What do you believe gave you a BFP?

[HopeForARainbow]

I don't know why I am writing this; hoping for some miracle maybe.

I am 36, DH 37. We have been TTC for over 7 years now. I have had two natural MCs, 1 failed IVF last year, and one IVF resulting in MC this year. The MC took 2 months to resolve which has messed up my cycles. Hopefully, it comes back to normal soon.

All my coagulation tests came back within range. AMH was 17 when measured last year. On the lower side for my age but not too bad (that's what the doc said). FSH, LH, progesterone all come back as normal. Waiting for results for karyotyping for us. Awaiting a form for some more tests.

When my GP sent me to a fertility clinic they put me straight on IVF. The gynaec there said that as I have been pregnant before they don't think anything else will help like clomid or HSG or Hysteroscopy etc.

I have hypothyroid but i take thyroid medication every morning. So it's in control. I take pre-natals and eat good (at least as much as i can). I have reduced caffeine to 1-2 cups of tea (black) a day and 1 decaff. Have coffee only once in a while. Alcohol once in a while and don't smoke. I am a vegetarian.

I know so many of you out here have been through a similar or worse journey than mine. So I wanted to see if there's anything I can do to help me get pregnant or anything you recommend to prepare for my next IVF.

Please share your story to give me some hope.

@HopeForARainbow
Firstly I'm really sorry you are having such a difficult time TTC. I truly believe that as soon as I relaxed it caught. I would calculate my ovulation every month and make sure we had as much sex as possible during that time ect. Then I would google every tiny symptom I thought I had and would cry when we got a negative. I decided to bin the ovulation tests and delete my ovulation app on my phone and we caught the next month! Maybe coincidence but I really believe it helped ❤️ good luck with your journey xx

Have you used preseed? We used that first time around and got pregnant the first time we used it. In conjunction with an ovulation kit...

@HopeForARainbow, please continue to have hope! xxx
For us it happened the month where we just couldn’t be bothered dtd so we only did it 5 days before ovulation and the the day before. If I have to be entirely honest we wouldn’t have done anything on the night before O if it wasn’t for my partner that said to “let’s just do it so we haven’t at least missed the month”. Who would have guessed that this will work and I am now 8 weeks! The day before I tested I was telling him how we have to go to the GP for fertility treatment referral if it doesn’t happen by end of the year as it would be 1.5 years of trying and I can’t do it anymore. I won’t tell you to not stress about it because it’s just impossible-do try to take each day at a time though and don’t push yourself too much. xxx
Baby dust to you and all the best of luck

I conceived my first in 3 months, however took over a year to conceive our second child. I was referred to fertility clinic for blood tests etc however I was sent for a hsg. I was pregnant within a month. When I was having the test one of my tubes was blocked but the force of the dye cleared it out. So grateful how things worked out. Prior to the hsg, the consultant had said to keep trying but ivf would likely be our only chance. Good luck but try and push for the hsg.

Glad you have been katyotyped as this was what I was going to suggest. DH has a translocation and it just takes time for us, but some translocation you need to do PGD as the ratio of healthy embryos is too poor for time to help. It can be hellish to get a karyotype done on the NHS though.

Although my untested probably complete fluke tip that worked for DS2 was a cock ring apparently it makes the ejaculation more forceful due to the pressure, maybe that helped??

B vitamins

I ttc at 42. Gave up tea /coffee /fizzy drinks.
Ate fresh veg especially greens every day. No red meat - just chicken. Fish a few times a week. Took folic acid and used conceive plus. Dh took soluble 1000 mg vit C twice a day (ivf recommended to a friend's dh). Sperm cycle is about 90 days so takes time.
Used cheap ovulation strips.
Got a bfp on 3rd cycle..

Pre-seed lubricant.

I don't recall all the tests and results now, other than the fact that I was found to have PCOS and then dh had a low count with v low motility. We tried metformin and clomid but after more tests they advised we give up treatment and that IVF/ICSI would be unsuccessful due to his counts.

Dd was conceived after 6 years of trying (and not trying) - we were abroad on a city break for a few days and went to a sentimental place for a fabulous dinner. I had lost quite a lot of weight and looked amazing. I proceeded to get spectacularly drunk on champagne and threw up in a bin outside the restaurant and again on the plane the next day.

I know it was that night because we had been going through a v rocky time both before and after our weekend away and had been in separate rooms for weeks. I was obviously v concerned that I was the drunkest person on the planet and it is not a strategy I recommend!!

Extra progesterone and taking it for longer. Not sure if it’s relevant to your circumstances but Tommy’s did some research about this, I think it’s called the PRISM trial.

Don't give up @HopeForARainbow. I had 4 failed IVF rounds and had all but given up but on my 5th round we used a PGS tested embryo, did natural killer cell treatment, I took the week off work after transfer, had acupuncture and did my best to relax and distract myself (easier said than done). I also took ubiquinol coq10 for a few months beforehand. I'm not sure what worked the magic but I am now a mummy. Wishing you so much luck xxx

I conceived after 4 years ttc. Unexplained infertility but age against both me and DP. Honestly I think it was a combination of luck and time. I was in pretty good shape when I got pregnant having taken up running during the previous year - I did my first half marathon the month before I got pregnant, but had given up on all the various supplements I'd taken on my ttc journey aside from COQ10 & I was just running down my last pot of it.

I'd just turned 40 and absolutely did not expect to become a mum at that point. I'd psychologically drawn a line under it for the sake of my mental health. My 3 month DD is napping on my lap as I write this!

Good luck with your journey. It's so hard and nearly broke me at times.

@Lil28 @PurpleIsTheColour @Superstardjs- Wow, how did you do that? I mean i tried so many times but it's so hard to not think about it... Covid hasn't helped either.. sitting at home and people around me telling me to make best use of not commuting etc.. my last few years have just been consumed by TTC , IVFs, supplements and planning everything around a baby that hasn't arrived yet. May be I should take a break for a couple of months...

@boysonthesofa @Funkypolar - No haven't tried pre-seed. May be will give it a try in the next cycle. For this one i just bought conceive plus

@Newnamedillydally - I asked a few years ago to the fertility clinic i was referred to about hsg. they said it won't help as i have been pregnant before. But your story is the opposite. So i will see if i can push for it again.

@BertieBotts - NHS said no to do our karyotype tests... so we are getting it done privately. The result should come anytime now. It's been 3.5 weeks since we did the test

@Goodebe - i take pregnacare. I just checked it has lots of vitamin b... did you take them on top of your prenatals?

@Santaisironingwrappingpaper - i am thinking to give up caffeine & diet coke too.. see if it helps. we have both recently started taking 1000 mcg of vit C. May be i will ask DH to take twice a day

@Snapcat - Did someone prescribe you progesterone or you took it by yourself?

@mellowyellow6 - wow you have had a very difficult journey too. may I ask which clinics did you get your IVF done at?

@ronswansonstache - i feel the same.. broken at times. I just wish if someone could put a magic bean inside me :) ... I am so happy to hear your story; it does give me a lot of hope. DH always tells me that it's not our time yet. And it will happen. I just need to keep the hope

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so many of you mentioned CoQ10. I recently started taking if (ubiquinol version) reading about it on other Mumsnet threads

I honestly think it was stopping drinking alcohol altogether and stopping eating meat. I did it for lent and fell pregnant. Found out just before Easter.

This could all very bollocks of course. Who really knows?

Sorry you are having such a tough time op .

I always reduced booze and gave up coffee prior. Used conceive plus with DTD (including putting it on end of toothbrush to get it right “up there”!). Always did upside down cycling / 5 mins wait before peeing after sex.

Took Angus cactus, soy isoflames to regulate cycle. Evening primrose first 2 weeks cycle and uniquinol. acupuncture with fertility specialist x

Also religiously used digital ovulation sticks- the cheap ones are useless! It’s a lot to spend but worth it IMO.

And DTD twice on day you get a positive smiley and once day after.

So sorry to hear about your journey. Have you ever used preseed?

Preseed worked first time here too. Worth a try. So sorry your journey has been so tough 💞

I had DS1 via IVF on our first round. I very much approached it with the mindset of it was a practice run, hoping to get some frozen embryos to then try again. I don’t know if this helped.

DS2 was a natural surprise while I was 9 month post partum. We weren’t trying or using protection as I’d assumed we couldn’t get pregnant naturally. However it obviously worked but I think you’re supposed to be at your most fertile post partum.

I was diagnosed with sero negative coeliac disease, after 9 rounds of ivf, unexplained infertility and one miscarriage (from ivf) I conceived naturally. Would have been a lot cheaper to have gone gluten free ten years earlier

Sex pretty early in the cycle works for me

Also: I have read that the male giving up alcohol works better than the female - it affects sperm pretty badly (if he drinks, that is)

The third round of IVF was completely different (not only in that it worked). The additional information on the needed dose of medication from the first two rounds led to a completely new approach that worked and also gave two AA embryos to freeze.
It was also the round where I gave up and didn’t try any special diet or anything.

@HopeForARainbow yes I guess covid wouldn't help as there's not much distractions! I would 100% recommend taking a break and just have regular sex without tracking your ovulation ect. Your body will be so much more relaxed making it easier to conceive. Also not sure if this helped but after having sex I would hold my legs in the air for 10 mins. Apparently the gravity helps? Haha could just be a myth but can't hurt 🤷🏻‍♀️

Acupuncture, but that was because it happened to be the thing that worked that month (the month before it would have been baggy pants for DH - I was running out of ideas ). I had been recommended it by someone who had used it on their third (and only successful) round of IVF. I wasn't having IVF but had got to the "fuck it, what's the harm?" stage. Will be trying for DC2 next year and will go straight back to it if not pg in the first few months, not going to struggle on for years next time.