Unexplained Infertility

[Blossomofhope]

Hi ladies

I know that this has been covered before but I just can’t get my head around the fact that over 2.5 years in, us as two healthy people have not managed to conceive. I’m a logical person so I try to find a cause for things but when you see so many people who are unhealthy, heavy drinkers etc having kids it’s just so hard to understand how we can’t.

I know I’m just venting. I’m positive most of the time 😅

Hi lovely,

this is the same for us!! We’ve been TTC for 4 years but nothing!! We are now on your frozen embryo cycle, following a failed fresh cycle. Our doctor told us that we are in the unexplained infertility category - both perfect on paper but yet can’t conceive!!

finding it very annoying & hard to deal with to be honest!! Like not having any answers as to why or anything like that. It would be nice if we knew why and could treat it! X

hey @Blossomofhope i feel your pain. My husband and I are the healthiest people I know and we were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. On the positive side, with unexplained infertility most clinics will just let you start IVF straight away, whereas with some others I know where a reason like PCOS, a different more lengthly course of treatment is advised. This suited us as we both wanted to just get on with it.

our clinics standard practise with unexplained infertility was to split the eggs and do half with IVF and half with ICSI. Interestly only the ICSI ones worked, despite investigations showing no issue with sperm or eggs. Even though the science has evolved so much, the doctor did say that there is still just so much they don’t understand about the causes of infertility.

I know it’s frustrating but take comfort that with you both being healthy you will have a higher chance of success if you do go down the assisted fertility route.

have you have tests done? A friend has recently been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries, with is different to PCOS and apparently quite common and often never diagnosed. She did manage to conceive a DC but it took a long time.

Thanks for your messages ladies.

@Fluffyted It’s hard to accept there isn’t a clear answer. I feel for us it’s maybe little things at a point in time not being optimal. We’ve had low morphology with iui ivf should have fixed but also at times morphology has been better. I recently did the Chicago bloods panel and apparently I’ve high killer cells - info online about this is so conflicting - some medics believe in it, others think it’s rubbish. 4 years is tough, I really hope you get an answer soon. If you’ve only had one ivf transfer so far there’s every chance the next one would work. I really hope it works!!

@Rosie86947 Thats bizarre that you’ve no issues with sperm or egg but only the ICSI fertilised - that would almost suggest a sperm issue. For our two rounds of ivf we did ICSI and fertilisation was good but we only collect 6 eggs. I’ve done so many tests. I can’t imagine there’s many left that I haven’t tried. 😅 what’s your plan now?

yes it was bizarre, and it would suggest something with the sperm but nothing showed up on tests. The embryologist did say they have seen it before where ivf didn’t work in one cycle and did the next! However if we did go through the whole process again they would recommend all ICSI.

i had a natural FET last month but sadly resulted in a miscarriage at 6 weeks. We have one more blasto left so we will try that one and go from there. Our first round a few years ago was successful resulting in my DS, so am remaining hopeful as I did have a healthy pregnancy, and that this was just a one off and next one will work.

what are next steps for you? 6 eggs is still good, I think I had 6 or 7 first time around - quality over quantity. Interesting about the killer cells you mentioned as I’ve heard about this too. Has your doctor recommended anything?

Well our first ivf failed but second resulted in 7 week miscarriage so doctor just wants to change something before trying again. I’m on a probiotic now and I’ll go on steroids because of the blood test but other than that it’ll be the same protocol.
sorry to hear about your miscarriage.. seems so cruel after the whole ivf process

i know, miscarriage is awful but does seem to hit particularly hard when you’ve gone through IVF because you’ve gone through so much just to even get pregnant in the first place. Interesting about the probiotic, was that just a general recommendation? Have you had all your nutrient levels and hormones tested? I’m debating about getting mine done, I don’t think I’ll be deficient as have a healthy diet but want to maximise my chances for the next transfer. It is so hard not knowing what the issue is and I find myself going down rabbit holes on google. have you decided when you will do your next transfer?

I have a follow up with my consultant tomorrow . I’m interested to know if they will want me to wait a few cycles after the miscarriage or if I can start again right away after my next period.

The probiotic was instead of doing the Emma Alice test. No idea if it’ll do anything. I’ve been on it about a month now. The reviews were all super positive though from people who have been ttc a long time. So worth a shot.

Ya I’ve had my levels tested in the past. I’ve had low vit d and testosterone before. I always take vit d supplements now. Before I did the last ivf I did use testosterone gel for a few days so maybe I should try that again.

How did your appointment go?