What else can I do?

[winkle2]

It's CD1 again. 13th month of trying.

Seriously don't know what's left to try. I've tried not trying, trying, SMEP, opks, eod, CBFM, epo, grapefruit juice, I've added fertility friendly foods to my diet, I've tried folic acid, santagen mum to be, I'm on pregnacare, hubbys on the wellman conception and takes vit c and zinc... I've even tried relaxing and going on holiday... NOTHING IS WORKING.

Drink more water, check your vit D levels and supplement if necessary. Get DH to drink more water as well. Your fluids both need to be very fluidy, iyswim. :)
I don't recognise all your acronyms up there - I presume one of them includes checking your cervical mucus? If not, try that too.

Good luck, I know it's bloody frustrating.

How can I check my vitamin D levels?

I take pregnacare so thought that covered everything?

I don't check my cm - I don't really get loads I dont think, well I don't have anything to compare it to!!

Oh also to add to that list I've tried conceive plus...

winkle if you are having regular sex then I can't see the benefit to checking cm. I don't get much either, not that i go digging around for it...

Try not to blame yourself. It's not something you're not doing. Just keep being healthy and having sex at the right time.

I assume that you are in the process of getting testing starting for yourself (i saw on your other thread that your dh has been tested). As that may give you an answer as to the lack of conception.

Cd1 is the worst (although i hate the couple of days of spotting i get beforehand perhaps more, as i always think what if it's implantation bleeding...). It just totally sucks, doesn't it
x

no, I've been taking Pregnacare regularly for over 5y. Still didn't keep my vit D levels up. Doctor should be able to check it for you.

You must get something in your knickers on a roughly daily basis, no? If not, then you almost certainly need more water in your diet! Have you seen this? I'd link you to the Ovulation Method book but according to Amazon it's currently selling for £125!!!

Oh, and the benefit for me for checking CM was to discover that I had a longer-than-expected post-ovulation phase. In a 26d cycle, I could have expected to ovulate on day 12; but I was actually ovulating on about day 9 or 10. I know you could probably find that out from OPKs as well; but this way is free :)

I was ttc for 9 months got pregnant the first month I used soy isoflavones they work like clomid I had no problems ovulating but they made line on opk darker than ever ( google soy isoflavones ttc) . Also preseed and one baby (75 mg) aspirin a day it improves blood flow to uterus. Good luck xx

Hi winkle , do could do a search on Duofertility. It's a monitor you wear that checks your temp continually to accurately pinpoint ovulation. It is very expensive but there is a moneyback guarantee, if you're not pregnant in 12 mths you get a full refund.
However if you are dtd eod you should hit ovulation time anyway and ,as I found out ,when I miscarried the guarantee was then invalid as I had actually conceived while using it .
You do have the services of a team of fertility experts who you can contact by phone or email for general fertility advice.
In my case I don't think it actually helped me conceive as I ovulated on d14 and would have dtd around then anyway but if ovulation is irregular it could be useful .My chart indicated I was pregnant when my temp remained high and I had an email from the team suggesting I poas to check, you can also be very accurate with pregnancy dating.
Since I have it anyway I have started wearing my monitor again after my last miscarriage as I should at least me able to tell when I ovulate and when my cycle is coming back to normal.
Good luck

thumbwitch can I ask what extra vit D supplement you took on top of pregnacare when you discovered you were deficient?
Even though I've had a MC in March at 10-11wks, one in June at 6 wks and one a few weeks ago at 12wks(though baby died at 8w6d) my GP has said I'm ineligible for any testing because I'm 44 and we have three children already. I've just been told to take baby aspirin and try again after next AF.

Irishmammy - I'm in Australia and currently vit D testing is the Big Thing here - when I was first tested, after my 3rd MC, I had a level of 72, when the bottom of the normal range was 75. My doc prescribed 10000 IU to be taken fortnightly. But then I got pg again, got tested again and it was up to 99. Yay! However, since then (I'm currently 36w) it has dropped again, to 63, which is a bit risky in pg. So now I'm on an extra 1000 IU daily. It is in pregnacare (which I bring over from the UK just because I'm used to it), it is in the fish oils I take (mumomega, also brought over from the UK) and I regularly eat oily fish - but still it was low.

Vit D testing doesn't have to be done for infertility, it can be done for general health purposes, as it's becoming clearer that an awful lot of people have insufficient vit D levels, and it's linked to various cancers, Alzheimer;s, possibly MS, as well as infertility and MC. You might have to pay for it - it shouldn't be expensive - but once you know, you can buy the smaller supplements OTC/in a health food shop, but make sure you buy it as vit D3.

You could also ask to be tested for various causes of thrombophilia, including anti-phospholipid antibodies - I have Factor V Leiden, which is genetic - but APA isn't and it can be a cause of MC. I am 45 now, and (again, this is Australia) I was able to be tested for various things, but then I suppose I only had DS before.

Could you afford to pay for the tests privately?

keepitgoing ? I have had my bloods taken and all fine apart from my red blood cell count which is low, so I've been trying to incorporate more iron into my diet. I've also had the all clear from a pelvic scan. My husband's sperm analysis came back as 1% morphology. Even though the doctor said that shouldn't affect fertility, we have decided to both stop drinking alcohol from today to see if it helps the morphology.

thumb ? my hub and I drink a lot of water but I'll make a concious effort to drink more. As for CM checking, we DTD regularly throughout month so never sure what's egg white and whats leftover sperm! but I'll start to make a record of it from this month as best I can and see if that helps. I have used OPKs and I have the claerblue fertility monitor so I know I'm oving. I have got in touch with the docs and will ask them for that vitamin D test. I've also been reading about ph levels so will get that tested too.

Matildarae ? thanks for the tip, I have been reading about soy and am planning on taking it this month.

irishmammy ? I have used opks and I use the clearblue fertility monitor for ovulation so i know I'm oving plus I've had bloods taken.

I just feel so exasperated! This month I did the thing that everyone says worked (or you hear stories about): ''they were trying for ages, stopped thinking about it, went on holiday and BAM it happened!' ? well not for me it didn't :(

If I can't get pregnant when I'm relaxed and holiday when will I?

I feel your pain winkle2 it's been ten months of ttc for me and am running out of things to try! I have PCOS though so am doing a PCOS diet and exercise as that's meant to help you ovulate if you aren't.

Quick question on soy isoflavones - I've been avoiding soy as I heard it decreased fertility and then googled after seeing this and saw a site which said some think it helps you ovulate (natural clomid) but there is other evidence soy decreases fertility - confusing! Maybe I should give it a try though?

Hi winkle. Sorry it's been so tough for you. As a long term TTCer, I do understand.

Have they given you a HSG to check your tubes are ok?

winkle I feel your pain - we're ttc #2 for 9 months now. Our DS also took a while (pg first month trying which ended in mmc at 11wks and then took a further 7 months to get pg again).

When we were ttc #1 DH's SA also showed poor morph (though count and volume were okay). Sadly I think that's probably what's keeping you from conceiving. You might want to look into pycnogenol or pine bark extract. It's a super antioxidant and is meant to be good for male fertility. I ordered some for DH and he did start taking it but I don't think it would've had time to be helpful as I did get pg that month. There's a good website called fertilityzone.co.uk which has a really good Male Factor section with great advice about optimizing sperm counts and quality. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I'm on cycle 14 without even a sniff of a BFP here.
I feel your pain. I think the frustration is that with anything else in life if you do all that is required correctly you should achieve the result. With ttcing it's just not the case.

Have you been to the doctors etc?

Faith - I haven't had my tubes checked, I guess that's the next stage. Got an appt with the docs next Thurs to talk about what happens next.

Thanks lastbox, I will def check out that website. I've heard about pine bark.

Pip - we've had sperm analysis done and Ive had bloods taken and had the pelvic scan done.

Pip have you had tests done?

It's definitely something they should be checking with routine investigations - are you under gynae or fertility specialists?

Well, Winkle I had a dodgy smear result about a year ago and had a scan done to check that out, it was all clear BTW, so this meant that I was slightly ahead of the game. It showed that I had a small fibroid, and no sign of PCOS however, there was a worrying moment when she said "do you have both ovaries?"
After talking to the GP I had day 21 and day 3 bloods done and DH had an SA.
Then referred to fertility clinic, DH had another SA done, went back for the results of that and I was sent to get my tubes checked.
I had that done last cycle, and it showed that one tube was blocked, but the act of checking unblocked it. The other one was either blocked or was spasming or is completely blocked. I need to go back in October to find out.

Good luck Pip, it's surely got to be your time soon.

Is it the usual that will help morphology: no drinking, smoking, hot baths, etc?

Another one here who soy isoflavones worked for first go after months of trying. Also darkest opks ever. I am convinced they are why I am pregnant. Google soy isoflavones ttc

thumbwitch thank you for all that info, I think private testing may be the way to go,for at least Vit D and APA,I'll certainly look into it.
My best friend moved to Australia and has had her three children there, from what she says the health service is very good,beats the NHS!
Congratulations on your pregnancy , it's really encouraging to hear you're 45 and 36 weeks pregnant, I hope all goes well for you. x

Thanks Jalopeno, I've ordered some soy... hope it works for me.

pip hopefully now they've unblocked one of your tubes that will sort it for you! they say you're more fertile for three months after an HSG - i had mine in july though and still nothing.

winkle you need to get your DH another sample, as just one sample is not enough to go on. Also as faith said, an HSG. With regards to hot baths etc - it can't hurt, but from what i've read (a fair bit, unfortunately) most of the things are for sperm count, and motility, rather than morphology. i wrote on the other thread what we're taking - it's primarily anti-oxidants (like the pine bark, same thing) and things to increase blood flow to the area. the evidence is patchy at best though.

We've had all the tests described here and been told that we have unexplained with possible mild male factor (that's with morphology of 3% and 4% in different samples). So we're now being left alone until IVF at the three year mark, but i think i'll have lost the plot by then...

pip is right, it's not that you're doing something wrong - think of everyone who gets knocked up while drunk, on just the once etc etc. It's the lack of control which is so annoying.

We'll all get there.

Btw cheapest place to get soy isoflavones from is tescos also they are often on 3 for 2 but hopefully you will only need one bottle

Thanks keep - I'll talk to the docs about it and see what the next stage is.

Matilda - I got my soy, pregnacare and wellman conception on the 3 4 2 deal :)

Winkle sorry to hear you're having a tough time. We're into our 24th cycle of TTC. I've had 2 MCs along the way. I'm on a lovely board of ladies who have been trying for more than 10+ months (many of us have been trying for 2 years or more) if you feel like you need a bit more support - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1566249-TTC-for-10-months-part-10 .

I have tried a lot of the above and more to try and have a baby. Most of my friends have babies / bumps and some are having their second in the time that we've been trying. Frustrating doesn't even come close!! So I understand where you are coming from.

I went to have a second meeting with my consultant this week and he concluded that everything appears to be normal with both of us and although it's frustrating sometimes, these things just take a long time to happen, even if you are perfectly healthy. I am having final tests to check two last things: a blood test to see if our genetic code is ok (DH is having a blood test too) and an HSG to check my tubes are not blocked. After that we'll be making our fertility treatment plan and possibly having IVF this time next year. I'm only 30 and the first MC was 3 years ago, so I feel like I've been in this boat for an age now.

However, I think learning that you can't control when you get pregnant and just trying to be as healthy and happy as you can (because it's bloody stressful) will help ease the journey.I have a nutritionist who specialises in nutrition and a life coach to help deal with the emotional side of things. And apart from that we've now thrown away the OPKs, the thermometres and are just trying to have lots of sex and a nice life whilst we wait for our baby to turn up.

I wish you lots of luck. xxxx