going to start trying for real in a year.

hi guys! me and my husband got married over 2 months ago. We have been talking about having a baby for a while now after we've been married a year or so. I am pretty baby crazy and he has gotten that way also, although not as much as me he points them out wherever we go. I already know we are not going to be able to conceive naturally without some form of medical help because we don't use protection/birth control etc. We've been together 3 + years. I know cervical mucus is a huge issue among CFers and i know mine is thick from previous paps. Should i start to see medical help like going to fertility dr or whatnot right now or just wait that out until we are ready to start? How do i even go about asking for blood tests to see if he is a carrier etc? I am so lost as to what steps we should take right now that i need as much help as possible. I am 24 and he is 30 so we are not worried about it happening a little earlier but we need to start a process of some sort going. I am currently working on my health and raising PFTs and keeping up with diabetic care etc because we are really motivated in making this happen or the latter.
 

rtorres25

Member
Have you heard of 23andme.com ? It's a basic genetic test that costs $99. It's a cheek swab. I think it would be a starting place if you decide to try to find out if you husband is a carrier. BTW, I have a mild form of CF (no pancreatic involvement), and I had no trouble getting pregnant. Good Luck! Babies are the best :)
 
I am 34 now and my husband and I have been trying for a couple of years now and it has been really hard to get any answers from doctors for what to do. I just started the iui a couple of months ago. I can tell you what I have learned and had to pry out of doctors. As you already know good lung function and blood sugar under control is very important for your health and well being. Also good blood sugar control is important to prevent miscarriage. It is best to take prenatal viramins before you even start to try to get pregnant. But that aside the details you may want to know that is hard to find. I am going to appologize if this is too lengthy ahead of time.

You need to go to your GYN doctor and also let your CF doctor know that you are going to try to get pregnant. Have a list of all current meds at your GYN appt. They can tell you which ones are okay to take while pregnant. Also discuss with your CF doctor since I am not sure if the GYN office will tell you the cf meds may not be recommended to use during pregnancy but the cf doctor will know what is best for you in tegards to that. From your GYN you should tell him no matter how long it has been you have been trying for over a year. Even in my 30's the doctor was like oh, just go home don't think about it and keep trying if it doesn't work in a year let me know. Thr regular GYN office can draw your husbands blood and test to see if he is a carrier, make sure they do the blood test that tests for over 90 different mutations. And remember even if he is "not" a carrier it is not 100% sure since they can not test for all the mutations out there.

I work in a teaching hospital and the OB/GYN resident says they start to think about looking into fertility treatments after a year under 30 and 6 months over 30 years old. We all know we are not "normal" as far as anatomy and standards go and we know our body better than the doctors. And don't let them make you believe different. I have been with my husband over 7 years and probably due to my thick mucus we never had an oops I am pregnant. And now even with iui it has not happened yet.

You will need to get either a referral or a recommendation for a fertility specialist or fertility endocrinologist to do the iui, intrauterine insemination or ivf Invetro fertilization. Usually iui is the first step since it is less invasive and cheaper, if you are lucky enough for the insurance to cover it. Our insurance does not cover ivf so if this doesn't work I don't know what we will be able to do next. Most probably the reproductive endocrinologist will also do a full blood workup on both you and your husband including your vaccine titters, genetic disorders, and more. I personally had to get another rubella vaccine and wait a month after getting the vaccine before atarting the iui. It was longer and a nightmare trying to find a doctor who had the vaccine. Eventually I jut had to go to public health to get it. I have posted a detailed event on what is entailed in the iui on another post. If you want I can try to find it and copy it or you could probably search on the forums and find it pretty easily it was within the past month or so.

I hope this makes some sense
 
W

welshwitch

Guest
This is an excellent run-down of the process -- thank you! :)
 
T

Tombliboo

Guest
The definition of "normal fertility" is that conception occurs within 12 months of regular, unprotected sex. I have recently been undertaking a research survey of our members (I run a website and Facebook support group for over 400 women with CF who are either mothers or hoping/trying to become parents) and the results showed that out of over 150 pregnancies only around 40% of CF women conceived within 12 months. 26% conceived after a longer period than that and 33% needed fertility treatment. I personally had IUI but some of our members have had IVF too. If you want to contact me I can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/emma.harris.16
 
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