Secondary unexplained infertility - what's left to try?

[Daisychain1974]

I'm 40 very soon and have a 5yo DD. We've been trying for 4 years to conceive a sibling with no luck and one miscarriage. Not sure what's going on as it took me 6 months to get pregnant first time round and so wasn't quite expecting this curved ball. I've had every test under the sun; hormone levels all very fine, internal scans all ok, hsg shows tubes all clear, husband has a count of 120 million (which is apparently good), periods regular as clockwork. The NHS has said they can do no more as it's "unexplained" and my only option is to pay for IVF as I already have a child. £7000 a try is not something I have.

Ive tried evening primrose oil, maca, royal jelly, multivits, calcium and vit d, robitussin, standing on my head, yoga, acupuncture, ovulation predictors, visualisation techniques even a turkey baster! Ive tried staying off the caffeine, not having a glass of wine, I've tried forgetting all that and enjoying a few glasses of wine and coffees. I've tried stressing about it and I've tried forgetting about it totally.

Is there anything I have left to try? I am very grateful and indeed lucky that I already have one, but the comments I get weekly "So....when you having another one then? Time is ticking! You need to give her a sibling! One child is not really what I'd call a 'family'" and other such helpful comments from the extremely fertile mothers at the school gates are really starting to get me down, especially when I see my daughter with no-one to play with. Secondary infertility is a support no man's land; I'm the only one I know with this issue, which feels pretty isolating, and I dont understand why its not happening when all tests indicate everything is hunky dory.

I am really sorry to hear you are going through this. It's incredibly isolating and painful especially with such insensitive and unhelpful comments as you have described. I had a very similar situation, and for me it turned out I had immune issues. I believe it's quite a common issue for women who have been trying for many years and are unexplained, or have had multiple miscarriages. There are a few clinics who specialise in the investigation and treatment of this condition (I was with ARGC). The blood tests needed are commonly called the Chicago test and cost a few hundred ££s but if it's a positive, result then the drug treatment is more expensive. I don't know if you necessarily need full blown IVF though as you may be able to go for drug treatment only. It may be worth looking into to check exact costs, other than ARGC I think Drs Gorgy and Shehata also specialise (all in London). It worked for me and I have an 8 month old now (with a huge 6.5 year age gap with my older son!). Feel free to message me if you want to know more and all the very best of luck xx

Dr Gorgy rings a bell. A friend had a complex range of fertility issues including early menopause and immunity issues. Her body was attacking the embryos they were implanting. She had her husband's semen pinpricked into her arm to help her immune system desensitise and also had a series of saline/ plasma (?) Injections-I think she said they use it for organ donor recipient patients who suffer from similar immunity issues as both donor organs and embryos are seen as foreign. She has twins now. Good luck.