Secondary Infertility

[SilkCotton]

Has anyone got any ideas/tips to help with this. I had DD 3 years ago with no trouble conceiving. We started TTC again when she was a year old, and since then I have had one ectopic pregnancy (that luckily resolved itself without surgery or drugs), then in July last year I had a mmc which tests showed was due to a chromosomal issue.

We have both had fertility tests that came back clear, and I just got my period this morning and am feeling pretty crappy about it. We have sex every other day from around day 8 to day 16 (I usually ovulate between days 13-15), so I am at a loss as to what to do differently.

Anyone have any words of advice?

Hi,

sorry you're going through this. Have you tried taking Agnus castus?

Hi girls
Stopped taking the pill on 22/04 after finishing period 20/04
Bloating like mad this Tuesday, CM sticky this morning sorry TMI and just had this LH test attached this evening
Do we thinking I’m ovulating ?? Xx

Unfortunately I experienced the same except I lost my tube when the ectopic ruptured and had 5 miscarriages and then another ruptured ectopic losing my final tube

I've moved on to IVF now x

@NoCallerID Ah no I hadn't hear of this, will investigate - thank you!

@Louisac93 I'm pretty sure you need egg white CM to show ovulation, do you take your bbt?

@ivfgottostaypositive So sorry to hear about your tubes and miscarriages, what an awful time you've had. Were you ever able to determine what the issue was when you miscarried? I hope your IVF is successful when the clinic reopen.

@silkcotton

Yep it was just like egg white and tmi it did the stretch 😂

@SilkCotton Sorry for the short reply earlier... are you charting? How long is your luteal phase? You don't need ewcm, some women don't get it. If you don't, maybe try some preseed or other lube that supports conception.

Re Agnus castus - I took it with DC1 after recommendation from my sister who is a midwife and took it herself, it just generally levels out hormones and helps fertility.

I didn't take it with my second pregnancy (only decided two days before ovulation to ttc) and this pregnancy ended at 14 weeks with a TMFR for chromosomal and physical abnormalities. Obviously doesn't mean anything as most of them are just "one of them things" but needless to say I'm now taking everything again.
With DC1 I also took evening primrose oil to help production of EWCM which really really helped after coming off the pill. It took a while, but we were TTA before our wedding when I had come off the pill. I hope this helps.

OP- Sorry for your losses. Are either of you overweight or smoke? DH and I had TTC 4yrs, we both stopped caffeine, he stopped smoking and we each lost 10kg. I conceived the following month.

I used to organise weekends away when I'd be ovulating, or just prior. Obviously not now, but in normal times, a mini-break can do wonders.

I know you said all tests were normal, but I started DH on a multivitamin that contained lycopene. Its found naturally in tomatoes, but I'd read several articles about it improving sperm motility and quality. Did you have a hycosy or HSG to check your tubes are clear also?

How long are your cycles if I may ask? Just in case either of your phases are too short now due to hormonal imbalances. I've heard "it starts with the egg" is a great book to try and help things along - I imagine ubiquinol as a supplement would be useful for you too.

@NoCallerID Thanks for the extra info - and sorry to hear you had to have a tfmr. Hope you are fully recovered. Could I ask you - what dose of agnus castus do you take, and do you take it all the way through your cycle, even in the two week wait? Thank you :)

@Elouera Thanks for the advice, he is on the zita west men's vitamins. Hmm yes we could both do with losing around a stone each now you mention it - does weight really make that much of a difference do you think? I definitely have time to do more exercise during lockdown, and have had weightloss success with the 16:8 diet before, so I think I'll restart that. Can't hurt right!

@Juno231 Thanks, I do have that book which I haven't read for a while, but did remember about the CoQ10, so have been taking that for a couple of months now. My cycles are around 28/29 days long, with a luteal phase of 12-13 days. So hopefully everything is in balance.

Op- to answer your question, yes, being overweight can disrupt hormones, increase diabetes etc and cause infertility issues. My BMI was about 28, so overweight, but TBH, I never felt that overweight. Nor did I think it would have been causing infertility. I had regular periods, ovulated & no other health issues. After 4yrs TTC, I figured losing weight, and DH stopping smoking, was worth a try. It worked and I actually got pregnant! It sadly ended due to a genetic problem. I can only assume the weight loss helped, but possibly just luck also.

@SilkCotton I'm getting there physically, thanks. The emotional side is going to take a while....
I take 400mg. When I wasn't TTC I took it throughout my cycle, when TTC only until ovulation was confirmed (temp spike).

@Elouera Sorry your pregnancy ended in loss. I hope you are ok. That's interesting about being overweight being a hormone disrupter - it makes sense, but I kind of thought one would have to be obese for it to affect fertility. My BMI is in the overweight section, so I'll really have to do something about that :(

@NoCallerID Thanks so much for the info. It does take a while to heal emotionally after baby loss for sure. It is really super kind of you to share your knowledge even though you are still recovering emotionally.