Million dollar question!

[fedupttcnosuccess]

Ok ladies, the REAL reason we're all hear ( apart from 'a problem shared is a problem halved' ) is to find the secret to achieving pregnancy. Please share what worked for you on your ttc journey. I've personally been tempted to take Agnus Castus, progesterone cream and goodness knows what else. However, as I have a regular 28 day cycle and ovulate without fail around 14/15th cycle day-I've heard herbs can derail your cycle. So, with that in mind let's have some insider tips which led to successful pregnancies...

runlyrarun:no offence taken. I rather like your honesty! I can relate to everything you say, re:the scientific evaluations taking precedent over the airy fairy; but what have i got to lose? Also sorry about your dad's prognosis: it's so sad,literally a time bomb ticking away...Good luck to you too babe.

Charting BBT was what did it for me. I had a 28-30 day cycle..ALWAYS assumed I ovulated on the 14 cycle day and ovulation strips would confirm this. Charted BBT and found I was actually ovulating on CD 18-20. I also used preeseed the month I caught.

I agree that charting BBT has been invaluable.

I have irratic cycles - some very long, some quite short. I got pregnant with DD through ovulating on CD32!!

And just found out I am pregnant with #2 and ov happened on day 16.

Without my chart I would be totally lost!

Thankyou Lennon and Getdown. I have just started to chart, since this month, actually, so we'll see! Hope it sheds some light on the matter. Regual cycles and opk sticks predicting ovulation on 14th/15th day without fail. It will be invaluable in timing of bd more constructively, also used preseed for the first time since last cycle. No CM to speak of( sorry TMI).

go to fertility friend and sign up and stick all your readings on a chart there as it will make it so much easier for you to understand

www.fertilityfriend.com/

Also it allows you to compare your charts etc and its just really really good. I dont think I would have been able to chart as effectively without this.

PS I was also getting day 14/15 as ovulation day with OPK's but only after charting did I see it was about 4 days out and my DH was working abroad a lot and we were timing his trips around it ..all pointless...grr I hate OPK's they lulled me into a right false sense of security and led me to many BFN's and the subsequent heartache each month. Good Luck.

Ok thanks. Lennon: how long did it take you in the end? Did you have a boy/girl in the end? Or are you expecting now?

Your monthly heartache rings very true with me too btw xxx

It took me just over a year so it was looking like we were going to have to go down the IVF route. I am currently 35 weeks pregnant with my first child a little boy. I also suffered from endometerosis and was in a really bad way just prior to becoming pregnant as it had gone into my intestines and everything and caused me to be really ill and the month I caught I had actually been in A and E twice and was at the point where my health was becoming a much more pressing concern than TTC as I was missing work and it was really affecting my life. I really thought it would never happen for me and it did. Please dont lose hope, these things can take time and it may just be something really simple. I know lots of women who were TTC for ages and went on clomid and were pregnant within months. Knowledge is power when it comes to fertility though and so charting is the best thing you can do to help yourself. Fertility friend also sends you daily emails and really enables you to understand the finer details of charting and how its measured etc.

Sorry Lennon80 for being clueless(again) but how is that possible that OPk told you that you ovulated on day 14/15 when u acutaly ovulated on day 18 based on charting and why is charting more relyable than OPK???

I have no idea, the OPK's must detect minimal surges in hormones but sure enough they were indicating that I was ovulating on day 14 (even on the cycle I conceived)but the chart said day 18. Of that particular cycle I only had sex twice and that was on day CD 18 and 19. If I really had of ovulated on day 14 I doubt I would have got pregnant having sex that late (and it certainly wouldn't have been a boy, given boy sperm is faster). I just think OPK's are unreliable, the hormones produced must trigger a positive even when they are not (and I was reading them correctly with the line having to be darker than the control line). I dont know how they got it wrong but from tracking BBT I now know that they did? Hope that kind of helps

Charting is more reliable as it pin points the actual day you have ovulated ..opk's just tell you when you are going to ovulate rather than if you have. Also you could still have positive OPK's and not have ovulated but temp charting actually will tell you if you have ovulated. Fertility friend emails you with all of this information so it really becomes clear as to why charting is far superior to OPK's.

Congratulations on your pregnancy Lennon. You are right sometimes these things happen when you least expect them to. It's such a shame that you were in the middle of other health worries, but thank goodness that there was a fabulous lining to your cloud! Very happy that things turned out the way they did for you

Thanks fedupttcnosuccess, I hope you dont have to wait too long for your BFP. xx