My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

Infertility

If i'm ovulating why am i not getting pregnant ?

52 replies

erilou38 · 16/11/2013 12:10

Been trying to conceive for 15. Already have children from a previous relationship whom i conceived in the first month of trying. My youngest is 7. I had her when i was 31 and conceived her within a few days of coming off the mini-pill. In those days i was super fertile it seemed...friends used to joke at how easily i got pregnant. Not so easy now though sadly. I'm 38 and terrified that age has caught up with me. Then there are women who conceive easily well into their 40s. I always assumed i was one of them...how wrong i was. My husband has no kids of his own so i am frantic to give him a child. Iv'e had lots of blood tests over the past year and on one occasion my FSH was elevated to a huge 20 on cycle day 3! This is very worrying as it indicates low egg supply. My most recent FSH was 11.2 which the infertility nurse said was 'reasonable'. She said there is no reason why i shouldn't be able to get pregnant, it may just take longer due to fluctuating hormones. Anyway, iv'e has several day 21 blood tests which have always shown that i am not ovulating as the progesterone level has been low. Nobody thought to repeat a day 28 test until a couple of weeks ago when one of the lady doctors at my surgery suggested it. I thought, as usual that it would show no ovulation but when i phoned for the results 3 days ago, to my surprise i had ovulated this cycle! My progesterone was at a good level. That gave me a small glimmer of hope. I'm now on day 33 of my cycle and still no period. As i must have ovulated late i expect it will arrive sometime next week. I was pleased to know that i am ovulating - why then am i not conceiving, after being so fertile in the past ? I obviously still have eggs in my ovaries but why are they not fertilising ? Are there too few, or maybe they are of a poor quality ? I skould be getting prescribed Clomid at my next clinic appointment in 2 weeks time but will Clomid help me get pregnant if i am ovulating anyway ? I'm getting desperate, there is no way i could ever afford IVF and as i already have children the NHS won't let me have IVF treatment. I just don't get it - how can a previously, highly fertile woman just loose the ability to fall pregnant in just a few short years. It's just so depressing thinking that my fertile years are most likely well and truly behind me.

OP posts:
Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 12:10

Sorry, meant to say i have been trying to conceive for 15 months.

OP posts:
Report
SeaWave · 16/11/2013 12:14

Has your DH has a semen sample done?

Report
j200 · 16/11/2013 12:15

Has your husband had a semen analysis? It could be that rather than you if you are ovulating?

Report
j200 · 16/11/2013 12:16

Haha great minds Smile

Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 17:00

My husband had his sperm tested months ago and the problem doesn't lie with him as his results were fine.

OP posts:
Report
Helspopje · 16/11/2013 17:02

err - if you are actively TTC, you ovulated this month and your period is late, do you not need to POAS?

Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 17:15

I just took a pregnancy test 15 minutes ago and have just looked and it's negative...yet another BFN, i'm so pissed off with seeing them. Suppose it's possible iv'e tested too early but i have no idea when my period is due. Roughly next week sometime i'm guessing.

OP posts:
Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 17:16

I don't feel even remotely pregnant, i have no nausea or any of the usual symptoms. With my other kids i always had pregnancy symptoms very early on.

OP posts:
Report
FrankelInFoal · 16/11/2013 17:20

If you are ovulating then there is no point in taking Clomid as the whole purpose of it is to make you ovulate.

It rounds like your cycles are irregular - how much do they vary by?

It might be an obvious thing to say but are you having enough sex? If it turns out you are ovulating later in your cycle you may be missing the window of opportunity.

Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 17:34

My cycles are irregular and have been for the past 2 years. I always used to be regular as clockwork, every 28 days. Iv'e had a couple of short cycles, one 20 days and another 21. Mostly though, my cycles are longer, they range from anywhere between 35 and 42 days and my periods are lighter and shorter than they were before. A scan a few months ago revealed that i had one or two cysts that could be causing the irregularity. I'm 38 and the told told me a few weeks ago that it is possible i could be going through perimenopause. Why then am i ovulating i wonder. I have been reading up on perimenopause and my symptoms sound identical although i hope to god that it isn't that. So wanted to see a positive pregnancy test! Not really sure when i ovulated this cycle, somewhere between days 21 and 28 i guess. I do recall having sex once or twice around that time. Generally me and hubby have sex 2 or 3 times a week.

OP posts:
Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 17:36

Wouldn't Clomid boost ovulation in some way though ? Would it not make me produce more eggs thus giving me more of a chance of fertilization ?

OP posts:
Report
fannyfireworks · 16/11/2013 17:38

Sometimes just bad luck. Same for my sister and six years later they got preg with ivf. Wishing you the very best of luck xx

Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 17:44

Thank you. That's good news about your sister but sadly IVF is not an option for me unless i win the Lottery! x

OP posts:
Report
FrankelInFoal · 16/11/2013 18:20

No Clomid will not produce more eggs, the dosage is too small to overstimulate the ovaries. I did 5 cycles of Clomid as I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome - the cysts disrupt the normal hormone levels and prevent ovulation from happening - but it failed to work for me.

I ended up moving on to Ovulation Induction, which is similar to IVF in that you inject yourself with the hormones, but it is a lower dosage. Also they don't retrieve your eggs, you are scanned on a regular basis and then told to ho away and have sex! It finally worked for me on the 3rd attempt and I'm currently almost 25wks with my first.

Report
j200 · 16/11/2013 18:37

Frank did you have ovulation induction on the NHS? Do you remember what drugs your injections were? Congratulations Smile

Report
FrankelInFoal · 16/11/2013 18:46

j200, yes my treatment was NHS funded. They said I could have up to 6 rounds of OI before being moved on to IVF.

I injected Menopur on a daily basis for about 10-12 days ( depending on scan results). The dosage varied every cycle depending on my blood results (taken on day 4) and then I took an HCG trigger (Ovitrelle) when I had a ripe follicle ready for ovulation.

I think treatment varies from NHS Authority to Authority, but I fall under Cambridgeshire and was treated at their new(ish) specially built clinic.

Report
FrankelInFoal · 16/11/2013 18:46

Oh and thank you Grin

Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 19:34

Congratulations Frank! Wish i could have funded NHS treatment but as i already have children i don't qualify. I'm in Norfolk.

OP posts:
Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 19:36

The only thing i can have is the Clomid but that's it. As you say, there is no point in me being given Clomid now anyway as it's been established i'm ovulating. Not sure where i go from here now. Guess i just have to hope for a miracle.

OP posts:
Report
MrsCakesPremonition · 16/11/2013 19:37

I remember Robert Winston saying something on TV about his first advice to couples struggling to conceive is to have more sex. It sounds like a throw away comment, but it might be worth considering.
Good luck - TTC for extended periods of time is horrifically stressful, so be kind to yourself.

Report
FrankelInFoal · 16/11/2013 19:38

Have they explicitly said you can't get any treatment, or just not IVF? If your consultant thinks it could work for you, OI is a fraction of the cost of IVF, about £800 per cycle as opposed to £3,000 per cycle at my clinic.

Cost breakdown at my clinic

Report
erilou38 · 16/11/2013 19:52

The nurse at the infertility clinic said i was definately not entitled to funded IVF. She didn't mention anything else, just said i would be offered Clomid as long as my FSH level on cycle day 3 didn't go above 15. It was 11.2 on day 3 of this cycle which is too high for my liking and indicated possible low egg supply. I just wish i had age on my side. I could possibly afford OI. What is OI ?

OP posts:
Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

erilou38 · 16/11/2013 19:57

It's getting to the point where i don't feel like having much sex anymore as i know that it won't result in pregnancy. With my ex, it seemed like i only had to do the deed once and hey presto i was pregnant! Very strange as i was once so fertile. I'm beginning to wonder if my husband's sperm and my eggs are just not compatible, or maybe my vaginal mucus is killing any sperm. I know how ridiculous that sounds but maybe ther is something in my theory.

OP posts:
Report
FrankelInFoal · 16/11/2013 20:01

Age will be a factor unfortunately, but it's not the be all and end all - I started TTC aged 29 so you can have problems at any age.

This explains OI

Report
Mandy21 · 16/11/2013 20:02

I think things can change in a relatively short period of time unfortunately and I think egg quality certainly diminishes as you get older - you may be releasing an egg but it may not be good enough / viable by the time of fertilisation / implantation. BUT it only takes one egg that is good enough!

I agree with the pp that you need to pinpoint ovulation abit better, if you only had sex 1-2 times in the week of ovukation, you could probably do with increasing that.

It took me about twice as long to conceive 2nd time around, but my friend went through years of infertility treatment to have her 1st then fell pregnsnt the first month 2nd time around. There is no rhyme or reason to it unfortunately. But I think its just a question of being slightly more patient 2nd time. Good luck.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.