40+ ttc: bring on the bfp's!

I never got a positive on the sticks. The first month of using clearblue advanced monitor I didn't get a peak but the last two months I've had 2 days of high and then a peak so they seem to work a bit better for me.

Little I've not noticed that but I feel like my moods and irritability are a bit up and down anyway! I'll have to try and make a note of them and see if it relates to ovulation.

I doubt there's any point in the sticks if you are able to stick to DTD every other day. My DH works away and my cycle has been irregular since finishing breastfeeding so I need to know ovulation day. When I tried for DD my cycle was exactly 28 days and we DTD just once on the 15th day and it worked.

DT - glad it’s not just me then! It’s a new thing for me. I’d say the last 4-5 cycles. It’s weird. I’m like an horrendous version of myself for 24 hours then it stops as quickly as it started. Anyone else get anything like this? It actually makes my pmt irritability pale into insignificance!

Karigan - no probably not. They come into their own for people who say have a partner who works away or have a medical reason to only dtd around ovulation.

@littlemimosa yes I get really irritable and grouchy before ovulation and then again before af. My lucky DH 😬

Is there any point to using the sticks if you’re likely to dtd at least every other day anyway?

I gave up on those ovulation tests that give a flashing smiley face then a static. They really stressed me out. If I remember rightly the flashing smiley just detects your oestrogen on the rise and the static face is the LH surge? I just stick to cheap opks now. Simple and straightforward. Anyway I know when I’m ovulating as I go psycho (I do have other signs too but this one is a scary new one). Anyone else get emotional and down around ovulation??
Cleo hope you’re feeling better now.
I got my appointment today for fertility clinic. Mid Feb. Feels like ages off but hey what’s another two cycles.....

I suppose I'm still in with a shot until AF arrives but not keeping my hopes high especially that I didn't have any flashing smileys this cycle and my non flashing one appeared for 5 mins. :( But at least I had my 21 day blood tests done on Wed (or rather 22 day since the surgery was closed in Boxing Day) and DH's sperm went in to get checked out so hopefully we'll get some answers in a week or so. The gp said she'd refer us straight to a fertility clinic after the results so that's something.
PollyIndia-I did use pre-seed this cycle for the first time so let's see what happens.

Giving up for this month. Temps still erratic, cbfm still reading high and opk's completely blank. Think the illness has just thrown everything off and too stressful trying to work it all out so going to start again next cycle with a clear slate

I don’t know enough either really sorry. I just seem to get lots of flashing smiley faces! Still waiting for that elusive non flashing one!

Can’t help much Cleo sorry. No idea what order this stuff is meant to happen. But yes I think I get ewcm before I get my pos opk too.

Waiting for AF here. I don’t need no pregnancy test to tell me if I’m pregnant or not. I just go by the fact that my boobs stop hurting, two zits pop up on the right side of my neck (same place every month!) and I feel warm at night and toss and turn for two nights. So i know already I’m not pregnant this month but didn’t really expect to be as we dtd after ovulation.
Onwards and upwards.

I don't know alibaba, the dips are quite low. FF has not acknowledged ov yet. Temps have been really erratic since the illness.

Jojo - I had ewcm stop a fair few days before ov last month, was on creamy by the time ov happened

Positive ppl = positive opk!

I ovulate the same day as my positive ppl but I don’t get the temp rise until 2 days later. I ovulated last Friday but my app counts Sunday as 1dpo. My ewcm normally starts cd6 and I ov cd10 (app counts it as cd11). I often get creamy cm on ov day. I think egg survives up to 24 hours from ov and sperm takes 12 hours to reach egg?

Cleo, there is often a temp dip at 3dpo - don’t know if this fits in with what you described.

And forgot to mention I had previously posted an article about LH on opk being closer to ovulation as you get older so this confirms it is the case for me.

Hello. In case it is useful for anyone else I have started temping and my BBT confirms what I thought-that by the time my LH is showing up on internet cheapy opk sticks I have already ovulated. I was put off bbt as it seemed a faff but it's been very clear and helpful.

I'm really confused about my cycle too. With DD we didn't think about it and it just happened. This time it's taking a lot more thought and planning. My cycle is a little irregular now. I had EWCM on Sunday and Monday but I didn't get a peak on clearblue advanced until Tuesday morn and the EWCM had pretty much gone. We didn't get a chance to DTD until today so 34 hrs after the peak. I guess i don't really have a chance this month? Not sure how long after the peak you can conceive? Does anyone else get the EWCM 2 days before OPK peak?

No idea what's going on with my cycle this month. Got a positive opk on the day I was ill (cd13) but temps went all over the place for a few days (prob from illness) now temps have have had a few low dips so don't think I ovulated. CB monitor is still reading as high but opk's are getting lighter by the day. Think this cycle may be a write off.

Merry Christmas and a successful new year with lots of BFPs and healthy pregnancies!

Merry Xmas ladies. Here’s to a new year filled with bfps for all of us x

Merry Christmas ladies. Here’s to lots of BFPs in the new year. I’m getting smiley faces on the cb sticks again unexpectedly so going to keep my fingers crossed for an extra Christmas present

Merry Christmas! here's to a successful 2018 for us all 🍾 my plan is to eat drink and be merry during this festive period, forget about ttc and start afresh in 2018. Enjoy ladies x

Merry Christmas ladies :) x

Happy Christmas everyone, and here's to many BFP's in 2018!

Welcome coastalchick and karrigan. Coastalchick, I know of lots of people who have had miscarriages then gone on to have healthy babies.
Thanks littlemimosa. It indeed came and I was really disappointed! I've now booked in for acupuncture (managed to do a barter - swapping her pilates lessons for acu) and I've also self diagnosed thin uterine lining as my periods are only a day or 2 - probably not great. So I'm additionally supplementing with vitamin e and drinking pomegranate juice, as well as the ubiquinol, vt d, b complex, maca, evening primrose oil and fish oils. It's ridiculous how many pills I take (and expensive)!

Re the OPK/ovulation question, I think your temperature also tells you. It should drop the day before ovulation and jump the day after. Not great for predicting but that plus the OPKs and you can be confident you have ovulated - that's my understanding anyway, but happy to be told I am wrong!

Congratulations Ekphrasis. That's lovely news. And good tips! My DP has just had great results on his sperm test so am not sure I'll get him to reduce his drinking or take supps now. Do you still think it's worth it?

Orchid222, I don't have any EWCM anymore either really, so I've been using OPKs then preseed, plus taking evening primrose oil. I think the pre seed could be a good option though as mimics the EWCM. I just had a scan this am and all looks fine with my uterus and ovaries, so I am sure it's just my egg quality/quantity at 42.

Wishing everyone on the thread merry christmas and a BFP in 2018.