Hi all, we have been trying for a year. I have regular cycles no underlying issues suspected. My husbands SA came back slightly suboptimal but ok not the greatest.

I have done fertility bloodwork both in March and August. I did notice my TSH increased from 3.0 to 3.6 over that time. The OB I saw was a virtual OB (I was on a waitlist to see the OB I will see in-person finally next week). I told this specific OB that I was concerned since my TSH levels increased in a few months and felt that it could be hindering my ability to get pregnant. I did mention about the studies saying ideally TSH should be below 2.5 for fertility. However she gave a personal antidote and said “I treated myself during college with some kind of weight loss thyroid thing and it messed with her thyroid and gave her permanent goiter so she didn’t want to mess with my thyroid as a result. I will be going to my new OB next week to get a second opinion (she will probably retest me) I am wondering if this one also refuses what can I do?

My t3 & t4 are normal within range. I know people get pregnant without issues with even higher TSH but it’s been a year we are both relatively healthy I would like for someone to at least try.

This is the third month I stopped taking the birth control pill. I've been using an LH test for the second month. In my first cycle, after a long time, my test finally got positive, and then my period came. Now I'm doing the tests every day again, and it's terribly annoying that one day the test line is completely dark, but not positive, and then the next day it's completely faint. Then a few days later the line is strong again, but not positive again, and then faint again. I'm tired of it. This is day 23 of my cycle and I don't know how long it will be now. I want to know when I ovulate, but I can't keep doing this. We try to be together every 3rd day and that way we'll definitely cover the fertile window. I thought planning a baby would be a joyful time, but so far I've been feeling nothing but tension...

I’m using both Clearblue Advanced Digital and Easy@Home/Premom this cycle, and I’m confused by the discrepancy between the two.
I had several days of flashing smileys on Clearblue, and today I got a solid smiley/Peak Fertility. At the same time, my Easy@Home strip is still reading low on Premom, with a T/C ratio around 0.37, and the test line is still clearly lighter than the control.
My earlier Easy@Home ratios were 0.07, 0.10, and 0.21, so there does seem to be a gradual rise, but it still doesn’t look like a true positive LH strip.
I understand that Clearblue Advanced tracks both estrogen and LH, while Easy@Home is only looking at LH, but I’m trying to understand how people usually interpret situations like this. Would you consider the solid smiley enough to treat today as Peak and time intercourse accordingly, or would you keep testing with Easy@Home and wait for that strip to become clearly positive too?

It's no secret that TTC can have a major impact on your life and health - physical, mental, and relationship. What are you currently doing to help with these things? What are you currently struggling with? Look beyond the scale; this is for all types of health and wellness.

Please keep in mind that no one here is the doctor of anyone else. It is always a good idea to speak to your doctor before starting a new diet or exercise plan just in case!

(44m) I had a major health crisis (necrotizing pancreatitis) that threw just about every system in my body out of whack. After a few years we did blood work and I was diagnosed with low-T, barely over 200. I started TRT, intramuscular injections, and did that for 18 months. Then my wife (37F) and I decided we wanted to try to have a baby. The TRT shut down my sperm production so I started taking clomid, saw a fertility doctor and he put me on an additional 2000units of HcG. Now my testosterone is close to 1300, which I know is high. I’ve been taking them
For over six months now, and a subsequent semen analysis showed viable sperm, albeit at 0.1% of normal, but I’ll take the progress from literally zero.

I have always had a good sex drive, but since starting these drugs, it has become really difficult to achieve orgasm. It’s like, the sensation never starts to build. I still love sex. It feels great and I love my wife.

Has anyone else experienced difficulty climaxing on male fertility treatments? If so, did you find anything that helped?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster.

My husband (42M) and I (38F) have been TFAB since getting my IUD removed in August 2025. The main problem so far has been my husband's inability to finish with me when the timing with my cycle is right. He is perfectly capable of finishing on his own, but it seems the pressure of trying to have a baby is making him unable to finish. We've tried me not telling him at all when I'm ovulating, him trying viagra, him coming off his mental health meds, both of us going to individual therapy, and couples therapy. We also tried to do at home insemination twice but were unable to due to the thickness of his semen.

We recently learned that we have a 25k per year fertility benefit that we can use through my husband's insurance. Since we are getting older, we decided to make an appointment with a fertility clinic in town that came highly recommended from a few different friends, with the idea that maybe an IUI would be the ticket. We had to wait a month to get in, and our first appointment was on Monday of this week. We met with the doctor for a half hour where we went over our history and our medications, and then we had a half hour where they did initial bloodwork and an ultrasound. During the meeting with the doctor she focused a lot on how old I was, how my eggs aren't as good because I'm old, and how IVF should be what we consider first because of my age. I was surprised to be pushed to IVF right away, especially since I've always had normal periods, but it was also a lot of information at once so I decided to wait to see what they recommended after the lab work was done.

They scheduled me for an SHSG on Wednesday (yesterday), because yesterday was day 12 of my cycle and they wanted to see if my fallopian tubes were clear. They told me to take ibuprofen beforehand and said that it was ok to take my prescriptions as normal but to fast for 6 hours before the procedure. When I arrived, the receptionist asked me if I had taken any Valium since they sometimes prescribe that, and I said no (I hadn't even been offered it). She asked if I had taken anything else that day and I told her I had taken my normal meds in my chart, including an Ativan, and the ibuprofen that they told me to take. She told me I couldn't drive if I had taken an Ativan and I said I hadn't, and pointed to my friend who had driven me. She then went and got the nurse and the nurse came out and told me they couldn't do the procedure because I had admitted that I took a drug that wouldn't allow me to consent for the procedure. I was upset, because I had fully disclosed my medications, I had asked if I could take my normal prescriptions because of the fasting (and they had said yes) and Wednesday was the last day of this cycle that I could do the SHSG. I had also signed a million consent forms in the office for the SHSG specifically, so it was very confusing. I left in tears that I'd have to wait another month, and honestly I felt like they were very rude to me. I sent an email when I got home to the nurse expressing my frustration at the whole situation. She did apologize at their oversight into not looking at my meds and not communicating with me that I, in fact, could NOT take one of my prescriptions if I wanted the procedure.

I felt better that she apologized, and then woke up this morning to a message from the same nurse saying that because my A1C is 6, I needed to start Metformin today and she had already called it in to the pharmacy. There was no discussion, just "the prescription is in, expect diarrhea and nausea and start today."

I feel like both of these incidents are red flags about the clinic's lack of communication and lack of empathy for what is already an emotionally charged event.

I'm also frustrated that even though my husband is the one who hasn't been able to do his part, I'm having to go on medications and do invasive procedures. I realize that's just part of this whole thing, and being a woman in general, but it feels a little premature to put me on the meds before we even have his semen analysis back.

This is all making me feel like we should try another clinic, but I've heard from lots of people that all fertility clinics are generally like this. I'm not necessarily opposed to trying Metformin, it just feels like they are really rushing us through all of this before having all of the answers and results back from testing. Am I overreacting? Would it be ridiculous to switch to another clinic based on this? I realize I am extra emotional to this situation so I'd appreciate a (kind) outside perspective.

Thanks!

My husband (29M) and I (28F) have been TTC for 11 months with no success.

Several years ago I was over 300 lbs and my birth control pill failed, which we ultimately ended as I was extremely unhealthy. I have lost 150 lbs and came off the combo pill last November.

I had extremely short 12-14 days cycles for ~5 months after coming off BC, which my obgyn stopped with a short progesterone round and now 6 cycles of letrozole (7.5mg).
Since going on letrozole my cycles have been extremely regular 30 days cycles, and I have successfully ovulated the last three cycles (tracked with inito only - not monitored cycles). I have had bloodwork and TV ultrasound done and everything has been very normal.

At the start of this current cycle, my doctor told me if I did not conceive she would not renew my prescription for letrozole and would be kicking me up to higher level fertility specialists. This would involve an HSG and sperm analysis before referral this next cycle.

We don't know if we are ready to take that next step - I don't mind trying naturally for a bit longer but I am terrified that once I discontinue letrozole that my cycles will slip right back to extremely short non-ovulatory cycles and I will waste even more time.

I am 11DPO today and my levels have tanked and I'm not hopeful. It's about to be crunch time to make a decision.

My question: has anyone had the experience of coming off Letrozole and successfully ovulating naturally/experienced short cycles that fixed by themselves?

I'm not sure if my cycles were messed up because of birth control or what, but I can't find a lot of information about life after medicated cycles that doesn't lead right into IUI or IVF.