TTC baby #1 Threat #2

Ah it makes me feel so much better to know you guys are at a similar stage - we’re in month 5/cycle 6.

@MGee123 hope your appointment goes well - let us know what they say!

@Maddy0405 and @xoJellyBean it must be tough coming off the pill and not knowing if it’s “just” the pill taking time to settle down or if you should get checked out. My best friend took 9 months to conceive after coming off the pill, she seemed very chilled about it but I would have been fretting! I had the copper coil so in theory no hormone disruptions so should have had full fertility from the day it was removed.

I got a positive solid smiley on my clearblue OPK yesterday - glad I’m using them as otherwise I would have thought I’d ovulated 2-3 days earlier. We’ve DTD three days in a row and going to do it tonight too (phew!). Used preseed a couple of those times as I definitely don’t seem to get EWCM so figure it can’t hurt to have a little more for them to swim in...!

@xoJellyBean this will be our fifth month. Yeah you are quite right, our mums had us so I’m sure we will get our babies soon 🤞🏼

@Maddy0405 I haven't been tracking since then but I would assume they have always been like that!

Fingers crossed for you, I'm worried I have PCOS too but our mums both got pregnant so we can as well :) how long have you been trying?

And have you had long cycles since October 2018 @xoJellyBean?

Yes the GP said it’s probably PCOS but my bloods were all ok. Should get more information from the scan. My mum had PCOS and had trouble conceiving me. I know I shouldn’t worry about that but you can’t help it!

I've been off it since October 2018 but not trying for a baby - came off cause it made me a complete psycho! Lol only now am I actually wanting to have a baby but can't seem to figure out my cycles and when I ovulate. My mum had PCOS, is that what they're testing you for? @Maddy0405

@CurbsideProphet thinking of you and have everything crossed!

@xoJellyBean how long have you been off the pill for now? I get so fed up with people telling me my body is still getting back to normal. I haven’t taken the pill for 9 months now so I would think it’s had plenty of time to get back to normal by now! I’ve had some bloods done which were normal and I’m having a scan on Saturday so we’ll see what my ovaries are doing then.

I still don’t think I’m going to bother with testing for ovulation. Just going to DTD and go with it. Otherwise I’ll turn into a mad woman with it all!

@notalwaysalondoner thank you

@MGee123 this will be the longest week ever 😬 I feel very queasy and indigestiony, worse headache than usual (I have chronic headache 🙄), tired, funny taste in mouth. I've checked my app and the chemical pregnancy started on day 29 of that cycle (the day I got the bfp) +, so I'm really going to wait it out with this one. With that cycle I did have some spotting from day 27, so I should have an idea from Saturday of this week.

Sorry to jump in but @Maddy0405 my cycles are exactly like yours! Long and changeable! Was also on the pill... everyone I've spoken to thinks I'm over reacting but when I read your comment I know I'm not the only one.

No worries @notalwaysalondoner! Just for reference, I haven't ever had any positive OPKs - I used them for 3 months but had a month off last month as I thought they were adding to the TTC stress and anxiety. I did feel better last month not using them to be honest, but equally would quite like to know if I'm ovulating!

That's exciting @CurbsideProphet 👍😊 I dare say it will be a long week but sounds like you could be cautiously optimistic? Have you noticed any other symptoms? Keeping fingers crossed for you.

I have a appt with the GP on Wed. I'm hoping they might do a routine blood test to check for any deficiencies. I'm not expecting much else at this point (we're only cycle 7). AF finished a few days ago so we're back to DTD every other day!

Fingers crossed @curbsideprophet! It must be stressful knowing it didn’t go well last time. I know how difficult the the hope/despair rollercoaster is and it must be even tougher for you.

I’m supposedly 1dpo according to my calendar but haven’t had a positive solid smiley clearblue OPK yet - they’re still flashing. So guess I’m ovulating late this month. Who knows... no real change in CM that I can tell. Used preseed for the first time yesterday - very unromantic as it comes in an applicator but am vaguely hopeful that my lack of CM may be part of the issue. We’ll see.

Morning all. I'm scared to say this but as it's a safe place... I feel very queasy and headachey like I did at Christmas before I had my bfp and then chemical pregnancy. This is cd 22 and 9 dpo. I'm undecided whether to tell DH yet, as we were both gutted about the cp. I'm not poas until AF is definitely late this time. Luckily I'm just working from home this week. I do mostly anyway, so I can just ponder this to myself for the time being.

@Maddy0405 I was reading that it shortens your cycles and can help with ovulation. Some success stories but you wouldnt know if it was just a coincidence. But worth a try xx

@notalwaysalondoner yeah you do wonder whether all this is worth it/making any difference. And that’s the problem with vitamins/supplements. They can’t be recommended by medical professionals because there is not enough research/evidence to back up whether they work or not (besides folic acid as you mentioned).

I bought some cheap opks and didn’t really get much of a result. They were getting darker over a few days but never really got a proper positive. I don’t want to spend a lot on the clear blue tests! And it’ll annoy me even more if I buy them and they say I’m ovulating but I still don’t get pregnant so I figure I’ll just keep going with regular sex throughout my cycle. Will see what my scan says next week. My mum had fertility problems so I’m a little worried about it.

Ah sorry that was a question for @Maddy0405!

It’s so hard to know what’s really worth taking with supplements- I’ve been taking ubiquinol as I read it’s the only thing that the book “it starts with the egg” actually recommends as scientifically proven to help with egg quality (other standard prenatal vitamins also important for other reasons eg folic acid). But it’s very expensive...

I’m starting to get to the point of wondering if we should go the whole hog and start drinking filtered water, not use plastic for food storage etc but it all feels a bit OTT!

@MGee123 do you get positive OPKs at all? Or no real idea if you’re ovulating? I don’t really get any signs beyond being hornier and having a softer cervix, but I do get positive clearblue OPKs so feeling a bit reassured that I am ovulating. With such long cycles it must be hard though!

helloclue.com/articles/cycle-a-z/vitex-agnus-castus-menstrual-cycle

Interesting article on clue about agnus castus. I have ordered some from amazon. Worth a try. I’m rubbish at taking tablets. Always forgetting to take my folic acid and vitamin d!! Will let you know if this makes any difference.

@CurbsideProphet I don’t really get any signs of ovulation either so it is frustrating but as we’ve all said previously, I’m sticking with DTD every other day throughout my cycle as that seems the best way.

@MGee123 We still still thoroughly enjoyed our holiday thank you!! I feel like with having longer cycles I’m missing out on time to conceive! I’ve booked for some reflexology which weekend which I’m looking forward to.

@Thorn19 I haven’t heard about agnus castus for irregular or long cycles but I’d be happy to try it. Maybe I’ll order some today.

@notalwaysalondoner yes I think I'm probably fine with regards to the vitamin thing, although I am only taking folic acid, B12 (which I took anyway) and vitamin D. Other things like iodine can be tricky to get in a vegan diet but I eat well and have never had any other problems. Just thought I might as well check - would hate to try for a year and find something easily fixable like vitamin levels is to blame!

My partner is adamant he's fine (😂) and is rather frugal so not convinced we'll be spending any money on private tests!! I think if you can though, why not? I'm rather impatient and not good at waiting for things so am very on board with anything which could speed the process up!

Hi ladies has anyone tried taking Agnus castus for irregular cycles or long cycles, if so what are your thoughts ? Xx

Hope you still managed to enjoy your holiday @Maddy0405 ? That must be really frustrating. I do feel lucky that I seem to be settling into a pattern of quite short cycles. Such long ones must be additionally frustrating. I hope the tests are helpful for you one way or another.

My AF seems to have pretty much finished already 🤷‍♀️ not going to complain but it seems very short! Yesterday was quite heavy though so I am confident it was a period. Onwards to cycle 7 🤞

How frustrating for you @Maddy0405 it must be really difficult to know when you're ovulating if your cycle is quite long and changeable. It sounds like your GP is quite supportive? At least you don't have to wait too long for your scan.

Hi everyone and hello to the new ladies!

We got back from our extended holiday yesterday morning so just trying to get through the jet lag.

We DTD so much while we were on holiday and were as relaxed as we could possibly have been so I was feeling super confident this month and so was DH.

My cycles have been long and irregular since I came off the pill last May so I was gonna do a test when I got home from my holiday if AF didn’t come but no such luck - AF came on 12th Feb. 42 day cycle this time. Previously to that my cycles have been 59 days, 36 days, 38 days, 39 days, 56 days...

Pretty gutted as I really thought this would be the one! Onto our 5th month of trying now.

I went to the GP before we went away to talk about my long cycles and whether or not they are normal and the GP sent me for bloods which were normal and she also requested a scan of my ovaries which is happening next Saturday so will wait and see what that says I guess.

Haven’t been doing anything special just trying to to DTD every other day. Feel pretty disheartened at the moment though.

Glad to read some of you are taking some ‘me’ time with the massages, exercise and acupuncture. I think I’m going to book some reflexology in after pay day.

Sending you all love and best wishes anyway ladies xxx

I know what you mean @MGee123, I kind of wish we’d had a fertility check a few years ago as we’ve been together since we were 18 but DH didn't feel ready to TTC until this year (10.5 years later...). Now it’s taken us a few months I do kind of wish we’d confirmed everything was ok a few years ago so we’d made a more informed decision about waiting.

We’ve agreed that if we get to six months we’ll go private for some checks - there are fertility fitness checks you can have. I’m not so worried about vitamins but more egg and sperm quality. Presumably if you’re taking prenatal vitamins you should probably be ok even if you’re vegan? At least I’m getting consistent positive OPKs so am not too worried that I’m not ovulating.

Welcome @camha 👋 wishing you luck this cycle! We also had to do a bit of adjusting to DTD as we were a once a week couple. So far we've been managing okay but it is a bit of a change!

AF arrived for me today 😔 I kind of knew it was coming so not surprised but rather disappointed. Another 24 day cycle for me - seem to be evening out a bit which might be a good thing 🤷‍♀️ I'm going to go to my GP next week and see if I can have a blood test to check vitamin levels - I'm vegan so kind of think it's worth seeing if there is anything obvious I might need to sort out first, in terms of definiciencys etc? I think I'm fine but feel it's worth checking.

TGIF tomorrow!

Hi @camha 👋🏻 We're a friendly group here 🙂
I'm on my 3rd cycle of ttc #1. I had a chemical pregnancy at new year which was pretty crap, but I'm back trying again now. Currently cd 18.