Anyone else trying to get pregnant and want to talk about it?

Can someone explain how an underactive thyroid gland affects fertility? I've got one and wasn't aware it might make things more difficult for me.

Thanks Monkey I will. If I dont tire out first.

The O symbol means that ovulation is expected in the next 24 to 48 hours from what I remember.
The 21 day test measures progesterone which rises if you have ovulated - comes down if you are then not pregnant - (as does your temperature so if you are charting you will have warning of not beiNG pregnant pre period by descending temperatures in the morning.) ON the 21 day test the result will be a number. Less than 20 you are not ovulating - 20-30 is equivocal ( ie dodgy but you might be) - 30+ and you probably are - but the surest way to tell is by scan pre ov to check for follicles before ( tho follicles don't always produce eggs so that by itself is not conclusive)and the 21 day after - the combination of the two gives the surest result.
Dot - how stressful! I used to moan when dp had a job which mean he was often abroad but I really hadn't consided the added problems you might have!
Jan - wow, how awful you can have my 'crown' as claimed earlier - tho as you say it's more of a losers crown and who would ever want it? We are definitely going to have to do something to improve our sex life after all this is over ( in whatever way it ends)- the early days of tryign might well improve it but the later (years later!) stages do nothing at all for it!

Hi elliott - I've got the persona booklet in front of me & it says that when the 'O' symbol appears it means ovulation should take place within the next 1 - 2 days. Hth. Persona worked perfectly for me too - at first as a contraceptive, and then as an aid to conception - looking out for my 'red' days & the 'O'.

Btw,, there are loads of sites out there about trying to conceive, including ones which give ovulation calendars - obviously not reliable if you're irregular & not as good as ovulation prediction kits. There's also so much info on helping you meaximise your chances - I have to say that until I started trying again I knew so little about it, it's worth reading around.

Another thing, Gillw on another thread gave a link to a site that sold pregnancy tests & ovulation predictors really cheaply - can't do the link myself but, www.pregnancy.fsworld.co.uk/

I ordered them - they came really quickly. I got the most sensitive pregnancy tests - apparently 10 IUL (or whatever it is). The guy I spoke to was really helpful & when I asked the sensitivity of Clear Blue, he said the company refused to divulge this info but in the US they are 25 (or was it 20) IUL, so these are a lot better - it means you can test 3 days earlier than with Clear Blue. Personally, I don't trust these people if they can't be honest & give the imp. info.

For all those who've suffered miscarriages & those waiting such a long time to conceive under difficult circumstances, my heart really goes out to you & I'll be saying a few prayers.

3 angels - glad to see you on here. Enjoy the rest of your week!

I'm coming at this from a different angle, and this message is for any who are wavering about being pregnant again. The more committed of you, please ignore the following:

I felt daunted by the idea of a second baby, but knew I would always regret it if I didn't try for one. Dh agreed. So we decideed to give ourselves six months for me to get pregnant - I was 41. If nothing happened, I would feel that was fate, OK, that was it, but I'd given things a go. As it happened, I got pregnant at the end of my six months time limit. So I can't really comment on how I would have felt if there had been no baby. However, just before I found out, I was already reconciling myself to being a mother of one child only. Giving myself and fate six months really helped.

Thanks for the info jane101! I was totally naive in assuming I'd get pg straight away (I more or less did with dd). I still hoping that I might this month (trying to stay optimistic) - good luck everyone

Dizzymummy, I'll try to remember what happened last time for us. I think the first thing was a blood test for me to check my hormone levels on a certain day of the month. It gives an indication (but no guarentee) that you are ovulating. They also did a semen analysis of dh farily early on. He had to provide a sample to the local hospital. Those tests were arranged by the g.p. After that they refered us to the fertility clinic at our NHS hospital. One of the first things they did was an internal ultrasound scan of my ovaries to see if they were about to ovulate. Is that enough info to be going on with?

the investigations they're doing for me are a day 21 blood test, which I think checks if I'm ovulating, (although if other people know more about this I'd love to know!) plus other hormone tests to see about pcos, plus a scan to see if I've got cysts around my ovaries.

My doc has said that they will do some investigations if I still don't conceive by Christmas, does anyone know what this would consist of??. I didn't ask as I was hoping it wouldn't come to that but it is loooking like a possibility now (I'm 36)

Hi everybody,

I've just had a horrible couple of weeks waiting to see if our fertility treatment (IUI) worked and getting all hopeful and then disappointed. We're lucky enough to have a beautiful 22 month old son conceived through IUI in April 2000, and are hoping for a brother or sister for him. Last month was our first go this time and we're hoping to try again this month. It took 3 goes to get our son, so I shouldn't have been surprised it didn't work first time. Good luck to everyone.

Hi, I want to add my name to the growing list of ttcs. Ds is nearly 3 and I am 37 next spring so i am hoping things start to happen soon. Not that I like being pregnant, I hated it first time round and miscarried the second time. To me it is a necessary evil in order to have a baby. We have been sort of trying for about 4 or 5 months but I am too knackered to have sex most of the time right now which probably accounts for the lack of success!

Sorry, its suppose to say wants a sister not ds.

My dh and I are actively trying this week for #4 so if its gonna happen this month it should sometime by the weekend. I would like another child but my mind has been going back and forth the past month from wanting to not wanting to wanting again. Sometimes I think my kids are getting to old for another sibling. I have a 13,10, and 2 yr old. I thought another baby would be good for my 2 yr old. My 10 yr dd wants another ds so much. I told her (in a joking way) you get what you get and that you really cant pick and choose. She understands that shell have to endure another db if thats what were blessed with. Well have to wait and see the outcome.

Good luck to everyone out there trying to have a baby.

Hi elliott

re your earlier post. I conceived naturally for dd2. Although like you we were gearing up for IVF for the second time, when we had to wait as couldn't afford it for a while, then bingo! I got pregnant a couple of months later and that was without actively trying. So good luck to you and everyone else.

janinlondon, there's apparently 'nothing wrong' with us too (ha ha). Frustrating, isn't it? Though I am extremely thankful to have ds, would love him not to be an only child. Are you thinking about having more treatment?

sobernow, I've spent a fortune on ovulation prediction tests in my time, so maybe persona would be value for money!! I presume it works on the same principle, though it must give you earlier warning of ovulation - do you remember how long before ovulation that the 'o' sign appears? These days my cycle is so regular I tend not to test for ovulation, but have to say we are not that frequent at bms since ds, so its possible I am missing the critical days.

Thanks for the Persona success stories. Before dd I used to have a really regular cycle, but recently I'm all over the place. I'll just wait for the famous little red light and lock dh in the bedroom

Yes, Sprout, conceived ds1 after three months on Persona having tried for seven months before that. Have just dusted it off following the death at 21 weeks in utero of ds2 this Summer - it took two months of Persona to conceive him, but we had been trying for two years in total. I'm 39, and have been dithering all morning over whether to even post on here. Good luck to us all.

Hi Monkey!

Re: 'you know'.... I've kind of got the opposite problem in that our donor is in Manchester and I'm in London, so it's a dash up the M6 for a couple of gos at the right time each month..! I always feel like I'm going to just miss the v. narrow window of opportunity and it means having to get time off work at the last minute/either take ds with me or dp take time off, etc. At least yours is on tap!!

Add me to the list! I've been lurking, addicted, for the past few months but this is my first post. My dd is 2 1/2 and I've been trying for no2 for 10 mths now. Had to try for over a year for dd, after a miscarriage at 10 wks, so I suppose I shouldn't be feeling impatient - but I am. I'm 34, so no real hurry except I want dd and no2 to be close enough in age that they can play together. Just bought Persona in the hope it'll speed things up. Anyone have any success stories in using it?

Oh I can beat you all! We've been married for six years and trying for all of that time. Though we did get help for about a year of treatment and have a 3yo daughter from that. No one could find anything wrong with either of us, so we are just trying and trying, but its not happening. So technically I think I'm the winner (loser)?

Thanks for the advice Bayleaf - my GP said she wouldn't be the one prescribing me Clomid, in case she got it wrong and I ended up with Octuplets (aarrgghhh!). So I'm probably going to be seen by my thyroid specialist - a really lovely dr. who I know well.

Yes, the annoying thing is that if dp tried again we'd probably have baby no. 2 in a matter of moments! I adore ds, but would also love to be able to add to the family myself, so we're giving me all of next year to have a go, and then dp will try if I don't have any luck.

Hi www - I'm trying to cut down on my mumsnet addiction & you go & do this!

Well, I'm sure you're all bored of my sorry little tale (but I'll tell you anyway). Had my mirena coil removed beginning of October. Since then had pg symptoms but test negative. Period now 2.5 weeks late (or something).

Dis try for ds1, but used persona, so didn't really think about it in detail & it happened quite quickly. We decided we'd be happy to have n.2 quite quickly, plus I had to take thyroid medication after ds1 & was worried it might affect my fertility, so didn't want to put n. 2 off just in case & we luckily conceived really quickly, when ds1 was 8 or 9 months - about 2 weeks after stopping my thyroid med.

Now we're trying for n. 3. I suppose I'm most frustrated at being in a period-free pg syptom limbo, so the sooner I have a positive test or a period the better.

BTW if we're going to go into too much detail, ds seems to want to 'you know' every night. I dunno whether me being a fertile goddess thrills him, whether he's really desperate for n. 3, or if he's just making the most of the opportunity, as I generally can't be bothered, but feel like I should make the effort! So this is the first time too for me really having sex to try..
There we are no more

ps hello everybody!