TTC feels like it’s never going to happen

[EGB93]

Hoping to find some sort of hope on here and some positive stories or someone in the same boat as I am.

I am 31 years old, no children and we have been TTC for 12 months now, I came off the depo injection 18months ago to get my body ready hoping it would then happen 6months later but nothing. My cycle is so irregular, recently I have been having 14 day cycles but previously had 60 day cycles. OPK sticks never give a dark line, I never know when I am ovulating we just try DTD every 3 days. I have had a internal vaginal scan and ultrasound as doctor suspected possible PCOS but everything came back normal, I am on the waiting list for infertility and just feel really deflated, I feel like the injection really messed me up! Has it taken anyone else this long after the depo to get pregnant? Has anyone been successful with really irregular cycles? I just feel like I’m losing hope.

I had difficulty but for different reasons. (Regular periods to the hour). We paid for infertility testing privately. Both of us. Best thing I done. I learned I had a low AMH or FSH (can’t remember which one). Basically low quality eggs. I took advice from a private fertility facility and fell pregnant 4 months later before having to go through IVF. It’s best to have a test to see what you are dealing with. Good luck.

I don’t know if it will help but I had very irregular cycles - anything from 40 days to 170 days often. It took us 6 years and I’m now 25 weeks with our first. I lost all hope and said we would look at other options at the end of the year if no luck. Just letting you know that there hopefully will be light at the end of a long, desolate tunnel and I really hope it happens sooner for you. Be gentle with yourself though

Did your doctor do blood tests to make sure you are ovulating ? Took me 2 years to conceive naturally just as I was about to start ivf so don't give up . There are things you and your partner can do to improve your chances though .

I recommend visiting a fertility specialist.
You may need iui/ivf, your partner sperm may not be good or maybe medication only will solve the issue . Be prepared for anything really things don't happen overnight but hopefully you will be successful soon . Best of luck

@LizzeyBenett @Lifeisapeach @Dogwithtoebeans @Alberta56

thanks everyone for your replies and congratulations! I have an appointment in three weeks with a fertility specialist on the NHS I will see what they suggest but if it’s another long waiting list then I think I will be going private! Fingers crossed xx

@EGB93 can I suggest you watch Elle and fab on YouTube they have a video on their struggles and what they did to convince I genuinely think it helped me conceive . It turned out my partner's sperm morphology was the problem not me he gave up alcohol and caffeine and followed the tips in the video I mentioned above as well as taking supplements like zinc and got a normal
Sample in less than 3 months. Good luck x

@LizzeyBenett that’s amazing, yeah I always just assume it’s me because of my cycle and he’s got a child but things change! I will deffo watch it he does drink loads of coffee and saunas a few times a week I have heard that’s not good for sperm.

@EGB93 coffee was a big thing for my other half he drank an awful lot I think
Giving it up really made a difference he cut it down to one a day but yes definitely saunas wouldn't be great either .

I also would suggest private testing - a sperm analysis will cost about £150 and is so worth it, even if it just rules out that being the issue, you seem to be blaming yourself but men's fertility is declining rapidly on a global scale.

I don't know if this will help or depress you, but it took us 3 years and 10 months to fall pregnant, we were saving money for IVF etc, my partner had low sperm count due to dodgy veins and had 2 ops to fix it - but even so, the fix is temporary and is expected to reverse within 5 years. He was taking CoQ 10 (the expensive version) and ZMA every day for months and months and that helped improve his count and quality alongside the operation and I fell pregnant when we got back from a lovely hot holiday in August- make of that what you will!

So he's probably cooked off his sperm!! Jesus, my partner was told not to take too warm showers and avoid baths altogether.

I think you've likely found the source of your issues. I'll bet my hat that if he gets a test done tomorrow he will have a low count.

Just FYI sperm takes about 70 days to grow so even if he makes lifestyle changes today, you likely won't see results for 3 months ish.

Best of luck to you x