TTC 35+ Thread 5 Cougar and Silver Fox Club

@M4v3r1ck no sign of AF 😬 But... I’ve had fairly irregular cycles, BFN a few days ago and also stopped DTD fairly early on in my cycle because of weird bleeding so I’m as sure as I can be that we won’t be successful this time. I’ve got my scan tomorrow (checking the weird bleeding isn’t anything sinister) so I’ll make sure I test in the morning before I go.

@Kitekat81 can I ask what you’re doing re: improving egg quality? This is something I think all of us seniors probably worry about given the positively geriatric age of our eggs 😬😅 I’ve been a bit worried about my TSH which was 4.5 last year and seemed to be on an upward trajectory from previous tests. I must make the effort to get it checked again.

I’ve set alarms the last two days to do my temp and both times have groggily thought ‘nah!’ and rolled over to doze. Damn it!

@thislittlebird my GP wasn't able to refer us until I'd had the day 3 and day 21 bloods, and my partner had his semen analysis. I had my bloods done in Sept and oh had his SA in October (that was when the lab reopened after closing due to Covid). Then they referred us and a few weeks later we got a form to fill in from the fertility clinic. The form asked for mmr vaccination dates and when I called my surgery to check these, I discovered I'd only had one mmr when you need to have had two, so I had to have that re-done. I posted the completed form back to the fertility clinic on 6th November, and then we got an appointment on 14th Jan so 10 weeks which I didn't think was too bad.

@Kitekat81 yeah I’ve been getting them to test me for FSH for years because my mother had an early menopause but every single GP I’ve dealt with at this surgery has sent me for all three tests at once on day 21 on various occasions. Genuinely don’t get it. I wish I’d known the day 3 thing months ago but I only learned about it recently and then when I asked about it and they didn’t seem very interested. It’s like they’re focussed on the day 21 test only and the others are supplementary, despite my protestations. I’ve emailed the private clinic today to confirm what tests they’re doing. Will get there in the end anyway, just wish the end of the month would get here.

How long did your nhs clinic referral take? I’m hoping they’ll do thyroid etc for me rather than pay privately but it depends how long the wait is

@M4v3r1ck everything we've done so far is NHS and they've been great, but looking to do the next steps privately to move forward a bit more quickly now. Thank you for your positivity and good wishes! 😊

@thislittlebird your GP's got that wrong, they need to do FSH in the first few days of your cycle. FSH is Follicle Stimulating Hormone which stimulates the follicles to start the process of preparing for ovulation, so it doesn't make sense to measure it after ovulation! Yeh the NHS clinic took blood on Thursday to check TSH and my thyroid, so I'll get the results of that one on Tuesday. They don't do AMH on the NHS, so I might try and get that done privately at the same time as the HyCoSy, just so I've got all the information. That's cool you are looking into acupuncture as well, and how handy to have a recommendation! ☺️

Forgot to add congrats to @LittleAurora!

@Kitekat81 yeah definitely day 21 (or just after). Without fail they send me for all tests (LH, FSH, progesterone) at the same time. I was aware from reading around here and elsewhere that it should be day 3 and I even raised it and they just ignored what I said . So I’m off to have them all done again in early Feb yet again on day 21. It’s been frustrating tbh. I try not to slag them off in the circumstances but my GP surgery has been really bad since the pandemic started and not being able to see anyone in person is making it harder to wade through all of this imo. Glad I booked the private tests really and I only did it because I flipped out on CD1 when AF arrived and it was light again (has been doing this for months which is giving me extra anxiety so I’m just hoping all the tests say I’m otherwise fine and it’s stress, but who knows yet).

I need to reconfirm which tests the private clinic are doing but I know they’re doing AMH and they said it didn’t matter which day I came for that either.

Did the nhs fertility clinic suggest thyroid tests? Not been told to have that yet but it has crossed my mind that I should probably check it some time. Sounds a similar situation to us really, good luck finding your private HSG/hycosy. I’m hoping they’ll tell me in the private consultation if I’m a good ivf candidate (I assume that’s part of the process anyway) and for the time being we will carry on trying and I’m going to temp and use CB fertility monitor this month as well.

I’m planning on starting acupuncture too! Just need to get all these tests done in late January and early Feb and then I’ll go for a consultation I think. My friend recommended her husband’s acupuncturist who specialises in fertility which was handy, I’m sort of looking forward to having something to go to each week even if it’s just relaxing.

@M4v3r1ck thank you, I've started temping this morning and looking at iPod to order, I bought the pregnancies conception suppliments for us both yesterday I'm just so confused with what's going on at the moment!

@LittleAurora excellent news! Here's to a healthy happy pregnancy! 😍😍😍

@Marvellouslymadmum how bizarre! I agree with others and maybe do OPKs and BBT to see if you notice anything! Could be a randomly long cycle? 🤔 In terms of supplements, I take folic acid, vit D and just started CoQ10!

@Kitekat81 sorry you didn't get as good news as you hoped for! Can you remind me if this was private or NHS? More information is still great and glad you've got a good plan going forwards, plus you have a fabulous and positive attitude! Please keep us updated! 😘😘😘 I'm optimistic for us all on this group! It will absolutely happen, it might just take a little longer and need a bit of help on the way!

@GuessHowMuch any sign of AF? Remember you're not out until the witch arrives!!!!

@LittleAurora congratulations! 😊

@thislittlebird are you sure they did your FSH test on day 21? It should be done on day 2-5. The day 21 test is for progesterone, I think it should be more than 30 to confirm ovulation. That sounds good that you're getting a private fertility consultation, I think it's worth the money to find out where you stand. For me, next steps are to get the results of the blood test they did on Thursday (TSH and thyroid), and book a private HSG/HyCoSy. If my tubes are completely blocked, I'll know that we need to go straight to IVF. If they aren't, we'll keep trying naturally until we hit the year mark in April and then start looking into IVF. I'm also looking into acupuncture to see if that can do anything to help me, and I'll focus on things I can do to improve egg quality over the next few months. So a few things to keep me busy and moving forward in this process!

Congrats @LittleAurora!

Congrats @LittleAurora Great to have it confirmed 🎉

@LittleAurora congratulations dear. Wishing you a very happy healthy 9 months ❤️💜.
Wonderful start to the new year

@Kitekat81 yeah that’s super frustrating. I hadn’t even got into the nhs that far yet because they didn’t give me my results properly in the summer so I have to redo some (they said it was fine initially but my day 21 test was actually borderline (17) so I have to redo soon). Hopefully it was borderline because I had to take it on a Monday instead of Saturday but we shall see. I hadn’t really considered how long it would take either, but I think we’re floating down the private route either way now because I don’t want to wait months really. I’m having a vaginal scan and bloods the end of this month including AMH, then a consultation early Feb. My FSH was 1.8 last summer but that was on day 21 ish but I don’t know how much of a difference that will make to my results. Hopefully the private clinic will do both for a better picture and they will tell me whether or not my internal scan looks good or not. What’s next on your to do list?

I got sick of trying to squirt at lines ❤️

@GuessHowMuch I haven't been tracking anything since around 17th December, I was temping up until that point but kept forgetting as I was busy with Xmas stuff! I'm going to start again from tomorrow and I'm going to get some opk to but no idea which! I also want to start on some supplements but again no idea which lol

@thislittlebird my understanding is that it depends on how long you have been trying, and whether or not you have a diagnosis of infertility. If you have a diagnosis (e.g. both tubes are completely blocked, or your oh has near non-existent sperm) then you go on the waiting list straight away. The waiting list in my area is 10 months. If there is nothing obviously wrong - all tests come back ok - then you need to have been trying for 2 years before you can go on the waiting list. We've been trying since April 2020 so 2 years trying would be April 2022, plus 10 months would be January 2023. I think I naively thought that they would just put me on the waiting list at the first fertility appointment, and then just wait and see if in 10 months time we still need it, but alas that does not seem to be the case! What was your FSH result? Mine was 10.7, so borderline but not great.

@GuessHowMuch it's been a lot to take in and I've been pretty emotional trying to process it all over the last couple of days. The follicle count problem took me by surprise a bit as I was hoping I would be about average for my age, but seems I may be below average. I'm definitely glad we went as it's always good to have as much info as possible, and I'm glad at least that we now know what the next steps are so can keep moving forward. It has made me a little bit less optimistic that we will have a positive outcome at the end of all this, and all you ladies will be familiar with the absolutely gut wrenching feeling that thought brings. As for my oh, he is Mr Optimism as always! He is still really positive that we will find a way, one way or another. Thank goodness I have him to keep my spirits up!

Do you feel better having gone to the appointment and having a plan in place @Kitekat81? Sorry it wasn’t as good news as it could have been though. What does your other half feel about it?

@Marvellouslymadmum are you still tracking anything? I have no idea about long cycles (although my own cycles have been totally irregular for the last year or so 😬) but wondered if it’s worth keeping an eye on temps/OPKs to see if anything gears up for another ovulation?

AF due tomorrow for me. Lots of cramping and I’ve been seriously cranky so expecting her right on time. Tested at 11 DPO a couple of days ago and it was BFN. So why do I keep clinging on to that tiny smidge of hope?! 🙄😅

@Kitekat81 thank you for the welcome! Do you mind me asking if you know why the wait is so long? 2023 seems ages. We’re waiting for an NHS referral and in the meantime I have booked private fertility tests and a consultation this week for late January and early February. Am worried my AMH might be poor, but my FSH was good when I was tested so fingers crossed that trend continues. I’m relieved to be getting some help I guess, not sure if I want to wait on the NHS times either if they’re long (not sure yet).

@Pamparam yeah, I have a whole unused bag of those cheapies here because I couldn’t find a peak when I tried. I got the CB monitor and sticks second hand from eBay so I have some but will need some more (not sure how often I’ll need to test yet, need to look into it because due to start using it in a couple of days).

I have a feeling I ovulate later than I thought like you, we were trying only around ovulation time really but I probably stopped too early quite often. Going to try all month this month and hopefully every day during the later than expected ovulation window. Hopefully I ovulate this month, I guess

Hi @Kitekat81 I haven't spoken to the gp yet, I wondered if I may be better just waiting this month to see if af eventually appears and go from there!

Sorry to hear about your fertility results but at least you know what's going on 🤞🏻 you'll be able to get things sorted soon!

Hello ladies! I've been away for a couple of days and so much to catch up on 😂

Welcome @Pamparam and @thislittlebird!

@LittleAurora your dog sniffing your test made me chuckle 😄

@M4v3r1ck yay for the clear scan! But sorry about the yucky uti - hope it passes quickly for you!

@Marvellouslymadmum have you tried phoning your GP for advice?

@TTCat39 try not to panic too much based on one cycle! I know exactly how you feel - when you decide to ttc at our age you are so conscious that every cycle counts, and it is so devastating when you think you've lost one. You can phone your GP for reassurance, but I think they will tell you to relax and see what happens next cycle - if you are usually regular then there's every chance you'll be back to usual next month! I also usually have fairly regular 25-28 day cycles, but had random short ones last year in January, February and August. I wasn't tracking ovulation in Jan/Feb but was in August and could see it was because I hadn't ovulated that month. I was completely devastated and worried when it happened, but my cycles went back to regular again just fine the next month. I spoke to the doctor at the fertility clinic on Thursday about this and she said that an irregular cycle about once every 6 months wasn't something to be overly concerned about. I know it's really hard, but try and stay calm, get all your opks and bbt planning ready for your next cycle, and start thinking about all the things you want to try differently this cycle 🙂

Thanks to everyone who wished me luck for my fertility appointment on Thursday. I'm not going to go into all the details here because I don't want to bore you ladies 😄 but if anyone wants all the gory details I've posted a very detailed account on another thread on the Conception forum, "First Fertility Clinic Appointment tomorrow", and can also pm this to anyone who is interested. In summary, of course it's my age which is the main issue for us. My main concern is my antral follicle count - I only had 6, which isn't great news for how many eggs I've got left, my egg quality, or the likelihood of being successful with ivf. Next steps are an hsg to see if my tubes are blocked (trying to arrange this privately as it's a 4 month wait on the nhs), and then probably in a few months we'll start looking into private ivf, the doctor was quite realistic with us that the timescales / waiting lists etc on the NHS aren't going to be an option for us - if my tubes aren't blocked then we are probably looking at January 2023 for ivf, which is just too long a wait for us.

@Pamparam that's what I'm hoping it is, though I don't ever recall missing a period completely before! Maybe I'll get two and get lucky next month 😂 I go between feeling low and worried somethings wrong one minute to thinking maybe I'm just one of those who gets a very late bfp or next month will be all back to normal! Lol

@Marvellouslymadmum it sounds like maybe you just didn’t ovulate this month? From haunting the conception boards when trying previously, it’s seems not uncommon for women to just occasionally not ovulate so you’re not going to have a period either until after you do. I guess as we get older then that is more likely to happen...as is chucking out two eggs so twins could happen 😬

@M4v3r1ck
I've been nauseous on and off and had an achy back, funny taste in my mouth but other than that no nothing and absolutely no sign of af!

Thank you ladies! 😘😘😘

@LittleAurora that looks like a very faint line to me! 🤞🏻 it gets darker!

@MgW1 ah yes, that makes sense! I'll also stick with AF in future too!!!!

@TTCat39 honestly I feel you so much! The impatience is killing me! I keep trying not to wish away time! 😳😳😳 It helps me knowing I'm not alone with these feelings and experiences - this is what this group is here for! 😘😘😘

@Marvellouslymadmum that is super frustrating! Are you having any weird symptoms?!

Happy Saturday ladies! Hope you've a restful weekend planned, and those of you home schooling can breathe a sigh of relief for a couple of days! 😃