Questions Answered by our Experts

Question: Can taking estradiol 2 mg tablets either orally or vaginally increase your cervical mucus production (to be taken on CD 9-13)? I am taking Clomid 100 mg this cycle CD 5-9. Thanks.

Answer: It is important that you assess your personal situation with your doctor as the effects of Clomid on cervical mucus quality and quantity varies from one woman to the other. But it is not unusual to see this type of problem in women taking 100mg/ day of Clomid. For those that need estrogen treatment, it is important to respect the timing that your doctor has recommended ( this varies with the length of your cycle). Taking estrogens too late in the cycle have been shown to have no effect on cervical quality, whereas the taking it at the right time can be very beneficial.

I hope that it helps.

Dr Oriane Chausiaux, Cambridge Temperature Concepts

Question: I have been trying to conceive a baby since last 15 months .... I had all th enecessary tests and it showed tht I have a primary infertility due to lack of developing dominant follicle .... now m using PROLIFEN medicine since last 2 months but still of no success!! ...can u please tell me any further medication or treatment?

Answer: Thank you for your question. I would recommend that you visit your doctor soon to discuss this matter in much more detail, and explain that you wish to concieve. I'm afraid it would be irresponsible for us to give advice about medications and the management of a medical condition over the internet. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a specialist, or give you more extensive advice in person.

Please update us with your progress,

Yours sincerely,

Dr David Naumann MA MB BChir, Cambridge Temperature Concepts.

Answer: As you probably already know, having PCOS affects the natural balance of sex hormones in your body (for example androgens, estrogen and progesterone). Unfortunately this hormonal imbalance affects all the stages of conception, including ovulation and implantation. In other words, getting a positive result with a urine test kit is definitely a good sign, but there is still a possibility that you might not ovulate, and even if you did ovulate the conditions might not be right for conception and implantation. I would recommend that you visit your GP and ask him/her about how you might optimize conditions for conceiving. There are lots of women who are going through the same thing as you, and plenty of specialist treatments which might help you.

However, since every little helps, you may find that DuoFertility is a more reliable and convenient way of detecting ovulation, and might add extra assistance in conceiving. It is about choosing the right method for you, and we believe that ours is superior to the other options available.

Please update us with your progress!

Yours,

Dr David Naumann, Cambridge Temperature Concepts.

Answer: The rise in temperature is caused by the increase in progesterone which occurs after ovulation has taken place. In other words, you ovulate the day before the rise in temperature. The best time to have intercourse is during your fertile window, which starts 4 days before the temperature rise (two days before ovulation) and ends one day after the temperature rise (two days after ovulation). You can find all this information here .

Checking the quality of your cervical mucus is also a good way of assessing the best time to have intercourse. Once your cervical mucus has started to resemble egg white, it is a good time for you to have intercourse. You can find further information about this here.

All the best,

Dr Oriane Chausiaux, Cambridge Temperature Concepts.

Question: If I am to monitor ovulation by basal temperature, I'm not sure how I would do this, as sometimes I am awake in bed for a bit, and my sleeping is not very goo, I suffer with mild insomnia.

Answer: Ideally, you should monitor your body basal temperature by taking your temperature every day at the same time. We usually recommend that you measure your temperature at 5am, after which you can immediately go back to sleep. However, if you find it difficult to do this (which may be the case if you are suffering from insomnia), we suggest that your measure your temperature as soon as you wake up, even if this is at 4am, since your body temperature will rise while you lie awake in bed. Make sure that you also record the time at which you measure your temperature as well as the temperature reading.

All the best,

Dr Oriane Chausiaux, Cambridge Temperature Concepts.

Question: I'll be 32 in July, and we are currently trying for baby number 2 (our son is now 4 1/2, born October 2003). I removed the coil (non-hormonal) in January of this year, after having it in since November 2006. Before that I used the Depo Provera from about the middle of 2004 to September 2006. Before that I was on low dose birth control pills from some months after giving birth up until I started using the Depo Provera. My Gynocologist put me on HRT for 3 months starting in August 2007, to get my period back on track, since the Depo took very long to get out of my system (This was at my request, since my husband and I had already planned that I would take out the coil in January and we'd start trying then, and I wanted to have regular cycles for that) . I did however stop takling the HRT after the 2nd month (with his knowledge) since I had side effects (hair loss). My period did however get back to normal, and as I said I took out the coil this past January. We have been trying to get pregnant since then, using ovulation predictor kits and my fertility signs (cervical mucus, ovulatory pain and so on) to determine when I have an LH surge, and my BBT to determine when I have ovulated. We have sex regularly around the time of ovulation (starting from around 5 or 6 days before, every other day, or every day closer to actual ovulation, as well as right after I have ovulated.

My question is, could the fact that I just took out the coil 5 months ago be one of the reasons why I'm not yet pregnant? Or should I just be patient ;o)?

With our son, it happened right away. I did however stop taking the pill (regular low dose pills) in April 2002, while my husband was away for some months. I took the pill again for the month of September (he was home then and we weren't ready to get pregnant yet). I went off the pill again, and when we met again in January 2003, I got pregnant right away. We were ready, but weren't really even thinking about it, it just happened. I guess I was hoping it would be that quick this time as well. But hopefully with your new product, we'll conceive soon, if it doesn't happen before the trial starts ;o)

Answer: You were very lucky to get pregnant straight away with your first child - getting pregnant usually takes time, and as you can see on the "Statistics Of Conception" page on the DuoFertility website, it is not unusual for couples to have to wait for 6 months or even a year before conceiving successfully. Getting pregnant is very much like rolling dice - it is very unlikely that you will manage to roll a six each time!

As far as we are aware, the coil (especially if it's non-hormonal) does not cause any delay in conceiving. However, in some very rare cases the uterus might be scarred while the coil is being fitted or when it is being removed, and this may reduce the likelihood that the embryo will be successfully implanted. However, this is an extremely rare situation.

We really believe that you are doing all the right things to try to get pregnant - all you need to do is just try a bit longer!

All the best,

Lydia Ferguson, Cambridge Temperature Concepts.

Question: I'm 41 years old, but still ovulate regularly. Is that a good sign for my chances of conception?

Answer: The fact that you are ovulating regularly is a very good sign for your chances of conception. If you look at the numbers here, you can see that women of your age usually have a 5%-20% chance of conceiving each cycle, so there is still a good chance that you will be able to conceive. If you have been trying to conceive but feel that it is taking you too long to get pregnant, your doctor might be able to provide you with some advice. More and more women nowadays are choosing to delay getting pregnant, and so doctors are more accustomed to providing advice of this nature. Between 1990 and 2001, the number of births among women aged 40 to 45 increased by 47%, as a result of changes in the social environment and also medical progress.

All the best,

Dr Oriane Chausiaux, Cambridge Temperature Concepts.