TTC for 10 months and the rest! 10 plussers welcome! Thread 3 (the one where we all get our bfps!)

I have taken two pills and have my first patch on. So far so good!
Yeah good idea to give yourself a break. Xx

Yes thanks sammy, the nausea is still there but low level. Am going to take some antinausea meds just to give myself a break today!

How are you feeling? Have you got through the first pill/patch application?

Are you feeling ok at the moment stealth? And Boris, how are you feeling with your 35 eggs? Xx

Glad your scans went OK, Stealth and Sammy!

Sorry for AF, it'sme Hope you're OK.

Glad you got your Monday booking Lucie! :)

Glad it went well Sammy!

Good idea to get your scan booked in ready for Monday Lucie, hope AF doesn't mess you around.

Sorry for AF Itsme

Glad your scan went well too Stealth!

Ooh I hope you feel better this time round sammy. Take it easy this weekend.

I didn't have a blood test. My lining is so crappy at the moment this is all hypothetical. I think my doctor's thesis is that I'm almost certainly going to be overstimulated / my estrogen will throw the uterine environment out of whack, so presumably he'll check bloods at some point if my lining perks up.

Stealth - glad your scan was ok. Did you have a blood test for estrogen levels? Same advice as to Boris, drink loads!!! Milk/water/lucozade!! Get it in you.

Lucie - you can be me if you like?! Thanks for understanding. Glad you have your scan booked, that would have been worrying me to do I'm pleased you sorted it!

Sorry for AF itsme, but you're right, it could still happen in those three months.

Funny - glad you found us
Looks like you've already had some great advice so I've nothing to add, but yes, stick with us, we'll see you through.

As for me, all is good and I'm starting meds tonight. Estrogen pills and patches. I'm a bit scared of the patches. Need to read up on them, but my oral does is down by a third so I'm hoping I'm not so poorly this time. Next scan booked for next Friday.
We had to sign a form to say that we hadn't been anywhere with a risk of the zika virus in the last 6 months (or in our case 6 months prior to egg collection in July)! Xx

funnybeanz my experience has also been that sperm tests are really quick (although not sure what NHS timelines are). And I don't really know what all the IVF terms are and I'm in the flipping middle of it! Do don't stress.

lucie I had to actually check ovia as the concept of a cycle is so meaningless to me now but I am on cd11. Doctor has said we can stim for another 10-12 days although he doesn't think it will take that long. He said the cycle length is irrelevant for me so not to pay any attention to it!

Good to get your scan all booked in. It's amazing how not set up for weekends this fertility malarkey is. Sadly ovaries and AF don't respect the sabbath, you'd think fertility clinics would staff themselves accordingly!

boris good luck for your scan!

Thank you so much to everyone who welcomed me and answered my panicked, ranty, hopeless post from this morning. You have no idea how much it has helped hearing these details and hearing there are options and as much as I wouldn't wish this situation on anyone, it also is very calming to hear other people have had male fertility problems (selfish of me, sorry). Now instead of feeling angry and upset I'm feeling glad that we have started this process and we are in the system. I've spent the last year hoping every month, symptom spotting whilst not talking to friends or family about it so although I never wanted this SA to have to happen I am appreciating that it's better than just crossing fingers and then being disappointed every month. It's better to have answers and options. I have done no research about IVF (head in sand) so have no idea what all the terms are and appointment's are but it seems some of you are in the middle of IVF or waiting for it to start so I wish you all the best and I'd love to stay on this thread to join your gang and offer support etc.

Thanks again everyone

Hi all,

AF arrived as I thought so only three more cycles before getting IVF underway!

Still hoping for a little miracle :)

Good luck sammy! Fx the scan goes ok.

MPP we've all been there...my DH never failed to launch (as it were) but did go on strike a couple of times at the crucial moment as he didn't appreciate feeling like a stud horse. Fair enough, I suppose! Am sure you guys will work it out, it's really tough and unsexy...who knew?!

Thanks trixie, I don't have a particularly unhealthy lifestyle but I do eat sugar & have wine etc. I guess whatever will be, will be!

My scan today went fine - everything is growing slowly, not that much movement from Tuesday but everything is growing together and there are a lot! Still in the 10-12mm bracket but more on the 12mm side. Dr I think is now utterly convinced there is no chance of a dominant follicle emerging so has put me up to 150iu gonal f over the weekend. Next scan Monday morning. We'll see! Lining still crap at 5.7mm but he's said he's worried about my high estrogen levels anyway with so many follies & the fact I'm so nauseous already. Again, I guess I'll just wait and see.

Hope everyone has good weekends lined up!

Good luck Sammy! Hope it's gone ok. Thinking of you!

Good luck Sammy

Good luck Sammy!

In the waiting room for my baseline. It's been a while and for some reason I'm feeling really nervous/could burst in to tears any second. What's wrong with me? I've done this a thousand times! I guess it's been a while. Also got handed an invoice for almost £1500.... Nice. Xx

Hi Stealth, welcome to the thread. Try not to worry about IVF prep, I was worried about this ahead of my cycle last year and did a fair bit of googling, seem to be plenty of women out there who got their BFP after carrying on as usual. Best of luck - like the others have said you're in great company!

MPP, hopefully your DP feels better for knowing he is not alone. TBH I think all couples other than those who fall first cycle/accidently suffer this to an extent. I know my DH felt under pressure and I don't think I dealt with it as well as you lovely ladies

Welcome Funnybeanz, great advice from Star and MPP re the semen analysis. Nearly everyone I know seems to conceive straightaway, it is really hard but being on here with others in the same boat really helps.

Hope you're managing ok with the frequent WC trips Boris. I don't think I drank as much as I should have during the cycle and then I was ordered to rest and drink loads after transfer, was at home so it was ok. If you get bored of plain water/tea lucozade and coconut water are good too.

Feel like I have travelled back in time 2 years and am obsessing over OPKS- low fertility at CD16 so looking like another long cycle. Think I will put them away now and save them for next month....

Thank you all. I think, without the mf diagnosis he wouldnt be so worried, but the combination of the two has really got to him, and i cant stand to think of him being unhappy and worried. Sammy, I think he would try AI as we've vaguely discussed it before so it might be worth a go. Boris, I think he would much prefer I talk to him about what he thinks we should do, so I shall definitely do that. Star, I think it was the syringe/preseed that did it the first night, and then worry the second, so perhaps either preseed isn't for us or I should use it beforehand. Thanks all for your comments. Really really appreciated!

Welcome Funnybeanz! The year mark is tough, but it's great that the ball is rolling for you to find out what's going on. Our experience of sperm analysis is as Star described. We had to collect a pot beforehand and DP did the business at home and we had to get it to the clinic within the hour, keeping it warm on the way. We were told to abstain for 2-5 days beforehand. As for the time to results, we've had one NHS and one private SA. It took nearly two weeks for the NHS results and less than half hour for the private ones. Our issue is a very low count of under 2 million, and DP is taking fertilaid and countboost. We have an appointment for another SA soon, which is 3 months after the last one, to see if the fertilaid has made any improvement. If it hasn't, have been recommended IVF with ICSI.

Good luck and try not to worry. There are always options

Oh mpp, that's so annoying! I found the same - stage fright two nights in a row. I agree, take the pressure off this month. We also stopped using Preseed as that seemed to contribute to the problem. My oh thought it best not to shove it up there before we started (think he had unrealistic ideas about how long the sex actually lasts!) but then pausing part way through seemed to completely put him off and remind him it was ttc sex. If that might be the issue, maybe syringe in private before you get in bed? It will be OK, this happens a lot and you'll find a way to work it out.

Welcome funnybeanz but sorry you find yourself here. With the sperm analysis your DP will have to ahem produce a sample and get it to the lab usually within an hour. Different clinics have different systems so he may have to do it at home and drop it off or there may be facilities there. Also there are some rules about how long to abstain for beforehand - I think 2 days but no more than 5, but they'll give him all the info for that. A standard sperm analysis tests for count, motility (the percentage that are moving quickly and forwards) and morphology (the % that have a normal shape). Im guessing your GP suspects antisperm antibodies since your partner's had surgery. My friend's boyfriend had that. A few of us on this thread have male factor issues, it's very common (not that you'd guess given the number of couples who seem to get pregnant at the drop of a hat). Treatments seem to be supplements to try to improve the sperm and then ivf (usually with icsi) if it doesn't work.

My partner has low motility (18%) and low morphology (2%). We found out in January after 14 months trying. We're on a supplement called proxeed for 4 months (takes 3 months to create new sperm) and then have our next appointment in May to discuss ivf. Really hoping I don't need that appointment, but also pleased we have options.

You're doing the right thing. It's good to get into the system and get some answers and some options. Good luck

Hi everyone,

I hope you don't mind me joining your thread. I'm hoping to get advice/support etc. We have been TTC since Jan 2015, just got my period so been trying for 13 months. My partner has a sperm analysis booked for Tues 8th, does anyone know what happens on this date, he didn't ask on the phone and I don't want to nag/pressurise him as I don't want him to feel like this is his fault. Does anyone know when we might get results? And what the options are if there are problems with him, I read a lot about fertility options for women with problems but not much about options for male problems. Of course it might not be him, the doctor advised he gets tested first as my periods are very regular every month so no indications of problems and he had undescended testies when he was born so had to have an operation as a baby, apparently this can cause fertility problems so ruling that out first.

It's been a difficult time, lots of our friends are announcing pregnancies and my sister is due her third in June. No one else knows the extent to which we've been trying, my mum knows that I've just come off the pill but that's it.

Any advice or support would be very welcome. I guess I'm feeling down since I've got my period this morning so it's just another month gone. Urgh!

Thanks