The Genuine BESH Palais. To misquote Carlsberg, we're probably the barrenest TTC-ers in the world...

Ouch at painful balls. In merkinland I've generally been stropping about lack of baybee and doing nothing to help (including only having the sechs once in shag week last cycle). Due to O on Tue and off on hol with VVTM in the morn so would hope for some action in the sun however new job starts in June and I won't get maternity pay if upduffment happens before I start. Anyone want to bet who will win between law of sod or total barren-ness in the fight of whether I get diffed this month?? I'm so sure I will never get pg that I'm being rather blasé about it, but sure that wouldn't be the case if I wasn't getting paid during maternity leave!!

Hawt men in suits is a given, Frank!

Excellent work, rasp, and for Driz.

Just been for a ten-mile jolly - not really hammering it too much, but still keeping a nice high average speed. We're off to the pub for a friend's birthday later, and if HOTB gets home in time we'll ride there - it's a few villages away, so an easy six miles or so. It's been a long time since I've ridden in the dark, though!

Nice work rasp.

Welcome back merk. What's going on in merkinland at the moment?

drizz I'm glad it doesn't sound like anything too problematic.

Rasps, is this the end of the long dtd drought then?

Phew, unlikely to be anything properly sinister or anything to do with the general inability to conceive. Maybe an infection, maybe kidney stones, or maybe something else.

I didn't see any spoilers evil, lots of hawt men in suits though

Not yet, Frank, I'm too scared of spoilers to go looking! Pictures will get posted up on my LJ comms pretty soon, though, I think.

Ouch lemon, that sounds, er, painful.

Happy shagging Bugs

Evil have you seen all the pictures/videos from the ST:ID premiere last night? They're all ver Twitter

I am nervously waiting for a call from SB, who's gone to see his GP about painful balls

Quick wave...

So ...... Day 23 and I had LOADS of CM this more, like a bucket full, that means if I ov today, which might make sense as I've had a really sore lower back and stabby pains, ill be having a 37/38 day cycle. :/ we did manage to DTD when we woke up though, thought I'd escaped menkulling this month but obviously not now!

What Ho Merks! Glad to see you.

Hello BESH. Long time no see. I have been off being selfish (working too hard) and evil (drinking too much) and trying to forget about my barren-ness. What news?

As I understand it, moll, they are a component of the immune system. The thinking is that if the levels are too high, the body will reject an embryo as it is 50% foreign DNA. However, there is a lot of debate about whether the type of NK cells in the blood tells you anything about the levels of NK cells in the womb and even if it does that means anything for fertility stuff. I read up on it quite a bit and it makes a lot of sense to me, but my experience with the smear really freaked me out. What else was lowering my immune system doing? So I didn't have any treatment alongside my IVF.

There is loads of info over on Fertility Friends and the Prednisolone thread on this board is full of ladies who are having the steroid treatment for high NK cells.

I get reynauds. What are nk cells?

(Yes! A new paranoia!)

BTW, I saw your query about NK cells on another thread. I was the same - rarely got ill, have some allergies and also Raynaud's which is another indicator. I had mine tested a couple of years back. One marker was sky high and another was borderline. I took steroids and various supplements for 6 months to try to moderate my immune system. At the end of it, I got my first ever abnormal smear and upon googling discovered that one of the risk factors for cervical abnormalities is that group of steroids! I had no idea. Anyway, I stopped taking them and my follow up smear was normal. I'm about to have another. If it stays normal I will be pretty sure that the steroids were to blame.

Anyway, I didn't get diffed despite the treatment (on the 6 cycles I was on the steroids I tried 3x superovulation, 2xIUI and we had one natural cycle while we were on holiday).

They seem to be a bit of a marmite issue - some drs believe in them and treat them aggressively; others are completely dismissive.

Morning hags!

Hest I was at an event last night (with Cherie Booth, dontcha know) and chatting to someone who is heading to your part of the world this summer. I recommended you. :)

Noks I'm placing an advance order.

Draf as a Kent girl, I'm kinda the same about Essex. I have a good friend who has moved out there and the village she lives in is lovely and you can get so much for your money.

moll what great friends. Could they start running some kind of seminar series for other friends of barrens?

Body off Baywatch, Face off Crimewatch, hest.

It's another glorious day! I've taken HOTB off to catch his train, he'll be home tomorrow evening, so I have many hours to run amok entertain myself. Whatever shall I do?

cap'n they sound lovely. May we adopt them as BESH mascots ? Nighty night. X

I just had a lovely impromtu evening with some instadiffer friends of mine, who have a lovely baby. What makes them so particularly brilliant is that in the whole evening, they mentioned said infant once, when I asked how he was (he is well and has grown some teeth). They know about my barrenness, and asked how it was going once other friends had left. On hearing about impending surgery, they expressed exactly the right amount sympathy/concern and positivity, without veering into trite platitudes.
Why can't all parents be like that?

I love the rules of BESH.
I love BOBFOC and 1664

End of transmission. Sleep tight, BESHly ones.

Aww, I was thinking I might be asking too much from surgery+ponies, but thanks all for making me more realistic. I shall ask the surgeon what he thinks, and play it by ear - I can at least pick an obliging horse and refrain from galloping about :(

Essex is weird. I'm automatically judgemental and snooty about it, but every time I'm there I'm struck by what a beautiful county it is.

My right leg is paying for my superspeedy cycling efforts. OUCH.

Night night franks. Good to hear the first one is the worst. Keep up the good work. X. Run, Forrest. RUN.