Hi! I usually lurk and don't post, but here I am out of lurkdom...

I started my period when I was 11 years old. At that very age, my cycles were very consistent and regular until I was 13. At 13 was when I became very ill. My periods were very sporadic. I had surgeries....and they were still very sporadic. What used to be 28-32 day cycles...has turned into 40, then 50, then 75...even up to 100 day cycles.
It seems that overtime, they have just gotten worse.
Many tests have been run and the doctors do not know why I do not ovulate. They have done everything but a lap on me. Doctors are very scared to do any surgeries on me as they are not very familiar with my anatomy.
Is there anything, to do with UC or having a j-pouch, that could cause this problem?
Another problem is that it seems, every year, I am being diagnosed with some kind of auto-immune disease or a disease that they think is auto-immune. Any link there?

Here is an Ultrasound question: Since surgeries, I have a really hard time filling my bladder up enough for the ultrasound. They recommend those 6 glasses of water, and I have them....and I am in a lot of pain...but, yet, my bladder is not even half full? They have suggested I drink more...but I don't think I physically could. Drinking that much water makes me want to be sick. Not only that, when I have a sip of water, I start feeling uncomfortable. I have to know that I can go to the restroom when I need to...and that's usually twice per glass of water. (unless it's the summer and I'm dehydrated) Does anyone else have this problem and any tips or suggestions?
Any advice or expertise would be appreciated.

Please e-mail me if you prefer at missagrrl_1@hotmail.com

Have you had your thyroid tested? Surgeries can often throw the thyroid off...Don't just have the TSH done (which is what most drs do) but have your T3, T4 and antibodies tested too. Also, have you seen a reproductive endocrinologist? They may be able to assess if other things about your history might have created the issues.

As for the water drinking, I have the opposite problem...my bladder fills very quickly now. However, I often find it hard to drink the amount of fluid I need just to stay hydrated. Do you try to eat a little something while drinking? I find I can usually drink more if I have a little food to help "hold down" the liquids.

Finally, they should be able to find a way to work around this issue - I had some tests where I couldn't do what they "ideally" wanted, but they were able to make things work. Maybe they could do a transvaginal ultrasound (where you don't need water) and get a similar view? I know they prefer to be able to do both, but...

On a tangent...my good friend who has no health issues and never had surgery found out through fertility testing that she does not ovulate. She was in the process of doing fertility treatments and had completed 3 IUI cycles with injectible fertility drugs when she and her husband took a month off to prepare for IVF. During that month she borrowed my ovulation monitor "for fun" (she's a research scientist) and low and behold, she ovulated! Luckily her hubby was in town that week (he travels a lot) and 9 months later she had a baby boy. The drs think the injected drugs kick started her body to do what it should have been doing on its own.

I Have been seeing an RE for quite a while now. She is the one that determined that I do not ovulate. I did have all the bloodwork done and have been checked for PCOS, I've had an HSG.
As for my ultrasound. The only way that the tech could see my right ovary was through regular Ultrasound, as with the trans-vag, could not see it at all.