TTC/Pregnancy on Prednisolone or similar part 4

Kittens my DH had counselling with Cruse last year when his brother died suddenly and it has really helped him. He was starting to drink a lot and was constantly down (to be expected) but Cruse helped him to put things into perspective and come to terms with his grief and to talk about the miscarriages. There was around a 3 month waiting list as you have to wait until someone feels they are ready to stop seeing a counsellor to free up a space. I think he saw them once a week for around 10 weeks and it is a free service. I would def recommend it.

Hi kittens, glad to see you're still around. Completely understandable that you're up and down, and as for the wine, well you're hardly a budding alcoholic having a couple of glasses every now and then, are you?! Neither I suggest is your liver at any risk. I've never gone through counselling myself (although I did train for some time to be a counsellor myself before dropping out at the time my dad died), but I know several people who have, including my best friend, who had to deal with her husband potentially dying - she never knew for sure, as he upped and disappeared with a terminal illness becaue he didn't want her to have to see him going through a possibly slow death. He thought it would save her grief - in fact it caused way, way worse, since she couldn't be there for him and doesn't know to this day what happened. Anyway, off the point, which was that she had counselling for quite some time, and swears by it.

Everybody reacts differently to counselling, and of course there are a myriad different types of counselling - and counsellors - and I guess like anything it comes down to you finding someone with whom you 'gel'. Just a thought - have you thought of acupuncture to help with the grief too? I was very, very miserable after my third MC in July, which is when I started seeing my acupuncturist for MC reasons, and she did 'stuff' to help with the emotional side of things too. I think it helped a good deal, she says she noticed my emotions stabilising well over the weeks I saw her back then, so who knows - if nothing else it may give you a period of time in which to completely focus on relaxing.

I've actually taken St John's Wort myself to help with depression (when I was going though a very bad emotional patch with ex-hub a long time ago) and I think it helped a lot. However, it has contraindications with some medicines/supplements, so I'd do a lot of careful research before taking it with fertility/miscarriage stuff.

Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a longer post than I intended! I mean well, honest :)

Sorry for the BFNs, and so excited at the prospect of free and charlie approaching 2nd trimester. You pregnant ladies are living breathing proof that this treatment does work, and gives hope to the rest of us still waiting!

/waves to everyone

Hi Kittens so glad to see you've popped in. As you well know there is nothing that can make you feel better at the moment other than time, but I think wine is definitely a good helper too. It just takes the edge off life a bit!

Just to jump in about the counselling thing. Mr Free is actually and counsellor and has been for around 20 years. I asked him the other night whether it was a good idea with the whole miscarriage/ttc thing we have all been through to get counselling and he was very enthusiastic about it. I had a six week session once a long time ago on the NHS (after my friends had died that accident) and I found it really helpful. I used to get the occasionally really low period around that time too, but one thing that this year has taught me is I seem to bounce back emotionally quite quickly. I would fully recommend counselling however and it's something that you don;t necessarily need to do for a long period.

Myself and Charlie won't be moving up to the 2nd trimester for a week or so yet, apparently it starts at the end of 13 weeks!

Morning ladies. I am 14 dpo today and got another BFN so I have stopped the Pred and am now hoping AF appears asap as I just want to get on with the next cycle at this point. I have to call the clinic where I will be having my NHS IVF round on CD1 and of course erstart the Letrozole (5mg this month) on CD2.

I've never had counselling but I have been depressed before (without ever seeking help for it). I wonder whether it would help. I do feel like a bit of an empty shell at the moment. 14+cycles of the rollercoaster of hope and disappointment have to have some effect on your mental state. I think it is inevitable.

Mostly lurking at the moment, as I've been quite busy at work and also feeling pretty miserable and not able to take in everything that's going on on here. I just wanted to pop in though, and say how thrilled I am to hear that free and comedy's Nuchal and Anomaly scans were good ones. Free, you are now officially 2nd Trimester so you need to move on the list!

Sorry for the BFNs this month. I suspect I will be joining you in a week or so. Not very much effort gone in this month, although I did SWI on 3 relevant days.

Duggs, your DH is very sensible. I guess it's good to have that rationality that isn't driven by hormones. He's right really, you might as well give yourselves the best possible chance. Will you take the month off pred too if you're not TTC this month?

With regards to counseling, I had some after my 2nd termination (3rd loss) and found it very helpful, even if the woman was one of those who finished all my sentences with me in a "by doing this I am showing you just how much I understand exactly what you're going through" sort of way, which was annoying. I had an appointment with a lady at my GPs before i went to France. She wasn't a counselor, she called herself a "mental health worker", and seemed to be offering something akin to CBT (stress management techniques and exercises) but I think now I need counseling rather than that. PQ who have you contacted about bereavement counseling? Are you doing it privately or through somewhere like Cruse? I think there is free bereavement counseling available but I don't think it's offered near where I live so I'm going to have to look into it further. I got a bit annoyed with the woman at the GPs too, she was very sweet and everything, but she asked me about alcohol and I said I had a couple of glasses of wine an evening and she started with the nanny state spiel about how this was a bad idea and that alcohol was a depressant and that it would make me feel worse. No dear, my mum dying makes me feel pretty shit and I don't think alcohol is making that any worse, but I could do with a bloody drink if you don't mind! It's not like I'm a binge drinker. Oh, and she said she was obliged to ask me every time I saw here if I'd had any thoughts about taking my own life. FFS!

Great scan news ladies! So happy for you all. :)

duggs interesting to hear about your counseling experience- I sometimes think that I should look into it after a roller coaster 5 years of ttc, termination and mc but always think I should pull myself together. I have, of course, been blessed with my DD during this time and should be grateful for everything I have, DD, DH, nice house, family, friends etc etc. Of course there's also the fact that I keep thinking I'll be Ok once I'm pregnant with another healthy baby. It's definitely something that I'm considering right now though.

digi loved your post about baby digi kicks! So sweet.

snoopy sorry you're a bit down about the BFN so far, maybe good news for you tomorrow?

AF finally arrived for me last night. Quite relieved actually as was 17dpo and 19 dp trigger injection!
Will be trying the higher dose of Letrozole next cycle and then I guess a break for me as it'll be the 6th round of pred.
Am thinking about where to go on holiday next month to cheer me up :)

Waves to everyone else!

Ahh free there is no chubby anything on you! A mere slip of a thing.

Someone was asking about counselling choccy perhaps ? I has some privately ( my company offers it and I called up after the 12 week horror saga in march. They had a slot in about 2014 by which time I figured may well just be a little late). So off i went. I have been before in my twenties when I threw objects at my 10 yr older unsuitable boyfriend and couldn't work out why I was behaving irrationally) anyway the main difference is there is a def cause of the "depression". Cause and effect. Talking to him was good for me as he had to listen. But I kept feeling you aren't going to give me a baby so why am i wasting my money. In retrospect i think it probably did help rationalise my thoughts. It is about coping and dealing with whatever life throws at us i suppose and at the time I didn't feel I was really coping or wanting to cope. I could have continued I guess but then again couldnt we all? Wasn't my priority so after about 5 sessions a few months I stopped. I would say having someone to listen who doesn't try to relate or rationalise ( as we do as humans naturally) was probably better for me than I realised at the time. Not an expert by any stretch but just my limited experience.

...a bit less 'moony'. But am still looking rather chubby in the cheek department.

Thanks Ari :) Yes it was definitely so worth going to FMC. It cost £180, the blood test was done with result back in half an hour and the scan itself took half an hour. Of course I haven't had a proper nuchal on the NHS to compare it with (last time I got that far I saw a terribly still dead thing and was rushed in and out with some very silent monographers). I fully recommend FMC though, they were so thorough.

I am now hospital-less as I have cancelled my local one and waiting to hear re the referral to Epsom. Hope that's ok! As far as I can tell there's nothing I am missing out on at the moment if I have had the nuchal.

Good info for all the super ov folk. Good to hear too Digi that there are quite a few Clomid babies out there. Hope that makes you feel a bit better Snoopy although I can understand how it can all get you down.

Duggs am chuckling away at your sneaky seduction attempt and impressed at Mr Duggs? willpower. Maybe you will have to wait until after the procedure after all. If you think about it, in the scheme of things, it is not long to wait. And enjoy the time not TTC and not pregnant! Have a series of cocktails for me please.

Cheerful it sounds like all yours will be fine, being that the baby itself was fine. I wasn?t quite sure what the blood tests were actually testing. I am with you re the house thing for Coconut too. Especially after what PQ told me the other day. I love the house buying/selling thing. I need to get on with it myself soon as we need to make sure we have sold/rented out both flats and moved into one place by July, just in case I am having a baby?. I loved PQ's house btw, am looking forward to going round for tea again very soon :)

Comedy that is great news about the scan! Especially a relief I imagine to check for the same issue that your son had.

Hi Buster! You are very brave watching One Born Every Minute. I can?t face it at the moment. I remember watching it a few times when pregnant last Jan and then I miscarried and haven?t been able to face it ever since. It can indeed be emotional!

Good luck for Stogan and anyone else with scans today! I am just arranging for my next appt with Mr S. The way my holiday is booked I will either have to have the extra intralipids Mr S mentioned at 15 weeks or at 17 weeks. I think I would prefer 15, better earlier rather than later (?), but that will only be three weeks after the last one.

Am down to 15mg of Pred today. By Monday 23rd I will be steroid free! My face is still puffy though and I have dark circles. I might be imagining it but I think it MIGHT just be getting a bit less m

Morning!!
Lovely scan news!!
Sad for cornflakes
I was a week late for AF euro after my first cycle of pred Going to start using the opk from cd10 as last month didnt get a smiley face at all!
I got a bit emotional on Wednesday evening. I was watching 'one born every minute' - smiling happily at the telly at the lovely emotional moment the baby is born. I suddenly had a horrible feeling 'what if I never experience that lovely moment?' Then burst into tears!! Oh dear!
Hope all goes well for scan today stogan

xxx

Ahh snoopy no pred doesn't cause PCOS but if you are prone to it or had it the weight gain pred can cause can trigger it off again. This then can mean issues ovulating too late and causing over mature eggs. Am sure you r fine but the super ov picks this up if not as dr s an expert in this area too apparently! it is treated with metformin to lower blood insulin levels and re balance hormones. Nothing to worry about if u don't have the PCOS signs. Digi has it and look at her!!

Really PQ? I was worried about insulting him, but at the same time, having studied what's going on in the area I think his house was quite over-priced, so I think out offer isn't that unrealistic. I don't think he's desperate to sell, to be honest, so I'm not holding out much hope.

Duggs - Gah! Mr Duggs is too sensible.

Does anyone need any pred or omeprazole? I've got a couple of boxes in the cupboard that I don't need. PM me if you do and I can post it on or bring it to the meet up later in the month.

Morning all,

Congratulations ladies on all the fantastic scan news x

First time I didn't want to post on here last night feel really down , particularly with talk of pred maybe causing PCOS, and poor egg quality thing - did I read that right? Think had a touch PMT. Slight back ache and tummy ache yesterday too. No bfp for me this morning although 1 more test to do tomorrow, but not holding out any hope. Sorry for your bfn's too euro and cherry.

Anyway feeling better today as good nights sleep.

Dr S has put me on 5mg of Letrozole BTW and at least I will get an internal scan so that might be interesting to make sure there are no other problems.

Also to add to things friends SIL 14 weeks preg on Metformin for PCOS and my sister has a 5 yr old who was a frozen embyro and she took clomid.

Have a good day ladies. Oh and stogan good luck today and we must sort out some little webpage somewhere as I want to see your gorgeous bubba when it comes!! RL proof that this does work!. V Excited for you. x

Yes mister duggs is more patient than me! Metformin helped me lose a bit of weight at first but xmas seems to have countered that. It's ok I figure I need to be on it generally ! Scan tastic news from the pregnant ladies. Is very encouraging for us all!

Duggs, your DH is too perceptive even early in the morning. how are you getting on with the metformin. Do you notice any difference on it?

Free - yay - brilliant scan news and low risk too. The relief is fantastic. Wish I got my risk back so quickly too. I had similar thing in that it was measuring 12 weeks 2 days (i thought i was 12 weeks 0 days) but the woman said if i was sure of my dates then just stick with the 12 wks 0 days. She didn't seem bothered which date i went with so i'll just stick with 12 w 0 days.

Comedy - well done on your scan and Stogan - good luck for today.

Coconut - i would always go for as low an offer as you dare at the beginning that way even if you have to increase it later and it then gets accepted you know you got it for as low as you possibly could, and you could get lucky like PQ and get it accepted as your first cheeky offer. Good luck!

Ahh. . . Tried a sneaky, beakie seduction attempt ( err smiley face look at it -time for a quick shag before you go out approach?- which is un heard of in these parts these days due to 2 yr ttc journey). DH immediately cottoned on and refused to oblige. Said we must be sensible as we're almost there waiting for hysteroscopy. God I bore myself. So no swimmers near me so I really should pipe down. Glad I'm on metformin and letrozole. euro pls give another chance. I'm on 5mg as 2.5g didn't work - remember giant egg that I droned on about? I need to learn some patience .

PQ thanks for letting me know you know good stories. I know some people who have been through IVF successfully but no one I know has had a Clomid/Letrozole baby.

digi it must be wonderful to hear kicking.

just had to interrupt my Vampire Diaries viewing marathon to join in the good scan excitement! Great news all, and hopefully you have a good fluid level tomorrow Stogan

ari I think FMC is fantastic but my one tip for anyone booking in is to book in the morning as they tend to run horrendously late by the end of the day.

coconut - good luck with the cheeky offer. I was being a house bore with free the other day and saying how we put in an embarrassingly low offer on our house last year and i tried to stop Mr PQ as I thought he'd offend the vendors - luckily he went ahead and they accepted much to my huge surprise.

euro wish i knew more about PCOS, endometriosis is more my specialty subject. The only positive thing I can share, if you're in need of a boost, is that I know lots of women (seriously heaps - friends, colleagues, relations) with PCOS who have eventually conceived successfully using clomid or letrozole.

duggs you crack me up. I truly thought i was the most impatient person in the world ttc but you really give me a run for my money . Dying to hear if you resist the lure of the smiley face. it's just so...smiley. It says come on, you know i'm a good egg, don't you...

heelllooo to everyone else.

free I do remember tracking your intralipid drama on here when I was more of a lurker. In retrospect I was too down to ever post so I guess it is a good thing that I am now up to boring everyone with my inane wittering.

YEY free cheerful and comedy things are looking good ladies xxx

I've got my scan to check the fluid tomorrow, apprehensive still at 32 weeks !!!

Hi Ladies, what a busy thread. Thank you so much for getting back to me. Thank you duggs/euro for your guidance. It's all very helpful in weighing what i need to do!
Freelance - i have a very bad habit of diagnosing people on MN but on my side i'm always grateful for people's thoughts. We don't have asthma or eczema in our family. My mother has hayfever but that's about it. To be honest I have had feelings about other things and I am terrible at self diagnosing. Did your friend become pregnant after finding out about her nk cells?

thank you once again. You are all very helpful. I do lurk here quite a lot!

I posted earlier and it has gone! Just saying what brilliant news on the scans today :)

Am knackered so will be off, can barely keep my eyes open xx

Great news Free and Comedy - so happy for you both! Must be a relief for you both:)