Newbies: anyone else just starting TTC#1 ?

Hi ladies. I am defiantly going through some wierd symptoms. My boobs absolutley kill even my clothes and bra are hurting them, i washed my hair last night (normally wash it three times a week) and its greasy today! Whhhaaaatttt?!

I know its coming off the pill but if i didn't know other wise i would be pretty sure im pregnant. Xx

I'm 36, kaykay... 30 is fine !

Baffers I fear that you probably CAN have EWCM without ovulating in that all sorts of strange things can happen with your body without any particular rhyme or reason. From what I was reading you can use CM as a way to predict when you will ovulate and BBT as a way to check that you have ovulated. If you wait to DTD until your temp has changed you will be too late and have missed the egg.

kay congratulations on your forthcoming marriage - being married is great!

Hello ladies, I am not ttcing right this second, but we will be starting in January, so I'm keeping an eye on the thread to see how it goes for all of you and see if I can get any tips.

Lots of very young women here!! I am 30, and had considered that on the "younger" side!

I'm not on the pill - I came off around three years ago, and we have been using condoms ever since. But since lots of you seem to be coming off of it, I thought it might be helpful to say how it went for me when coming off.

It took me a long time to settle into a regular cycle when I came off the pill (I had been on it for 13 years) - at first my cycles were pretty long - on average 32 days. Over the course of many months, it gradually reduced by a day here and there. So now (I'd say about 3.5 years later) my cycles are 26-28 days. I'd say it took two years before it was this consistent. But that doesn't mean that you have to wait until your cycles are consistent - it just means it might not be a good idea to rely on those "fertility prediction" calculators, where you type in the length of your cycle.

So my advice for people who have just come off the pill is to not pay too much attention to the length of your cycle but to try and track ovulation through other ways - like cervical mucus (CM) or through those ovulation sticks (which seem expensive...).

I am so excited about ttcing. I'm probably as excited about it as the thought of our wedding! (also in January).

I am now 5 days off the pill and today all of a sudden I started getting pains in my left side! Of course because TTC is all I am thinking about I had to google this to see if it was pregnancy related - apparently this could mean I am ovulating so fingers and toes all crossed that I am! It seems very quick but after reading so many different stories it does seem like a possibility! Its so good having this forum as I havent really told anyone we are even trying!

Hi All,

I had some advice from a doctor last week on TTC. I told him I hadn't had a period since coming off Depo in February, and he gave me some tablets that I'm hoping will kick start my hormones.

However, I mentioned OPK's (ovulation sticks) and he said he doesn't endorse them and their does the royal college of medicine. They say the best way to get pregnant is to DTD 3 times a week. Stressing over it won't help.

So I've ditched the sticks :)

Hi everyone,

I stopped BC last month and had my last AF 28/08.

We haven't used other protection since then and taking it casual until I start being regular (just in case anything lucky happens), then we're going to start tracking properly etc.

Very excited & nervous of course but glad I'll have somewhere to 'talk' about it because only one of my friends know and I don't want it to be all I talk about with my other half.

Good luck everyone!

So, can you have EWCM without actually ovulating, or do the two go hand in hand?

It was a 35 day cycle. I'm usually 30 days, but the last few have been a bit erratic. I haven't been on hormonal birth control for several years (using condoms), but I seem to remember a 40 day cycle not long after stopping the pill!!

ThenewMrs my OPK sticks get 2 lines on day 17. I got them mega cheap from eBay!

We DTD day 12, 14, 16 and 18....fingers crossed. Had the day 21 blood test today that the doc recommended.

Great having another scientist on here skipton :)

Hope all your hormones are getting in check! xxx

Thanks pudding, I will check it out! So how long did it take your period to turn up ? ( sorry if TMI..) I'm still unsure if the bleed I had a few days post removal was a true period or just removal bleeding. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Emily spots and feeling run down? Sounds like your hormones are working! I tend to get spots in the run up to my period, but everyone's different and will have their own symptoms. I've just recently realised that I often have ovulation pains, nothing serious or debilitating, but I definitely feel something around that time in my cycle. Our bodies are weird and wonderful things!

Skipton As a scientist you probably would enjoy it, although it is very much written in layman's terms. Just over a year ago I had a bit of career about-face and at times wondered if I should have gone into genetics instead of what I did. I did biology at A level and really enjoyed that part of it along with microbes and disease. (Actually there was nothing wrong with my degree -languages- it's just what I did afterwards!)

Oh yes, and when I thought AF was on her way, she wasn't. She finally showed up today, so it's CD1 of cycle 1, which is very exciting!

Hullo mrssb82. The ovulation sticks tell you when hormone that matures and makes your egg release is getting to it's peak. When the line goes darker than the control line, it means your LH (lutenising hormone) levels are peaking. Then just after that, you release the egg. What this means is that when you see those two lines (with the test line almost as, or dark as the control line) get busy! It means your body is about to ovulate. So when you see that sign, do it. The sperm can live a few days in your body but the egg only a day or so. So... When you see those lines, have sex once a day, pillow under the bum, etc. good luck to you!

So.. I'm a bit confused.. I weed on the little ovulation stick that you buy on the Internet and on Saturday and Sunday I had two very dark lines and the egg white stuff (I've forgotten the acronyms). Did that mean I ovulate on the days when I had the lines or do the tests show that you are about to ovulate? Which day was I supposed to have sex¿¿in reading a book that says it should be before you ovulate.

Don't be too concerned emily. It could be a short cycle, withdrawal bleeding etc. if you do start to bleed and it is much heavier then normal, see your doc. My hormones have been climbing the walls since I had my mirena out, so much for a tiny localised normal effect! As always, if your gut says 'this isn't OK' go see your GP. They are so used to first time mums and their concerns, and they'd rather see you unnecessarily and put your mind at rest than deal with ignored complications.

Both of you could be. It's so variable. You can get knocked up literally the moment you stop the IUD or any pill. Or you can wait months. Or it could be your hormones just trying to sort themselves out. You may be, you may not be. Good luck to you both! My boobs have been really sore since I had my iud out...it's horrible!

Sorry for another post but just now Im having full achy cramps in my lower back and tummy. I only had a period two weeks ago. Im starting to get a bit concerned. But i think that's only cause im thinking too much into it. Unless i have inplantation cramps? Wahhhhh!

I was taking the Yasmin pill before and i only ever felt like this if i was on my period x

I have had a withdrawal bleed and i think im ovulating, my boobs hurt, im grumpy, im nauseous and all the things i said above, i know they are similar to preg symptoms but i can't be preg yet!!

And yes...I felt rotten for about two weeks after I had my mirena out. Just grumpy, cramps, and generally down in the dumps. I'll be I trudged as to when I ovulate after...is anyone in a similar situation? Did you have removal bleeding? Did your periods stop when you had the mirena? How long did it take your cycles to normalise? Were they different post mirena?

Could be emily, could be stress, hormones,etc. spots indicate hormones, mouth ulcers that you're a bit run down. I've had some funny symptoms since I had my mirena removed, even though I got on very well with it. Any other issues? I think when you're ttc or pregnant you need to be a bit less stoic and see you doc if you think something is truly wrong. Otherwise, not much you can do for a cold other than take it a bit easier and top up on vit C and zinc. Doesn't help much but it shortened cold by a day or two.

Sorry to change subject but is anyone else feeling really run down, i have a few spots and i never get spots I've also got mouth ulcers and generally feel very tired. Reckon its the hormones? X

Pudding, go on amazon and look at the cheap test strips. They cost pennies and are fine- we use them in our clinical trials. Just put ovulation kit into amazon, you'll see them. I spent about forty quid ( the cost of one single month of clear blue where I live) and got 120 OPKs and 90 HCG tests

Haven't read that, pudding, is it good? Would you recommend? This is my first time trying to conceive. I've got the science and theory down stat but a little real world advice would be nice too ! :)

Hi baffers OPKs give you a run up warning...the level of the hormone they measure peaks before the egg is released. (I'm a phd human genetics and biochem scientist.)