Hi everyone
This question is going to sound really stupid but its something ive been worrying about a lot.
I think ive pinpointed the cause of my infertility to me not ovulating, and should be starting fertility drugs in january, so have been feeling quite optimistic. But i read an article about infertility recently and it said one of the causes of not ovulating can be having abnormal ovaries which dont contain any eggs. I felt absolutely devastated when i read this, as obviously this would mean it would be impossible to have a biological child of your own. And i am really paranoid that this could be whats wrong with me. Ive got no reason to think this, but its just that ive never been pregnant so i dont know if ive ever actually ovulated for sure. Ive had about three 21 day progesterone tests over the past year and they all showed that i wasnt ovulating.
Does anyone know anything about this? i started my periods when i was 11 and they have been fairly regular up until recently, when my cycles have gone quite long (normally around 35 days). Ive always noticed fertile looking CM mid cycle, apart from when i was on the pill. But then ive also had this same CM and positive OPK's on the months i didnt ovulate. My doctor said im getting a "blip" (presumably an LH surge) but not actually managing to release an egg. Do your ovaries have to contain eggs even to produce this LH surge?
Ive never had any sort of ultrasound so dont know anything about my reproductive system or what sort of health its in
Sorry to be a pain, im just panicking over everything at the moment

Fallen-Angel,
I'm not sure I can directly answer your questions, but your situation sounds exactly like what my close friend dealt with. She also was getting a faint LH surge, but no ovulation. When she did clomid (the purpose of which is to stimulate egg development) with IUI, it worked. For her 2nd pregnancy, she just took the clomid alone for one month and it worked. I realize your situations probably aren't exactly the same, but I thought that might be a great example to give you some optimism about it!

Also, when you do the fertility treatments, they will (or, should) monitor you with ultrasounds to make sure that the meds you are taking, whether clomid or injectibles, are working and that you are producing follicles. They will adjust the meds accordingly if it's necessary.

Good luck! Hope you are able to enjoy the holidays without worrying about it too much (easier said than done, I know!). :D

Hi Fallen Angel -
I think typically when they decide to put you on a fertility drug (Clomid is the only one I personally know about), they will do a day 3 estradiol and FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) test. I just go to a basic OBGYN and she still did that.

These tests will - along with other things - show what your ovarian reserve is - how many eggs you have left. Typically older women have very high FSH levels (not sure about estradiol), which means that more hormone is being pumped out to stimulate the ovary, since there are fewer eggs.

It would be logical to believe that when you have this test (and I think it's standard to have it), it would show if you don't have any eggs at all. You couldn't get a normal FSH level, if that were the case.

I seriously doubt that you have no eggs, I have never even heard of that, and I research a freakish amount.

Also, there must be some reason your doctor is letting you go on the drug. If they believed you didn't have eggs, they obviously wouldn't let you start it.

And, I THINK that you can't have any LH surge if your ovaries aren't working at all, I think that the LH directly relates to ovarian function - the cells in the ovary trigger the surge. Not sure about that one at all, though.

Anyway, you really don't need to worry about this, it would be very unusual for you to have this condition.

(IMO)

Hope that made sense and/or helped.

Sarah

P.S. - I've noticed, after experience, that on the more sensitive OPK's like First Response, it will look like I have a positive when the lines are really close in color. But in fact, I have to have the test line be DARKER than the control line for me to ovulate (based on progesterone tests, that proved or disproved ovulation). Your's may not be truly positive. It's pretty annoying and frustrating, and took me months to figure out.

Thank you so much to all three of you for your replies which have definitely helped to reassure me.
suesy- your reply did give me hope, its so nice to hear your friend had a happy ending. Thank you!
sarah- thank you for your insight again which i always find really helpful. I was hoping that the fact im getting even a slight LH surge might mean my ovaries are doing something, which is hopeful. With the OPK's ive been using the clearblue digital ones which give you either an empty circle or a smiley face as i find the ones with the lines too hard to interpret, and whenever ive noticed fertile CM ive got a smiley face on the OPK. So it does look like im getting the surge but the egg isnt being released, so hopefully the fertility drugs will work for me
cheekskuss- i probably do read and research too much, i get a bit obsessive which is probably why ive convinced myself i have no eggs, i know i need to stop it as its not doing me any good. Good luck with your IVF
Thank you again ladies, sending lots of baby wishes to all of you:angel: