TTC #1, cycle 13 and fed up! Whose with me?

I think she told him he can take Wellman as well as impryl, it’s not such an all round supplement to my understanding and more about antioxidants specifically. I found this post where this guy used both too www.mumsnet.com/Talk/infertility/3885333-Addressing-Male-Fertility-Issues-specifically-poor-motility-and-DNA-fragmentation

Did your DH not like it because it’s a sachet? I think impryl is a tablet and not sachets so mine should stick to it but I have just realised it won’t be vegetarian which is annoying, so he won’t be happy about that. Hopefully it will work and he can stop after a few months. Women can take it too apparently but I’m just going to stick to the ones I’m already taking + the ubiquinol. Already taking açai for antiboxidant purposes which I read about in a book.

I forgot to say earlier, sorry your appointment was delayed @Juno231 and hopefully they’ll stick to the next one.

@thislittlebird def both take ubiquinol. I'm sure impryl probably has it in anyway. I know wellman conception did. Can't remember about the proxceed but I'm sure it has it in it too. I was getting Dh to take more of it as it's meant to be so good but I couldn't get him to keep it up. He is taking vit D though which is just all round a good supplement, esp in winter!
@Juno231 ah that's something then! Sounds bloody painful, glad you survived it! So will the hycosy get booked in after your call on the 11th?
@Theawkwardblonde definitely one to consider knocking on the head if he has bad sperm!

I asked my husband and he said he wasn’t using protein shakes this summer but I’m glad I know in case he gets any ideas about using them again. I’d already stopped shakes some time ago because of the high Vitamin A content.

Just spent £120 on vitamins ugh, they’re so expensive but it’s better for us to start on them all now. On the plus side I managed to find vegan ubiquinol from a U.K. company which was good, most of them are gelatin capsules and DH is veggie. Also got some for myself because I’d rather get some good eggs the first time we do this if we get that far, and if we don’t maybe it’ll help us conceive naturally. He’s hunting for his impryl as we speak.

Doctor told husband he’d refer us and then asked to speak to me. Spoke to me and then said “oh yeah we still need your bloods redone” (!!!!!)

Yes, yes, I know this, I’m going on Friday ugh.

@thislittlebird with protein shakes I think it's due to them often being soy based and that can mess with testosterone production (due to oestrogen dominance I think?). Swimmers take 3 months to produce from start to finish though so if he hasn't been drinking protein shakes since the summer I'm sure you're fine.

@notyetamumbuttrying inconclusive but their guess was a too tight urethra. Ironically doing the cystoscopy (ie putting a camera up the urethra) damages/loosens the urethra so the procedure itself seems to have sorted me out and it got a lot better after that. Combined with a 6 month course of antibiotics lol.

Ugh so many typos from me today, what a start

I was trying to add in a hi to @Juno231 and managed to hit post instead, a good start to the morning but the rest makes sense.

Hi @junoI’m wondering if they’ll let me go ahead for assisted without a hycosy. I certainly don’t want one and I’m a very anxious patient so not convinced it we go very well.

@notyetamumbuttrying he doesn’t have baths very often as is and lockdown means no saunas etc for us but it would only be something he would have done 1-2 times per year anyway normally. Does anyone hear know the protein shake issue with men’s sperm? He did have them at one time and I’m wondering now if he was drinking them in the summer. I’ll have to look it up.

I don’t know the difference between proxeed and impryl but she recommended impryl so we thought we’d start with that. I guess I should investigate ubiquinol for him too and maybe both of us rather than get to the point of needing IVF a few months from now and having to start taking it after that.

@thislittlebird hmm just the usual lifestyle things, no hot baths, saunas (which he doesn't do anyway), no protein shakes (which he doesn't use), take proxceed plus, eat well etc, don't smoke or drink! Yeah ask and let me know as it's not been recommended to me before. Although I've been thinking I could do with a laparoscopy to check for endo as been having a look at the symptoms and I get a fair few...painful periods, pain after sex.
@Juno231 oh hey 👋🏾 didn't know you lurked on here! Ah well there you go mate, I learnt that off another lady that I speak to. What was the outcome of your investigations then?

Hi ladies, I probably haven't written on here before but have been lurking since the start I reckon. TTC#1, cycle 14. Been referred for a fertility assessment with the NHS which should have taken place today but got rescheduled only an hour before the appointment. Hopefully will have it on the 11th of Feb now instead.

@notyetamumbuttrying omg I don't know why but I never thought about why some people might have blocked tubes/scarring... guess who's had chronic UTI for 3 years and even had to have a urology investigation and cystoscopy done waves

All the more reason to have that hycosy scheduled in for me I guess...

@notyetamumbuttrying good that you did push because they seem to want to claim every result is “fine”

Did the urologist give him any useful advice?

Hmmm hasn’t thought about it that way. I just sort of assumed I’d have to have one, I’ve never had those things either, is that what blocks tubes normally?

I’m already registered so I should be able to ask them via email I guess? Will try tomorrow

@Theawkwardblonde I agree with you about counselling. I had EMDR for anxiety which was great, as it really honed in on specifics and felt like a solution. Before EMDR I had counselling, but felt like I was just talking without a resolution. Though that could have been down to the counsellor!

@thislittlebird very frustrating! They just said it could happen naturally for us, I was like how when all the parameters are below par?! I had to insist on the referral! Luckily he was referred to urology as well and the urologist was great! Far more practical in the referring us for ivf with icsi. It's just a shame the nhs wait times are just so long at guys hospital!
Not had a hycosy, don't think I'll get one as we know it's Dh with the issue. I've never had an Sti or UTI or been pregnant before so there's no reason to suspect my tubes are blocked.
Register with care and they'll send you the price list, it's pricey but their live birth stats are really good so at least you should get the end result that we all want!

@notyetamumbuttrying Yeah the blasé reactions are frustrating. whoever did his SA put “normal” and it clearly wasn’t quite normal. I’m glad we know though, rather than keep trying naturally without luck.

My day 21 tests are a mess, can’t hit the right day and the doc today told me to do it Friday. Once I’ve got this set of results the GP will refer us/me. But it feels like I’ve been waiting for these tests to be redone forever, my messed up period in December delayed everything further. Once I know how long the wait is I can decide whether to go to CARE or nhs for hycosy. Have you had yours? I’m a bit nervous about that one.

I’m kinda excited having seen you share that CARE post. I’d been interested in packages at other places but didn’t think I’d be eligible. I possibly won’t be still because of my age but I’m still keen to see what they’re going to offer.

@thislittlebird so interesting! Our drs were so blasé with his results even tho they were pretty shocking!!
Ooh good to know they were good! Yeah I'm using them and will have my afc scan on the 8th. I reckon I'll be short protocol too as my ovulation was 60 when they did the day 21 bloods. I would imagine there's some correlation there.
So when will you hear from the nhs again about hycosy etc?

@notyetamumbuttrying He was 14% but with a 180mil count but this doctor still thought this was an issue and told him to get on the supplements and retest.

I think we would likely both be at the same hospital if I was as far along the nhs route. That’s so long, I just don’t have time for that when I’m already 37 going on 38. I would kind of like the nhs to do my hycosy though but again, if the wait is too long I’ll pay for it.

I’m glad it’s fast, are you using CARE too? I know it was you that mentioned them to me before. If so they were really good when I went for the AFC scan. They said I’d have to be on short protocol if we go ahead in the spring because of my high follicle count.

@thislittlebird having a plan is half the battle isn't it! Glad you have one in place now. Was his motility 14%? I know someone had the same as my Dh but his count and morphology was also low!

So we have a plan in place too now. Not sure if I updated this chain but the nhs hospital I'm with has crazy wait times now, like 9-14 months to even start treatment 😱 so I contacted a private clinic today and I'm booked in for an antral follicle scan on the 8th March and a consultation on the 10th. So we'll still have our nhs appointment on the 22nd feb to get my amh checked and his repeat SA done, and the private clinic will take those results! If they put me on a short protocol we could be starting as soon as the 29th March when my March/April period is due! 😃

Thanks @Theawkwardblonde @notyetamumbuttrying!

Appointment was pretty positive and it was good to speak to a doctor on video rather than just a phone call with my GP. My AMH was 36 so that’s in line with my high follicle count. They’re happy with the womb lining and said I could be mildly PCO(S) when I raised it but didn’t seem very worried by that.

She was a little more concerned by my DH as said his SA wasn’t great and he needs to redo it. Going to arrange that this week but they said we might need help if it doesn’t improve because natural is not great odds with his motility. He was recommended to take Impryl we will get the SA redone and carry on trying for a couple or few more months naturally for now and then go from there. Maybe I’ll decide to speed it up further if I get bored after another month of this or when I see some more iffy SA results. The overall picture wasn’t awful though, it was ok so that’s good. But we have a plan at least and a chance to save some more money before we head down the assisted route.

You aren’t alone @Rosie189, it’s really, really hard and people don’t understand the struggle. If you feel you want some help definitely look into a therapist of some kind like @CurbsideProphet suggested. Our IVF clinic offers counselling which I will take up once we start the process if I feel the need but will wait until it gets a bit more real first.

@Rosie189 I'm really sorry you're struggling 💐💐 If it's any consolation at all I'm feeling the same and so is my DH. We can access counselling through the IVF service so we will likely do that once we know what's happening timeline wise (unsure if it will help tbh but I'll try). Do you have a helpful GP you could talk to? I know there is self referral IAPT for talking therapies , but the wait might be long. Would you consider private talking therapy?

I don't think people understand what a complete drain and misery it is to be ttc without success and to know there is an issue. Plus to be trying to carry on with work, keeping up with normal life and necessary chores, and managing this worrying way we're all living with covid...
I keep reminding myself that this is a horrible situation, so it's actually normal to feel like I'm struggling.

We're in limbo right now. The clinic told me last week that the hospital will only let them treat 15 NHS patients per month. They can safely treat 30. The wait list is building, so we're looking at treatment in May. The clinic asked me to complain to PALS, as that's the only way to challenge the hospital and start treatment sooner. They think I have a good chance of winning. They want everyone to complain to PALS, but doesn't sound like many other patients are doing so.
I sent my email on Friday and PALS did acknowledge it.
It's exhausting. I've signed myself off work for 7 days as I can't deal with other people's emotions on the phone while I'm also dealing with this. I should get a decision this week 😬🤞🏻

@Theawkwardblonde I really hope my appointment is soon too! Glad it’s not too long a wait for you.

I’ve been struggling a lot recently. I’ve not been in a great place mentally with everything. Feeling pretty low and frequently quite tearful. Wondering about maybe looking into some counselling. Think I need something to help me deal with it. Has anyone else needed/done similar?

@thislittlebird so pleased you had a good experience that's great! All sounds positive 👍🏾
Yeah get him a new one! They should have one every 3 months to check improvement. We're month 4 since his last one so it'll be 5 months before he gets a second one. I want to see marked improvement or else 😅
@Rosie189 glad things are moving forward for you too

Ok I had a really good experience today with the private tests and the nurse was lovely. Really relieved it wasn’t bad and reassured I guess. Still need to speak to the consultant on Monday so fingers crossed they won’t ruin my positivity but so far it’s good, I have 11 follicles on the right and 17 on the left, womb looks good, and a little fibroid that they’re not worried about. I just said this on another thread I’m on but perimenopause is one of my big worries because my mother claims hers was early so it’s good to know that doesn’t look too likely. They said AMH should line up with follicle count roughly. Hopefully it be a good talk with the doctor on Monday too.

Thanks for the good luck wishes @notyetamumbuttrying, and I think I’m going to get him a new semen analysis booked in. See what that says.

Hope you get more info on your referral soon @Rosie189

Just spoken to my dr and getting a referral to gynaecologist then from there we would get referred to fertility department no idea how long waiting times will be though.