Hi everyone! So I'm new to Fertility Network UK. Just wondering if anyone is in the same boat as me in that they have never conceived and have unexplained infertility? We have had all diagnostic tests from our fertility centre and everything is 'normal'. My husband and I have been trying for two years and it just seems to be that everyone else around us is falling pregnant with no difficulty... 😏 But I suppose we only hear the positives. We have another review appointment on Friday 11th January and we're hoping we will go on the IVF waiting list then as at our last appointment they were giving us a few more months of trying...
Any words of wisdom from anyone in a similar situation?
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Itsalongjourney26
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We had unexplained infertility. I do have PCOS but that was deemed not an issue as I was still ovulating and everything else came back fine. We had a fresh round of IVF and got pregnant but had a miscarriage and then had a frozen round and now have a 10 month old girl.
Its so frustrating having no diagnosis but there is hope. Good luck to you xx
Thank you for your reply!! Here's hoping it comes one way or the other... I'm glad you have your beautiful girl 👧 xx
Hi, just to say we are in a similar boat although we had one blighted ovum pregnancy (no embryo only sac) right a the beginning of trying. My OH kept saying 'at least we know we can get pregnant' but we didnt know that as it wasn't a viable pregnancy... it was so disheartening every month nothing happening. I really feel for you. All tests came back normal and it went on for years.
I think we just tried too hard. It became an obsession for me, and my doctor always told me off for OPK'ing and monitoring everything - but it was impossible not to. People say 'just try without trying' or 'stop trying and it will happen'.. how on earth do you do that!?
We have turned to IVF now. Not sure of your age but we were told that would give us a slightly higher chance than conceiving naturally but only slightly higher.. I was 40 when we were referred though - think odds are better the younger you are.
I'm 26 which makes me wonder why it's so difficult... I know what you mean about the trying thing! Tbf I feel less obsessive as time has gone on and just kept a wee eye on my dates rather than timing everything perfectly and analysing everything. Trying to relax more but it is difficult when on paper everything should be with us and we should have no problem conceiving lol!
Welcome, you’re in a good place, everyone is so supportive and lovely here.
Yep, we’re the same boat. We’ve been trying nearly 2.5 years and have ‘unexplained infertility’ too, with all tests and scans ‘normal’. I’ve never conceived ever. We had our review appointment back in mid November and that’s when they put us on the list for IVF. They told us 9-12 months.
Have you had your HSG test? And have they done the smoke test? Those were the last 2 we got done before they put us on the list. They also tested 8 weeks of my urine samples to ensure I am ovulating (which they said I am).
If they’ve said all tests have been completed that’ll be you! Don’t see why they wouldn’t put you on the official list then (if not already).
Last time we went to the clinic they said we had to do a smoke test to prove we aren’t smokers! We both had to blow into a tube thing. Hadn’t heard of it either but just one of the NHS criteria to be ticked off they said xx
Yes we are exactly the same it’s been over 3 years of ttc now, all tests are clear and we are now in IVF I had a failed frozen FET and due my next FET end of the month. I still panic that there must be something wrong with me and hate the not knowing but at trying to trust the doctors and take 1 day at a time . Good luck with your journey xx
Welcome! Just wanted to wish you luck on your journey. My situation is different to yours but there will be lots of ladies on here able to share their journeys with you. Good luck Xx
We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility, I had never got pregnant naturally we had our first round of IVF in August 2017 and we now have a 7 month old baby boy! Don’t give up hope it’ll happen xxx
Unexplained infertility is such a frustrating diagnosis.
For 5 years & 10 months of TTC we were diagnosed as “ unexplained”. I had many issues in my period cycles that couldn’t be explained until I eventually had a laparoscopy ( a minor surgical procedure ) which endometriosis was found. . We had chemical pregnancy( very early miscarriage ) afterwards & I had another 2 laparoscopys ( totalling 3 laparoscopys within 13 months!) & second month of trying since my last surgery I am 19 weeks pregnant. It is important to say not all ladies with endometriosis will face fertility issues. Mine happened to grow on places where it did ; pouch of Douglas & uteroscaral ligaments ( also rectum which doesn’t affect fertility but gave me terrible bowel symptoms alongside gynaecological ones) I would always advise any lady with “ unexplained infertility “ to have a laparoscopy to either rule out endometriosis or treat it. Scans do not show endometriosis unless you have the chocolate endo cysts on your ovaries ( I didn’t) Every other test came normal for us. I was grateful it was the only issue. Once it was treated we could conceive.
Hello! I'm new here too (literally signed up 15 minutes or so ago), so sorry to read that you are having trouble which is deemed unexplained. It's good to hear that you have been having tests and that they are treating you seriously - myself and my partner are both 26 and have been trying to conceive now for around 2 years. It's been a lot of waiting, but finally after numerous tests too (all of which come back clear) we are on the waiting list to see a Gynacologist who should refer us onto IVF. That being said, due to issues I've never really put down to anything other than 'ladies problems' ... I'm probably going to have to have a laparoscopy to check for endometriosis which I will do before we move into any IVF treatments (for maximum chance!).
In terms of everyone else falling pregnant around you - oh my gosh, it isn't just me then! In the last few months I have seen different friends/ work colleagues welcome 3 new babies, with another 2 on the way. It's hard going, no matter how positive you try to be! I never thought that we would be in this position and as you say, you only hear of the positives so that's usually why! To think that the first time myself and partner tried.. We were actually scared to death and postponed by a few weeks just to make sure we were making the right choice (we have been together 10 years next year but any choice as big as this is daunting). That being said, our worries have turned to adamancy and we are more ready now than we ever were! We are still on the roller coaster ride but hoping that there's a few more exciting loops before we jump off! Those being treatment options giving us hope. The best of luck to you both and do feel free to get in touch if you feel you would like to xx
Me and my husband were exactly the same we were TTC for over 4 years, all tests came back fine and was down to unexplained infertility, after a failed cycle of Icsi in February we had a frozen cycle and transfer and are due a baby girl in 4 weeks time. Good luck in the future xx
We started trying when I was 26 and hubby was 30 after we got married in the August. Fast forward just over 2 and half years later and we were still not pregnant and never had been but everyone around us had had a baby or was pregnant. After a year of trying we started tests as I have lupus and was concerned that might be causing sone issues. We had just over a year of tests and internal investigations (for me) and semen analysis for hubby and were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. Apparently we work fine but something just wasn't clicking. At the 2 year mark we were referred for 1 free round of ivf on the nhs and I can now say we are 7 months pregnant with a girl due a couple of months before my 30th birthday. No one knows why it didn't work for us on our own and we are extremely lucky for it to work 1st time as on average it can take 3 cycles. We had 8 eggs, 5 fertilise but didn't have any left to freeze as our hospital are really strict on embryo quality despite 3 making it to day 5 blasto she was the strongest and had and excellent grading but I do know this hasn't always worked for some people whereas a low graded blast has. After doing some research it seems possible we might be able to conceive on our own for the next one but we are already talking about saving another round of ivf in case we need it to expand our family. Good luck with your journey and feel free to message me with any questions as our situations sound very similar! X
I was also diagnosed with unexplained infertility and doctors don't seem to be too bothered about how annoying distressing a diagnosis like that is. I won't go into too many details. However, I wish you all the best with IVF
Hi itsalongjourney26, sounds like a similar situation to what I'm facing. I never even thought I wanted kids until I got married and could start to imagine it. Have been trying nearly two years now with no diagnosis, no abnormalities as per the tests. Getting ready to start IUI in the next few months whenever the appointments line up. Three months of that before moving on to IVF. I have no idea how long the wait is for IVF in my area.
The doctor keeps saying it's lucky I'm only 34, but it feels old to me. If the IUI doesn't work I'll definitely be 35 by the time I get to IVF and the odds start to quickly get worse. Is it greedy to think we'd like more than one child and that we're running out of time?
I didn't think it was affecting me, but lately I'm feeling tearful more and more when I consider the situation. I guess before, it was taking a long time, yes, but it was all rather abstract. Now I'm a Reproductive Medicine patient with a diagnosis of unexplained fertility.
Shedding a tear as I type this :'). I wish the best for you all!
Hi Zigfarria, I'm also 34 (35 soon) and planning to start IUI in the next few months, Hubby and I have been TTC for 5 years, 2 years trying and 3 years of tests and investigations. I'm catholic so IVF is not an option for us which makes things even harder. I think IUI will be the end of the road for us. I pray it will work for both of us. x
We've also been 'diagnosed' with unexplained infertility. I'm 35 and my hubby is 36. Neither of us have ever concieved and all the tests look perfect on paper so we have no clue what the problem is. We've been trying for a few years and finally got put onto the NHS IVF list last month, we've been told it's likely to be between 12 and 24 months before we actually start IVF so we're using our savings to pay privately and start next Monday! I feel like we're too old to keep waiting for the NHS now. It's taken such a long time even to get to this point. I do realise we're very fortunate to have the means to go privately, I just hope it works. It's such a lot of money to spend on something with such a low success rate. I hope it all works out for you. X
Hi again, it is quite likely your hubby won't have had the test because it isn't routine. Even if a standard semen analysis comes back normal it is possible the sperm DNA fragmentation can be a problem (my hubby's results are really bad). The treatment is apparently IVF with ICSI (no good for us as we are against IVF for religious reasons). The test is £295 (Sperm Comet test through Examen) and I really recommend you consider it, it may impact whether you have standard IVF or have ICSI.
It's such a frustrating diagnosis. We are five months in the waiting list and hoping and praying that it is still a 10 month wait. We've been saving for a private round as the odds are so low.
Starting taking Clomid this month and will go for my first round of IUI in the next week or so. Hoping it'll work... fingers crossed.
Hi! Welcome! We were 'diagnosed' as unexplained too. Whilst we were grateful that nothing was wrong, it made the whole process even more frustrating as there was nothing to 'fix'. After trying for over two years we had 3 rounds of iui which didn't work, then in March last year, 3 years of trying to the month, we started a fresh cycle of IVF and was fortunate enough for it to work first time with 2 embryos in the freezer. My little girl is 4 months old now 😁
It's a very hard and frustrating journey, but it can and does work out for some people. It helped me to have a plan B in place should it not work, we were going to go travelling if the IVF failed. As hard as it would have been it made me feel as though I had control over something.
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