Tests For Infertility - Go With Ultrasound First

Both women and men have deteriorating fertility with age, but one of the signs of infertility is not getting pregnant after a full year of a couple trying.

Several reasons for women’s diminished fertility with advancing age include a reduced health of their eggs and a reduced ability of their ovaries to release them. There’s also an increased risk of fertility-reducing health issues and miscarriage risks with age.

In her twenties is when a woman’s fertility is highest with a steadily increasing difficulty in conceiving into her thirties - as her ovaries stop making eggs at the rate they once did. The risk of miscarriage generally doesn’t become an issue until she reaches at least thirty-six. Drinking and smoking increases the level of infertility in all women. Today, aging is the most common fertility problem as women are choosing to have their first child at 35 or older.

Infertility is categorized as Primary or Secondary: Primary is when a woman can’t get pregnant after a year of trying and Secondary Infertility is when she can’t after a year of trying - but she had already become pregnant in some year past.

Infertility issues plague both men and women equally, according to some experts, while others say women comprise sixty percent. Statistics show that ten percent of actively trying couples have trouble conceiving, with four of five conceiving within a year. A “normal” amount of time to conceive is considered to be up to two years.

Often, couples must each submit to thorough physical examinations to determine their fertility factors. There is a general misunderstanding by many couples that it’s only the female who could possibly have the fertility issue. Males, however, account for a large percentage, which is why it’s important that they get a medical exam as well.

The first tests normally done by a fertility specialist are for a woman’s levels of FSH and her LH. (These abbreviations stand for Follicle Stimulating Hormone and Luteinizing Hormone.) These tests are usually done on a woman’s first and her third visits to her doctor. It should be noted that the tests for these two hormones - Luteinzing Hormone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone - can be done on the male partner, as well. LH and FSH are both important for male fertility too.

Some of the other tests routinely done (female) include ultrasound tests, a cervical mucus test, and additional hormone testing. A post-intercourse test that’s not done as much today, the cervical mucus test looks for active sperm from a sampling of the vaginal mucus. Two to eight hours following intercourse, the female is examined by the fertility specialist. Sometimes a bacterial test is done at the same time.

A pelvic ultrasound test will take from 20 to 30 minutes, and is a great way for a doctor to assess the overall condition of the female’s uterus and ovaries, and the follicle development on the ovaries. It is also used to see if an egg has been released from an ovary.

The reproductive endocrinologist has many other hormone tests that he or she has available to them. The main ones are tests for prolactin, free T3, free testosterone, total testosterone, progesterone, estradiol, DHEAS, and androstenedione.

Infertility can make couples go to great lengths to fix any problems in order to conceive. And the treatments can get very expensive, especially considering that most treatments for infertility are not covered by any insurance. Hopefully, any problems can be remedied with prescription drug therapy, such as taking metformin and clomiphene for PCOS infertility. (PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome).

Failure to ovulate can be treated by clomiphene, with the next level of treatment being hormone therapy. One of the more undesirable side-effects of hormone therapy is the increased likelihood of having 3 or 4 babies all at once.

One of the most expensive and emotionally taxing (as well as physically taxing) fertility treatments is in vitro fertilization (IVF). Regular blood tests, daily hormone injections and frequent monitoring by the doctor is what this treatment requires of you. Nevertheless, it works one out of three times, but out of this 33.33%, one-third of these (33.33% also) will have twins. It should be noted that acupuncture by trained personnel is shown to raise the success rate of IVF.

Janet has been publishing helpful articles on fertility and pregnancy for years. Discover more about PCOS and infertility and ways to monitor fertility with innovative solutions such as the Clearblue Fertility Monitor and other methods on the website.

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