,,,,,,,yep,you guessed it, she was pregnant. They now have a beautiful bouncy baby boy. So see hun, it does happen. Though I do believe God has His hand in it too.
I wish you luck, I'll keep you in my prayers too.

I just finished reading a book called "taking charge of your fertility" I must say that after having 3 kids 3 and under, and a miscarraige, all while on different forms of birth control, that i think because of this book i have figured out why. Most women are not the "barbie" type with ovulation occuring at day 14, which is why there tend to be "fertility" problems when women don't conceive. this book teaches you about YOUR body, not your mom's or the lady next door. so then you are able to figure out your cycle.
now, this book was referred to me by 2 of my friends, both with "fertility problems", but not after reading this. they both suggested it to me to help us space ours better. anyways, i hope this doesn't sound all over the place. basically this is a really great book to learn about your own body and it teaches you how. it's about 25 at the book store, but a little less online. i hope this can help. it's a fast read. good luck!

Hello, I just wanted to tell you that I had an HSG on a Tuesday, and eight days later I had IUI done and became pregnant. I did a lot of research on them, and I found that pregnancy rates tend to go up after an HSG with an oil based contrast is used. Good luck!!!!!!

As far as the pain of the procedure...yes, it is uncomfortable, but nothing unbearable....and the outcome, my daughter, is well worth it all. My doc told me to take Ibuprofen before the procedure...don't remember how much, and to have someone there to drive me home.....I did have some cramping, but like I said it was all well worth it!!!!!!!!!

it will happen when you dont expect it

my husband and i have been trying for 2 years. I had the HSG test and yes my dr. stated if they are clogged they can clean them, which is to clear, usually the dye can help with this. My tubes are blocked on both sides, he was able to get dye into one but not out, so one tube is blocked in two places. My friends that had to get the procedure was sucessful with the cleaning. My next step is IVF. There is a support group that meets twice a month. I get alot of info. out the meetings and sometime they invite drs to come discuss. Good luck with the procedure prayfully your tubes will be cleared after the HSG.

I have never been on the receiving end of an Hystrosalpingogram(hsg), but I have assisted the radiologist in the past to perform the exam.

If you would like the procedure explained, I will be happy to assist you if you email me privatly.

I also have PCOS (like many previous posters). I had a HSG early on in the fertility struggle. It was one of the first steps before clomid and femara. The femara worked for us, but it was after many clomid rounds. Femara is used with breast cancer patients, but not to fight cancer. It is used to regulate hormones in breast cancer patients. It was far less traumatic for me than the clomid. I didn't have the hot flashes,cold seats, or moodiness.

Hi K.,
I have two daughters and had trouble getting pregnant with the first. I had an HSG, and it came back that my tubes were blocked, I have not heard the procedure can clear a tube, anyway, the info may have been incorrect, because subsequently I had another surgery and my Dr. did it while I was asleep and my tubes were cleared, he said it was very unlikely that they just cleared, that probably the test had had false results the first time. We had moved at that point so I didn't follow up with the dr. who administered it. I did an invitro round, that was not successful, but had a complication that my embryos were frozen etc, I did clomid with artificial insemination for 5 months with no success, then our nurse at the fertility specialist stated that we could be more aggressive, so the next month we did shots, much more expensive, but it was successful.... I have a three year old, One of the drugs was called Follistim. Then seven months after she was born I ended up pregnant on my own, no drugs. I had tried to get pregnant for a year and a half years before seeking medical attention for it. If your tubes are not blocked I so reccommend the shots, I know it sounds awful but it really wasn't and to get pregnant, was an amazing blessing. I am 38 so time was pushing me to be successful, but it is awful to have to go through the rollercoaster of trying and trying. I feel for you, Clomid was very h*** o* me emotionally, it mad me cry a lot, so the shots were also a welcome change with that. I know it is very hard to keep trying, but don't give up at all, there is hope and a lot of other things to try. I wish you all the best, I hope this helps.
B.

Hi K.,
You may want to add some organic superfood to your already good excerise program...sometimes the cause is at the cellular
level and it can be helped..I have a product that you may want to investigate...email me if you want to discuss it...I read the last entry here and that woman said about douching...well that could very well be also as it chages the PH balance in the vagina....acid ph is not good

J.
____@____.com

K.,

Sorry that you are having such a hard time getting pg this time around. I know exactly what you are talking about. Even though we are no longer ttc, it took us 7 years before we finally conceived triplets which turned into a twin birth.

I had never heard of Femara, so I looked it up on the web. It is similar to Clomid, which is what a lot of women take, and I didn't respond to it at all. I, personally, have issues with these kinds of drugs...if they are given by your ob/gyn, which is usually how it starts out, you are not monitored closely enough and you end up loosing months beating your body against a brick wall. I did 10 rounds of Clomid, and still didn't get PG, and my tube was clear.

My first question to you would be is your doctor a "fertilty specialist" as in an ob/gyn that specializes in "fertility" or are you seeking a Reproductive Endocrinologist? Since there is a HUGE difference in the two. It sounds like you are just seeing your ob/gyn, if it has been 13 months and you are still on Femara and just now getting to the HSG.

A lot of people don't have IF coverage, so it can be quiet costly. I hope you have great coverage, because if you have to go further in your IF struggle, an RE & other ferility treatments are not cheap!

As far as the HSG is concerned, yes it is to check to see if your tubes are open or not. I had one done a long time ago, while I had ovarian drilling done and was a sleep so I didn't have the uncomfortable feeling it can cause. I have heard that it isn't painful, but if the gas is not all pushed out, it can be uncormfortable. It is usually done as an outpatient procedure. Here is more about it from Web MD (http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/h...)

If you need anyone to talk to, you can e-mail me personally at ____@____.com and I will gladly give you a listening ear. Since I know ttc can be so irritating and if you don't have anyone that has been thru it, it can be a lonely road to travel down.

Hope this helps and keep us posted. I will keep you in my prayers.

Take care,
God Bless,
J. D

I have had an HSG when trying to get pregnant with my daughter but it was while they did a laparoscopy so I was out. We had been trying for almost 3 years. They discovered endometriosis as well as one of my tubes being blocked. I had the HSG done in Oct 05, became pregnant in Jan 06 but miscarried. I became pregnant again in March 06 but also miscarried again. It was obvious that my endo and blocked tube was the #1 factor for my infertility. I then became pregnant again in July 06 with my daughter who just turned 1 :)
I can't tell you how painful it will be to have the HSG b/c I was out due to having the laparoscopy at the same time. I have heard that it is painful when they put the dye through. Good luck!!!!

Hang in there. I tried Femara and had no luck. I then did 2 IUIs and lots of shots with still no luck. Right before I did IVF I did a HSG test and they saw that my uterus had a defect in it. I did surgery to correct it and then another IUI and it worked. I now have a 16 month old son....after 18 months of fertility! I have heard that the test can "clear out the cobwebs" and some women get prego after it. Regardless, it is good because it can help identify or rule out any issues. Good luck and I hope you have success soon. I am not sure who your specialist is, but I had a great experience with Reshef at Baptist.

Hi K.
I was having trouble getting pregnant for the first time. My doctor (in Colorado at the time) did a bunch of bloodwork to make sure that I did not have PCO. Are you getting regular periods?? Then we tried Clomid for 3 months and that did not seem to work. I then had an HSG done and increased the clomid and I got pregnant the next month. I also had to do clomid to get pregnant with my second son as well. The HSG would probably be a good thing to have done. Hope this helps.

I don't know much about the HSG test, but here's a less invasive approach, if the doctor can't find a reason that you can't get pg. Get a reflexology massage or a full body massage works too. It stimulates ovulation. Then make love when you are ovulating and try to "peak" at the same time. It worked for us (after 8 yrs of fertility treatments) and hopefully it will work for you. Alicia at Urban Retreat in Edmond is great! A massage is a lot more fun and relaxing than fertility treatments, which can stress you out, and prevent you from getting pg. I haven't ovulated since we had our son (2yrs). I got a massage the end of Dec and another a couple weeks later in Jan. That month... I ovulated. Not ready for another baby yet... so I won't be getting a massage again for awhile. Good luck!

Hi K.
I experienced what you have been going through. My husband and I tried to get pregnant for 4 years and after numerous tests my Dr finally suggested an HSG test..this was done in May 06 and I was pregnant in June 06 now I have a wonderful 1 year old son. My right tube was blocked and during the procedure that took a whole 10 minutes..I won't lie, it hurt but only because I was blocked. I would really suggest you have one done. Good luck!!!

I know waiting to get pregnant is hard. My husband and I took two years to get pregnant. I had the HSG test. It didn't help get me pregnant but it showed that everything was okay in my tubes. I don't know who you have as a doctor but mine suggested at the end to do a baking soda (1T and 1 cup warm water)douche, right before. I got pregnant after doing that, and the doctor said he had had a lot of success with that.

Hope this helps. It will happen.

what concerns me is that if your tubes are blocked, or partially, then your doctor is risking your having an ectopic pregnancy till this procedure is done. I kind of think this is something he should have looked at four months ago, to prevent that risk.

One thing that really helps is dietary. Animal products are full of their own natural hormones, and then a lot of animals are pumped full of hormones to make them grow faster before they're slaughtered. This can throw people's hormones for a real loop! I read an article on this. The author said that the right diet for conceiving is high in complex carbs (not the sugary simple ones!) like fruits, vegs and grains, and low in animal protein.

Good luck!

L.

My children are in their 20s so alot has changed since then, BUT I did have the dye test before the second baby as we'd been trying for over a year of charting my ovulation. I had no discomfort during the test but was very queazy for about 30 minutes after I left the exam room. I'm assuming from the dye. My tubes were fine, we tried a few more months and gave up. Two months later we conceived. The doctor said it worked that way sometimes. When you give up, you relax and bingo! it happens. Sounds like everyone has given you some really good information to look into. Good luck.