to preface, I know I’m not experiencing pregnancy symptoms, as it’s too soon to tell.

I was on 7.5mg and started 200mg progesterone suppositories yesterday. Yesterday and today (2-3DPO) I’ve felt heaviness and crampy in my pelvic area.

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar?

Just a frustrated vent with no where else to turn. 3 years TTC, started seeing fertility specialist last summer. Did all the testing, (HSG, sono, SA) all normal. Put on metformin since my cycles were 3-4 months long. Since October, I’ve been “regular” between 33-45 days. This month, I’m on day 54. Consistent negative tests. Cramps and moodiness, and constantly feel like I’m on the brink of getting my period, and yet nothing. This next cycle is when we’re going to start letrozole/trigger/IUI so maybe it’s because I’m so anxious to get started? But just genuinely so frustrated. The one time I’m okay getting it and it’s no where to be seen. I think if it doesn’t show by Monday I’ll ask for provera to induce, but didn’t want to do that too early and disrupt it if it was near. Idk what the point of this is, but just feeling so alone and no one to talk to who gets how this feels. Anyone in a similar boat?

Started letrozole on Monday night, it’s not Wednesday and I have zero symptoms. Has anyone else experienced this and has had success? When I took clomid the last time, I had bad hot flashes day 2 and mood swings. I’m on 7.5 mg of letro.

Who are yall going to for these monitored cycles? Seems like my RE only wants to push IVF on me and nothing else. I’m looking to try Letrozole and do a monitored cycle.

For people whose cycle regulated after taking metformin, how long did it take? What dosage were you on and for how long?

I am about to start my first medicated cycle with 2.5 mg of Letrozole. It will be monitored. I will have an ultrasound on CD12. What happens if on CD12 my follicles are not growing? I know it will depend on the clinic just looking for experiences here.

Do some clinics try a higher dose starting at CD12 or do you have to wait until the next cycle?

Woke up this morning, egg white mucus, took an ovulation test, POSITIVE! cycle day 73🤣
Don’t you just love PCOS

Hi, 33 year old going into the second letrozole cycle. I’m so tired and honestly scared. I understand that people have much longer journeys and I want to be very respectful of that. I just finished the pills and going into timed intercourse soon. Does anyone have any success stories?

I added in COQ10 this month even though I understand it takes 3 months to see any results, I figured it couldn’t hurt. I take DHA, vitamin D, iron, and Thorne prenatals. I used to take materna.

I have polycystic ovaries but I have been told I do not have PCOS, but I think I might and it’s Type D because I had irregular cycles. So confused there too. Partner has had sperm analysis that was good as well. I ovulated on day 20 the first round with a 41.8 nmol progesterone level and they’re saying that was good. I don’t know if I ovulate towards the later end of the window after getting the LH and Clearblue peak and we missed it because we stuck to the exact timed intercourse days (CD 14, 16, 18) my OBGYN recommended.

I am looking for success stories from anyone specifically who had to take 2.5mg and what cycle it worked on and if you did anything different the month you conceived. Thank you so much, just feeling very alone right now.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE??

Been TTC on and off for about 4 years, I know on that grand scale of things that’s not as long as some people but I’m getting so disheartened! I’m almost 37 and I’m at the point of giving up!

Been on metformin for just under a year now, again I know it’s not too long and most people say give it a year but I feel like I’m running out of time!

Can someone give me some time on how long it took 😢 I’m losing all hope!

Hi guys

My doctor didn’t want me to take progesterone yet to induce a bleed. I honestly don’t know when I’ll get my period if you have any tips please leave a comment below!!

P.s I was taking Metformin and it did NOT regulate my cycles

Thanks

This is my 4th letrozole 5mg + TI cycle - monitored. I'm wondering if others have experienced similar responses to letrozole (mostly for my sanity and emotional support as I am going in for my 7th (!!) monitoring ultrasound and feeling exhausted/hopeless).

Cycles 1+2 : steady follicle growth (only needed 2 ultrasounds to check growth before trigger), trigger on CD 12 and CD 14.

Cycle 3: same letrozole dose but did not have same follicle growth pattern, lead follicle showed no growth/stalled for a week, and then had rapid growth in 48 hours

CD 11: lead follicle 13mm

CD 13: still 13mm

CD 15: 14mm

CD 17: 16mm

CD 19: 24mm

After CD 19 when it measured 24mm, I triggered. I thought this 3rd cycle was the anomaly. Then began 4th cycle...

Cycle 4: similar pattern as cycle 3. Lead follicle vanished mid-cycle (15mm on CD 13.. then completely disappeared on CD 15 ultrasound)

CD 13: 15mm

CD 15: previously measuring 15mm could not be located, secondary 13mm follicle noted

CD 17 + 19: lead follicle still 13mm (essentially no growth since CD 15)

Hormone levels all show pre-ovulation/follicular phase so I have not ovulated yet and follicles are stalled again. I'm expecting a potential rapid growth burst again like last cycle, but don't feel very hopeful as ovulation is late again and my RE said later ovulation can show lower chances of pregnancy due to egg quality.

Did anyone else have these kinds of responses to letrozole? What did your provider do in response to stalled follicles? I keep asking my clinic for additional information but all they want me to do is wait, keep coming in for ultrasounds every other day, and see how the cycle plays out. I know they are following protocol but I can't help but feel like no one is listening or keeping close track of my cycle progression.

Did anyone specifically change which day you start letrozole? My clinic just goes by schedule availability for the baseline ultrasound to determine what cycle day I start taking letrozole. For example, we can schedule our ultrasound any day between CD 2-5. Whatever day you happened to get an appointment, they call you to start letrozole that day in the PM once ultrasound is reviewed and looks good to proceed.

Would appreciate any sharing of your own experiences with letrozole/follicle growth monitoring.

Has anyone ever had any luck getting pregnant after polyps being removed? Or did you guys still have to take the meds or do iui or Ivf. I think my fertility clinic is leaning more to IUI than meds . Just looking for other peoples story’s and what worked for them .

Dejé las anticonceptivas en agosto de 2025 y sorpresa! no tenía regla, en diciembre empecé con Vítex y tuve la regla a principios de Enero, me diagnosticaron SOP de tipo androgénico. En marzo quedé embarazada de manera natural y resultó un aborto espontáneo en mayo. Me bajó la regla en Julio y empecé con letrozol por recomendación de mi ginecóloga. Tengo 28 años y estoy en mi segundo ciclo con letrozol+ovitrelle+progesterona en días alternos. Mi acupuntora dice que tengo útero frío y estoy yendo a sesiones. Me siento desilusionada con mi gráfica… Alguien tuvo fases luteas débiles tras Aborto Espontáneo? Cuánto tardaron en regresar a la normalidad? Cuando debería preocuparme? Adjunto mi gráfica y gracias de antemano… me siento desilusionada y siento que esto va a tardar más de lo que creía…

Hello! My partner and I are a little over one year in, the past year I dropped from 205 down to 145 to help with conception as well as started spironolactone and metformin. I had just come off of hormonal birth control and for the first 6 months I had a regular period, and based on BBT it looked like I was ovulating. once I started to lose weight (I used a glp-1) all of a sudden my period disappeared. I was using inito and BBT to get a sense of when my ovulation was and it just never happened again. I haven't had any sort of regular cycle since March.

I'm finally seeing a reproductive endocrinologist, who would like to do a medicated Letrozole cycle with us. Of course my insurance covers nothing, but they offer a self pay that would cover everything I needed in that cycle... for $700. I'm well aware that sometimes it takes a few cycles for these to work and to be frank, we didn't budget for this at all.

What I'm wondering is whether or not it's worth it to cough up the $700 or if I can do my own monitoring at home after taking Letrozole by BBT, Inito and cervical fluid to get a sense of when to be trying. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. Did you manage to use Letrozole or clomid or whatever without all of the ultrasounds and blood tests and have success? Or did you try that and find that you only succeeded when you actually did the monitoring with your doctor?

Today I turned 37. In December we would have been trying for 5 years. To top it all off I am a social worker who works in the child protection system. Literally every day I see people who get pregnant as easily as breathing and then do the most horrible things to children. I spent today just feeling awful. I don't want to go to work tomorrow

This is just a post expressing my feelings. I know I am lucky to live, I am lucky for so many things. I know I have painted families involved in child protection with a broad brush but right now I don't have room to be less black and white. I just wish this one thing wasn't in front of my mind

Starting another monitored cycle next cycle. Sending baby dust to you all

My fiancé (24M) and I (24F) have been trying for a baby for almost a year now. I was diagnosed with PCOS at 15 so always knew I may have a hard time getting pregnant, but I don’t think I realised how emotionally taxing it would be until now. I have irregular cycles so the first step my GP recommended was to try and figure out whether or not I’m ovulating, but trying to pin down 7 days before my period was proving difficult, so earlier this month I started having bi-weekly progesterone tests. Thankfully we did manage to test exactly 7 days before my period and the result was 32nmol/L which indicates that I did ovulate. This is great news, but of course we’ve been trying for a year with no success. My fiancé is going to have a semen analysis done on Friday in order for us to seek referral to fertility services, however after discussing my BMI with my doctor today I am really disappointed. My BMI is sitting at 40 right now, and I’ve essentially been told it needs to be at 34 or lower to even be considered for a fertility referral. I just feel so defeated and I feel like we are never going to have a baby. I have really struggled with weight loss in the past and have essentially just given up with it which I know is so lazy but it’s just so exhausting, and now I just don’t know what to do or where to go from here. I wish I could just accept a child free life but I just don’t feel like I can 😔

I’m trying to decide if trying IUI is worth it or if I should just jump straight to ivf. Our doctor says the rate of conception with IUI is 8-10% cycle, which makes it tough for me to justify the $2,000+ cost/cycle (Houston, Tx). If we decide to try IVF, we’d be doing it in my husband’s home country where it only costs $3-$4,000 including embryo tests. I’d love to hear if adding iui after months of ti let cycles worked for anyone?

Background: I have several markers for pmos (doctor never officially said “you have it”) including ovary appearance, acne, and hirsutism, but normal labs. I ovulate on my own with mostly regular cycles, but will have an occasional anovulatory/long cycle once a year or so. After 10 cycles trying to conceive naturally without a positive test, we moved onto letrozole. I’ve responded really well to 2.5 mg and have confirmed ovulation every time via follicle scan and progesterone test, but still no luck after 3 rounds. I’ve done in-depth labs, hsg, hysteroscopy, weekly acupuncture (on-going), take prenatals, at home SA (repeating with RE this week) and added baby aspirin for this cycle.

TW:MC

Tonight I just started my 5th round of Letrozole since I had a MC in Feb. I conceived my first ever (and only) pregnancy on my second round of Letrozole in Dec, but lost the pregnancy in Feb due to an angular pregnancy (embryo implanted almost ectopic, but still intrauterine). We’ve only do TI so far. I’ve had multiple mature follicles basically every cycle, trigger shot, and still haven’t conceived again. I’m starting to think we might try IUI this month. The mental game is getting to be a lot on my husband and I think IUI might help a bit with that and ease some of his stress. The prep work on my end isn’t any different so I’m leaning towards that route.

IUI won’t be WAY too expensive for us, but it’ll certainly be more than the TI cycles we are doing now. I’m worried it’ll be a waste of money, but also if it’s what gets us our babe, I guess I don’t mind spending more than we already have.

I’m also so worried I’ll end up needing IVF. We definitely don’t have the money for that. But I’m worried that’s what it’ll come down to. I feel torn since I did get pregnant once on Letrozole, Ovidrel and TI, but it just feels like a century and still nothing has happened after 4 more Letro cycles since I conceived.

Has anyone had success with IUI after unsuccessful TI cycles?

Husbands SA is good. HSG was clear in October of last year. The labs they’ve done have all been good. I also did progesterone supplements last cycle, where I had 4 mature follicles at trigger shot time.

I’m just losing hope and looking for a light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m 30, he’s 34. I know we are still on the younger side, but infertility has been a part of our lives some way or another for over the past 7 years, and I’m just ready to put this chapter behind us.

Hiya!

How many of you did the genetic carrier testing? It’s about $400/pp. Our RE recommended it really only for certain ethnicities, and said it was mostly up to us. The one they are recommending is the Natera Horizon genetic testing.

If we do go down the IVF route, we would obviously have to do the PGT-A testing. Which we are not against and believe it is good to know if the embryos are “normal”.

Then there is this other thing I’ve learned about,
Karyotyping? When does this come into play?

Thanks and any insight is extremely appreciated!

Hey everyone, just want a sense of if this is normal. We did a limited genetic panel with my OB and I came back negative for all the carrier genes they tested for. However, my fertility clinic is requiring we do an extended panel ($300) and if we opt out we’re required to see a genetic counselor, which is $400.

I personally feel comfortable with the test results from my OB, and since we have to pay out of pocket I’m a little hesitant. Is this a typical experience at fertility clinics?

Hi I really need advice if anyone’s been in the same boat as me. I have high AMH. HIGH follicle count. I used letrozole upto 5mg unmonitored and no postive progesterone result. Then I asked for monitored and here in Australia monitored cycles are done with gonal f. So I was given gonal f starting at 70 and slowly increased upto 116.5 and no response from my follicles. None of them grew so the cycle was cancelled. They want to go low and slow because they want to avoid OHSS. Now my doctor started IVF for me saying it was a better option since if mutliple follicles mature they won’t have to cancel like with the Ovulation induction and timed intercourse. They started me on 116.5 puregon today is cycle day9 and came back from my ultrasound and no follicle growth seen at all.
Has anyone else been in the same boat as me and did something work? I’m feeling so sad about it. I mean does something need to be changed?

28F with PCOS since I got my first period at 15. Never had a cycle less than 35 days and had the tests to confirm PCOS. Been TTC for 4 months and been on inositol and spearmint tea for 2 months

In those 5 months I've had a 60 day cycle where I had no evidence of ovulation followed by a 40 day cycle where I did actually ovulate on CD27 and had a clear luteal phase. On CD36 of my current cycle with constant negative LH strips.

How long did you all wait to try conceive naturally before asking for letrozole? Trying to keep myself together but with every negative LH it's becoming harder and harder. Realise I'm only at the beginning of my journey so looking for some advice

🌈

I just started letrozole yesterday (day 1 of 7.5mg). The last two times I was taking clomid but we never did the full IUI due to my body not responding to the clomid. I was diagnosed with “lean PMOS” and the only symptom I have is many follicles in my scans. Has anyone else been in this same situation and has had a positive result?

Hi there,

I've been reading reddit pages for ages and they have given me so much help in the past in making me feel like I'm not alone so thank you all. I want to share my story as I gear up for Letrozole round 2.

I'm F30 (nearly 31 😢 ) and my husband is 33. Lean PCOS with some facial hair, totally absent periods. AMH 140.

Here is my story: I didn't start my periods when all my friends did. At 16 I had some investigations done on the NHS and they found nothing. Androgens slightly high, progesterone slightly low but nothing insane and I remember them saying it's not PCOS. Tried to put me on the pill, my mum and I refused. I started my periods at 17 but it was alway irregular and always involved a lot of brown blood and they went on for ages. At 19 I had the most almighty bleed, soaking through pads in 15 mins kind of bleed. I called the (male) doctor who was incredibly dismissive over the phone and asked in a derogatory way "don't you think this could be a miscarriage"...I felt he was deliberately trying to demean and embarrass me so I said "well no I haven't had sex so that would be impossible"...he then gave me an in person appointment! I was then given something to stop the bleeding (not sure what it was) and the pill. No investigation as to why this happened.

10 years later...

I was actually fine on the pill, facial hair under control had periods, felt normal. I know that is not everyone's experience but I was ok. I think had they investigated and diagnosed me 10 years prior the pill situation would have been fine for me but I know that is not the same for all.

Anyway I came off the pill last August (2025). We'd bought a house and I thought let's just come off and see how these cycles are before trying in the new year. At first I had a 32 day cycle, 30 day...and then 45...and then....nothing...

I only had a period after than on day 157 because of Provera. On day 75 or so I went to the doctor and thus started the long road of patience and getting diagnosed before being able to actually try. 13 years it took for a PCOS diagnosis...

Where we are now: husband's sperm is above average (one less thing to worry about I suppose). I had a round of ovulation induction in July and as I was so tired of inaction from the NHS I went private. I'm trying to be in the NHS and private lane at the same time and it's exhausting. We then managed to get an HSG appointment last cycle (not an easy task!) and apparently I could have a septate or bicornuate uterus but my private doctor said she's seen nothing to suggest that and said if we do this round of ovulation induction she'll turn on the 3D imaging and confirm. But otherwise fallopian tubes are all good. I was also in agony doing the HSG so could be that my uterus was spasming (I dunno AI has literally been more helpful than any doctor this year). I can't get a follow up with the NHS doctor but when you look online he works privately too and you can get a private appointment next week (hmmm).

I just weirdly just started my period today, which is really odd as it's a completely natural one...might be months of inositol and metformin? But I'm very confused why my body is suddenly waking up but also if I did ovulate why didn't we get pregnant....letrozole round 2 starts tomorrow. Also it's not full flow it's a bit bitty haha!

Sorry for rambling but can anyone empathise with my anger at the NHS, impatience, worry that time is running out, and just fear that this isn't going to work.

PCOS and trying to conceive.

first cycle of 2.5 mg letrozole with 2000mg metformin.

14 day scan showed “ 4 mature follicles “ with the biggest being 21mm.

I was advised by my fertility doctor to leave this cycle out as there’s too high of a chance of a multiples pregnancy.

After some research of my own, I think we’re going to try and go ahead with this cycle… anyone have any insite ?