Looking for motivation/vent
36 / F
My bf and I have been trying since about July of 2025. Having sex during my fertile window always seems to be stressful. We sometimes only get 1 attempt in during the window. I think there is some performance anxiety going on and then I sometimes have pain with intercourse but not always. I had a barely there chemical pregnancy back in December. I got a very faint line around 13dpo that continued to get fainter. Nothing since then.
I do the multivitamins, try to get an hour of walking in a day since I am mostly sedentary at work. My good cholesterol showed up low on my last blood test. My doc said that could be impacting hormones. But I worked hard to get it back into the low end of the "good range" and am still trying. My ferritin was also very low when I first started trying (around 11...was almost anemic) but now its in the low 30s after 6 months of taking ferrous sulfate. I'd love for it to be higher but my doc says my body is using all the ferritin so it cant keep it reserved. (I was vegan for a while but have been eating more dairy and fish this past year)
My period have always been regular although they can be a little heavy (but not heavy like I am changing a pad or tampon every 2 hours).
I am leaning toward making an appointment with a fertility doctor now that we are coming up to a year. I also tried the Frida at home insemination kits to help with the performance anxiety. I feel like maybe we are just not trying enough but also worried it could be my ferritin and cholesterol...or perhaps some other issue.
Just looking for advice because I feel so alone in this journey sometimes. I get stuck in my own head. Should I start eating red meat? Do the at home kits more so we get more attempts in? With now just turning 36 I also am feeling the stress of it all!!! Thanks.