[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.]
My husband and I have been TTC since May 2018. Okay, to be clear: we started off for a while “trying but not actually trying.” (I love what Karen Jeffries, author of Hilariously Infertile, says about that: “The whole subject of ‘trying’ to get pregnant is such a hoax. Any woman who is ‘trying’ to get pregnant or doing the whole ‘we’re just not stopping it from happening anymore’ is full of s&*$.” #truth)
In these last 2+ years (full disclosure, we haven’t been trying to have kids the entire time, as I had an unexpected melanoma scare + surgery, as well as a trip to Costa Rica–zika!), we have tried:
—Ovulation predictor strips (Remember when you thought using those things were an act of desperation? Yeah, me too.)
–Random things that friends suggested…some, it turns out, was actually sound advice, while others had no research base whatsoever (I investigated them all — see the TTC Tips: Fact or Fiction? section of this blog)
–BBT charting (what a hassle, only to have a fertility specialist wave my charts off afterward as unreliable)…yay, so happy I spent hours putting those together
–Asking my OB for extra blood tests. Everything normal. Assured me I would have no problem getting pregnant. (“Next time I see you I bet you’ll be pregnant!” wink wink)
–Going to my first fertility specialist that gave me a prescription for Clomid (I never took it — here’s why) + a $2,000 HSG test that I wasn’t expecting (read more about that disaster here). Also ordered a semen analysis for my husband. Everything completely normal again.
–Seeing a second fertility specialist, a more legit one that got positive reviews. More blood tests — everything normal, except a slightly elevated prolactin level that she gave me cabergoline for. Ordered me to take Clomid and start IUI procedures immediately. That was several months ago now.
Update April 2020: That brings me to where we’re at currently: We have not done any procedures (yet). We decided we don’t want to go the ART (assisted reproductive techniques) route, at least not right now. We feel the best about waiting for now — or accepting a different plan — if that’s what God has planned for us. I’m working on being open to whatever He has planned. (Trust me, not doing any ARTs yet does NOT mean I want a baby any less than anyone else who has pursued treatments!)
Update May 2020: I did just see a functional doctor (HIGHLY recommend!) who has ordered more testing (waiting for results still) + prescribed me with several different natural supplements (turns out optimal thyroid levels to get pregnant are ideally 1.5 or less…mine is 3.3)…and recommended I go gluten-free. Here goes.
Update July 2020: On several different supplements — but the one that I really think is going to help me personally is L-Arginine. Read more on that here.
Update November 2020: We got pregnant! Though I do believe all of those supplements (including L-Arginine) did help, in the end I really think the root cause of my unexplained infertility was my thyroid. I explain more here. Almost immediately after we found out we were pregnant, however, we found it was not viable/possibly ectopic. Read more about those awful weeks of highs and lows here. Four weeks later, I miscarried. Read more about my story/finding comfort after miscarriage here.
Update February 2021: The day before New Year’s Eve, we found out we were pregnant again! After a start that seemed too eerily similar to our previous miscarriage, we have since confirmed a heartbeat via ultrasound! Although we are still nervous about this pregnancy that seems so uncertain after a miscarriage, we are celebrating the beginning of this little life. Thank you to all of those who have prayed (and continue to pray) for us.
Update September 2021: On September 11, we welcomed a baby boy into our family. 🙂 Again we are so thankful to everyone who has kept us in their prayers! Read more about how motherhood is going here.
Follow my page on Facebook: Contentment + Chaos
Follow me on Pinterest: Contentment + Chaos
Have a similar story? I would love to hear from you. Contact me at my about page here.