Unexplained infertility - anyone ever changed "unexplained" to "explained?"

[GlummyMummy]

I'm intrigued if anyone on here has had unexplained infertility for a while, and had several failed IVFs, and then gone on to discover there was something wrong with either partner that hadn't previously been discovered?

I feel sure that there's always an explanation and nothing is ever unexplained. Unsure if I'm just not being offered the right tests!!

No, I was tested through foetal med after a tfmr before I was ever referred for IVF. I need IVF with PGD so am at a clinic that can do that. It's just a blood test though, doesn't necessarily have to be through your clinic.

I mean it's not that my clinic don't offer the test (they do) just that I knew about it before I ever got there!

So could GPs do the blood test then?

I don't think a GP could order it on the NHS, in my experience anything slightly specialised has to come through a hospital referral.

I've just done a google though and every IVF clinic I looked at had the possibility to do it, or you can get it done through TDL or similar. Seems to be about £300. It's called a karyotype test if you want to google it.

Thanks Chivey 😃 Are you doing IVF at the moment then? So frustrating that we end up doing all this research ourselves, I've learnt more on here in 24 hours than I have in 4 years at my clinic!

I'm "on the waiting list" for NHS PGD after 2 MMCs and a TFMR. I know, I have done so much research at every stage, I think you really need to fight to get things done. I'm a total chromosome expert now!! When I found out about my issue, I was really annoyed that I wasn't offered testing earlier, but I guess it is not hugely common - another possibility to be considered though.

Hopefully you won't be waiting too long then Chivey. It must be a relief in a sense to know what's wrong though, if you know what I mean.

Yes. Multiple miscarriages and then struggled to conceive. NHS tests showed no problems and deemed us unexplained. It turned out I had both high NK cells and poor response to hormones (plus quite but not critically low hormone levels). A combination of HCG injections between ovulation and end of the luteal phase and then steroids and progesterone after BFP means I am now 20 weeks pregnant.

Congrats Brenna. How did you find out about the Nk cells?

Thanks. I went to the clinic in coventry run by Dr Quenby and had a biopsy. As a PP said it was 'only' £540 for the testing which is pennies in comparison to IVF. Many people asked us if we would try IVF and I always said no as in our case I knew it would be nothing more than paying someone to give us a very expensive miscarriage and that we needed to find out the cause of those. I am absolutely certain that the time when we stopped managing to conceive that it was not that we were no longer conceiving but that I was just rejecting them before we could test. It looks like I was right there. I hope you find your cause and get treated.

Thanks Brenna. It's such a shame that some clinics don't offer or even make patients aware of these things as I'm only finding out about tests now which I could have done years ago! Very frustrating.

Hi - been reading your posts with interest as I think I may finally have a bit of explanation for our ‘unexplained’ secondary infertility. I have a DS (4) who took a while to conceive but not outside the normal range. I am 40 now, but have been ttc no2 for over 2.5 years.
When we first saw a fertility consultant I asked about possibility of endo being a problem and she basically advised that we should just go straight to ivf if having a baby was our priority as the time it takes to have tests wasn’t on our side. So we have had 2 fresh and one frozen round all failed so far. I’m in middle of a 3rd fresh and had a good response so far (just heard 8 out of our 9 eggs have fertilised) but the interesting thing was this time at my scan they saw an endometrioma on my right ovary (which didn’t respond as well) and during egg retrieval they struggled to get to that ovary as it was stuck in the wrong place - probably due to adhesions. So I do have Endometriosis and it’s quite possibly part of the explanation. If this round doesn’t work I shall be having that laparoscopy to check that there isn’t any adhesions stopping implantation.... so I’m now considering myself a combo of age/ endo rather than ‘unexplained’.

Hi Hobbes - hope your ivf going well so far, that's a great fertilisation rate!

I'm also a bit concerned about adhesions as I had a bleed after my daughter was born and have always wondered if that might be adding to our problems conceiving number two. Also been reading the other endometriosis/endometrioma thread on here. It's gobsmacking that it takes so long for these things to be discovered! Are your periods heavy as a result?

On the NK cells issue, wondering if anyone who has been treated with steroids for this, can tell me about the side effects of them? Also, if you were found to have NK cells, are you rarely ill ?