TTC 35+ Thread 7

@climbershell so sorry this wasn't your month, i know you felt you were in with a real shot this cycle. Sending lots of positivity xx

@Sleeeeeepy mine is still like this too, my bbt chart and opk are like a heart beat chart 😂

@thislittlebird I don't think I've ever successfully managed to pinpoint ovulation with certainty! The clearblue gave me a peak this month but my bbt is still up and down like a yo-yo so I've no idea how long my Lp is either I have heard some people say supplements can alter it slightly one way or the other though

@climbershell sorry af arrived, our bodies really are cruel giving us that false hope then snatching it away again! From what I've looked at the prices @thislittlebird said are about right, though it does seem to vary a lot by area and clinic I've also read about some people spending around £40k on it! I believe the nhs waiting lists for actual ivf once you get referred and have tests and consultations etc can be around a year. A scan to check everything privately really varies too, there's a place near me that does them for around £65-£70 I think @Crazydoglady123 has hers done for around £90

Hi @Katiekattty welcome, have you been ttc for very long?

@thislittlebird thank you, good to know rough costs. I'm 35, so I guess we could try naturally for another year, tho I really badly want two children and really before I'm 40..

I'm not 100% what the doc has just referred me for, she said ultrasound and check tubes etc. My OH will chase SA Mon. I guess £300 isn't too bad and I'm in Midlands so maybe cheaper, but then putting up to £500 to discuss results nearly doubles.

@misty84 I log on Ovia (& flow and ff), started logging spotting & AF May, logged cm from Sept's cycle and everything like pelvic pain, boobs, dizzy etc from this cycle. No point logging fatigue as I'm exhausted so much as I sleep terribly and am very active

Least next tww I have this tww to gauge and hopefully not get hopes up as much. I'm not actually that low, I guess my hopes dropped with the BFN on weds

@Katiekattty I just ordered 45 of the easy@home opk, will arrive between cycle day 5-7, guess start around day 9 or 10?

@Misty84 thanks for saying that, I sometimes feel like I'm flailing around desperately not knowing what to do, so it is reassuring to hear you say that 😊

Hi and welcome @Katiekattty! 👋 How long have you been ttc for?

Hi, jumping with everyone. TTC #1 I’m 37 but 38 this year. I’ve ordered the Easy@home OPK to use this month and I need to work on my diet. I’ve completely lost it since lockdown 1.

@climbershell I’ve given up with symptom spotting because it got my hopes up far too many times. What I’ve learnt is that my body has slightly different symptoms every month and unless I’m a day late with AF there’s no point reading too much into anything! I record my symptoms now which has shown me how variable they are.
So sorry to hear that AF has arrived for you because I know you were super hopeful this month😔 Look after yourself for a few days!!

@Kitekat81 Sounds like you have a really good, sensible attitude and plan for what you want to do. 🙂

@climbershell My understanding is the nhs ivf wait is quite long, I don’t think it will be an option for me because of that. Not quite sure of exact ivf costs but I was looking at fertility clinic packages last month and they do 2 attempts for something like £8ishk. Maybe £5k per go separately, roughly (others here feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). If you’re 37 and under there are more packages. I’m aiming not to get to that stage 😬 and really hoping clomid or something else will work in the meantime.

Was it the AMH and follicle scan that has the 16 week wait? If so I paid about £300 for those two privately (in London) and another £230 to discuss the results (and my DH’s nhs semen analysis) with a consultant. It was reassuring to learn nothing was wrong with me in that regard.

I have found it useful keeping a detailed log of PMS symptoms (I’ve been using ff even though I’m not temping) because my AF started doing mad symptom stuff like that too. I blame the stress and anxiety around ttc.

@climbershell sorry for AF :( Wallow for a few days, then get back on it! It's great to have in mind some new things each cycle that you want to try.

@Misty84 yeh the ivf decision is really hard. I want to make sure that we've allowed enough time for it to happen naturally, but also not put off ivf for too long as I know that the older I get the chances of ivf success will get lower, particularly starting with such a low AMH and AFC. I'll be 40 in November, and I kind of have it in my mind that I'd like to have done one cycle of ivf by then (knowing we'd probably need to do several cycles). So maybe looking at starting around September, which would mean we would have tried naturally for 18 months which is a decent amount of time. Yes we've had all the fertility tests and investigations now.

@thislittlebird it's so gutting isn't it that we are contemplating spending thousands of pounds on something which is free to so many people, let alone putting our bodies through the stress of it. I've been a saver all my life though without knowing exactly what I was saving for, so it looks like it may be this. I know I would regret it in 10 years time if I still have those savings sitting there and we hadn't at least tried.

@thislittlebird roughly what are the costs with IVF?

If something comes back that we need it, and already had a 16 week + week for the scans etc then I'm guessing it'd be at least another 16 week wait for IVF. Then again they might make us wait 2yrs from trying to book for that.

Or maybe should pay for the scan etc now, any idea on costs for that?

AF is here and giving me hell. I had many symptoms this time, which I've never had before, so now I know I can't trust my body at all, which is frustrating

I'm going to buy cheap opk now and ubiquinol

And today have a can of Pepsi Max!!

I guess at it least it was a 27 day cycle not 30, not had a 30 since Sept now. 26-29 is better, slightly more regular

@Marvellouslymadmum I hate that despite trying not to symptom spot I still do it. But I’ve not really had anything to spot this month thus far.

I usually have a 29 day cycle but sometimes less or more and it’s unusual for me to ovulate on day 14 so my app is predicting AF on Tuesday meaning I would have had a 26 day cycle. Do you all find your luteal phase stays the same? I wonder if the supplements could change it slightly so not sure if I can trust the app/usual LP length.

@Kitekat81 we’re lucky we can go the private route too but we have been spending a bit of the cash this month, would be nice not to have to spend what we’ve saved for possible ivf but might have to. The ivf decisions are so hard because I don’t want to do it really but I want a baby so it’s a case of getting a balance of feeling you’ve tried for some time and getting ivf in before it’s too late. Frustrating, wish i didn’t have this issue like my friends don’t have it.

Great news on AF @M4v3r1ck ! No idea what's going on with my cycle, my LH keeps going up and down which is quite confusing, I think I'm still resetting

@M4v3r1ck I’m glad to hear that your body is getting back to normal! 🙂

@Kitekat81 Thats such a daunting prospect to decide when to have IVF! So are you thinking at some point this year? Do you have any more tests to do before you go down that route?
I’ll be having everything on the NHS although no idea of wait times for that yet. I still need to have the HyCoSy first. If IVF is the only option then ideally this year or at the very latest next year would be good. And then fingers crossed for us with our low AMH!!🤞🤞🤞

@thislittlebird I get that, I'm managing to just ignore it all at the moment but I'm only approx 5dpo so although I tend to symptom spot a bit I'm mostly ok lol though the bbt chart is somewhat puzzling!

I've had no more spotting the last few hours, but the last hour got pmt cramps. Which is weird because I NEVER get actual pain until AF has arrived (just mild cramp the day before) regardless or not if I'm spotting. I feel like getting a hot water bottle and taking pain killers wtf

@M4v3r1ck hooray for AF! I know it's always an emotional time, but for you this time it's a new beginning! Onwards and upwards! 😊

Thanks for asking re my results. Well I'm pretty gutted about the low AMH, but not completely surprised after my low follicle count. The ivf thing is a difficult decision. It's weird because if I was doing it with the NHS I would just have to sit back and wait for them to say when it's the right time, but because NHS is not an option for us and I'm fortunate to have the option of going private (not saying it would be easy, but it's a possibility) it kind of means it falls on us to decide when is the right time to start, which is a pretty scary decision to make! 😬

@KG1145 thank you for sharing that list with us.

This thread has moved fast! Welcome to all the newbies.

I'm just waiting for fertile week to begin now, CD7 here static smiley today.

@Marvellouslymadmum the temps just stressed me out so much last month so I’m very relieved to be free of them this cycle. I do think I’m less stressed out in this tww. It’s on my mind a bit but last month was horrendous, watching the stupid temps climb and drop, crazy pms I’d never had before and so on. All quiet on the western front over here so far, nothing occurring whatsoever.

@climbershell it just seems so unfair doesn't it? But then I was like that with my teenagers, myself and my ex decided we wanted to try and it happened pretty much straight away so I didn't give infertility a second thought! It definitely need highlighting more so it's more of a talked about subject and less hush hush I think

@Marvellouslymadmum yes, so so many (probably most) people don't really give 2 thoughts to TTC, other than folic acid and limiting caffeine!

[quote Noodella18]**@KG1145* in your list the thing about not having full fat milk was in the list for improving sperm, so if @marvellouslymadmum* is right and the lower fat dairy is better for male hormones then it makes sense that they advise men to have low fat dairy? And by contrast women should have high fat dairy?[/quote]
@Noodella18 that does make sense actually now you've said it. Oh dear, my oh has also been having full fat milk since I made the change for me, ndoh! 🤦‍♀️

[quote Magnum99]@sickofthisyear I currently take 2 x 20,000 if of vitamin D3 daily, but this is prescribed by my GP as I'm deficient. Sounds a lot but I can guarantee I'll still be deficient next time I'm tested, my body just doesn't seem to hold on to it. [/quote]
@Magnum99 that's interesting, did you have any symptoms that made you think you were deficient? Or did it just show up when you had your vit D level tested? I haven't been offered a vit D test as part of the fertility investigations, so not sure if it's something I can/should be requesting.

@climbershell it must be all guidance anyway as so many people manage to get pregnant without monitoring any of this! It's just us unlucky ones that have to think about it all!

@Marvellouslymadmum mine still eats full fat cheese

I think it makes some impact but nowhere near as much as having low fat

@Noodella18 that would make sense, and would be a plus as I've only changed my milk over to full fat and he's having semi skimmed still! He still eats full fat cheese though so hopefully everything all good @climbershell