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Conception

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Fertility testing after 3 months TTC

13 replies

Bbqlady · 30/10/2023 17:07

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for posting here but as this is quite a lonely journey I'd really appreciate any opinions! I will preface this by saying I am extremely impatient and always looking for instant gratification so probably not surprising that the suspense of TTC is getting to me 😂

I've just turned 30 and we've been trying for 3 months with no luck. I have always been like clockwork with my cycle, never had any issues in that sense and have been tracking ovulation so I guess I was expecting an immediate BFP. I come from a medical family (midwife and doctor in my immediate family) and the women in my family all seemingly fell pregnant on their first cycle so I'm feeling edgy. I usually would seek their opinions but I just don't feel ready to share that we're trying at the moment.

My husband thinks I'm mad to get some basic testing done at this point (scan & AMH blood test for me, semen analysis for him) but I reason it that I'd rather have a full picture from as early as possible and I don't see any harm in it. If we are all good then I'm happy to crack on but I think I'd rather know sooner than later if there was something amiss. Has anyone else done this at this point? Was it helpful/informative and did it alleviate any rising anxieties?

OP posts:
PinkRoses1245 · 30/10/2023 17:12

The NHS says it's normal to take up to a year for healthy couples, so I do think you were naive to expect BFP straight away. I wouldn't personally at your age, I'd give it more time.

Bbqlady · 30/10/2023 17:18

PinkRoses1245 · 30/10/2023 17:12

The NHS says it's normal to take up to a year for healthy couples, so I do think you were naive to expect BFP straight away. I wouldn't personally at your age, I'd give it more time.

I think most people would, I'm just a bit of a worst case scenario-type thinker!

OP posts:
Itisyourturntowashthebath · 30/10/2023 17:30

You might want to look at ways to manage your anxiety.
Pregnancy, birth and looking after a young baby are all much more stressful than having unprotected sex.

TTC1990 · 15/02/2024 20:08

Bbqlady · 30/10/2023 17:07

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for posting here but as this is quite a lonely journey I'd really appreciate any opinions! I will preface this by saying I am extremely impatient and always looking for instant gratification so probably not surprising that the suspense of TTC is getting to me 😂

I've just turned 30 and we've been trying for 3 months with no luck. I have always been like clockwork with my cycle, never had any issues in that sense and have been tracking ovulation so I guess I was expecting an immediate BFP. I come from a medical family (midwife and doctor in my immediate family) and the women in my family all seemingly fell pregnant on their first cycle so I'm feeling edgy. I usually would seek their opinions but I just don't feel ready to share that we're trying at the moment.

My husband thinks I'm mad to get some basic testing done at this point (scan & AMH blood test for me, semen analysis for him) but I reason it that I'd rather have a full picture from as early as possible and I don't see any harm in it. If we are all good then I'm happy to crack on but I think I'd rather know sooner than later if there was something amiss. Has anyone else done this at this point? Was it helpful/informative and did it alleviate any rising anxieties?

Hi! Hope you don’t mind me jumping on your thread…

I am currently in the same boat you were. TTC for 3 months and nothing yet. Considering fertility checks…

Did you end up going for any? Or did you get your BFP?

TIA!

Bbqlady · 15/02/2024 20:52

TTC1990 · 15/02/2024 20:08

Hi! Hope you don’t mind me jumping on your thread…

I am currently in the same boat you were. TTC for 3 months and nothing yet. Considering fertility checks…

Did you end up going for any? Or did you get your BFP?

TIA!

Hello! I’ve had a couple of changes since I posted this question. So I did find a really helpful fertility clinic in London - happy to share details if you’re local - who I spoke with in depth and booked couples testing with. Sounded like a really simple process and I just wanted to tick it off tbh so I booked but a couple of weeks later my husband got cold feet and I cancelled but agreed we would revisit at 6 months TTC. I got a BFP on month 5 but sadly ended in a chemical. Following this I got another BFP and am currently 6 weeks so haven’t had need for the testing, but that would have definitely been my next step. I think that if you can afford it and it may help you with peace of mind then go for it. Sending baby dust x

OP posts:
GoingStirCrazyIVF · 15/02/2024 20:58

@TTC1990 Sorry to jump in but I wanted to share my story. My husband and I had been trying for around 7 months and I was getting worried and anxious. People told me to manage my anxiety and relax and that made it worst. I spoke to my partner about testing and he suggested we waited 6 months. I disagreed and booked us in 4 weeks later. It is the best decision I made. We had the tests and received the results the following week. Turns out he suffered from Anti Seamen Anti bodies and the chances of us conceiving naturally were slim, I had a low AMH and hormones. I got told if we didn’t start IVF in 6-12 months I would run out of time. If I had waited like everyone suggested I could have been out of time. If you can afford the private tests they will either provide peace of mind or help you with a plan. Good Luck.

PoppingTomorrow · 15/02/2024 21:28

I think you were sensible to get tested if you could afford it.

We went for couples testing early on because we were both over 40, neither had conceived before, so there was no point in leaving it to nature if there was something fundamentally wrong - we'd mostly likely have timed out.

ChaosAndCrumbs · 15/02/2024 22:11

I don’t know if this is helpful, but my DH does have other issues and we’ve avoided testing so far.

The first time it took us over a year to conceive and we considered fertility testing a little, but ultimately I became pregnant with my son before we had decided. The second time it was first try. But, this third time it’s taking a while again.

DH has had several strokes (brain stem), hormone imbalance and radiotherapy among other issues, so we’re pretty certain that although we’ve managed two lovely DC, our chances wouldn’t be great when analysed.

We felt testing before would make us feel a bit hopeless when we found out the lower likelihood. TTC is stressful enough as it is, but knowing the lower chances and adding more to it before trying naturally for a bit seemed a lot of pressure to us.

It’s a tricky one, we were younger with our first, but I’d suggest you to wait at least another few months. It’s not hugely common to become pregnant on your first few tries (though it seems everyone does but you when you’re TTC).

We tend to focus on all the other stuff around improving fertility first. Looking into the right diet (different for men and women), certain herbal medicines and improving fitness. We’ve also used IVI at home and a fertilily cup.

I think if you make all those changes and you’re getting close to the year boundary, that can be the time to look at testing. It also demonstrates to doctors you’ve tried every other avenue and that hasn’t worked.

It is quite likely to add an extra layer of stress, whether anything is found or not. If nothing is found, it’s the constant frustration of why nothing is working and if something is found, the anxiety about whether the solutions will work. There’s a lot of considering about the methods that will be best for you and so on. It’s just the start of a journey, really, and sometimes starting that too early can add extra stress to a situation that will happen very naturally without lots of extra help.

I do agree with pp that age etc are important considerations too. If it was a more major concern re health issues, I think testing early might be helpful, but it sounds very early to be too worried yet if both partners are fit and healthy.

Obviously, feel free to ignore this as you might feel very differently, but I wanted to share from a different perspective.

Really hope you get a bfp soon.

MaybeBabynotsure · 15/02/2024 22:13

if you can afford it why not, if it puts your mind at ease. I’m on cycle 28 of ttc #3 (took 5.5yrs for dc1 and 15 months for dc2) and although we did have tests after a year I wish now I’d done the ‘easy’ tests early on (SA, amh etc)

MaybeBabynotsure · 15/02/2024 22:14

Also get your TSH (thyroid) tested ! It can be a big factor but is easy to sort out

DollyDoyle · 16/02/2024 13:47

GoingStirCrazyIVF · 15/02/2024 20:58

@TTC1990 Sorry to jump in but I wanted to share my story. My husband and I had been trying for around 7 months and I was getting worried and anxious. People told me to manage my anxiety and relax and that made it worst. I spoke to my partner about testing and he suggested we waited 6 months. I disagreed and booked us in 4 weeks later. It is the best decision I made. We had the tests and received the results the following week. Turns out he suffered from Anti Seamen Anti bodies and the chances of us conceiving naturally were slim, I had a low AMH and hormones. I got told if we didn’t start IVF in 6-12 months I would run out of time. If I had waited like everyone suggested I could have been out of time. If you can afford the private tests they will either provide peace of mind or help you with a plan. Good Luck.

I have a very similar story. I went to the GP after the second month of trying (I fudged the dates), because I just 'knew.' Long story short there was indeed something very seriously wrong, it required multiple surgeries and it's only now a couple of years later I have finally got pregnant.

GoingStirCrazyIVF · 16/02/2024 14:29

@DollyDoyle congrats on your pregnancy after going through all of that.

TTC1990 · 18/02/2024 08:05

Firstly @Bbqlady a huge congratulations! It’s lovely to hear posts like this as it brings me hope!

All the other comments have been really helpful. I hadn’t even considering a lot of these factors so I really appreciate people taking the time to reply.

Im going to hold off with any tests until at least the 6 month mark then look at going private for a fertility MOT. I think I’ve been focusing too much on people seeming to fall pregnant straight away and something being wrong, when actually trying for several months is very normal!

Thanks again :)

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