/r/whatworkedforme

Photograph via snooOG

This is a sub for people with infertility to celebrate their successes, so long as they share how they got them. It is okay to announce a pregnancy, but you have to comply to the post formatting rules.

This is a sub for people struggling with infertility to gather information and learn. We learn by sharing our successes and failures. The format of posts here are laid out in such a way as to make the information readily accessible to those looking for it. Please be as specific as you feel comfortable with, but your post must contain the minimum information outlined below or be deleted. Please don't use acronyms for procedures.

All Posts must be titled:

  • What Worked For Me - xyz.

  • What didn't work for me - xyz

  • Did xyz work for you?

ex: WWFM - increased sperm count. Or WWFM - ovulated! WWFM - pregnant is also okay here so long as your pregnancy was achieved through infertility treatment.

Posts must include:

  • Infertility diagnosis(es)

  • how long have you been trying

  • what other treatments have you tried (what didn't work)

  • what finally worked.

  • optional: describe the treatment process

When responding to a "did xyz work for you" post, please format your answer with the same information as a WWFM post.

Finally - if you are not infertile and just want to brag, you will be deleted/banned. If you come here to down vote other user's successes, you will be banned.

If you would like other great resources for infertility support try /r/infertility and if you've managed to finally get pregnant there is /r/InfertilityBabies

/r/whatworkedforme

5,251 Subscribers

2

IUI success without trigger?

Currently in the TWW for my second IUI. 5mg of letrozole but no trigger shot. Has anyone had a successful IUI with letrozole but no trigger shot?

more context: we went through my obgyn and the office has us use Mira to detect an LH surge, then we go in for the IUI within 24 hours

1 Comment
2024/12/02
03:44 UTC

5

Success and what you did different

I’m gearing up for my third IUI with leteozole and gonal injections. A little back story- I’ve had 4 miscarriages and still birth. I had a uterine septum that we fixed this year. Last month we did an IUI and had three mature follicles. On paper everything seemed great but it didn’t work:(. We’re trying IUI one last time this month with the same protocol. - any tips or recommendations? I’d love to know what worked for you.

2 Comments
2024/12/01
04:41 UTC

2

IUI success following ectopic?

Looking for any successful stories of IUI following ectopic..? Or any tips/recommendations you may have.

Ectopic (left sided) in July after TTC for 7 months (2 chemicals prior). Took 3 months off as recommended. HSG clear (though RE thought left may have looked ‘sluggish’) and normal workup so far. 2 cycles after were unsuccessful so we decided to pursue IUI as we are now at 1 year of trying. 30F and 31M. Terrified of another ectopic.

First IUI has gone very smoothly so far. 5mg letrozole days 3-7. Follicle scan cd11 with 2 mature on right (18mm and 16mm) and 1 immature on left (10mm). Triggered 1 day following scan and IUI 26hrs after trigger. 111 million motile sperm. Just scared and would like to have some positive stories during this TWW!

0 Comments
2024/12/01
03:15 UTC

3

Metformin

Has anyone been prescribed Metformin without having any indication of PCOS or insulin resistance? My doctor suggested prescribing this after having 6 miscarriages along with progesterone and aspirin. Wondering if anyone has had no obvious reason for taking this but has had success. What will it do for me?

10 Comments
2024/11/28
14:42 UTC

0

Baby dance chart

Would anyone be willing to share a screen shot of their Premom/flo calendar of their days they baby danced that ended with successful pregnancies so I can get an idea? Thankyou 😊

6 Comments
2024/11/28
06:07 UTC

8

IUI successes?

For my first, we tried for 4 years on and off with no success. We were diagnosed with unexplained as all our numbers and tests came back normal. Covid happened and lock down and then the month before I was supposed to do IUI, I got pregnant with her naturally.

We are now trying for a second and going to start my first IUI soon.

We are doing 2.5 Letrozole, with possible trigger shot, and IUI. Progesterone afterward.

Just wondering if anyone had success with their IUI? How many cycles did it take? Did you take anything such as CoQ10?

11 Comments
2024/11/27
14:58 UTC

1

Easier time conceiving second child? With PCOS?

Has anyone with PCOS had an easier time conceiving their 2nd child?

For the first one I (30F) did the following:

  • multiple rounds letrozole 5mg - confirmed ovulation, no success
  • multiple rounds letrozole 7.5mg - confirmed ovulation, no success
  • one round letrozole and trigger shot
  • 2 rounds letrozole + menopur + trigger + IUI - one success, but 8ish week miscarriage. Second try didn't work
  • egg retrieval, fresh transfer - didn't work
  • frozen transfer - chemical, didn't work
  • letrozole + menopur + trigger shot and TI - worked

Now that we are thinking of a second, I am starting again with letrozole 5mg and then 7.5mg.

We do have two high grade embryos left to try, but I am taking a relaxed approach to it by trying letrozole first and hoping to avoid some needles.

Has anyone with PCOS had an easier time and potentially less intervention the second time round?

One last add - I have lean PCOS, no cysts on ovaries or anything, but I do have some IR issues and acne issues. Taking the proper dose of Inositol for the last 6 months has finally fixed my cycle and made it predictable on a 30 day cadence for the first time in my life. So I am hopeful maybe that would assist with the attempt with letrozole.

Any advice?

6 Comments
2024/11/27
00:22 UTC

1

TTC post 1 chemical & 1 miscarriage

Looking for advice or just to even hear about others experiences to get some insight!

My husband and I have been trying to conceive for 8 months now. My husband was on testosterone for health reasons (it was prescribed by a doctor) for the first 5 months however he got off of the testosterone injections the first week of September to see if that was why we were not getting any positive pregnancy tests. The second week of October I got my first very very faint positive on 2 tests but then got negatives and my period started only a day or so after. My next cycle on November 9th I found out I was pregnant and the positive tests stayed consistent until at exactly 5 weeks I had a miscarriage and negative pregnancy tests.

Last night I got very positive ovulation tests and have all my normal symptoms of ovulation so now I’m wondering what all I can do to help this one hopefully stick and stay? I know it is a high possibility that it could potentially just be his sperm as I am now getting positives so maybe the sperm is just getting stronger since coming off the testosterone but I am also wondering if there was anything anyone did to help keep their pregnancy after a chemical and miscarriage?? I also wonder if it’s a possibility that my progesterone is not rising I’ve seen a couple people talking about that? But I personally have never had any levels checked. Just curious if anyone has had a similar experience and what they did that helped??? Thanks in advance!

3 Comments
2024/11/26
18:47 UTC

1

Fertility Lube

For anyone that used fertility lube, did you use it with the applicator or use it externally like you used to do prior to TTC?

2 Comments
2024/11/26
11:04 UTC

2

Any successful iui stories where insemination was done between 36 to 40 hrs after triggering and follicle was seen ruptured at ultrasound done during IUI

A

0 Comments
2024/11/25
18:18 UTC

7

10 mg MAX letrozole , ovidrel, and progesterone?

Has anyone else been on the max dose 10mg of letrozole ? Was there any success? How many follicles did you have ? This is our 3rd IUI and I'm nervous.

0 Comments
2024/11/22
13:34 UTC

5

Anyone who had success with just letrozole, what day did you test positive for pregnancy?

This is my first round of letrozole. I seemed to ovulate on day 17 (using OPK). Since my period is irregular and usually 45+ days, it's hard to know when exactly to test to pregnancy.

When should I test? When did others who had a positive, test positive?

5 Comments
2024/11/19
19:49 UTC

8

IUI help

Hi everyone. My husband and I are going to be going through IUI for the first time on Thursday. Is there anything at all we can do to maximise our chances of success? Honestly even if its not scientifically backed I would appreciate any things that worked for you, no matter how little! Thank you!

5 Comments
2024/11/19
19:43 UTC

5

Biotin

I have been trying to conceive for almost year. I also have brittle nails so the lady working at the nail salon told me to take Biotin. I started researching it to make sure it would not affect TTC and found that Biotin also helps keep your hormones balanced, which is important for maintaining a regular menstrual cycle and a successful pregnancy. Studies have also shown that in men, biotin can increase sperm count and improve the swimming ability of sperm, making it easier for them to reach and fertilize an egg. Has anyone had or heard of success after taking Biotin supplements?

9 Comments
2024/11/17
18:28 UTC

0

Has anyone ever gotten a Pap smear while ovulating and conceived that way?

Not asking if it's safe or recommended I'm just curious if it happened to anyone intentionally or accidentally (weren't actively ttc). A friend of mine and her friend shared that they tried this and was successful when they couldn't conceive with their then current partners otherwise

6 Comments
2024/11/15
22:21 UTC

10

Please drop success stories

I just triggered today with a 23,21, and 17 mm follicle! My lining was 9.8 this morning so it’s looking good! My IUI is scheduled for Saturday morning! I took letrozole and gonal this cycle. I’m desperately looking for any success stories. Did anyone have a cycle similar and conceive singleton of twins? Any stories would be great. I’ve had 5 losses, three surgeries, and just ready for a new chapter.

8 Comments
2024/11/15
03:39 UTC

19

Success after (presumed) silent endo

Hello!

I've been a long time lurker and finally wanted to post what's worked for me. I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant after trying for around 5 years and having 7 early miscarriages (3 missed, 3 chemicals, 1 early loss of a twin from this pregnancy that we probably wouldn't have known about if I wasn't being monitored early by my RE). For background, I went through years of RPL testing and pretty much everything came back normal. My doctor suspected silent endometriosis and endometritis but I've never had a lap since insurance wouldn't cover it and we were planning on using the money as a deposit with a surrogacy agency if this latest transfer didn't work. That said, I did do a Receptiva test which showed inflammation, generally had crappy egg quality despite having a good AMH levels, and my mom was diagnosed with endo.

We opted to do IVF in order to minimize the chances of a miscarriage from chromosomal issues but my first transfer resulted in one of my chemical pregnancies and the second failed to implant. The last round included a long, aggressive course of doxycycline, two months of Lupron, baby aspirin, and Prednisone in addition to the regular IVF drugs (estrogen, progesterone, etc.). I was also placed on supplemental progesterone in addition to PIO injections because my doctor was worried I wasn't getting enough.

4 Comments
2024/11/13
04:40 UTC

2

Geritol and letrozole?

I know you shouldn’t take Geritol and a prenatal with iron in it at the same time, but does anyone know of any issues taking Geritol and letrozole?

3 Comments
2024/11/12
01:34 UTC

0

How long?

How long did it take for you to conceive? For reference I’m 27F and my husband is 31M. This is our second month of TTC using Inito and ovulation strips. Also I know it’s super early but I would let to get tested just to make sure everything is ok. What tests would you recommend?

5 Comments
2024/11/11
22:28 UTC

3

PCOS& TTC after MC

TTC 10m 1MC - Ugh.

How often are you ladies having intimate time with your husband? I am 24 and my husband is 25 and we have not been trying but not preventing for about 10 months with a miscarriage in between. When I got pregnant I tracked twice EVERY DAY to find ovulation. I’m worried my husband and I may not be having sex as much as we should be for someone who has PCOS and doesn’t have regular cycles and regular ovulation. Maybe we just aren’t doing it enough! Some weeks it’s 3+ times other weeks it’s maybe 1 time. My dr has also put me on progesterone in the middle of my cycle and it’s given me false ovulation positives.

If you’ve conceived, what helped? I don’t want to track everyday again unless I really need to.

9 Comments
2024/11/11
18:11 UTC

2

Where to go from here?

Hi! First time poster, unfortunately experiencing my 3rd miscarriage in the last year (2nd MMC) and truly have no clue what to try next. I’ve been tested for so many different clotting disorders, I’ve had hormones and thyroid levels tested, as well as a saline ultrasound to rule out any uterine or ovary anomalies. I tested positive for MTHFR, compound heterozygous, so I’ve been taking proper supplementation to support that and avoiding folic acid. The only other treatable thing we found in testing was a hypothyroid reaction that happens with the increase of estrogen during pregnancy. My thyroid was optimal prior to my 3rd pregnancy, but my TSH spiked a bit out of range (2.89) in the first week and I was put on a low dose of levothyroxine. This did not stop the loss and I suspected this would be the case as my TSH wasn’t that high during the 1st loss either. I did try baby aspirin this time around just in case and that didn’t seem to make a difference. I asked my OB about checking my progesterone when I was 4 weeks and she said it wasn’t necessary unless you have a luteal phase defect (which I don’t have) or are undergoing fertility treatments.

My question is: what was the thing that worked for you after 3 losses? I’ve seen people mentioning testing for ureaplasma or endometrial biopsies for endometritis. I’ve also seen people have success with immune protocols from an RI but not sure how common that is and all the medication and money that costs seems so overwhelming. I should also mention my partner has not been tested for anything yet and we suspect sperm may be the issue. He has insanely low testosterone, which I’ve read can cause dna fragmentation of the sperm. Has anyone found that was the case of their losses?

7 Comments
2024/11/09
21:18 UTC

7

Has anyone found improved hormone balance or cycle regulation after upping their protein intake?

35F. I've been mostly-vegetarian for most of my adult life. I very occasionally eat fish.

My hormone panel recently showed low estrogen, high FSH and very low AMH, however, the levels of estrogen and FSH are not quite where a DOR diagnosis would come in, so my doctor said to just "wait and see".

I read a few things online that suggest low protein and specifically, no animal protein, can mess with fertility. I do eat a fair amount of plant protein sources, but I know I'm not getting the recommended amount per day.

I'm curious if anyone has had any positive results upping their protein and/or adding meat into their diet.

5 Comments
2024/11/05
18:03 UTC

4

iui journey

would love to hear your experiences with iui and if it worked for you!

9 Comments
2024/11/05
17:21 UTC

2

Need to vent doubtful

Hey everyone, I'm 24 Y and this is my second IUl & I'm in my TWW. Mind you I am 11 days past IUl. This "trigger" shot was making my test all faint positives until it got out my system. I thought I had a feeling today that if I took a digital today it would say "pregnant". Well unfortunately it didn't. I keep having hopes that it will appear as a faint line again because people & google said if the line pops back up then you are you pregnant. Quite frankly, I'm tired, I'm weary, and I'm dreaded of seeing these negatives or false positives. My doctor said that there are best chances for lUl for me due to my egg quality. We are also unexplained infertility. & it hurts because I had hopes that this second IUl was going to work. I also spoke to my doctor when the first IUl was negative & asked about another HSG which he don't think there's a need because my tubes are open and they do work. He's thinking it as if they do another HSG it leaves me cramping, which last HSG I didn't feel. I also asked about injectables because when I'm on letrozole only one egg becomes mature. I don't have 2 or 3 follicles that fully mature off of one dose of letrozole. Which I wish I had soo bad because I feel like it's higher chances. I'm thinking this round I want to do a combination with medicine like Clomid and letrozole. Or the injectable for better results. It's breaking me seeing these "not pregnant" or false positives & everyone even my cousin is pregnant but not me. Did anyone do a combination with IUl ? What was the process ? Did it end up being positive ? What is your insights on this? Know that I'm young & I have this type of issue hurts & some people get positives on their second IUl but why me? What's wrong? How many IUl it took you guys to work?

5 Comments
2024/11/05
13:19 UTC

27

Natural Conception with POI / POF and undetectable AMH

BACKGROUND: As a woman with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) or premature ovarian failure (POF) and Hashimoto's disease, I wanted to share what worked for me to conceive naturally and also tell you that it is physically impossible for doctors to tell you whether or not you have eggs left. Due to my AMH being undetectable, I was told that I would not be able to conceive naturally. Doctors just kept pushing adoption or donor eggs on me.

For reference, my periods had been irregular for years, and doctors just put me on birth control to "regulate it". For the love of God, NEVER LET A DOCTOR PUT YOU ON BIRTH CONTROL TO REGULATE YOUR PERIOD WITHOUT PERFORMING A FERTILITY PANEL. I would have known so much sooner that something was going terribly wrong with my body. Instead, the hormones from birth control masked my symptoms for years. As soon as I got off of the birth control, I began having hot flashes, night sweats, and brain fog - all of the signs of menopause, yet I was unaware that that was a possibility due to my age. I was 31 years old. I went to 4 different doctor's appointments trying to find answers, and every one of them told me it was "hormonal changes" and "everything looks fine". Finally, one of the doctors thought I had PCOS (I don't), and recommended that I take myo-inositol. By this time, I had been off of birth control for a full year & hadn't had more than 1 day of light brown spotting. Within 2 weeks of taking myo-inositol, I had a full 5-day bleed. The studies say that this doesn't work for POI, but my body responded to it, so my doctors told me to keep taking it.

I made an appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist, where I was diagnosed with both POI and Hashimoto's. Hashimoto's was found by looking for antibodies, although my TSH, T3, and T4 were all normal.

These were my numbers when I got diagnosed: LH: 28 estradiol: 38.6 progesterone: 125 testosterone: 49.2 FSH: 48.8 AMH: <0.003 (undetectable) Anti-thyroid peroxidase: 603

I don't have any labs after that because doctors refused to test me, saying it was futile because I had no eggs. Undetectable AMH, low estrogen and progesterone, and an FSH over 40 indicated that my ovaries were not working and that if I had eggs left, there were very few.

I decided that if did have any eggs left, I would do all I could to improve the quality of them and put my body in the best position to get pregnant. I read "it starts with the egg".

WHAT I DID: These are the vitamins I began to take daily:

  1. Women's OneADay Prenatal
  2. OneADay Choline 110mg
  3. Zazzee Myo-Inositol 2000mg
  4. VitaminShoppe Ubiquinol CoQ-10 200mg 2x daily
  5. VitaminShoppe Vitamin D3 5000 IU
  6. VitaminShoppe Vitamin E 200 IU
  7. Physician's Choice Women's Probiotic
  8. (for Hashimoto's) GNC Selenium 200mg daily

I also got on P-HRT to protect my heart, brain, & bones while allowing my body the chance to ovulate if it could. This consisted of

  1. 2-3 sprays of Evamist 1.53mg on my forearm daily for estrogen
  2. 10 days of Prometrium every 60 days for progesterone

Other things I did:

  1. Used an OURA ring to track temperature, health stats, stress, and sleep.
  2. Had sex daily or at least every other day. (Tip: find something that works for your husband to make him finish quicker - once I did this, sex took 2-5 minutes a day)
  3. Light exercise
  4. Diet change - anti-inflammatory diet. more green vegetables and fruit, more lean meats, less sugar and fried foods, gluten-free. No alcohol.
  5. Less plastic and phthalates: I stopped eating off of plastic plates and with plastic utensils. Stopped drinking hot liquids out of plastic cups, too. I changed my beauty and personal products to more natural ones.
  6. Told my close friends and family what I was going through. They prayed for me and had faith that I could conceive and encouraged me often through scripture. I began to believe it was possible for me to get pregnant.

How long did it take for me to conceive? 6 months after starting vitamins / P-HRT (hormone replacement therapy). I was 33 when I conceived.

I hope this helps someone. 🤍

34 Comments
2024/11/03
13:42 UTC

8

IUI success

I know this post is going to get a lot of “I wish I skipped IUI and started IVF sooner” but I’m really hoping to hear from anyone who found success with IUI, particularly post lap surgery for endometriosis.

I am 31 and husband is 30 - we conceived our first month “trying” last year (more like we didn’t prevent it) and miscarried at 10 weeks. Tried without assistance for 6 months then opted for a lap as they found an endometrioma. Fairly silent endo otherwise. The other lesions found in surgery were all stage 1. I have had 3 cycles since my lap, 2 of which we used 2.5mg letrozole + TI. I don’t have any issues ovulating but our RE said it can still help.

This month we are switching to 50mg Clomid (my RE preferences clomid) and doing an IUI. We have no MFI so I know IUI is almost the same as a natural cycle for me, but we feel like we should try it in case there is any hostility with my CM (or just not enough of it).

My RE recommended trying IUI and then yesterday the MA from the office called me to let me know it has an 8% chance of working. I asked her where that number comes from if it’s specific to me and my age, endo, AMH, husband SA, history of previous pregnancy etc. But she said no just in general 8%. I know IUI is about the same as a natural cycle especially since I ovulate and my husbands SA is normal but with having my endo removed and having a high reserve, I thought our chances each month were probably close to that of a healthy couple. How can you generalize the odds of an IUI working without considering age and other circumstances? Any success stories of those who ovulate regularly but IUI or TI worked would be wonderful to hear!

30 Comments
2024/10/25
12:58 UTC

21

DOR - Had spontaneous pregnancy with high FSH

On the cycle that we were going to start IUI, but did not qualify due to poor levels (FSH 32, AFC 4 and very small), I shockingly got pregnant naturally!

I ovulated late that cycle too. It took 7 cycles to get pregnant. I am currently only 4+2 but betas are looking great and wanted to share to offer hope!

Supplements (* I started in last 3 months)

  • Vitamin D (I previously tested deficient)
  • Vitamin E
  • Coq10*
  • Omega 3*
  • Baby Aspirin*
  • Folic Acid w/ B12
  • Methylfolate
  • Prenatal

Other things I believe have helped:

  • Inito fertility monitor!!! If it wasn’t for this, I would’ve missed my late ovulation for both pregnancies I’ve had (including current).
  • Acupuncture*
  • Light exercises/stretches to increase blood flow to the uterus*

History (TW: mentions of loss):

  • Previous MMC at 12 wks (Reason unknown. NIPT was normal, though I was spotting on and off since 6 weeks and baby always measured behind). It took 7 cycles to get pregnant for that pregnancy too.

  • Following MMC, found out I have DOR. Last few months prior, AMH range .28-.68 FSH 10.3-17 AFC 5-8.

  • Did 2 medicated cycles with TI, one with Clomid and the other with letrozole. Responded but had no success. Did 1 natural cycle after that and the following cycle was when we were supposed to start IUI but didn’t qualify and instead got pregnant naturally.

10 Comments
2024/10/22
17:09 UTC

6

RPL

I’m going back to my fertility clinic on Friday to discuss options as I’ve had two more miscarriages since they discharged me back in February saying all my tests were normal and to just keep trying. We have one LC that is 3 years old. Currently going through my 6th b2b miscarriage, 1 BO and 5 early losses between 5-7 weeks, never got to the heartbeat stage. I’m on all kinds of supplements as recommended by my naturopath. I also cut out gluten and dairy. I get pregnant the first time every single time we try but haven’t been able to stay pregnant for very long.

We want to keep trying naturally. What kinds of medications have you been prescribed “just in case” that have helped you have a successful pregnancy?

10 Comments
2024/10/22
15:44 UTC

5

Thyroid and Sex Hormones

Just a quick question for those with thyroid disease….

Did any one notice a change in reproductive hormones like oestrogen or progesterone etc. while take taking Propylthiouracil (PTU) when you was trying to conceive?

6 Comments
2024/10/22
13:42 UTC

2

Advice/PCOS

Feeling really really sad.. So just could use some success stories. I went to my OB earlier this week as I had been off BC for 4 months and no period yet. I had been on HBC for 10 years straight. I’m 25 and married my highschool sweetheart 1.5 years ago. We celebrated 11 years together in October.

We wanted TTC in about 1 year which is why I got off, to regulate my cycle. My OB took my tests and my hormone levels looked normal aside from my AMH being high at 12 ng/mL. I workout 5x/week and not overweight.

With my irregular period and high AMH, I was diagnosed with PCOS. I just can’t help but spiral about now never being able to get pregnant even though I know that’s not true. Could just use some big sister advice:( Any successes without fertility treatment? Is that possible?

12 Comments
2024/10/17
20:53 UTC

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