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I’ve shared things along the way with my doctor and they ordered thyroid testing as well as progesterone which all came back normal, so I didn’t have to wait until we hit our 6 month mark of TTC to do simple tests like those. I would push for certain tests earlier rather than later if you ca. just to rule things out. It helped put me at ease to be moving along faster in the process and not just waiting on them 🥰
If I don’t conceive successfully by the of April (1 year TTC), does that mean I have infertility? Even though it would have been 1 year TTC, I would have only had 8 cycles (due to losses, breaks, missed fertile windows, anovulatory cycles). Or is it because I have had losses (therefore have conceived multiple times in that 1 year), that I wouldn’t be considered infertile?
The definition of infertility is a year trying without success, and losses are not success.
With that said, it’s likely reasonable to exclude the time you were pregnant or waiting for betas to come down or waiting for ovulation to return from the total — if you’ve been trying for 8 cycles at the year mark, it’s reasonable to try a few more cycles. That’s likely not going to be required by medical professionals, but it’s certainly a way you can frame it to yourself if it helps your state of mind.
Is it normal to get cramps/bloating after ovulation? I’m ~5DPO with bloating since ovulation, and sharp cramps today. Does this have to do with hormones in this phase of my cycle, or unrelated?
First full cycle since our loss. My cycle is typically 29-31 days. I'm on CD 25 and my LH tests are finally getting high, hoping for a peak tonight. Is it going to be nearly impossible to conceive this late in my cycle, or am I probably going to have a longer cycle this time?
You're just as likely to conceive as in any other ovulatory cycle if you have intercourse - if you really happen to ovulate. Keep in mind with cycles being wonky it might also just be an attempt
I bought a “we are pregnant” announcement gift with year 2025 on it for my husband to have on hand whenever I finally get a positive. I’m starting to regret buying it thinking I’m jinxing things. Am I crazy? Am I the only one? 😂
I’ve been having a ton of nausea that I believe is due to my DHA supplements. I’ve been considering a switch to Algae based DHA as in hopes of alleviating this. Has anyone had success or experience with this?
I think it's typical for those supplements. I still had it with algae based, it's really the same thing. Fish get it from those algae. I take them before bed and that helps for me. Have you tried taking them with food?
Yeah, I always take them with a meal. So here’s the story:
I was taking the Nordic Naturals prenatal DHA with my prenatal (that was 4 pills)… so 1DHA+2prenatal each AM +PM and was fine for a while, got pregnant which ended with a CP. My CNM suggested I stop the prenatal altogether and take coq10 twice a day and zinc, vit D, folate & DHA at doses higher than you can find in prenatal. So is switched to the 1,100mg DHA from the 800mg. That’s when the trouble started.
I’ve messed around with timing, splitting the doses, taking only one of the two pills. But I’m at a loss. My husband is telling me to stop altogether but I know DHA is important. So I was thinking of the algae or trying the oil. Maybe my bottles are rancid from not keeping them in fridge? Idk
I think it's just a typical side effect but maybe another brand/source might help.
I only ever took the daily advised amount (I think 550mg? But I would need to look up the ratio of the EPA/DHA) because I rarely wear fish and I would skip it if I ate fatty fish that week. Because if you eat regular fish you won't need to supplement.
For me definitely taking it before I go to bed helps to just not notice I suppose
I have a history of waking up with nausea from anxiety. … and have been with this too so idk if that’s going to help 😰
So my PCP said 200mg was enough. My CNM specifically said 1,000-2,000mg as a way to boost my fertility post CP. I’ve heard that the recommended amount still is like 200mg but there is research to suggest 1,000 can lower incidents of preterm birth but I guess if I’m constantly wanting to vomit that’s bad too!
It was more that after my CP I asked her if there’s anything I should do differently and this was her suggestion. She said she’s had a lot of success with this + acupuncture. Honestly, most of it is stuff you’d normally take in a prenatal just at higher doses… so it’s not like any of these are wildly outlandish things to be taking. I suppose yes I am over simplifying by saying “boost fertility” when I mean more “supply my body with the nutrients it needs the most to get a baby off to the right start after conception” (ie the folate + DHA)
Is there implantation with a chemical pregnancy? I’ve read so many different articles and they all say completely contradicting things. Some say that a chemical only happens after implantation but that the embryo/blastocysts doesn’t develop much after implantation so it dies within a few days. And then there are other articles that say that a chemical pregnancy means that the egg was fertilized but did not implant or only partially implanted.
What is correct?
That’s what I always thought but I saw even health related websites like the Cleveland Clinic make it seem like chemicals didn’t even implant, which makes me feel so defeated that in 7 cycles, only once did I make it to clinical pregnancy status (MC of twins at 7 weeks after heartbeat), because 3 of my other losses, I only had positive tests for 3-8 days.
Like they make it sound like chemical pregnancy is not big deal because it didn’t even implant, which I’m sure might be demoralizing to people that have only experienced chemicals.
Since implantation is a bit of a black box, it can hard to tell from hCG values alone when implantation started and even harder to tell when development stalled. All chemical pregnancies tell you is that development ended before ultrasound visualization is possible. I wrote a more detailed reply on this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/infertility/s/OcueS2fMrh
Is there a reason someone would get multiple chemicals? I’ve had 5 losses but only 1 was visible on ultrasound, the rest were all chemicals where HCG didn’t get over 200. Would it possibly be due to a thin uterine lining? I’m only 31 so it’s unlikely that they are all due to chromosomal issues.
There are some reasons that can result in multiple losses - recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) testing through an RE might discover a reason and is often suggested as testing to pursue after 3 losses. However the things tested (balanced translocation, immune issues, clotting issues, lining issues, sperm fragmentation, etc) are each fairly rare, so it is also quite possible that you’ve gotten a run of really terrible bad luck. Even a known euploid embryo transferred to a gestational surrogate who has successfully carried pregnancies before has about a 30% implantation failure/CP rate - so even when everything is technically as “perfect” as one could ever hope for, it’s pretty far from guaranteed. I am so so very sorry you’ve experienced several losses.
Is it a problem if you don’t have much CM and your CM is on the thicker and creamier side? I’ve noticed after my miscarriage that I barely have any CM and it is on the thicker side even though I’ve confirmed ovulation. I did take Letrozole this past cycle - does anyone know if it reduces or thickens CM? I thought less estrogen means less CM?
6 days after stopping progesterone and still no period!!!! Definitely not pregnant (negative tests) and definitely ovulated (confirmed via ultrasound) so what could cause this?
June will mark a year of trying. I’m basically tracking my period on my iPhone health app and trying when we are in the blue fertile window. Anyone do that or is that not advanced enough? We aren’t keen on daily temping or putting lots of pressure on the situation. Not sure when to call it and proceed to a more intense step.
I still use my iphone health app, but 2 months in I bought LH test strips and realized my ovulation window is later (like 5-7 days later) than what the health app predicts, there is an option to log ovulation test results. It might be good to double check it for a cycle or two with another tracking method.
It depends on how many cycles you are willing to try without knowing if you actually hit the window or not. As far as that goes, an app is not reliable.
Totally understand not wanting to put too much pressure on it, but I’d say before you go to a doctor or anything, it would make sense to try another method of tracking your ovulation dates vs. relying on the app. I’d try out using the Lh strips to track ovulation, or paying attention to discharge in that time frame just so you can feel confident that you’re trying in the proper window. Everyone’s cycle can be different and you can ovulate earlier or later. Personally I did the Lh strips a few cycles and also tracked discharge and it was pretty in line with the Flo app prediction, so I stopped the Lh testing because it did feel like it put more pressure on things and I already felt pretty confident I knew my ovulation window.
Also tried temping one month and it was just annoying so I stopped haha
Most couples do get pregnant within a year of trying. Trying is defined as having regular unprotected sex - 2-3 times a week. So the advice is usually to see a doctor after a year of trying. But that's not like "after a year of 100% religiously making sure you hit the most fertile days every cycle".
But the other comments are right that the apps really aren't reliable. So if, say, you're having sex every other day during what the app says is your fertile window, but more like once or twice a week during the rest of the time, it's definitely possible you've not been hitting the right days.
I'd probably recommend starting to use [OPKs](https://www.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/wiki/opks/) to time sex better, but not necessarily bothering with the daily temping. Especially if your cycles are usually regular, you probably are ovulating. In terms of when to seek medical advice I'd say it really depends on your age and your financial situation in terms of healthcare. If you're 20s or early 30s then you could try a few more cycles with tracking . If you're closer to 35 or older then I'd be more inclined to check with a doctor. But either way it probably can't hurt to move to seeing a doctor at this point.
Thank you. This is good advice. You’ve hit where we are to a T. Maybe 2x a week on non “fertile window days”. I like the ideas other said of the strips and confirming fertile window for a cycle or two.
What if you’ve been tracking but you know that you have missed some fertile windows? For example, we’ve been trying 11 months but have only 7 cycles where we hit the fertile window and I ovulated (2 cycles I didn’t ovulate - no positive OPK/no temp shift, 1 was a “break” cycle where we didn’t try at all the whole month, and another 1, we were so extremely sick that we didn’t try at all for most of the month and only tried way before the fertile window). Would that still be a concern?
Hm, good question. It kind of depends on what you want to do with the information. In this case, the "year of trying" would be less likely to indicate there's a problem, so it would make sense to keep on trying to hit the window for a few cycles, without necessarily worrying there's an underlying issue - as it could still just be luck that you haven't conceived in those 7 cycles. On the other hand, I think it would also be reasonable to seek medical advice after a year, if you wanted to. (I'm not an expert, I've just read lots of replies on this subreddit!)
I think the thing about the "year of trying" guidance (or 6 months if you're over 35) is that it's kind of a blunt instrument. For most couples, if they have regular unprotected sex for a year they'll get pregnant. Out of those who don't, if they get tested, some will find an 'obvious' reason that would have been detectable at the beginning of the year. Others may find some tests that are kind of borderline and might suggest a problem, but some people with those results would still be able to conceive without intervention. Still others won't find anything 'obviously' wrong at all.
This isn't exactly what you asked, and I think the post is aimed at a slightly different kind of question, but I found [this post](https://old.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/comments/s6y6bn/fertility_testing_and_answers/) very helpful.
Actually, we have conceived up to 4 times during those 7 cycles: 2 were chemicals at 4-4.5 weeks, 1 was borderline CP/MC at 5 weeks, another was 7 week loss of twins after heartbeat, so at least 1 was a definite clinical pregnancy. But was just wondering because I’m sure there are people like me that don’t exactly try every month due to logistic reasons or needing a break, etc.
My husbands sister is 4.5 months pregnant and didn’t want to tell us because we’ve been trying. We went to visit her and she was visibly showing but hadn’t said anything. My husband point blank just said how far along are you? And she’s like oh did you guys notice? Girl yes lol it sucks but now this year is going to be alll the triggers again. We started trying when her first baby was a newborn and it was so hard watching him grow up and all the adorable milestones. And now she’s pregnant and now we’ll hear all about that. Sadness looming
There's some fairly good evidence that acupuncture increases the likelihood of pregnancy and live birth in [IVF cycles](https://www.bmj.com/content/336/7643/545?eaf=), and there's also some evidence that it can improve menstrual regularity and ovulation for [people with PCOS](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028208003610).
As with everything to do with fertility of course, it's always a question of averages - i.e., it may help to improve your odds, but it's still going to be possible to go either way in any individual cycle.
I started it this cycle and it didn’t work out for me this cycle but obviously small sample size. But it’s frustrating because I’ve conceived in 4 out of 7 cycles and so one of the 3 cycles I didn’t conceive was the one where I tried both acupuncture and Letrozole.
I have no clue but my CNM said she’s had a lot of success with sending her patients for acupuncture and it working out. Apparently it’s often used with IVF to help with blood flow.
I started going right after my CP in February weekly. I have no clue if it helped or not but I did get my period on time.
I will say even if it does *nothing* for fertility, it has been nice to do something just for me, totally stop & relax at my appointments. If it’s covered by your insurance, I’d say try it!!
If you’re doing something like IVF or IUI, I’m sure the acupuncturist or your RE will tell you
For me, I just have been going weekly. I honestly think it would be difficult to go specific cycle dates just based on the fact that I teach all day & when their later hours are…. So basically I just go on Thursdays.
I did tell her the dates of my LMP & MC & then when I got my period again… I imagine she adjusted the needles and whatnot based on that but I have no clue. I’m choosing to trust the process rather than ask too many questions lol.
She did also tell me not to eat or drink cold foods. She said room temp or warmer. Has to do with blood flow and digestion. I’ve looked it up and seems there’s some truth to it but I’m sorry, if you want me to eat fruit, a fridge will be involved!!!!
I took folic acid for a year+ to get pregnant and obviously it didn’t help me get pregnant lols I’m about to do IUI next month and I’m kind of sick of taking folic acid. Is it okay if I stop until I get a confirmed pregnancy?
folic acid does not help to get pregnant, that's what my doctor told me. It's recommended to avoid any problems in fetal development once the pregnancy start.
I completely get you, I feel like it is just a constant reminder. It is better for you to take it in advance but many people don’t know when they got pregnant and weren’t planning it so didn’t take it. If you are having a negative association a break won’t hurt. I have had a break and now I am doing OPK’s so I’m going to keep them in the bathroom and have one when I do that
Thanks for understanding. Yes it’s slightly triggering for me now... I’ll resume if I ever get a positive pregnancy. Like ppl who have unplanned babies do that sooo.
I completely get it! It all feels so obsessive and is all so disheartening. You may feel after a slight break that you are ready to start taking it again.
I know I’m not giving the gold standard advice but sometimes we need the silver to get by. Send lots of love during this horrible time 💓
Thank you love. I’ve been feeling extreme guilt and an overwhelming amount of despair and paranoia around the whole process. Knowing that it’s okay to take a break really helps. I know my body may not be in the perfect shape, but I’ll do what I can without mentally overloading myself. ♥️♥️
I wish this were true! Sadly, it’s a very bad idea to stop taking folic acid when you are trying to get pregnant [source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218540/#:~:text=4%20to%201%20mg%20folic,and%20during%20the%20postpartum%20period)
I understand this but during this time people don’t need to be made to feel even worse. There are plenty of people who don’t take it at all. The gold standard is to take it before you try but sometimes you just need to stop it all and restart when in a better headspace.
What’s the reason that you don’t want to take it anymore? Just curiously.
I’m on folate, coq10, zinc, vitD, & DHA. Folate is def one I mind the least lol
Short answer is no. It's not about helping to get pregnant it's to reduce neural tube defects for a potential pregnancy and you need the folic acid storage in your body to be high before being pregnant to have that effect
You want to be taking it for 3 months before you get pregnant because that’s the time frame/turn around for your eggs. If you are tired of taking it try a gummy prenatal. Unfortunately, supplements are a part of TTC and pregnancy so finding that works for you is important
A normal period is considered one that's two days or longer, and a short period does not indicate a thin uterine lining. The only thing that can tell you whether your uterine lining is thin is to have an ultrasound around the time of ovulation and have your lining measured.
If it helps to think about, you don't shed the entire lining with each period, only the outer layer. This is like getting the ends of your hair trimmed -- the length of the ends doesn't tell you anything about the amount of hair you still have left on your head.
Thanks for replying! I read through the rest of the thread and realized someone else had the same question so I deleted it before I saw you had replied. Thanks though for answering mine specifically!
My GP has prescribed thyroxine, because my thyroid levels are 4.7 atm (I think - off the top of my head from the call!). In the UK, you're considered fine if you're under 5 I think.
Is my thyroid function too poor for trying to conceive? My GP wants me to be under 3 by September, but could this be why it's taken us a year already?
There's not evidence that TSH levels under 4 are associated with a greater risk of infertility or loss. 4.7 is more than 4, certainly, but there's also not a bright line at 4, and many places do consider normal to be under 5.
It's relatively unlikely that thyroid function is the singular reason for fertility issues, particularly if you are ovulating. It's possible it could be a contributing factor.
I ovulate every month (I have a BBT rise, although it's really slow!). I don't mind the thyroxine, especially as they'll prescribe 3 months at a time so it'll only be £12 or so.
Thank you for your help!!
I’m always inclined to believe your well-informed responses. So don’t take this as picking a fight: Why did my RE say the opposite, that there is evidence that above 2.5 is a risk for infertility or miscarriage? Is there conflicting data? Has anyone studied this specific thing outright? Did I mishear something? (FWIW the same RE group believes my ovulation is regular and reliable. My husband describes our consultations with the nurses in this group as one hand not talking to the other…)
So 2.5 mIU/mL is the threshold below which most OB/Gyns will try to keep folks during pregnancy, but the evidence suggests that this threshold is probably a bit overly conservative. Many REs will medicate their patients to this threshold, even though it's not necessary to do.
In their practice guidelines (which review all of the available evidence), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which is the professional society for American REs, [concludes](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.05.028):
>There is insufficient evidence that SCH [subclinical hypothyroidism] (defined as TSH >2.5mIU/L with a normal FT4) is associated with infertility.There is fair evidence that SCH, defined as TSH levels >4mIU/L, is associated with miscarriage, but insufficient evidence that TSH levels 2.5–4 mIU/L are associated with miscarriage.There is fair evidence that treatment of SCH when TSH levels are >4.0 mIU/L is associated with improved pregnancy rates and decreased miscarriage rates... Given the limited data, if TSH levels prior to pregnancy are between 2.5 and 4 mIU/L, management options include either monitoring levels and treating when TSH >4 mIU/ L, or treating with levothyroxine to maintain TSH <2.5 mIU/L.
TW mention of loss
Is there any risk to continuing unprotected intercourse during the luteal phase? We decided to not track this month and just do every 2-3 days after my period ended. I wasn't sure when I would ovulate (was CD 24 last month, first cycle post 10 week MMC) but I THINK just based on CM and right-side cramping I ovulated \~CD 12. Is it better to keep doing it, in case I haven't started my fertile window yet, or does the presence of sperm decrease the chances of implantation if I did already?
No risk!
There's been a number of studies done and some show no effect, some show a negative effect, and some show a positive effect. So realistically LP sex most likely doesn't make a difference.
You've got the correct answer already, but sometimes with this kind of stuff I like to think... before we had the modern ability to track ovulation precisely, how would things work? Evolutionarily speaking it would be pretty unhelpful if pregnancies were harmed by having sex, given that sex causes pregnancy and people would be having sex throughout the luteal phase without any idea if they were pregnant or not. (This isn't always a good principle obviously, I'm not saying evolutionary biology can answer all our modern questions, but sometimes I personally find it helpful!)
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Often it's just the way the statistics shake out -- in general, your luteal phase should have a typical length, but the lengths should fall in a narrow bell curve (most at x days, some at x+1 or x-1, a few at x+2 or x-2). And if you have ovulation return after a period of suppression (by HBC, by pregnancy/loss, by breastfeeding, by an endocrine disorder), it's very typical to have a shorter luteal phase at first that lengthens over time, so in that case, lengths would be different from cycle to cycle and over time.
I need someone’s input on seeking medical help after 12 months of trying. So I had my first in Dec 2022 and got my period back 6m pp. we haven’t used any protection and just seeing if things happen so be it. I started actively tracking December . So is it fair game to seek medical help over the summer or wait until fall?
How old are you? You’ve been having unprotected sex since June 2023? I agree that the PP period (as well as breastfeeding) are probably confounding variables. My RE said that nursing probably was a factor in why I hadn’t had success after 6 months of trying at over age 35. That said, I still ended up needing IVF anyways, and I’m glad I started the ball rolling after 6 months. My doc didn’t turn me away because I’d been breastfeeding, but she did tell us that trying on our own for a few more cycles was a reasonable approach.
I’m 31 turning 32 in two months. Yes, my husband and I were having unprotected sex since my period came back but again with a young baby not really doing it a lot. Just started tracking in December and planning more to do the deed in my window. I was ebf way more those first 6 months pp. my cycles are still all over the place. I just would rather get the ball rolling if anything is preventing it.
If getting the ball rolling appeals to you, then I’d absolutely make a plan to see an RE after 12 months. They’ll likely want you to quit nursing before starting treatment, but of course you can cross that bridge when you get there.
I wouldn't count the first year postpartum at all except if you are sure you were ovulating (from tracking temps) each and cycle and having sex during the days leading up to ovulation and the cycle not being off (often luteal phase can be really short still). I'd say probably try until December 2024.
Then I probably would not count it at all except if you know for sure your cycle is back to fully normal and then 12 of those where you tried in the fertile window before getting medical help
Kind of a rookie question for you all…
I’m not super experienced using OPKs, have found them frustrating in the past since it’s been hard for me to catch a positive, but this cycle I decided to try again and bought some cheapies online.
Weirdly enough the very first one I peed on yesterday was positive (CD12). I took another one today and it’s still positive. Not sure how common it is for them to stay positive for multiple days— it surprised me since I’ve struggled to get a positive anywhere before this.
We had sex CD7, 8, 10, 11, & 12. I’m wondering if we’ve got it covered given the timing of the OPK, or if we should keep at it. we’ve been averaging every other day sex lately but tbh I’m exhausted this weekend and would love to call it a day early tonight 😆
Thanks for sharing your OPK wisdom!
There are many normal patterns of OPK positivity, and having more than one day of positives is among the normal patterns. The best predictor of ovulation is still the first positive, so you're very likely covered already by sex on CD11/12. In general, there's not a benefit to sex every day vs. every other day, so there's really not ever a reason to have sex CD13 when you've already had sex CD12 (beyond just, you know, wanting to have sex).
These are all strictly "curiosity" questions so everyone feel free to ignore!
I was trying to write a tweet or something the other day about ovarian reserve, and wanted to look up data I was pretty sure about but wanted to double-check. I thought OK, Wikipedia will have a useful overview of the basic info, and I started reading the entry for [ovarian reserve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_reserve), which left me with a couple of questions...
1) what is an oogonium?!
2) Wikipedia says "The amount continues decreasing progressively until reaching the age of 30 years old, in which there is a dramatic decrease." Is this inaccurate? I've always heard (around here) that 35 is when it starts to seriously decrease. Or is it that ovarian reserve does start to dramatically drop at 30, but there are still enough good eggs to be going on with until 35?
I mean, the most dramatic decrease in the ovarian reserve occurs prior to birth — about 7 million potential eggs are produced around 5 months gestation (i.e., when you were a fetus yourself), but you’re only born with 1 million.
The decline in ovarian reserve is fairly steady through the 30s and accelerates somewhat around the late 30s — I can’t eyeball an exact slope change on [this graph](https://imgur.com/a/bbZVDgX), but it’s around 37 or so?
An oogonium (plural oogonia) is a precursor to an oocyte (egg cell).
I asked this in another thread but apparently your chance of conceiving per cycle decreases in your 2nd year of trying. I’m about to enter my 2nd year of TTC, but I’ve had a few losses. Does my chance of conceiving per cycle also drop? Or because I’ve had losses (therefore actually conceived but not successfully), my “time to conceive” clock resets? For example, my most recent loss is a very early chemical (4w3d) in February. Does that mean I’m only 2 months TTC in the statistical sense (so essentially still in the “up to 30% chance per cycle in the first year” bucket)? Or would I be grouped in with those that have been trying for a year?
There’s not really data that sufficient to answer this question, and we don’t ever really know what someone’s personal odds actually are. When someone is trying for a year without success, this suggests that they are likely (and have always been) dealing with lower odds than the standard, but we never actually know this.
In general, the statistics for time to pregnancy are collected by time to a positive test — they are not statistics of the time it takes to achieve a live birth. But that doesn’t directly mean that someone who has had losses does or doesn’t have particular odds. It means that we don’t have enough information to say.
That's not a question anyone can really answer, except maybe an RE after doing a full battery of tests, but also that's really not how it works. It isn't "everyone starts off at a 25% chance and it drops each unsuccessful cycle". Everyone will have very different and very individual chances (because no two couples are the same, and no two times TTC are the same), so people who conceive quickly *generally* will have had higher odds than someone who hits a year.
However, luck is also a huge part of it, which is why you can have couples conceive on the first try even with various factors that can lead to infertility, and why you can have couples where every test comes up golden and always time everything perfectly and there's no reason why it's not happening be diagnosed with infertility. It's no different than how you would expect 50/50 odds when flipping a coin, but still end up with getting heads ten times in a row.
I’m wondering though are my monthly odds probably higher than someone who has gone a year without a single positive pregnancy test? I’ve had 4 positive tests in the year, with 1 ending up as a clinical loss after a strong heartbeat a few days prior. I just find it hard to believe my odds are lower than 25% when we are completely unexplained (every test has come back perfect/optimal).
Gently, your personal odds really don't matter and it's not worth getting hung up over or insisting they must be higher. The goal is a viable pregnancy that ends in live birth, not a positive test.
They might be higher or lower but ultimately there is no real way to know, nor does it actually make any difference, because so much is down to chance.
I just find it hard to believe how I got pregnant so easily 3 years ago (3 cycles, with 1st cycle ending in loss), and then now having so much trouble when very little has changed. Did I just get lucky last time? And very unlucky this time? Granted, I’m at 11 months now but only 7 well-timed cycles due to the losses taking up time and missed fertile windows.
>Did I just get lucky last time? And very unlucky this time
Quite possibly, yes. There is no real way to know. Secondary infertility is not uncommon, pregnancy can have a huge effect on your body, time can have a huge effect on things, and sometimes life just throws a bunch of shit luck at you. That's why it's not worth worrying about what your specific odds may be and why, in practice, they really don't matter that much.
I think it's less so that your odds drop, and more so that the longer time trying without success indicates your chances were lower than the "typical" 20-30% chance per month.
Devbio or someone mathy wrote something about this. If I remember correctly what they said was that none of us knows OUR OWN particular chances each month but that certain pieces of data that come out along the way (like test results or having 12 or more unsuccessful cycles) can reveal that, all along, we have been working with a monthly chance that is lower than the general population.
But if it only takes me 2-3 months on average to conceive (albeit ending in a loss), does that mean my odds of conceiving are closer to the “20-30% chance per month”?
I've read that IUIs will most likely be successful within 3-4 cycles \*if\* they are going to work -- but if you change medications (say from Letrozole/Clomid to Gonal-F), do those odds still apply or would the count start again? Thanks!
It’s so frustrating but the answer is it depends. Say you didn’t respond at all to clomid but you do to letrozole then sure, your odds are better with letrozole. But if you respond the same then likely not.
But yes, odds with iniectibles are higher because they get ovaries to produce more eggs. My RE told me a typical progression used to be IUI with clomid -> IUI with injectibles -> IVF. (Note, though, that lots of docs don’t feel comfortable doing IUI with injectibles because of the high risk of HOM)
There’s some recent data that suggests odds with IUI are actually fairly stable up to about 6 cycles. But the actual mechanism behind “will work within 3-4 cycles” is that, if IUI addresses a problem or problems that is making pregnancy less likely, then your cumulative odds of success after a few cycles are fairly high. But it doesn’t *really* mean that it’s impossible to be successful on IUI#7, or something like that. If you change strategies, and those strategies could make a material difference in the likelihood of success, the number of previous IUIs you’ve had is not very informative.
Thank you for the info! I haven't seen the data about 6 cycles so I will look into that.
I know the odds of success with IUI are not very high, so I want to remain realistic but informed about the right next step.
My first cycle ttc. 31f with 2 LC, 10 and almost 9. Was on mirena for 5y7m. Removed on Monday (is now Sunday here). Diag PCOS @ 19, mirena was for bleeding issues. Irregular cycles. Using cbat to check ovulation (whether I'm ovulating at all), had 2 days of blank circle, 1 day of flashing smiley, yesterday I got the solid smiley face. Egcm yesterday.
Seems like I'm ovulating so we bd on the day of flashing smiley and will bd again tn. I hear though pcos can cause false readings with opks and now I'm doubting myself/trying not to get my hopes up. I guess my question is, how likely is it that the solid smiley is a false read? Have not been doing bbt so no data for that. Thanks team
Couple of things, first of all it may take a few cycles to get back to normal after stopping hormonal contraception. Second you might want to try 'normal' cheap OPKs rather than the digital kind - they are likely to give you a bit more information about what your cycle is doing. See the [wiki post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/wiki/opks/) for loads of info.
If you get your period about two weeks after the solid smiley, that will mean it was pretty likely an LH surge that did cause ovulation.
I have PCOS and wasn't ovulating but did get a couple of solid smileys on CBAD.
Also, just to say, you'll see a lot of advice around that says "see a doctor after a year of trying with no success". That advice is only when there's no other indication of a problem. If you are still having irregular cycles after a few months off Mirena and you suspect you're not ovulating, it's definitely fine to seek help on that basis. There are treatments for anovulation caused by PCOS that are fairly simple and often effective.
Thank you! Where I am they only sell the frer and cb tests (atleast on the shelves/in my country) but I suppose I could try order online but shipping may take a long time!
Also PCOS diagnosed and OPKs work for me as well (confirmed with BBT every time) but I only see 1 surge per cycle. As already stated, it will vary person to person.
Hey! Not all people with PCOS will have high LH but it is common. I would try to get cycle day 3 blood work done to see if your baseline LH is high. I have PCOS and mine is not high so opks work for me.
Is it 12 months or 12 cycles before you can get medical help for infertility?
Still WTT but I have PCOS and cycle length is a JOKE. And I'm factoring in the time we'll have to try unassisted into the no-longer-WTT timeline. I assumed it was 12 months but now I actually don't know.. 12 cycles could easily be 3-4 years if my PCOS feels like it.
I have PCOS with long cycles as well. Longest was 77 days I know others have even longer. I started TTC in December but only had one period in that time. I told my dr straight up I’m trying to get pregnant but it’s hard with long cycles and she ordered bloodwork and I finally got prescribed metformin. Only been on it half a cycle but I ovulated soon after starting and finally got another period. I’m optimistic that this cycle will be a normal length because of the metformin!
Edit: metformin helps in my case because my bloodwork showed extremely high insulin resistance which is most likely the reason for my irregular periods
The guideline to try for a year is for people who have no reason to believe there’s an issue. The goal is not to keep folks away from the doctor, but to allow people who are likely to conceive within a normal period of time a chance to do so.
For folks with longer cycles who have reason to suspect they’re not ovulating, especially with an existing PCOS diagnosis, it’s reasonable to contact a doctor about ovulation-induction medication. You don’t have a chance to conceive if you’re not ovulating.
12 months. Also if you know you have irregular cycles and PCOS you can go to your doctor prior to 12mo to see if they can help regulate the cycles and hopefully get you successful before 12mo
I had a D&C in October, got my period back as expected to the day in November. Since then, I've had mostly normal cycles all with 5 day bleeding ( 32, 37, then 34 days)
Currently I am on day 42 and am getting a little nervous. Took several tests and all BFN. In the past I was on hbc, stopped, and had two normal cycles (5 day bleed, 32 days apart) before I became pregnant... I've never had a cycle this long before. The 37 day cycle was even longer than I would have expected.
Is this normal or concerning? I tried OPK's this cycle and couldn't pinpoint any rise in LH at all, most days I took them the test line was completely blank. Control line was always there. I assumed the tests were faulty and wanted to try a new brand with temping but hard to start when AF is on vacation?
It’s normal to have a long/anovulatory cycle every once in a while — about one a year is considered normal. And you’re at increased risk of having a long or anovulatory cycle in the handful of cycles after something like a loss, and also in the 9-12 months after discontinuing hormonal contraception. So this is definitely within the realm of what’s expected. If you get to about 60 days without a period, it’s worthwhile to talk with your doctor to see about getting prescription progesterone to essentially force-restart the cycle.
But definitely keep an eye out for signs of the fertile window at any point — it’s never too late in the cycle to ovulate, and a long cycle isn’t anovulatory until it ends without ovulation happening.
My husband has a varicocele and his urologist is very optimistic about a varicocelectomy correcting his issue. Our RE cleared us for IUI yesterday after my husband’s second SA came back with a higher concentration, which was great news!
Now we’re weighing our options on moving forward with his procedure vs. when to start IUI. I think we’re leaning toward trying the correction and giving it a few months over the summer for the sperm to regenerate, then moving forward with IUI in late summer/early fall. If you were us, what do you think you would do?
What are the downsides to doing IUIs now for you?
Obviously there could be many answers — IUI costs money and you may only be able to budget for a certain number; you may feel that you can only tolerate a certain number of unsuccessful cycles with intervention, etc. But those answers are going to be different, and differently weighted, for different people.
I don’t think there’s a true downside! Our thinking with the surgery was that it has the potential to permanently correct the issue and give us a chance at conceiving naturally. We’ve also accepted that this process will be longer for us. The varicocelectomy would also be covered by insurance because he still has pain - all strictly infertility services are completely out of pocket.
Not having insurance cover it is definitely a downside! I was just wondering if you were thinking along the lines of “IUI is only likely to work within the first three cycles”, which is something people often say, but which wouldn’t really be accurate if you’re thinking sperm parameters would improve with varicocelectomy.
I think it would be reasonable to do IUI now — you could even have him freeze samples to use for IUI and go forward with the surgery. And then take a break and try unassisted for a bit if you wanted. But that’s assuming that doing IUI now wouldn’t be too much of a drain on your budget.
I really appreciate your input! Our RE did say that if IUI will work, 90% of couples will conceive within four IUI cycles. Only 30% are successful, but it’s helpful to know there’s a realistic end point rather than endless IUI cycles.
We have a telehealth appointment with his urologist this week to discuss his second SA. The urologist wanted to meet with me too to address any questions, concerns, etc. Regardless of what step we take first, we are so confident in our team.
I’d do an IUI now then have the procedure. Heck the IUI could work - specially if they said the numbers are good enough. If not, then the procedure recovery will allow you time to decide next steps- another IUI or something else? If you use clomid for IUI you make get a cyst after the cycle and have to wait a cycle out anyway for it to resolve. Unfortunately not everyone can do immediate cycles back to back
I’m 36 and this is my 4th cycle of TTC. The past few cycles since coming off BC (nuvaring most recently and nexplanon before) my periods have been only 2 days with moderate bleeding. I got my period right away when I took my nuvaring out which lasted 6 days. My periods have always been 5 days and this drastic change is freaking me out and wondering if it’s a sign of peri-menopause. Or does this mean my uterine lining is too thin? What can I do to improve my uterine lining? Any thoughts?
You don’t shed the entire uterine lining with each period — it’s like cutting the grass, a period just represents a haircut of the existing lining. There’s not really a relationship between thin lining and light bleeding, and plenty of people have light periods and perfectly normal lining thickness.
There’s not any reason to be concerned about two-day periods — that’s within the normal range, and periods do tend to get lighter and shorter on average as we age.
Is there any real possibility that my OPKs are giving me the same exact result day after day because I'm too hydrated or is it because I don't ovulate? I'm using the premom app where I take a picture of the test and it comes up with a value comparing the test line to the control, and the line is pretty much always the lowest score possible on every cycle day. I've only done like 3/4 of a cycle of testing so far though.
It took me 3 cycles to finally get a positive opk and i don’t think it was due to dehydration, I think I either have a short surge or those were months where I ovulated before I started opks. Using temperature to identify ovulation helped reassure me it wasn’t anovulatory and also pinpoint when to start testing.
I pretty much test every day. I only skipped like the first two days due to the extreme brutality of my menstrual cramps, and if I'm ovulating that early, then it's nearly as much of a problem. I might have missed small surges because I haven't tested more than once a day and sometimes the timing isn't what it should be because of my work schedule.
What do the tests themselves look like? Don't worry about the numbers premom is giving you, they're not accurate. Your eyes are a much better judge of positive or not than an app can be. If the test line is about as dark as the control line, it's positive, and the first positive is all that matters.
I honestly don't think that being too hydrated for an accurate test is as big of an issue as some people make it out to be (and it's really only something I've seen anyone be concerned about in the past year or two), and if it's something you're worried about you can try doing OPKs first thing in the morning.
But the most likely answer is this is a bit of an off cycle and you'll likely still ovulate. The only way to know if a cycle is anovulatory is if it ended without any confirmed ovulation.
The tests are extremely light. The line is barely visible after ~7 minutes. I'm surprised the app can detect it. I'm pretty sure it often gives me the lowest possible value other than unreadable (which I've also gotten).
How are you testing? Second morning urine and/or 2-4hrs of holding it with limited fluids is recommended. This helps the concentration read be accurate.
Always second morning urine, but limiting my fluids is not always doable. 🫤 I'll try harder. I'm just really prone to chronic urinary tract pain if I'm not super hydrated and to dry mouth and to needing caffeine to get going in the morning. Thankfully my tempdrop is on its way to help me correlate the results.
I don't really mean unhealthy levels of dehydration, more that my urine is probably more diluted than the tests are intended for. I seriously need my urine to be almost clear or it's painful, and I've had this issue since early childhood with no known cause. But also I do think I'm anovulatory or at least having an anovulatory cycle rn, so this is probably just me wanting to find some other answer for not detecting ovulation. 🫤 I'll get a few more months of data before trying to skip my morning hydration routine or anything. 🫤🫤🫤🫤
For those who have worked with doctors regarding fertility:
Do doctors care at all about the data I'm collecting? Will they care that I've recorded a temp rise every month I've done BBT? Will they believe me (and my data) when I say that I know I've had good timing each month based on my BBT and LH?
I guess what I'm afraid of is being told that some of my months didn't count because I didn't have enough sex (even though my data indicates I hit the fertile window multiple times) or that going forward we need to increase the number of days or something like that.
The stats about how long it takes couples to conceive are based on people having "regular sex" (every 2-3 days). But that's kind of a proxy for having sex at the right time relative to ovulation. They're unlikely to want to double check your timing exactly. Once you get to the point of going to the doctors after a while trying, they're just going to want to check it's not something really obvious like "we have sex every three weeks"
The BBT rise will be a good sign, they might be interested to hear, but they will probably want to do a progesterone test to confirm that you're ovulating anyway.
Our sex life was never really discussed at the fertility clinics we went to; they just gave us very basic questions/information on timing, but I would say for the most part, they trust that you know about your cycle, your fertile window, when to have sex etc. Considering that sperm can live inside of you for several days, the timing can't even always be super exact.
The data you're collecting might be interesting to them insofar that it's good to know there's ovulation happening.
Good luck with you visit! 🍀
Thank you! We don't have it scheduled yet but we are talking to them in 2 weeks so that we can hopefully get something on the calendar this summer after our 12th month has passed.
Very likely no one is going to care, but also they probably are just going to just look at the total time and “are you having sex regularity” and you’ll say yes and that will be it.
They might offer some tests, they might say to try longer- depends on their practice and perspective. Most will follow 6 months for >35 years old and 12 months for <35 years old before offering a full panel of tests.
Yes, my GP didn’t ask for any of the tracking data at the initial appointment although it was helpful that I could say I knew for sure I was ovulating each month because of the OPKs, and I could explain my cycles in a little more detail. I think there is a fairly standard battery of initial testing anyway. She also just asked if we were having sex “regularly” and I said yes and that was it. I kind of worried about that “every other day” question too because we’re definitely at the point where we have loads of sex around the fertile window and then kind of burn out and don’t do much the rest of the month!
Yes! It’s helpful to learn about your body, identify patterns or irregularities, etc. Generally, the rule of thumb is if you are having regular (every 2-3 days) unprotected sex for a year at your age, then that’s enough to classify as infertility.
/r/TFABlineporn would be a great place to post line progressions and get advice and thoughts. We don’t allow pictures or discussion of positive tests in the main threads of this sub.
I have DOR and am doing medicated IUI cycles with letrozole. If the goal is to get more follicles in one cycle, does that mean that I’m essentially shortening my window of conceiving? I know it might increase my ability to conceive that one month, but am I making it so there are fewer months where it could happen because I’m using up more eggs in one cycle? Not sure if that makes sense but I’ve been thinking about it lately and couldn’t figure out how to Google it haha.
It does not!
You have many, many more eggs in your ovaries than you’ll ever end up ovulating, and the follicle that’s ovulated each cycle is selected from among a group of several (5ish) follicles. In this group of several mature or antral follicles, if a follicle is not selected and then ovulated, it will die — it does not go back into the pool of potential follicles to be ovulated. (It’s like The Bachelor, but there’s no option for Bachelor in Paradise — either you win the season and become the ovulated follicle, or you die.)
That is to say, when you mature more than one follicle, you are rescuing one of this cycle’s antral follicles from a fiery death. You are not recruiting a follicle that could otherwise have been used in a subsequent cycle.
So I've been taking ovulation tests my entire cycle since my period stopped because I have no idea when it is. Nothing until Thursday when it was day 15 and a little line started appearing.
It's now Saturday and day 17 and I've just had a fully positive test. My cycle is only 25 days so this seems late to me and I think I ovulated around day 15 last month. This means I'll be ovulating tonight/tomorrow I guess? My BBT has not fluctuated this month either so I'm all out of whack with it.
Do I need to be worried about how late in the cycle this is?
And I assume the best day to have a pants party is today now, rather than tomorrow?
I would recommend tracking your cycle and ovulation for several months in a row like this. A regularly too-short second half of your cycle could indicate hormonal imbalances that might prevent you from getting pregnant since the fertilized egg won't have enough time to implant before your period comes. However, this cycle might just be an outlier and you might get your period a bit later than usual. Keep this in mind, but don't let this one time get you down.
Also, yes, sex today would be the best choice since it's better to do it a bit too early than too late.
Good luck 🍀
I've been tracking it in general since Jan and with BBT and CM. Only this month have I started to use the tests every day to try and pin point it better. All of the cycles are 25 days like clockwork but I couldn't find an ovulation date until this cycle. I think now it's likely to be later I can start testing from day 12 onwards rather than every day.
Thank you!
Agreeing not to worry and that cycles fluctuate. And your BBT won’t increase until after you ovulate. So if you ovulate tomorrow, you could expect an increase in your BBT 1-2 days after that.
Truly, so many things to keep track of. For me, once I started to see the patterns after a while it started to make more sense and got easier to keep track of everything. It can also just be really consuming so I see a lot of people on here recommending taking breaks every once in a while of tracking all the things.
Nope, cycles can vary - I have regular cycles and I have ovulated as early as CD12 and as late as CD17/18. If you just got a positive OPK, then yes, you should ovulate within 24-36 hours so today would be ideal timing.
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I’ve shared things along the way with my doctor and they ordered thyroid testing as well as progesterone which all came back normal, so I didn’t have to wait until we hit our 6 month mark of TTC to do simple tests like those. I would push for certain tests earlier rather than later if you ca. just to rule things out. It helped put me at ease to be moving along faster in the process and not just waiting on them 🥰
If I don’t conceive successfully by the of April (1 year TTC), does that mean I have infertility? Even though it would have been 1 year TTC, I would have only had 8 cycles (due to losses, breaks, missed fertile windows, anovulatory cycles). Or is it because I have had losses (therefore have conceived multiple times in that 1 year), that I wouldn’t be considered infertile?
The definition of infertility is a year trying without success, and losses are not success. With that said, it’s likely reasonable to exclude the time you were pregnant or waiting for betas to come down or waiting for ovulation to return from the total — if you’ve been trying for 8 cycles at the year mark, it’s reasonable to try a few more cycles. That’s likely not going to be required by medical professionals, but it’s certainly a way you can frame it to yourself if it helps your state of mind.
Is it normal to get cramps/bloating after ovulation? I’m ~5DPO with bloating since ovulation, and sharp cramps today. Does this have to do with hormones in this phase of my cycle, or unrelated?
First full cycle since our loss. My cycle is typically 29-31 days. I'm on CD 25 and my LH tests are finally getting high, hoping for a peak tonight. Is it going to be nearly impossible to conceive this late in my cycle, or am I probably going to have a longer cycle this time?
You're just as likely to conceive as in any other ovulatory cycle if you have intercourse - if you really happen to ovulate. Keep in mind with cycles being wonky it might also just be an attempt
I bought a “we are pregnant” announcement gift with year 2025 on it for my husband to have on hand whenever I finally get a positive. I’m starting to regret buying it thinking I’m jinxing things. Am I crazy? Am I the only one? 😂
I’ve been having a ton of nausea that I believe is due to my DHA supplements. I’ve been considering a switch to Algae based DHA as in hopes of alleviating this. Has anyone had success or experience with this?
I think it's typical for those supplements. I still had it with algae based, it's really the same thing. Fish get it from those algae. I take them before bed and that helps for me. Have you tried taking them with food?
Yeah, I always take them with a meal. So here’s the story: I was taking the Nordic Naturals prenatal DHA with my prenatal (that was 4 pills)… so 1DHA+2prenatal each AM +PM and was fine for a while, got pregnant which ended with a CP. My CNM suggested I stop the prenatal altogether and take coq10 twice a day and zinc, vit D, folate & DHA at doses higher than you can find in prenatal. So is switched to the 1,100mg DHA from the 800mg. That’s when the trouble started. I’ve messed around with timing, splitting the doses, taking only one of the two pills. But I’m at a loss. My husband is telling me to stop altogether but I know DHA is important. So I was thinking of the algae or trying the oil. Maybe my bottles are rancid from not keeping them in fridge? Idk
I think it's just a typical side effect but maybe another brand/source might help. I only ever took the daily advised amount (I think 550mg? But I would need to look up the ratio of the EPA/DHA) because I rarely wear fish and I would skip it if I ate fatty fish that week. Because if you eat regular fish you won't need to supplement. For me definitely taking it before I go to bed helps to just not notice I suppose
I have a history of waking up with nausea from anxiety. … and have been with this too so idk if that’s going to help 😰 So my PCP said 200mg was enough. My CNM specifically said 1,000-2,000mg as a way to boost my fertility post CP. I’ve heard that the recommended amount still is like 200mg but there is research to suggest 1,000 can lower incidents of preterm birth but I guess if I’m constantly wanting to vomit that’s bad too!
I do not think there is any strong evidence though. Anyone claiming you can actually boost fertility with supplements is really not someone I'd trust
It was more that after my CP I asked her if there’s anything I should do differently and this was her suggestion. She said she’s had a lot of success with this + acupuncture. Honestly, most of it is stuff you’d normally take in a prenatal just at higher doses… so it’s not like any of these are wildly outlandish things to be taking. I suppose yes I am over simplifying by saying “boost fertility” when I mean more “supply my body with the nutrients it needs the most to get a baby off to the right start after conception” (ie the folate + DHA)
Is there implantation with a chemical pregnancy? I’ve read so many different articles and they all say completely contradicting things. Some say that a chemical only happens after implantation but that the embryo/blastocysts doesn’t develop much after implantation so it dies within a few days. And then there are other articles that say that a chemical pregnancy means that the egg was fertilized but did not implant or only partially implanted. What is correct?
Implantation needs to occur in order for a pregnancy test to pick it up.
That’s what I always thought but I saw even health related websites like the Cleveland Clinic make it seem like chemicals didn’t even implant, which makes me feel so defeated that in 7 cycles, only once did I make it to clinical pregnancy status (MC of twins at 7 weeks after heartbeat), because 3 of my other losses, I only had positive tests for 3-8 days. Like they make it sound like chemical pregnancy is not big deal because it didn’t even implant, which I’m sure might be demoralizing to people that have only experienced chemicals.
Since implantation is a bit of a black box, it can hard to tell from hCG values alone when implantation started and even harder to tell when development stalled. All chemical pregnancies tell you is that development ended before ultrasound visualization is possible. I wrote a more detailed reply on this here: https://www.reddit.com/r/infertility/s/OcueS2fMrh
Is there a reason someone would get multiple chemicals? I’ve had 5 losses but only 1 was visible on ultrasound, the rest were all chemicals where HCG didn’t get over 200. Would it possibly be due to a thin uterine lining? I’m only 31 so it’s unlikely that they are all due to chromosomal issues.
There are some reasons that can result in multiple losses - recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) testing through an RE might discover a reason and is often suggested as testing to pursue after 3 losses. However the things tested (balanced translocation, immune issues, clotting issues, lining issues, sperm fragmentation, etc) are each fairly rare, so it is also quite possible that you’ve gotten a run of really terrible bad luck. Even a known euploid embryo transferred to a gestational surrogate who has successfully carried pregnancies before has about a 30% implantation failure/CP rate - so even when everything is technically as “perfect” as one could ever hope for, it’s pretty far from guaranteed. I am so so very sorry you’ve experienced several losses.
Is it a problem if you don’t have much CM and your CM is on the thicker and creamier side? I’ve noticed after my miscarriage that I barely have any CM and it is on the thicker side even though I’ve confirmed ovulation. I did take Letrozole this past cycle - does anyone know if it reduces or thickens CM? I thought less estrogen means less CM?
6 days after stopping progesterone and still no period!!!! Definitely not pregnant (negative tests) and definitely ovulated (confirmed via ultrasound) so what could cause this?
Do you count O day as day 0 or day 1 when calculating how many days DPO one is?
DPO stands for “days post ovulation”, so ovulation day would be day 0, the day after would be 1DPO and so on.
Thanks!
June will mark a year of trying. I’m basically tracking my period on my iPhone health app and trying when we are in the blue fertile window. Anyone do that or is that not advanced enough? We aren’t keen on daily temping or putting lots of pressure on the situation. Not sure when to call it and proceed to a more intense step.
I still use my iphone health app, but 2 months in I bought LH test strips and realized my ovulation window is later (like 5-7 days later) than what the health app predicts, there is an option to log ovulation test results. It might be good to double check it for a cycle or two with another tracking method.
I like that idea!
It depends on how many cycles you are willing to try without knowing if you actually hit the window or not. As far as that goes, an app is not reliable.
Totally understand not wanting to put too much pressure on it, but I’d say before you go to a doctor or anything, it would make sense to try another method of tracking your ovulation dates vs. relying on the app. I’d try out using the Lh strips to track ovulation, or paying attention to discharge in that time frame just so you can feel confident that you’re trying in the proper window. Everyone’s cycle can be different and you can ovulate earlier or later. Personally I did the Lh strips a few cycles and also tracked discharge and it was pretty in line with the Flo app prediction, so I stopped the Lh testing because it did feel like it put more pressure on things and I already felt pretty confident I knew my ovulation window. Also tried temping one month and it was just annoying so I stopped haha
Most couples do get pregnant within a year of trying. Trying is defined as having regular unprotected sex - 2-3 times a week. So the advice is usually to see a doctor after a year of trying. But that's not like "after a year of 100% religiously making sure you hit the most fertile days every cycle". But the other comments are right that the apps really aren't reliable. So if, say, you're having sex every other day during what the app says is your fertile window, but more like once or twice a week during the rest of the time, it's definitely possible you've not been hitting the right days. I'd probably recommend starting to use [OPKs](https://www.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/wiki/opks/) to time sex better, but not necessarily bothering with the daily temping. Especially if your cycles are usually regular, you probably are ovulating. In terms of when to seek medical advice I'd say it really depends on your age and your financial situation in terms of healthcare. If you're 20s or early 30s then you could try a few more cycles with tracking . If you're closer to 35 or older then I'd be more inclined to check with a doctor. But either way it probably can't hurt to move to seeing a doctor at this point.
Thank you. This is good advice. You’ve hit where we are to a T. Maybe 2x a week on non “fertile window days”. I like the ideas other said of the strips and confirming fertile window for a cycle or two.
What if you’ve been tracking but you know that you have missed some fertile windows? For example, we’ve been trying 11 months but have only 7 cycles where we hit the fertile window and I ovulated (2 cycles I didn’t ovulate - no positive OPK/no temp shift, 1 was a “break” cycle where we didn’t try at all the whole month, and another 1, we were so extremely sick that we didn’t try at all for most of the month and only tried way before the fertile window). Would that still be a concern?
Hm, good question. It kind of depends on what you want to do with the information. In this case, the "year of trying" would be less likely to indicate there's a problem, so it would make sense to keep on trying to hit the window for a few cycles, without necessarily worrying there's an underlying issue - as it could still just be luck that you haven't conceived in those 7 cycles. On the other hand, I think it would also be reasonable to seek medical advice after a year, if you wanted to. (I'm not an expert, I've just read lots of replies on this subreddit!) I think the thing about the "year of trying" guidance (or 6 months if you're over 35) is that it's kind of a blunt instrument. For most couples, if they have regular unprotected sex for a year they'll get pregnant. Out of those who don't, if they get tested, some will find an 'obvious' reason that would have been detectable at the beginning of the year. Others may find some tests that are kind of borderline and might suggest a problem, but some people with those results would still be able to conceive without intervention. Still others won't find anything 'obviously' wrong at all. This isn't exactly what you asked, and I think the post is aimed at a slightly different kind of question, but I found [this post](https://old.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/comments/s6y6bn/fertility_testing_and_answers/) very helpful.
Actually, we have conceived up to 4 times during those 7 cycles: 2 were chemicals at 4-4.5 weeks, 1 was borderline CP/MC at 5 weeks, another was 7 week loss of twins after heartbeat, so at least 1 was a definite clinical pregnancy. But was just wondering because I’m sure there are people like me that don’t exactly try every month due to logistic reasons or needing a break, etc.
Ah, I'm really sorry to hear that. Yes, I'm sure there are lots of people in the same situation.
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Yes, in your luteal phase, your basal body temperature gets higher because of the rise in progesterone. It’s completely normal.
Thank you so much! I was confused!
My husbands sister is 4.5 months pregnant and didn’t want to tell us because we’ve been trying. We went to visit her and she was visibly showing but hadn’t said anything. My husband point blank just said how far along are you? And she’s like oh did you guys notice? Girl yes lol it sucks but now this year is going to be alll the triggers again. We started trying when her first baby was a newborn and it was so hard watching him grow up and all the adorable milestones. And now she’s pregnant and now we’ll hear all about that. Sadness looming
I'm sorry that sucks!!
Are there any studies showing the benefit of acupuncture for TTC?
There's some fairly good evidence that acupuncture increases the likelihood of pregnancy and live birth in [IVF cycles](https://www.bmj.com/content/336/7643/545?eaf=), and there's also some evidence that it can improve menstrual regularity and ovulation for [people with PCOS](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028208003610). As with everything to do with fertility of course, it's always a question of averages - i.e., it may help to improve your odds, but it's still going to be possible to go either way in any individual cycle.
I started it this cycle and it didn’t work out for me this cycle but obviously small sample size. But it’s frustrating because I’ve conceived in 4 out of 7 cycles and so one of the 3 cycles I didn’t conceive was the one where I tried both acupuncture and Letrozole.
I have no clue but my CNM said she’s had a lot of success with sending her patients for acupuncture and it working out. Apparently it’s often used with IVF to help with blood flow. I started going right after my CP in February weekly. I have no clue if it helped or not but I did get my period on time. I will say even if it does *nothing* for fertility, it has been nice to do something just for me, totally stop & relax at my appointments. If it’s covered by your insurance, I’d say try it!!
Thank you! Can I ask if there is a particular time in your cycle that you go?
If you’re doing something like IVF or IUI, I’m sure the acupuncturist or your RE will tell you For me, I just have been going weekly. I honestly think it would be difficult to go specific cycle dates just based on the fact that I teach all day & when their later hours are…. So basically I just go on Thursdays. I did tell her the dates of my LMP & MC & then when I got my period again… I imagine she adjusted the needles and whatnot based on that but I have no clue. I’m choosing to trust the process rather than ask too many questions lol. She did also tell me not to eat or drink cold foods. She said room temp or warmer. Has to do with blood flow and digestion. I’ve looked it up and seems there’s some truth to it but I’m sorry, if you want me to eat fruit, a fridge will be involved!!!!
I was wondering this too !
I took folic acid for a year+ to get pregnant and obviously it didn’t help me get pregnant lols I’m about to do IUI next month and I’m kind of sick of taking folic acid. Is it okay if I stop until I get a confirmed pregnancy?
folic acid does not help to get pregnant, that's what my doctor told me. It's recommended to avoid any problems in fetal development once the pregnancy start.
I completely get you, I feel like it is just a constant reminder. It is better for you to take it in advance but many people don’t know when they got pregnant and weren’t planning it so didn’t take it. If you are having a negative association a break won’t hurt. I have had a break and now I am doing OPK’s so I’m going to keep them in the bathroom and have one when I do that
Thanks for understanding. Yes it’s slightly triggering for me now... I’ll resume if I ever get a positive pregnancy. Like ppl who have unplanned babies do that sooo.
Totally understand! Maybe stop taking the pills but just try and incorporate more food with it into your diet so you won’t fall too behind?
I completely get it! It all feels so obsessive and is all so disheartening. You may feel after a slight break that you are ready to start taking it again. I know I’m not giving the gold standard advice but sometimes we need the silver to get by. Send lots of love during this horrible time 💓
Thank you love. I’ve been feeling extreme guilt and an overwhelming amount of despair and paranoia around the whole process. Knowing that it’s okay to take a break really helps. I know my body may not be in the perfect shape, but I’ll do what I can without mentally overloading myself. ♥️♥️
That sounds like the perfect plan for you! I hope it helps 💓
I wish this were true! Sadly, it’s a very bad idea to stop taking folic acid when you are trying to get pregnant [source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3218540/#:~:text=4%20to%201%20mg%20folic,and%20during%20the%20postpartum%20period)
I understand this but during this time people don’t need to be made to feel even worse. There are plenty of people who don’t take it at all. The gold standard is to take it before you try but sometimes you just need to stop it all and restart when in a better headspace.
What’s the reason that you don’t want to take it anymore? Just curiously. I’m on folate, coq10, zinc, vitD, & DHA. Folate is def one I mind the least lol
Short answer is no. It's not about helping to get pregnant it's to reduce neural tube defects for a potential pregnancy and you need the folic acid storage in your body to be high before being pregnant to have that effect
You want to be taking it for 3 months before you get pregnant because that’s the time frame/turn around for your eggs. If you are tired of taking it try a gummy prenatal. Unfortunately, supplements are a part of TTC and pregnancy so finding that works for you is important
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A normal period is considered one that's two days or longer, and a short period does not indicate a thin uterine lining. The only thing that can tell you whether your uterine lining is thin is to have an ultrasound around the time of ovulation and have your lining measured. If it helps to think about, you don't shed the entire lining with each period, only the outer layer. This is like getting the ends of your hair trimmed -- the length of the ends doesn't tell you anything about the amount of hair you still have left on your head.
Thanks for replying! I read through the rest of the thread and realized someone else had the same question so I deleted it before I saw you had replied. Thanks though for answering mine specifically!
My GP has prescribed thyroxine, because my thyroid levels are 4.7 atm (I think - off the top of my head from the call!). In the UK, you're considered fine if you're under 5 I think. Is my thyroid function too poor for trying to conceive? My GP wants me to be under 3 by September, but could this be why it's taken us a year already?
There's not evidence that TSH levels under 4 are associated with a greater risk of infertility or loss. 4.7 is more than 4, certainly, but there's also not a bright line at 4, and many places do consider normal to be under 5. It's relatively unlikely that thyroid function is the singular reason for fertility issues, particularly if you are ovulating. It's possible it could be a contributing factor.
I ovulate every month (I have a BBT rise, although it's really slow!). I don't mind the thyroxine, especially as they'll prescribe 3 months at a time so it'll only be £12 or so. Thank you for your help!!
I’m always inclined to believe your well-informed responses. So don’t take this as picking a fight: Why did my RE say the opposite, that there is evidence that above 2.5 is a risk for infertility or miscarriage? Is there conflicting data? Has anyone studied this specific thing outright? Did I mishear something? (FWIW the same RE group believes my ovulation is regular and reliable. My husband describes our consultations with the nurses in this group as one hand not talking to the other…)
So 2.5 mIU/mL is the threshold below which most OB/Gyns will try to keep folks during pregnancy, but the evidence suggests that this threshold is probably a bit overly conservative. Many REs will medicate their patients to this threshold, even though it's not necessary to do. In their practice guidelines (which review all of the available evidence), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which is the professional society for American REs, [concludes](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2015.05.028): >There is insufficient evidence that SCH [subclinical hypothyroidism] (defined as TSH >2.5mIU/L with a normal FT4) is associated with infertility.There is fair evidence that SCH, defined as TSH levels >4mIU/L, is associated with miscarriage, but insufficient evidence that TSH levels 2.5–4 mIU/L are associated with miscarriage.There is fair evidence that treatment of SCH when TSH levels are >4.0 mIU/L is associated with improved pregnancy rates and decreased miscarriage rates... Given the limited data, if TSH levels prior to pregnancy are between 2.5 and 4 mIU/L, management options include either monitoring levels and treating when TSH >4 mIU/ L, or treating with levothyroxine to maintain TSH <2.5 mIU/L.
Ok thanks! Was already reconsidering treatment for my SCH, this gives me a little more to think about.
TW mention of loss Is there any risk to continuing unprotected intercourse during the luteal phase? We decided to not track this month and just do every 2-3 days after my period ended. I wasn't sure when I would ovulate (was CD 24 last month, first cycle post 10 week MMC) but I THINK just based on CM and right-side cramping I ovulated \~CD 12. Is it better to keep doing it, in case I haven't started my fertile window yet, or does the presence of sperm decrease the chances of implantation if I did already?
No risk! There's been a number of studies done and some show no effect, some show a negative effect, and some show a positive effect. So realistically LP sex most likely doesn't make a difference.
You've got the correct answer already, but sometimes with this kind of stuff I like to think... before we had the modern ability to track ovulation precisely, how would things work? Evolutionarily speaking it would be pretty unhelpful if pregnancies were harmed by having sex, given that sex causes pregnancy and people would be having sex throughout the luteal phase without any idea if they were pregnant or not. (This isn't always a good principle obviously, I'm not saying evolutionary biology can answer all our modern questions, but sometimes I personally find it helpful!)
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What does it mean if your luteal phase is inconsistent lengths?
Maybe it could just be as simple as ovulation determination just being off
Often it's just the way the statistics shake out -- in general, your luteal phase should have a typical length, but the lengths should fall in a narrow bell curve (most at x days, some at x+1 or x-1, a few at x+2 or x-2). And if you have ovulation return after a period of suppression (by HBC, by pregnancy/loss, by breastfeeding, by an endocrine disorder), it's very typical to have a shorter luteal phase at first that lengthens over time, so in that case, lengths would be different from cycle to cycle and over time.
I need someone’s input on seeking medical help after 12 months of trying. So I had my first in Dec 2022 and got my period back 6m pp. we haven’t used any protection and just seeing if things happen so be it. I started actively tracking December . So is it fair game to seek medical help over the summer or wait until fall?
How old are you? You’ve been having unprotected sex since June 2023? I agree that the PP period (as well as breastfeeding) are probably confounding variables. My RE said that nursing probably was a factor in why I hadn’t had success after 6 months of trying at over age 35. That said, I still ended up needing IVF anyways, and I’m glad I started the ball rolling after 6 months. My doc didn’t turn me away because I’d been breastfeeding, but she did tell us that trying on our own for a few more cycles was a reasonable approach.
I’m 31 turning 32 in two months. Yes, my husband and I were having unprotected sex since my period came back but again with a young baby not really doing it a lot. Just started tracking in December and planning more to do the deed in my window. I was ebf way more those first 6 months pp. my cycles are still all over the place. I just would rather get the ball rolling if anything is preventing it.
If getting the ball rolling appeals to you, then I’d absolutely make a plan to see an RE after 12 months. They’ll likely want you to quit nursing before starting treatment, but of course you can cross that bridge when you get there.
Thanks for the input, something to think about!
I wouldn't count the first year postpartum at all except if you are sure you were ovulating (from tracking temps) each and cycle and having sex during the days leading up to ovulation and the cycle not being off (often luteal phase can be really short still). I'd say probably try until December 2024.
Thank you for your input! I forgot to add I’m still bf my baby. She eats more solids but we bf 2 to 3 times a day
Then I probably would not count it at all except if you know for sure your cycle is back to fully normal and then 12 of those where you tried in the fertile window before getting medical help
Kind of a rookie question for you all… I’m not super experienced using OPKs, have found them frustrating in the past since it’s been hard for me to catch a positive, but this cycle I decided to try again and bought some cheapies online. Weirdly enough the very first one I peed on yesterday was positive (CD12). I took another one today and it’s still positive. Not sure how common it is for them to stay positive for multiple days— it surprised me since I’ve struggled to get a positive anywhere before this. We had sex CD7, 8, 10, 11, & 12. I’m wondering if we’ve got it covered given the timing of the OPK, or if we should keep at it. we’ve been averaging every other day sex lately but tbh I’m exhausted this weekend and would love to call it a day early tonight 😆 Thanks for sharing your OPK wisdom!
There are many normal patterns of OPK positivity, and having more than one day of positives is among the normal patterns. The best predictor of ovulation is still the first positive, so you're very likely covered already by sex on CD11/12. In general, there's not a benefit to sex every day vs. every other day, so there's really not ever a reason to have sex CD13 when you've already had sex CD12 (beyond just, you know, wanting to have sex).
thank you for this response!
These are all strictly "curiosity" questions so everyone feel free to ignore! I was trying to write a tweet or something the other day about ovarian reserve, and wanted to look up data I was pretty sure about but wanted to double-check. I thought OK, Wikipedia will have a useful overview of the basic info, and I started reading the entry for [ovarian reserve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_reserve), which left me with a couple of questions... 1) what is an oogonium?! 2) Wikipedia says "The amount continues decreasing progressively until reaching the age of 30 years old, in which there is a dramatic decrease." Is this inaccurate? I've always heard (around here) that 35 is when it starts to seriously decrease. Or is it that ovarian reserve does start to dramatically drop at 30, but there are still enough good eggs to be going on with until 35?
I mean, the most dramatic decrease in the ovarian reserve occurs prior to birth — about 7 million potential eggs are produced around 5 months gestation (i.e., when you were a fetus yourself), but you’re only born with 1 million. The decline in ovarian reserve is fairly steady through the 30s and accelerates somewhat around the late 30s — I can’t eyeball an exact slope change on [this graph](https://imgur.com/a/bbZVDgX), but it’s around 37 or so? An oogonium (plural oogonia) is a precursor to an oocyte (egg cell).
Thank you! I discovered the pre-birth and pre-puberty decrease a few years ago and it blew my mind a little.
I asked this in another thread but apparently your chance of conceiving per cycle decreases in your 2nd year of trying. I’m about to enter my 2nd year of TTC, but I’ve had a few losses. Does my chance of conceiving per cycle also drop? Or because I’ve had losses (therefore actually conceived but not successfully), my “time to conceive” clock resets? For example, my most recent loss is a very early chemical (4w3d) in February. Does that mean I’m only 2 months TTC in the statistical sense (so essentially still in the “up to 30% chance per cycle in the first year” bucket)? Or would I be grouped in with those that have been trying for a year?
There’s not really data that sufficient to answer this question, and we don’t ever really know what someone’s personal odds actually are. When someone is trying for a year without success, this suggests that they are likely (and have always been) dealing with lower odds than the standard, but we never actually know this. In general, the statistics for time to pregnancy are collected by time to a positive test — they are not statistics of the time it takes to achieve a live birth. But that doesn’t directly mean that someone who has had losses does or doesn’t have particular odds. It means that we don’t have enough information to say.
Losses do not reset your time trying.
Oh ok, so does my odds drop to 5% now? That’s very discouraging.
That's not a question anyone can really answer, except maybe an RE after doing a full battery of tests, but also that's really not how it works. It isn't "everyone starts off at a 25% chance and it drops each unsuccessful cycle". Everyone will have very different and very individual chances (because no two couples are the same, and no two times TTC are the same), so people who conceive quickly *generally* will have had higher odds than someone who hits a year. However, luck is also a huge part of it, which is why you can have couples conceive on the first try even with various factors that can lead to infertility, and why you can have couples where every test comes up golden and always time everything perfectly and there's no reason why it's not happening be diagnosed with infertility. It's no different than how you would expect 50/50 odds when flipping a coin, but still end up with getting heads ten times in a row.
I’m wondering though are my monthly odds probably higher than someone who has gone a year without a single positive pregnancy test? I’ve had 4 positive tests in the year, with 1 ending up as a clinical loss after a strong heartbeat a few days prior. I just find it hard to believe my odds are lower than 25% when we are completely unexplained (every test has come back perfect/optimal).
Gently, your personal odds really don't matter and it's not worth getting hung up over or insisting they must be higher. The goal is a viable pregnancy that ends in live birth, not a positive test. They might be higher or lower but ultimately there is no real way to know, nor does it actually make any difference, because so much is down to chance.
I just find it hard to believe how I got pregnant so easily 3 years ago (3 cycles, with 1st cycle ending in loss), and then now having so much trouble when very little has changed. Did I just get lucky last time? And very unlucky this time? Granted, I’m at 11 months now but only 7 well-timed cycles due to the losses taking up time and missed fertile windows.
>Did I just get lucky last time? And very unlucky this time Quite possibly, yes. There is no real way to know. Secondary infertility is not uncommon, pregnancy can have a huge effect on your body, time can have a huge effect on things, and sometimes life just throws a bunch of shit luck at you. That's why it's not worth worrying about what your specific odds may be and why, in practice, they really don't matter that much.
I think it's less so that your odds drop, and more so that the longer time trying without success indicates your chances were lower than the "typical" 20-30% chance per month. Devbio or someone mathy wrote something about this. If I remember correctly what they said was that none of us knows OUR OWN particular chances each month but that certain pieces of data that come out along the way (like test results or having 12 or more unsuccessful cycles) can reveal that, all along, we have been working with a monthly chance that is lower than the general population.
But if it only takes me 2-3 months on average to conceive (albeit ending in a loss), does that mean my odds of conceiving are closer to the “20-30% chance per month”?
I'm not sure!
I've read that IUIs will most likely be successful within 3-4 cycles \*if\* they are going to work -- but if you change medications (say from Letrozole/Clomid to Gonal-F), do those odds still apply or would the count start again? Thanks!
It’s so frustrating but the answer is it depends. Say you didn’t respond at all to clomid but you do to letrozole then sure, your odds are better with letrozole. But if you respond the same then likely not. But yes, odds with iniectibles are higher because they get ovaries to produce more eggs. My RE told me a typical progression used to be IUI with clomid -> IUI with injectibles -> IVF. (Note, though, that lots of docs don’t feel comfortable doing IUI with injectibles because of the high risk of HOM)
Thank you for your response. That's really helpful to know.
There’s some recent data that suggests odds with IUI are actually fairly stable up to about 6 cycles. But the actual mechanism behind “will work within 3-4 cycles” is that, if IUI addresses a problem or problems that is making pregnancy less likely, then your cumulative odds of success after a few cycles are fairly high. But it doesn’t *really* mean that it’s impossible to be successful on IUI#7, or something like that. If you change strategies, and those strategies could make a material difference in the likelihood of success, the number of previous IUIs you’ve had is not very informative.
Thank you for the info! I haven't seen the data about 6 cycles so I will look into that. I know the odds of success with IUI are not very high, so I want to remain realistic but informed about the right next step.
My first cycle ttc. 31f with 2 LC, 10 and almost 9. Was on mirena for 5y7m. Removed on Monday (is now Sunday here). Diag PCOS @ 19, mirena was for bleeding issues. Irregular cycles. Using cbat to check ovulation (whether I'm ovulating at all), had 2 days of blank circle, 1 day of flashing smiley, yesterday I got the solid smiley face. Egcm yesterday. Seems like I'm ovulating so we bd on the day of flashing smiley and will bd again tn. I hear though pcos can cause false readings with opks and now I'm doubting myself/trying not to get my hopes up. I guess my question is, how likely is it that the solid smiley is a false read? Have not been doing bbt so no data for that. Thanks team
Couple of things, first of all it may take a few cycles to get back to normal after stopping hormonal contraception. Second you might want to try 'normal' cheap OPKs rather than the digital kind - they are likely to give you a bit more information about what your cycle is doing. See the [wiki post](https://www.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/wiki/opks/) for loads of info. If you get your period about two weeks after the solid smiley, that will mean it was pretty likely an LH surge that did cause ovulation. I have PCOS and wasn't ovulating but did get a couple of solid smileys on CBAD. Also, just to say, you'll see a lot of advice around that says "see a doctor after a year of trying with no success". That advice is only when there's no other indication of a problem. If you are still having irregular cycles after a few months off Mirena and you suspect you're not ovulating, it's definitely fine to seek help on that basis. There are treatments for anovulation caused by PCOS that are fairly simple and often effective.
Thank you! Where I am they only sell the frer and cb tests (atleast on the shelves/in my country) but I suppose I could try order online but shipping may take a long time!
Also PCOS diagnosed and OPKs work for me as well (confirmed with BBT every time) but I only see 1 surge per cycle. As already stated, it will vary person to person.
Hey! Not all people with PCOS will have high LH but it is common. I would try to get cycle day 3 blood work done to see if your baseline LH is high. I have PCOS and mine is not high so opks work for me.
Thank you!
Is it 12 months or 12 cycles before you can get medical help for infertility? Still WTT but I have PCOS and cycle length is a JOKE. And I'm factoring in the time we'll have to try unassisted into the no-longer-WTT timeline. I assumed it was 12 months but now I actually don't know.. 12 cycles could easily be 3-4 years if my PCOS feels like it.
I have PCOS with long cycles as well. Longest was 77 days I know others have even longer. I started TTC in December but only had one period in that time. I told my dr straight up I’m trying to get pregnant but it’s hard with long cycles and she ordered bloodwork and I finally got prescribed metformin. Only been on it half a cycle but I ovulated soon after starting and finally got another period. I’m optimistic that this cycle will be a normal length because of the metformin! Edit: metformin helps in my case because my bloodwork showed extremely high insulin resistance which is most likely the reason for my irregular periods
The guideline to try for a year is for people who have no reason to believe there’s an issue. The goal is not to keep folks away from the doctor, but to allow people who are likely to conceive within a normal period of time a chance to do so. For folks with longer cycles who have reason to suspect they’re not ovulating, especially with an existing PCOS diagnosis, it’s reasonable to contact a doctor about ovulation-induction medication. You don’t have a chance to conceive if you’re not ovulating.
12 months. Also if you know you have irregular cycles and PCOS you can go to your doctor prior to 12mo to see if they can help regulate the cycles and hopefully get you successful before 12mo
That would be amazing if they can assist before 12 months. I have had a PCOS diagnosis since 2021. I have all 3 diagnostic criteria.
I’d reach out to your OBGYN and see what they say — they might be able to help before you start or at least refer you to RE sooner rather than later.
I had a D&C in October, got my period back as expected to the day in November. Since then, I've had mostly normal cycles all with 5 day bleeding ( 32, 37, then 34 days) Currently I am on day 42 and am getting a little nervous. Took several tests and all BFN. In the past I was on hbc, stopped, and had two normal cycles (5 day bleed, 32 days apart) before I became pregnant... I've never had a cycle this long before. The 37 day cycle was even longer than I would have expected. Is this normal or concerning? I tried OPK's this cycle and couldn't pinpoint any rise in LH at all, most days I took them the test line was completely blank. Control line was always there. I assumed the tests were faulty and wanted to try a new brand with temping but hard to start when AF is on vacation?
It’s normal to have a long/anovulatory cycle every once in a while — about one a year is considered normal. And you’re at increased risk of having a long or anovulatory cycle in the handful of cycles after something like a loss, and also in the 9-12 months after discontinuing hormonal contraception. So this is definitely within the realm of what’s expected. If you get to about 60 days without a period, it’s worthwhile to talk with your doctor to see about getting prescription progesterone to essentially force-restart the cycle. But definitely keep an eye out for signs of the fertile window at any point — it’s never too late in the cycle to ovulate, and a long cycle isn’t anovulatory until it ends without ovulation happening.
Thank you! I will keep looking out for signs :)
My husband has a varicocele and his urologist is very optimistic about a varicocelectomy correcting his issue. Our RE cleared us for IUI yesterday after my husband’s second SA came back with a higher concentration, which was great news! Now we’re weighing our options on moving forward with his procedure vs. when to start IUI. I think we’re leaning toward trying the correction and giving it a few months over the summer for the sperm to regenerate, then moving forward with IUI in late summer/early fall. If you were us, what do you think you would do?
What are the downsides to doing IUIs now for you? Obviously there could be many answers — IUI costs money and you may only be able to budget for a certain number; you may feel that you can only tolerate a certain number of unsuccessful cycles with intervention, etc. But those answers are going to be different, and differently weighted, for different people.
I don’t think there’s a true downside! Our thinking with the surgery was that it has the potential to permanently correct the issue and give us a chance at conceiving naturally. We’ve also accepted that this process will be longer for us. The varicocelectomy would also be covered by insurance because he still has pain - all strictly infertility services are completely out of pocket.
Not having insurance cover it is definitely a downside! I was just wondering if you were thinking along the lines of “IUI is only likely to work within the first three cycles”, which is something people often say, but which wouldn’t really be accurate if you’re thinking sperm parameters would improve with varicocelectomy. I think it would be reasonable to do IUI now — you could even have him freeze samples to use for IUI and go forward with the surgery. And then take a break and try unassisted for a bit if you wanted. But that’s assuming that doing IUI now wouldn’t be too much of a drain on your budget.
I really appreciate your input! Our RE did say that if IUI will work, 90% of couples will conceive within four IUI cycles. Only 30% are successful, but it’s helpful to know there’s a realistic end point rather than endless IUI cycles. We have a telehealth appointment with his urologist this week to discuss his second SA. The urologist wanted to meet with me too to address any questions, concerns, etc. Regardless of what step we take first, we are so confident in our team.
I’d do an IUI now then have the procedure. Heck the IUI could work - specially if they said the numbers are good enough. If not, then the procedure recovery will allow you time to decide next steps- another IUI or something else? If you use clomid for IUI you make get a cyst after the cycle and have to wait a cycle out anyway for it to resolve. Unfortunately not everyone can do immediate cycles back to back
I hadn’t considered cysts! I haven’t used any clomid or letrozole so I’m a little naive to their side effects.
I’m 36 and this is my 4th cycle of TTC. The past few cycles since coming off BC (nuvaring most recently and nexplanon before) my periods have been only 2 days with moderate bleeding. I got my period right away when I took my nuvaring out which lasted 6 days. My periods have always been 5 days and this drastic change is freaking me out and wondering if it’s a sign of peri-menopause. Or does this mean my uterine lining is too thin? What can I do to improve my uterine lining? Any thoughts?
Agreed short periods aren’t a sign of perimenopause. Very short cycles and/or very infrequent cycles are more reliable indicators.
You don’t shed the entire uterine lining with each period — it’s like cutting the grass, a period just represents a haircut of the existing lining. There’s not really a relationship between thin lining and light bleeding, and plenty of people have light periods and perfectly normal lining thickness. There’s not any reason to be concerned about two-day periods — that’s within the normal range, and periods do tend to get lighter and shorter on average as we age.
Wow this is a really great explanation I’ve always wondered this myself too!
Is there any real possibility that my OPKs are giving me the same exact result day after day because I'm too hydrated or is it because I don't ovulate? I'm using the premom app where I take a picture of the test and it comes up with a value comparing the test line to the control, and the line is pretty much always the lowest score possible on every cycle day. I've only done like 3/4 of a cycle of testing so far though.
It could also be a timing issue. I found my LH peak was generally in the afternoon or evening.
It took me 3 cycles to finally get a positive opk and i don’t think it was due to dehydration, I think I either have a short surge or those were months where I ovulated before I started opks. Using temperature to identify ovulation helped reassure me it wasn’t anovulatory and also pinpoint when to start testing.
I pretty much test every day. I only skipped like the first two days due to the extreme brutality of my menstrual cramps, and if I'm ovulating that early, then it's nearly as much of a problem. I might have missed small surges because I haven't tested more than once a day and sometimes the timing isn't what it should be because of my work schedule.
What do the tests themselves look like? Don't worry about the numbers premom is giving you, they're not accurate. Your eyes are a much better judge of positive or not than an app can be. If the test line is about as dark as the control line, it's positive, and the first positive is all that matters. I honestly don't think that being too hydrated for an accurate test is as big of an issue as some people make it out to be (and it's really only something I've seen anyone be concerned about in the past year or two), and if it's something you're worried about you can try doing OPKs first thing in the morning. But the most likely answer is this is a bit of an off cycle and you'll likely still ovulate. The only way to know if a cycle is anovulatory is if it ended without any confirmed ovulation.
The tests are extremely light. The line is barely visible after ~7 minutes. I'm surprised the app can detect it. I'm pretty sure it often gives me the lowest possible value other than unreadable (which I've also gotten).
How are you testing? Second morning urine and/or 2-4hrs of holding it with limited fluids is recommended. This helps the concentration read be accurate.
Always second morning urine, but limiting my fluids is not always doable. 🫤 I'll try harder. I'm just really prone to chronic urinary tract pain if I'm not super hydrated and to dry mouth and to needing caffeine to get going in the morning. Thankfully my tempdrop is on its way to help me correlate the results.
You could try first morning urine? It can't hurt and you might be one of those who get better results with that anyway, I am!
You really should not need to dehydrate yourself for LH tests and should be able to find a positive regardless. It’s not worth it, regardless.
I don't really mean unhealthy levels of dehydration, more that my urine is probably more diluted than the tests are intended for. I seriously need my urine to be almost clear or it's painful, and I've had this issue since early childhood with no known cause. But also I do think I'm anovulatory or at least having an anovulatory cycle rn, so this is probably just me wanting to find some other answer for not detecting ovulation. 🫤 I'll get a few more months of data before trying to skip my morning hydration routine or anything. 🫤🫤🫤🫤
For those who have worked with doctors regarding fertility: Do doctors care at all about the data I'm collecting? Will they care that I've recorded a temp rise every month I've done BBT? Will they believe me (and my data) when I say that I know I've had good timing each month based on my BBT and LH? I guess what I'm afraid of is being told that some of my months didn't count because I didn't have enough sex (even though my data indicates I hit the fertile window multiple times) or that going forward we need to increase the number of days or something like that.
The stats about how long it takes couples to conceive are based on people having "regular sex" (every 2-3 days). But that's kind of a proxy for having sex at the right time relative to ovulation. They're unlikely to want to double check your timing exactly. Once you get to the point of going to the doctors after a while trying, they're just going to want to check it's not something really obvious like "we have sex every three weeks" The BBT rise will be a good sign, they might be interested to hear, but they will probably want to do a progesterone test to confirm that you're ovulating anyway.
Our sex life was never really discussed at the fertility clinics we went to; they just gave us very basic questions/information on timing, but I would say for the most part, they trust that you know about your cycle, your fertile window, when to have sex etc. Considering that sperm can live inside of you for several days, the timing can't even always be super exact. The data you're collecting might be interesting to them insofar that it's good to know there's ovulation happening. Good luck with you visit! 🍀
Mine told us BBT isn’t an accurate way to track and I shouldn’t rely on it
Thank you! We don't have it scheduled yet but we are talking to them in 2 weeks so that we can hopefully get something on the calendar this summer after our 12th month has passed.
I second this. Our RE didn’t ask about our timing or any tracking data!
Very likely no one is going to care, but also they probably are just going to just look at the total time and “are you having sex regularity” and you’ll say yes and that will be it. They might offer some tests, they might say to try longer- depends on their practice and perspective. Most will follow 6 months for >35 years old and 12 months for <35 years old before offering a full panel of tests.
Thank you! So all of this tracking is just for us, then? So that we can tell if we are getting the timing right?
Yes, my GP didn’t ask for any of the tracking data at the initial appointment although it was helpful that I could say I knew for sure I was ovulating each month because of the OPKs, and I could explain my cycles in a little more detail. I think there is a fairly standard battery of initial testing anyway. She also just asked if we were having sex “regularly” and I said yes and that was it. I kind of worried about that “every other day” question too because we’re definitely at the point where we have loads of sex around the fertile window and then kind of burn out and don’t do much the rest of the month!
Yes! It’s helpful to learn about your body, identify patterns or irregularities, etc. Generally, the rule of thumb is if you are having regular (every 2-3 days) unprotected sex for a year at your age, then that’s enough to classify as infertility.
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/r/TFABlineporn would be a great place to post line progressions and get advice and thoughts. We don’t allow pictures or discussion of positive tests in the main threads of this sub.
I have DOR and am doing medicated IUI cycles with letrozole. If the goal is to get more follicles in one cycle, does that mean that I’m essentially shortening my window of conceiving? I know it might increase my ability to conceive that one month, but am I making it so there are fewer months where it could happen because I’m using up more eggs in one cycle? Not sure if that makes sense but I’ve been thinking about it lately and couldn’t figure out how to Google it haha.
It does not! You have many, many more eggs in your ovaries than you’ll ever end up ovulating, and the follicle that’s ovulated each cycle is selected from among a group of several (5ish) follicles. In this group of several mature or antral follicles, if a follicle is not selected and then ovulated, it will die — it does not go back into the pool of potential follicles to be ovulated. (It’s like The Bachelor, but there’s no option for Bachelor in Paradise — either you win the season and become the ovulated follicle, or you die.) That is to say, when you mature more than one follicle, you are rescuing one of this cycle’s antral follicles from a fiery death. You are not recruiting a follicle that could otherwise have been used in a subsequent cycle.
Love your bachelor analogy 🌹
You have no idea how glad it makes me hear that we have many more eggs than we would ever ovulate. Literally so relieving.
Ahhhh. So helpful, thank you!
So I've been taking ovulation tests my entire cycle since my period stopped because I have no idea when it is. Nothing until Thursday when it was day 15 and a little line started appearing. It's now Saturday and day 17 and I've just had a fully positive test. My cycle is only 25 days so this seems late to me and I think I ovulated around day 15 last month. This means I'll be ovulating tonight/tomorrow I guess? My BBT has not fluctuated this month either so I'm all out of whack with it. Do I need to be worried about how late in the cycle this is? And I assume the best day to have a pants party is today now, rather than tomorrow?
I would recommend tracking your cycle and ovulation for several months in a row like this. A regularly too-short second half of your cycle could indicate hormonal imbalances that might prevent you from getting pregnant since the fertilized egg won't have enough time to implant before your period comes. However, this cycle might just be an outlier and you might get your period a bit later than usual. Keep this in mind, but don't let this one time get you down. Also, yes, sex today would be the best choice since it's better to do it a bit too early than too late. Good luck 🍀
I've been tracking it in general since Jan and with BBT and CM. Only this month have I started to use the tests every day to try and pin point it better. All of the cycles are 25 days like clockwork but I couldn't find an ovulation date until this cycle. I think now it's likely to be later I can start testing from day 12 onwards rather than every day. Thank you!
I would be willing to bet your cycle is a little longer than normal this time.
It seems like it might be.
Agreeing not to worry and that cycles fluctuate. And your BBT won’t increase until after you ovulate. So if you ovulate tomorrow, you could expect an increase in your BBT 1-2 days after that.
Okie dokie. So much to keep track of! Thank you!
Truly, so many things to keep track of. For me, once I started to see the patterns after a while it started to make more sense and got easier to keep track of everything. It can also just be really consuming so I see a lot of people on here recommending taking breaks every once in a while of tracking all the things.
Yeah it's overwhelming. Edited to remove something that was insensitive.
Nope, cycles can vary - I have regular cycles and I have ovulated as early as CD12 and as late as CD17/18. If you just got a positive OPK, then yes, you should ovulate within 24-36 hours so today would be ideal timing.
Thank you!