r/whatworkedforme

Context..

Been married for x years. Been diagnosed with unknown infertility. Where do we go from here? Tried the lowest dose of letrozole, moved up to the higher dose of 7.5 and a trigger shot, and flow is due in a few days. I feel her coming. It's discouraging to continually go through this process, especially when we're both mostly healthy people. We don't drink, don't smoke, don't do those things they say not to do. Not overweight. My husband works a physical labor job, and I work at my own job/jobs. Switched from another clinic, to the one I've been going to. All around a better clinic, but still not pregnant. Where do we go, it's discouraging. We're both Christians as well. Thanks. Has anyone else been through this? And what did you both do? Thanks. I'll add, we're waiting to speak to a NaPro doctor at the end of this month, and yes hubby is older than me but his analysis was normal. God healed him, and both of our families on both sides all have many kids. I even have a child from my ex 12 years ago, not sure why we're going through this now, help please, thanks!!

I promised myself if we ever were successful I'd give an overview of our journey because I don't know how many nights I was up searching 'recurrent chemicals all around 5 weeks' or the result of any number of blood tests + 'infertility'.

Tldr: APS, family history of autoimmune diseases, progesterone, heparin, aspirin, hydroxychloroquine. UK-based.

My husband and I started trying back in 2022 when I had my iud taken out. We were just married and excited to try. I was 30 and my husband 38.

After 10 months of negative tests, routinely doing LH testing, following the old 'sperm meets egg' routine, we got worried and went private for testing. Everything came back normal. My AMH was i think 17nmol? or something pretty lower end of the middle range, nothing to worry about. Husband's sperm was good.

I got pregnant that month. Then was quickly not pregnant and my period arrived.

Another 6 months and we got pregnant again. Same thing happened. Around the 5 week mark, I got my period. Like the last time, we were watching the line progress for maybe 3 days and then begin to fade.

I was getting a bit panicked. Called my gp who was honestly, horrible. I told her about my family's history of autoimmune diseases (immediate family has chrohns, myasthenia gravis, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis - thats my mum, dad and brother) she told me there was nothing wrong because blood tests did not show I had active inflammation.

After probably another 6 months, I was probably at my lowest. It felt pretty hopeless and like no one was helping or bothered. We tried the GP one more time and fortunately I got a different doctor to talk to and she was amazing. Listened to our history, believed that we should have recurrent miscarriage testing despite only having 2 chemicals rather than 3.

A few months after that we got the results. All normal except for APS IgM anticardiolipin antibodies. We had to wait 12 weeks before having a second test. In that time I had a third chemical.

Once I was properly diagnosed with APS, our new doctor at the recurrent miscarriage unit of the hospital gave us a plan for what would happen if I got pregnant again: aspirin, heparin and progesterone. I also joined a clinical trial (HYPATIA) where I was either put on a placebo or hydroxychloroquine, and I would be on that a year, or longer if I got pregnant.

So, we waited 10 months, by this point it had probably been maybe 3.2 years of trying. The wait was driving us mad, but with the clinical trial we had regular access to our doctor.

At this point, we decided to go for IVF. We did not qualify for IVF on the NHS, which was just... a bitch slap. We had been pregnant in the last 2 years, so no chance for us, even though every doctor we talked to seemed uncertain if chemicals 'counted'. Our doctor i think took pity on us a little and did a lot of the tests we needed before starting IVF for free.

We did one round, got four mature fertilised embryos, 3 were euploid (PGTA tested). Did our first FET this December, medicated. Had heparin, aspirin and progesterone. Another chemical. Second FET - natural - 2 months later. This one did nothing, no implantation.

By this point, we were really having a think about what would happen if this didn't work. We had paid for another 2 cycles, but at the 3 year mark, I was actually starting to make peace with not ever having a baby. We talked to our recurrent miscarriage doctor and our IVF doctor, who actually worked closely with our other doctor, to see what we could do. We decided to try EMMA/ALICE testing and for my husband to have DNA fragmentation testing.

As the clinical trial had ended, my doctor also said why not try hydroxychloroquine, just in case I was previously on the placebo.

Two weeks later, I was pregnant again. I already had heparin and progesterone at home so immediately started taking that. This was the first time we saw the line actually get dark. I'm 13 weeks now and everything is going great!

Was it the hydroxychloroquine? No idea, it could have just been luck, but considering my family history of autoimmune diseases, I wouldn't be surprised if there was something autoimmune causing the issue and impacting implantation, whether that was APS or something else.

Hi,

31y.o, 167cm 51 kg. TTC for 17 months now. Every test came as normal including HSG. My AMH 2.25 which is igood for my age. Never got pregnant even chemical one. I’m not sure what to do anymore. I want IVF but I fear that it’s not gonna happen in the first one. No idea what t o do:(

I am 24F in a long term exclusive relationship. I do not have PCOS, but I do have long periods (usually 14 days start to end). I do not want kids.

Hi yall, my husband and i are going through the process of looking at some sort of fertility treatments. We’ve been trying for quite a bit with no results, so i booked an appointment at a local fertility clinic to get more insight. I tested myself at my obgyn earlier this year for my hormone panels and everything looked good on my side, along with very regular cycles. My husband however had some issues with low morphology and low volume when he did his semen analysis. I wanted to know how the process looks going into fertility clinics, will they retest us both for everything again? We are both super ready for kids and would love to be pregnant by this year, is that typically feasible with fertility clinics? How long does it take to start IUI? or some kind of treatment. Would love any insight or advice here

TW: miscarriage, live birth.

While going through the trenches I loved to read success stories of people who struggled with ivf, it gave me hope, which allowed me to keep going. I figured I’ll share my story in case it helps someone.

Here’s the long breakdown of my fertility journey (unexplained infertility):

Ivf round one: 10 eggs, 8 mature, 6 fertilized, 5 embryos, 4 euploids.
Fet 1 - euploid, medicated protocol, fail
Fet 2 - euploid, medicated, added blood thinner and steroids, chemical
Fet 3 - euploid, medicated, added blood thinner and steroids, blighted ovum
Fet 4 - removed blood thinner as no indication after testing, tried Lupron but for 1 month only, fail

Ivf round two: 8 eggs, 7 fertilized, 5 embryos.
Didn’t test them as our euploid rate was good. New doc offered to do half conventional half icsi fertilization to throw some natural selection in the mix.
ET5 - fresh, icsi embryo, fail
FET6 - icsi embryo, modified natural, fail (suspect I might have been triggered too early but who knows).

I always suspected endo, and endo mapping showed some minor spots, so finally decided to do a lap. Doc found only 2 spots, so very minimal but still removed it.

FET7 - conventional embryo, figured that I only ever had implantation on blood thinners, so we added that and steroids back in, modified natural but this time waited for my natural LH surge.

Got a positive test on 4dpt but on 8dpt got bright red bleeding and tests got lighter, convinced that it’s over. The next day tests started darkening again so I was convinced it must be another blighted ovum (that’s how tests behaved for me). Beta was 52 on 9dpt so on a lower side, after it doubled well I was still convinced it’s doomed so got more betas done which slowed in doubling after 1000, further making me believe it’s another blighted ovum. To my surprise, 7 week ultrasound showed a fetal pole and a strong heartbeat. Pregnancy progressed well and relatively easy. I gave birth to a baby girl in March and while post partum has been challenging, the joy is unmatched and sometimes I still can’t believe that I finally made it to the other side.

Done all tests . All negative

Doctor said only HLA typing is some test left. If my husband’s and mine genome is same embryo will not implant in body.

She said either we will have to change sperm or egg.

Anyone in the same boat or know about this?

I was told I have “mild” PCOS due to 1.8:1 FSH/LH ratio, and my right ovary shows 10+ AFC, I have no other symptoms. My cycles are regular, I ovulate late and have a 7 day luteal phase, on metformin but it hasn’t helped. I think it’s androgen driven.

I have hypothyroid. I take .75 mcg levo and Liothyronine.

And I also suspect I have endometriosis. I don’t have many classic symptoms of that either but my uterus is retroverted and tilts pretty severely to the left. I also get debilitating pelvic cramps with any type of cardio exercise. Considering all of my issues I feel IVF is my best bet but am worried if that would even work. Has anyone with all these problems ever had success?

I want to share all this for two reasons, 

1. I managed to get pregnant within 90 days after making these changes and I know we're all excited about protocols that worked when they're available, and: 

2. I also built an AI tool that captures the entire process that got me pregnant that I'd like to market. I won't be naming it or promoting it here, but I do have an ask at the end. I'm sure mods will remove if its inappropriate

In February 2025 we had been trying to get pregnant for about a year. I was 36 at the time and had an AMH of 0.28 and my AFC was between 3-4 (one may have been a cyst. I had them on both sides). It didn't look great. Period lasted just over 3 days and my cycle was 23-25 days, with a couple of outliers at 20-21 days within the last year. FSH was 10. 

We did all the testing with a fertility specialist but ultimately I knew I didn't have the emotional or mental stores in me to endure something like IVF, and while my husband was discouraged by that he understood. His sperm was fantastic, which was great, just not for my ego. 

I ended up spending about a month going back and forth with chatgpt, perplexity and deepseek to see if I could solve anything myself. It suggested I had estrogen dominance based on some of my values and symptoms and I was on my way to treating it with dietary and supplement changes. A year ago I posted the prompt I used to analyze my Inito results if you want a detailed breakdown of exactly what I gave it. Here's some of the things I did and the impact I think it had: 

Gluten free: didn't do much. I'd still rate this highly because apparently 80% of the celiac community remains undiagnosed, and you don't have to be celiac to have a gluten intolerance that still wreaks havoc on your gut. I just didn't happen to have either one. A big perk though, is that by extension you also basically carve out processed sugars; basically all of your favorite packaged snacks have gluten in them. GF also forced me to get more creative with my mealprep and I ended up replacing all the bread and pasta I would have eaten with actual nutrition. Choose GF or Sugar Free and stick with it. 

Dairy free: HUGE deal for me. You can't milk a cow who isnt pregnant or recently given birth, and the estrogen levels are pretty high even if you buy organic. I was snacking on so many mini mozzarella balls and putting cottage cheese in my pasta sauce thinking I'd found a protein hack. Tracking in Inito, it took a single cycle when I went dairy free for my green estrogen line to be way less steep throughout my cycle. 

Supplements: Myo-inositol: great for anyone with insulin resistance, particularly with a PCOS diagnosis (not me). But I was coming off a high sugar diet so this was probably helpful anyway. I mixed it with a nightly cup of bone broth for the gut benefit there. 

Magnesium Glycinate: your body needs it but can't produce it naturally. The first time I took it I felt like I was melting into my bed at night. It doesn't make you sleepy but it will relax your muscles a bit, if you're deficient you'll feel it more. 

Melatonin: fantastic for ovarian and egg health. The sleep benefits wear off after a few nights. A must if your ovarian reserve is low and you want to improve the quality of what's left. 

Mega food Prenatal: after doing my middle of the night research sessions this one turned up as a high quality one to take

NAC: this tackled the estrogen dominance from the other side; going dairy free cut off the supply of excess estrogen, and NAC helped my liver process what was already overwhelming the system. Again, in a single cycle this was corrected in my Inito chart. 

Alternative therapies: 
Red light therapy: GO DO THIS unless you have a contraindication, at least two wavelengths, in the 600 and 800 range, panel is better than a mask. Aim for every other day, 10-15 minutes. Two large studies linked this to higher pregnancy and birth rates in Japanese and Dutch women. Hold over neck (thyroid), not ovaries if you want to copy these protocols. I did full body panels at a functional medicine doctors office and I now have my own panel at home (about $170) with 5 wavelengths. The more wavelengths you stack the deeper it penetrates; masks will generally only go skin deep as their purpose is to help with collagen production, which is why you want a panel. 

Acupuncture: 3 sessions total, I've read it takes at least 8 to see an impact as far as fertility. Pricey and requires a bigger commitment, ymmv. I haven't seen as many studies done on this as RLT, and don't think it made a huge difference for me in the end. 

Prescriptions: 
Oral Progesterone. After 3 cycles of maintaining this protocol, Inito said my progesterone had dropped significantly (it used to be healthy/on the higher side). I went to my OBGYN to get a blood test for it and she offered to just prescribe it if I didn't want to wait for results. I'm not sure how big an impact this had on me becoming pregnant because I got my BFP like 5 days into taking it at 3w3d, but I recommend it over progesterone creams because it's guaranteed to be more effective.

Results: Pregnancy, yes. 

But also, I got rid of premenstrual night sweats that I'd been dealing with for close to 15 years and just dismissed as PMS-- turns out estrogen dominance will do that. This took 2 cycles.

Eliminated my alcohol intolerance. This had developed over the prior 2-3 years and I had dismissed it as my body just becoming older.  Also related to estrogen dominance, which was a huge discovery for me. I didn't realize this was even a symptom until cycle 3 after making all these changes, and had been avoiding drinking anyway, so I don't know exactly how long it took to get rid of.
My cycle was now 28 days long and I was bleeding for over 4 days (both an improvement). No night sweats, alcohol intolerance eliminated, my energy levels were even all day and even my moods were better. 

Now the ask: I've built my AI tool because I really feel it could fill the gap between struggling and going straight to IVF. This seems to be what's recommended to all of us without any additional testing until you're with a  specialist, which is infuriating.  

The way it works is you can enter symptoms and values manually or upload images of your charts (Inito, Mira, etc.) and/or labs. The more information you give it the more specific the analysis it can make. It cross references all of the data you provide and spots patterns that may be impacting your ability to conceive.

None of the outputs will include medication or other clinical suggestions other than what markers to ask your doctor to test. The protocol section includes dietary guidance, supplement suggestions with contraindications, and alternative therapies (RLT, acupuncure, etc.)

I don't keep any of the information you enter other than name and email so that the generated pdf reaches you. I'm using Anthropic to analyze/generate the reports but I can't read or access anything you submit for analysis. 

What I'm looking for is a handful of women willing to test out my tool for free and offer feedback; DM me and I'll send you the link and a 100% off coupon code. 

We'll have to use the honor code because obviously I can't chase down anyone who uses it and ghosts me. I genuinely appreciate anyone willing to honestly participate.

My background: started TTC at 24 years old, currently 33. Always had textbook ovulation and regular cycles. Preliminary fertility testing after a year of trying showed slightly low AMH for my age but no other issues with myself or my husband. After several years and 2 egg retrievals with abysmal results, I was eventually diagnosed with silent endo and underwent laparoscopic excision in 2023, after which I tried naturally for another 6 months before heading back into the IVF world.

My next cycle of IVF yielded transferable embryos, and my first FET resulted in my first ever positive pregnancy test! This was in November 2024. Unfortunately, my betas did not double, and I experienced a chemical pregnancy loss at 5 weeks 2 days.

I underwent 2 more egg retrievals to try to bank some embryos before doing my second FET in November 2025, which failed to implant.

After this, my RE sent me to a reproductive immunologist, and the testing he did yielded no immune issues. So that was a dead end.

My RE then suggested a hysteroscopy with endometrial scratch in preparation for my next FET. I had the procedure in early January 2026. We gave a month for my body to recover from the procedure, and the plan was to start the FET process with my next cycle. Except my period never came! After 8.5 years of trying and never once seeing a spontaneous positive pregnancy test, I was unexpectedly pregnant. I am currently 23 weeks with what seems to be a perfectly healthy baby girl!

It’s unclear to myself or my doctor what can explain this success after so many years, but our best guess is that the hysteroscopy (in which she removed a small fibroid) and endometrial scratch brought my uterus to an optimal state, and everything else aligned with sperm and egg for a healthy embryo creation that month. But truly, it’s a crapshoot. I was told so many times before that a procedure or circumstance can increase chances: people are more fertile after an HSG, or after a pregnancy loss, or after excision surgery for endo… but none of those things made a difference for me. And I am sure there are many others who have underwent hysteroscopy/endometrial scratch and still not gotten pregnant. So I don’t want to suggest my experience is some sort of magical fertility pill; but if it’s been a while and you’ve exhausted other options, perhaps this is something to talk to with your RE. If it increases your chances by even a little, it might be worth a shot!

Trying to conceive since April 2025

Hi everyone,
I am 34 years old, I’ve been trying to conceive since April 2025, and I’m feeling stuck. I’m wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.
Here’s my situation:
Trying to conceive since April 2025.
My cycles are usually 30–35 days.
I consistently get positive LH strips around day 18-20 and have had Day 21/7 DPO progesterone tests confirming that I’m ovulating.
I’ve completed 3 cycles of letrozole without success, completed 2 IUI with no success
My husband’s semen analysis came back completely normal.
I’ve had an HSG, ultrasounds, and pretty much every fertility test( Day 3 test) and everything has come back normal.
The only abnormal findings are:
HbA1c: 5.8% (prediabetic range)
Low SHBG (sex hormone-binding globulin)
Elevated testosterone, i have attached my reports as well
However, my ultrasounds don’t show polycystic ovaries
I’m starting to wonder if insulin resistance could be the main issue, even without a PCOS diagnosis. Has anyone here had elevated testosterone, low SHBG, and prediabetes but no polycystic ovaries, and still found that insulin resistance was affecting fertility? I have been taking Myo-inositol, multivitamins, CoQ10 x 1 year.
If so:
Did treating insulin resistance (Metformin, inositol, weight loss, diet, etc.) help?
Were you eventually diagnosed with “lean” or atypical PCOS, or was it something else entirely? What helped you with the same result?

Unexplained infertility often has an explanation…further workups are usually needed (and typical doctors aren’t testing for these things).

Consider looking into the below:

- endometriosis (silent endo makes up ~30-50% of unexplained infertility)
- adenomyosis (sister disease of endo)
- luteal phase defect (short luteal phase/multiple days of spotting before period)
- autoimmune disorders
- chronic endometrITIS (test CD138 on a biopsy)
- thyroid issue (a full thyroid panel needs tested)
- sperm DNA fragmentation
- insulin resistance (also test A1C and fasting glucose)
- chronic inflammation
- Uterine structural anomalies

Hi everyone, my husband and I have been trying for around 7-8 months. My husband got his sperm analysis done, everything was normal except 2% morphology. We are now classified as subfertile and feeling pretty anxious about this. Anyone have any success stories with low morphology?

Dr says it’s up to me if I want to stop prednisone after a successful FET (11dpt) because “it really does nothing” - would you stop or continue? There’s a small risk of cleft palate with steroid exposure but don’t want to impact pregnancy

If you experienced secondary infertility, how did you find success?

background- in a same sex relationship so went right into fertility treatments. IUI worked for our first living child. Went back for #2 and experienced a CP, MC at 7 weeks, IUI fail, IUI fail, then moved to IVF and first transfer was a fresh transfer that resulted in another CP. Ive gotten everything tested other than endometriosis/endometritis and I do have high levels of APS, enough so that I finally got prescribed Lovenox. For karyotyping I did have a balanced inversion but no translocation. My thyroid just came back high at 5.81, but previously it’s always been low so will possible be treating that with medication as well. For my next transfer I plan to do lovenox and intralipid. Anything else I should explore?

Advice on what to do first regarding a fertility doctor, functional medicine, etc.?

Background: We have been TTC for a while and have been unsuccessful. I have PMOS as well.

We made several changes starting a year ago, including:
me: taking prenatals, DHA/BHA, & coq10 daily; Therologix ovasitol powder; anti-inflammatory diet; tracking BBT daily with NC app; I also track with LH strips (I use fertility friend and natural cycles’ paid subscriptions)
him: taking coq10 & zinc daily; strength training; anti-inflammatory diet
In luteal phase: pomegranate juice, coconut milk

Things we can work on that maybe aren’t the best:
stress management
Hydration/elexrrolyres

Things we will try this cycle (just started CD1 again today):
Pressed lube
Mucinex
Vitamin C supplements

We both are on poor health insurances. I am on Medicare currently, as I’m unemployed (full time graduate student).

I would like to go to the doctor (OBGYN or functional medicine) to get labs and a work up done (& preferably on him as well), but don’t know where to start. Where should I start that we could afford? And what should I test for?

Ideas of things to test for:
Low progesterone
Mthr
ureaplasma
Prolactin levels
Endometriosis
Ambulatory infertility
Sperm morphology/motility
Any other ideas?

We are located in Houston, TX. I would like to optimize our chances because I feel like we are running out of time, unfortunately. What do y’all recommend?

I’m 35F and have been going through fertility treatments for about a year, which include vaginal suppositories of progesterone to treat a luteal phase defect. I get my period 9-10dpo without progesterone and 13-14dpo with it.

I’ve already had two excision surgeries for endometriosis. I’ve had lots of other testing done and have yet to see one positive test.

Anyways, I’m not sure how much longer I can put up with progesterone. It makes me sad, irritable, exhausted, and bloated. I’ve gained weight and I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open. Getting through the workday is daunting.

I also have hypothyroidism — it’s treated and all my labs have been fine. I eat healthy 90% of the time, don’t smoke, exercise daily. Are there alternatives? It’s crazy that one tiny suppository is making me so miserable.

Hey, I appreciate the testimony of anyone who has experienced this or professionals that may help. Thanks!

I had a hysteroscopy 20 days ago, they made me take birth control pills for 5 days before that so the endometrium was thin. I had a mild septum corrected and scratching to remove overly thickened endometrium. 3 days after I had my period for depravation after stopping the pills before the procedure.

I had a revision 4 days ago (CD13) and my endometrium was measuring 9-10mm and the follicle 20x13mm.

I’m usually very regular, ovulate around day 14-15. I’m on CD17 now and NO LH surge whatsoever. I even had some minimal brown spotting today. What’s going on?? I need to know when I ovulate so I can start my progesterone supplementation.

Hi, I have been TTC for 2.5 years and finally got my prolactin checked and it’s high. It’s is 50.9 ug/L and the ref range is 4.2-28.2 ug/L. Is this super high or barely out of range like chat gpt says? (I can’t see my doctor for a week)

If you had high prolactin, how long did it take to conceive after finding out?

Okay, new cycle.. I got pregnant first try, but it ended in a chemical pregnancy. Nothing since. Currently day 2 of period .

This cycle I’m trying:
• Red raspberry leaf tea
• CoQ10
• Prenatal vitamins
• Brazil nuts
• Mucinex + Pre-Seed
• Sperm-friendly cervical cup

Has anyone had success with any of these? Or anything else you’d recommend?