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?!

@Emz09 yes it has moved quite quickly since my hyfosy. I just wanted to say though don't expect yours to be the same as it's such a postcode lottery in terms of how your LA deals with fertility issues (different checklists etc) and of course the waiting lists. Your own age, test results etc could also make things a lot different from my treatment pathway.
Hoping it will be quick for you

Thanks all, just trying to process what has happened and hoping for the one we have to be a strong one 💛

@Emz09 I'll try to respond over the weekend on our tests/ timing etc. unfortunately we are still on our journey 2 years on

@Natty2 im keeping my fingers crossed this is your miracle baby! I can’t imagine the emotions you must be feeling and I imagine it’ll take time to process it all.
i hope you are able to get the answers you want from the appointment and can make some further decisions based on what they say and hopefully they may provide you with some guidance and advice.
Let us know how you get on once you’ve had time to process and move forward with what happens next. ❤️

Hi @Natty2 how did your consultation go? Were you able to get some answers about what may have happened?

Anyone who has been TTC for a while, but has never had a bfp, or a cp, only ever bfns, do you have any insight into why / how that could be?

We've had every test going, there is nothing that should prevent conception altogether. Surely at some stage sperm would have met egg, and - even if not viable - there would have been a bfp / cp? I'm just struggling to understand how there can never have been any. Does anyone have any insight into this?

This problem doesn't seem to be very common, as far as I can see from reading threads here. When struggling to conceive people often seem to have cps, MCs or MMCs, not just ... nothing. I'm not trying to make light of those things, they must be heartbreaking, and I don't mean any offence to anyone, I just want to know if anyone can shed light on our particular struggle?

@CatCaretaker i have now had my miracle bfp. But like you I had all the tests and in total was trying for well over 2 years. Albeit a part of that I did have a health condition which would have prevented us getting pregnant, but was resolved before we tried for our longest stint (16 months). I never had a bfp/cp/mmc in all that time. We did finally get our bfp days before we were to start Ivf. So don't lose hope!
My SIL also tried for 15 months and had no positive tests at all until she fell, she had also had all the blood tests and nothing showing up wrong there.
I think unfortunately sometimes luck just isn't on our sides, or our bodies are just very good at detecting non viable pregnancies before we would be able to know about them! It is really tough not knowing if you can even get pregnant, so I totally understand the struggle. Sending my best wishes that you get your miracle soon!

@missmoosh thank you! Really nice to hear your positive stories (and congrats) 🙂

Hi @CatCaretaker
Ended up only having the consultation on Friday as the cancelled it the other week 🙄
Essentially they're not able to pin point exactly what might have happened but it could have been starting me on a low dose first and possibly poor response to the hcg trigger injection. They said it's difficult to know.
Long story short they have said if we're able to then he'd recommend doing another round of egg retrieval, he would put my on completely different meds/ dose and he seemed confident it would be better next time.
They'll put together a plan (and cost 😩) and we'll go from there. Hoping I might be able to start again in a couple of weeks or it could be next month
Not sure if we can use the nhs funding to transfer fresh hopefully next time- but they need to let us know.
It's been a pretty stressful time and really makes you realise how much of a miracle life is! I wish I has answers on why it wasn't working for you, my husbands morphology is low which is our reason for ivf.
Although now I wonder if i have poor quality eggs (or if it was just the meds I was on) the trouble is there's no way of testing quality until the eggs come out!
I hope it works for you soon

@Emz09 I realised I never got round to responding about our tests/ timings
We had our original gp appointment for the referral jan 2023 (after a year ttc)
My scans and blood tests were relatively quick for the nhs but my DH's was a nightmare so we got his done privately
I also went privately for my AMH and AFC tests
My DH had a variocele embolisation in the summer to see if that helped the morphology so that set us back a few months and in that time the nhs organised a hycosy for me.
To get a round of IVF on the nhs you have to be trying for 2 years (we're under 35) so we didn't sign all our forms until the end of 2023. Once we were referred to the private clinic things moved really quickly. We had our nurse planning appointment in December and did our first ivf round in January.

Hopefully the fact that it's only a partial IVF procedure that you have to pay for twice will keep the costs down! I really don't know how these things work though, but fingers crossed you guys can manage it one way or another. Good that doctors arr confident that it can improve.

My DP has borderline low morphology. The standard the clinic use states 30% and abo w is normal, and DP was exactly at 30%. Everything else was firmly in normal range range for him though, so surely the borderline morphology isn't completely preventing conception?

How is everyone doing on here?
An update from me, I'll be starting a second round of IVF in a couple of weeks, hoping for better success next time 🤞

@Natty2 i was thinking about you earlier! Glad to hear the next round is coming up soon for you! Have they said if they will be changing the protocol for you this time? How are you feeling about it?

I am doing well, still throw up daily at 18+3, but will be worth it. Found out a couple of weeks ago we are having a girl. So just waiting on 20 week scan to make sure everything is going well. 😊

Thanks @missmoosh will find out my protocol tomorrow as I've got a nurse planning appointment, but I think same sort of plan just different medication and higher dose.
We lose our nhs transfer by doing a fresh new cycle, but we were told even though we've got a Grade A embryo, there's only a 40% chance of success. So we think it's sensible to do this now whilst we're young and hopefully have more success next time.
It's an eye watering amount though especially as we need ICSI IVF 😖 we've got an insurance option so if this doesn't work we can do another cycle and they also cover FETs until a live birth. Just can't believe we have to do it all again, trying to stay positive but more prepared for the rollercoaster now I've been through it once!

So pleased you are doing well although sorry to hear you are still being sick! You must be exhausted from it! A baby girl 🩷🩷 So exciting. Hope all goes ok with the 20 week scan

@Natty2 happy to hear round 2 is coming up. Keep positive, keep going. I have everything crossed for you and I will keep you in my thoughts 💫

I had my first NHS appointment last week, it was a phone call. very positive, however I was so shocked that we could have agreed to IVF there and then. I have opted to have a HSG initially so if you have any words of wisdom or tips for this then please share them 🤍

The only the thing the fertility nurse said is my TSH is normal but not optimal because it was over 2.5. Has anyone had experience with this at all?

Thank you

@Natty2 oh how frustrating about the NHS transfer, do they keep the embryo so you can pay for a FET if needed? Yes I can imagine it's a lot, the price when you need ICSI is just horrific! Good to hear about the insurance, though hopefully you won't need to do more than one more round before you get your miracle. I really am crossing everything that your time is coming soon!

Thank you ❤️

@Emz09 i actually don't have a thyroid, so know a fair bit about it and fertility. What is your level? My endocrinologist upped my meds recently as my level got to 1.9 (up from 0.7 at beginning of pregnancy) and he said that was too high! So I do think under 2 is actually the most optimal but your t4 levels also need to be checked as tsh alone won't give you the full picture

Thank you @Emz09
And good news that your call went well and things can progress quickly. I had a Hycosy/ HSG scan last year it was fairly quick and not too uncomfortable.
Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for it.

@missmoosh yes fortunately nhs will still cover the storage of our one embryo for 3 years and we'll just pay for the FET later down the line.

@missmoosh congrats, I haven't been there but I imagine daily vomiting is a small price to pay, especially after struggling.

@Natty2 when is your next round starting? 40% chance sounds good to me!

@missmoosh ahh amazing, thank you.
In September it was 2.6, however was retested via a private tests along with a full thyroid panel and TSH is 3. My free T4 is 16.60 pmol/L.

@Natty2 thank you 🤍 xx

Meds arrived yesterday, feels surreal to be doing this all again! Waiting for AF to arrive hopefully next week as my cycle has been longer from all the previous hormones.
The plan this time is for a high dose of a different hormone, which may not produce a high quantity but should produce better maturity 🤞 they'll do a day 1/2 scan initially to make sure my body is ready and no cysts from previous retrieval. Hoping we're all good to go this cycle but definitely going into this cautiously now.
Hope everyone is doing ok.
@LucyLoopyLu have you started your ivf treatment?

@Emz09 sorry for the delayed response! So your T4 is slightly only the higher side, but only just out of range. I actually feel better with mine towards the upper limit of what is considered normal. TSH although technically normal range, it isn't optimal as your fertility clinic said under 2/2.5 is the best in general life as well as for ttc. Have they considered putting you on a small dose of levothyroxine?

@Natty2 ahhh that's come round quickly! Hope AF arrives soon for you, so you can get going! How are you feeling about round 2? Good that they will be checking for cysts etc as well. Really hoping this is the one for you and you get your miracle from it 😊

@Natty2 hi lovely, hope you're all good and your next cycle goes ahead without any delays! I imagine having all the medication makes it feel very real.

Not started yet, just in my "last" fertile window, we've had our nurse's appointment so I just need to ring on day 1 of my next period and go in for baseline scan then hopefully get started. We pick up the medication there on the day of the baseline scan but everything else is in place now. We have a sharps box and a few other bits and they've shown us how to do the injections.
Really dreading it but just want to get it over with. I'm over on the March IVF thread (slightly different username) but it's a nice group if you want to pop over there x

@Natty2 sorry, meant to say I'm expecting to start around the 23rd March x

@LucyLoopyLu good luck for your start soon!
I did see the March group. I set one up in Jan for my first cycle and it's really helpful to chat to people in the same boat, I saw that people are already at transfer stage!

I got my day 1 today and just been given all clear following my baseline scan so injections begin again tomorrow.

Wishing you the best and luck and keep us posted!

@Natty2 sending all my best wishes for you for this round! Keep us updated ❤️

@Natty2 thanks, good luck to you too and hoping this cycle is the one for you 💞