Unexplained Infertility - Advice Please!

[SammiePocket]

Hello, Im really hoping someone who's been through similar can advise me or give me some ideas on what our options are in this situation.

Dh and I conceived our first baby with no issues - first go - it was an absolute dream come true. Unfortunately we lost our baby early at 10+3 in June 2022.

We have been trying to conceive again since Sept 22 with no luck - we have both been tested at the GP for fertility problems - everything is in normal ranges. I have been tested for PCOS too due to some irregular periods but that also came back clear. We've been referred to an infertility clinic but there is a 43 week wait and I feel like this is an absolute eternity when we've been trying so long already.

Im thinking of paying for an AMH test - but can anyone advise if there's other tests I can ask my GP to do whilst we're waiting? I've had all the usual bloods done including progesterone. I've also had ultrasound and internal ultrasound. and DH has had sperm tested.

Is there anything else I could be asking for? I really want to go talk to my GP again but I want to be informed and know what to ask for.

Thank you

So sorry you are going through this. Suggestions from me would be:
vitimin D level check to ensure you are not deficient
ANA (anti nuclear antibodies) (maybe also a general autoimmune screening)
Blood coagulation

Depending on your age I would consider paying for private testing to expedite assessments.

I paid for a private consult and he suggested a HSG (when they put dye through the tubes).

Apparently the HSG can flush any 'gunk' out of the tubes and improve fertility.

All was ok on my tests, I was prescribed clomid, and got pregnant 2 months later!

Consult was about £200, HSG was about £500

Thank you I will look into these options 😊

Hi there, we've been through a lot of testing over our period of trying for 2 years and are now about to start IVF due to unexplained infertility, so listing below in case you might find it useful / see if can get on NHS / decide if you want to consider private testing.

Bloodwork - STI checks, thyroid function and AMH main ones
Pelvic ultrasound - check lining and ovaries - how many follicles you have
HSG - check if tubes are clear
Sperm analysis and DNA fragmentation for my husband

All our results came back within range, which was frustrating as we didn't have a symptom to blame it on.

We did our bloodwork with Randox and did a full body MOT which was £350, but you get tested 6 months apart - its tests over 100 things, but what I found useful was the thyroid function, vitamin deficiency, prolactin (you don't want this high as it can contribute to infertility), testosterone to name a few and I think its £50 extra to test the AMH (one payment and they will test twice over 6 months).

We did our pelvic ultrasound with ultrasound direct, it was £145 which was much cheaper than doing it at a private hospital, we were seeing costs in the £300 range. My follicle count went from 24 to 10 in a space of 2 years, which is still within range, but it was a bit of a shock to see a drastic drop given I'm under 35.

We did HSG with Lister clinic and it was £500, to get this on NHS you need a GP referral, otherwise have to go private. We were advised no need to get HSG if we were planning on going down the IVF route as the process skips the needs for the tubes. It's meant to increase fertility by about 20% even if they aren't blocked because it flushes out the mucus but its a little uncomfortable.

Sperm analysis and DNA fragmentation also at Lister clinic and London Andrology, it was a little over £2.5k - this was for our final reassurance we had tried every test we knew of to get some kind of diagnosis, but probably wouldn't recommend DNA fragmentation which is really expensive. A private sperm analysis in London is generally under £200.

Hope this might be of some help, and good luck on your journey x

I got pregnant really quickly like the first month we tried but ended in MC we tried for 2 years and fell pregnant naturally the month we were to start Ivf I'm 20 weeks now. Our only diagnosed problem was very low sperm morphology which my partner turned around and got a normal sample in under 3 months took another few months to conceive but we got there almost 2 years exactly to when we started trying . He took a regime of supplements and cut way down on caffeine and cut out all alcohol.