TTC/ pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar part 2

Morning all - booked in yesterday with midwife and have an NHS scan booked for Thursday 17th (12 weeks) - would someone mind updating this on the list whenever that gets done next please. Last lot of intralipids next Tuesday - anybody else visiting new life that day? Another night with minimal sleep - amazing how our bodies still seem to get by although my body doesn't seem to be doing too well at the moment - keep looking at my thighs and thinking they can't all be mine!!

For the TTCers - this is my ninth pregnancy and I have never had a positive before at least 14 dpo. Good luck guys x

suemays the pred gave me hideous heartburn. I ended up asking my GP for omeprazole to take with it to calm it down as the Gaviscon wasn't really touching the sides. I was tipping that, ginger tea, peppermint tea, peppermints, you name it, down my throat to try and get rid of it!

scooter good to hear from you and that you are feeling positive. Your osteopath sounds really interesting. My last GP told me I wasn't allowed to see an osteopath during pregnancy. Is there a change in the way you are treated? Where are you based? If you're in London I'd be interested to know where your osteopath is as I get really bad neck and shoulder pain when I am tense and I wasn't able to do much about this when I was pregnant. Would be nice to get some respite next time! Best of luck with your scan this week by the way.

My memory is rubbish at the moment. The last 3 posts I've meant to welcome cornflakes and only remembered afterwards. So, welcome to you!

Yes, I had a meet up last year with the lovely ladies I met on the other big thread I'm on on antenatal tests & choices and I didn't need to worry about recognising them either. A large group of ladies at varying stages of pregnancy is pretty unmistakeable!

Ps I can also make the meet up on the 6th. With all the pred and pregnancy-related swelling going on it's going to be like a convention of little puffa fish, probably won't need to wear carnations to spot each other ;-)

Stogan great news on your amazing scan, I am so glad you had such a beautiful experience :-)

Great news for iggi and digi on the scans earlier this week, comedy did you have a scan too? I can't scroll back far enough on my phone there are so many posts!! Hoping this is a good run for scans... my first one is Thurs pm eek!!

Digi I also have a very boisterous 3yr old DS and always worried about him leaping on my tummy. I have just got very quick to clock him when he's charging at me full pelt and in bed, wedge myself in with pillows or use DH as a bolster between us! But as others have said, I think they are pretty well cushioned on the inside so we probably needn't worry too much.

Kittens once again completely amazes me how you are dealing with everything, as everyone has said you strike us as so strong and brave. Really hope your mum has a better week and you can have some quality time together when you travel out there. Good luck with your referrals, I know it's a nightmare and you have enough on your plate but you are absolutely right to stay on top of things, definitely chase if you don't get your callback at lunch tomorrow. Hope it gets sorted quickly for you.

Sympathise completely with the wet fish slapped early testers, I did exactly the same and got two BFN at maybe 7 and 10dpo (can't recall exactly) before the positive finally showed up 14dpo. Stats are interesting free. It was maddening the symptom spotting stage but by the time I took the test on day AF due, I think I knew... it was physically a feeling of here we go again, this feels familiar.

sue during 2ww I had unexplained cramping in my back and period pains, mild nausea, heartburn, funny taste in my mouth, feeling of being full all the time, popup Mr Greedy tummy and when I went for a run few days after conceiving there were some rather alarming moments I had to stop because I felt like I'd sprung a leak! Sorry TMI but you asked! Don't recommend jogging during 2ww just in case!

Saw an osteo yesterday who saw me between miscarriages and she was fantastic and so positive. She is the sort of osteo that tunes into your body and rebalances your energies and she said she had managed to connect me to this pregnancy and predicted it going well. She guessed the due date and kept talking about 'him', felt really nice that someone was referring to an actual baby and it's actual arrival, a hopeful day. Ask me again tomorrow and i will probably be wailing in a ball somewhere but such is the rollercoaster!

Brownie I know how you feel, I have all sorts of pains cramps and aches going on! Hope you are finding reassurance from iggi and coconut. All pain panics me too but I am trying to visualise my body getting ready for the long haul and trying to think that's all it means. Know it's tough, hang in there and keep positive. How far off is your scan?

Really have everything crossed for some BFPs over the next few days. Eagerly lurking for someone to bump me off the bottom of the list.

Duggs, the marvellous statistician! Hope you start to feel more positive soon, it's great what you are finding out about the group, hope it's a good distraction from the watching and waiting. My history is DS aged 3, then 3mc in nine months. 3 of the BFPs were on first cycle, 2 second cycle.

Sorry if I've missed people, there was SO MUCH to catch up.

Meant to say bad heartburn - not bed! That would be something completely different especially with all our TTC tips!

Free - that's really interesting and probably info that FR and Clear Blue don't like to divulge! You would think that by 17dpo it would be higher than 92% BFP. Strangely enough on fertility friend it says my testing day should be 19DPO rather than 14DPO. I guess we are just all too impatient but then some of us do need to go onto the higher dose of preds etc so we do need to know!

Has anyone else had really bed heartburn on the preds? Mine is awful at the moment!

Aggh! I can't keep up.

I just wanted to post this for the TTC-ers. It's a list of when people tend to get a BFP sent to me by a friend when I was testing last time. I thought it would appeal to the growing legion of chart fans

DPO & % of women who get BFP on that day:

10dpo 35%
11dpo 51%
12dpo 62%
13dpo 68%
14dpo 74%
15dpo 80%
16dpo 88%
17dpo 92%

Brownie at my appointment on Monday I brought up every pain I'd been having and was told it was all normal (somehow I'm more reassured when S says that than the EPU!). The worst stomach pains I had went away after the private scan I got when the epu wouldn't help - so must have been to a large extent caused by stress. I they should consider our mental health too when making decisions that we should wait weeks to find out the news. (That scan was much cheaper than a S one by the way - £75)
Duggs for your list, I have a 4 year old boy. My thyroid went underactive when I had him, starting off my immune problems IMO.
Thinking of everyone else.

Thanks Brownie! I generally dont tend to get an early BFP. With my 3 year old I was 8 weeks pregnant and had no idea as had no symptoms etc. I spotted around the time of my AF so thought I had a light one that month as had just come off the pill! I dont know why I tested early today as knew I wouldnt get a BFP but couldnt resist - I have no will power! My AF is due on Monday so time will tell but I am not expecting a BFP if there is one until a few days later judging on my last pregnancies.

Sue my DH said that too, but am a rubbish liar :) I fold within minutes so never would of made good spy or criminal. Also I have a large haematoma that they identified when I went in at 6 wks so they told me not to stress about any bleeding.

I did get sore boobs early on and generally felt off. I tested 10 DPO and got BFP. Keeping fingers crossed for you

You too Stogan, stay strong x

Hey ladies thanks again for all your lovely words and support what an amazing day !

brownie my pains were sometimes similar to period pains but I remember having pains that I could only describe as elastic twanging inside my tummy on either side and in the middle, very strange an I was very worried too but MW confirmed normal ligament pain. I know nothing I say is going to make u feel 100% better sweetie but try to take a bit of comfort and relax. Massive hugs to u Hun, and to ur little one xxx

Kittens I have got to 12 wks twice before but had missed miscarriages at about 8 - 9 weeks both times. Felt pregnant with morning sickness and sore boobs all the way till 12 wks, just not the twinges. I will do what you say and take them as a positive sign that the bean is growning and all is well :) Iggi definitely using Iggi as my inspiration! Sorry you are having probs with your GP, it must be incredibly frustrating. My experiences have not been great with mine and having to chase is irksome to say the least. You shouldn't have to deal with that in addition to everything else.

Euro totally agree about the scan. I just don't want to have to come into London to do it. If I still feel nervous will book one for Friday. hope your appointment with Mr S comes good and he can help with ttc.

Comedy thank you for you kind words. It is so tough to see friends enjoying their pregnancies without having 'the fear'. Every time I start to dream about the future or touch my growing belly I have to slap myself with the imaginary tango hand to pull myself back. I know we all feel that way it just feels so unfair.

Coconut will defo try and keep myself occupied. Seeing a friend tomorrow that I haven't seen for 5 yrs and then am going to Islington Christmas Country Living Fair on Thursday to do my Crimbo shopping. Worth a visit if you haven't been before.

Waves to everyone else. X

Cornflakes - welcome, everyone on here is lovely if not a bit crazy!

Duggs, I have a 3 year old and have conceived 4 of my pregnancies (including my daughter) in the first month. 1 pregnancy was on the 2nd month TTC. I am 39 and my DH is 38. Dr S also said that her pregnancy switched on the NKC. Last month was my first of TTC on Dr S's plan but I ovulated late and my DH was away at the crucial time so there was no way I would have got a BFP. Don't feel too down as it will only be another couple of weeks before TTC again if it is your AF.

Fellow POAS and 2ww'ers - I also did a test this morning as am 9DPO and have been feeling really rough (another slap on the wrist)! Not sure if its the preds but I have been feeling really tired, sore boobs, slight nausea and indigestion as well as irritable. My mum says she always knows when I am preggers as says I am really moody (thanks mum!)

Did any of the pregnant ladies have any symptoms in the 2ww? It's driving me insane over analysing everything!

Kittens - sorry to hear about your mum, it must be so hard trying to keep calm and not get upset.

Stogan - great news on the scan, I can't believe how fast your pregnancy seems to be going now!

Brownie - cant you lie and say you did notice some blood? They cant prove it can they????

duggs sorry that you are feeling low. Sadly, no matter how delighted we are for our friends' pregnancies/new babies, it is still makes us feel heart wrenchingly sad for our own losses. One of my oldest friends had a baby this year. She had IVF because she'd not been able to conceive, a lot of which was very probably down to the terrible stress she'd been under over the years of loosing both her parents and then being in a car crash which meant she couldn't walk for a year. I was absolutely thrilled to bits for her when she had her baby, but it took me 10 weeks to be able to visit without getting upset.

Stogan, I can't remember whether I posted or just thought what great news that is about your scan. If I didn't post it, I meant to!

Thanks coconut for your kind words. I'm doing my best to keep spinning the plates and keep everything going! The biggest thing I'm struggling with this week is getting the motivation to do what I call "the hustle". Being self employed, I have to keep calling people up and trying to get work. That's really tricky, I'm feeling so emotional that the last thing I want to do is call up relative strangers and tell them how great I am!

euro I think we can inhabit the same sliver of the pie chart!

I went into the GP surgery this evening to check whether my referral had been sent off for the fertility clinic and it hasn't. I've left a message for my GP and they said he will call me at lunchtime tomorrow. He's super helpful with prescriptions and the like, and very sweet but I can't help noticing this isn't the first time a referral hasn't happened when it should have. He didn't action my first referral request to the RMC last year either. I had to chase it. He also hasn't sent of my referral to the hospital about having my post op foot checked after the request from my podiatrist in August! Grrrr. A while back I asked another GP there to refer me to be checked for Ashermans. I don't think that got done either. But I will file that one for later if I have a problem TTC again. Nobody I've mentioned it to seems to think this is likely.

God Brownie, that sounds really stressful. I don?t know if it?s any consolation but I?ve had a lot of stretching and almost stabbing pains that I found quite alarming. I?m pretty sure it?s just normal ligament stretching but I can understand why you feel so worried. I hope you can keep yourself occupied until Monday.

Welcome Cornflakes!

Kittens ? I?m so sorry about the situation with your mum. It must be so hard trying to work out the logistics of getting that precious time with your mum/work/ttc. You sound like a brilliant daughter though.

Digi ? SPD sounds grim. Did you suffer with it with your ds too?

Amazing news Stogan. Really really happy for you!

Sounds promising Duggs! I?ll be watching with excitement over the next few days. BTW I?ve got a ds who is now 3 (and am pregnant now). I always get pregnant on the first or second try. I think it was the second try this time. I didn?t start the treatment until I was 6 weeks pregnant. Like Arian, Mr S thinks having my ds triggered my NKC and my underactive thyroid as well.

Cheerful ? Re the bleeding, I?m sure I had a friend who had some light bleeding when she was on cyclogest and she put it down to vaginal irritation. Could that be the case for you? I ended up opting for the, ahem, back entrance after feeling like I was constantly on the verge of an infection or something.

Sorry you're feeling low Duggs - take care and keep up the data analysis! - the info you wanted - I have a son who died aged 2 1/2 (who would have been seven this weekend) and a daughter who is five - since then had six miscarriages. I had spotting for a day about three or four days before a BFP by the way ...

brownie - I understand exactly how you feel - most of my miscarriages were missed and I feel like I always knew but now I think I'm just negative. I have had lots of lower left twinging, no breast soreness and was fairly sure last weeks ten week scan would not be good news, however, all fine. So mean of them not to scan you but believe that this is going to be ok because I really think this treatment works!! The drugs are also causing all sorts of stomach issues and I had shocking cramping tonight very much helped by a bit of time on the loo!! Take care.

Feel free to leave me as a footnote to your table duggs as I am a bit different to the rest of you and might skew the stats (e.g.in such a small group my 12 cycles and counting without a BFP would substantially up the average).

Brownie would it be worth you getting a private scan? The cost might be worthwhile to relieve your anxiety.

Duggs you are doing a sterling job, chin up sweetie and maybe all the stats will keep your brain a little bit occupied.

Me: straightforward -1 son nearly 6 then 5 mc's, Ist cycle of pred this month, me 42 OH 38 (toyboy)

Will do choccy - it will make sense once I make a nice table. Apologies to those who I am boring to death. AND Sorry for my typing just now on iphone on train. Back now.

Ok just need suemays and arian to confirm which cycle pred attempt they on and Im nearly there.

Seems that of 8 of us TTC - 4 have already got BFP but MC or chemical MC. They now on 1st or 2nd go post Dr S mc. Saying this 2 of you were high and 2 were v high so no more or less risk to either group.

Also on the PG group 3 are V high and 4 high ladies, so again pretty balanced.

Just a case of another go with more pred in your systems and learnings from Dr S. This is a v interesting group as we need this group to suceed as you the safety net. It would also be interesting to explore Dr S responses to you guys for your 2nd rounds.

As for the rest of us, we are either on 1st, 2nd or 3rd cycle (sorry sue and arian can't remember ) But there is someone I think euro who is looking into IVF but wants to get things right before heading down that way. Wise lady.

I am having more pink/brown mucus TMI - think it is just AF early.. no BFP.. it is due on Sat.. I guess it could be early .

Off now to see my oldest friends -one has 3 girls under 5 (so ok that is just careless) and the other has 1 week to go, but v happy for her as unexpected as her DP had cancer a while back and got told he had almost no chance of children. But 6 yrs on she is 36 weeks.

I will check in on my phone, I feel a bit down. Will be ok once I know one way or other and can get on with pre ov life again for another month. x

brownie are you further along than you have been before? This might be why the feelings are unfamiliar. Yes, you will definitely have stretching pains and twinges. The pains are not always a sign of trouble. In a way they can be heartening as your body is making room for growth. Use iggi as your inspiration! Remember she was complaining about pains and feeling really worried and then went on to have a very positive scan. I think it's shitty that you should be tutted at and dismissed in the way you were. This is one of the issues that the MN Miscarriage Code of Practice is trying to achieve. People who work in the EPU should be trained to treat people with more compassion and make scans available to those with a history of repeat miscarriage. Even if they believe there should be no cause for concern and don't want to book you in for a scan they could at least be kind about it and not sharp and dismissive.

Duggs the following information has me a bit baffled. I can't quite understand what you are saying!

Tells us with 7 pg and 6 at least one child 13 of us, it gives hope to the 8 of is not get pg and without children. ( do u know what I mean fellow no children ladies?) we are not a barren shell. There is real hope.

Oh, and you put me in the group of people who have got pregnant within 2 cycles of pred and mc'd but that's not so. I haven't conceived at all since being on the pred. I was on pred for 6 months, then took a 2 month break and am now about to start it again when I ovulate. I got pregnant on 1st or 2nd cycle before taking pred and since being on pred.... no dice!

Duggs could you move me to the group in the para below ie with Free etc, as I'm all sorted on tests etc and had chem/mc on month 2 on Pred. This is therefore month 4 overall or my 2nd 2nd...

So impressed with all your work on this! You're right it's comforting to know that the majority will succeed. I hold on to the knowledge that I'll conceive at some point if not this month - it's just (ha!) a case of will it stick?

Still a bit crampy and achy back... Argh! The wait, the fear...

Thank you Stogan Your post made me and DH fill up just now. I am desperately trying to stay positive, this will be the furthest we will of got if we get a hb on Monday. I agree with you about the much needed compassion by some EPU staff. Were your twinges like period pains then, have never had them like this before?

Duggs looking forward to seeing pie chart/table as geeky as it may sound :) am sure there are some common themes. I have no children to date.

I guess u don't want a Doppler in case it causes unnecessary scares?

Ok looking into patterns.
Firstly there seem to be 21 of us ladies here active anyway.

A third are pregnant- 7 of us.
1 on first try, 4 on second and 1 on third. So over half it took 2 attempts less.

So dr s is right about first 3 trys being common.

I only have digi saying she has a child already - are all the rest of u going to be first time mothers then ? Am sure not do tell?

Out of us TTC group- there are 14 of us - 70% of us. Due to nature will always be largest group as this is where newbies join.

6 seem to be mothers already - just under half and 8 have no children yet.

Tells us with 7 pg and 6 at least one child 13 of us, it gives hope to the 8 of is not get pg and without children. ( do u know what I mean fellow no children ladies?) we are not a barren shell. There is real hope.

For the mothers trying to get a bfp then I guess the pg group offer most hope, particularly the speed.

choccypud, euro,cherry and I think coley you guys are waiting for some more feedback right? on results or time to conceive - do tell what you r thinking having passed the 3 cycle Mark or the adverse affect of steroids on ttc.

free, kittens and pure have u guys all had a bfp on this plan within 2 cycles but mc so looking more closely at your treatment plans with dr s? Is that right ? It did I lump someone in that group?

If you can help me out on these then then table starts to form.

Apologies now for inaccurate or missing info. cornflakes what about u?