TTC 35+ Thread 8

@Misty84 😂 I have to recommend that everyone have a go if they can! Fascinating and adorable!

@Yumcoffee the sperm story made me laugh out loud!
And yes, such a weird weather day!!

Welcome @Henslovetoscratch 👋🏻 Everyone is so supportive and lovely here! x

Welcome @Henslovetoscratch and good luck to you too! Yes everyone here is awesome! I've been enjoying both sunshine and snow today?!

@MgW1 Hey it's from "exseed" but the fertility clinic got it for us. There's an app thats supposed to interpret the results for you but that wasn't working so he just had to send a video to the company! It looked ok to me but i have no idea! Bf thinks they looked speedy (of course!) I said they looked a bit erratic lol!

@MgW1 Ah it's such an emotional a ride, how long have you been trying for? Hopefully it will happen for us all when it's meant to 🤞

@Henslovetoscratch
Welcome , im nearly 38 and ttc #3, not been an easy ride but still hopeful xx

@Yumcoffee
I have seen them online!!! Omg how interesting!!
Did it all look like it should? Where did you order from? X

Hi folks. Firstly just want to say after reading through this board you guys are all awesome. Sharing and supporting to the max.

A wee bit about me, 38 years old, TTC#2 for about 4months now and trying to stay positive about it all, but internally occassionally Google and then feel a bit overwhelmed. Google is so handy but also awful 😂!!

Good luck everyone and hope you are enjoying some sunshine today 😊

Hello everyone I haven't said much because i've had no news but keeping up with everyone's journeys and wishing you all luck!

@TTCat39 I had to do the blood finger test too for my FSH AMH count it was so painful and i couldn't even get enough blood so they have to send me a new test! My body fails ALL the tests!

The best thing is my bf got an at-home sperm test kit! It came with a little machine with a tiny microscope and you can watch all the little sperms running around and bumping into each other! It was so cute! You know you're broody when sperm is cute lol!

Right @Marvellouslymadmum @thislittlebird , I'm definitely going to start having what you're having! CD3 here and AF is completely done with me already 🙁
@wj82 'Step away from Google' are wise words indeed- supposed to be working and instead attempting to use the internet to tell me my future
Hope everyone else is OK today

@thislittlebird much heavier than normal which I'm assuming is a good thing and down to the b6 and pomegranate juice, had mega bad cramps day one and some but not as bad day two and they're pretty much gone today. Maybe the acupuncture really does help For you!

I called the doc this morning again and couldn't get an appointment until Friday so I've taken that but will keep calling each day to see if there are any cancellations too. Hopefully if I ever get through I can persuade her to either send me for more tests or bump me up from 'routine' to investigative and find out what's happening with the sa too. Ooh I can definitely see how it's tempting to have a private round, do you think you could get it organised quick enough?

Oh check us out @Marvellouslymadmum 👯‍♀️

What’s happening with af? I’m actually shocked mine is heavier again, I thought it was going to be light but no, it’s all looking suspiciously normal and that has coincided with acupuncture both times 👀

Did you have your SA call with the doctor?

Yeah I’m hoping it’s better by the three month mark. Either that or there’s enough there for ivf. I feel stuck in limbo with it all, just want to get cracking on ivf now really. Tempted to have a private cycle while I wait for the nhs cycle (you can have two private before you void your nhs one in my ccg).

@ShirleyValentineManc I would ask them for the breakdown because their interpretation of low seems very variable. There’s low and then there’s low. I was sent down the ‘not sure if she’s ovulating’ pathway based on my results and I guess it’s a three month wait for me too, appointment is May 17. So that’s as far as I’ve got so far

Weird that your friend didn’t mention anything to you.

@thislittlebird we are pretty much cycle buddies this time! I am now cd2 I took b6 up until ovulation and af is mental this time! This the Pom juice definitely did its job 😂 I wonder if it could've been the acupuncture for you?! There's still time for your oh sperm to improve as they say three months, so hopefully it could get better! I've got to call the doc tomorrow to find out about my oh sa as we've heard nothing since they said they were referring him!

@M4v3r1ck great article! Though I'm still over the age bracket (I'm just 42) but definitely a move in the right direction and according to my fsh I've the fertility of a 33-37yo anyway woohoo 😂

@TTCat39 your description of your Sri tests made me lol and nearly snort my tea out 😂

@Misty84 I know what you mean about hanging around with the single friends! My brothers and sisters all have children ranging from one on the way then 7 months to 25, same with all my friends - apart from one who still isn't in a relationship but she constantly moans so much about not having a man and never having children that most people don't go out with her anymore! I've planned to go somewhere with her later in the year and I'm actually looking forward to
That though it's slightly awkward these days as me and her younger brother had a bit of a thing a few years back when we were both single 🙊

@KatRee the people that don't know what a vegetable is and look at their oh and get pregnant drive me crazy!! I mean how unfair is that!! You think it would be a bit more even lol

@Kitekat81 that's pretty good odds I'd say! Great that it's the one close to you as well, hopefully it won't be too long until you can start!

@ShirleyValentineManc that is weird of your friend unless for some reason she has also been on a tough journey and maybe wasn't ready to share

@Misty84 I’m so sorry to hear about your sister. I used to nanny and loved all my ‘kids’ and it was hard when I left the babies. Now it’s my turn, the wait and the fact that it’s not as easy as the sisters at Catholic school said. Sending you positive thoughts and energy.

Apparently I’m having ovulation spotting which I can’t remember ever happening or probably never notice because it’s not a lot. According to Premom I should ovulating tomorrow but haven’t had my peak on the tests yet.

I feel awful, my niece had a baby on Tuesday and I've been to see them today and all I feel is jealousy. She is absolutely beautiful and I'm super happy for her but I just want my own, I didn't want to give her back 😢 I think it's worse as I'm going for my 21 day bloods tomorrow to see if I'm even ovulating or not. I've ordered her loads of stuff off her Amazon wish list just to ease my guilt 😞

@ShirleyValentineManc that's very strange of your friend, surely she'd feel like sharing the journey like you did with her

Hey all - I took a step away from all these coz I was doubting everything and anything I am doing.

I can't offer any wise words but would like to share that the stress has totally messed up my cycle - my lh surge is all over the place without bbt rise. It's kinda like me marching my ovaries to menopause.

So if anything I'd like to stress lol - it's to try to relax. I still haven't found a way but u don't wanna be like me. I find listening to music helps / stepping away from Google / I need to stop fussing over my tests...I use multiple opk and also bbt. My friend coined it right - opk testing itself is stressful sometimes. Just do one and stick with it

@Kitekat81 Thank you for your condolences ❤️
And thank you so much for updating me, that’s really interesting, and actually 20% isn’t really much lower than normal odds is it? But yes like you say, it’s about having those eggs to retrieve in the first place!!🤞
Looking forward to hearing what Create’s opinion is.
Has it made you feel a bit more hopeful?
Wait times suck though...

@ShirleyValentineManc Very odd your friend didn’t say anything sooner!! Must have been quite a shock 🙄 I hope she broke the news gently...x

Hey @Misty84 I'd been telling this 'friend' about our TTC journey since June. Shared suspected MC and blood test news. Then bam! 'I'm pregnant' turns out she's been trying too since June and not a word during all our conversations....strange, very strange. Nice to meet you. Hoping we have good news soon xx
@thislittlebird my GP didn't actually say! Just 'it's too low and you need to go to a fertility clinic'. Think it'll be a 3-4month wait? Do you know anything about that path?

Hi ladies, sorry I've been away from MN for a couple of days so have missed quite a lot of the chat!

@Misty84 I was so sad to read your heartbreaking story of losing your sister in such tragic circumstances. I can completely understand how massively this must influence your perspective on life and your feelings towards starting your own family ❤

I said that I would keep you updated as I'm having my ivf consultations. We've just had one so far with the 'normal IVF' clinic. I really liked the consultant, he was positive but at the same time realistic about our chances. He said that based on my age and amh, the chances of success per embryo transfer is about 20%. I said ok, but what are the chances of having an embryo to transfer? He said that with low AMH, we would be looking at only retrieving a small number of eggs, so we wouldn't be expecting to have the luxury of "spare" embryos to freeze. He did say that there was a good chance of getting one suitable embryo to transfer though. So that's something. I am quite tempted to proceed based on those odds, they aren't that terrible, and this is with the clinic that is closer to us so wouldn't involve such disruption to our lives. The waiting list is 4-5 months because of Covid though, which isn't ideal (he also works for the NHS clinic and he said the current NHS waiting list in my area is 12 months 😳) We've got our scan and consultation with Create this week, so it will be interesting to compare the treatment plan they would suggest for us, and to find out what their waiting time is.

@thislittlebird It was the first thing they said to me so there wasn’t much conversation ahead of that! I think all my other results have been ok, it’s just that one which is pretty major.
I’m going to ask exactly what they believe my chances to be with IVF. Details of laparoscopy (I’m on a 6 month wait list for that). Whether I can be on a call back list if they have a cancellation (unlikely but worth asking). If they’ll refer me to another clinic. And to ask for all my results so I can send them to a private clinic.
(As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m not eligible for funded ivf due to the low AMH so there’s no point waiting around for them anymore!)

Tomorrow attending a live webinar on IVF at the Lister clinic.

I know quality is more important than quantity, which is why I’m trying to make improvements (as I don’t trust the quality to be that good if I haven’t managed to get pregnant in nearly 2 years of trying!)
No idea what the future holds...but just want to get on with it now as I’ve wasted so much time waiting for NHS appointments and results.

@Misty84 I don’t know tbh. Need to have the appointment in May and then see what they say. I’m wondering if I can do a private round while I wait for the nhs round I assume they’ll offer. I need to think about questions to ask them over the coming weeks I guess.

What are you going to ask? How did your conversation go with them before when they threw you that curve ball?

@thislittlebird haha yeah same.

When will you be starting IVF? Due to my low AMH I’m not predicted to respond well😔, speaking to the NHS next week anyway to discuss (as I was so shocked when they first told me that I forgot to ask any questions!)

@Misty84 I definitely make no claims of being super healthy or anything but I know my friends are not more healthy lol

@KatRee I'm hoping they can help, yeah. Just resigning myself to needing IVF now, I guess. I can't work out what made my period go back to normal in March tbh, either it was the acupuncture or the B6, but I guess it doesn't matter as long as it goes back to normal. That's the aim. Going to book acupuncture again for early May and start the B6 again.

All these people who just get pregnant without taking a thing or worrying about changing anything don't realise the struggle lmao.