finally bfp - chemical pregnancy

Hi everyone who follows this.

Just wanted to update that we finally got our first bfp last cycle with our second IUI, however it resulted in a chemical pregnancy.

DH's SA from July came back with 3% morphology, corresponding to moderately reduced fertility. All other parameters were good. In an attached (probably automatically generated) note it says that we would possibly need IUI or IVF with ICSI in order to conceive. DH's SA from September came back with 1% morphology, corresponding to severely reduced fertility. The note said that we would possibly need IVF with ICSI to conceive.

We are now seeing a reproductive endocrinologist. After checking DH's post wash count in October, it was 19 mil/ml, we were told that we could try IUI. I was skeptical since the combination of DH's morphology and my age (36) make us not good candidates for IUI, but it would give better odds than anything we tried previously. Our first IUI was in November with post wash concentration 25 mil/ml. BFN. Our second IUI was in December, with post wash concentration of 26 mil/ml. BFP, but not until 14 dpo, and then it was only very faint.

Over the days that followed the hpts got only slightly darker, and eventually started getting lighter again. By 21 dpo I was miscarrying.

This is what the hpts looked like when they were wet, with the pictures taken after about 5 min using smu and a 5 hour hold.


I began miscarrying with heavy bleeding with the smu of the test at 21dpo. An HCG beta blood draw was taken just after I took that hpt. It came back with a beta value of 7.

Also, even though it looks like bfp was there already 7 and 9 dpo it wasn't. This was due to the hcg injection (ovitrelle) I got at -1 dpo to trigger ovulation. The hcg was still (barely) in my body even at 10 dpt. The real bfp appeared 14dpo. Here is what the hpts looked like dry

And here is the bbt chart



An ultrasound on cd 3 of the following cycle confirmed that I am miscarrying naturally. The RE also found a ~ 4cm cyst on one of my ovaries. She said that it was a corpus luteum cyst, and that these are common in early pregnancy. After doing some searching it seems they are a not uncommon side effect of clomid, and usually harmless. I was on clomid cd 3-7.

Naturally we were devastated. We waited 14 cycles (almost a year) for a bfp, and then a week after it appeared, it was gone. We are going to try again this cycle, however we are doing a natural cycle to allow my body to recover.