TTC for 18+ months and feeling low!

[Natty2]

I'm fairly new at this forum and decided to join after TTC since the start of 2022
We discovered earlier this year that my DH morphology was low, although all other results were normal. He implemented life style changes straight away, and even went through a varicocele embolisation a few months ago, so we're waiting to see if that's helped.

Having gone through the rest of the year undergoing tests everything seems normal, so the NHS are not letting us even get on the IVF list until 2024. It's been such a long, physical and emotional journey and there seems to be no end in sight.

Anyone else going through similar things? I feel like I live life in 2 week cycles and it's so hard to try and not think about it all!!
Any tips?!

@kalixxx thank you! Hope you are doing well on your journey?

@Foreverhopeful92 thank you! Hope your pregnancy is going well!!

@Natty2 did you start your injections yesterday??

And thanks everyone for the well wishes ❤️ will update after scan on Wednesday 😊😊😊

@missmoosh yes, I did the first one last night!! I was doing ok all day and then at the time of injecting I was a trembling, emotional mess! But one down and about 20 more to go 🙌 😅

I go up to two daily injections from Wednesday and have my first scan and bloods to check progress.

Good luck for Wednesday!!

Thank you! All okay so far 🤞 I’m 17 weeks now so about a month into the second trimester ❤️

Well done for your first injection! That’s amazing! I had to do some injections after an operation and the nurse had to show my husband how to do it as I just couldn’t do it!

@Natty2 eeek, proud of you, I'm sure the first one is always going to be the worst and you will become more confident with it!

@Foreverhopeful92 woop, have your first trimester symptoms settled down now? I'm hoping mine will at least settle a bit soon! 12 weeks tomorrow and even though your only 5 weeks ahead, it's feels like you are sooo much further along than me 😂

Hello, Could I join?

TTC for nearly a year now, never had a bfp. I have longer cycles (approx 35 days) and high AMH for my age but the luteal phase is exactly 2 weeks, and doctor does think I'm ovulating. I always get positive opks.

Dp has borderline low morphology, but everything else is perfect, so shouldn't be affecting conception.

I've had hormone tests, ultrasound to check tubes, etc. etc. No issues, no endometriosis, no blocked tubes (well, one is definitely clear, they couldn'tsee the othwr fully, but no readon why it would be), hormone levels normal (other than AMH), nothing unusual at all.

I know that not every egg is good, but surely one would have been in all this time? Feeling defeated about it all, mostly I guess because I just don't understand why.

@Natty2 omg well done, you did it and that's amazing! I don't know if I will be able to. The plan is for my husband to do them at the moment. I think you're doing amazingly. Hopefully they will get easier as you go along too x

Thank you all! 💛 second day was a lot less shaky, so tonight I'm aiming for less hesitation 😅
Hope you're all ok

@CatCaretaker I wish I had some good advice for you! Sadly most of us on here have/ had been ttc for almost two years now. What was your DPs morphology?
Mines was 1% which has increased to 2.5% but we have also just started our first round of IVF.

Good luck with your journey!

Hi @Natty2 don't worry, it's just nice to be amongst those who know the struggles.

His normal morphology was 30% when measured using WHO Gold book standard, which, when I checked, was the lowest limit of normal. Count and motility were normal.

The way that morphology is measured must differ depending on technique / standard.

@Natty2 sorry, I missed it, what are the injections that you're taking? Fair play, sounds very difficult!

@Natty2 did you have you scan today to check your progress? How's it all going?

I had my 12 week scan today, measured 12+4, so jumped 2 days ahead which was a nice surprise! All is looking good, so just got to wait on the nipt results now 😊

@missmoosh so pleased to hear your scan went well! Hopefully you've not been feeling too rough with your sickness this week? Fingers crossed for the test results 🤞

yes had it this morning thanks!
I have around follicles growing, but most are quite small, and she said she would have expected a little more for my age and AMH levels, so the docs will be reviewing this afternoon and they may up my dosage of meds
But it’s also still early days, so hopefully the small ones continue to keep growing to the size it needs to be! Just taking every day as it comes! Next scan on Friday and will be every other day now until I'm ready for egg retrieval.
I had my first morning injection today too, which was abit of a thicker needle and harder to go in! 😫

@Natty2 thank you! The scan measurement was in normal range, so I'm hoping that's a good sign for the bloods as well! Unfortunately sickness is going strong still lol

You forgot to put the number of follicles 😂 hopefully they will catch up quickly and I'm sure they are used to making slight adjustments as all our bodies are going to react differently! Oh bless you, you got this stay strong!

@missmoosh woops! 14! Which I don't think is too bad, but on my baseline scan in the summer I had 29 and larger ones... so we'll see. I've had the message to increase the dose by more than double so will see how Friday goes!
You poor thing, I've been feeling nauseous on the meds past couple of days, so I tread to think how you are feeling at the moment!

All worth it 🌟

@Natty2 oh that's a really good number I think! It only takes that one special one!! Hopefully the increased dose will help them along as well! I remember before I was due to start reading something about the number of eggs. A lot of the time people who get tons, the egg quality isn't actually great. So I think the number you have is ideal!

Yes, hoping that the ones I have will mature to the right size and are good quality! 🤞🤞
It's definitely going to be an interesting journey!

@missmoosh fantastic news on the scan, fingers crossed for you on the NIPT. Really hope you start feeling better soon ❣️

@Natty2 thanks for updating us. I'm trying to read a bit more about IVF now so it's useful to hear how it's going for you and how things are progressing. The thicker needle just made me shudder. Well done you, and go on those 14 follicles! Really hoping they will be 10+ brilliant quality eggs for you x

@Natty2 how have your last couple of scans been since the med change?

@LucyLoopyLu thank you! I keep saying nipt test, but it's just the NT combined screening 😂

@missmoosh haha, you could have styled that out and I would never have known! When do you expect to get the results?

@LucyLoopyLu hahaa damn! They say I will get a letter in about 2 weeks if it's low risk and a call after about a week if not. Had it on Wednesday so praying I have no call this week!!

@missmoosh keeping my fingers crossed for you

@Natty2 hope you're doing ok x

@missmoosh @LucyLoopyLu
hi both!
Just had scan 3, have gone up from 14 to 22 follicles over the weekend, although the new ones are quite small!
I've got 2 measuring 21mm already though and about 6 between 12-16mm, so hopefully they will get closer to 18mm by Wednesday and then I should be ready for egg retrieval on Friday 🤞🤞
Explains why I was feeling so "heavy" and uncomfortable over the weekend!
@LucyLoopyLu happy to give any advice before you start your ivf!

@Natty2 oh that's exciting! Have they said how many they reckon they will be able to collect? Not long now until collection then!
Oh bless you, not long left of feeling heavy an uncomfortable hopefully, how have you felt other than that during it all?

@missmoosh not yet, think it will really just depend on the day! Hoping the big ones don't get much bigger as they can be over mature, but also hope the other ones catch up, so we'll see!
Felt ok otherwise thanks, felt abit sick earlier on last week but think I was getting used to the drugs, been feeling fine otherwise and the injections really don't seem to phase me anymore which is crazy how quickly you get used to it!

Hope you are doing ok!