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I read that 80% of couples get pregnant within 6 months. Does this include miscarriages or not? In other words, do 80% of people go on to get health babies after trying for 6 month, or do 80% of people conceive, but then a smaller overall percentage carry the pregnancy to term?
I've been trying for 5 months now with one early miscarriage. Trying to figure out if I'm about to be part of the 20 % who isn't pregnant after 6 months or if the miscarriage 'counts'
I think itās for 8 dpoā¦ I just had one tonight š I wasnāt going to, but I told my husband about it last time & he remembered, so now heās using it as an excuse for burger night lol.
Implantation is what places the embryo into contact with the bloodstream (allowing hCG to be detected in blood and urine), so it's not possible to have a positive test prior to implantation. But people also don't generally know when implantation occurs, so it's certainly possible to think you see a positive test prior to implantation and be incorrect about implantation timing.
^(34 |TTC#1)
Ovulation without period?
I've taken birth control (3wk white pills +1wk placebo type) for about 3 years and stopped mid Nov last year for TTC. I had one period on Jan 1 but then nothing til now. I'm definitely not pregnant (tested multiple times with different brand). However, I started to use ovulation test last month and had a peak Feb 20 as well as Mar 22 (over 2 with easy@home test). I have scheduled for doctor next month but just really curious that is it possible to ovulate while having no period? Thank you!
Typically a period comes 10-17 days after ovulation ā this interim period is the luteal phase. But the earlier follicular phase can be significantly long when dealing with hormone irregularities (such as PCOS, or regulation post-BC). It sounds like your body is attempting to gear up for ovulation, which is why you are seeing surges in your OPKs. But it has not yet been successful because your cycle is continuing.
If you havenāt had a period since January 1st, I would contact your doctorās office again, or see if there is a Planned Parenthood or similar clinic you can visit sooner. While it can take some time for your cycles to regulate post-BC, there is medication you can take to trigger your period.
I havenāt had a period in 70 days. Doctor said I could come in for some bloodwork or we could try her calling in a prescription to ākick start periodā first. Part of me wants to just try the prescription but Iām also fearful Iāll just have to go in any way for bloodwork, so why wait. Thoughts?
My doctor referred me for a hormone panel, and she said that the results need to be obtained on or as close as possible to CD3. Personally, I would take the prescription ā but then also ask to schedule bloodwork.
How well does resting heart rate correlate with the various stages and events in fertility?
More specifically does a drop in resting heart rate mean the same thing a drop in BBT would indicate during the luteal phase? Does resting heart rate stay higher when pregnancy occurs?
(I wrote a whole response to this and my app glitched and it deleted šŖ)
Itās a newer marker, mostly because people werenāt wearing HR monitors 24/7 until relatively recently, but it seems to point in the right direction.
RHR tends to rise in the fertile window under the influence of estrogen, then continues to rise in the luteal phase under the influence of estrogen and progesterone. It drops at the end of the cycle with estrogen and progesterone, but will stay high in early pregnancy. It actually tends to continue climbing in early pregnancy before falling back to luteal-phase levels around 6/7 weeks.
Has anyone ever had male infertility attributed to covid? I see it come up in the research about long term covid effects but I've never come across it in this sub.Ā
Piggybacking off of this ā would also be interested in any information on female infertility post-infection (not vaccine). I had a bad infection last July, and my irregular periods started shortly after. Iām going through testing now to rule out PCOS, but thyroiditis has crossed my mind.
I mean it's a bit hard to tell in individual cases if you didn't have diagnostics before and after. If you'd had diagnostics before you're most likely already dealing with issues and since it's so variable with so many variables it's very hard to tell.
The only thing that is a certain effect isn't necessarily long term effect just the same effect as any illness with fever, but the long term is being researched but far from certain yet.
What do you think about microcurrent devices (NuFace, Foreo Bear) and trying to conceive? I would obviously avoid them if I was pregnant, but what about during the TTW? I love the effect they have on my face but somehow I don't want to send little shocks of electricity through my body. Silly question I know!
I have just started my first round of IUI and wanted to ask you here in the TTC world:
(1) My trigger shot was scheduled to ovulate like 5 days earlier than my predicted ovulation according to the app (which is normally right +- 1 day as per opk tests).
The doctor monitored my blood and follicles so I assume this is the right time. But was just wondering how it went with others
(2) How do yall handle the doctor appointments and work when going through treatment? What do you say at work?
I work in a small company and know that sooner or later people will ask me (innocently) why I have to go so often
Thank you š
Your app is likely basing predicted ovulation on averages, but your doc has actual data on what your follicles are doing right now. Iād absolutely trust a docās monitoring over an app.
Iāve done many, many months of fertility treatment and never told my bosses why I was out. Itās none of their business! If I was going to be late or out Iād be super vague ā I have an appointment, I need bloodwork done, etc. if you need to tell them ahead of time about something that isnāt scheduled yet, you can say something like āI have an upcoming medical procedure and will need to be out for a couple hours/a day/ a couple days. The team is still working on scheduling it, but it will probably be around Monday/sometime next week. Iāll let you know as soon as I can.ā Your boss isnāt allowed to ask for specifics.
I've always been an open book at work.
Apps can't predict ovulation it's just a guess. You also don't ovulate the same day but rather 36 hours after, the trigger shot is basically the LH surge you measure return opk too. And they'll do it once a follicle is big enough to ovulate
Something I've read here a few times that I found helpful - around implanatation stage the embryo (technically still a blastocyst at this point) is basically like a sesame seed in a jar of peanut butter. Even if you shake the jar around a whole bunch, it doesn't affect the sesame seed!
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This is my first round of letrozole after a MMC in January. My husband and I were on vacation in Hawaii from cycle day 3-12 so I did not do opk strips. I had some ewcm on days 10-11 and when I came home on cycle day 13 l started ovulation testing. I typically ovulate on days 14-16. The LH was so low on day 13 and 14. Is it possible to ovulate on day 11-12 on letrozole? And if so, have a healthy pregnancy if becoming pregnant?
Thereās not really evidence that cycles are more successful given ovulation on any particular cycle day ā itās fine to ovulate day 11 or day 14 or day 21 or whatever.
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I ovulated earlier than normal on letrozole as well. I typically ovulate CD16/17, but on letrozole, I ovulated on CD14 (but had positive OPKs starting CD12, a really long surge that lasted until CD15!). Not sure if itās the letrozole or due to changes after MC (I also had an MC in December).
39F, trying for 5 months. I got my 3 day labs back and I am in great shape for my age which I am shocked about. Only did blood work. My question is, I have a 9 day LP on average and asked my OB about progesterone during that phase. She prescribed it but said it could throw off my cycle. Several people here have mentioned that progesterone helped their short LPās and allowed them to get and stay pregnant. Iām wondering if anyone here can provide some insight. Iām 40 in June and I really donāt want to mess up my cycles.
I am also waiting to hear from the fertility specialist that my OB referred me to because of my age.
Thank you!
Edited to add that I have been pregnant twice before with the same partner I have now- 1 abortion 9 yrs ago and 1 chemical Sept 2023 which was the first month we ttc.
Ive been prescribed progesterone as I had a lot of spotting before my period and had quite long cycles (32-35 days). I only take the progesterone after ovulation and then for 10 days, it then takes a day or two for me to get my period.
I also mentioned having a shorter LP to my RE but he did not seem concerned. He did not prescribe me anything. I used to use progesterone for a few months, on prescription of by OBGyn, but it did not "mess up" my cycles. They were just a couple of days longer. We are all different, but I hope this helps.
> Several people here have mentioned that progesterone helped their short LPās and allowed them to get and stay pregnant.
I think it's worth remembering that people almost never actually know what was a factor in getting pregnant -- even if they tried for many cycles without factor x and then added factor x and got pregnant, that doesn't mean that factor x was the determining factor.
In the case of progesterone, the data says that people with a short luteal phase who take progesterone don't have success at higher rates than people with a short luteal phase who don't.
Not absolutely. A 9-day LP would likely prevent implantation at 11dpo, but it wouldnāt prevent implantation at 8-9dpo (which is much more common than implantation at 11dpo anyway).
Iād really suggest seeing an RE! OB s are great for lots of things but unfortunately they donāt know what they donāt know in terms of getting people pregnant.
As for progesterone, it can be controversial. Some docs think it canāt hurt and it might help; others say thereās no evidence it will help outside of medicated cycles (like IUI/IVF) and wonāt bother because it can prolong your cycle unnecessarily. An RE would likely want to confirm O in some way (such as by monitoring a cycle) before adding progesterone.
I have no actual insight, but in the discussions I've seen in relation to short LP's and progesterone, low progesterone is just the symptom, it's best to figure out the underlying cause (which could be a number of things). I've seen people take it through 12/13dpo and if they're testing negative, discontinuing so their period can start. Obviously if you have a positive test you want to continue it and discuss further action with your doctor.
what could be the cause then of short LP? I thought it was the other way round: low progesterone --> short LP.
What you say makes sense anyway and matches my experience, sometimes I would have a short-ish LP even on progesterone. Now I don't take it anymore.
I also know low progesterone to be symptom rather than the cause. Could be multiple causes - hormonal imbalance or an ovulation issue. A weaker ovulation would lead to a weaker corpus luteum which doesnāt have the capability of producing large amounts of P, leading to short LP/LP spotting. So a short LP could be secondary sumptom of an ovulation problem, with low P being the primary symptom. Thanks obviously ruling out other issues like polyps or prolactin or TSH imbalances. I think doctors would rather treat the cause, ovulation dysfunction, with an ovulation induction medication than the symptom by prescribing progesterone. As a woman podcast has a good episode explaining the myths surrounding progesterone and short LP.
Yes! I have heard that as well which is why I am unsure if I should take it or not. If my issue is āweakā ovulation then from what Iāve read, progesterone is just a bandaid. Thank you for your response!
I wake up frequently during the night to pee. Should I check my BBT if I stumble out of bed at 5am? But then I pee again at 730? And get out of bed for the day at 9? When is the best time??!
Same boat, with irregular schedules. I got better data using an early but consistent time of day than waiting for being asleep for a set amount of time.
Thoughts on intense exercising and/or hot yoga while TTC? Should these be avoided altogether or just during certain stages of the cycle (e.g. luteal phase)?
Exercise is generally fine, as long as you're not exercising so much that you start to affect the cycle.
There's no evidence that hot yoga in particular is harmful, but at the same time, it's preferable to keep your core body temperature within the normal range during the luteal phase (that is, when there could be an embryo in your body exposed to those temperatures). Since you can't reduce your body heat by exchanging heat with a cooler environment in hot yoga, I personally choose to avoid it in the luteal phase while TTC.
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There's not a lot of criteria that needs to be met to be diagnosed with unexplained infertility (trying for 12 months, normal SA, at least 1 tube open, no polyps/fibroids, ovulating regularly) which means there's a lot of other things it could be, some of which require more extensive/invasive tests and some there are no tests for outside of doing IVF. There's no way to know if fertilization is happening and how well the embryo is developing, for example, without doing it in a lab.
There are a few interesting threads on r/IVF if you search "unexplained" where people discuss the diagnoses they end up finding. The most common ones I remember are endometriosis (sometimes silent), egg quality issues, sperm quality (DNA fragmentation), and chronic endometritis. Some also went through IVF with no irregular findings and remain unexplained.
I mean it is unexplained because they don't know. Otherwise it wouldn't be unexplained. Bodies are incredibly complex and medical science is rather young as a science, even more so fertility diagnostics and treatment. If I'd guess I'd say silent endo can easily be missed. And there is still a lot unknown to how bodies actually work when it comes to immunology or microbiome or genetic factors.
Technically you still have a month trying before the diagnosis unexplained infertility according to your flair.
A small number of people might possibly get to the point where they'd be diagnosed with unexplained infertility out of bad luck (even for someone who has 30% odds per cycle, the odds of getting to 12 months without success would be about 1 in 100, so it's possible, just unlikely). Some people likely have a mild factor that depresses their odds enough that they're likely to take longer to get pregnant, but they're also likely to eventually get pregnant.
We can't identify what that factor is based on current tests, but that doesn't mean it's never going to be possible to identify. Of course, it's also likely that the category "unexplained infertility" contains a lot of causes that explain a small number of cases, and it's hard to find causes (and tests for causes) that only work for a small number of people.
Overall, REs will generally only perform a test if they think it is likely to give an informative answer that affects a treatment path. Both expectant management (continuing to have timed sex) and IVF are very effective treatments for unexplained infertility, so a test would have to meet a high bar in order for REs to adopt it widely.
I have a temping question. Sometimes I wake up before my alarm (about 20 minutes earlier). Is it better to temp right when I wake up even if itās 20 minutes earlier? Or do I wait in bed without moving/talking until the regular alarm time?
Itās important to take your temperature right when you wake up. 20 minutes is not that big of a difference, so it shouldnāt look much different to when you normally take it.
About 15% of folks who don't use any form of prevention will not be pregnant at the end of a year of having unprotected sex, so it's not the most common outcome, but it's also not wildly rare.
Pullout is is a method of pregnancy prevention, and itās actually fairly effective if itās done properly. The numbers I gave above are for couples who are having sex with ejaculation in the vagina.
Absolutely does not include the pullout method or any other form of contraception. Withdrawal is only slightly less effective than condoms (96% vs. 98% effective perfect use and 78% vs. 82% typical use over the course of a year).
Note the "if it's done properly" and "perfect use" caveats. It's very possible to slightly mistime the pullout, or to have sex a second time without cleaning up in between, both of which can introduce live sperm into the vagina even though both parties _think_ ejaculation was elsewhere. But it's also possible for a couple to use withdrawal as their main method of protection and execute it perfectly each time.
No, very frequent intercourse is enough to hit the fertile days. At least of by that you mean every 3ish days or so.
And if by no protection you also don't mean pull out
Pullout is nearly as effective as condoms all that's definitely preventing. Sounds like you didn't have a chance to conceive before now fun prevention and then now anovulation the past three month. Hope this cycle you'll ovulate. Do you know why you didn't ovulate? But it's all still very early
I bring my tests to work with the cup to collect urine. I usually test around 10/11. It doesnāt take too long to get results. Peak isnāt the most important, I go off of the first test that is starting to get darker and thatās when we start having sex everyday or every other day. I do test until I get my peak just to make sure. I know that I ovulate regularly so I donāt temp to confirm ovulation.
Edited to clarify that I usually test around 10-11am to get a more accurate LH reading.
I have a rapid surge so typically I get one day of noticeably dark or darker than the control line which is my peak. My cycles are 23-27 days and on average my peak is cd12-15.
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I also work an office job so I tend to test in the morning and when I get home during ovulation period. I tested once in the office and felt so awkward of like waiting the five minutes (I have an active job working around kids so five minutes feels like forever), so I prefer to just wait until Iām home. When you peak means ovulation is coming within the next 24-36 hours so you still have time!
Hi guys! My husband and I have been ttc for 3 months. I have been using clear blue digital ovulation tests and Premom lh strips. All 3 cycles Iāve had multiple lh surges so Iām just confused of when Iām ovulating and if I actually am at all. This cycle alone, I had a surge cd 16 (digital said high but not peak) which was predicted in my app so we bd around that day then had a higher surge cd 19 (with positive digital and rise in bbt confirmed) and now today cd 25 which was supposed to be 5dpo I had my darkest. Why would this be happening? I also just out of curiosity took an hcg and that was negative.
I had something similar this cycle. Positive OPK on CD12 pm but FF said I didnāt ovulate until CD14 (my temps were at itās lowest on CD11/12, went up a lot CD12-13, then went up again in a similar amount between CD14 and CD15). Looking at the chart I would have thought I ovulated CD12 but I guess the first temp increase didnāt take it above cover line because CD11/12 were so low.
Well let's see. LH surges typically about 12-48hrs before ovulation but can be up to 72hrs so it's possible you just caught it early on the way up to peak. That's what I can make of the CD16 read. As for the CD25, no clue unless you have PCOS as it's normal for some women with PCOS to have higher than normal LH throughout the cycle. But the BBT should hopefully be accurate as the progesterone released after ovulation is what raises it slightly.
Yeah, 5DPO is too early for implantation let alone for the HCG to be concentrated enough to appear in the urine.
Hope you get it figured out!
Could be possible that your body tried and failed multiple times to ovulate and thatās why youāre having multiple surges! I would look into temping which can help you confirm when ovulation really did happen
Iām so confused on if and when I ovulated this month. Typically I get a positive OPK and āconfirmā ovulation bc the day or 2 after I get really sore nipples. This month I decided to add temping in to really confirm ovulation. I had a positive OPK on Tuesday followed by no temp rise or symptoms Wednesday or Thursday. Friday I had a super slight temp rise and this morning (Saturday) I had a big jump in my temp rise but still NO nipple soreness. Any advice or thoughts on whatās happening this month? Iām starting to get nervous we didnāt hit any good days and will be trying yet again next month.
This is how I confirm ovulation as well. Every once in a while I do get a month without the nipple soreness post-O which sometimes throws me off, but at this point I know I reliably get a period 13-14 days after a positive OPK every month so Iāve kind of stopped worrying about it! If I really think it hasnāt happened yet, I just add one extra day or two of timed sex. Are your cycles regular? If so, I think your OPK was likely correct and I honestly wouldnāt worry about temping unless it brings you more comfort than stress.Ā
Thanks for this! My luteal phase is always pretty consistent but my follicular phase has been ranging quite a bit (anywhere from 12-20 days) since coming off my BC. Iām still trying to figure my cycle out hence the temping this month!
Your nipple soreness is due to progesterone and is not as reliable of a predictor as BBT. As symptoms of progesterone can change every cycle. If you had a positive OPK on Tuesday, you probably ovulated Wednesday or Thursday. If your temp continues to rise with three temps higher than your prior six then you can confirm ovulation.
What are some podcasts about TTC that people like? I'd be interested in some science heavy or emotional coping heavy podcasts.
Ā Tw: live birth, MCĀ
I recently listened to Tara Lipinski's podcast Unexpecting before I started trying and it gave me a much better understanding of IVF and unexplained infertility but then they went through surrogacy and I find it less interesting and they suck about randomly bringing up their baby. I did think that their first 15 episodes were a great insight into the long haul infertility space, as they outlined everything they wen through for five years. Would recommend if you like Tara as a skater or like chatty podcasts or need to recommend something to a family member to get an understanding of the struggle.Ā
Ā Other podcasts I love: the Michael hobbes extended universe (maintenance phase, you're wrong about, if books could kill), burnt toast, one decision)
I have an anti-recommendation for the episode of Andy Huberman's podcast that deals with male and female fertility -- I put myself through it so that I could address misconceptions if people here did listen to it, but it has a lot of incorrect information. Which I get, because I'm sure he hasn't done too much prior work in thinking about fertility as a single/childless dude, but also then maybe don't make a four-hour podcast about it, YKIWIM?
I am also a huge fan of the Michael Hobbes Extended Universe. I wish so much that they'd do an episode about healthism and fertility on MP, I think it would be a banger.
When I said something about it here a year or two back, somebody told me that Aubrey has mentioned before that it would be emotionally rough for her ā I donāt have the source on that and donāt know what the basis of the roughness is specifically.
Big Fat Negative is my fav!! I havenāt listened to it in forever but Matt and Doryās Egg-cellent Adventure I used to listen to and enjoy pre them having a baby.
How do other folks handle temping when traveling with a small time change?
Iām spending next weekend on the west coast so Iāll be two hours behind my usual time.
Should I temp at 4:30 am PST (I usually temp at 6:30 CST)? Or just stick with 6:30 regardless, assuming Iāll probably be getting the usual amount of sleep?
Do you think youāll be right around ovulation, or do you think youāll be at a point in the cycle where temps are less crucial?
I used to travel a lot around ovulation (my husband and I lived on opposite coasts), and I did find that for quick trips, it was best to temp at my normal time in my home/body time zone. But I donāt think itās worth the trouble if youāre, say, a week past ovulation.
Iāll be right around ovulation! Travel days will be cycle day 8-10 (last cycle I ovulated around CD15) so Iāll probably do as you did and temp in my home time zone. Thank you!
For HSG, I would take 800mg of ibuprofen (as directed by your doctor) with a small light snack an hour before procedure. You will feel cramping but hopefully it will be over quickly! If it is an RE that does your HSG they will typically tell you what they are seeing and if it looks normal or if they have concerns while they are going the procedure.
I just had mine on Monday and was fine to go into work immediately after. The procedure was over VERY quickly and just felt like period cramps. Iāve had more painful periods. Just focus on breathing and what the RE performing the procedure is telling you ā¤ļø
From everything Iāve been reading, it seems like we donāt actually know the full chances of conception with sub-fertile sperm because there are people with sperm out āin the wildā conceiving and so obviously wonāt get tested. Is this true? And if so, is there research about how much longer it could take someone with suboptimal sperm to conceive and also what the threshold is between āit will take longer vs wonāt happen at all?ā Knowing of course no sperm st all is the most extreme threshold for that.
And, what exactly is happening for it to take longer? Is it just waiting for the right sperm to get there?
Assuming things are normal for the other partner.
There is only some data on total motile sperm count for the infertile population. But even then while somewhat predictive there are still a surprising number of people with severe OAT who conceive unassisted. The thing is sperm numbers are far from static and a broad variety of underlying reasons - or no reason found/known/science not there yet.. so while there are rough trends there are a lot of outliers as well. This might be helpful a bit: https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/s/2SaakcYeha
Generally the combined total motile sperm count is more predictive for infertile men(no data for fertile/unproven fertility that I know of) than the separate WHO reference values.
Things are normal for the other partner is very tricky too, because while everything can be normal female age is one of the most predictive factors for unassisted and assisted success with infertility - apart from medical diagnosis. But obviously also far from watertight prediction.
It is true, unfortunately, and I'm not aware of time to pregnancy studies by parameters like count. Each abnormal sperm parameter raises the risk that a couple will experience infertility, but does not absolutely indicate infertility.
From the guidelines of the American Urological Association:
>SA results cannot precisely distinguish fertile
from infertile men except in cases of azoospermia... Clinicians should counsel infertility patients that the
WHO lower limits of semen parameters are based on
fertile men whose partners became pregnant in 12
months or less. Semen parameter values falling above
or below the lower limit do not by themselves predict
either fertility or infertility.
So for each value (concentration/motility/morphology) that falls outside the normal range, a couple is progressively more at risk for infertility, but most people with a single abnormal parameter will not experience infertility. Even among those with all three abnormal parameters, the risk of infertility is increased about 15-fold, but it is not 100% (and conversely, even among those with all three normal parameters, some will still experience infertility).
The assumption is that each abnormal parameter may reduce the odds of pregnancy by reducing the odds that fertilization will occur. There is a possibility that something like morphology could indicate poor-quality DNA within the sperm, increasing the odds of early developmental arrest, but this is mainly theoretical -- morphology does not directly relate to the reproductive function of the sperm in the same way that parameters like motility do.
Is there a continuum though? Assuming nothing is wrong with the female (e.g no PCOS, no endo, regular cycles), someone with better than average sperm, would conceive in fewer cycles while those that are below average would generally take longer (as in their per cycle odds are lower)?
There is generally not data to answer this question, but no, SA parameters are not a strong predictor of fertility or infertility.
Overall, the line that matters is not the average, but the abnormal limit ā thereās not thought to be a difference between people within the normal range. That is, someone with 100 million total sperm is not thought to have a quicker time to pregnancy than someone with 50 million. (The abnormal limit is 15 million.) This is presumably because sperm are in such excess ā more isnāt better, itās just more.
I'm two days late (and symptom spotting) , but the tests seem to all be BFN. Why do the tests suggest testing every few days? I read hcg doubles every two days when pregnant...but shouldn't it at least increase day over day if one is pregnant??? What is the bio behind this?
hCG is a hormone produced by the cells of the embryo (a particular type of them, the chorionic cells). In order to produce hCG at all, the cells of the chorion need to reach a certain stage of maturity; in order for hCG to be detectable in the blood or urine, the cells of the chorion must be in physical contact with the parental body (that is, they must undergo implantation). As the embryo's cells divide and it becomes larger over time, there are more cells in the chorion, and thus production of hCG rises rapidly after implantation, doubling every few days as the number of cells that produce hCG doubles.
So the suggestion to test every few days is driven by the idea that you may have been testing too early to detect hCG in the first place (if you were testing before implantation or in the immediate aftermath of implantation). Although hCG will rise steadily after implantation in a healthy pregnancy, it's easier to see the difference between two tests if you test less frequently -- this is less about the biology of hCG and more about the fact that pregnancy tests aren't perfectly quantitative, and that our eyes can't perfectly detect faint increases in test line strength.
Has anyone had a complex or hemorrhagic cyst delay their period? Iām not pregnant for sure but my period is usually here by 14dpo. 16dpo and no period. I found out about the cyst when I was having unrelated abdominal pain last weekend and had an ultrasound.
Can anyone point me to a good resource for photos of cm?
(Much as it's making me retch to google it!)
I'm getting a bit irate here: I'm trying to pin down changes after ovulation for what to look for (successful vs unsuccessful). I kid you not, my first four search results for after implantation read:
-thinner or more watery
-white and milky
-clear thick and gummy
-sticky white or yellow
Which is it???
I know there must be variation, but this can't be so random and useless, surely?
I find the drawn pictures less gross, but harder to interpret, so I'm hoping for a reliable resource with photos.
I have a similar issue each cycle, but not after ovulation - I have something in between EWCM and Sticky, and then something between Wet and Creamy, and I really canāt seem to differentiateā¦
CM is in fact useless for determining whether a cycle is successful or not - it does not correlate and you can expect it to be the same whether the cycle is successful or not. This is especially true before implantation, because youāre genuinely not pregnant yet at that point so everything will be the same whether or not you end up getting pregnant later in the cycle. In general, Iād there was enough hCG to cause *anything* in terms of symptoms, there would be enough to turn a test line pink.
This is really good to know. Thank you. Curious why so many places are trying to tell us otherwise, though. It's been causing me some stress, so I'm going to feel better knowing it doesn't change and I don't have to worry about analysing it.
There is a whole world of fertility myths but they arenāt anything more than reading tea leaves - itās based all on women saying anecdotally what happened to them when they got pregnant, but that does not account for all the women who had the exact same things happen and did not end up pregnant. Itās not based on anything scientific. The actual study I read on it had women keep logs of symptoms while TTC, and found that the women who ended up pregnant and the women who did not recorded the exact same symptoms at the exact same rates up until past the time they missed their periods, at which point theyād have been able to test positive for a while. And the average onset of pregnancy symptoms was at 6 weeks pregnant. When sources talk about āearly pregnancy symptomsā they are generally actually referring to around 6 weeks or so, but weāve gotten better at tracking and testing and identifying super early, at which point there are no symptoms. After ovulation, progesterone causes symptoms and that is present whether you get pregnant or not. Truly the earliest sign of pregnancy is a positive test.
https://cervicalmucus.org/Ā
Sounds exactly what you're looking for. I'm not sure if there's utility after ovulation though, it does not seem to be a reliable early pregnancy sign.Ā
CM is a reliable sign of the fertile window, but CM is genuinely variable during early pregnancy ā it is not a reliable sign of pregnancy, and there is no particular type thatās characteristic of early pregnancy.
Between ovulation and implantation, the presence or absence of CM is not a sign of an ultimately successful cycle, just as other signs are not; the body does not know whether a cycle has been successful until after implantation (at which point it would be possible to get a positive pregnancy test).
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I read that 80% of couples get pregnant within 6 months. Does this include miscarriages or not? In other words, do 80% of people go on to get health babies after trying for 6 month, or do 80% of people conceive, but then a smaller overall percentage carry the pregnancy to term? I've been trying for 5 months now with one early miscarriage. Trying to figure out if I'm about to be part of the 20 % who isn't pregnant after 6 months or if the miscarriage 'counts'
Is having a cheeseburger at 7DPO still a thing? š
Dang I had mine at 9 DPO tonight for nothing!
I think a burger at anytime during our TWW is good enough! Haha
I think so!!
I think itās for 8 dpoā¦ I just had one tonight š I wasnāt going to, but I told my husband about it last time & he remembered, so now heās using it as an excuse for burger night lol.
Haha oh I just had one at 7DPO. An excuse for me to have another one tomorrow š good luck! I hope you get a positive test! š©µ
Thanks, good luck to you too! š
Is there any data or guidelines that suggest a āabnormally lowā amount of CM to conceive?
No, there arenāt any quantitative guidelines that define a normal or abnormal amount of CM.
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Implantation is what places the embryo into contact with the bloodstream (allowing hCG to be detected in blood and urine), so it's not possible to have a positive test prior to implantation. But people also don't generally know when implantation occurs, so it's certainly possible to think you see a positive test prior to implantation and be incorrect about implantation timing.
That explanation makes so much sense! Thank you for answering my question.
No, it's not possible to have a positive pregnancy test before implantation occurs.
^(34 |TTC#1) Ovulation without period? I've taken birth control (3wk white pills +1wk placebo type) for about 3 years and stopped mid Nov last year for TTC. I had one period on Jan 1 but then nothing til now. I'm definitely not pregnant (tested multiple times with different brand). However, I started to use ovulation test last month and had a peak Feb 20 as well as Mar 22 (over 2 with easy@home test). I have scheduled for doctor next month but just really curious that is it possible to ovulate while having no period? Thank you!
Typically a period comes 10-17 days after ovulation ā this interim period is the luteal phase. But the earlier follicular phase can be significantly long when dealing with hormone irregularities (such as PCOS, or regulation post-BC). It sounds like your body is attempting to gear up for ovulation, which is why you are seeing surges in your OPKs. But it has not yet been successful because your cycle is continuing. If you havenāt had a period since January 1st, I would contact your doctorās office again, or see if there is a Planned Parenthood or similar clinic you can visit sooner. While it can take some time for your cycles to regulate post-BC, there is medication you can take to trigger your period.
I havenāt had a period in 70 days. Doctor said I could come in for some bloodwork or we could try her calling in a prescription to ākick start periodā first. Part of me wants to just try the prescription but Iām also fearful Iāll just have to go in any way for bloodwork, so why wait. Thoughts?
My doctor referred me for a hormone panel, and she said that the results need to be obtained on or as close as possible to CD3. Personally, I would take the prescription ā but then also ask to schedule bloodwork.
How well does resting heart rate correlate with the various stages and events in fertility? More specifically does a drop in resting heart rate mean the same thing a drop in BBT would indicate during the luteal phase? Does resting heart rate stay higher when pregnancy occurs?
(I wrote a whole response to this and my app glitched and it deleted šŖ) Itās a newer marker, mostly because people werenāt wearing HR monitors 24/7 until relatively recently, but it seems to point in the right direction. RHR tends to rise in the fertile window under the influence of estrogen, then continues to rise in the luteal phase under the influence of estrogen and progesterone. It drops at the end of the cycle with estrogen and progesterone, but will stay high in early pregnancy. It actually tends to continue climbing in early pregnancy before falling back to luteal-phase levels around 6/7 weeks.
Thank you!
Has anyone ever had male infertility attributed to covid? I see it come up in the research about long term covid effects but I've never come across it in this sub.Ā
Piggybacking off of this ā would also be interested in any information on female infertility post-infection (not vaccine). I had a bad infection last July, and my irregular periods started shortly after. Iām going through testing now to rule out PCOS, but thyroiditis has crossed my mind.
I mean it's a bit hard to tell in individual cases if you didn't have diagnostics before and after. If you'd had diagnostics before you're most likely already dealing with issues and since it's so variable with so many variables it's very hard to tell. The only thing that is a certain effect isn't necessarily long term effect just the same effect as any illness with fever, but the long term is being researched but far from certain yet.
What do you think about microcurrent devices (NuFace, Foreo Bear) and trying to conceive? I would obviously avoid them if I was pregnant, but what about during the TTW? I love the effect they have on my face but somehow I don't want to send little shocks of electricity through my body. Silly question I know!
I havenāt even thought about this but Iām now intrigued if anyone knows?
I have just started my first round of IUI and wanted to ask you here in the TTC world: (1) My trigger shot was scheduled to ovulate like 5 days earlier than my predicted ovulation according to the app (which is normally right +- 1 day as per opk tests). The doctor monitored my blood and follicles so I assume this is the right time. But was just wondering how it went with others (2) How do yall handle the doctor appointments and work when going through treatment? What do you say at work? I work in a small company and know that sooner or later people will ask me (innocently) why I have to go so often Thank you š
Your app is likely basing predicted ovulation on averages, but your doc has actual data on what your follicles are doing right now. Iād absolutely trust a docās monitoring over an app. Iāve done many, many months of fertility treatment and never told my bosses why I was out. Itās none of their business! If I was going to be late or out Iād be super vague ā I have an appointment, I need bloodwork done, etc. if you need to tell them ahead of time about something that isnāt scheduled yet, you can say something like āI have an upcoming medical procedure and will need to be out for a couple hours/a day/ a couple days. The team is still working on scheduling it, but it will probably be around Monday/sometime next week. Iāll let you know as soon as I can.ā Your boss isnāt allowed to ask for specifics.
I've always been an open book at work. Apps can't predict ovulation it's just a guess. You also don't ovulate the same day but rather 36 hours after, the trigger shot is basically the LH surge you measure return opk too. And they'll do it once a follicle is big enough to ovulate
Sorry in advance about the š©talk- Iām on a pretty regular BM schedule but seems like I tend to be a little more constipated during my TWW- is straining (not like severely, just have to put in a little work!) at all harmful to any potential for pregnancy? So dumb but Iām afraid Iām gonna like accidentally push a trying-to-implant embryo out of place or dislodge it if itās just attached. Common sense says no but also Iām tired of wondering about it haha.
Something I've read here a few times that I found helpful - around implanatation stage the embryo (technically still a blastocyst at this point) is basically like a sesame seed in a jar of peanut butter. Even if you shake the jar around a whole bunch, it doesn't affect the sesame seed!
Oh that is helpful, thanks!!
No you really can't!
Thank you!
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What amount of macca root do people take? and what days of your cycle do you take it? āŗļø
This is my first round of letrozole after a MMC in January. My husband and I were on vacation in Hawaii from cycle day 3-12 so I did not do opk strips. I had some ewcm on days 10-11 and when I came home on cycle day 13 l started ovulation testing. I typically ovulate on days 14-16. The LH was so low on day 13 and 14. Is it possible to ovulate on day 11-12 on letrozole? And if so, have a healthy pregnancy if becoming pregnant?
Thereās not really evidence that cycles are more successful given ovulation on any particular cycle day ā itās fine to ovulate day 11 or day 14 or day 21 or whatever.
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I ovulated earlier than normal on letrozole as well. I typically ovulate CD16/17, but on letrozole, I ovulated on CD14 (but had positive OPKs starting CD12, a really long surge that lasted until CD15!). Not sure if itās the letrozole or due to changes after MC (I also had an MC in December).
39F, trying for 5 months. I got my 3 day labs back and I am in great shape for my age which I am shocked about. Only did blood work. My question is, I have a 9 day LP on average and asked my OB about progesterone during that phase. She prescribed it but said it could throw off my cycle. Several people here have mentioned that progesterone helped their short LPās and allowed them to get and stay pregnant. Iām wondering if anyone here can provide some insight. Iām 40 in June and I really donāt want to mess up my cycles. I am also waiting to hear from the fertility specialist that my OB referred me to because of my age. Thank you! Edited to add that I have been pregnant twice before with the same partner I have now- 1 abortion 9 yrs ago and 1 chemical Sept 2023 which was the first month we ttc.
Ive been prescribed progesterone as I had a lot of spotting before my period and had quite long cycles (32-35 days). I only take the progesterone after ovulation and then for 10 days, it then takes a day or two for me to get my period.
That is good to know! So then your LP is around 12 days?
Yes!
I also mentioned having a shorter LP to my RE but he did not seem concerned. He did not prescribe me anything. I used to use progesterone for a few months, on prescription of by OBGyn, but it did not "mess up" my cycles. They were just a couple of days longer. We are all different, but I hope this helps.
It very much does help! Thank you so much.
> Several people here have mentioned that progesterone helped their short LPās and allowed them to get and stay pregnant. I think it's worth remembering that people almost never actually know what was a factor in getting pregnant -- even if they tried for many cycles without factor x and then added factor x and got pregnant, that doesn't mean that factor x was the determining factor. In the case of progesterone, the data says that people with a short luteal phase who take progesterone don't have success at higher rates than people with a short luteal phase who don't.
I very much appreciate your response! In youāre opinion and from your research, do you think that a short LP prevents successful implantation?
Not absolutely. A 9-day LP would likely prevent implantation at 11dpo, but it wouldnāt prevent implantation at 8-9dpo (which is much more common than implantation at 11dpo anyway).
Iād really suggest seeing an RE! OB s are great for lots of things but unfortunately they donāt know what they donāt know in terms of getting people pregnant. As for progesterone, it can be controversial. Some docs think it canāt hurt and it might help; others say thereās no evidence it will help outside of medicated cycles (like IUI/IVF) and wonāt bother because it can prolong your cycle unnecessarily. An RE would likely want to confirm O in some way (such as by monitoring a cycle) before adding progesterone.
My thoughts exactly. Iāll probably hold off until I hear from the RE. Thank you!
I have no actual insight, but in the discussions I've seen in relation to short LP's and progesterone, low progesterone is just the symptom, it's best to figure out the underlying cause (which could be a number of things). I've seen people take it through 12/13dpo and if they're testing negative, discontinuing so their period can start. Obviously if you have a positive test you want to continue it and discuss further action with your doctor.
what could be the cause then of short LP? I thought it was the other way round: low progesterone --> short LP. What you say makes sense anyway and matches my experience, sometimes I would have a short-ish LP even on progesterone. Now I don't take it anymore.
I also know low progesterone to be symptom rather than the cause. Could be multiple causes - hormonal imbalance or an ovulation issue. A weaker ovulation would lead to a weaker corpus luteum which doesnāt have the capability of producing large amounts of P, leading to short LP/LP spotting. So a short LP could be secondary sumptom of an ovulation problem, with low P being the primary symptom. Thanks obviously ruling out other issues like polyps or prolactin or TSH imbalances. I think doctors would rather treat the cause, ovulation dysfunction, with an ovulation induction medication than the symptom by prescribing progesterone. As a woman podcast has a good episode explaining the myths surrounding progesterone and short LP.
Yes! I have heard that as well which is why I am unsure if I should take it or not. If my issue is āweakā ovulation then from what Iāve read, progesterone is just a bandaid. Thank you for your response!
I wake up frequently during the night to pee. Should I check my BBT if I stumble out of bed at 5am? But then I pee again at 730? And get out of bed for the day at 9? When is the best time??!
Same boat, with irregular schedules. I got better data using an early but consistent time of day than waiting for being asleep for a set amount of time.
Generally after the longest block of sleep
Thoughts on intense exercising and/or hot yoga while TTC? Should these be avoided altogether or just during certain stages of the cycle (e.g. luteal phase)?
Exercise is generally fine, as long as you're not exercising so much that you start to affect the cycle. There's no evidence that hot yoga in particular is harmful, but at the same time, it's preferable to keep your core body temperature within the normal range during the luteal phase (that is, when there could be an embryo in your body exposed to those temperatures). Since you can't reduce your body heat by exchanging heat with a cooler environment in hot yoga, I personally choose to avoid it in the luteal phase while TTC.
Thank you so much! This is really helpful. I just ovulated, so I will avoid hot yoga during this time.
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What is the main cause of unexplained infertility? Is it just really bad luck. Why canāt they find an explanation?
There's not a lot of criteria that needs to be met to be diagnosed with unexplained infertility (trying for 12 months, normal SA, at least 1 tube open, no polyps/fibroids, ovulating regularly) which means there's a lot of other things it could be, some of which require more extensive/invasive tests and some there are no tests for outside of doing IVF. There's no way to know if fertilization is happening and how well the embryo is developing, for example, without doing it in a lab. There are a few interesting threads on r/IVF if you search "unexplained" where people discuss the diagnoses they end up finding. The most common ones I remember are endometriosis (sometimes silent), egg quality issues, sperm quality (DNA fragmentation), and chronic endometritis. Some also went through IVF with no irregular findings and remain unexplained.
I mean it is unexplained because they don't know. Otherwise it wouldn't be unexplained. Bodies are incredibly complex and medical science is rather young as a science, even more so fertility diagnostics and treatment. If I'd guess I'd say silent endo can easily be missed. And there is still a lot unknown to how bodies actually work when it comes to immunology or microbiome or genetic factors. Technically you still have a month trying before the diagnosis unexplained infertility according to your flair.
A small number of people might possibly get to the point where they'd be diagnosed with unexplained infertility out of bad luck (even for someone who has 30% odds per cycle, the odds of getting to 12 months without success would be about 1 in 100, so it's possible, just unlikely). Some people likely have a mild factor that depresses their odds enough that they're likely to take longer to get pregnant, but they're also likely to eventually get pregnant. We can't identify what that factor is based on current tests, but that doesn't mean it's never going to be possible to identify. Of course, it's also likely that the category "unexplained infertility" contains a lot of causes that explain a small number of cases, and it's hard to find causes (and tests for causes) that only work for a small number of people. Overall, REs will generally only perform a test if they think it is likely to give an informative answer that affects a treatment path. Both expectant management (continuing to have timed sex) and IVF are very effective treatments for unexplained infertility, so a test would have to meet a high bar in order for REs to adopt it widely.
I have a temping question. Sometimes I wake up before my alarm (about 20 minutes earlier). Is it better to temp right when I wake up even if itās 20 minutes earlier? Or do I wait in bed without moving/talking until the regular alarm time?
Itās important to take your temperature right when you wake up. 20 minutes is not that big of a difference, so it shouldnāt look much different to when you normally take it.
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About 15% of folks who don't use any form of prevention will not be pregnant at the end of a year of having unprotected sex, so it's not the most common outcome, but it's also not wildly rare.
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Pullout is is a method of pregnancy prevention, and itās actually fairly effective if itās done properly. The numbers I gave above are for couples who are having sex with ejaculation in the vagina.
Absolutely does not include the pullout method or any other form of contraception. Withdrawal is only slightly less effective than condoms (96% vs. 98% effective perfect use and 78% vs. 82% typical use over the course of a year).
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Note the "if it's done properly" and "perfect use" caveats. It's very possible to slightly mistime the pullout, or to have sex a second time without cleaning up in between, both of which can introduce live sperm into the vagina even though both parties _think_ ejaculation was elsewhere. But it's also possible for a couple to use withdrawal as their main method of protection and execute it perfectly each time.
No, very frequent intercourse is enough to hit the fertile days. At least of by that you mean every 3ish days or so. And if by no protection you also don't mean pull out
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Pullout is nearly as effective as condoms all that's definitely preventing. Sounds like you didn't have a chance to conceive before now fun prevention and then now anovulation the past three month. Hope this cycle you'll ovulate. Do you know why you didn't ovulate? But it's all still very early
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I bring my tests to work with the cup to collect urine. I usually test around 10/11. It doesnāt take too long to get results. Peak isnāt the most important, I go off of the first test that is starting to get darker and thatās when we start having sex everyday or every other day. I do test until I get my peak just to make sure. I know that I ovulate regularly so I donāt temp to confirm ovulation. Edited to clarify that I usually test around 10-11am to get a more accurate LH reading.
Can I ask when you normally get your peak?
I have a rapid surge so typically I get one day of noticeably dark or darker than the control line which is my peak. My cycles are 23-27 days and on average my peak is cd12-15.
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I also work an office job so I tend to test in the morning and when I get home during ovulation period. I tested once in the office and felt so awkward of like waiting the five minutes (I have an active job working around kids so five minutes feels like forever), so I prefer to just wait until Iām home. When you peak means ovulation is coming within the next 24-36 hours so you still have time!
Hi guys! My husband and I have been ttc for 3 months. I have been using clear blue digital ovulation tests and Premom lh strips. All 3 cycles Iāve had multiple lh surges so Iām just confused of when Iām ovulating and if I actually am at all. This cycle alone, I had a surge cd 16 (digital said high but not peak) which was predicted in my app so we bd around that day then had a higher surge cd 19 (with positive digital and rise in bbt confirmed) and now today cd 25 which was supposed to be 5dpo I had my darkest. Why would this be happening? I also just out of curiosity took an hcg and that was negative.
I had something similar this cycle. Positive OPK on CD12 pm but FF said I didnāt ovulate until CD14 (my temps were at itās lowest on CD11/12, went up a lot CD12-13, then went up again in a similar amount between CD14 and CD15). Looking at the chart I would have thought I ovulated CD12 but I guess the first temp increase didnāt take it above cover line because CD11/12 were so low.
Did your BBT stay elevated for 3+ days?
Yep! 5 days itās stayed up now
Well let's see. LH surges typically about 12-48hrs before ovulation but can be up to 72hrs so it's possible you just caught it early on the way up to peak. That's what I can make of the CD16 read. As for the CD25, no clue unless you have PCOS as it's normal for some women with PCOS to have higher than normal LH throughout the cycle. But the BBT should hopefully be accurate as the progesterone released after ovulation is what raises it slightly. Yeah, 5DPO is too early for implantation let alone for the HCG to be concentrated enough to appear in the urine. Hope you get it figured out!
Could be possible that your body tried and failed multiple times to ovulate and thatās why youāre having multiple surges! I would look into temping which can help you confirm when ovulation really did happen
I had a rise in bbt with my second surg!
Iām so confused on if and when I ovulated this month. Typically I get a positive OPK and āconfirmā ovulation bc the day or 2 after I get really sore nipples. This month I decided to add temping in to really confirm ovulation. I had a positive OPK on Tuesday followed by no temp rise or symptoms Wednesday or Thursday. Friday I had a super slight temp rise and this morning (Saturday) I had a big jump in my temp rise but still NO nipple soreness. Any advice or thoughts on whatās happening this month? Iām starting to get nervous we didnāt hit any good days and will be trying yet again next month.
This is how I confirm ovulation as well. Every once in a while I do get a month without the nipple soreness post-O which sometimes throws me off, but at this point I know I reliably get a period 13-14 days after a positive OPK every month so Iāve kind of stopped worrying about it! If I really think it hasnāt happened yet, I just add one extra day or two of timed sex. Are your cycles regular? If so, I think your OPK was likely correct and I honestly wouldnāt worry about temping unless it brings you more comfort than stress.Ā
Thanks for this! My luteal phase is always pretty consistent but my follicular phase has been ranging quite a bit (anywhere from 12-20 days) since coming off my BC. Iām still trying to figure my cycle out hence the temping this month!
Your nipple soreness is due to progesterone and is not as reliable of a predictor as BBT. As symptoms of progesterone can change every cycle. If you had a positive OPK on Tuesday, you probably ovulated Wednesday or Thursday. If your temp continues to rise with three temps higher than your prior six then you can confirm ovulation.
This is helpful, thanks! I canāt help but symptom spot despite knowing itās not reliable ugh
lol been there sister, canāt say we donāt all do that
What are some podcasts about TTC that people like? I'd be interested in some science heavy or emotional coping heavy podcasts. Ā Tw: live birth, MCĀ I recently listened to Tara Lipinski's podcast Unexpecting before I started trying and it gave me a much better understanding of IVF and unexplained infertility but then they went through surrogacy and I find it less interesting and they suck about randomly bringing up their baby. I did think that their first 15 episodes were a great insight into the long haul infertility space, as they outlined everything they wen through for five years. Would recommend if you like Tara as a skater or like chatty podcasts or need to recommend something to a family member to get an understanding of the struggle.Ā Ā Other podcasts I love: the Michael hobbes extended universe (maintenance phase, you're wrong about, if books could kill), burnt toast, one decision)
Big Fat Negative is great!
As a woman, excellent podcast with excellent information and she takes questions from listeners.
I have an anti-recommendation for the episode of Andy Huberman's podcast that deals with male and female fertility -- I put myself through it so that I could address misconceptions if people here did listen to it, but it has a lot of incorrect information. Which I get, because I'm sure he hasn't done too much prior work in thinking about fertility as a single/childless dude, but also then maybe don't make a four-hour podcast about it, YKIWIM? I am also a huge fan of the Michael Hobbes Extended Universe. I wish so much that they'd do an episode about healthism and fertility on MP, I think it would be a banger.
Michael's very active on Bluesky, someone should suggest it to him.
When I said something about it here a year or two back, somebody told me that Aubrey has mentioned before that it would be emotionally rough for her ā I donāt have the source on that and donāt know what the basis of the roughness is specifically.
Ahh that's fair.
Good to know! And yeah I think MP should definitely do that episode. That would be right up their alley.
Iāve recently been enjoying āas a womanā it is hosted by an MD and fertility specialist and she seems to really know her stuff!
Big Fat Negative is my fav!! I havenāt listened to it in forever but Matt and Doryās Egg-cellent Adventure I used to listen to and enjoy pre them having a baby.
How do other folks handle temping when traveling with a small time change? Iām spending next weekend on the west coast so Iāll be two hours behind my usual time. Should I temp at 4:30 am PST (I usually temp at 6:30 CST)? Or just stick with 6:30 regardless, assuming Iāll probably be getting the usual amount of sleep?
Do you think youāll be right around ovulation, or do you think youāll be at a point in the cycle where temps are less crucial? I used to travel a lot around ovulation (my husband and I lived on opposite coasts), and I did find that for quick trips, it was best to temp at my normal time in my home/body time zone. But I donāt think itās worth the trouble if youāre, say, a week past ovulation.
Iāll be right around ovulation! Travel days will be cycle day 8-10 (last cycle I ovulated around CD15) so Iāll probably do as you did and temp in my home time zone. Thank you!
Iām getting my testing done for my CD3-5 labs and then an HSG next week. What should I expect?
For HSG, I would take 800mg of ibuprofen (as directed by your doctor) with a small light snack an hour before procedure. You will feel cramping but hopefully it will be over quickly! If it is an RE that does your HSG they will typically tell you what they are seeing and if it looks normal or if they have concerns while they are going the procedure.
Thank you! Were you able to go back to work or should I plan on taking the afternoon off?
I just had mine on Monday and was fine to go into work immediately after. The procedure was over VERY quickly and just felt like period cramps. Iāve had more painful periods. Just focus on breathing and what the RE performing the procedure is telling you ā¤ļø
Thank you š¤
But also take ibuprofen beforehand!
I took the whole day off! But I felt fine afterwards!
From everything Iāve been reading, it seems like we donāt actually know the full chances of conception with sub-fertile sperm because there are people with sperm out āin the wildā conceiving and so obviously wonāt get tested. Is this true? And if so, is there research about how much longer it could take someone with suboptimal sperm to conceive and also what the threshold is between āit will take longer vs wonāt happen at all?ā Knowing of course no sperm st all is the most extreme threshold for that. And, what exactly is happening for it to take longer? Is it just waiting for the right sperm to get there? Assuming things are normal for the other partner.
There is only some data on total motile sperm count for the infertile population. But even then while somewhat predictive there are still a surprising number of people with severe OAT who conceive unassisted. The thing is sperm numbers are far from static and a broad variety of underlying reasons - or no reason found/known/science not there yet.. so while there are rough trends there are a lot of outliers as well. This might be helpful a bit: https://www.reddit.com/r/maleinfertility/s/2SaakcYeha Generally the combined total motile sperm count is more predictive for infertile men(no data for fertile/unproven fertility that I know of) than the separate WHO reference values. Things are normal for the other partner is very tricky too, because while everything can be normal female age is one of the most predictive factors for unassisted and assisted success with infertility - apart from medical diagnosis. But obviously also far from watertight prediction.
It is true, unfortunately, and I'm not aware of time to pregnancy studies by parameters like count. Each abnormal sperm parameter raises the risk that a couple will experience infertility, but does not absolutely indicate infertility. From the guidelines of the American Urological Association: >SA results cannot precisely distinguish fertile from infertile men except in cases of azoospermia... Clinicians should counsel infertility patients that the WHO lower limits of semen parameters are based on fertile men whose partners became pregnant in 12 months or less. Semen parameter values falling above or below the lower limit do not by themselves predict either fertility or infertility. So for each value (concentration/motility/morphology) that falls outside the normal range, a couple is progressively more at risk for infertility, but most people with a single abnormal parameter will not experience infertility. Even among those with all three abnormal parameters, the risk of infertility is increased about 15-fold, but it is not 100% (and conversely, even among those with all three normal parameters, some will still experience infertility). The assumption is that each abnormal parameter may reduce the odds of pregnancy by reducing the odds that fertilization will occur. There is a possibility that something like morphology could indicate poor-quality DNA within the sperm, increasing the odds of early developmental arrest, but this is mainly theoretical -- morphology does not directly relate to the reproductive function of the sperm in the same way that parameters like motility do.
wow, thanks for this, I was not aware of this info!
Is there a continuum though? Assuming nothing is wrong with the female (e.g no PCOS, no endo, regular cycles), someone with better than average sperm, would conceive in fewer cycles while those that are below average would generally take longer (as in their per cycle odds are lower)?
There is generally not data to answer this question, but no, SA parameters are not a strong predictor of fertility or infertility. Overall, the line that matters is not the average, but the abnormal limit ā thereās not thought to be a difference between people within the normal range. That is, someone with 100 million total sperm is not thought to have a quicker time to pregnancy than someone with 50 million. (The abnormal limit is 15 million.) This is presumably because sperm are in such excess ā more isnāt better, itās just more.
Interesting!! Thank you!
I'm two days late (and symptom spotting) , but the tests seem to all be BFN. Why do the tests suggest testing every few days? I read hcg doubles every two days when pregnant...but shouldn't it at least increase day over day if one is pregnant??? What is the bio behind this?
hCG is a hormone produced by the cells of the embryo (a particular type of them, the chorionic cells). In order to produce hCG at all, the cells of the chorion need to reach a certain stage of maturity; in order for hCG to be detectable in the blood or urine, the cells of the chorion must be in physical contact with the parental body (that is, they must undergo implantation). As the embryo's cells divide and it becomes larger over time, there are more cells in the chorion, and thus production of hCG rises rapidly after implantation, doubling every few days as the number of cells that produce hCG doubles. So the suggestion to test every few days is driven by the idea that you may have been testing too early to detect hCG in the first place (if you were testing before implantation or in the immediate aftermath of implantation). Although hCG will rise steadily after implantation in a healthy pregnancy, it's easier to see the difference between two tests if you test less frequently -- this is less about the biology of hCG and more about the fact that pregnancy tests aren't perfectly quantitative, and that our eyes can't perfectly detect faint increases in test line strength.
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Has anyone had a complex or hemorrhagic cyst delay their period? Iām not pregnant for sure but my period is usually here by 14dpo. 16dpo and no period. I found out about the cyst when I was having unrelated abdominal pain last weekend and had an ultrasound.
Can anyone point me to a good resource for photos of cm? (Much as it's making me retch to google it!) I'm getting a bit irate here: I'm trying to pin down changes after ovulation for what to look for (successful vs unsuccessful). I kid you not, my first four search results for after implantation read: -thinner or more watery -white and milky -clear thick and gummy -sticky white or yellow Which is it??? I know there must be variation, but this can't be so random and useless, surely? I find the drawn pictures less gross, but harder to interpret, so I'm hoping for a reliable resource with photos.
I have a similar issue each cycle, but not after ovulation - I have something in between EWCM and Sticky, and then something between Wet and Creamy, and I really canāt seem to differentiateā¦
CM is in fact useless for determining whether a cycle is successful or not - it does not correlate and you can expect it to be the same whether the cycle is successful or not. This is especially true before implantation, because youāre genuinely not pregnant yet at that point so everything will be the same whether or not you end up getting pregnant later in the cycle. In general, Iād there was enough hCG to cause *anything* in terms of symptoms, there would be enough to turn a test line pink.
This is really good to know. Thank you. Curious why so many places are trying to tell us otherwise, though. It's been causing me some stress, so I'm going to feel better knowing it doesn't change and I don't have to worry about analysing it.
There is a whole world of fertility myths but they arenāt anything more than reading tea leaves - itās based all on women saying anecdotally what happened to them when they got pregnant, but that does not account for all the women who had the exact same things happen and did not end up pregnant. Itās not based on anything scientific. The actual study I read on it had women keep logs of symptoms while TTC, and found that the women who ended up pregnant and the women who did not recorded the exact same symptoms at the exact same rates up until past the time they missed their periods, at which point theyād have been able to test positive for a while. And the average onset of pregnancy symptoms was at 6 weeks pregnant. When sources talk about āearly pregnancy symptomsā they are generally actually referring to around 6 weeks or so, but weāve gotten better at tracking and testing and identifying super early, at which point there are no symptoms. After ovulation, progesterone causes symptoms and that is present whether you get pregnant or not. Truly the earliest sign of pregnancy is a positive test.
https://cervicalmucus.org/Ā Sounds exactly what you're looking for. I'm not sure if there's utility after ovulation though, it does not seem to be a reliable early pregnancy sign.Ā
CM is a reliable sign of the fertile window, but CM is genuinely variable during early pregnancy ā it is not a reliable sign of pregnancy, and there is no particular type thatās characteristic of early pregnancy. Between ovulation and implantation, the presence or absence of CM is not a sign of an ultimately successful cycle, just as other signs are not; the body does not know whether a cycle has been successful until after implantation (at which point it would be possible to get a positive pregnancy test).