All, this is so soon I was hesitant to share but I remember all the hard times I've hard times I've had the past 2.5 years so figured whatever I could do to help others as this board has helped me, was important. I got my first BFP in almost 30 months just TWO DAYS AGO. I am literally 4 weeks 5 days right now...I never thought it would happen.
Brief history then what I did that might help you:
I'm 32 and my husband is 31 (32 next month). TTC for about 2.5 years. Let me preface this with telling you everything I tried before seeing an RE or doing prelim blood work:
Vitex
Fertilaid
Fertilitea
At any given point I was on multiple supplements (including but not limited to: Royal Jelly, D3, Milk Thistle, Selenium, Baby Aspirin, Dandelion Root, Zinc and Magnesium, OvaBoost, Melatonin). I charted the whole time (even this cycle) and did ovulation tests the first year or year and a half.
After a year, I got prelim blood work from my OB-GYN and then went to see an RE after doing blood work that suggested everything was fine.
RE did blood work (all was normal) and sono-histogram (all clear)
Month one we did just progesterone support. BFN
Month 2 we did Clomid + HCG Trigger + IUI (great follie reading before for all three)
Month 3 we did Clomid again + HCG Trigger + IUI
Month 4 we did Clomid one more time + HCG Trigger + IUI
All BFNs obv. Progesterone made me super depressed. Clomid made me crazy so I decided that until someone had a diagnosis, I refused to keep putting hormones in my body and be told nothing was wrong. Costs thousands and doesn't help state of mind.
I finished all of this about 7 months ago and decided to take a break. My break to me meant that I wanted to do whatever I could in my power to figure out what was wrong (I love medical diagnosis and I decided to see this as a challenge to get to the bottom of what was wrong with me).
The first thing I did was read "Making Babies" - I highly recommend it to anyone TTC. Mostly because it gets you in touch with your body and makes you more conscientious about what you are eating and how you are treating yourself.
The only supplements I stayed on since were: Selenium, Milk Thistle, Royal Jelly and D3. Fast forward to this month.
Several years ago I had a Naturopath tell me I seemed to have adrenal fatigue. I looked into it a little over 30 days ago and it sounds like me (I'd bet it sounds like most of you too). I ordered a natural supplement and started taking it - I believe it's called Adrenal Support. I then wondered about the vitamins I took and if my body was absorbing them. I looked into ways to ensure my body was getting the most out of my vitamins and I stumbled across a little know thing called Dr. Willard's water.
Before I continue let me say that I have no affiliation with this company at all. I literally found it on a website that lists things that help you absorb nutrients better from food and vitamins. I ordered a bottle of Willard's water (clear version) from Amazon after reading some reviews. It only had about 30 or so reviews but I spoke with a few people in the more rural part of the country through a Facebook great about pet wellness (haha) that swear by it. Not only does it help you absorb nutrients, it also balances your body's PH. As a coffee drinker (and wine drinker) I thought it might be a good idea to try to balance my PH a bit (figuring it might be acidic).
I added a little bit of Willard's water to my water (and my dogs' water, haha) for the last 30 days or so. Bam.
The only thing I really changed in my diet was I added avocado about 5 of 7 days a week for breakfast (avocado toast). This month I took the adrenal support supplement (my blood pressure was the lowest its been in at least 15 days at 108/68 so I do think it helped), Willard's water (I believe this is the big difference maker) and avocado.
I think a lot of fertility medicine focuses on treatment and not enough on diagnosis. Who knows if this baby will stick but I think we often need to look at our own lifestyle and go back to basics (30-40 years ago PH balance was a big thing with conception - hence the advent of baking soda douches prior to OV day).
I am just like one of you who spent 29 months getting frustrated because nothing was physically wrong with me but I wasn't having any success. Though it's still super early, I am much more confident that I can get a BFP - something I truly thought would never happen.
Before you think you're at a dead end. Think of my situation and know that you need to be your biggest advocate. You know your body and your behaviors and you have to be willing to think critically to find a solution. Unfortunately a doctor will only do so much since they have a lot of people like you who visit.
PS I had an appt to see a new RE next week - great timing :)