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Infertility

Our Infertility Support forum is a space to connect with others in the same position, discuss causes, treatment and IVF, and share infertility stories of hope and success.

Letrozole without PCOS?

6 replies

Sierra26 · 04/09/2023 21:28

After a long time TTC I’ve had my first NHS fertility appt with DH. We’d already had all the necessary tests and scans privately (all good with nothing to explain our difficulty), so the consultant went straight to “let’s refer you for IVF”.

I was expecting this but much further down the line, and was taken aback that there wasn’t ANY discussion or troubleshooting or suggestion of medicated cycles. I suppose that was maybe because it was clear I’d already done my own research, but still I expected a bit more of a patient centred approach or hand hold.

I said we were open to ivf but could we try ovulation support first as less invasive, to which they said yes, but as my tests and cycles show I’m ovulating normally I’m not sure what to expect. It might be wasted time but at least I can start mentally building up to IVF. We haven’t even told family or friends we’ve been TTC so all felt like a huge jump.

I also asked for progesterone support but was told no as my day 21 test was normal. Had been hoping they’d prescribe prog support to cover all bases (and avoid costly ivf referral!).

Anyway, now that’s off my chest, why I’m here is to ask if anyone has had success with Letrozole when they were already ovulating naturally (so subfertility was not due to PCOS or lack of natural ovulation). My issue must be somewhere other than ovulation so I’m not sure if this is going to help me or not, other than to just increase the number of eggs we have to aim for each month.

Would love to hear some success stories to give me a mental boost, and also to understand if other consultants are proactively prescribing letrozole to natural ovulators. Mine did but only as I suggested it, which doesn’t give me much confidence!

OP posts:
Halsi · 04/09/2023 22:12

Hi @Sierra26

I had ovulation induction and timed sexual Intercourse with unexplained infertility (and I was ovulating already) and I got pregnant twice but miscarried twice. That was approx. 6 cycles. I am now doing IVF. What age are you? If time is on your side it can't hurt to try that way for a while.

Sierra26 · 04/09/2023 22:20

Hi @Halsi , thanks for sharing. I’m so sorry to hear about your losses. That must have been incredibly painful to go through. I’m 35 so we still have time but if we don’t have success after three medicated cycles we’ll go straight for ivf. Just can’t quite believe we’re here.

Did your doc explain their logic re ovulation boost when you were already ovulating?

Very much hoping your ivf is successful 💕🤞🏻

OP posts:
Halsi · 04/09/2023 22:27

No they didn't. He just said that as we had been trying a long time with no success and no explanation he would try that first.
I also was very hesitant about IVF and wasn't "mentally" there at that time so maybe thats why he did it. Now I'm here though I honestly couldn't care less about the IVF process. I think once you have decided to go for it that's that.

One thing I will say is when they did the IVF work up my husbands SA came back abnormal and with high Dna fragmentation (even though it had been normal previously) so in the end we weren't unexplained. It just required further testing.

Thankyou for your well wishes, I am currently 5 weeks pregnant. Very anxious though. xx

Halsi · 04/09/2023 22:30

You're phrase "just can't believe we're here" really resonated with me by the way. I must say that to my DH at least twice a month. It's a devastating and bewildering process this infertility.
Here any time you want to talk xx

Sierra26 · 05/09/2023 07:03

Thank you for your kind response @Halsi ❤️ even though we’ve been trying a long time, it somehow still feels like this part has come very quickly with no real build up.

Interesting that the ivf work up brought you more info. I’m tempted to do some more private tests over the next couple of months to see if anything else comes up. I’ve ordered progesterone tests to self monitor for a cycle as I’m still curious there might be something in that.

Wonderful to hear that you’re now 5 weeks. Don’t blame you for feeling anxious though, I’m sure most people do at this point. Take care and keep me posted if you can! Xx

OP posts:
Halsi · 05/09/2023 18:25

Thankyou @Sierra26.

That sounds like a good idea, you are being as proclactive as you can. You're working hard to get to your family and please it will pay off soon for you xx

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