Not TTC yet - but what tests?

Wexy86

Hi all

We're not TTC just yet but will be within the next year or two.

I have an appointment with my GP in 2 weeks and I would like to get some basic tests done that would show if there were any issues with regards fertility?

I've been on the pill (microlite) for 11 years, with no break and there has been a few mishaps with my partner and yet I never got pregnant so I would like to ascertain if there is an issue before we spend our savings on a wedding as our potential baby is more important to us than a wedding.

Any recommendations on what I should request from my GP is much appreciated. I know everyone should say your GP will know but recommendations would put my mind at ease.

(Mods - please move to another forum if this is the incorrect place)

Many thanks
Wexy

lollpop

The only tests you get done before you start TTC are rubella to ensure you're immune and a smear test. Anything else would be overkill unless you've been trying for at least a few months. The main thing you can do is relax and try to enjoy it. Once you start getting fertility tests done, it gets quite stressful and it sounds like there is no need at all in your case. The fact that you had a mishap and nothing happened doesn't mean anything at all.

If you want to feel like you're doing something, start charting your cycle and using either temping or OPKs to pinpoint your ovulation date. You'd need to be fairly sure of that before you get any bloods done anyway and it can take a few months to get to know your pattern.

BinxFace

Wexy86 - lollpop is on the ball with her message. Also I would suggest you start taking Folic Acid too :-)

How Strange

Speak to your gp about getting the whooping cough vaccine booster. They're recommending it for pregnant women now for the first time. It would be the same of you got it before you're pregnant so the immunity passes to the baby but without the unknown risks of getting a vaccine during pregnancy.

Lucuma

Hi Wexy, until i started ttc a few months ago i also had no idea that there's no need to go to a doctor or get tests done to check if you're fertile (this only applies to a woman now, there's no way of a man knowing apart from getting his sperm tested but there are ovulation predictor test kits available in any chemist! You just use them like a pregnancy test (pee on a stick) and the result comes up in the window. You can see if you're ovulating each month, that's your no.1 indicator of fertility. First things first i really mean this now, come off the pill as soon as possible! 11 years is a long time and there are lots of women on this forum who are ttc for years after coming off the pill. The pill can have, and i'm not saying this will definitely happen to you (i hope not) but realistically it can take years for a woman to conceive after years and years on the pill. if you want a baby in a year's time i would advise throw that pill in the bin immediately and start using condoms. Let your body get back into its natural cycles because that could take a year or more. Once you start getting a regular period you can use the ovulation predictor kits to see if you're ovulating. A regular cycle is 28 days long with ovulation occurring approximately on day 14 so start using the OPKs from day 10 onwards. You can also start taking your temperature every morning and start recording it. There will be a rise in temperature for a few days around ovulation, another way to check if it's happening or not. And finally sorry to be gross, but you can learn to start looking at your cervical mucus throughout the month, it's a great indicator of what stage your cycle is at once you learn how to read it! Good luck :-)

Shoves

Lucuma wrote: »

if you want a baby in a year's time i would advise throw that pill in the bin immediately and start using condoms. Let your body get back into its natural cycles because that could take a year or more.

Totally agree with Lucuma on this. I was on the pill for 12 years and took ages to get my cycle back to normal. A year on, I'm now 4months pregnant so took a while to get here.

I have friends who fell pregnant straight away and others who are trying for years and nothin doin so all depends. And you just can't tell until you get crackin.

Hobbitfeet

I suggest you look into nfp and the billings method. Get to know your body and its cycles. Being on the pill for a long time can have negative effects for some women and some don't have a problem. It might take awhile for cycles to regulate and fertility to return.
If your fertility is fine and you use these methods then you should be able to tell when you are most fertile and when you are ovulating and hopefully getting pregnant wont be a problem

catrionanic

Just gonna back up what the others have said about the pill - I was on it for three years and came off it in May 2012. I'm not TTC, but my cycles still haven't returned to normal (and I was always very regular before I started taking it). Now waiting on an appt with gynae to see what they have to say.

Regret ever going on it in the first place now, but glad I've come off it sooner than when I want to start TTC, as this would have delayed things further by 1 yr+

CaraMay

I agree with the others that there is little to do now other than take folio acid, eat healthily and keep fit.

The sad fact is, no matter how many tests you do, you don't know if you can get pregnant til you are pregnant.