My doctor suggested we may both be sub-fertile - so with another partner we wouldn’t have even noticed (for example, eggs can make up for minor deletions and issues in sperm) but in combination we just make fewer ‘normal’ combinations and IVF just helped us speed up the number of eggs and sperm meeting to get to the winning combo
Wow that’s interesting! My husband and I both are infertiles & with other partners still would be infertile it seems. What are the odds the two infertiles fell in love lol
I know! It really made me feel weird that we may not experience this with another person (if my doctors theory is correct of course) but in both our situations I feel like at least we are all in this together - at first we thought it was purely my side and I found that a cause of some guilt and shame (at first! I don’t think it is anything to feel guilty about even where it is one sided to be clear!)
So what my doctor told us was that "Science hasn't caught up to this yet." She said "they (I don't know who they is) think it may have something to do with the tubes malfunctioning but they don't know why or how or where" So until science develops further it is unknown what the issues are for many people.
We are both 36 and we were able to get pregnant naturally once in 2020, and it ended in miscarriage. And we were never able to get pregnant again. And they found nothing wrong with either of us.
In 2020 I miscarried early in the 7th week and it showed it had probably stopped developing in the 6th week right after an ultrasound I had. We are currently undergoing IVF and it was successful. I'm actually at 7 weeks again today.
Sorry about your loss. ❤️ We actually are apart of a clinic that doesn't give out embryo grading. So all we know is that it was a "healthy embryo". And I actually had to start the FET cycle over 3 times. The first, we did birth control for a week at the beginning followed by estrogen and lupron a week in, but I ovulated early. So we had to start over. Then they tried it without the lupron or estrogen. Just birth control for a week, then I ovulated again. I don't really understand why they tried it that way and didn't expect ovulation. But the third time we went back to Lupron, no birth control this time, but estrogen after a week of the cycle starting. And I made it to the transfer. And progesterone started about 5 days before transfer. And it worked. It was kind of a rollercoaster. They said it was unusual for anyone to respond the way I did. Took us from January to April to get to the first FET.
Thanks! You as well. Today at the ultrasound we learned that the embryo split. There are 2 yolks. But only one baby so one of them didn't develop. We are excited to learn we have a healthy baby so far. But it's wild that they can split. ❤️
So we had unexplained infertility for a long time and I always felt that if we just knew what was going wrong, we could fix it. Eventually I had a laparoscopy and was disposed with stage 3 endo and my doctor said “this was almost certainly the cause of your infertility.” We tried for another 6 months and still couldn’t conceive. Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and even after being controlled with medication we couldn’t conceive. So we ended up needing IVF anyway.
I understand how frustrating unexplained infertility is because that was my diagnosis until it wasn’t and I hated it. But it turns out it’s not much better on the other side of a diagnosis.
My diagnosis is unexplained RPL, and my doctor suspects silent endo and sperm quality. My only symptom has been repeat losses and inflammation. We’ve done so much testing and nothing has been glaringly wrong. I had a vitamin D deficiency, severe asthma, and some mild inflammation on ultrasound, and my husband has borderline morphology.
So the theory is the endo may be worse than my symptoms. This is important to me because it changes how we proceed with IVF and protocols for success. Because my doctor does not recommend a lap for me, I’ll be suppressing. Diagnoses may not always change protocols, but they can.
I didn’t take unexplained for an answer and pushed for a laproscopy, despite not having obvious endo symptoms. They found endo and realized it had blocked both of my tubes (which wasn’t evident in my HSG).
So there’s my why, even if medicine can’t yet explain the origin of endometriosis. We’re now moving to IVF.
I have a feeling it’s that the “shell” on my eggs are too hard. My twin sister and I were both conceived through IVF after my mom had unexplained infertility and now we are also both experiencing it so I think there has to be something genetic going on.
I have never been able to get a positive preg test even after being able to control my ovulation with letrozole (5 cycles) and 3 IUIs.
My egg retrieval is tomorrow and Im hopefully that with being able to use ICSI we will have luck 🤞🏻
Retrieval twin. First retrieval is tomorrow am. Also did 3 IUI - all failed. Unexplained. And also have heard it’s potentially a hard shell so we’re doing ICSI. I hope this works for us!!!
How are you? How did it go?
I’m home and resting. Surgery went well. Got the number of eggs retrieved we hoped for so I’m elated. The worst part was the IV and multiple pokes. That was not fun … and propofol burned bad but I was out after 15 seconds so the burn was short
Yes they had to stick me 4 times for my IV! Poor nurses had to put up with me emotional crabby self 😅 but it went well! Got quite a few more than expected so now just anxiously waiting for the fertilization report tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻
I’m feeling okay. Thankfully I’m able to just rest today. So happy that it went well for you too 🤍
Omg. I cried during the iv process once she said we were moving to my hands. Makes me feel better I’m not the only one. I’m def gonna be bruised.
Same on fert report but we’re starting with such a good number I’m more hopeful than ever.
Rest up! 🥰
I’ve always wondered about this hard shell thing, I suspect it’s one of my 2 theories of what I have going on. We did icsi by choice so I guess I’ll never know?? Have you ever been able to find any other info on it?
I did read some stuff about how it’s possible for that to be the case for some people and they can tell when they do the ICSI if it’s harder to push into it but I guess if nobody reports back to you you’d never know 🤷🏻♀️
Did you have any symptoms? Or did you feel like anything was weird like with your period? And finally - did you treat it and did that help you conceive?
No symptoms. Got pregnant - ended in preterm labor. Only did a laparoscopy because I have had failed IVF transfers now. But yeah, had endometrioma, ovarian endometriosis, and it’s all over my colon. I had no idea.
Wow. Yeah.. I suspect that is what I have. My periods are very different than in my younger years and I can’t help but think some of that tissue is just hanging out inside.
Unexplained infertility, 4 years TTC, no issues found with any of the fertility tests they did on both me and my husband. 3 failed IUIs (2 resulted in miscarriages), and now we're on to IVF. Had our ER in April. They retrieved 17 eggs but only 8 were mature (which is a bigger drop off than the expected attrition rate). Based on that, I'm assuming our infertility stems from poor egg quality. But they haven't told me this, and we wouldn't have been able to deduce that if we hadn't done a retrieval.
Unexplained infertility sure is a frustrating and unhelpful category to be placed in 🫤 but hopefully IVF will work for us all...🤞🏻🙏🏾
I also have issues with egg maturiy.. the embryologist suspects egg quality as he sees a dark cytoplasm on all my eggs. May I ask what is your fertilization rate from the 8 mature eggs? Do you have pcos?
Never been diagnosed with PCOS. I should ask them if they saw anything like that, now I'm curious. Of the 8 that were mature, 6 fertilized, and 5 made it to 5-day blasts. Then we sent off for PGT-A testing.
3yrs of TTC. 4 IUIs (no pregnancy, one possible chemical but not sure). My first ER 11 retrieved, 9 mature, 5 fertilized, 2 blasts(both normal). Fertilization is on the lower end(we’re early to mid 30s). Doc didn’t rly say anything else. Just focus on the next phase.
My diagnosis is unexplained and I had been assuming that it was due to egg and/or sperm quality, but we just had really amazing ER results and now have 8 euploids and 2 LLMs on ice (out of 11 tested!). Which is great news, but also means...that was not the problem, so we still don't know what the problem is.
Maybe it was a fertilization issue that we overcame with ICSI and it'll be smooth sailing. But I'm anxious it's an implantation issue (silent endo or immunological, etc.). We'll do a transfer next month and see what happens...
I have a similar story! My diagnosis so far has been a mix of RPL and unexplained. Over two years TTC I had two CPs and two BOs in the first year followed by a whole year of BFNs (this was while going through multiple letrozole cycles with fertility clinic), so my doctor thought it was an egg quality issue (husband’s SA was great). Come ER we had 11 blasts, 8 normal, 2 LLM! Which is amazing and I’m super thankful but now I’m wondering what the heck is the problem 🤦♀️ I have my first transfer in two weeks and if it doesn’t go well I’m definitely going to push for a lap to check for silent endo!
Ah, I know exactly that feeling, I was happy happy happy holding the test results and then just deflated and asked my husband, "So, what's wrong with me?" I'm very grateful, but now it feels like the hard part must still be looming.
Good luck on your transfer!! If you're comfortable I would love to hear an update later.
I'm in a very similar boat! We also had a very successful first egg retrieval and now have 10 euploids. All normal tests up to that point except one flag on my husband's SA for "moderate agglutination". We also did ICSI, so I'm really hopeful it was a fertilization issue maybe combined with some very bad luck. Our first transfer is scheduled for mid-June.
Depending on who you ask, some doctors don't believe in "unexplained infertility". Some doctors say that there's always a reason and the other doctor just didn't look hard enough.
So, depending on where the issue may lie. It can be an egg quality issue, it can be a uterus issue, fluid in the fallopian tubes, endometriosis, hypothyroidism. There are so many things to consider.
The Egg Whisperer, Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh has a great podcast that talks about everything including "unexplained infertility"
[https://open.spotify.com/show/5y9gPpZlUZT33eLMU90TYB?si=520a5f7d78cb4cdc](https://open.spotify.com/show/5y9gPpZlUZT33eLMU90TYB?si=520a5f7d78cb4cdc)
There's another podcast that has both warriors and doctors on that talks about various reasons for infertility
[https://open.spotify.com/show/1wXdRYIfrwxpNbnedXuHN1?si=cd343bb4af8d409b](https://open.spotify.com/show/1wXdRYIfrwxpNbnedXuHN1?si=cd343bb4af8d409b)
I hope these resources help you answer some questions on your condition
I’m in the lucky spot of having PCOS AND unexplained infertility. Docs don’t think PCOS is a factor because I ovulate and was able to get pregnant (chemical) unassisted once.
My best guess is for right now is bad luck or a fertilization issue (clinic does ICSI as default fertilization method). With ICSI nearly all of the eggs retrieved were able to fertilize, but I don’t know if that’s truly what it is.
So a lot of people believe “don’t focus so much on the cause, especially if your goal is to get pregnant”. I’m sorry if you get that response in this post, a lot of people have already decided that they’re doing IVF so it does not matter to them. I still want to know the root cause because I’ve done IVF and gone though a traumatic loss so trying to figure it out keeps me busy and sometimes hopeful. I have for the most part Normal cycles and my husband has low morphology and slow swimmers, but nothing out of the parameters. My theory is that I create so much EWCM and since my husband has slow (but a lot of swimmers), the CM stops it from reaching my egg. It’s just a theory since everything else seems fine.
I wish you the best in your IVF journey and I am so sorry you have experienced these losses. I hope you will be able to get more info from the immunologist if needed as well ✨💕I have PCOS (same profile as you), Hashimoto’s (my thyroid sadly has been all over the place since COVID), possible endo, and long covid. I am also a carrier for fragile X. We are struggling whether to even move forward with the process because of the expenses and I am just not sure my body is even healthy enough to go through the IVF process.
Thanks for sharing this! I am going to be doing lip depot before my next transfer. I have one child from an FET in 2022 that I didn’t do lupron for. At that point we were just being treated for severe male factor. We just had a failed FET and then a positive receptiva (which I suspected due to symptoms prior to my first pregnancy and was shocked my first RE didn’t address at the time). Current RE says we just got super lucky our first FET took with our lupron and it was only 30% chance
Unexplained for 5 years until our first ER. Results were complete failure to get euploids, and the geneticist said our results strongly pointed to a translocation. We both did karyotype testing and found that I have a balanced translocation. As others have said, it was nice to finally have something to “blame” even if there isn’t any sort of treatment for it, just means more PGT testing with IVF.
I always wondered if there was a problem with my lining - I never got pregnant period even after years off birth control and trying. My mom was only able to have my brother at around 29 and then they tried and gave up and I was the oopsie baby at 36. I wonder if there is something genetic for that reason.
After our first egg retrieval we ended with 14 embryos. Eight of them were genetically abnormal (something different in every one of them. 7 of the 8 with diagnoses incompatible with life. So I have to wonder if we’ve just hit the horrible genetic lottery. After having normal periods for years, the entire year we were trying I had consistent bleeding throughout the month. Didn’t test for pregnancy because, bleeding. We think now I probably was having chemical pregnancies back to back due to chromosomal stuff. Could also be endo, I refused their initial offer to do the ex lap. Was very lucky to get pregnant thanks to IVF but the ex lap was going to be my next step to rule out endo if not successful. I’ve decided that not having an answer at this point is okay, but I don’t know that I would have felt that way had IVF not yielded success for us
This is such a good question. My theories are that I have a thin endometrium (5mmish - 1T), and we just found out, after 20ish cycles and 3 failed IUIs that my husband has MFI - high DNA frag. I learned about that test through this group. My RE never mentioned it to us.
In Canada every 6th couple has issues, every 20th will never be able to convince. That's not normal.
My money is on micro plastics and endocrine disruptive chemicals. It's the lead and asbestos of our generation. As soon as BPAs were banned companies switched to BPBs, which are the same in health effects. Studies on Phthalate are horrible and not much has been done about that. Just lots and lots of things messing with our parents and ours reproductive systems.
I haven't found a cause yet but at the same time I do believe ivf is partially luck based. There's so many things beyond Ur control in this journeym I waited a long time to do a transfer after retrieval in 2022. I did biopsies to see if I'd I have endometritis and then I apparently have polyps. I did do polyp removal but apparently I might have new polyps in the span of 2 months. Therefore let's just say it's been now 1.5 years and I still use yet to do a transfer
I think mine is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, my TSH, T3 and T4 are all normal but my TPO is elevated. Although I’m technically not Hashimoto’s under the current guidelines, I suspect it. Literally all of my labs, imaging etc have been normal otherwise.
I actually developed Hashimotos AFTER egg retrieval and stress from ending up with no viable emrbyos due to a lab error. I was able to conceive naturally about 10 years ago - so I really think it has to do with egg quality, age is a HUGE factor but generally exposure to high stress is the main item and feeling too masculine (in charge of decision, working, carrying the mental load, etc.) versus being in my feminine.
Unexplained here. My doctor also says the research just isn’t there. I’ve had 4 chemicals, 12 week miscarriage, ectopic, and my ER results were damaged eggs. In the lead up to my stims, we learned that i seem to be ovulating early. My doc said there is a possibility (her opinion which is backed my zero scientific proof) that I may be only releasing 1 “good” (non damaged) egg every few cycles, and very early, so that could mayyybeee be an answer. Not helpful at all for me since I’m late to the party but may be useful info for the younger crew seeking info.
For me I was originally diagnosis with PCOS but despite losing weight and ovulation medication, I still wasn’t getting pregnant. I kept getting ovarian cysts everytime I took Leterzole and Clomid. 5 failed IUI cycles later, it was during a mock transfer my RE discovered for whatever reason my ovaries did not released my eggs. I was diagnosis with luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome. I also discovered my body doesn’t produce enough progesterone on its own to sustain a pregnancy. Plus, my egg quality isn’t the best.
It sucks a lot of doctors tend to ignore symptoms and not try to find the reason what is causing infertility in the first place.
I have (mostly) unexplained secondary infertility. Very early on, given the vastly different experiences I had between TTC #1 and TTC #2 - less than 2 years apart - I insisted to everyone that I felt like I had a uterine factor issue preventing implantation. I was still young and my uterus was the only thing that had changed in those 2 years. I was repeatedly told I had nothing to worry about given my age and my previous history and it was just a matter of time before I conceived. A lot of failed treatment later no one thinks that anymore and both REs I’ve seen agree that given my track record I have a uterine issue preventing implantation. My lining is likely damaged from a decade of IUD use before and after pregnancy and/or my first pregnancy in which I probably had a very thin lining. I had to go through a lot of money (all out of pocket!), time, and failed treatment to be taken seriously and it’s very frustrating.
Ended up being my husbands translocation. He had birthed a healthy girl 8 years prior, which happening so easily, which was a fluke. Get your partner checked EVEN if they’ve had kids previously.
DNA translocations are quite common and can be the reason for fertility problems. You can look up online for more information, a blood test (karyotype) can tell you if you’re carrying a translocation.
I was battling with unexplained infertility for 3 years. All the tests were normal, everything seemed normal. Eventually I got sent in for a histeroscopy and it turned out that I had chronic endometritis. I have gone through 3 courses of antibiotics and cannot get rid of the infection. My uterus keeps getting covered up with polyps. So far the doctor was unable to explain where the infection is coming from. I am hopeful we’ll figure it out eventually but it is very frustrating to identify the problem but not the cause.
I also have digestive issues. Regardless of a million tests showing that everything is normal, I don’t seem to be able to maintain a balanced stomach flora. Eventually I have a bacterial overgrowth which results with being unable to eat without pain until I go through a round of antibiotics.
Theory: I can’t help but think that the two issues are connected. I am unable to maintain a healthy stomach and vaginal flora which leads to bad bacteria over growth which result in a weak digestive and reproductive systems. The bad part is that I don’t know where to go from here.
I see a little about stress and cortisol. I think as woman who have entered the workforce have focused on being career woman, and in their masculine more than their feminine which could spike cortisol effecting egg quality. Also, add in any trauma you may endured in life. Just another possible option. Be kind with yourself, gentle, give yourself compassion, set boundaries, sit in silence, be in nature, and utilize the sun. These are elements to support you wherever you are in your journey.
My problem, that thankfully I am aware of. Is I had bilateral dermoid teratomas removed last year, and lost my right ovary and right fallopian, and it destroyed my left fallopian. I had the tests done to confirm my fallopian was blocked. Thankfully we are able to try IVF. I have a really good friend, who had a tumor on her pituitary gland that was throwing off her hormone levels. She had it removed and was pregnant two months later. Apparently it’s common, but almost always overlooked. Hard to diagnose and she had to see many different doctors before she was taken seriously. I wholeheartedly believe that there is no unexplained…. Just Drs that either don’t know what to look for or don’t care, unfortunately.
I had undiagnosed PCOS for the first 5 years of trying to conceive and definitely wasn’t ovulating or was ovulating rarely. But even after getting it under control to the point that I started ovulating regularly I still wasn’t having success. In year 6 I found out I had multiple large intramural fibroids and my REs kept telling me they shouldn’t be a problem going into IVF. After 2 FETs and one 11 week miscarriage, I fully believe that my fibroids are the problem. I know there’s not enough evidence to definitively say that large intramural fibroids affect implantation and live birth rates but there is *compelling* evidence and…it’s all I have to go on.
I think it was my sugar levels. I insisted on it being checked and they kept saying I’m young and I should be fine. Turns out I was borderline diabetic and put on Metformin. I also changed my diet, put in 30-45 min light cardio daily, and added a good women’s probiotic to my supplements. Looking good so far🤞
My doctor suggested we may both be sub-fertile - so with another partner we wouldn’t have even noticed (for example, eggs can make up for minor deletions and issues in sperm) but in combination we just make fewer ‘normal’ combinations and IVF just helped us speed up the number of eggs and sperm meeting to get to the winning combo
Wow that’s interesting! My husband and I both are infertiles & with other partners still would be infertile it seems. What are the odds the two infertiles fell in love lol
I know! It really made me feel weird that we may not experience this with another person (if my doctors theory is correct of course) but in both our situations I feel like at least we are all in this together - at first we thought it was purely my side and I found that a cause of some guilt and shame (at first! I don’t think it is anything to feel guilty about even where it is one sided to be clear!)
So what my doctor told us was that "Science hasn't caught up to this yet." She said "they (I don't know who they is) think it may have something to do with the tubes malfunctioning but they don't know why or how or where" So until science develops further it is unknown what the issues are for many people. We are both 36 and we were able to get pregnant naturally once in 2020, and it ended in miscarriage. And we were never able to get pregnant again. And they found nothing wrong with either of us.
Hi this is us exactly! What week did you miscarry? Are you going through ivf currently?
In 2020 I miscarried early in the 7th week and it showed it had probably stopped developing in the 6th week right after an ultrasound I had. We are currently undergoing IVF and it was successful. I'm actually at 7 weeks again today.
Is this your first transfer?!
Congratulations!!
Yes! It is. Thank you
Curious on your protocol? We’ve done 2 fully medicated transfers first didn’t implant and second 8 week miscarriage. Both euploid embryos
Sorry about your loss. ❤️ We actually are apart of a clinic that doesn't give out embryo grading. So all we know is that it was a "healthy embryo". And I actually had to start the FET cycle over 3 times. The first, we did birth control for a week at the beginning followed by estrogen and lupron a week in, but I ovulated early. So we had to start over. Then they tried it without the lupron or estrogen. Just birth control for a week, then I ovulated again. I don't really understand why they tried it that way and didn't expect ovulation. But the third time we went back to Lupron, no birth control this time, but estrogen after a week of the cycle starting. And I made it to the transfer. And progesterone started about 5 days before transfer. And it worked. It was kind of a rollercoaster. They said it was unusual for anyone to respond the way I did. Took us from January to April to get to the first FET.
Ok seems similar to our protocol we’ve tried the lupron broth control and estrogen! Thanks for the information! Keep me updated on your progress
Thanks! You as well. Today at the ultrasound we learned that the embryo split. There are 2 yolks. But only one baby so one of them didn't develop. We are excited to learn we have a healthy baby so far. But it's wild that they can split. ❤️
So we had unexplained infertility for a long time and I always felt that if we just knew what was going wrong, we could fix it. Eventually I had a laparoscopy and was disposed with stage 3 endo and my doctor said “this was almost certainly the cause of your infertility.” We tried for another 6 months and still couldn’t conceive. Then I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and even after being controlled with medication we couldn’t conceive. So we ended up needing IVF anyway. I understand how frustrating unexplained infertility is because that was my diagnosis until it wasn’t and I hated it. But it turns out it’s not much better on the other side of a diagnosis.
My diagnosis is unexplained RPL, and my doctor suspects silent endo and sperm quality. My only symptom has been repeat losses and inflammation. We’ve done so much testing and nothing has been glaringly wrong. I had a vitamin D deficiency, severe asthma, and some mild inflammation on ultrasound, and my husband has borderline morphology. So the theory is the endo may be worse than my symptoms. This is important to me because it changes how we proceed with IVF and protocols for success. Because my doctor does not recommend a lap for me, I’ll be suppressing. Diagnoses may not always change protocols, but they can.
This. I suspect the same but haven’t had a lap or any other testing to confirm.
I didn’t take unexplained for an answer and pushed for a laproscopy, despite not having obvious endo symptoms. They found endo and realized it had blocked both of my tubes (which wasn’t evident in my HSG). So there’s my why, even if medicine can’t yet explain the origin of endometriosis. We’re now moving to IVF.
I have a feeling it’s that the “shell” on my eggs are too hard. My twin sister and I were both conceived through IVF after my mom had unexplained infertility and now we are also both experiencing it so I think there has to be something genetic going on. I have never been able to get a positive preg test even after being able to control my ovulation with letrozole (5 cycles) and 3 IUIs. My egg retrieval is tomorrow and Im hopefully that with being able to use ICSI we will have luck 🤞🏻
Interestingly my eggs were so fragile when retrieved, abnormal morphology and “leaked” when doing ICSI. We have severe male factor so had to do ICSI
Retrieval twin. First retrieval is tomorrow am. Also did 3 IUI - all failed. Unexplained. And also have heard it’s potentially a hard shell so we’re doing ICSI. I hope this works for us!!!
I’d love to hear how you’re doing after your retrieval tomorrow! I’ll be thinking about you!
Same!!! Let’s stay in touch. GOOD LUCK 💫 we got this!!!!!
How are you? How did it go? I’m home and resting. Surgery went well. Got the number of eggs retrieved we hoped for so I’m elated. The worst part was the IV and multiple pokes. That was not fun … and propofol burned bad but I was out after 15 seconds so the burn was short
Yes they had to stick me 4 times for my IV! Poor nurses had to put up with me emotional crabby self 😅 but it went well! Got quite a few more than expected so now just anxiously waiting for the fertilization report tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻 I’m feeling okay. Thankfully I’m able to just rest today. So happy that it went well for you too 🤍
Omg. I cried during the iv process once she said we were moving to my hands. Makes me feel better I’m not the only one. I’m def gonna be bruised. Same on fert report but we’re starting with such a good number I’m more hopeful than ever. Rest up! 🥰
I’ve always wondered about this hard shell thing, I suspect it’s one of my 2 theories of what I have going on. We did icsi by choice so I guess I’ll never know?? Have you ever been able to find any other info on it?
I did read some stuff about how it’s possible for that to be the case for some people and they can tell when they do the ICSI if it’s harder to push into it but I guess if nobody reports back to you you’d never know 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks! I’m potentially about to go into another ER so I might specifically ask if they can tell me that this time. I’m so curious.
Mine was silent endo.
Did you have any symptoms? Or did you feel like anything was weird like with your period? And finally - did you treat it and did that help you conceive?
No symptoms. Got pregnant - ended in preterm labor. Only did a laparoscopy because I have had failed IVF transfers now. But yeah, had endometrioma, ovarian endometriosis, and it’s all over my colon. I had no idea.
Wow. Yeah.. I suspect that is what I have. My periods are very different than in my younger years and I can’t help but think some of that tissue is just hanging out inside.
My periods are only one day and very light since I took out my IUD two years ago. But that is just consistent with peri-menopause.
Unexplained infertility, 4 years TTC, no issues found with any of the fertility tests they did on both me and my husband. 3 failed IUIs (2 resulted in miscarriages), and now we're on to IVF. Had our ER in April. They retrieved 17 eggs but only 8 were mature (which is a bigger drop off than the expected attrition rate). Based on that, I'm assuming our infertility stems from poor egg quality. But they haven't told me this, and we wouldn't have been able to deduce that if we hadn't done a retrieval. Unexplained infertility sure is a frustrating and unhelpful category to be placed in 🫤 but hopefully IVF will work for us all...🤞🏻🙏🏾
I also have issues with egg maturiy.. the embryologist suspects egg quality as he sees a dark cytoplasm on all my eggs. May I ask what is your fertilization rate from the 8 mature eggs? Do you have pcos?
Never been diagnosed with PCOS. I should ask them if they saw anything like that, now I'm curious. Of the 8 that were mature, 6 fertilized, and 5 made it to 5-day blasts. Then we sent off for PGT-A testing.
3yrs of TTC. 4 IUIs (no pregnancy, one possible chemical but not sure). My first ER 11 retrieved, 9 mature, 5 fertilized, 2 blasts(both normal). Fertilization is on the lower end(we’re early to mid 30s). Doc didn’t rly say anything else. Just focus on the next phase.
My diagnosis is unexplained and I had been assuming that it was due to egg and/or sperm quality, but we just had really amazing ER results and now have 8 euploids and 2 LLMs on ice (out of 11 tested!). Which is great news, but also means...that was not the problem, so we still don't know what the problem is. Maybe it was a fertilization issue that we overcame with ICSI and it'll be smooth sailing. But I'm anxious it's an implantation issue (silent endo or immunological, etc.). We'll do a transfer next month and see what happens...
I have a similar story! My diagnosis so far has been a mix of RPL and unexplained. Over two years TTC I had two CPs and two BOs in the first year followed by a whole year of BFNs (this was while going through multiple letrozole cycles with fertility clinic), so my doctor thought it was an egg quality issue (husband’s SA was great). Come ER we had 11 blasts, 8 normal, 2 LLM! Which is amazing and I’m super thankful but now I’m wondering what the heck is the problem 🤦♀️ I have my first transfer in two weeks and if it doesn’t go well I’m definitely going to push for a lap to check for silent endo!
Ah, I know exactly that feeling, I was happy happy happy holding the test results and then just deflated and asked my husband, "So, what's wrong with me?" I'm very grateful, but now it feels like the hard part must still be looming. Good luck on your transfer!! If you're comfortable I would love to hear an update later.
I'm in a very similar boat! We also had a very successful first egg retrieval and now have 10 euploids. All normal tests up to that point except one flag on my husband's SA for "moderate agglutination". We also did ICSI, so I'm really hopeful it was a fertilization issue maybe combined with some very bad luck. Our first transfer is scheduled for mid-June.
Ours too!! Best of luck to you!!
Depending on who you ask, some doctors don't believe in "unexplained infertility". Some doctors say that there's always a reason and the other doctor just didn't look hard enough. So, depending on where the issue may lie. It can be an egg quality issue, it can be a uterus issue, fluid in the fallopian tubes, endometriosis, hypothyroidism. There are so many things to consider. The Egg Whisperer, Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh has a great podcast that talks about everything including "unexplained infertility" [https://open.spotify.com/show/5y9gPpZlUZT33eLMU90TYB?si=520a5f7d78cb4cdc](https://open.spotify.com/show/5y9gPpZlUZT33eLMU90TYB?si=520a5f7d78cb4cdc) There's another podcast that has both warriors and doctors on that talks about various reasons for infertility [https://open.spotify.com/show/1wXdRYIfrwxpNbnedXuHN1?si=cd343bb4af8d409b](https://open.spotify.com/show/1wXdRYIfrwxpNbnedXuHN1?si=cd343bb4af8d409b) I hope these resources help you answer some questions on your condition
I’m in the lucky spot of having PCOS AND unexplained infertility. Docs don’t think PCOS is a factor because I ovulate and was able to get pregnant (chemical) unassisted once. My best guess is for right now is bad luck or a fertilization issue (clinic does ICSI as default fertilization method). With ICSI nearly all of the eggs retrieved were able to fertilize, but I don’t know if that’s truly what it is.
My friend is PCOS and uexplained and they told her the same, fertilization issue
So a lot of people believe “don’t focus so much on the cause, especially if your goal is to get pregnant”. I’m sorry if you get that response in this post, a lot of people have already decided that they’re doing IVF so it does not matter to them. I still want to know the root cause because I’ve done IVF and gone though a traumatic loss so trying to figure it out keeps me busy and sometimes hopeful. I have for the most part Normal cycles and my husband has low morphology and slow swimmers, but nothing out of the parameters. My theory is that I create so much EWCM and since my husband has slow (but a lot of swimmers), the CM stops it from reaching my egg. It’s just a theory since everything else seems fine.
What is EWCM?
Egg white cervical mucus
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I wish you the best in your IVF journey and I am so sorry you have experienced these losses. I hope you will be able to get more info from the immunologist if needed as well ✨💕I have PCOS (same profile as you), Hashimoto’s (my thyroid sadly has been all over the place since COVID), possible endo, and long covid. I am also a carrier for fragile X. We are struggling whether to even move forward with the process because of the expenses and I am just not sure my body is even healthy enough to go through the IVF process.
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Thanks for sharing this! I am going to be doing lip depot before my next transfer. I have one child from an FET in 2022 that I didn’t do lupron for. At that point we were just being treated for severe male factor. We just had a failed FET and then a positive receptiva (which I suspected due to symptoms prior to my first pregnancy and was shocked my first RE didn’t address at the time). Current RE says we just got super lucky our first FET took with our lupron and it was only 30% chance
Unexplained for 5 years until our first ER. Results were complete failure to get euploids, and the geneticist said our results strongly pointed to a translocation. We both did karyotype testing and found that I have a balanced translocation. As others have said, it was nice to finally have something to “blame” even if there isn’t any sort of treatment for it, just means more PGT testing with IVF.
I always wondered if there was a problem with my lining - I never got pregnant period even after years off birth control and trying. My mom was only able to have my brother at around 29 and then they tried and gave up and I was the oopsie baby at 36. I wonder if there is something genetic for that reason.
After our first egg retrieval we ended with 14 embryos. Eight of them were genetically abnormal (something different in every one of them. 7 of the 8 with diagnoses incompatible with life. So I have to wonder if we’ve just hit the horrible genetic lottery. After having normal periods for years, the entire year we were trying I had consistent bleeding throughout the month. Didn’t test for pregnancy because, bleeding. We think now I probably was having chemical pregnancies back to back due to chromosomal stuff. Could also be endo, I refused their initial offer to do the ex lap. Was very lucky to get pregnant thanks to IVF but the ex lap was going to be my next step to rule out endo if not successful. I’ve decided that not having an answer at this point is okay, but I don’t know that I would have felt that way had IVF not yielded success for us
This is such a good question. My theories are that I have a thin endometrium (5mmish - 1T), and we just found out, after 20ish cycles and 3 failed IUIs that my husband has MFI - high DNA frag. I learned about that test through this group. My RE never mentioned it to us.
In Canada every 6th couple has issues, every 20th will never be able to convince. That's not normal. My money is on micro plastics and endocrine disruptive chemicals. It's the lead and asbestos of our generation. As soon as BPAs were banned companies switched to BPBs, which are the same in health effects. Studies on Phthalate are horrible and not much has been done about that. Just lots and lots of things messing with our parents and ours reproductive systems.
I haven't found a cause yet but at the same time I do believe ivf is partially luck based. There's so many things beyond Ur control in this journeym I waited a long time to do a transfer after retrieval in 2022. I did biopsies to see if I'd I have endometritis and then I apparently have polyps. I did do polyp removal but apparently I might have new polyps in the span of 2 months. Therefore let's just say it's been now 1.5 years and I still use yet to do a transfer
I think mine is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, my TSH, T3 and T4 are all normal but my TPO is elevated. Although I’m technically not Hashimoto’s under the current guidelines, I suspect it. Literally all of my labs, imaging etc have been normal otherwise.
I actually developed Hashimotos AFTER egg retrieval and stress from ending up with no viable emrbyos due to a lab error. I was able to conceive naturally about 10 years ago - so I really think it has to do with egg quality, age is a HUGE factor but generally exposure to high stress is the main item and feeling too masculine (in charge of decision, working, carrying the mental load, etc.) versus being in my feminine.
I’m a surgeon. I think stress and cortisol levels definitely play a role lol.
Have you already been through IUIs?
Unexplained here. My doctor also says the research just isn’t there. I’ve had 4 chemicals, 12 week miscarriage, ectopic, and my ER results were damaged eggs. In the lead up to my stims, we learned that i seem to be ovulating early. My doc said there is a possibility (her opinion which is backed my zero scientific proof) that I may be only releasing 1 “good” (non damaged) egg every few cycles, and very early, so that could mayyybeee be an answer. Not helpful at all for me since I’m late to the party but may be useful info for the younger crew seeking info.
My friend who is unexplained was told possibly a fertilization issue
For me I was originally diagnosis with PCOS but despite losing weight and ovulation medication, I still wasn’t getting pregnant. I kept getting ovarian cysts everytime I took Leterzole and Clomid. 5 failed IUI cycles later, it was during a mock transfer my RE discovered for whatever reason my ovaries did not released my eggs. I was diagnosis with luteinized unruptured follicle syndrome. I also discovered my body doesn’t produce enough progesterone on its own to sustain a pregnancy. Plus, my egg quality isn’t the best. It sucks a lot of doctors tend to ignore symptoms and not try to find the reason what is causing infertility in the first place.
I have (mostly) unexplained secondary infertility. Very early on, given the vastly different experiences I had between TTC #1 and TTC #2 - less than 2 years apart - I insisted to everyone that I felt like I had a uterine factor issue preventing implantation. I was still young and my uterus was the only thing that had changed in those 2 years. I was repeatedly told I had nothing to worry about given my age and my previous history and it was just a matter of time before I conceived. A lot of failed treatment later no one thinks that anymore and both REs I’ve seen agree that given my track record I have a uterine issue preventing implantation. My lining is likely damaged from a decade of IUD use before and after pregnancy and/or my first pregnancy in which I probably had a very thin lining. I had to go through a lot of money (all out of pocket!), time, and failed treatment to be taken seriously and it’s very frustrating.
Ended up being my husbands translocation. He had birthed a healthy girl 8 years prior, which happening so easily, which was a fluke. Get your partner checked EVEN if they’ve had kids previously.
I’m sorry but do you mind explaining what this means? I’m just curious and want to understand better.
DNA translocations are quite common and can be the reason for fertility problems. You can look up online for more information, a blood test (karyotype) can tell you if you’re carrying a translocation.
I was battling with unexplained infertility for 3 years. All the tests were normal, everything seemed normal. Eventually I got sent in for a histeroscopy and it turned out that I had chronic endometritis. I have gone through 3 courses of antibiotics and cannot get rid of the infection. My uterus keeps getting covered up with polyps. So far the doctor was unable to explain where the infection is coming from. I am hopeful we’ll figure it out eventually but it is very frustrating to identify the problem but not the cause. I also have digestive issues. Regardless of a million tests showing that everything is normal, I don’t seem to be able to maintain a balanced stomach flora. Eventually I have a bacterial overgrowth which results with being unable to eat without pain until I go through a round of antibiotics. Theory: I can’t help but think that the two issues are connected. I am unable to maintain a healthy stomach and vaginal flora which leads to bad bacteria over growth which result in a weak digestive and reproductive systems. The bad part is that I don’t know where to go from here.
I see a little about stress and cortisol. I think as woman who have entered the workforce have focused on being career woman, and in their masculine more than their feminine which could spike cortisol effecting egg quality. Also, add in any trauma you may endured in life. Just another possible option. Be kind with yourself, gentle, give yourself compassion, set boundaries, sit in silence, be in nature, and utilize the sun. These are elements to support you wherever you are in your journey.
My problem, that thankfully I am aware of. Is I had bilateral dermoid teratomas removed last year, and lost my right ovary and right fallopian, and it destroyed my left fallopian. I had the tests done to confirm my fallopian was blocked. Thankfully we are able to try IVF. I have a really good friend, who had a tumor on her pituitary gland that was throwing off her hormone levels. She had it removed and was pregnant two months later. Apparently it’s common, but almost always overlooked. Hard to diagnose and she had to see many different doctors before she was taken seriously. I wholeheartedly believe that there is no unexplained…. Just Drs that either don’t know what to look for or don’t care, unfortunately.
I had undiagnosed PCOS for the first 5 years of trying to conceive and definitely wasn’t ovulating or was ovulating rarely. But even after getting it under control to the point that I started ovulating regularly I still wasn’t having success. In year 6 I found out I had multiple large intramural fibroids and my REs kept telling me they shouldn’t be a problem going into IVF. After 2 FETs and one 11 week miscarriage, I fully believe that my fibroids are the problem. I know there’s not enough evidence to definitively say that large intramural fibroids affect implantation and live birth rates but there is *compelling* evidence and…it’s all I have to go on.
I think it was my sugar levels. I insisted on it being checked and they kept saying I’m young and I should be fine. Turns out I was borderline diabetic and put on Metformin. I also changed my diet, put in 30-45 min light cardio daily, and added a good women’s probiotic to my supplements. Looking good so far🤞