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I'm in the same boat you are, wondering when to intervene. We've only been at it 3m now, but it's after a m/c and I'm afraid of complications from my d&e since we conceived easily before.

Anyway, I think age plays a factor in how long you should wait before you seek intervention, but for me, at almost 34, I'm going to ask at 6 months.

@raspberries: I would mention it to your dr at your annual and see if they suggest that you see a fertility clinic. Or you could call them now and see what they suggest.

I brought it up to my Dr at 6 months of TTC and like you we had everything planned out and used OPKs. We also had a possibility of Male infertility and so my doctor referred us to a clinic. I'm so glad I did. Here I am after 28 months of TTC and waiting on my FET of my IVF cycle. There is clearly something wrong and I went with my gut and asked my Dr. I know others might think 6 months was early but I felt like we had male fertility issue. Turns out it's both of us with a problem. First step was sperm analysis then IUIs and now IVF.

I'm entering our 9th month.

I said something at my annual in October because I was also having a lot of spotting. I scheduled my annual around 6dpo so it'd be the right time to test my progesterone if she decided to do so, and she did. So I've been on progesterone the last two months. At that time, she said we'd follow up in April if nothing had happened (she gave me 3 rounds of progesterone to try in the meantime).

I had another unrelated follow up at the beginning of this month (I have ovarian cysts that they've been monitoring). I asked the doc then (a different doc in the same practice. I prefer his bedside manner, but the one I saw for my annual seems more proactive I don't want to lose contact with her too). He said the cysts shouldn't be affecting things, but that he'd follow up with me in February (one year from my MC) for my regular cyst follow up, but that we could also talk interventions then.

I think the moral of my story is that it never hurts to ask. And if you think one doctor isn't seeing you soon enough (I'm honestly not sure why the one doc picked april), and you're able to ask for a second opinion, it doesn't hurt to ask!

In my head I figured I needed to wait a year since i'm not quite 35, but in reality I think the doctors saw that 34 is close enough, and that it didn't hurt to test for low P since I had charts showing signs of it.

Based on my age, and that we were unsuccessful after a year of trying on our own (monitoring, BBT, everything we could do on our own) we found an RE. My insurance required that it was documented that we had been trying for 1 year before seeking the help of an RE to be able to receive coverage. I'd definitely recommend seeing what your insurance policies are. And also know that even when you are ready to see a doctor, it can still take months to get in and also to go through the testing to find out if anything is wrong. I'm not saying this to sound harsh, just sharing my experience. We decided to see the RE, couldn't get an appt for 1 month. And then when we started it took 2 months to go through testing, and to have a few procedures done based on testing, to be able to start trying to conceive with the help of an RE.

We have been successful with the help of our RE, and sometimes I wish I could have started the process sooner.

@sweetooth: Yup, I agree. Just getting an appt with the RE took a good month then the Sperm Analysis and then the blood tests, ultrasounds and other tests. I did take about 3 months before my IUIs started.

It doesn't hurt to make an appt earlier, or to call the office and ask to talk to the nurse / doctor about your concerns and see if they'll bring you in earlier.

My doctor said that because I'm older, they'll run IF testing earlier than 6 mos - 1yr of trying, so I feel like we wasted almost a year (we're going on 20 months of trying for our 2nd now, and just started testing in Sept).

Give them a call!

I started to look into it 7 months after stopping BC at my annual since I'd only ovulated twice by then. I saw my OB a month or two later, and she wanted to put me on Clomid right away, but I wanted to wait a few natural cycles, which is what we did. By 1 yr later, I gave the Clomid a shot which didnt work and then made an appointment with an RE.

@raspberries: Also, if you don't have a regular appointment coming up and you want to call to ask about being seen earlier, I'd highly suggest calling the nurses line instead of the front desk (especially if your office is anything like mine and the front desk is often swamped).

I've found it a lot easier to get info straight from the doctors when reaching out through the nurses line.

I knew I had an issue because I had super irregular periods, sometimes just months of light spotting before BCP. So after going off BC, I let my gyn know right away that I had concerns about conceiving at age 30. About 8 or 9 months into TTC, my period was crazy weird and OPKs were all over the place, so she gave me a blood workup which showed that I have PCOS. After that I went straight to the RE and ended up starting IF treatment right around the 1-year mark.

I didn't wait for my annual exam with my gyn. Instead, I made an appointment which they called a "family planning consultation" or something like that.

It's a frustrating time. I really hope things work out for you soon!! Big hugs.

First thing check your insurance coverage you might need to switch to better coverage during open enrollment which many companies hold near the end of the year. At age 30 they will probably want you to try for a year before referring you on to an RE. I wouldn't mess with fertility treatment an an OB/GYn even for just Clomid you should really have monitoring done as higher order multiples are a risk and sometimes it thinks your lining and you need a boost and An RE will check that and prescribe something. It does take a while to get started with the RE. It might be worth booking an appointment with one for after your annual. So that you have the appointment ready and don't have to wait long. RE's usually require you to have had an annual exam in the last year anyway.

We were trying for 7ish months before I talked to my obgyn - it was during my annual appt. She ordered blood tests for me and a HSG to check blockage in my tubes. She also did a referral for DH to get a sample done. After our tests came back (borderline low for DH's count) but otherwise normal she referred us to an RE whom we worked with after the year mark of trying. I wasn't mentally ready to jump to an RE right away.
Had my annual appt not have come around the time it did, I would have set up an appt to speak to my Dr. around the 8 month mark of trying so around the point where you are.
I don't think it would hurt to call and set up something - I know every office is different but your doctor may be able to do preliminary tests (egg quality, estrogen levels, DH's count level, etc). FX to you! I know it's hard and incredibly frustrating.

@raspberries: That's awesome that you have a hotline available for that! I hope even if they don't think you need to be set up for appointments right away, at least maybe they can help you come up with a plan for what will be appropriate at what time.

Good luck!

We started TTC in December of 2012 right after I turned 29. I had my annual in September and asked about "next steps" then. She said to come back at the year mark. I then had a chemical pregnancy that cycle, took progesterone for pre-AF spotting for a couple of cycles and went back early February for testing. As all results came back normal and I wasn't sure what my ob/gyn would do, I scheduled a consultation with my RE in early April.

no advice just hugs and support your way

We started looking into additional help after about 7 failed cycles. I'm type A, so we were doing everything right (timing, charting, fertility monitor, etc. and still nothing) and I knew it had to be something else. We started with getting OBs to order some blood tests on me for ovulation and then had them order a semen analysis for DH. From there we decided an RE was our best option and since our insurance didn't cover anything IF-related we weren't forced to wait until a year of trying. We got pregnant our first cycle with our RE using IUI. So happy we sought help! I wish we would have done it sooner.

I wish I had started with the RE much earlier. Instead I took the "just relax and it will happen" path for a couple of years, which resulted in no babies. Especially since you have some coverage, I'd probably get the ball rolling soon if I were you. At least you can get some of the testing out of the way- that generally takes a few months.