Preconception planning - anyone want to join?

Hi everyone! Can I join? Planning to start TTC in the New Year, delaying for a few more months to avoid the winter Covid months as I am in an at-risk group and also would want DH to be able to attend scans etc. (first time TTC).

Excited but v impatient! Loads of great advice on this thread. Will go back to the start and read through the whole thing later on today, I'm sure I'll come back with lots of questions!

My prep probably doesn't add anything new to the convo:
Get fitter and healthier, lose a small amount of weight (9lbs)
Start taking folic acid and vitamin D
Start to cut down on caffeine and alcohol
Get coil removed, start tracking using Natural Cycles (recommended to me by several friends who fell pregnant using it!)
Improve core strength and do some pelvic floor exercises

It's nice to have a thread like this where I can talk about these things without feeling like a crazy over-planner ;)

@queenatom I agree I reckon you had drunk more so it was a bit watered down!

@letsmakethishappen check it had 400mg the first lot I got only had half what I needed :) and I had to buy more!

Thanks for all the nice messages. I've got an appointment with neurologist next Saturday so hopefully get some answers then.

@Lollipop87 happy birthday for the weekend... hopefully your last one child free!

@queenatom was yesterday your first peak on CB? Maybe your urine was more dilated for the second opk? Getting such strong OPKs is a good sign. Make sure you're logging it all in an app xx

I'm so confused, all! I have been testing using strip OPKs as well as the ClearBlues and yesterday got a peak on the ClearBlue and what I had took to be a positive on the strip OPK - the line was, to my eye, about as dark as the control. I tested again on the strips later in the day (ClearBlue gives you a peak for two days after your first reading, regardless of your actual hormone levels) and the line was a lot lighter, so assumed I was done. I've just tested again now to check that levels were dropping and have had a blazing positive (pic attached), much stronger than yesterday. So - were yesterday's test wrong? Did I misread the OPK? Was the ClearBlue incorrect? Or have I had two peaks?

So glad I'm trying to figure this out now and not in October when it actually counts!

Happy birthday for Sunday @Lollipop87!

@butterfly5291 so sorry to hear about your cyst I can’t believe they only just mentioned it! So awful. Hope you are okay.

@JamesZebra I have had that impatient feeling this week too!!

@Lollipop87 happy birthday for the weekend :)

Following as will start TTC in October . Getting preconception folic acid tomorrow xxx

@butterfly5291 sorry to hear about your cyst and fingers crossed your referral comes through quickly and it all gets sorted asap.

@JamesZebra sorry about your period from hell but I’m glad it’s over!

@KittyT30 fingers crossed your cycle regulates soon! Mine seems to be regular I’m just not sure if I’m ovulating - all the signs would suggest I am but I reckon I ovulated yesterday, not today as my app says (tracked CM in the days leading up and had some slight cramping which could have been ovulation cramps, hard to tell as never had them before!)

I’ve been eating lots of SOS food (from The Impatient Woman’s Guide) this week (some salmon, lots of leafy green veg like spinach and kale and also had some avocados and walnuts). I also only had one small glass of wine at the pub last night when normally I would have had more. It’s my birthday this weekend though so I’ll be eating more unhealthily and drinking alcohol, but I guess 1 weekend won’t hurt!

@KittyT30 when I came off the pill it took me 3 months to regulate and even longer after the implant was removed.

I am feeling really impatient this week......I have lots of things going on in life atm (Weight loss/buying a house/wanting a baby) and I want them all to happen now. I think I might start doing mindfulness and meditation to help distract my brain before I go mad!
The hellish period is over so at least I don't have to deal with that anymore.

@KittyT30 I was the devil on pills! They gave me migraines plus made my mood horribly depressing and aggressive. I struggled a lot until i found that out.

Oh really @stepmumSW5, ya I have heard people saying it takes a while. I was on the pill for 8 years so I'd say my body doesnt know what is going on. Hoping to get pregnant by October because of work situation. If it have of happened this month would have been a plus I'm not stressing over it.

Other than Folic and VItiam D combined from boots I haven't been taking anything else. Trying to eat for avocado, orange juice, broccoli etc.
Also out walking every day.

@KittyT30 hi Kitty I stopped my pill 5 years ago and the first 3 months were very messy but then it got regular again.

Feeling Confused/Impatient

Finished my pill packet on 21st June. Had extremly light withdrawl bleed on 23rd (one tea spoon/brown blood).

Checked ovulation strips couple times and on 9th had 2 very stronger ovulation lines. Had unprotected the 2 nights before and that day.

Almost 5 weeks since stopping pill and 2 weeks after apparent ovulation surge Im still due a period.
Took 2 pregnancy tests and nothing.
Also no sign of period coming (no cramps, mood swings, no sore tummy).

Anyone else experince of coming off the pill similar?

I came off it feb 2019 for 3 months due to skin. Had period within 10days and it was like clock work after that. Cant understand what going on with my body at the min. Not stressed either.

@CookieMonster3001 - yes, I'm saving the ClearBlues for confirmation only, have been using the cheapies up until now!

@queenatom 100% agree!! Much rather get it sussed out now then when we are TTC and waste a couple of months. I'm going to carry on tracking with my OPKS until September and then fork out for some CB tests to 100% confirm and then I will prob use a combination of both on the first month we try.

There is no way me and DH are going to be DTD every day of the month, so want to make sure I have it pinpointed to at least a week.

Good to see your cycle is getting back on track so quickly!! I have to admit, my periods pretty much went straight back to normal after coming off the pill, but I was only on it for 2 yrs.

@CookieMonster3001 - this I think is the benefit of taking some time to start tracking etc before we start trying to conceive, now you know that the app alone can't be trusted (which is a mistake a few friends of mine have made!)

On a connected ovulation note, ClearBlue says thumbs up for me at CD13! Will hopefully be able to confirm with temps but I would be very pleased if my cycle has regulated this quickly after coming off the implant.

@JamesZebra sorry your period has been horrendous but glad the iron is kicking in!

@queenatom glad your smear went well. Already dreading mine as my cervix is most definitely not cooperative!

@wrensandrobins that sounds promising!

@butterfly5291im so sorry to hear your suffering. Glad you have pushed back and asked for a referral as that sounds silly that they didn't tell you! My mum had a similar situation with a lump in her brain (if I rightly remember) that they discovered during a scan as she also suffered from horrible migraines, but it didn't come up until a few years later when she went back for the same issue and it was in her notes, but no one had told her that's what they had found! ridiculous!

On ovulation note, just as predicted (by me and not the apps!) my bbt has gone up again today. I think I missed my peak reading which probably was 12 hours before my first OPK as it has just been going down since, and I 99% think I ovulated Tuesday and not predicted Saturday. Just for fun, I put that I got a positive OPK on Monday in my app, and it changed my date to Tues/Weds, but when I take it out, it goes back to Saturday.

@butterfly5291 Oh my goodness - that's really scary, as you say why didn't they think to mention that?! I hope you are able to get some answers soon. I am very much not a doctor, but wonder if the issue may be that the cyst is taking up space in your brain and increasing your intracranial pressure, which can cause headaches? I had an incidence 8 years ago of idiopathic intracranial hypertension and the headaches from that were unbelievable. Fortunately, that was easily treated with a lumbar puncture and I haven't had a recurrence. Hopefully there will be a similarly easy answer for you. If you notice any changes or black/blind spots in your vision, this can be a sign of increased pressure and you should go to the opticians right away and they should refer you urgently (as in - same day) to the hospital.

@butterfly5291 thats really scary. Well done for pushing for a referral, at least you will be able to see a specialist and have you mind put at ease.

Good morning everyone!

Thank you for the advice about checking our immunisations, I've now got a blood test next Thursday

In other news, I had been suffering with headaches since March, we thought it was Covid related. Finally got medication to help by end of May. I am trying to come off the medication so I don't need to take it when I am pregnant. Long story short, I'd had a CT scan back in April and they said that was normal but when I spoke to the Dr yesterday she said there was actually a cyst but they had deemed it irrelevant!
WTF! how do you not mention to someone that there is a cyst in their brain and not think its possible relevant given I am still getting the headaches when not on medication?!
So I have pushed for a referral to neruologist but not exactly an ideal situation for when we are TTC!

Rant over [angry[

Well I have being taking the calcium and so far so good! No pmt symptoms and normally I would be really ratty and my boobs sore! So fingers crossed that it will continue!

Sorry you're having a rough time @JamesZebra, that's no fun at all. Glad the iron is helping though!

Smear is done, thank goodness, and no dramas - I have a 'very co-operative cervix', apparently! Long may that continue...

wow @CookieMonster3001 I love your diary! Such an easy way to keep track of things!

I've just had the period from hell, it's been awful however i think the Iron tablets are already helping so that is good.