Unexplained infertility

[Zara84]

Hi,

I have had a number of blood work, hycosy, scans, all to show that there are no issues and ovulation is happening ( detected via opks and also a scan showing ovulation has occurred on 2 occasions)

My husband has now had 2 sperm analysis tests and both have returned normal, the previous one with even better results than last as he has been taking proxeed.

My question is - is there anything obvious I have not done yet?

I have also taken up cupping therapy to help me relax, and have started a healthier lifestyle and more excercise... on the flip side 3 of my friends ( 2 of which are obese and have pcos ) are on their 2nd pregnancies.

I have my follow up appt with my consultant next week but wanted to check if anyone else has been in a similar position and were there any other tests you did or any changes you made?

I may add the only possible issue is my thyroid levels are slightly out at 3.6 tsh rather than the desired 2.5. But is that truly enough to cause infertility? I know colleagues who have worse thyroid results and have had children.... losing the will to carry on here - any insight will be appreciated.

Thanks

The thyroid could be the reason, yes. Is there a reason that isn't being medicated? I believe that's why I stopped having chemicals during the second year of ttc - my tsh went from 2.2 to 3.98. It was medicated and our ivf was successful (it was the last test they did before starting on ivf.

Is it the reason for your lack of conception? Maybe. Maybe not. I'd suggest medicating it anyway...

Hi Zara84,

We're in a very similar position to you, having been ttc for 18 months alll our test results have come back fine. My husband in particular takes this as positive news, I could not be more frustrated - which is putting it mildly!

I'm sorry I don't have any words of advice, but I was wondering if you could tell me where you had your thyroid test? Was it through your GP? It wasn't something I was aware could be a problem until earlier this week, it isn't anything that has been discussed but I have had bloods taken on 3 occasions so it could be that I've been tested, but just didn't realise. We have our follow call on 19th March.

Thank you so much

Hi I had my blood work at GP and thyroid was never mentioned as an issue as it was within the normal range which I think is around 4.9 tsh however when I got blood work done privately my consultant told me it should be 2.5 for conception....however she also told me that it doesn’t always affect conception...
my husband is same he thinks it’s great that we have no known major issues - however with 2 years of ttc I just cannot take the stress of it any longer :(

Will be interesting to see what the consultant suggests when I see her next week - she was very keen on IVF in the sense that she thinks it will be the quickest remedy.. however it’s frustrating to not know exactly what we are trying to overcome by having the IVF done - sorry for the rant!

I do believe we all
Will have our babies soon ...it’s what keeps me going.. x

Completely understand. We are in a very fortunate position in that we can afford IVF if we choose to, but not knowing what the problem is doesn't make me feel very confident about it. We have decided to give it to July but as I'm sure you can tell it's making me a little stressed!

Thanks for your advice about the thyroid, I'm going to a fertility clinic next weekend so I'll mention it and see what they say.

Good luck with your appointment with the consultant, I hope it brings you some clarity. Let us know how it goes xxx

We have unexplained infertility. All of our test results can back with nothing abnormal found.
We were offered one round of IVF on the NHS after trying for 2.5 years which we went for.
I am now 26 weeks pregnant.
Unexplained infertility is so frustrating as you don’t get any answers but there is help out there and fingers crossed whatever you decide to do that you get a baby at the end of it.

Thanks Crazyeyes3,

Unfortunately I'm 35 so not eligible on the NHS but private is an option so we'll see. So pleased to hear that IVF has worked for you in what sounds like similar circumstances.

Good luck with your pregnancy and beyond, you must be so excited 😊

Hi @Luciep83
I think you can have IVF on NHS if you're under 42? As long as you meet the criteria? If you've been trying for certain about it time etc.
Also, differs with health boards and area as to how many cycles they will offer

Thanks @kelly199

I feel a bit foolish, I just accepted what the Dr told me. I wonder if it's to do with where we live, but I will certainly do some more research. Doing a quick Google search it suggests that up to age 40 is easier, but 40-42 still possible.

Thanks for your advice, much appreciated

We had unexplained infertility and we're eventually offered iui on the NHS. It was less invasive than the IVF (although still not entirely pleasant!) and was successful on the 3rd try.

Currently pregnant with number two who was conceived naturally on our first try. So I still have no idea what was wrong first time around, but it feels like my body needed a shove in the right direction to get the first pregnancy to stick.

No problem @Luciep83
Just thought that it sometimes takes more than one go, so if you don't mind the initial wait on the NHS, give it a go and if unsuccessful, you've always got the money to do other cycles privately as a last resort (although hopefully that wouldn't be the case and you'd be successful 1st time!) x

Thanks ladies - IVF is definitely on the cards and although I am 32 I have decided to go privately if we go down that route only because NHS vs private so far has been such a massive difference in experience - and the whole situation gives me so much of anxiety that I would rather take out some savings and pay for the process rather than being anxious and stressed the whole time, makes sense in my mind but can understand why others may feel otherwise.

I will let you know what consultant says - If she thinks thyroid is a big enough factor I may say we wait until I get that 2.5 reading by upping my dosage of thyroxine before the IVF.. as the medicine has already improved numbers... will keep you informed x good luck to you all

Hi @Zara84 can understand what you mean. Good luck to you and everyone else. Xx

@Kelly199 - ivf is successful up to 30% of the time. That's a 70% plus rate of not successful cycles. It's not a 'cure-all' or magic bullet. Success rates decrease with other factors, including age, reason for infertility etc... It has pretty good success rates after three cycles. But it does only take one. I'm just not a fan of peddling unrealistic hope.

I went into it with a three cycle plan, but was one of the fortunate 30%.

@physicskate I'm not saying that am I?
I've said it doesn't always work 1st time and so she would have money available to go private in the event that she would need more cycles?
I'm going through infertility issues myself and have been told it's likely I may need ivf and will know by the end of the month.
You were in our shoes before, so I'm really sorry that I won't have the vast knowledge that you clearly now have.

Just checking because you said it 'sometimes' doesn't work - when it doesn't work more often than it does work. 'As a last resort' also makes me think you thought it mostly works, but like with all things human reproduction - it mostly doesn't work (unlike physics, which ALWAYS works ).

@physicskate I do apologise for my wording. I understand it doesn't work a lot of the time.

Unexplained fertility here, been trying since 2014. Every test has come back normal, ovulate on the dot, good size follicles, good progesterone, nice lining, no sperm issues. Clomid and ovidrel haven't got the job done either. I'll have a lap in 4 months.

Is there any possibility you have endometriosis? This turned out to be our problem although I had very few symptoms. We had several rounds of IUI before it was discovered.

It was diagnosed during an internal scan to check for something else and I then had surgery to remove it. Fell pregnant on my next cycle (although miscarried) but went on to have a successful pregnancy.

Infertility is awful - sorry you're going through it.

No need for apologies!! It's just a lot of my friends were really flippant: 'oh just have ivf. Then you'd know exactly when you will get a baby, etc...' it's a general misconception about how often if work and how often it doesn't.

Of course one needs optimism when going down the ivf road, but realism too!! I'm sure you know that already, so sorry for coming across as though I'm lecturing (old habits die hard - I used to be a physics lecturer).

@physicskate ok, thank you.
That's ok, me too! I can understand where you're coming from, but I mean well

Kate - I’ve heard that a 100 times too “just have IVF and get it over with” the amount of times I’ve had to bite my tongue 😫

I really hope we all get there this year!

@physicskate i dont understand why ppl keep pushing the idea that ivf has a 30% success rate it varies from area to area and which clinic you visit

I think 30% is the max success rate (as I previously stated). And yes, it varies hugely because of factors like age, weight, cause of infertility, previous miscarriages, etc...

There are individual calculators online to give you a more realistic idea for your own set of factors.

@physicskate ive seen clinics online results in my area with higher than 30% success rates in women under 35 sooo. I understand what your saying completely that people should go into this with all the facts and be realistic but its equally important to not bring people down when they are feeling vulnerable.

And equally important not to give vulnerable people unrealistic expectations.