9 months+ trying to conceive, still losing hope, still trying

[BritInNZ]

Continuing the earlier thread ladies before we run out of room... will tag in who I remember but feel free to tag others I may have missed. And newbies always welcome!

@Aubyone - pregnant! Adding in case she wants to keep in the loop 😊
@kmbegs
@FlyOnTheWall89
@Hopefullywaiting01234
@Tinkerbell098
@LucyAnne34
@MaryTeenOfScots

@NatW2021 I understand as I was the same everytime I got a normal result. What are your TSH levels? Mine were 3 miu/L back in July, but were down to 1.4 in November, and I'm not aware of anything I changed during that time for it to go down, so a bit clueless. I've never had Vit D or B12 checked. Is it you GP who suggested getting these checked?
Glad you got sorted privately, I do take what my GP says with a pinch of salt as she's not been very thorough or been helpful in guiding me. I know it's costing us loads but also on the other hand, it's been really fast and seems like we are finally doing something and getting some sort of help, rather than just waiting around. I'm 36, so like you, don't really want to be wasting anymore time.
Regarding FSH, I haven't had a day 2 test done unfortunately, as my GP only did Day21. The private consultant said there isn't much point in Day 2 if my Day 21 came back normal, so I haven't bothered with it. Do you know if you're ovulating? As from what the consultant said, if I'm ovulating (have regular periods, OPKs show a peak), I shouldn't worry about the hormone levels too much if they are within range. I have also tracked my BBT this month and have seen a temp shift after O day, which confirmed ovulation is fine. I think I'm not implanting due to this uterus lining issue/fibroid.

@FlyOnTheWall89 Hey! No not had AMH yet - LH was 5.5

@Tinkerbell098 - Ny TSH was 5.5 everything i read suggested it should under 2 by my GP was telling me to wait 3 months then if they agreed to refer me god knows how long i would wait for an appointment. I paid privately and was seen the following week and prescribed medication as simple as that. It is funny as it was my light periods that prompted me to have accupunture, then my acupuncturist prompted me to get thyroid checked when really there was nothing wrong with my light periods as scan showed normal so i probably wouldn't have even known my TSH was high as i didn't really have any symptoms. I paid for a private thyroid home blood test which flagged elevated antibodies meaning i could have autoimmune disease which means antibodies attack thyroid its not advanced by any means but low vit d and low b12 are common in this disease - my vit d was 41nmol i think optimal is 80-100, all these things can impact fertility. I was clueless when i found out but done all research and taking higher dose vit d and it had gone up tp 64nmol in 2 weeks!

I am ovulating i to do bbt and also had 21 day bloods so all normal there. I seem to ovulate day 12 so that always concerns me that its on the early side of normal.

Also just a question about OH morphology it 5% is this good or just about normal? I see online normal is 4%_14% so if so seems on low end?

Sorry for the long post x

@NatW2021 glad you found out despite it being accidental. So many diseases with very mild/no symptoms and would go unnoticed. What strength Vit D do you take? One of the things my consultant said was to take VitD as a lot of us are deficient and not know about it.
I don't think O day matters that much? and 12 doesn't seem that far off. How long is your luteal phase and cycle length?
Regarding morphology, the report we had for OH, it doesn't mention morphology, but has "normal forms", and I don't know if that's the same thing? The reference range that his report says is over 15%, so I don't think it's the same thing. Does it give a reference range on your OH's report?

@Tinkerbell098 - i am taking 10,000iui a day (gel like capsules are better) as i am deficient you have to take mk-7 and magnesium with it as well to help with absorption. My advice would be to get tested first (you can get at home tests that require a finger prick) this will guide you on how much you need.

I was taking 2000iui before my test and it was still really low so either it wasnt making any difference or it was really really low before taking it at all.

LP is good 14 days, hopefully nothing to worry about.

Reference range for OH morphology is lower range 4% - not really sure what is good/bad/average

@NatW2021 interesting about your TSH. My results were:
FSH 6.4 U/L
LH 9.1U/L
Progesterone 44 nmol/L
17B Oestradiol 513 pmol/L
Prolactin 317 mU/L

Should I be worried about the FSH? Seen as yours was below mine and you said even that was too high? I've been told everything is normal?

@NatW2021 I've just seen that FSH 6.4 U/L translates to 1.4 mIU/L so i guess it depends on the measurement?

@BritInNZ

Hey! I think you TSH is fine as long as its under 2 your good x

@NatW2021 5% morphology is absolutely fine, particularly if count is normal / high.

I'll come back to you on FHS and LH. I've done a bit of reading on it but don't have time to write rn.
For reference mine was:
LH 3.8 iu/L
FHS 5.8 iu/L
Oestradiol 109 pmol/L
Prolactin 422 mu/L

All results deemed normal and were taken day 7. Progesterone also normal at 46.

AMH however was on the lower side of normal at 10.7 (some would deem this low, it really varies online).

@FlyOnTheWall89

Thanks so much - thats a relief we just got handed the results and told normal but they are like a minefield trying to interpret.

It would be great to get your thought on FSH -GP again said normal and I'm not massively concerned but they appear to be on the upper end if normal.

Hi guys, welcome to the new people, hope you guys find this group as wonderful and supportive as I have! I've not managed to fully catch up but I listened to this podcast today and thought it was really really interesting for those of us with unexplained infertility:

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/big-fat-negative-ttc-fertility-infertility-and-ivf/id1431698726?i=1000550498222

@kmbegs before I listen is that definitely the right link? It says it's about male infertility (talking to a racing driver) in the text?

Yes! Sounds very random but in summary him and his wife went through I think 6 years of "unexplained infertility" including two failed rounds of IVF. He then ended up getting a DNA fragmentation test which showed although he had lots of sperm and all good motility etc., the DNA of the sperm was so bad he was actually infertile even though his SA looked normal. He had an op and they fell pregnant naturally within a couple months. I've heard lots of stuff about DNA fragmentation tests and how anyone with unexplained infertility should get one but hadn't heard a story like that before so thought I would share.

@kmbegs oh I see! My husband had the DNA fragmentation test done last month and we were told everything is fine so that ruled that out for us 😊

@BritInNZ oh that's amazing! It's not something that's offered in the UK, I think even if you go private it's not something suggested unless you go to see a urologist and pay to get tested, which is insane. We haven't had it done but might look into it. How are you feeling now - any better?

@kmbegs oh really! We had to pay privately for it but our fertility specialist recommended it. It was around £100 I believe.

I'm okay, still sad and frustrated. I just told my UK friends about the latest diagnosis and it just brought all the frustration and anger back. We do have a heap of stuff going on at the moment with selling our house and looking for our next place, so I feel like all the stress has come at once which is probably exacerbating the feelings of sadness and helplessness. The good thing is I have no idea where I am in my cycle so that's nice!

@kmbegs I lose track but if you're seeing Mr Ramsay, it is definitely something I've noticed he recommends to lots of people. Thanks for the heads up on the podcast. I love poddies and I can't wait to listen x

Ergh just went to the bathroom and I'm spotting?! So checked my CD and it's only day 12?! I usually spot around ovulation but that's not until CD 17/18. I'm so fed up of all this pre-period and mid cycle spotting. I have no idea what's going on 😩

@kmbegs thanks for sharing that. I'll have a listen. I might bring it up at my next fertility appointment.

@BritInNZ oh how strange! Could it be from the HSG? Sorry I can't remember when you had it done, but I've heard it can cause spotting afterwards? Have you got another appointment coming up where you could ask what's causing it?

@FlyOnTheWall89 I'm not seeing Mr Ramsay but I have found somewhere near me that does the test so if we are still getting nowhere in 6 months that's when we said we would get a private consultation and I think we would then do that test. Although I might cave sooner if I don't get the post hycosy fertility boost!

@BritInNZ I'm sorry to hear about the spotting and that you're fed up. I've had similar, not that that will help. This cycle I've been spotting mid cycle. Last month I thought maybe ovulation bleeding (I think you mentioned that's a thing) but this cycle not so sure. It's very frustrating that there isn't anywhere to go for answers.

I've ovulated early this cycle (for me) and I'm hoping it's the supplements or acupuncture and not just a one off. Feels like a massive relief and a break for us to be finished with the "active trying" by CD19 - makes me jealous of people who always ovulate around CD14 as it feels sooooooo much easier than not knowing if it'll be CD18 or CD24 and having to keep going in fear of stopping too early. And nothing worse than worrying you've stopped too soon. I cannot wait for the day where we no longer have to have TTC sex!! The unsexiest sex ever 😅

@Tinkerbell098 no not the HSG as had that 5 weeks ago. I've actually got a gynaecology appointment at the end of March to investigate the septate uterus so I will ask then.

@kmbegs it's so frustrating isn't it!! I have no idea if I should be worried or not. Even Google isn't useful! Yes I usually get ovulation spotting, it's very rare that I don't. That's why I had my ultrasound as doctor wanted to investigate but clearly nothing showed up to concern anyone. Yes I wish I ovulated earlier too! Sometimes I think it's a blessing that I have less time to wait in that TWW though... although equally concerning that I potentially don't have enough time for implantation.

God I miss normal sex hey! When you just did it for fun and it wasn't timed 😂 we'll get back to that one day for sure! Can't believe how worried I was about accidentally getting pregnant... 😂

@kmbegs oh and I'd also like to add I've been off the pill since September 2019 and we used the withdrawal method for the whole year and a half... not even a hint of an accident!!!

@BritInNZ well hopefully your gynaecology appointment will be helpful as surely they should know about spotting. If they don't who will?! The only thing I've thought is that I should maybe get another smear test. Mine are up to date but just in case. Otherwise I honestly wonder if it's stress or maybe all the unsexy sex? Hard to tell because my mid cycle spotting has only been since trying so we are obviously having lots of sex at that time so could just be because of that. I hate that we don't know though and there's no one to ask!!

It's hard isn't it. I say it a lot (or if I don't then I think it) but I'm so grateful for this group and moving through the stages together. I think I would have found the transition from 9 months TTC to now, a year in and all the tests etc, really hard without this group.

@BritInNZ is there any way you could call your old UK GP and just pretend you're away travelling or something but that you've been trying and getting nowhere? See if they'd accept your NZ tests? You'd be entitled to IVF here after two or three years, which isn't that far away. I know you're not mentally there yet and you'd have to come back to the UK possibly for a while so maybe not possible but might be better than waiting 5 years.

I am so disappointed this morning and would love some advice.

I have been looking forward (sort of) to having an HSG on Day 10 of my cycle, in the hopes it would shed some light on what might be happening.

I've just called to book, to be told the nurse running the clinic that day is off for half term, so there will be no clinic. They only run the clinic one morning a week, so offered me the following week, when I will be CD17.

This of course means - a wasted cycle, as CD17 is after ovulation.

I am pushing 40 and do not have the time to waste a month of trying!

So these are my options:

1. Have HSG on CD17 and accept a missed month
2. Pay £550 to have private HSG on Day 10 (or 7, or 8, or 9...)
3. Roll the dice to see what day of my March cycle the clinic runs. It may fall pre-ovulation, it may not.

I am gutted, absolutey gutted. Would love some advice please.

@Decaffe I also feel like I don't have time to wait around as I'm 36 and still trying for #1, which is why we decided to go down the private route, at least for investigations. If it were me, I'd spend the £550 to have that peace of mind and have more flexibility and not waste a cycle. I've spent ages just waiting around to get anywhere on the NHS, but I guess it's different for you, as you kind of have a timeline with them, but I'm just restless and need to get answers straightaway rather than waiting for the NHS to get back to me (which may or may not happen for another 6 months as I've been told).