r/TTC_PCOS

Hey y’all! I’m looking for advice on when to stop Lh strip testing. I was on Letrozole 2.5 mg CD 5-9 this cycle, induced Provera bleed. I honestly don’t think i’ll ovulate but we’ll see. I’ve been using the Premom app and Easy@Home Lh strips and thermometer. When would be a good time to stop testing? Currently, I do not get a period on my own since stopping birth control last year
:(
Here are my stats!:
CD 7 – Temp: 97.44°F | LH ratio: 0.35
CD 8 – Temp: 98.96°F | LH ratio: 0.44
CD 9 – Temp: 97.25°F | LH ratio: 0.56
CD 10 – Temp: 97.50°F | LH ratio: 0.51
CD 11 – Temp: 97.48°F | LH ratio: 0.49
CD 12 – Temp: 96.52°F | LH ratio: 0.39
CD 13 – Temp: 96.60°F | LH ratio: 0.33, 0.27
CD 14 – Temp: 96.40°F | LH ratio: 0.34, 0.27
CD 15 – Temp: 96.70°F | LH ratio: 0.39
CD 16 – Temp: 96.65°F | LH ratio: 0.31, 0.40
CD 17 – Temp: 96.70°F | LH ratio: 0.42, 0.42
CD 18 – Temp: 96.70°F | LH ratio: 0.42
CD 19 – Temp: 96.45°F | LH ratio: 0.10
CD 20 – Temp: 96.99°F | LH ratio: 0.58, 0.68
CD 21 – Temp: 96.70°F | LH ratio: 0.19, 0.33
CD 22 – Temp: 96.35°F | LH ratio: 0.42
CD 23 – Temp: 96.55°F | LH ratio: 0.29, 0.25
CD 24 – Temp: 96.99°F | LH ratio: 0.53

Any advice helps! Thanks!

Has anyone gotten pregnant through home insemination while on letrozole? How many cycles did it take for you? Did you change anything along the way that you think made a difference? I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and any advice. 💕

This is my husband and I’s first cycle of letrozole. I finally caught my peak in ovulation and we had sex 2 days before ovulation and the theoretical day of ovulation. I’ve just been confused if this is good timing for ttc? Anything I try to look up gives me different answers.

Will I even ovulate this month? Why is it so late? Ahhhh I’ve done 100 lh tests a day. I’m driving myself insane 🤣

Hi everyone,

37F TTC for a year. My biggest issue is that my follicles are either not growing properly and I’m not ovulating naturally.

I’ve completed **6 cycles of letrozole**, and honestly, I don’t want to continue with it. It has affected me in multiple ways, and I’m hoping to see if there’s anything else I can do to support natural ovulation.

So far I’ve made these changes:
Drinking 2.5L of water daily
Taking inositol after lunch
Following a gluten-free, dairy-free, no added sugar diet
No coffee or tea (only decaf about 3 times a week)
Yoga twice a day + 30-minute walk every day
Taking NAC

A few things to note:
My vitamin D, B12, and iron levels are now in a good range.
I don’t have insulin resistance.

For anyone who struggled with poor follicle growth or anovulation, **what actually helped you?** Did anything (lifestyle, supplements, acupuncture, medications, etc.) make a difference, or did you eventually need to move on to other fertility treatments?
I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences. Thank you! ❤️

Concerns: My testosterone levels are little high, high AMH 11

Please help what can i do to ovulate and also grow the egg to proper size.

Has anyone ever taken letrozole and ovulated late ? I have pcos and I’ve never ovulated before on my own. I usually always have a long cycle in between periods, This cycle I decided to take Progesterone to induce a period and then letrozole to induce ovulation… I didn’t Track using lh strips because with pcos it always has a high lh baseline, and I’m new to ttc so I’ve never tracked bbt either, But today (4th July) I felt a gush and I saw EWCM and I’m cd 32 , I thought I was out this cycle but I’m coming to ask has anyone had late ovulation on letrozole and ended up with a successful pregnancy? Or is it normal for pcos girlies who start letrozole to ovulate later ?

My dr prescribed me clomid and advised me to take it starting cycle day 3 for 5 days.

My period started yesterday but it started around 5pm… so I’m not sure if that counts as day 1 or not. I’m having a hard time hearing back because of the holiday weekend

Thanks

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has done IVF on the NHS only.

I have been through letrozole, and every other test that came before it, which unfortunately didn’t work. My partners SA is great, my AMH is very high, our only issue is I do not ovulate even with medical intervention.

I realise every NHS health board has its differences but I’d really benefit from a very brief list of all the appointments, tests, procedures that were involved in your IVF and a rough timeline between each. I’m struggling to find that anywhere online and would really appreciate it.

Best wishes

I had a private blood test yesterday on cycle day 18 (7 days exactly after my first positive OPK) the results came back at 13 nmol (4 ng/ML) I’m absolutely devastated.

My last few months BBT charts have been rocky but I’m still having a 12 day lutuel phase, EWCM and positive OPK’s so while I was expecting a low result I never thought it would be that low. I’m so stuck on where to go from here. I’m the UK and the waiting lists are so long. So heartbroken right now.

We are on our first Letrozole and Progesterone medicated cycle and are now confused.

Background: Never had a positive pregnancy test, 38f and 36m. Using Clearblue Advanced OPK which has previously always been very clear about low high and peak, and followed the 2 weeks before period almost exactly. However my cycle was approx 35 days not the standard 28 days.

Letrozle 2.5mg taken cd2-6

Progesterone to be started 48 hours after positive OPK

Ultrasound cd11 - found a good uterine lining of 6.1 and a dominant follicle at 12mm.
They requested we come back on cd15 to scan again and check the follicle was still growing. Initially offered cd17, but I couldn’t make that due to a previous commitment. We were told to use ovulation tests every 12 hours from cd13.

Today is cd13, we had a low result this morning and now a high result this evening. The information leaflet tells us not to try before a scan where we are told it’s okay to try. Info online says don’t have sex in the 24 hours before your ultrasound. We don’t want to miss out on the opportunity but also don’t want to try when we aren’t supposed to.

We only asked in the appointment if we use the high or peak result as a guide for the 48 hours wait to start taking Progesterone. None of us expected the OPK to have either high or peak before the next scan so we had no advice on whether to try in between.

Has anyone had this situation before? Do you have advice?

Hello all, so i am currently based on netherlands. I went to my GP and told them i have pcos since i was 13-14 years old. Currently 31 F . I told my gp i am not able to track ovulation because my periods are all over the place. Periods come on time but with some spotting and last for more than 7-8 days . So she said she will refer me to gp so they can prescribe me letrozol or clomid for ttc.

What questions should i ask for my appointment ?

Anyone went through same process? Any advice?

Hi everyone,

I've been TTC for a while. My TSH is usually between 3.5 and 4.0, but my Free T3 and Free T4 are normal.

I've read that TSH should ideally be below 2.5 when trying to conceive, but my family doctor says my levels are normal and won't prescribe any medication.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Were you able to get treatment or a referral? Are there any lifestyle or diet changes that helped lower your TSH naturally?

I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thank you!

So I was supposed to start letrozole in 5 days.

Back story: My fertility clinic has made me jump thru so many hoops. I did a genetic screening with my husband. Turns out, I’m a carrier for limbal girdle muscular dystrophy. (My husband doesn’t have it. We don’t cross in any genetic conditions).

After meeting with my fertility doctor, she wanted me to get a genetic consultation.

Did that, learned nothing new. The genetic counselor said it’s not a big deal but it could potentially cause an enlarged heart. I had to pay $300 out of pocket because this dude didn’t take insurance. Whatever.

Go back to my fertility doctor, now I gotta go get a cardiac evaluation bc the genetic counselor recommended it.

So I go to my PCP, she tells me I need an EKG and echocardiogram. She does the EKG same day, results are normal. I have to wait two weeks for my echo. Finally get that done. Results are normal.

I go back to my fertility doctor thinking “Yay, she’s gonna send my meds to the pharmacy”
NOPE, now she wants me and my husband to sign some waiver before I get my meds. We have to be present in clinic to sign. Not allowed to docusign it.

This is all happening within a few weeks. I’m getting increasing more stressed bc I’m supposed to get my period on July 8th. That’s when I’d start my first cycle of Letrozole.

So this Wednesday I go in person, to the clinic to sign the waiver. Now we just gotta wait for my husband to sign. He has his own business and he can’t just take off. He decided to wait until Friday, his day off to go…..TURNS OUT THE CLINIC IS CLOSED TODAY! Must be nice. I work in the medical field as well and I don’t get the day off.

No worries. This would’ve all been fine. But we decided to go on vacation out of the state July 5th to July 12th.

So now I’m frustrated. I literally fast tracked all of these appointments and stupid tests so that I could get my meds and start them this cycle. But no, all the running around and fast tracking for nothing. I was so upset when I found out the clinic was closed I was literally shaking.

Anyway, thank you for letting me vent. My husband doesn’t think it’s a big deal bc “what’s one more month”
SURE WHATS ANOTHER MONTH AFTER YOUVE BEEN TRYING FOR 24 months.

Looking for successes stories from people who didn’t ovulate on 2.5mg but were able to on 5mg. What CD did you ovulate on and how many cycles did it take to fall pregnant?

I can't find the app in the apple store. Not sure how it works.

Hi, could you please tell me if metformin causes menstrual irregularities? This is my first month taking metformin, and my period is 21 days late. I’m not pregnant. My last period started on May 6, on day 16 of my cycle, so it was actually much earlier than usual. I should mention that I generally have a regular cycle of around 30–32 days. Thank you.

I don’t even know what I’m looking for with this post. Maybe I just need to vent to people who understand.

My husband and I have been trying for 10 cycles about to go into cycle 11, and I’m reaching the point where I genuinely don’t understand why it isn’t happening. I had a chemical in cycle 1, and I've done 7 letrozole cycles though only 2 with monitoring. In my first monitored cycle we realized that my follicles on meds were growing too big before ovulating so this cycle we added the trigger shot.

I’m 28 with PCOS, but I ovulate on my own. My tubes are open, I had a submucosal fibroid removed, my husband’s semen analysis is normal, and I’m now seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. He reviewed everything and called us “unexplained.”

If someone told me, “Here’s the problem, and here’s how we’ll fix it,” I think I’d cope better. Instead, I’m left wondering every month whether it was the egg, the embryo, implantation, timing, or just bad luck.

I’ve had one biochemical pregnancy, which almost makes it harder. It proved that fertilization and implantation can happen, but then nothing since.

This cycle felt so promising. I had two mature follicles, a beautiful trilaminar lining, a trigger shot, perfect timing, and I’m even on Endometrin. I let myself believe maybe this would finally be it.

Now I’m sitting here at 11 DPO with multiple negative tests, trying to prepare myself for another cycle ending.

The emotional roller coaster is honestly the worst part. Every twinge makes you wonder. Every cramp makes you hope. Every negative test feels like you’re grieving something that almost existed.

What really gets me is that most couples seem to get pregnant within six months. I know statistics don’t predict what will happen to one individual, but it’s hard not to feel like we’ve somehow fallen onto the wrong side of them.

I’m also struggling with the fear of what’s next. My RE wants to do two monitored letrozole cycles and then move to IUI if needed, and I keep wondering if IVF is ultimately where we’re headed.

Did anyone else have completely unexplained infertility and eventually conceive without IVF? Or did you eventually get an answer after months of wondering “why”?
I think I just need to hear from people who have been where I am, because tonight this feels incredibly lonely. I personally don't know anyone who has been through this and everyone tells me when I relax it will happen but I don't believe it.

Hi girlies 🤍

I just wanted to see if anyone has been in a similar situation to me.

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 1.5 years. I'm in London and, after going through the NHS fertility pathway, they discovered that my prolactin levels were extremely high around **2594miu/L**.

I was referred to an endocrinologist, had an MRI, and they found a very tiny pituitary lump (too small to even measure). I was started on cabergoline 0.25 mg once a week, and thankfully it has worked really well. My prolactin has come down from around 2,000 to 79, and it's now in the 50s.

I've also had an HSG, which showed both of my tubes are open, and this cycle my day 21 progesterone blood test confirmed that I ovulated.

My fertility doctor has advised me to keep trying naturally for another six months before considering any further treatment. So far, we've had two unsuccessful cycles since my prolactin returned to normal, and I'm currently in my third cycle.

I know it can still take time, but it's hard not to overthink everything. I don't really have any pregnancy symptoms this cycle either.

Cycle Day 3

✅ FSH: 5.3
✅ LH: 7.9
✅ Progesterone: <2
✅ semen analysis: perfect
✅ Testosterone: 1.8
✅ SHBG: 50
✅ AMH : 33.6
✅ TSH - **1.75 miu/L**
✅testosterone - **2.0 nmol/L**
✅ no PCOS after ultrasound but as diagnosed with it when I was 14

Day 21
✅ **Progesterone (22/05/26): <2 45 nmol/L**

Has anyone else conceived after getting their prolactin under control with cabergoline? If so, how long did it take after your prolactin normalized? I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences it would honestly give me some hope. 🤍

I’m on my first monitored cycle (2.5 mg for 5 days, CD3–7) and feeling a bit unsure about my response so far.
My first scan on CD11 showed:
Endometrium: 6.5 mm
Right ovary: 11 mm
Left ovary: 12 mm
On CD14:
Endometrium: 5.6 mm
Right ovary: 11 mm
Left ovary: 10 mm
It seems like my follicles haven’t really grown much between scans, and the lining measurement was slightly lower the second time.

Has anyone experienced slow or minimal follicle growth and still gone on to ovulate later in the cycle?

Do I just need to wait a bit longer, or is there usually something that can be adjusted or added in cases like this? (like a different dose or additional medication)

They scheduled another monitoring scan in 5 days, but I’d really appreciate hearing if others had similar experiences… 🥹

I’m 25F TTC with my husband (also healthy) and I’m feeling really exhausted and confused, so I’m hoping for advice or similar experiences. I have PCOS, but otherwise my fertility workup has been normal (bloodwork, ultrasound, HSG), no endo, fibroids, or blocked tubes, and my husband’s semen analysis is normal. I’m being followed by a fertility clinic and doing monitored cycles with Letrozole, plus Metformin and other prescribed meds. I’m also tracking ovulation with ovulation strips and i track my skin temp and cycles with the oura ring. My clinic is also confirming normal follicle growth and ovulation via ultrasound.

Cycle 1: monitored Letrozole cycle, follicle growth and ovulation were confirmed, but I had a negative test and then my period.

Cycle 2: follicle was 12mm on June 8, clinic said I had already ovulated by June 18, but I never got a clear period afterward. I had a 3-day light brown bleed mid-cycle (June 15–17) that they said wasn’t a true period. I tested negative for pregnancy around ~14+ DPO and still haven’t had a proper period.

Right now I’m cramping a lot and feel like my period might be coming, and I also don’t have any pregnancy symptoms. Honestly, I had a strong feeling from early on that this cycle didn’t work, and now with the negative test it feels like that’s being confirmed, but I’m still stuck waiting for my body to actually reset.

I’m doing everything “right” with meds, timing, and tracking, but nothing is translating into pregnancy yet. I know PCOS can make things harder, but I’m feeling really drained from the constant monitoring, bloodwork, ultrasounds, and emotional waiting, especially when everything keeps coming back “normal.”

Has anyone with PCOS or monitored Letrozole cycles been in a similar situation where everything looks fine but it still isn’t working? What ended up helping? I’d really appreciate any advice or insight because I’m feeling pretty done and overwhelmed right now.