TTC 12 months plus - successful outcomes?!

[November135]

TTC1 aged 34, AF arrived today on cycle 12, month 10 (plus a few other months where we certainly weren't careful contraception wise). Nothing obviously wrong and have regular cycles but about to get the ball rolling given my age with private tests which feels like a positive step forward but just feeling a bit meh! Absolutely convinced that there must be a problem after this long and that worst case scenario, we will never have a family. I've tried to keep positive but it's starting to really affect me.

Any positive stories about natural conception after 12 months+ would be very welcome and also curious whether people had normal fertility tests but still took 12 months+. Baby dust to all!

I could have written this! 32 TTC number 1, am on cycle 16 in total and about 12 of those were really "good" TTC months. Had a few tests so far and nothing obviously wrong but not even a hint of a bfp! I do need to lose a bit of weight but beyond that v healthy. Sorry I know you wanted positive stories but at least you know you're not alone!

Hi.
Just to give a bit of hope. We TTC for 3 years for DS1. Diagnosed unexplained infertility which basically means "keep trying as we don't know what's wrong". The month we were meant to start IVF treatment on the NHS, we fell pregnant naturally. Just about to start trying for number 2 now.
I'm of a similar age and felt really similar to what you're describing. For me it was a relief to start fertility investigations as it felt like someone else's responsibility for a while. Hope this offers something to you.

I was 33 trying for number 1 for 15 months before we got pregnant naturally... one day before we were due to start our first IVF cycle 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 My husband has low sperm motility and we were told it was extremely unlikely we’d conceive naturally. Our extremely unlikely son is now fifteen months old and has just taken his first steps :)

I’m now 35 and in our third month trying for number two. I got a bfp this evening on ClearBlue ultra but am making myself feel ill with nerves over doing the digi in the morning 😅

It takes a lot of time for a lot of people. But I would recommend to start fertility investigations, from personal experience, it's better to know sooner than later. Good luck and baby dust to you x

@November135 I would get a sperm analysis done and your day 3 and 21 bloods, and maybe a transvaginal ultrasound. We are a very healthy couple in our early 30's - I have text book cycles. We had no reason to believe there was anything wrong but after the SA we found out my partner has very low sperm count and morphology. All those months we have been trying and I have been stressing, when in reality we had such a tiny tiny chance of conception. We have just applied for our IVF funding but my partner will be taking loads of supplements and making the some lifestyle adjustments in the meantime to try to get that natural BFP. We could have waited many many months more thinking maybe we are just that unlucky couple who takes between a year and 2 years... Getting some reassurance that everything is okay will help and if there is some kind of issue, you'll get closer to solving it or at least know more about your path ahead. Good Luck! There is another thread called 9 months +. one girl got her BFP at 14 months, but the rest of us are still waiting and hoping and going crazy in the meantime haha - most have normal results and are therefore deemed 'unexplained' - Which is the most frustrating thing I think! x

Hi
I was trying to concieve for 18 months and i got pregnant the month we moved house the most stressful!
I was going to look into getting help but my partner was reluctant and wanted to keep trying naturally.
TTC for that time was probably one of the hardest times of my life. We were really lucky we found out at Christmas and i am now 6 months. I didn't even get a glimmer of a positive in the whole time we were trying convinced there was something wrong with me.
It just shows sometimes it takes time.
My first child i got pregnant the first month.
It will happen for you x

I had been trying for approx 3-4 years before I had DD. Sadly no more but feel very lucky for her. I have endometriosis of the ovaries (chocolate cysts)

We were TTC for about 18 months, both early 30's. I'm not regular which didn't help when trying to get ovulation timings right and by 12 months we were getting quite worried about the whole thing. Booked in for fertility testing privately and everything came back normal - it was such a load off my mind to know there was nothing fundamentally wrong, we just had to keep trying and keep up the belief that it would eventually happen for us. I made sure I was using ovulation sticks to help pinpoint my most fertile days and we both also started taking vitamin D supplements (in addition to me taking folic acid) which I'm convinced made a difference in our case (though no way to prove!). It's really tough when it takes longer to conceive and you want it so much - I hope it works out for you and that you won't have to wait too much longer.

Hi, positive story for you - I conceived for the first time aged 40 on our 12th cycle of trying. I'd had blood tests after 6 months - everything fine apart from my thyroid. Got medication for that, but after another 6 cycles I went back to GP to ask for a referral for further tests. Little did I know I was actually about 1 week pregnant at the time! I had to email GP and say I didn't need the referral any more! I couldn't believe it, after so many months - and at my age - I had begun to accept it probably wasn't going to happen.

I also know of two friends who took over a year to conceive their first, both in their early 30s at the time. Both went on to conceive second children much quicker.

Hi, another positive story for you... had been trying for 4 years to conceive. Was due for first fertility appointment and found out the week before I was pregnant! Had a completely healthy and hassle free pregnancy - DD is now 2! Also conceived a second time without trying and now have a lovely 11 week old DS.
Seems like it'll never happen when you're in it, we had pretty much resigned ourselves that it may never happen for us and then, just like that, it did. X

My first daughter took 16 months to conceive, but my periods were wonky (cycle length between 30 and 147 days!) and I wasn’t ovulating for the first 10 months. Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and once I was on the meds my cycles regularised and I started ovulating and my BFP came 6 months later. My second daughter took 12 months, but I had a CP 8 months in. And then, last month I had a complete surprise (whilst still on the pill!), which sadly turned into an early miscarriage. So, now, officially TTC #3 and no idea what to expect from here on in! Although my first post-MC cycle was 30 days, no idea whether I ovulated or not, as decided to start LH testing a bit late into my cycle. This cycle I’m feeling a bit deflated as I’m CD14, I had been seeing the ov tests become slightly darker (CDs 11 and 12 were around 0.3) but now the second lines are near non-existent and I was expecting to be gearing up to ov on around CD17 🤷‍♀️

I could've written this myself. I'm about to turn 30 and we've been trying for 12 months. We had fertility testing done privately - no issues with me which I suspected as I have regular 28 day cycles and get a +OPK each month. No symptoms of PCOS or Endo.

Husband had low motility and low morphology percentages but double the "normal" count. He's been on Impryl for 3/4 months now. We're going back at the end or August for a repeat semen analysis so hoping for improvement.

Really, really effects me and is very hard.

Was nice to see the poster who said he had reduced motility and it happened naturally.

Went to the GP for a referral to start the process and they said we'd have to try for 2 years, even though my husband's first semen sample showed reduced motility and normal forms.

Feel so deflated and unsure what to do to be honest.

OP did it happen for you in the end? X

As it’s been a year the NHS will do testing for you (assuming it’s first child for both of you)

At this point don’t throw money at private clinics it’s not worth it.

we were 29 when we started trying for our first. After 18 months or so we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. IMO the worst diagnosis as there is no closure and no obvious solution.

We were referred for IVF under the NHS but waited a bit as I had some personal reservations about doing it. We were suggested to try proxeed supplements. I got pregnant naturally the cycle before our first IVF attempt. 2.5 years after we started trying.

For our second child it only took 6 months. Both times we conceived 4 months after taking proxeed.

Been ttc now for 11 months and really starting the lose hope. I am getting a submucosal fibroid removed next month so hoping for light at the end of the tunnel but also feel like ttc 12 months plus just feels like ivf may be on the horizon which feels scary..

Was wondering if anyone had any updates on how they are getting on with their ttc journeys? I’m 30, just about to reach the 1 year mark, never has the faintest glimmer of a bfp but all tests (bloods, ultrasound, sense analysis etc) have all come back normal and wondering what our next steps are / if there’s anything I should be trying!

Yes, I got a BFP on 4th Jan after 18 months. Husband went on Impryl in April 2023 after low motility and morphology confirmed at private fertility testing. Went back in Aug 2023 (they said it takes 3-4 months for sperm to regenerate). We conceived in December 2023. I'm 5 weeks. Never thought this would happen. Hopefully it all goes well. We know we can conceive now.

I spent months on these threads, and even people who said it happened eventually, I just it'll never happen for us. I was so negative.

We didn't do anything differently. Did it on 18th, 19th and 20th Dec. Pos ovulation stick on 18th.

Also I am now 30, was 28 when started and husband 34.

If there are no issues, it likely will happen, honestly. Like when I got this BFP, it was like well yeah, biologically there was no reason why (after our most recent semen analysis)

I genuinely have spoken to so many friends and just random people who all took soooonlong to conceive. Honestly, it is like this for a lot of people. Just no one talks about it. All of my husband's friends pretty much said they got testing done as they started to get worried. Some people just take longer, too.

Ooh yes. A lot changed for me since my last post in March 2022. That BFP was a blighted ovum, the next in Dec 2022 was a MMC. The third was an IVF chemical in July 2023 and I FINALLY got my sticky rainbow BFP in Sept 2023 and am now 22 weeks 🥰

It was a long and upsetting journey when we thought trying for number two couldn't possibly be worse than trying for our son.

@alis20 @TheBirdintheCave thank you so much for updating and replying, I love hearing success stories! And of course congratulations to you both!

Still no sign of a bfp for me. I’ve had all the tests - bloods, ultrasound, Hycosy, semen analysis - and all looks fine and dandy in theory so I have no idea why we aren’t having any success. Feel like I have tried everything: acupuncture, vitamins, preseed, legs up against a wall! So it’s hard not to feel disheartened; I think actually it’s the being ‘unexplained’ that’s most frustrating, I feel like if we had a diagnosis we could at least make a plan! But positive stories give me hope!

Pretty sure we don’t have any fertility issues but it took us 17 cycles (14months). Conceived during a very stressful week and sick with covid.

Golden - I honestly think it'll happen. There's no biological reason why not. I actually was like "I give up" in terms of tracking ovulation for the cycle we conceived but just carried on. We did it day of peak, day after and day after that. So three days in a row from peak. I think the third time was a bit unusual for us. Maybe it was rhat. Maybe not.

We'd tried everything too, preseed all that sort of stuff, none of it worked for us. I kind of think it was going to happen anyway to those people.

Honeslty stay positive.

Also Golden - I know it's easy for me to say but you're only like 14 months, it's not that unusual at this point. As I said we did have an issue that was sorted but took us 18 months. Many of my husband's friends took 18 months +. It's really really common. We're all 30-ish.

None of my husband's friends (and tonnes have kids), said it happened quickly. And most of them got testing done cause they were worried....

It just took time

@alis20 you’re right, we just need to be patient, I just think my perspective has been skewed as so many people around me seem to be falling pregnant really really quickly. Two of my best friends and my sister in law for married this summer and then fell pregnant within a couple of months! But the problem is the people who have been trying for longer don’t talk about it as quickly so people just suffer in silence and it’s hard to tell what’s normal!

I think my biggest worry is that we are not actually unexplained, they just haven’t found the problem yet, so we may keep trying naturally for ages longer and then find out we need ivf anyway.

I’ve had a break from tracking this month - no BBT, no OPKs etc - as I just felt like I needed it for my mental health and so have just been trying to DTD every couple of days throughout the month so we hopefully have ourselves covered!