My husband (33M) and I (34F - 35 in April) have been trying to conceive since March 2025 with no luck. I’ve never been pregnant, no miscarriages, no scares, nothing. I have very regular cycles and have been tracking them for 8+ years as I have not been on birth control since I was about 26. I talked to my gynecologist last February about us wanting to start trying and she recommended to start getting on a prenatal and also said because of my age, after 6 months if we are unsuccessful to call.
In September, we did some bloodwork to confirm I am ovulating and basically the other results show they checked my thyroid levels which all came back in a normal range. She gave a few more recommended supplements so I am currently on a prenatal, coq10, calcium/magnesium/zinc with vitamin D, and MACA. We also decided to try mucinex and preseed during ovulation the last two months because at this point, it can’t hurt.
My mom had 6 kids and never had issues getting pregnant, same with my 3 sisters. They have only ever had complications during pregnancy / birth. My sister, who is a year and a half older than me, removed her birth control late June and didn’t even have a cycle before she was pregnant so they estimated she got pregnant within two weeks of removing her birth control. I am the lucky one to have to go through this confusion.
The point of my post, is there something I’m missing that we should try? We are timing IC based off of the book “it all starts with an egg” but I should mention that I have only found my LH “peak” one time even with doing multiple tests a day during the period when I start to see it rise. I’m not sure if my window is small or if maybe my fluid intake could be diluting too much. I try not to drink a lot of fluids prior but it’s hard because it’s in my routine. Is there any additional testing we should ask for? My gynecologist is saying she can’t give a referral to a fertility clinic until we hit that year mark. She also said that’s when we could test my husband to make sure everything looks good with him. I mentioned doing a semen analysis before the year but we’d have to find a clinic that would do it without a referral. Is there anything else that can be done, testing, supplements, etc or am I stuck waiting until March to get the referral to a fertility clinic?
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I would see another gyno. My gyno was willing to do a work up starting at 6-8months. We actually just finished all our testing and found out we have male factor. I am similar to you with very normal cycles and family history. We did the following testing all through my OB office, not the fertility clinic: - sperm analysis (low count) - AMH and thyroid for me - ultrasound for me - HSG for me
Next steps for us are for my husband to see a urologist to get to the bottom of the low count. But with his numbers it just looks like we will have to try for double the time a normal count couple would need to
Also I am only 28 and she was still willing to do early testing. She said the year mark is outdated these days
Thanks, yea when I first mentioned we wanted to start trying she made it seem like she would be super proactive and that’s why she said after 6 months if nothing is happening to contact the office and we’d start running tests. She seemed to do very basic bloodwork and then ghost and would take months to respond to any additional questions. I just sent an appointment request asking for additional testing that you mentioned you had done so thank you. If I get any pushback I will seek out a new OB and get my records moved over.
Awesome. Yay for advocating for ourselves!!
I agree about switching docs. Also I’m not sure, do you even need a referral or can you just make an appt at a fertility clinic and tell them what’s going on? I’m not sure the gyn is a required middle man. We are at 4 months which is quite early and my gyn already ordered a workup for me. If it hasn’t happened after 6 months I plan to pursue a fertility doctor.
She made it seem like they only take referred patients but I will try and find a recommended location and see if I can get an appointment without one. Thanks!
Yeah mine was saying these days if it hasn’t happened after six months normally there is some factor. I at least feel at ease know all the info and it eases my mind on why it’s taking longer. Idk about everyone else but my health anxiety was so high after coming off birth control and starting to try.
I’m with you. My anxiety has been sky high since about month 4 of starting to try and realizing it’s just not happening for me which I’m sure is not helping. Even having some sort of plan in place would ease my mind.
Ugh I’m sorry. I know exactly how you feel. For me I spent 9 months worrying I wouldn’t be able to give my husband children to find out it’s male factor. It’s kinda crazy how life works like that. Definitely find a doc that will support your asks for a plan!
considering there’s no obvious issues with the women in your family and your labs check out, if you don’t want to wait til the year mark to check out your husband, you can order your own sperm analysis kit. Yosperm (can find on Amazon) comes with 3 tests for ~ $100. From what I understand they are pretty accurate for home tests. Could be something going on with your husband potentially, but either way this would give you an idea.
Is your husband taking supplements too?
He is but I honestly could not tell you everything that he is taking. I know he is also taking CoQ10 and vitamin D. I basically told him to take control of his side of his health and I will focus on mine. He stopped using the sauna, hot tub. Rarely drinks. He did a full blood panel not too long ago too so he was able to supplement what was needed from those results.
Check he's taking zinc too, zinc is important for regulating testosterone :) I'm in exactly the same boat as you and it's frustrating knowing everything seems fine medically, it's just not happening for some reason!
My wife bought me these - we had 2 chemicals, nothing that has stuck yet though:
https://perelelhealth.com/products/mens-multi-support-pack
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Agree with above:
Would recommend semen analysis for hubs (esp since your tests look good and your mom didn’t have reproductive issues) and AMH/imaging for you.
If your provider won’t help find someone who will! they’re out there.
If in US you don’t need a referral to fertility, you can call them yourself. But keep in mind it is often out of pocket/not covered by insurance unless you have good insurance!
Good luck- proud of you for being proactive!
Make sure you ask for DNA fragmentation in the sperm analysis, too
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I'll agree with the other comments saying search for a different gyno. For context: I'm 33 and started trying in May. A couple of weeks ago I met with my Dr and she said that even if we're not at a year mark that she's not opposed to us starting blood work and semen analysis earlier, especially after seeing how methodically I've been tracking my periods, BBT, LH strips, progesterone strips for several months. And this is just a Dr at a regular clinic, although they are connected to a hospital with a maternity ward.
Your story sounds similar to mine except I have spent 6+ years ttc and have a lot more tests. Everything always came back normal. Tubes open, lining thickens, egg quality good, count high, etc. Then I had a saline injection ultrasound and they found a uterine septum. I had never heard of it, after 7 iuis, a cervical and uterine biopsy, and a laparoscopy looking for and ruling out endometriosis. I just had the surgery to get the septum removed and am feeling hopeful. Always advocate for yourself. Do research. Don’t stop asking questions. Good luck! Don’t resent your partner, he’s possibly hurting as much as you but in a different more helpless way. You’re a team and you can carry this together <3