Any advice for my sister - unexplained infertility

[keldac]

Hi all,

I myself have had a rough ride having babies but not with fertility issues - with carrying problems.

However my sister has been trying for 2 years with no success

She was pregnant to a different partner 8 years ago accidentally and miscarried.

Her and her husband have had all the tests and no reason for not conceiving can be found. SHe is now on her 2nd cycle of clomid.

I don't understand why she is on clomid because tests have proven she is ovulating and has a regular cycle. Is this normal? Has anybody had a similar story and been successful?

Any advice apreciated

 

[AP]

My friend had similar problems for 8 years. Everything came back as unexplained. I gave her preseed, and first try, bfp.

Soooo who knows if it was that, that helped, but could be worth a go!

 

[Bexy]

Hey Keldac!

I think Clomid is prescribed as it is the least invasive of treatments but I agree with a lot of ladies on BNB who all seem to think its a strange option if the problem isn't ovulation but unfortunately its the first thing GP's dish out!

Wishing your sister luck - can't offer any advice as I'm still waiting for the elusive BFP myself - have heard preseed is good so anythings worth a go! xx

 

[laurawest2580]

Hi

Yes, I did indeed have a similar problem. We'd had a miscarriage 3 years ago, and we were trying for 2 years before we fell pregnant. Had fertility tests which showed ovulation & everything ok for my hubby. I did however, stop smoking and my usual glass of wine with dinner was cut back to at the weekend only & a healthier lifestyle adopted. 2 months later, we got our BFP. I was busy concentrating on the non smoking etc that it was a bit of a surprise that the pregnancy strip showed as positive.

It could be that the clomid is just to try and help her along.

Laura.
x

 

[Logiebear]

I ad irregular cycles but still ovulated. I was put on Clomid after 3 yrs of trying and the first ccle didn't work so my dose was put up and I conceived on my second cycle. Everything came back as unexplained. I even had the laperoscopy and dye test too. No explanation but the Clomid worked!

 

[jonnanne3]

Keldac,
I have unexplained infertility. My doctor prescribed me Clomid too even though I was ovulating on my own. When we went to the FS he told me not to take it anymore as it can do more harm then good in an already ovulating woman. He said it can make a normal ovulating woman produce more estrogen and cause mid cycle spotting and really mess up their cycles. So I am not taking it anymore. As far as my dh is concerned, they said since we have been pregnant 3 times together, there isn't any reason to get him looked at. He said he didn't think there would be a problem getting pregnant on our own. I hope your sister gets some answers soon.

 

[brumbar]

Hi all,

I myself have had a rough ride having babies but not with fertility issues - with carrying problems.

However my sister has been trying for 2 years with no success

She was pregnant to a different partner 8 years ago accidentally and miscarried.

Her and her husband have had all the tests and no reason for not conceiving can be found. SHe is now on her 2nd cycle of clomid.

I don't understand why she is on clomid because tests have proven she is ovulating and has a regular cycle. Is this normal? Has anybody had a similar story and been successful?

Any advice apreciated

This is strange. I was was put on IVF waiting list straight away....no clomid treatment offered at all. I've got no problems with ovulation,regular 28 day cycle, HSG shows normal tubes and uterus, DH's swimmers are supersonic. The doc suspects endo but wouldn't do a lap... said that there's no point

 

[cazhd]

Hi keldac i have similar problems as your sis, i've been ttc for over 2 years with no joy. I have had bloods, lap and dh had sa and all came back fine so been told we have unexplained infertility. I am currently about to start my second cycle of clomid tommorrow. I also ovulate on my own and have a regular cycle however doc decided it was worth a try until next fs appointment in september where we plan to start iui before ivf.

 

[Szaffi]

Hi! We were also non-explained. Here the fertility clinic gave us the plan to first try IUI for 3 cycles and after that IVF.

They have however found borderline hypothyroidism with me, so we said we'll first give it a try taking low dosage thyroid medicine. We got :BFP: on third cycle after starting that (after 17 cycles all together). OH swears it was the thyroid med that did the trick.

Before, I have tried everything from cutting out caffeine, alcohol, gluten, do more sports, pre-seed, charting, etc. So it could have been any combination of these that gave us the desired result too. Or just that it was our time.

Good luck for your sister!

 

[kelly0509]

This is strange. I was was put on IVF waiting list straight away....no clomid treatment offered at all. I've got no problems with ovulation,regular 28 day cycle, HSG shows normal tubes and uterus, DH's swimmers are supersonic. The doc suspects endo but wouldn't do a lap... said that there's no point

Hi, I am the same as you with 28 day cycle and I had my Day 21 test done which showed I ovulated but still no BFP after 2 1/2 years. I am back at the doctors tomorrow morning and not really sure what he will say now. I don't think I will be put on Clomid as it shows I am ovulating, so i'm unsure what the next step is for me. How long is your wait for IVF? xx

 

[keldac]

thanks for all your replys over the months

My sister is still not pregnant

She starts IUI in Marh. I hope she falls pregnant before this invasive treatment begins xxx

good luck to you all xxx

 

[Breeze]

Hi Keldac... ive got the same problem... unexplained, had all the tests, ovulate normally etc and was put straight on ivf waiting list. Im not sure why some places give clomid and some dont!

Wishing your sister loads of best wishes that her path to BFP is clear and easy!

 

[kelly0509]

Hi Keldac... ive got the same problem... unexplained, had all the tests, ovulate normally etc and was put straight on ivf waiting list. Im not sure why some places give clomid and some dont!

Wishing your sister loads of best wishes that her path to BFP is clear and easy!

Its funny you say that Breeze, because my doctor said that the next step would be straight to IVF too. He didn't even mention the possibility of Clomid so I think I will mention it at my next appointment.

 

[kasey]

I also have gone straight to IVF after 2 years ttc and unexplained infertitlity. I think it is standard in the clinic I go to, they told me clomid is not an automatic treatment especially if you are already ovulating. For me it was also cause I have a bicornuate uterus (heart shaped) so they don't want to risk anything that might increase chances of multiple pg (which clomid and iui do.) worth asking though. good luck

 

[peekaboo]

Hi, just thought I'd add my experience in here too. Firstly, sorry to hear about your sister's TTC journey - I know how she feels. Myself and DH have been TTC for 22 months and are also unexplained. We've both had the usual tests and they have found nothing wrong - not even borderline. At my last FS appointment in December I was offered clomid for six months. I asked the FS about whether she had any statistics on people already ovulating and taking clomid. She said that yes, she did, and proceeded to find me a study on her computer that compared people who were already ovulating doing either of these three things: continuing as normal, having IUI and taking clomid. The one with the highest success rate was IUI, followed by doing nothing and finally followed by clomid. I decided not to take it! Especially when she told me about the possible side effects!

Wishing your sister - and all the other ladies in a similar position - all the very best of luck. x

 

[peekaboo]

Oh forgot to say, we have been told that IUI would be our next option but the FS won't refer us for that until we have been TTC for three years in total. x

 

[abster]

Hi Keldac,
Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs or herbal pills, changes to diet) can work wonders with unexplained infertility. According to TCM, unexplained infertility will usually be down to a slight hormone imbalance that cannot be picked up by conventional testing. It's a matter of rebalancing the parts of the body that are out of balance and nourishing/tonifying where it's needed. There's a wonderful book called The Infertility Cure, by Randine Lewis. It was recommended to me by my practitioner to fully explain to me how it works and I got it second-hand on amazon.
RAndine Lewis trained in conventional medicine in the states before turning to TCM to help her to have her 2nd child - unexplained infertility 2nd time round - and inthe end she trained in a TCM hospital in China for a few years. She had 2 more children and wrote the book to help other people. She also writes about how TCM can help the success of IVF/IUI treatments etc.
Check out my thread, The Really Useful TCM Thread, in the TTC section. Quite a few of us are contributing to it with our experiences of acupuncture. We have 2 pregnancies at the moment but are expecting more.
I def agree with the other girls that clomid is madness if there's no problem with ovulation.
Hope your sister is pregnant very soon!
Abi x

 

[Dancingkaty1]

hi...we have been ttc number 2 for 18 mths now....we have had all the tests going....bloods, scans, hycosy, lap and dye, sperm tests, you name it we have had it lol!! the only things that came back where last june i was diagnosed with polycysts on only ovary but bloods showed i was ovulating anyway, and also dh june sperm test ame back bad.....he repeated it in sept and it was good after being on vits for a mth...he has continued to take them & will be re -peating the test next week. i have been on clomid since oct....had my lap yesterday so im thinking the next step for us is iui.....we have a daughter so the nhs wont fund us so we registered with a fertility center round the corner last dec...gonna book an appointment with them for after the 23rd jan (due on then) as really hoping the dye has flushed my tube and i get my bfp this mth!!! xx

 

[bear74]

I had the same thing..then had 3 IUI's and got pregnant on the 3rd which unfortunately ended in a miscarriage at 7 weeks. We were then referred for IVF and I had scarring removed from my womb (after a D&C from miscarriage) and a week after the surgery I got pregnant naturally.
The only thing I believe it was is that I had something else going on in my life at the time and wasn't even thinking about babies...I really think when you get stressed about it, it can stop it happening. Now I have a gorgeous 6 week old boy

 

[keldac]

I had the same thing..then had 3 IUI's and got pregnant on the 3rd which unfortunately ended in a miscarriage at 7 weeks. We were then referred for IVF and I had scarring removed from my womb (after a D&C from miscarriage) and a week after the surgery I got pregnant naturally.
The only thing I believe it was is that I had something else going on in my life at the time and wasn't even thinking about babies...I really think when you get stressed about it, it can stop it happening. Now I have a gorgeous 6 week old boy

Congratulations on your new arrival! I hope we have the same news one day for my sister.

Update - Her IUI was put back for reasons to do with dr's holidays! She now has her first cycle at the beginning of June.