Early Symptoms of Infertility in Men and Women

 It’s common for couples to experience issues with infertility. Many of these couples have no symptoms. They don’t have any reason to suspect they may have infertility until they start trying to conceive.

Infertility is when you cannot get pregnant after having unprotected, regular sex for six months to one year, depending on your age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if you’ve been trying to conceive for a while and you’re starting to ask yourself, am I infertile? Am I struggling with infertility?

 

Signs of infertility in women

 

• chronic pelvic pain (not only during menstruation)
• pain during sex
• back pain
• fatigue
• nausea
• irregular periods and spotting
• bowel problems or pain with bowel movements
• Pain during sex
• heavy, painful and long periods
•  irregular menstrual cycle
• hormonal changes
• obesity, weight gain
• Changes in sex drive and desire

 

Signs of infertility in men

 

• hormonal imbalance
• erectile dysfunction
• Problems with ejaculation or ejaculate
• Changes in testicles (pain or swelling)
• Small, firm testicles
• Obesity
• age
• smoking tobacco or marijuana
• drinking alcohol
• history of sexually transmitted infections
• stress
• poor diet
• changes in hair growth

 

When to see a doctor

 

Anyone experiencing signs of infertility and who has been trying to conceive for more than a year (or 6 months if older than 35 years of age) may want to speak to a doctor for a thorough diagnosis.

Blood, urine, and imaging tests can be done to discover why you are having trouble getting pregnant. A sperm analysis can be done to check a man’s sperm count and the overall health of the sperm.

 

Sometimes there may be simple ways to make lifestyle adjustments to improve fertility, while other underlying causes may require treatment.

 

Even after an infertility diagnosis, there may still be ways to conceive that people can discuss with their doctor.