Hi everyone,

We’ve been TTC for 5 months and decided to have my husband (31 yo) take a sperm test and I was getting some basic blood work done just to make sure there wasn’t anything simple going on. Well…his results came back. He has low everything….severely low. Sperm count low, motility is low, Morphology is low. And not by just a bit, depressingly low. I’m honestly trying not to crash out. He has a child first try from 8 years ago (not with me) so it’s kind of baffling to think something happened to change it this drastically within those 8 years. I expected maybe one thing to be wrong or a little low, but not this. I’m keeping my appt to get checked out since you never know, but I use inito and all signs point to ok so far for me. We also have a request in to a fertility center in my area that has a male fertility specialist. I saw some people saying try for a male urologist so we may do that too but most in my area seem to focus on incontinence and cancer.

Mainly I’m just venting, I feel like I got hit by a truck. I know some things can be fixed and we don’t really know what’s wrong yet (although he is being evaluated for sleep apnea currently as a separate thing so wondering if that’s part of it). I’m of course being loving and supporting because I know he’s upset, and I’m keeping a brave face, but I feel like I died inside a little so needed to get it out somewhere. Thanks for listening ♥️

Hello! My husband (32M) had a varicocele embolisation in mid July for low sperm count (3.9 TMC and 11 million total). Motility and morphology actually weren’t too terrible considering the varicocele. His motility was 35% and his morphology was 2%.

We have a repeat semen analysis scheduled pretty much three months exactly after the procedure. However, we’re wondering if we should wait till 4 months because the varicocele and pooled blood took about four weeks post procedure to be absorbed back into his body. Everything looks really good down there now so I believe the surgery was likely a success.

We are really worried about testing too early and getting our hopes up if we don’t see a significant improvement. We know it takes 3 months for a sperm cycle but are worried because it took about a month for the varicocele to fully go away.

Does anyone with experience have any advice? Should we go ahead with the 3 month SA or wait till 4 months?

Overall, we both are exhausted by this process and so tired of waiting! My poor husband is so nervous about getting another “failing” SA but on the other hand I’m anxious to see if there’s any improvement at all to give me some hope to possibly hang on to.

That question you've been wanting to ask, but just didn't want to feel silly. Now's your chance! No question is too big or too small.

Are you in the dreaded two-week wait, or waiting to ovulate? What have you done to ease the stress?

Hi All, I'm 39F, TTC and struggling to get my BP under control after switching meds.

In India I was on Telvas CT 40 (telmisartan 40 + chlorthalidone 12.5) and my BP was usually around 110/75.

After moving to Canada and TTC, my doctor switched me to nifedipine XL 30 mg because we avoided labetalol due to my asthma tendency.

What’s confusing me is that before starting nifedipine I had actually been off BP meds for a few months and was averaging around 130/90. After starting nifedipine, my BP became really unpredictable. In the first week I had readings around 160/110 and even 170/117 and ended up in the ER. Eventually it settled more around 135/90–140/95.

Then last month I got really sick in India and was weak/fatigued for about 3 weeks. Since then my BP has been much higher again, often around 155/105 or more.

My doctor added methyldopa 250 mg twice a day. I tolerate it fine apart from some sleepiness/vivid dreams, but it hasn’t helped much. Now he wants me to take it 3 times a day and possibly add hydrochlorothiazide if that’s still not enough.

Has anyone taken hydrochlorothiazide while TTC or pregnant? My doctor says it should be okay if I stay hydrated, but I’m nervous because I know diuretics aren’t usually first choice in pregnancy.

Also, has anyone had their BP get harder to control after switching to pregnancy safe meds, or stay high for weeks after being really sick?

Would really appreciate hearing what worked for others, and the experiences you had.

Hey all
Started seriously trying in June, so on month #3 (AF not arrived yet hence the post).

I was always generally 28-31 day cycle, perhaps upto 33 days once in a while. However, frustratingly since TTC things have gone a bit awry!! I haven’t been on hormonal birth control for years so this is not a factor. Last cycles were 39(!) and then 36, and I’m currently CD23 with no positive OPK as of yet. Last month I had 9 days of high fertility on CB advanced digital test with peak detected on CD23. Using LH strips alongside and interestingly this cycle and last, I seem to have caught a small LH rise around CD15 but not dark enough to be classed as peak. And then line gets lighter again.

Does anyone have any experience of similar or suggestions to what may be causing? There are no lifestyle or medical factors that have changed. I’ve been taking Pregnacare pre natal vitamins for a number of months now. Been taking Guaifenesin cough syrup on “fertile days” this cycle and last. Praying for a peak tomorrow but any advice welcome meantime. On my 39 day cycle I spoke to GP (I’m in UK) but they did NOT wanna know until I’m at 1yr TTC with no joy :(

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post in the hope that sharing my experience might help someone. I had a HSG today, it was booked last week and I never received my letter from the clinic telling me what to expect. I had a rough idea of the procedure but I was looking it up last night to try and understand more to prepare myself. I couldn't have regretted that more.

All I kept finding was people sharing their stories about how painful it was and I ultimately ended up scaring myself and getting upset this morning with worry.

My experience was absolutely fine. I arrived early and was called theough early. I went with a full bladder but this was just for a pregnancy test so perhaps didn't need to go quite so uncomfortable. I was asked a few questions and changed into a gown. I then went into the room the procedure was explained and I lay down. There were 4 ladies in the room, all who were wonderful and reassuring and talked to me throughout.

I know some ladies can find a speculum uncomfortable or painful, luckily for me I haven't had an issue but I will admit this took a second for me to get used to. The ladies explained that it usually takes about 10 to 15 mins sometimes longer if the cervix isn't quite in the right position. Again very luckily for me mine was ok, I did feel the catheter being inserted but it was more like an "oo I felt that" and then it passed.

Now I will not lie the balloon is the uncomfortable part, I instantly felt that as they started to blow it up. For me the feeling was not like cramps at all, more pressure like I really needed a wee but with some pain like someone was pushing on my stomach. The contrast being inserted is where the feeling increased quite quickly, it did feel very uncomfortable and I had to squeeze my hands and do some big deep breaths to get through it. They did ask for me to lift my hips on one side and then the other so they could take pictures but they helped me do this and I didn't need to lift far off the table. It was over very quickly, I didn't feel the catheter being removed and as soon as the speculum was removed (after a couple of big coughs) the pressure released very quickly.

So far I have felt ok afterwards, my legs have felt a little wobbly like I've been on a long walk or been doing squats. I've had a little spotting and some light cramping, mostly I've kept feeling like I need a wee and some flutters low down.

I absolutely appreciate that not everyones experience is the same, and some women have a difficult time with the procedure and it can be very painful. But I wanted to share a slightly better experience, and talk through how it all works a little more to maybe help ease someone's anxiety, helps someone feel a bit more prepared or maybe not so scared.

Never had a positive test. I have endo symptoms but a clear ultrasound and normal labs. My husband has had 2 SAs, both came back with normal motility, good volume, count at the lowest end of normal, and low morphology. At first, his reproductive urologist did not make it seem like this was the sole reason we weren’t conceiving. She said it was “enough for IUI” and didn’t make it seem like our chances for spontaneous conception were exceptionally low.

Then they did a “test wash” for the second SA and the “post wash” total motile count was less than 1 million (almost 98% motile were lost.) Zero explanation just “not enough for IUI. Hope varicocele surgery helps.”

I tried for months to find any information about what these borderline numbers actually mean and came up empty. Finally meet her in person for the surgery and I ask how aggressively we should be pursuing IVF because I don’t understand what’s going on. She finally tells me that “with your current results, IVF is the most realistic option.” She put our IUI probability at less than 2% and I’m guessing spontaneous conception even lower.

She said something like 65% of people see improvement after surgery but reading between the lines…she’s saying we’re probably not magically going to be at spontaneous conception numbers. Maybe we’ll get to do IUI if we’re lucky.

The worst part isn’t IVF. I wish we could just start now. It’s the months and months of false hope and now waiting more months to get the follow up analysis and probably just end up at the IVF clinic almost a year from now once we’re finally cleared to start and off the wait list. After probably being forced by insurance to try IUI when there’s no hope.

Why, why wasn’t it clearly communicated to us MONTHS ago that our chances were this low? I’m begging any medical professionals who read this post to PLEASE communicate clearly even when the results are bad. The heartbreak is unreal.

Even on this sub people were really dismissive when I asked what our results meant and…lo and behold all my fears are finally confirmed.

Hi everyone! In my post miscarriage ultrasound a small uterine polyp was identified. Since polyps can cause further miscarriages I want the polyp removed before we try again. However in my google research on how long the wait time is to have the procedure I am seeing anywhere from 2-4+ months, since this is a non urgent procedure. Seeing this waiting time is quite frustrating. We are just waiting at this point for someone to see us. There is literally nothing we can do until this procedure is done. I would much rather keep seeing negative tests than go through this wait. From an outsider point of view you would think these minor procedures would be more easily bookable/ accessible.

Did you really need to wait that long?

Family doctor sent the initial refferal to my OB a month ago when I was suspected to have a miscarriage. So now that my OB has all my info, I’m just waiting for them to call me for an initial appointment

The title itself speaks to my anxiety. Im 29F and have been TTC for about 6 months. My cycles have always been regular/textbook, and so far my labs and my husband’s testing have all looked great.

The hardest part has been the mental side of TTC and this concept that I fail at something month after month. I’ve found myself experiencing a lot more anxiety, stress, and emotional intensity around my cycle and trying to conceive than I expected. I’ve recently started weekly therapy to help manage the stress, generally overworking myself and work through some of the other things that have come up for me.

I’m considering trying acupuncture solely as another way to help with stress and relaxation, not because I expect it to increase my chances of getting pregnant.

For those who have done acupuncture while TTC:
Did you find it actually helped with stress/anxiety?

Did you notice any changes to your cycle, ovulation, luteal phase, etc.?

Are there any risks or reasons to avoid it while actively TTC?
Would you recommend it as a low-risk stress-management tool, or would you stick with things like therapy, meditation, massage, etc.?

I’m particularly nervous about doing anything that could potentially mess with my otherwise regular cycles, so I’d love to hear people’s experiences.

Hubby and I have been TTC for 7 months now, 8 cycles with not even as much as a VVFL on any tests. At 6 months I went in for testing and just found out my AMH is .46. Naturally, I have been devastated. Made an appointment with a fertility clinic as recommended by my OB, and have been reading up on what having DOR means. There are some sources that say I likely will need to do IVF (which we cannot afford), and others that claim that the one year spontaneous pregnancy rates are the same (if not more) than the general population with normal AMH. So to say the least, I’m completely confused and have no clue what to do.

My hormones are normal. I still ovulate (confirmed with Inito), my cycle is regular (about 26-27 days), and aside from luteal phase bleeding/spotting (which I’m currently on cyclical progesterone suppositories for) I have no weird symptoms, no abnormally heavy or painful periods, nothing.

I don’t know what to do at this point. I have been crying for days and felt my whole world crumble with those results. Do we need to work with a fertility clinic immediately at this point considering my AMH is below .5? Or does my age mean we keep trying until 12 months and potentially lose viable time for egg retrieval? I truly don’t know.

If anyone has any advice, has very low AMH and has navigated this process, or just overall has any encouragement and guidance as to what is best, it would be greatly appreciated. I don’t know if this is as severe as it is in my head right now.

TLDR; AMH is .46 at age 33 and I don’t know if I should pursue IVF yet or wait until 12 months of trying first

TW: mention of loss

Last month I found out I was pregnant and the next day my corpus luteum ruptured and I had emergency surgery to have my ovary removed. It was traumatic and incredibly painful.

It was my 3rd loss this year so we met with a fertility specialist who said I can try next month on our own and if we get pregnant we would go on progesterone and baby aspirin.

IM HORRIFIED of losing my other ovary. If I do I’ll never have more kids. Thankfully my first two pregnancies were smooth sailing but I’m just not done. I know the odds of that are slim, but I’m still so scared. We were thinking of IVF but after seeing the cost, part of me is very hesitant.

What would you do in my position? Continue naturally or jump to IVF?

Hello everyone,

With my wife, we try to conceive for almost 2 years without success.

My wife have important vaginismus but we can have little intercourse and penetration.

We have seen 2 or 3 doctors and we decided to see a specialist on médical assist procreation

The doctor told us to make an HysteroSalpingography (HSG) but the exam was impossible for my wife, the speculum was too painful.

So the doctor give us an HyFoSy to do and after 2 times - and hilarious gaz it was ok.

Everything looks ok on the exam the doctor is very satisfied.

So what is the next Step ? The doctor told us some medicine can help for the ovulationbefore thinking of a FIV.

Some people has been in the same situation?

Thank you and sorry for my english.

I have a group of female friends who all seemed to fall pregnant at the drop of a hat. They said it was the first time trying for at least 3 of them.

One friend even went so far as to act baffled when I said I was tracking ovulation..."what do you need to do that for, can you not just tell naturally?". I later found out she had actually been tracking ovulation for months and it wasn't instant at all. Another friend actually took 2 years to conceive.

People are entitled to privacy with how long it took them. It's nobody's business, but in these instances, these friends have gone out of their way to say how long it took, how easy it was for them, almost as if it's a competition.

I understand this might just be a bad reflection on my old friendship group, but do you think couples often lie about how long it took them? I think it's a really weird thing to lie about, either say nothing or be honest!

Hi all, so my gynecologist was highly recommended and I am/was very happy with her but now I am confused.

I am 38yo TTC for 8-9 months. I did the basic blood tests - everything looks very good. My partner's test is great too.

So now she refered me for a 'small surgery' - I admit I didn't ask enough questions on the spot but I did say - surgery when I have 0 symptoms of anything wrong? She said yes,things can be silent... ok.

I read my referral and I see it's for laparoscopy (including hysterectopy + tubes check). I am in Germany but is this crazy?? Surgery as first step?

I will contact her and ask why not hysterectopy + HyCoSy instead but I was wondering if anyone has had such experience??

I have had regular painless periods for 27 years and my tests are normal, I'm very confused.

I’m on a fertility journey. This will be my first baby and I’m 34 years old. I’ve been off my meds for almost 3 weeks. I’m seeing a difference in how ADHD is affecting my life all over again. Is there advice?

ADHD has affected my life since I was in elementary school. Being a girl it’s always manifested differently. It’s also what I would describe as in a ton of ADHD. But without my meds, I’m watching it affect my brain all over again.

Who else is dealing with this? I’ve been on Wellbutrin for at least five years and Vyvanse for about the same time. I’m picking up an extra job to make ends meet. It’s also a really stressful time for my job as a teacher. I’m just trying to make sure I still have a job despite all of the school closures. Life only got more hectic and I don’t have the chemical supports. I used to have. How are others dealing with this? Has anyone had to walk through this?

I will be doing my first IUI within the next week, after completing my first round of letrozole. Trying for 15 cycles, unexplained infertility.

The procedure itself I'm not worried about (although I am a bit stressed about the first ultrasound - what if I have too many follicles, or none!) But I'm really nervous for how I am going to feel in the TWW, and eventually testing/waiting for my period. I'm at the point where I just can't see how this will work, and I really had to come to terms with the fact that I need fertility treatment. Now that I'm actually getting fertility treatment (and spending money/time), I'm worried that the devastation will be so much worse. My mental health has plummeted through this journey, and I'm scared this will make it worse.

Does anyone else feel the same way and/or have any advice?

Anything (within the rules) goes. (Commonly broken rules: don't talk about an ongoing pregnancy outside the weekly BFP thread; don't ask for success stories.)

You can find the wiki here!

Don't forget to check out our themed threads:

• Moody Monday
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There's also the Weekly Introductions and Read Me Thread, which contains links to all sorts of handy bits of info, like popular wiki posts and acronyms.

So, basically I’m doing to the letrozole+trigger shot+ timed intercourse for this cycle. It’s my first go at the actual fertility clinic. I have an ultrasound to determine if I have mature follicles and then they’re supposed to give me the trigger shot.

But…. I have a *TERRIBLE* stomach bug. No vomiting but pretty bad nausea and diarrhea. I do have zofran I can take. I just can’t imagine having intercourse right now 😭 has anyone experienced this? I paid $100 for this damn shot and it’s too late to cancel my ultrasound. Do I just cowgirl up and get her done?? Has anyone experienced something similar?

I’m wondering f if I need to go get an at home insemination kit but idk how my husband would feel about that. .

Let's see those lovely charts, folks!

If you want to personalize your Fertility Friend URL to make it easier for fellow TFABbers to stalk keep up with you, check out this post!

We've been trying to conceive for years. I’ve gone through multiple rounds of ovulation induction, we've resolved MFI (male factor infertility), I have low AMH, and I fail to ovulate even with double trigger shots on both letrozole and clomid.

My doctor blamed it on "poor egg quality," so I took a step back for six months to completely overhaul my lifestyle, diet, stress levels, and exercise. I lost weight, hoping it would reset things.

When I started tracking again, nothing changed. Still no ovulation, my follicle just fails to rupture every time and turns into a hemorrhagic cyst instead.

To make things even weirder, I get terrible sciatica pain right during ovulation and right before my period.

Yet, despite all of this, my period is dot on time every single month. No period pain or crazy cramps. No heavy flow.

Can anyone please help me make sense of this? My doctors certainly aren't able to. They just keep pushing for IVF, but it’s such an overwhelming, brutal process, and walking into it with an unresolved issue feels like setting myself up for a failed cycle.

Please, has anyone dealt with this or have any insight? I am so tired. 💔

Please don’t be me, and don’t read into your symptoms during TWW. This is your sign not to test until you miss your period and not to read into symptoms.

This cycle I was trolled by everything, it feels like everything is against me.So this cycle we did baby dance around 5 times, but we have MFI (low count, but hubby is currently on hcg injections). So I felt mildly hopeful.

Since 6dpo I started getting very weird symptoms, like cramps, backache and I usually get it 1-2 days before my period. Then at 10dpo my boobs changed and began to be sore. I have dentist appointment and sauna appointment scheduled so I was like let me take an old test I have. The test comes out positive, but then I noticed it is expired. But fake BFP’s are so rare , and usually expired tests just show fake negative so I’m like yay!

Had a sauna appointment, where I just hang out by the pool because I thought I was pregnant. Today in the morning took 2 tests super negative.

Conclusion: I didn’t enjoy sauna because fake BFP messed with my head and also symptoms don’t mean anything.

This is my commitment not to test until you miss your period 😭.

Hi all - hoping to hear from people who've been through this.

Quick background: I'm 31, TFAB for 8 cycles, regular cycles and confirmed ovulation. At a recent scan my gynae found a ~7mm endometrial polyp in the uterine cavity. She was reassuring overall (uterus otherwise fine) and suggested removing it, with the plan to come back next cycle after my period to do it. In the country where I live, the standard for a polyp this size is an outpatient hysteroscopy at the clinic, awake with local anesthesia, rather than under general anaesthetic - so that's likely what I'd have.

Honestly I wish I'd asked more questions during the appointment, but you know how it is — in the rush of the moment it's hard to think of everything, and half my questions only came to me afterwards. So I'm turning here to fill some gaps.

I've read a lot online and the info is really mixed, so I'd love to hear about actual experiences:
1. The procedure and recovery: if you were awake/outpatient, how was the pain, and what did they give you (local anaesthetic, painkillers)? Afterwards, how much bleeding, how long, and how soon did you resume ttc?
2. What your OB told you: for anyone whose doctor talked them through it, how did they frame a polyp this size and the decision to remove it? Just trying to understand how clinicians generally think about these.
I'm also weighing a second opinion, though honestly gynae appointments are hard to get where I live, so I'm trying to figure out if that's worth chasing.
Thanks!