r/TryingForABaby

Anything (within the rules) goes. (Commonly broken rules: don't talk about an ongoing pregnancy outside the weekly BFP thread; don't ask for success stories.)

You can find the wiki here!

Don't forget to check out our themed threads:

• Moody Monday
• Temping Tuesday
• Waiting Wednesday
• Wondering Wednesday
• Trying Again Thursday
• Thankful Thursday
• Health and Wellness Thursday
• Looking Forward Friday
• Wondering Weekend
• 35 and Ova

There's also the Weekly Introductions and Read Me Thread, which contains links to all sorts of handy bits of info, like popular wiki posts and acronyms.

Hi everyone,
I'm 27 and have been struggling a bit with how lonely TTC can feel.

My first pregnancy wasn't planned. It happened much sooner than expected, and although it ended in a miscarriage, the experience changed something in me. Before that, I didn't spend much time thinking about becoming a parent. Since then, it's been hard to think about anything else.

The difficult part is that I don't really have anyone to talk to about it. My family thinks I am too young and doesn't really understand why I‘d already be trying.
Most of my friends are in a completely different stage of life, so conversations about ovulation tests, the two-week wait, symptom spotting, testing anxiety, or pregnancy loss just don't happen. Sometimes it feels like I'm carrying around this huge part of my life without being able to talk about it openly.

I find myself counting DPOs, overthinking symptoms, trying to decide when to test, convincing myself to stay calm, then getting hopeful anyway. I know many of you probably understand that cycle. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me whether this cycle will be the cycle. I know nobody can know that. I think I'm more looking for people who understand what it's like to be in this strange in-between phase of life where TTC becomes such a big part of your mental space, but you don't really have anyone in your day-to-day life who gets it.

Has anyone else felt this way?
How do you cope with the isolation?
Did anyone find TTC friends, accountability buddies, or just people to check in with during the TWW?
Are there any communities you can recommend on Reddit?

Honestly, I think I'd just love to have someone to exchange messages with about testing, symptom spotting, frustrations, hopes, and all the things that are really hard to explain to people who haven't been through it.

Thanks for reading 🧡✨

I tested positive on my LH strips for three days—the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Today (the 5th) they’re completely negative. When do you think I actually ovulated?
We baby danced every day that I had a positive LH test. Do you think we’ve covered our bases, or should we baby dance again tonight just to be safe? I really don’t want to miss my window!
We’ve been trying for nine months, and I’m really hoping this is finally our month. I’ve even been trying the Mucinex hack, and it feels like we’ve lined everything up as perfectly as we can this cycle—medications, ovulation tracking, timing, everything.
The only thing throwing me off is that my Oura Ring and Natural Cycles app both think I may be ovulating today. Has anyone had this happen where your LH tests turned negative, but your app still predicted ovulation? I’d love to hear your thoughts or experiences!

This is a thread for TFABers of AMA (advanced maternal awesomeness)! TTC past 35 comes with its own challenges -- discuss (and rant about) them here. Like the Pirate's Code, "35 and over" is more of a guideline.

Been trying since November 2024, always had perfect 31 day cycles. had a chemical in September and I’m convinced my body has never recovered hormonally.

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. I had anovulatory cycle last month so I thought my body was finally getting back to normal.

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.

I’m so convinced I’ve left it too late. I’m 30 now and I’m convinced I’ve missed my chance.

Context TW MC:

I’m 34. Trying for 13 months. 2 chemical pregnancies. Only known medical condition is Hashimtos which is monitored by endocrinologist.

I‘ve had routine blood work as well as all my hormones tested and nothing stands out. My periods have always been regular and while they aren’t pleasant, I don’t see any obvious signs of endo or PCOS.

Where do I go from here in the “order of operations”? There are sooo many tests one can get, but I don’t know where to start. [FWIW I will never do IVF (personal reasons) so any tests that are more suited for that path aren’t ones I want to focus on.]

So what’s next? Pelvic ultrasound? HSG? Sperm analysis? Are there any other tests to look into? This can get expensive and overwhelming so I’m trying to be strategic.

Anything (within the rules) goes. (Commonly broken rules: don't talk about an ongoing pregnancy outside the weekly BFP thread; don't ask for success stories.)

You can find the wiki here!

Don't forget to check out our themed threads:

• Moody Monday
• Temping Tuesday
• Waiting Wednesday
• Wondering Wednesday
• Trying Again Thursday
• Thankful Thursday
• Health and Wellness Thursday
• Looking Forward Friday
• Wondering Weekend
• 35 and Ova

There's also the Weekly Introductions and Read Me Thread, which contains links to all sorts of handy bits of info, like popular wiki posts and acronyms.

I wanted to share my story in case it helps someone else or someone is going through something similar.

I have PCOS/PMOS and my OB-GYN had me do three rounds of letrozole. During my second round, I told her I wasn’t feeling right. I felt off, but she told me it was probably just the medication, so I trusted her and kept going.

During my third round, things changed. Around May 20, I started having pain on the right side of my body, mostly around my waist and pelvis. I called my OB-GYN’s office, and they told me she was changing practices and didn’t have time to see me. I later found out she was actually still seeing patients through the end of June. That was incredibly frustrating because I felt completely abandoned.

I ended up in the ER. They checked for kidney stones, gallbladder issues, appendicitis, and other possible causes. Everything came back normal, so they sent me home with pain medication.

About a week later, I was back in the ER because the pain had become unbearable. Walking hurt so much. By then, the pain wasn’t just in my pelvis anymore, it radiated down my right leg, through the right side of my torso, into my right arm, and even the right side of my head. Again, I was sent home with pain medication.

I followed up with my primary care doctor, who thought it might be muscular, so I was treated for that. Because the pain seemed to get worse around my period, I also found a new OB-GYN. He did an ultrasound and said everything looked okay. My right ovary was enlarged, but he said it wasn’t above the size where they would normally worry about complications.

The pain never went away.

After almost a month of limited movement, pain, and constantly wondering what was wrong with me, my doctors ordered an MRI. The MRI showed an ovarian cyst, so they ordered another ultrasound.

While waiting for those results, I was still in significant pain and honestly felt like nobody was really listening. I went back to the OB-GYN, and this time he told me I had a large corpus luteum cyst. Again, I was told that although it was large, it wasn’t over the size threshold where they would normally recommend surgery or consider it high risk. I was told my body would eventually absorb it.
A few days later, I ended up back in the ER.

This time I could barely walk. I was nauseous, dizzy, and in severe pain. The cyst had ruptured. I had internal bleeding and needed emergency laparoscopic surgery.
I’m recovering now, both physically and mentally, but this has honestly been one of the hardest experiences I’ve ever gone through.

The reason I’m sharing this isn’t to scare anyone. Many ovarian cysts resolve on their own, and many people never have complications. But I do want to encourage people to listen to their bodies. Just because something isn’t considered “large enough” or “high risk” on paper doesn’t mean your symptoms should be ignored.

If you feel like something isn’t right, keep advocating for yourself. Ask questions. Ask for additional testing if your symptoms keep getting worse. Get a second opinion if you need one. I wish I had pushed harder instead of assuming everything was okay because I was repeatedly told it wasn’t dangerous.

The surgeon told me it’s possible the letrozole contributed to the development of the cyst. I don’t know if that’s exactly what happened, but I do wish my original OB-GYN had taken my concerns more seriously instead of dismissing them.

The past couple of months have been filled with pain, anxiety, frustration, and feeling helpless. Thankfully, my family was there for me every step of the way.

If you’re dealing with PCOS, infertility treatments, or ovarian cysts, know that you’re not alone. I truly hope none of you ever have to go through what I did.

Has anyone else experienced a ruptured corpus luteum cyst after letrozole or fertility treatment?

[removed]

That question you've been wanting to ask, but just didn't want to feel silly. Now's your chance! No question is too big or too small. This thread will be checked all weekend, so feel free to chime in on Saturday or Sunday!

For those who are not going mechanically about this, the journey of having a healthy baby starts at "Oh I didn't get my periods and it's been a few days, let me check, oh wow I am pregnant! Let me tell my husband!". Then the anxieties they face are: is there a heartbeat? Is baby growing properly? Carried to term? Breathing? Living?

I hate that I have to struggle and be anxious about so many things before I even reach that point. And I don't know if I'll even get that moment when I tell my husband and we rejoice.

There are soooooo many points of failures. Will my follicles grow? Will I get a dominant follicle? Will that follicle have an egg? Is the letrozole working properly? Did the egg grow fast enough that it can be triggered? Is that pain ovulation? Is that pain a brain bleed? Is that pain a liver or kidney problem because of the thousands of supplements and medicines I'm consuming? I am having a terrible headache because of letrozole and will having the Tylenol be another burden on my liver? Is the endometrium thick enough? I'm spotting/bleeding everyday - am I losing all my chances this cycle? Did the trigger work? Did the egg get fertilised? Is the resulting embryo viable? Did it get implanted? Did my body accept it?

I am getting so burned out at every scan, filled with anxiety that I wonder if I'll have any will power left for the rest of the journey.

Every woman around me has had miscarriages at least once before they had their babies. I'm working so hard to get a single positive. Spending so much money on scans and letrozole and trigger and medications to maintain endometrium and blah blah blah. At this point I'm wondering if it'd be cheaper to go for IVF. My 4 letrozole + TI cycles will equal the cost of IVF.

I'm trying so hard to not let this process consume me, but it's difficult when my body reminds me everyday with something or the other paining.

I have PCOS. So it's not like we can just try naturally for a year. I ovulated ~4 times last year (assumedly, wasn't tracking, but those cycles were on time). And those were the time we couldn't pursue this because my husband was traveling.

I wish we could just close our eyes and try having sex in an 8 day period for 12 months. But noooooo. No such options. We aren't made of money. We can't keep spending on supplements (for both husband and me because his SA is just normal and can get worse because stress). We can't keep spending on scans and taking a mid-work break for going there to get that done.

It feels so unfair! I want someone to blame and that isn't going to work, so in the end I blame myself. Rationally, I even know I have no control over this. My mom and aunt and cousin all have PCOS. My dad has diabetes from his side of the family. I was bound to get this. But it feels like, if I could control SOMETHING, that would be great. I am driving myself nuts over this.

Last year, a friend had announced their pregnancy and I had felt kinda neutral. A little jealous, but really happy for her. But now? If someone comes and announces they are pregnant and they weren't even trying and they don't know how it happened, I might stab something. What do you mean you weren't even trying!

And I know that's horrible because this isn't a zero sum game. And I should be happy for them but it's so hard. I am angry at an imaginary friend announcing their imaginary pregnancy. I've lost my mind, obviously.

Bleeding, but still having pregnancy symptoms. Still feel pregnant. Good morning. Today is day 2 of bright red bleeding. I'm currently 14 days dpo. I'm still nauseous, still feeling the cramps in the middle of my abdominal area, still with a very heightened sense of smell, headaches, chills occasionally. My period symptoms have never felt like THIS. Everything lines up to an early pregnancy. I took a test at 10 dpo, and it was negative, but I'm telling you something in my body is different.

Typically, my period wouldn't give me cramps until the day of and they're horrible. I've been having MILD cramps in the middle of my abdominal area for a week and a half-ish now.

I am going to wait until the 10th to take another test, but I am wondering if bleeding would affect hcg levels on an early detection test? Could it still be a possibility I would be pregnant if my ovulation date was a little later than I thought. It could've "happened" on the 7th, 10th, 15th, 19th, or 22nd of June. It was unprotected. Online it said my ovulation date would've been the 19th, but I wonder if it was later or earlier, could I still be pregnant?

My best friend had her period and then found out she was pregnant with her second a week later, so I know it's possible but I think just hearing it from someone else would help me feel a little more at ease.

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some insight from people who have had similar experiences.
I have lean PCOS, hypothyroidism, and a recent AMH of 11 ng/mL.

I have two questions:
1. Ovulation kits without cervical mucus
I rarely notice fertile cervical mucus around my cycle. Can I still rely on ovulation predictor kits (LH strips) to identify my ovulation days, or are they less accurate in women with lean PCOS? Has anyone successfully tracked ovulation using OPKs despite not having noticeable cervical mucus?

2. AMH increase
My AMH was 7.6 ng/mL in December 2025, and it’s 11 ng/mL in June 2026. Is this kind of increase common, or could it be due to differences between labs, testing methods, or changes in ovarian function?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences or anything your doctor has told you about these situations.
Thanks in advance!

Hello Everybody.

My wife and I have been trying to get pregnant for over one year. She is 33 and I am 44. Turns out the problem was me. I had my sperm checked and it was a disaster with only 9 million per ml and 5% mobility. I had done several checks on myself. Physically, there was nothing wrong with me after reviewing blood work, scrotal ultrasound. Just a very low sperm count. So I started looking at my habits. I had been using Nicotine Pouches/Snus for the last 16 years. The nicotine I was using delivered 3mg of Nicotine per pouch and I used several ones a day.

I quit cold turkey February 28th. No cheating even once. Four months later my sperm count its 89 million PER ML with a 65% mobility. Just had a consultation with my urologist. He says I am now in the normal range and there is nothing for him to do. All I have to do is try with my wife and I should be able to conceive.

So Nicotine its poison for sperm, it really its. If you are a guy all you have to do if you use nicotine its stop taking that poison. Not cut back, cut it out completely, cold turkey. Just do it.

35 and have been trying for 8 months without success. Finally bit the bullet and saw a specialist in June. Spent late June and the start of this month testing - and now can’t get back into see the specialist until late August. Was initially meant to see her early August - so I would have only had one cycle without the results and potential intervention.

I had a hycosy two days ago and they measured my follicles. There’s not many, and the best one was 9mm. I’m day 11 of my cycle now and I got a positives on two ovulation urine tests today - which is insanely early and I think it means my follicles aren’t large enough for me to have a mature egg in there.

I’ve done exactly what I shouldn’t do, and have read the report from my hycosy and have googled it all. I know there’s things you can do to stimulate follicle growth before trying IVF and I’m so frustrated that I’m wasting time and months, eggs and follicles, because the specialist is on leave and then is moving offices.

I’m not sure what the point of my post is really, other than just to rant to people who might get it. We aren’t really talking to our friends and family about this and so I’m just ruminating alone and trying not to make my partner as depressed as I am!

I have one friend in particular who asks me if I’m pregnant every time I see her and it’s starting to wind me up because why does she think that’s even an appropriate question to ask. This woman is old enough to know better.

I also don’t know what she hopes to get from asking? She doesn’t know that we’re ttc and she has no idea that this is cycle 9, soon to be 10 this weekend. I feel like there’s limited outcomes to asking this.

Scenario 1- yes I am but it’s early on and we haven’t told anyone (putting me in an awkward position)
Scenario 2- No I’m not but I’m actively trying and haven’t been successful yet (very hurtful, and also my current situation which I don’t want to talk to her about)
Scenario 3- I’ve just had a loss. (If she’d have asked me just after my loss I don’t think I would have been able to hold back tears)
Scenario 4- No I’m not and I have no interest in being pregnant for reasons that are none your your business (I can’t imaging how annoying it would be to be constantly asked)
Scenario 5- infertility, I want to be but can’t. (Very hurtful)

I could kind of brush it off once or twice but she asks me every time, even when she can see me with a drink in my hand. I’ve replied a few times with why would I be drinking alcohol. She saw me have one alcoholic drink another time and then switch to soft drinks, (work night) but wouldn’t drop it. She even replied to my Instagram stories to say I look happy I must be pregnant. Short of punching her in the face (joking- unless she catches me on a very bad day) how do people deal with these nosy clueless people??

I’ve been trying for 2 years naturally. It hasn’t happened yet. It’s depressing but it is what it is, I’m working on it. But does anyone else just have this seething, burning jealousy when someone else gets pregnant?

Two of my little cousins got pregnant at the same time last year and gave birth within a week. While I was so happy for them I was ultimately sad for me. But I know that’s not fair, so I keep it to myself and just smile for them and support them and am nothing but positive.

It’s like people close to me can sense the sadness in me though. They always come to me privately and ask me if I’m okay and apologize to me. Which is sweet because I know they care about me but I just want to scream “yes I am okay! People get pregnant! They didn’t do anything TO me by getting pregnant and I am happy for them!” But also yes I am sad lol I try not to get hung up on the “it’s not fair” thinking but it’s hard.

Mother’s Day we went to visit my husband’s grandma and she gave us two crisp bicentennial $2 bills. She said “It’s a keepsake for your kids if you ever have them wink wink”. (My husband is a total grandmas boy and she is probably literally the only person he wouldn’t have told to stfu for saying that but he did acknowledge it to me and apologized later) I started my period that night.

This week his little sister who just got out of prison 8 months ago announced she is pregnant to us. Another round of undeserved check ups and apologies to me from my loved ones and then I started my period that night again. Early!

I just feel so discouraged. I also have PMDD and my pms and period itself take me out for about half the month. I just want my life back. I want to be normal and have my baby and get back on my birth control for my PMDD. I want to be like all the other women around be happy with their little families. I DON’T want to be a bitter jealous person whenever an announcement is made. I want to just be happy for others and I am but it’s hard.

Sorry for the long vent but has anyone else felt like this?

Anything (within the rules) goes. (Commonly broken rules: don't talk about an ongoing pregnancy outside the weekly BFP thread; don't ask for success stories.)

You can find the wiki here!

Don't forget to check out our themed threads:

• Moody Monday
• Temping Tuesday
• Waiting Wednesday
• Wondering Wednesday
• Trying Again Thursday
• Thankful Thursday
• Health and Wellness Thursday
• Looking Forward Friday
• Wondering Weekend
• 35 and Ova

There's also the Weekly Introductions and Read Me Thread, which contains links to all sorts of handy bits of info, like popular wiki posts and acronyms.

Hi everyone,

Just curious if there has been anyone else in my boat.

Struggling with fertility issues for 2 years. After coming off the pill I wasn’t ovulating and my lining stayed thin. Last year I began Gonal F injections (lining stayed thin) but I fell pregnant immediately. It ended with a miscarriage at 8 weeks. Following this we did a hysteroscopy, found there was an infection in my uterus. Treated this but my lining still lagged.

Now we are doing Gonal F alternating 75/87units a day and Progynova 2mg once a day. My lining has improved to 6.2mm but always plateaus here and has for 3 cycles now. My lining is trilaminar, which is good though and I usually trigger around day 17 with timed intercourse … but continue to have negative HCG.

It’s incredibly frustrating. I don’t think it’s about my body not having enough estrogen… because I did recently have a 28mm follicle and my bloods showed my estrogen was over 2000. We thought my lining might have thickened with this but it did not budge and stayed at 6.2. I’ve been told I’ve got good blood flow too … so what gives?

Wondering if adding vaginal Estrogen would be better? Has anyone had better results with this but doing TI (we are not ready for IVF just yet).

Also considering acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Ready to start sleeping next to crystals because at this point I’ll try anything!

Thanks!

TL;DR: I’m trying not to feel resentful as I cut down on caffeine, focus on whole foods, exercise (work in progress), track cycles, log tests — while it feels like DH is giving minimal effort

We’ve been TTC for 5 cycles (with some intermittent “if it happens, it happens” cycles before that) — so I know we are relatively early in this process BUT

My husband unfortunately let his health slip pretty significantly over the past two years due to being unhappy at work and self-medicating with food and alcohol. Plus, at 33, his family history is coming to roost, although it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy to some degree.

Anyway, he’s trying. He’s been working on changing his habits and has lost 20 lbs. He also works about 60 hours a week making good money, has stopped drinking (or cut back 95%), and has agreed to join me in couple’s therapy to strengthen our marriage and learn more about communication, emotional regulation, handling conflict, etc. (I’m a big fan of therapy; I think it’s good for everyone in all seasons).

Alas, he’s still pretty overweight and his labs still show evidence of MASLD (fatty liver). He’s taking oral Wegovy, which has improved his glucose control, but I can’t get him to exercise or invest in really understanding proper nutrition. He knows the basics, but if he’s not doing the obviously bad things (fast food, junk food) then he feels like it’s “good enough”.

Am I asking for too much? Just being impatient? Letting the TTC stress/disappointment get to me? (As I write this, I’m 12dpo and staring at another negative test.)