TTC #1, cycle 13 and fed up! Whose with me?

@Rosie189 it's so awful that people would even think to ask if a couple plans to have children. It's so common to have difficulty in getting pregnant. Plus it's beyond intrusive. I hope you're feeling ok.
TTC really is a physical and mental strain. I keep getting very emotional when AF shows up yet again.

@Theawkwardblonde have you been referred to gynae / fertility yet? Apologies if you've already said. My faith in GPs has really been shaken after my experience this year 😔 so in your position I would just be asking for a referral to fertility and waiting for them to look at the bloods properly.

I had AMH and bloods for PCOS last year due to irregular and heavy periods which were normal but I don’t know the actual numbers. Cycles have been more regular this year but had my day 21 bloods 2.5 weeks ago they showed No ovulation and I had a weird bleed that started the day of them. Dr just said to wait till I got a normal period then book the bloods again. DH waiting for SA appt isn’t till Jan.

Close work friend is pregnant she’s actually been great about it as I’d mentioned some stuff and she’s been pretty quiet about it at work but we’re a close team and news travels another colleague pregnant too and had about 4 people ask me this week when I’m going to try I’ve been feeling so I don’t know what that I’ve been honest and said that’s not really working out for me at the moment. I just feel so emotional when my period starts my mood is awful. I don’t normally get bad pmt or super emotional for my period so I’m sure it’s more ttc mental strain. If that makes sense. Just feeling very very frustrated at the moment.

I feel really annoyed today. Mainly with myself. I’m annoyed that I get my hopes up every month thinking it will be different even though I know it won’t be. I’m 7dpo (I think) although the last cycle was a bit all over the place. Had some very very mild spotting the past day or so. The past 4-5months I’ve got spotting 5 days before AF never this early though. Never used to get it. So here I am convincing my self it’s IB then thinking if I was I’d be around 8 weeks on Xmas day so could maybe tell close family then. 12 weeks around time me and DH have time booked off work, meaning he be home for scan etc etc. I hate that I drive myself crazy like this. You’d think I’d be more realistic after almost 15/16 months. Anyone else still driving themselves mad symptom spotting?

I also then get pissed off that I feel broken and it’s not working. Such an emotional rollercoaster.

Sorry just needed a little rant.

@Theawkwardblonde yeah if you're regular then I probably wouldn't recommend taking any multivitamins for ttc. Seven seas or pregnacare tend to mess up regular ladies. I always used to be regular but since my CP been all over the place so I started taking the seven seas to regulate again. Do you do bbt ?

@Theawkwardblonde do you normally have regular cycles ?? Seven seas aren't known for delaying ovulation in long cycles. I started taking them this cycle to shorten and regulate my long irregular cycles as that's what most people use them for and people who have normal regular cycles don't use them as it can mess up your cycles if they're normal ?

@CurbsideProphet seven seas are only £4 so they're the cheapest of ttc tablets

@Theawkwardblonde I'm really sorry you're in this situation too. It's awful to feel in yourself that something isn't right and have to wait for doctors to listen.

I haven't taken anything other than vitamin D (I'm chronically deficient) and folic acid. I read a lot of reviews online about conception vitamins and cycle changes. I would think stopping the vitamins and doing the blood test again would give a more accurate picture?

As an aside, my GP saw my blood results and immediately said PCOS. The fertility doctor said the testosterone etc wasn't ideal, but not high enough for PCOS. Was this a GP looking at your bloods?

The specialist I saw also said that conception vitamins are not necessary at all and are just a ruse to make you spend money. He only recommends folic acid and vitamin D for women ttc.

@Theawkwardblonde sorry to hear you’ve had bad news. At least you’re getting some further tests. My dr just wanted to repeat my bloods when they showed no ovulation. I hope you get some answers soon and have something to work towards. 🤞 for you x

@Theawkwardblonde sorry to hear this but good it's getting addressed! They'll likely prescribe you clomid for 6 months and then ivf after that. Hopefully the clomid does the trick for you! X

@Theawkwardblonde if I'm honest I'm crumbling inside with the fear of IVF and what it entails, plus the fear of it not working. We've told our parents, but not that we've already been trying. To my parents we've spun it as the best option for dealing with my fibroid. I'm very lucky in that a relative had a baby recently, but we live 100+ miles away. I got the message about her baby literally 45 minutes before I was told we need IVF. It's no one's fault but that is grim timing. So far no friends or family are currently pregnant. I must sound awful but I hope it stays that way. It must be so difficult being surrounded by pregnant friends and family. I don't think there's anything I can say to make that better for you 💐

@Rosie189 regarding private testing why not ask your GP if they would accept private test results if something showed up that needed further investigation / referral to NHS fertility services? That way you know whether it's worth the money.

I know how hard it can be when it feels like everyone is pregnant or having babies but it may be worthwhile reaching out to close friends and discussing it. I’ve spoken with my best friend who had a baby in the summer and it’s been nice to talk about how I’m feeling and she’s also opened up to me about how much she struggled dealing with a newborn. I know that sounds like it could be hard to hear but actually was nice to cement that the most important thing is we can be there for each other even if our lives are taking different paths.

I also know that my close work friend will be very careful about not shoving pregnancy chat down my throat from a brief chat I had with her mentioning we were having some investigations. After she announced it to me I messaged her to say sorry need a bit of time to process these things at the moment but I am happy for her. She reached out to listen and chat or just be some company if I’m having a down day. They may not understand completely but they can understand we are struggling.

I think the fact I’ve spoken to them has helped me. So may be worthwhile. If not there’s always all of us going through it to. So talk/vent away! We get it!

I hope you are ok. Fingers crossed bloods get run with no issues and you get results quickly. I weirdly couldn’t decide if I wanted an issue to show up as then maybe there’s something we could try and fix or for it to be all normal and hope there’s nothing wrong with us and it will happen soon. Maybe that makes me a bit odd! I was then a mess when I got told my bloods showed no ovulation even though I knew before due to the bleeding. Thank goodness they called with my results on my day off.

Hi @Theawkwardblonde how are you getting on? Have you had your bloods re done yet?

I had a positive opk stick on Friday so hoping I’ve ovulated after my abnormal bleed that started the day before my day 21 bloods last time that showed no ovulation. So crossing my fingers. At least if nothing else hopefully means I’ll start AF in a few weeks and can re book my bloods. As GP said to wait till me next normal bleed before booking. No SA until Jan so otherwise all a bit on hold at moment.

My work friend who I though was pregnant weeks ago told me properly last week. Felt a bit shit but she did it in the nicest way she could as I’d mentioned a few things to her so she knew I'm having some difficulties. Also another announcement at work too. Felt pretty low last week.

I’ve been considering getting some testing done privately but not sure if it’s advisable or not, don’t know if nhs would use it and doubt it will help us get any further forward faster so not sure if it’s worth it.

Hope everyone else is getting on ok.

Thank you @Rosie189 💐
I'm so down about it. I kept being told by a GP and gynaecologist that all I needed to do is relax and now I need IVF 😩

@CurbsideProphet sorry to hear that your going to have to go with ivf. I can only imagine how you feel. As you and @notyetamumbuttrying have said at least there is now a plan in place. Will keep fingers and toes crossed for you!

@CurbsideProphet that's good then! Defo take comfort in that xx

Thank you both.
@Theawkwardblonde DH's SA results came through last week from the NHS. At my private appointment with the fertility specialist this week they also did an internal scan and measured the fibroid bigger than the NHS. So he based his advice mainly on those factors, but also on me being nearly 35. There's also the reasoning that if we kept trying for another 12 months without guaranteed success the fibroid could get bigger and cause serious problems.

I'm devastated at the moment, as I want to just "be normal" and dtd then have the lovely bfp moment. IVF also encompasses everything that gives me the shudders - needles, speculums, internal examinations etc. But @notyetamumbuttrying yes I will really try to focus on the fact that there is now a plan. The fertility specialist said he really thinks I'll be successfully pregnant from our NHS round 🤞🏻

@CurbsideProphet hi hun, thanks for sharing your news. I'm sorry you find yourself at ivf but great that you persevered and now have a way forward, that's great! This might be me next year too so would love to hear your journey.

Hello all 👋🏻
Hope everyone is ok. We've had our appointment with the fertility specialist. Because of my pesky fibroid nudging one of my ovaries and a slight issue with DH's sperm (caused by surgery years ago on a cyst) our best chance of having a baby is IVF. It's been a big shock, as I was convinced I would be sent off with a prescription. Hopefully it will sink in over the next few weeks. The NHS will fund 1 round at an excellent private clinic (no NHS service here) so we'll be looking at starting in the new year.
I've felt that something was wrong since March. Unfortunately I've been proven right, despite initially being told just to relax by a GP and gynaecologist 😏 It just goes to show that gut feeling isn't just woo.

@Rosie189 just make sure you set an alarm at the same time every morning and have your thermometer on your bedside table ready to go. It takes a while to get used to it, maybe w couple of weeks but once you get going its fine