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Infertility

chatoyance

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chatoyance Newbie
chatoyance
Posted

I'm 20 years old and not trying to get pregnant. In fact I'm 99.9% certain I never want to have children. I know a lot of girls my age say this but I am being quite genuine when I say I don't want children, ever. I am wondering if I could be infertile as a result of the 19 years I was unaware I had celiacs. Has anyone been tested or talked to their doctor about infertility from celiacs? Would my doctor be able to test me even though I'm not trying to get pregnant? Is it expensive? I'm mostly interested because I would like to avoid taking the pill if I don't really need to. I don't need it to regulate my period etc... I can see a bunch of people freaking out over this post so I'd like to add that I'm not an idiot, I practice safe sex and understand the risks of not taking the pill. 

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pricklypear1971 Community Regular
pricklypear1971
Posted

There's absolutely zero way (short if tubal ligation/hysterectomy/etc.) to guarantee you are infertile.

The chance that Celiac has permanently impaired your fertility is low. Celiacs do have a high number of fertility issues compared to the general population; however, there have been no studies done. And many of us here have children...so, do the math.

Celiac Mindwarp Community Regular
Celiac Mindwarp
Posted

From what I understand from what you are saying, you WILL need to use contraception. There are things other than the pill.

If a celiac is eating a gluten free diet, they have around an average chance of successfully having children. Eating gluten will not neccessarily stop you getting pregnant. Recurrent miscarriage can be a symptom if celiac is untreated.

FWIW I swore I didn't want children when I was in my 20s but am a very happy Mum now.

Not assuming you are an idiot, just giving the information I have :)

nvsmom Community Regular
nvsmom
Posted

Ditto. There is no guarantee you are infertile due to celiac disease. I had 4 pregnancies after having celiac disease 28 years.... And I became pg veeerrrry easily.

 

The pill can occassionally be trouble for some people who have autoimmune problems (like celiac disease). I don't blame you for wanting to skip it. I never felt my best on the pill and I coincidentally came down with a life threatening clotting disorder within a month of starting the pill when I was 19... Could very well be coincidence but I doubt it, I'm not a big believer in medical coincidences.  LOL Not that it happens for others, but it can happen.

 

Condoms. Keep your purse and bedside table stocked. ;)

 

To be extra safe, you could read the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility which teaches how to chart basal body temperatures, your cervical position, and vaginal discharge so you will know which days you are fertile and which days you are not. It takes a few months to get good at charting so you couldn't trust it right away. You can't be squeamish about checking cervical position or be sporadic about temp or vaginal discharge checking.  Most women have 2 to 8 days of fertility a month, so you would have to be careful to use bc on those days.

 

If you choose to try that book's method, be very very careful. I'm a middle age woman who has it mastered after 10+ years but I am SURE to use bc for almost 2 weeks of the month because we don't want a number 4. We have never had an accident because we choose to be extra careful.

 

Best wishes.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Usually, if infertility is related to Celiac, being gluten free for a period of time will reverse it.  

 

 

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1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I am pretty sure I had celiac symptoms when I was 19.  At about age 25 I became a mother.  I had 5 children by age 44, after which I was infertile for 16 years thus far.

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

I'm 20 years old and not trying to get pregnant. In fact I'm 99.9% certain I never want to have children. I know a lot of girls my age say this but I am being quite genuine when I say I don't want children, ever. I am wondering if I could be infertile as a result of the 19 years I was unaware I had celiacs. Has anyone been tested or talked to their doctor about infertility from celiacs? Would my doctor be able to test me even though I'm not trying to get pregnant? Is it expensive? I'm mostly interested because I would like to avoid taking the pill if I don't really need to. I don't need it to regulate my period etc... I can see a bunch of people freaking out over this post so I'd like to add that I'm not an idiot, I practice safe sex and understand the risks of not taking the pill. 

 

My friend, who has medical issues that even her doctor said meant she almost certainly couldn't get pregnant, now has a lovely, nearly 1-year-old child.

There is NO way to guarantee that you cannot get pregnant without verifying complete shutdown of your ovaries (or the removal of them or tubal ligation).

 

If you don't want to continue taking the pill (and do want to continue having sex), I would strongly encourage you to look into other methods.  Hormones are not your only option.  My husband and I used FAM (fertility awareness method) and condoms for over 10 years before having our daughter.  I have friends who are very happy with an IUD, or with other methods.

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