I found this... I am not sure if this is helpful - I would def ask your dr all of your questions...
Why Am I Not Ovulating?
What Happens When a Woman Doesn't Ovulate and How Is It Treated?
By Amos Grunebaum, MD
We are trying to get pregnant but my cycles are very irregular and last between 30 and 60 days. I have done a basal body temperature curve and it shows that I'm not ovulating. Why am I not ovulating?
Aug. 20, 2001 -- As you know, if you're not ovulating, you can't get pregnant on your own. If you haven't seen an ob-gyn or a fertility specialist yet, you should make an appointment with one. Your doctor will run tests to find out whether you're ovulating and, if you're not, why.
Ovulation, discharge of a mature egg from the ovary, is a normal part of the reproductive cycle. It usually starts when a young woman is around 12 to 14 years old, around the first menstrual period. Ovulation stops with menopause, which generally occurs between ages 45 and 55. "Anovulation" is the term doctors use when a woman isn't ovulating.
About 15% of all couples can't get pregnant after a year of trying. In about 50% of couples, the problem is with the woman's fertility, and anovulation is the No. 1 cause, followed by fallopian tube problems. The good news is that anovulation is treatable in the vast majority of cases.
Signs of anovulation usually include amenorrhea (irregular menstrual periods or no periods) and/or abnormal bleeding called dysfunctional uterine bleeding. If your menstrual cycle runs between 21 and 35 days, you're probably ovulating regularly.
Although sometimes no specific cause can be found for anovulation, it can occur for the following reasons:
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS): PCOS, which may be the No. 1 reason for anovulation, is caused by a number of hormonal imbalance factors. PCOS can cause a variety of adverse health consequences in addition to anovulation.
Central nervous system failure: Hypothalamic anovulation accounts for a large number of cases. What happens is that a part of the brain normally responsible for inducing ovulation fails to produce enough hormones or produce the hormones regularly. Among the causes of this failure are:
Extreme stress
Excessive physical exercise
Excess weight
Overeating
Travel
Low thyroid hormone level
Aftereffects of using certain drugs such as oral contraceptives or Depo-Provera
Hyperprolactinemia: This is an overproduction of the hormone prolactin by the pituitary gland. Several things may cause hyperprolactinemia, such as pituitary tumors or certain drugs, but it's also a side effect of pregnancy and normal lactation (milk production).
Primary ovarian failure (POF): Also known as premature menopause, POF means that the egg-containing follicles in the ovaries are no longer functioning. POF is a factor in only a small number -- up to 10% -- of anovulation cases in women under age 40.
Once you've found out why you may not be ovulating -- if a cause can be found -- your doctor can help you choose the correct treatment. Fortunately, most cases of anovulation are easily treated. Ovulation usually can be induced with medication such as clomiphene citrate, which is successful about 85% of the time.
Amos Grunebaum is a practicing obstetrician and gynecologist in New York specializing in high-risk pregnancies
© 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.
hope this works for you
