"I had laproscopic surgery for endometriosis in 2006 and then 6 months of Depo Lupron. My ob recommended that I be on seasonale until I was ready to get pregnant. At the time (27) I didn't think I wanted children, and the seasonale was causing painful cramping, so I decided not to be on bc pills. From that point on my partner and I didn't try to prevent pregnancy in any way, but neither were we trying. When I was 30, we decided that we do want children and have been trying ever since to no avail. My new ob misdiagnosed me with PCOS and told me there was nothing that he could do to help me. I saw a reproductive endocrinologist and he says that I don't have PCOS and recommended using an ovulation predictor kit. We have used the opk for four months now and I'm wondering if this doesn't work what's next? Is there anything else I should be doing? I'm almost 32 and my partner is 41. I'm afraid that we are running out of time. What should I do?"

Wow, you have been through the ringer already. You’ve had surgery for endometriosis, been misdiagnosed with PCOS and then told by a specialist you are fine! I’d be wondering what to do next, too! But take a deep breath, Infertility, you are not running out of time. If you want some reassurance, ask your RE to run a few simple blood tests (which he/she probably has done already) to measure your FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and estridol (another hormone that regulates your cycles). Your RE will be able to tell you whether or not your body is pushing out eggs at a healthy rate based on these tests. Normally, a healthy woman at age 32 still has many childbearing years ahead of her (I had my second boy when I was 40).

The reason your RE wants you to use the OPK is that if you took 100 couples, it would take up to a year before 80 of them had conceived. You are not placed in the “infertility” category until you have been actively trying to conceive for one year. (And this doesn’t mean just “not trying to prevent pregnancy”, it means serious, pay attention to your cycle, have sex on ovulation day trying!) So, you just passed the ¼ of the way mark. If after one year, you are still unsuccessful, you can speak with your RE about what your next options are. This time frame is also important for your insurance. If they cover any infertility at all, they may not pay for tests, etc. until after this year mark has been reached.

If you would like to be proactive, you could have your partner’s sperm analyzed, to be sure his swimmers are in top form, ruling out any issues on his side of the DNA equation.

So, don’t panic, I know it is really frustrating to keep trying, (it took me two years to get pregnant with my first boy). Just enjoy the baby making process for the months ahead.

- Lee

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