ttc one year on

[Olafchops]

Hello lovelies,

DH here- just thought I’d share a little of what’s been going on. DW had a missed miscarriage about seven months ago now, and while I didn’t post here- we found reading through some of the stories really helpful.

Since then we’ve continued trying, and perhaps like a typical man, I thought us not conceiving was just a technical problem- wrong timing or something, but in the last few weeks we got some fertility bloods done and found out that prolactin was up- way up- at 1500 odd.

What with everything going on it’s hard to really find out what’s happening, getting some more blood tests done, but won’t be able to get to a clinic until at least June.

In the meantime, we’re still trying, but the more time goes on the less I feel like I understand how all this is meant to work.

We used to do BBT readings to track ovulation and it seemed to work when we first got pregnant, but after moving house the temperatures seem a lot lower and not particularly reliable.

Ovulation tests ran out a while ago, should probably buy some more, but seem really pricey on amazon at the moment.

EWCM seems pretty reliable, frequently arriving at CD 10-12, and oddly a little later in the cycle as well although not quite as good- more confusion as the doctor who ordered the fertility bloods said we should do it on CD 21, and seemed to be suggesting it was linked to ovulation, so really just not sure when ovulation really is anymore.

Anyone make any sense of all this?

Still plodding on. Hope everyone is keeping safe.

Hi @Olafchops just bumping this for you and hopefully some Mumsnetters will be along soon with some useful advice.

I don't have much advice for you as I've not been in a similar situation but I did have a few thoughts that hopefully might be of use.

Prolactin inhibits ovulation - I have no idea what level is required to inhibit ovulation but I assume the level is high enough given that it's been mentioned on the fertility report? Obviously you're already aware that it could potentially be the issue, but likewise, we've heard plenty of stories of breastfeeding mothers getting caught out when they expected they wouldn't be fertile. So there definitely is a glimmer of hope there!

The other thing I was considering was that ovulation strips only tell you about the LH surge. In theory, you can have an LH surge with no egg release, so I definitely do recommend sticking with BBT as well as strips if you want the "full" picture so to speak. From what I've gathered through my own research BBT, if taken accurately, is the best way to see if a woman has ovulated.

If you put all of that data (ovulation sticks, CM, and BBT) into an app such as Fertility Friend it should very quickly (after a few cycles) give you some good data if your wife has predictable cycles.

The only other thought I had was with respect to DTD. You mentioned that the doctor suggested you should DTD on CD21. I appreciate that DTD on ovulation day is probably the best way to conceive, but I'd personally advise DTD every other day throughout the cycle so you've got a greater likelihood of everything being in the right place at the right time. Also, I feel DTD every other day takes a bit of the pressure off, as you know that some of those times are almost definitely not going to make a baby so it's just for fun. It's anecdotal cause I don't have any research to back it up, but how many times have we heard of people falling pregnant as soon as they stopped trying?

One last thing, I'm not sure exactly how much the strips are that you're looking at but in my googling the other day I came across this site: homehealth-uk.com/product-category/pregnancy-ovulation-tests/ovulation-test-kits/

It seemed cheaper than most of the listings I saw on Amazon.

Good luck!

Hi OP,

Just wanted to pick up on the high prolactin, I assume this is your DW who has this?
Mine was elevated (c600) & my GP referred me to an endocrinologist (I saw a private one in the end) & I had an MRI scan which showed a small prolactinoma. The Dr was was almost certain this was not affecting my fertility as all signs pointed to me still ovulating however as my levels were higher than they should have been & because there was something identified on my scan he prescribed Cabergoline which I take twice a week. I need to go back for bloods to check my levels are now better but thought that may help.

@Curiosity101 thank you for your thoughts, i think they are helpful. I definitely think we will get some more LH strips, it didn’t look as bad as when I took a look the last time, so maybe I was just browsing at a bad time.

Yeah the prolactin is about three times the normal range apparently, which the endocrinologist said she has seen tumours at that level, but equally she’s seen higher levels without, so it’s not really anything conclusive- we’re just waiting for more blood results and hopefully getting a MRI when Coronavirus is over.

The thing about CD21 was when the doctor wanted my DW to have the fertility bloods taken, we actually try to DTD every day from when EWCM starts to appear, but admittedly don’t always manage it, but try to get coverage for the week or so. That usually means we’ve got coverage from CD10-CD15 ish. I think what’s been most confusing is that there seems to be two periods of EWCM during the cycle, one at CD10-12 and one maybe CD20.

@Etonmess20 - thanks for picking up on this- yes, it’s my DW that has high prolactin. That’s really encouraging to hear that it might not be impacting, we’re hoping that we’ll find out a bit more with the new bloods as between the first two blood draws it already went up a lot. Just really confusing as out GP initially said we shouldn’t be trying for children while they work it out, which we kind of ignored- the endocrinologist said that she didn’t see why we would need to stop, so that was really reassuring.

Think we’ll definitely get some LH strips again- thank you for all the tips everyone.

I don’t suppose that anyone has experience with the thermometers you get with natural cycles, as DW has been using these probably for a year now, and while they seem to work ok for me, she finds that they don’t really take a constant temperature for her (sometimes 0.5C difference in the same five minute period)- this is what kind of disheartened us about BBT measuring.

Maybe we need to get some new ones.

Keep safe and thank you x