Perfect menstrual cycle but cannot get pregnant

[Shepli]

Hi all, I know it is a minefield, there is no one fits all, I just wondered if has been in my situation before.

All of mine and partner have had all fertility tests back, all absolutely fine and ‘normal’. My periods are like clockwork every month. They come on exactly when expected, but we have been trying for over two years and absolutely nothing, not even a chemical pregnancy. It just simply doesn’t happen. We take all of the vitamins we can. We go through times we’ve gone on holiday and we’re relaxed, we’re not stressed at all then times where we feel a bit more impatient. It is very scary to think that there is not a reason why it’s not happening. Is there anything else we should be trying?

We due to be going for IVF very soon but I’m starting to think I shouldn’t get too excited and I’m starting to lose faith that this will ever happen for me, which is a heartbreaking prospect.

[Shepli]

for context to my post, I’m 29 going to be 30 soon. AMH levels is 18.9 and my partner has good sperm mobility. We are both within a good BMI and healthy.

[Skittles11]

Has your partner had a DNA fragmentation test? Have you had your tubes checked for any potential blockage?

Just a couple of thoughts/ ideas x

[Shepli in reply to Skittles11]

I haven’t had my tubes tested because the NHS don’t offer it, they essentially say the solution is IVF even if it is tube blockages anyway so they basically don’t waste time doing it. Which is wrong because you want know if that’s an issue! I might have to consider that privately. I don’t know about the DNA fragmentation test. I might have to have a look into that? Should both me and him be tested or just male?

[tash1989 in reply to Shepli]

Hi Shepli, I’m near Milton Keynes and I called up the gynae department and asked if they would test my tubes and they put me on a waitlist for the procedure but they did do it. Worth pushing them! NHS should do this for you.

[Swimming87 in reply to Shepli]

DNA frag ia for male. We did it and it turned out useful knowledge x

[soccerkt6]

Hi lovely,

This is the same thing that happened with us - normal cycles, all our tests came back fine, but never any sign of a positive test. In our case, it ended up being an issue with sperm DNA fragmentation so I would strongly recommend having your partner get a sperm DNA fragmentation test done asap. Some 10-15% of men have high DNA frag despite having normal semen analysis results so it's definitely worth him getting checked out. Most IVF clinics offer the test so if you've already been referred to a clinic, I would check there first. If not, there's a private lab called Fertility Solutions where you can self-refer and get it done. They have locations in London and Bucks: fertilitysolutions.co.uk/dn...

[Shepli]

ah thanks so much. When this was diagnosed, what happens next. Is it resolvable? X

[soccerkt6 in reply to Shepli]

If the results come back with high frag, the next steps would be to see a urologist who specialises in male fertility (Dr Jonathan Ramsay is the most well-known/recommended) and they can do further investigations to figure out the underlying cause. Most often, the high frag is caused by a varicocele, infection in the urinary tract, or hormone imbalances. All of which is resolvable with appropriate treatment xx

[Shepli in reply to soccerkt6]

Amazing, thank you

[WillowPark]

Hi Shepli, we were in a very similar situation. It is tough when you are told everything works and is perfectly healthy, but clearly it doesn't work and something is wrong. We were offered IVF on the NHS and I am now cuddling my little girl. It took a few rounds and a bit of time but so worth it. We still don't know why it didn't work and then suddenly it did, but whatever the issue is the statistics show that IVF is likely to overcome it. Also, if you are lucky enough to have IVF funding be careful about private tests (ie DNA frag etc) as sometimes mixing private and NHS treatment can affect NHS funding. Worth checking that with your NHS contacts before you do anything just in case. Hope you aren't waiting too much longer - good luck! x

[Shepli in reply to WillowPark]

Hi WillowPark - That is so amazing, congratulations, incredibly happy for you.

It’s definitely given me some faith. Fingers crossed.

The crazy thing is around the healthy lifestyle blows my mind, when there’s so many people around me that are overweight have health issues and they seem to be falling super easy. I hope i’ll get there with a little time. 🤞🏻

[WillowPark in reply to Shepli]

Yes I know how you feel - I ended up having to make a real effort to stop myself making those comparisons as the more you look at everyone around you getting pregnant the more you spiral into a very negative headspace. You start feeling singled out by some horrible force and can get quite angry at the world trying to understand why you. In the end it doesn't matter who else around you gets pregnant and whether they "deserve" it more than or have worked harder for it or waited longer for it than anyone else or not. The longer it took us the more I realised that everyone who wants to bring a child into a loving home deserves it, including us. It is an incredible privilege to be able to do it. Unexplained infertility is a horrible medical condition and I wouldn't wish it on anyone - so that must mean I want everyone around me to get pregnant easily! So bring on the babies! The benefit of having cared for your health and looked after your body is that you know you have given yourself the best possible chance of success - you can go into treatment with no regrets 🙂

[MajorT]

I thought I was fine as I always had regular periods too. My tests were also all fine, including DNA fragmentation. Unfortunately, most of my friends going though IVF have unexplained fertility. It’s frustrating, as there is no clear diagnosis you can then work through or take further decisions from. That’s not stopped any of us from going down the IVF route. Some of us have been successful and some not. Age is another factor for me that you won’t have, but finding your personal balance between keeping a positive mindset and knowing this is a journey where you don’t know the end date is important. Good luck!

[Shepli in reply to MajorT]

Thank you for your reply, it’s crazy isn’t it, they say the biggest indicator to healthy fertility is regular periods so that confuses me! Maybe it’s just this new world, I don’t remember this ever being such an issue back in the day and if there’s something causing it.

[Purplecarrot]

We were told we'd mild male factor, but mostly unexplained infertility. We'd 2 rounds of unsuccessful IVF, and I found the scans and retrieval very painful (which is not usual, so don't let that frighten you). My acupuncturist said she thought I had endometriosis and PCOS. I thought that couldn't be, because I'd perfectly regular cycles. I went to the consultant she recommended, and he said he thought she was right, and scheduled me for a laparoscopy. Not only did I have quite a bit of endometriosis (which he excised), but I also have a unicornuate uterus and a missing fallopian tube, none of which had been picked up.We eventually went to Prague, I had the egg retrieval under general anaesthetic, it went super well and I'm currently just over 33 weeks pregnant.

I just wanted to let you know that there's hope. I was in a situation where there was nothing 'wrong' so nothing we could 'fix', and feeling very hopeless, but we got there. 3 unsuccessful rounds of IVF followed by a totally different, much more positive experience, resulting in this baby and 3 more blastocysts on ice.

Best of luck to you!!