TTC with bicornuate uterus

[Gardengirl18]

2 years TTC is nothing compared to some of you here but for us it has been a long and life consuming road that we fear we may be nearing the end of. We have unexplained infertility and have never had any sign of maybe having conceived in these 2 years.

I used to have incredibly painful periods but since starting having regular strong magnesium salt baths this pain has eased significantly. I'm now waiting for a date for a laparoscopy in the next couple of months to check for anything further.

We had taken time (away from our fertility clinic testing) to try for a little longer, after a hsg and two ultrasounds (one 3d), and I do suffer from anxiety through trying to find myself a new career in gardening (hence the username!) but other than that there's nothing else that we know of that could be causing this.

Just hoping to find that we're not alone in our journey. Especially looking for any positivity around my bicornuate shaping from others in a similar situation.

Sending a lot of love out there to you all but feeling a lot of sad right now and not sure if we can carry together on this way with such a sad outlook that isn't what we imagined. We're still strong together but the together is now changing into something different to what we imagined our future to be so we need to think about the possibility of a new dream together.

How do you stop 'trying' and get back to 'normal', or I guess the way life was before you started focusing on everything and shaped your life around TTC?

Long post was long.. sorry!

...*and breathes*

🤗

[Saya85]

Hi garden girl.

Infertility is difficult no matter how long it’s been- but at the same time in ‘medical’ circles 2 years isn’t too bad.

Are you ovulating? (Not just periods but actually tested for ovulation )

Do you have normal cycles ?

PCOS? Thyroid issues?

A bicornuate uterus doesn’t normally affect conception (depending on how severe it is) but it is linked with higher risk of miscarriage.

If it’s mild-moderate then they can resect the septum and effectively treat it during your laparoscopy. So hopefully that will take care of that ☺️ (My mild bicornuate was treated@laparoscopy)

Have they discussed the possibility of endometriosis ?

If everything else is fine and it’s unexplained and no treatment is working then they will fast track you to ivf as it’s been over 18months. This may be the answer to your prayers but it can also be a very rocky journey.

Unfortunately we have to be our own advocates sometimes. In the meantime do check all your vitamin levels (vit D, ferritin, iron, folate, vit b12) as a minimum as these deficiencies can really affect your chances of conceiving. Also they can affect anxiety symptoms - I would recommend you use magnesium on a more regular basis and you should hopefully find that calms the anxiety (vitamin c is also good for the adrenals/cortisol/stress and iron absorption from food)

Thyroid hormones as a baseline - tsh and free t4- as tsh should be below 2.5 when trying to conceive

Good luck- and don’t give up hope- there is still much that you can do- but it is worth trying to be balanced in your expectations and how you want to proceed if your plans don’t go as expected. It’s difficult but the more you are prepared the better xx

[Gardengirl18 in reply to Saya85]

Thank you for your reply. It's given me lots to think about - I will go get vitamin deficiency checks. Had the usual NHS check before referral to specialist happened so all hormone levels are okay. No PCOS and regular periods with a 26/27day cycles. Have been tested for ovulation (day 21). I know the uterine shape doesn't normally affect conception but it's the only thing that obviously not normal to point the finger at right now.

Vitamin C is definitely worth noting and so will try to get more of that on the go - it's nearly homegrown tomato and blueberry season so that's quite exciting! I know about the connection between vitamin C and Iron but don't always remember to follow that through too so very good point. I will also go back to he doctors and try and get a vitamin check done.

Endo has indeed been discussed due to my pain issues but they seemed less concerned when I told them it's the way it's been since my periods started back at age 13 ish. Can't really tell until I have the lap though.

We don't want to go through the IVF process, we actually looked through the process/presentations from our clinic today, and want to do things as naturally as possible. That's not us wussing out of the process but feeling that it just isn't right for us, even though we know it is for many.

My anxiety had put me off having the laparoscopy but now I feel it's time to get that checked as I'm able to cope with my periods now as the pain is significantly reduced.

With regards to septum resection they don't offer that at my clinic on the NHS. There was a trial for resection but it's finished now. I will double check though as our specialist doctor is the one who would be doing the surgery herself. That itself is a great anxiety reducer!

Lots of love xx

[Saya85 in reply to Gardengirl18]

Oh wow I’ve never heard of resection being refused on the nhs.

Hopefully they will x

That’s great that you’ve covered the other bases. Do get thyroid checks along with your vitamins (very often overlooked by doctors and clinics but vital )

I totally understand @ivf. It certainly isn’t the miracle solution it’s purported to be. There is also iui which is far more natural but lower success than ivf (yet it may get rid of the issues you may have with natural conception.

Also there is natural modified ivf too that follows your cycle rather than downregulating it. It sounds like you’ve done your research so sorry if I’m repeating what you know.

Good luck with it all x

[Missy_22]

Hi ya I have bicornatue uterus. I also had painful periods and following my first laparoscopy I was diagnosed with stage 4 endo! I was shocked!! Anyway following a 23 week miscarriage (lost our baby girl) they looked at my uterus again and decided to resection it on the nhs last year. So now I have a good cavity space.

It’s been. Long journey and I’m going for my 4th ivf next month in Cyprus.

Good luck to you and do get all your bloods checked out and make sure your a healthy weight.

All the best to you xxx

[Gardengirl18 in reply to Missy_22]

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm sad that you've also had a long journey but glad we have eachother so know we're not alone.

My weight is fine (BMI is 22 and I'm 5'11)

Wishing you positivity and love for your Cyprus venture xx