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unexplained infertility success advice plz

greengypsygreengypsy member
in Pregnant after IF
Hello,
I am new to the bump but have browsed here and there. I have always wondered if anyone has had a similar situation to my infertility journey, especially from those who have had a BFP.. We will be trying one (maybe 2) more IUI cycles before moving on to IVF. We have been TTC since Jan 2012 and I did not seek infertility assistance until Jan 2014. For the 1st 2 years I dont think I was ovulating at all. I have had a period every month but have been DX as having anovulatory cycles/ovulatory dysfunction.  I have ovulated while on fertility meds in the past but still have been unable to get pregnant so they ultimately DX me with unexplained.  I think I occasionally ovulate on my own, I had natural IUI in Feb 2015 & u/s confirmed I had one 22 mm follicle at time of trigger. I did 6 mo of clomid from Jan-June 2014 and had 1 blood test the 1st month which confirmed I ovulated on clomid. I had my 1st IUI (w/ letrozole) in Jan 2015 (DH count was 38 million; triggered w/ 18 mm follie) & 2nd IUI (natural) in Feb 2015 (DH count was 93 million, good motility, slightly low morph- 5%; triggered w/ 22 mm follie).  We decided to take a break bec we were crushed by two BFN's. I never imagined that we would be at this point & that we may never be able to get pregnant. I was getting ready for my 3rd IUI (letrozole & 75iu gonal F) but it was canceled today bec my follicles stopped growing (3 at 12 mm). I have good ovarian reserve, HSG was clear, hormone blood tests for me & DH were both normal, my cycles range from 28-35 days. I have clarified several times that I dont have PCOS or a thyroid problem. I am overweight (5'2 & 185 lbs) but my OBGYN & RE have not said this was the exact problem. I started acupuncture about 2 mo ago & it did help with stress this cycle. 

As I'm reading this, Im thinking what the heck is my exact question? LOL I guess I am just looking for hope from anyone who has had a similar situation and has had success. Since I didn't respond well to gonal F this time around, I am wondering if we should just go straight to IVF, esp since we have been trying for almost 4 yrs? Any advice is appreciated. I know everyone's journey is different, I'm just struggling with what to do next. Thank you and I apologize in advance if this is the incorrect board to post this on. 
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Re: unexplained infertility success advice plz

  • kendragrace1215kendragrace1215 member
    @greengypsy I feel your pain. We had the same issues. We tried IUI and a cycle of IVF at a hospital in Boston and had no luck. There is nothing worse then a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. We took a year off and switched health insurances and dr's. The first thing they did was test my thyroid. BINGO!!! My new dr said it is very common that if your thyroid is out of whack that you will have difficulty getting pregnant either with medical assistance or on your own.
    I asked her why the other hospital wouldn't have tested for it and she said it is very common that they don't. After taking a low dose thyroid medicine we moved forward with the IVF cycle.
    I am going to make a suggestion, but honestly it's what worked for us and in the grand scheme it helped a ton. When we did our retrieval we had 17 eggs and only 3 made it to day 5. We froze those three and had them genetically tested (PGD). I am 41 yrs and age can play into why the cycle didn't work, but out of the three we had tested only one came back good to go. If you can afford to do so have the testing done! Ins doesn't cover it but you know you are putting in the best embryo possible and depending on your age it will increase the likelihood of success. Also by doing a frozen transfer you allow your body to go back to normal a bit!
    We did out transfer on June 8th and on the 18th we had a BFP.
    It is so hard and so trying emotionally and physically. I feel for you and your level of frustration.
    Phew this was long but I hope it helped! Keep your chin up and get the thyroid tested!
    Best of luck!
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  • LaxerwifeLaxerwife member
    We had unexplained infertility. We got pregnant with our 2nd IUI (medicated) I only had one mature follicle the first time. They increased my clomid,and I had three the second time. We had been saving and preparing for IVF. It's easy to lose hope during this process, but I just kept telling myself it could happen any month
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  • greengypsygreengypsy member
    @kendragrace1215 & @laxerwife thank you both for ur responses :)
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  • kendragrace1215kendragrace1215 member
    Good luck!
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  • tripledaggerWed95976tripledaggerWed95976 member
    I had a very similar situation. I did 3 failed iui's before moving on to ivf.. and i can tell u its the best decision I ever made! After my ivf cycle was done all I could think was "that was pretty easy, what was I so afraid of!?" I'll be 6 weeks preg tomorrow from ivf :-) if iui isn't working for u I would absolutely advocate for ivf.
    Good luck to u!
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  • melliemammamelliemamma member
    @greengypsy First, I'd just like to wish you the best on your TTC journey. I understand how difficult, frustrating, and emotional it can all be. Kudos to you for reaching out here for support/advice. I was diagnosed with "Unexplained Infertility" in 2007. All of our tests (hubby's and mine) came back normal, so no foreseeable reason that we couldn't conceive. (INCREDIBLY frustrating!) I was 24 at the time and hubby had just turned 30. Over time, we ended up doing 5 rounds Clomid with Ovidrel trigger and IUI. Each of those cycles was less and less effective at creating mature follicles, though I always had at least 2. RE was baffled as to why we still weren't PG, so she ordered another HSG, even though my first one came back totally clear. The second one was clear again, so we moved on to Follistim with Ovidrel trigger and IUI. 3 rounds of that, each one more successful at creating mature follicles. The last round I had 6 mature follicles that would have ovulated. Hubby and I felt so good about our odds for pregnancy. 10 days post IUI AF shows up and boom, hopes shattered yet again.

    After a 4 month hiatus after our last BFN, we decided it was time to take the IVF leap. We met with our RE to go over the process and were a little disappointed to find out that she doesn't do fresh cycles and that it would actually be another month after oocyte retrieval before we could transfer embryos. But on the plus side, my RE has a 75% success rate with this method, so there was that. In the end, our first Frozen Embryo Transfer was successful. I'm currently 11wks with twins (we transferred two embryos due to our unexplained lack of success previously). We are of course thrilled. In hindsight (and this is purely MY opinion), we should have moved on to IVF sooner, since we knew it was an option we'd be willing to try. With no medical reason for not being able to conceive, I believe it eliminates the unknown variables that still exist with IUI.

    I hope this helps you in the decisions you have ahead in your journey. Wishing you all the best for a successful outcome with whichever road you choose!
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  • greengypsygreengypsy member
    @tripledaggerwed95976 & @melliemamma thank you for your responses. congrats on your BFP's! sorry for the late response, i had to take a break from everything.. i was so disappointed with our canceled cycle.. my hubby & i are leaning towards IVF if this cycle doesn't work. we have had zero answers as to why we can't conceive & i honestly can't handle much more of this. if having a baby isn't meant to be for us, i would rather know sooner than later & move on with our lives. i wish money was not a factor but unfortunately it is. we dont want to continue to spend money on IUI's if we could spend it on IVF since that seems to be our best option. i am starting gonal F injections tomorrow (CD 2) & will be on a higher dose. i hope this cycle is the one & works out for us!! 


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  • tripledaggerWed95976tripledaggerWed95976 member
    Don't give up hope! Honestly, ivf was the best decision I've ever made...it's a personal choice, but I'm a huge advocate for ivf. I wish I could go back months ago knowing what I know now and save myself from all those failed IUIs and just go straight to ivf. I coulda saved myself a lot of $ and even more heartbreak. I've got my fingers crossed for u!
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  • kendragrace1215kendragrace1215 member
    Right there with you trippledaggerWed95976. Greengypsy this is such a tough time have faith and follow your gut. It will happen. Sending good vibes your way!
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