Coping with Infertility

Lesson 1: Suspecting and Diagnosing Infertility

When To See a Doctor

Deciding when to see a doctor will vary from couple to couple based on several factors.

• Length of time trying
• Age of woman
• What a woman's charts have told her
• Income and savings
• Insurance coverage

There are other, more personal issues that may either prevent or urge a couple to seek out a doctor, but we will not delve into those here. Here we will discuss when you should see a doctor and this will be followed by how to choose a doctor in the next section.

The main reasons that a couple should see a doctor is first if they have not conceived after 12 consecutive months of well timed, unprotected intercourse. Second, if the woman is 35 or older and has not conceived after 6 months of well timed, unprotected intercourse, and third if a woman's charts show that she is not ovulating, has a short luteal phase, is ovulating too late in her cycle, she is not producing sperm friendly CM, or that she is repeatedly miscarrying early.

If a woman is charting her fertility signs, and her chart shows that there is a problem, there is no need to 'wait' to see the doctor. The average couple, however, will conceive within 12 months of trying. One 'odd' chart is not enough to send a couple running to the doctor, but a series of charts showing the same problem deserves medical attention.

Income, savings, and insurance coverage are all intertwined when making the decision to see a doctor about a possible infertility problem. Unfortunately, it costs money to be diagnosed, and the treatments for infertility can cost as much as a small house in some areas. If you are lucky, as you read your insurance policy, you will discover that some, if not all, treatment and testing for infertility will be covered. For most, the best that can be hoped for is to have the initial exam and a prescription or two covered.

If you are not covered by any health insurance, you should expect to pay between $300 and $500 for the initial exam and basic initial testing. It would be best to have $2,000 available for possible treatment options. The reason I say this is because you don't want to find yourself in the position of being diagnosed and then unable to do anything about it for another 6 months to a year.

Once you have a diagnosis you will want to be able to begin treatment as soon as possible. If you are diagnosed, and then wait for 6 months or longer before any treatment can be started, you should be tested again to confirm that the infertility issues have not changed.

No one plans for infertility treatment, but having a small nest egg set aside for all unforeseeable possibilities is something that every couple should do. Also, be well versed in what your insurance covers and does not cover.

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