7th month TTC

Hi @choccrumpet , sorry to hear that you are having the same stresses and chemicals must be so traumatic to go through that three times. Hopefully we can provide each other with a little bit of support before we get our bfps in the not so distant future.

@hopefully2021 has AF arrived yet or still a no show? Glad the internal scan is over for you, wasn't so bad and Dr Shah put you at ease. Your AML result is fantastic! Your DHs sperm analysis results is making me think I will ask mine to get tested if no BFP this month. He doesn't smoke but does drink more than the recommended amount. And we haven't had the healthiest lifestyle during lockdown with wfh. Great that he could recommend supplements and it is great that it is something which can be improved on!

Thanks for the tip about the NHS waiting times, that year mark is approaching quickly and with my short cycles, this is actually cycle 12 for me! Still no symptoms and no AF only 9/10 dpo so it's still quite early. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I've just come across this thread I feel so relieved reading these posts, knowing I'm not the only one going through this. We've been ttc for 7 months now, came off the pill July 2020. I'm 28, my partner is 33. I've had about 3 chemical pregnancies. My period is 5 days late at the moment but I suspect it might be due to late ovulation after my last chemical.

It's so nice to hear others trying for as long as we have. I'm so tired of only hearing of people getting pregnant and not about their ttc journeys. I completely get why but i was unaware of any of this before we began trying so my expectations were sky high. I get upset every time I get my period. I hope it will happen soon for us all 💕

@LondonladyTTC @friendlyBadger
Thanks Londonlady, I am so relieved it's done now - I feel exhausted today I think I worked myself up so much in the run up to the appointment! The appointment went well, I was gutted that my husband wasn't allowed to join me but other than that Dr Shah was so friendly and knowledgeable that I felt at ease straight away - my AMH result came back at 31 which he was happy with, he said the average for my age group is about 15 so it's a positive sign that I have plenty of eggs however it doesn't mean that they are of good quality (that he could only find out if we ended up going down an IVF route). DH results came back okay but needs to be improved, his count & motility was fine but had a higher than average percentage of abnormal sperm so he needs to work on changing his lifestyle (he smokes & drinks a lot which affects sperm quality), I was actually so relieved as I have read stories of men who just don't produce any sperm so I'm happy he does
The scan also went well, not painful as you said - he didn't tell me anything I didn't know confirmed I have polycystic ovaries etc, the chair you have to sit in though was a bit weird!
So all in all, he has recommended some supplements for us both which specifically help PCOS and sperm quality, advised DH to make lifestyle changes and if after doing both for 6 months and nothing has happened we need to investigate further. He said with a low % of normal sperm coupled with my polycystic ovaries is probably why we are experiencing difficulties but he is hopeful with the changes and supplements we should be able to conceive naturally. Also recommended that I get on the NHS waiting list when I get close to that year mark as the waiting times are very long at the moment. So fingers crossed!
Londonlady - keeping my fingers crossed for you - how amazing would it be to have a BFP this month!! I'll be thinking of you Try and hold out to the weekend as that should give you a pretty accurate result by then xxx

@hopefully2021 good luck, hope it all goes well, really looking forward to hearing how you get on. How strange about AF. I have heard of people not getting BFP until later, which would be amazing news of the case. I wonder if they will be able to pick up why AF hasn't arrived on the scan.

I am 8/9 DPO today which is normally when AF would be on her way but since I am on progesterone that will delay everything. I couldn't help but test on a cheapie this morning, BFN of course. I am glad the Ovitrelle injection is now out of my system though- since it has HCG it produces a false positive for up to 14 days after the injection. Now when I test at the weekend (if I manage to hold off until then) I will know it is a true BFP not not just leftover HCG.
I also had another progesterone test yesterday- not sure why since I am on the tablets but assume it is to see how much I am absorbing and whether the dose is sufficient.

Good luck!

@LondonladyTTC @friendlyBadger Hi ladies, hope your both okay - I've got my appointment today at the clinic, feeling slightly nervous and a bit scared... My AF still hasn't showed either (Was due on Friday), tested again this morning but still BFN so I'm not quite sure what's going on this month as my cycles are usually like clockwork but either way I'm glad I'm not on for my internal scan today
I'll update you both later on my results, fingers crossed everything is okay!xxx

@LondonladyTTC thanks for replying so quickly and providing some reassurance on the scan I'm so glad his test is done but I'm now feeling quite nervous about getting the results, just incase anything comes back that theres something wrong - I just want next weds to hurry up now!
In terms of costs that's not too bad - I was having a think about maybe doing the cycle tracking package they have advertised on the website dependant on how Weds goes and what Dr Gudi advises
How are you feeling? what day in your cycle are you now?xxx

Hi @hopefully2021 so sorry to hear that it was a BFN, but hopefully whatever your treatment is will give you more hope for the next few months. Assuming you are getting the same scan as I had, it honestly wasn't bad at all. It only took 5 mins and he was so quick about getting it in and then I was so focussed on watching the screen to see my eggs and ovaries, I forgot what was happening! My partner hasn't had a sperm analysis done yet as we did have a chemical in October so more likely to be my short luteal phase. If we don't get pregnant in a few months he will be getting a test and I think he will be really nervous too!

In terms of costs, so far I have paid 300 for my initial consultation and blood tests, and then 320 for scan, ovitrelle shot, cyclogest less Erie's and blood test. So £620 in total.

@LondonladyTTC @friendlyBadger Morning both, I hope your both well
Unfortunately, complete BFN for me yesterday & today so off to our tests we go today - my husband is being very quiet so I think he is feeling super nervous about having to do his...
I just really dont get why it hasn't happened for us yet, when we started TTC in July I really didn't see it being this long of a journey so I'm starting to worry abit now time is just going so quick & I know before we know it we will be approaching that dreaded 1 year mark!
Londonlady - out of curiouristy (you don't have to answer if you don't want too) but how much is your treatment costing you? I'm trying to calculate some figures just in case we need to book any more appointments
Friendlybadger - I have the same problem with being on my period when I have my appointment & the receptionist said the same, I'm just hoping it comes like clockwork on Friday as my appointment is on Wednesday to give it some time to calm down as the first 2 days for me are super heavy and the feeling of someone sticking a camera up there makes me feel a bit queasy
Hope you both enjoy the weather today, We have both taken the day off work so I'm looking forward to just having a day off once these tests are done xxx

Morning!

@friendlyBadger sorry to hear that AF arrived but it's great that your appointment is so close.
The ovitrelle is to strengthen ovulation and the corpus luteum. He could also inspect my eggs on Friday and knew how quickly they would grow so the trigger shot would release the eggs hopefully when they were at the optimal size. This month, he is checking my progesterone on 7dpo but that is all in terms of monitoring. He said to take a test on 9 March (really shouldn't take one earlier as ovitrelle has HCG in it so could be a false positive). He said we should try this for a couple of cycles and he has very high hopes I will be pregnant within a few months so I assume I will just have to pop back and collect more ovitrelle and progesterone if needs be but won't need the scan again as know the cycle day I should be taking it now.

@hopefully2021 wow this weds for the start of the tests, I can't believe how quickly that two month wait has come around!! My fingers and toes will be crossed that you get a BFP on Tuesday though!

Amazing @LondonladyTTC that's such great news! so happy for you :) And thanks so much for sharing - that really perked me up and made me feel more optimistic about my appointment.

So great that he's treating you so quickly. Out of interest, why is he giving you the trigger if you know you do ovulate? Is it to give you super ovulation? How cool about potential twins! The dream ! Is he going to continue to monitor you this month? Or did he just say to come back next cycle if unsuccessful?

I'm on day 2 of my next cycle so it's the last cycle before I see the doctor. I think annoyingly I'm meant to go on day 1 or 2 of my next cycle. I asked if it was okay i'd be on my period and the receptionist said yes. I really wish I wasn't on my heaviest day though! Although I guess they've seen it all before and probably see lots of women on their periods? And the good thing is I'll know for sure on my appointment day where I stand.

Hope your appointment and work and house hunting goes well @hopefully2021 ! So exciting it's so soon now :)

@LondonladyTTC thats brilliant news! I'm so happy for you - fingers crossed this is your month, all sounds so promising Make sure you schedule in plenty of DTD over the next week or so!
Sorry I haven't been on much, this house hunting is stressful combined with work - we are looking at some more houses today, we have our tests booked for this weds - I'm due on my period on Friday so I am going to take an FRER Tuesday morning and if there is any hint of a line I'll just cancel the tests (I very much doubt this month will be any different to any other so I personally can't see it but you never know do you..) then actual appointment is booked for the following week xxx

Hi @friendlyBadger and @hopefully2021 , hope your two week wait has been going quickly ☺️ and @hopefully2021 hope your house hunt has been productive too.

@friendlyBadger you were exactly right, Dr Gudi wasn't so worried about the progesterone test as said likely it wasn't done at the right time as I didn't pinpoint ovulation exactly. He also wasn't worried about the AMH as said it is no indication of fertility and totally fine for my age.

I had my scan yesterday to check short term reserve and estimated ovulation for this month. He confirmed that I very likely had a luteal phase defect as eggies not yet near fully matured on CD 10 and I usually have a 23-24 day cycle. Decided it was best to treat rather than waste time with more investigations so I have an injection to self- administer tomorrow to trigger ovulation, eggs will release 2 days later (when he expects them to reach peak maturity). I say them because apparently I have two maturing eggs this month- one in each ovary (potential twins?😱) I also have progesterone suppositories to take for 14 days, hopefully giving me a normal luteal phase.

Mainly coming on here to say how relaxed and optimistic I felt after leaving the clinic yesterday, so if you don't get a BFP this month, your appointments on the near horizon is definitely something to be positive about! ☀️

@LondonladyTTC www.avawomen.com/avaworld/progesterone-levels-day-21/

"The correct time to test progesterone is at the halfway point of the luteal phase"

So i reckon the fact that it was low on 7dpo is an indication of your luteal phase defect (which you already knew you had) rather than lack of ovulation. Hopefully that puts your mind at rest a bit

Aww I also spent many years living in hackney! Victoria park with a pram sounds so dreamy.

@LondonladyTTC I don't know about AMH but with regards to progesterone, my understanding is that ideally it would be tested halfway through your luteal phase when progesterone is at its peak and at that point it should be 30 or above. This is why my GP told me to get the test at 6dpo because my luteal phase is 12 days (although maybe Dr Gudi will disagree with this). I guess because your luteal phase is short, the test wasn't done halfway through your luteal phase so it would have been past the peak! There's some stuff about this online too. Just wanted to share my understanding to reassure you that I wouldn't be concerned about anovulation (especially given how close your result is to 30!). And now you have evidence to hopefully get the progesterone pessaries. Hope your appointment goes well next week and will be thinking of you :)

@hopefully2021 my ultrasound was good! No PCOS visible. That's exciting how soon your appointment is! Although hoping you won't need it :)

Have a great weekend

@hopefully2021 we were having the same house vs area discussion a few months ago, it is so hard. We also can't afford what we would like in London, and what we could afford was smaller than where we are renting now so have decided to hold of for a few years and save so that we can buy a 5-10 year property rather than one we would be ready to move from in 3 years (maybe when number 2 came along). A 3 bed house with a drive sounds so exciting though! We are also based East so do a lot of our eating out (when allowed!) in Hackney - such great cafes and restaurants there! I fantasise about pushing a pram around Victoria Park after a tasty brunch
About the test results, DH keeps reminding me not to look online and to wait until Dr Gudi tells me what the situation is so I am trying not to go down the rabbit hole and jump to conclusions. They definitely don't seem disastrous but the AMH does seem to be on the low side. All will be a lot clearer in 8 days time!

@LondonladyTTC Thank you it's so exciting but stressful at the same time as our budget doesn't get us what we want in our preferred areas, we have found a really nice 3 bed house, driveway and garage in our price range but it's in grays which honestly does not have good reviews from people online so it's sort of putting me off but we are going to view it anyway and judge the area for ourselves - I think most people are not used to antisocial behaviour and council estates which is completely normal to us as we live and have grown up in Hackney....
I'm sorry to hear about your AF, try not to let it get you down at least your next appointment isn't too far away and your in the best hands to get some answers and help Your progesterone result doesn't sound bad at all if under 5 means no ovulation at all, what day in your cycle did you do the test again? Have you read much online about the AMH test? There are articles online questioning how true it actually is so try not to worry too much but I know it's easier to say than do, I'll be having the same test in a few weeks too so will share my result when I've got it so we can compare xxx

@hopefully2021 congratulations on getting your agreement in principle sorted! Buying a house is so stressful but it will also be very exciting. Have you found some you like? I am not looking to buy at the moment but still spend so much time browsing Rightmove to see what is out there  well done for fitting in 5 DTD sessions so far while house hunting!
My spotting is now full on period so definitely not implantation sadly.

@friendlyBadger if I am being honest, I am not quite sure what I will be charged for this scan.. I assume it won't be any more than the £500 but he never actually said and awkward me never asked... I will let you know though! That's great that you got a scan, you definitely ovulated and your lining had thickened. Not long until you will be able to test, although I know how long the tww always feels!

I got my results today and they weren't great (or at least I don't think they were from googling, I literally just got the numbers but have a follow up appointment on Friday 19th for my CD10 scan) so hoping he will be able to interpret them for me and indicate how concerned I should be. My progesterone was 27.3 which isn't quite enough to guarantee ovulation took place (that is over 30) but under 5 means no ovulation it is a bit of a grey area. More worryingly my AMH was 13.7 which is on the lower end of normal for my age range but also seems to be in the 'low fertility' category.... basically a waiting game until 19th until I see what Mr Gudi recommends. I am feeling very relieved and positive that I got the tests and can more forward with the help of a good doc, despite the worrying numbers.

@LondonladyTTC @friendlyBadger Hi both, sorry I've been a bit quiet we got our mortgage in principle agreed so have been really busy trying to decide on what area to move too and trying to arrange some viewings - we are moving out into essex as our budget isn't great but the reviews on the areas we've chosen are not great at all so it's just stressing me out!
I haven't ovulated yet, I'm on my 5th day of a flashing smiley face on my clearblue ovulation test which is a bit unusual but expecting to ovulate in the next few days as I normally follow a 30 day cycle, so far have managed to DTD 5 times since Sunday (sorry for the detail) so fingers crossed we have a good chance this month - well I hope anyway....
London Lady - do you think the spotting could possibly be an implantation bleed? keeping everything crossed for you - remember your not out until your AF arrives! when is your next appointment?
Friendly Badger - we have our tests scheduled for 2 weeks time, then actual appointment is on the 3rd March! I'm really hoping we can go together as their policy currently states only one person allowed to an appointment but as we are both having tests done I'm hoping there is an exception to this rule. Good news on your ultrasound - did they find anything else? I suffer from PCOS and they are always able to pick up on ultrasounds xxx

Ergh sorry to hear that @LondonladyTTC ! The good news though is that you're with the clinic now and they sound amazing so i'm really hopeful they'll be able to help. Hopefully you'll get your results back today! Maybe give them a call to chase if not... Let us know how the tests go!

Are they charging you £500 for the natural cycle monitoring this cycle? Trying to get an idea of how much the investigations etc are gonna cost. That'll be super interesting to get a good idea of exactly what's going in your body! Is your partner getting a sperm analysis too?

I'm 4dpo and already feeling so negative about it all obsessing over my fitbit resting heart rate and telling myself I'd already have symptoms if I were pregnant! I know this is v likely irrational but I've never had a BFP so have nothing to compare it to.

I had another ultrasound a couple days ago due to some irregular periods and the good news is my lining seems to have thickened and they could see I'd ovulated this month so that's good at least.

Well ladies, I think that's me back at cycle day 1. Woke up to spotting this morning, which I usually get a few hours before AF. 23 day cycle Haven't heard back from the clinic about my blood results yet but hoping it will be today.

Hope you are enjoying fertile week!

How weird @LondonladyTTC I'm 2dpo today and also seem to have EWCM (although mine is never fully clear. More kinda cloudy or pale yellow). Very confusing and I've never seen this before at this stage.

No such thing as TMI! 10 days! Good on you. You must have been exhausted by the end... Glad you were able to relax and enjoy it more.

Couldn't agree more about not wanting it to take over your life anymore. I find it so draining and mentally exhausting and always there in the back of my mind.

@friendlyBadger he didn't specifically say anything about frequency of sex when he said there has been recently speculation about the home tracking of ovulation, it was more in the context of calculating the luteal phase so before prescribing anything he wanted to make sure it was a true defect. I guess it would also imply that it isn't wise to only BD at ovulation time though. My cycles are usually 24 days.

In terms of EWCM, I don't notice a huge amount to be honest, but it has definitely increased as the months go on post implant. Oddly, i don't tend to get it on ovulation day and have even had it a couple of days after what I think ovulation is!

I agree about trying something different! We had a lot of sex this month- every day for about 10 days around fertile week! Probably TMI but we also seemed to relax a bit more, I think because we had the appointment booked it took the pressure off so it was more enjoyable. DH has also been a lot better at taking his well mans.

@hopefully2021 I think my emotions have been a bit like yours- very up and down. I just don't want it to take over my life for too much longer! And it feels like evening is having babies. It is also hard to plan ahead as our lives might look very very different by the end of the year.

Also have you 2 tried anything different this cycle @hopefully2021 @LondonladyTTC? I'm trying softcups and proceive and new supplements for DH. I find trying something new helps me to feel more positive even though I reckon it's probably just down to luck...

Also do you 2 feel like you get lots of EWCM? I feel like I notice less the more BDing I do... so annoying and confusing and makes me worried

Ooh interesting @LondonladyTTC! Sounds so productive! Hope your tests go well and it sounds like you're in great hands! In what way was he sceptical about home ovulation tracking? Opks? BBT? Or just general? Does he recommend just trying every second day? And how short are your cycles? Good tip about the Ava thanks I'll have a look!

@hopefully2021 I feel pretty volatile tbh. Sometimes positive and sometimes super negative about it all... I feel your pain - it's so hard to keep positive but hopefully this month will be your month!

My appointment is booked for 19 march so not too long to wait. When's your appointment? How funny we're all seeing the same guy