TTC 6+ months plus, part 2

[skeletonbones]

New thread as the old one was getting to 1000. So, 4 BFP's in the last thread, lets see if we can up the total considerably on this one :)

Ah reflexology sounds nice and relaxing - is it supposed to be good for TTC then?

Hello fatima. I have not long started with the doctor. I've been TTC for 10 months, but as I'm over 35 that's classed as "long enough". They tend to start with a blood test on day 2-4 to check hormone levels, and a blood test on day 21 to check progesterone. That's about all I know so far I'm afraid.

Ah purple that's so frustrating isn't it? Honestly I bet the men in our lives have no idea how complex this is. Mine usually says something like "but it's only a few days, it's not going to make that much difference, is it". .

Evening all,

Realised that I haven't properly welcomed all of the newbies yet . Apologies for being slow....

DH is supposed to be doing his SA tomorrow and he is really stressed. It doesn't help that the instructions about where to deliver it at the hospital are about as clear as mud. The place is a maze and the maps aren't very helpful. I think that I know where we're going but the last thing that he wants to do is ask some bloke (or even worse, woman) at the information desk how to get to this particular lab! It needs to get there within an hour of being "produced" and can only be delivered between 8.30 and 9.30am. So, fingers crossed that there's no rush hour traffic and he doesn't get completely lost in the hospital or we might miss our window.

Bought some summery clothes today as it's been so warm and caught myself checking how well they would adapt to a bump. I really am a glutton for punishment :)

Did your DH manage to get the sample to the lab ok thatway? It really is quite stressful, DH managed to cut his time down to 35mins from doing the sample to handing it in this time. He kept it in his pocket the whole time as advised by the Dr so as to keep it at body temp, imagine how embarrassing it would have been if it had fallen out?

At least yours are going, mine is procrastinating. We've had the stuff for a month, I've had both my blood tests done. We had sex on Sunday so he could have a 3 day gap, but when I asked him last night if he was going today, he said no he was too busy. As I'm on cd2 it's an ideal time as he is away from tomorrow. He said "well I'll just go next week", to which I pointed out that I need his supplies next week. So now we will have to wait until next ovulation. He said even if I do go this week it's not going to make a difference this month is it? Umm well I don't know. Probably not, but it is just delaying referrals etc and I'm going to be 37 in a month arsehole .

Whoops that was a bit of a rant!! Morning ladies

Welcome fatima Good luck at the doctors today. It will be fine . If you tell the Dr that you have been trying for 14 months then they really should order blood tests for you to check that your hormones are ok and it's also important that your partner has a sperm test done.

I've got an appointment this afternoon
I'm on CD2 will they wait until next month to do blood tests?

fatima I deliberately dragged myself along on day 3. The doc I saw said well you need the test days 2-4 and in my surgery the nurse does it. The surgery was closed by the time my doc appointment was finished, so i just called at 8.30 the next morning and told the receptionist I needed the test today!

spirita I actually saw a male GP (with my OH) and I think that almost helped as he just looked up the guidelines and got on with what they said. Again it was just left up to me to book the day 21 test. Initially I booked it for a Friday (CD19) as my cycles had been averaging 25 days so that would have been 7 days before ERTD due. But then I figured I ovulated later, so cancelled that and went on the Monday instead, day 22, and sure enough ERTD has just arrived 7 (or 8) days later. Your GP sounds stupid as it totally depends on the length of your cycle as to when you have the test done! But still, a referral is what you are after, though actually if it turns out you aren't ovulating, there might be options to try without referral, such as clomid? Do you think you ovulate normally, was that just a poorly timed test? (can't remember who is where in their TTC journey, apologies!)

Sorry, that was a very garbled and unclear post. I must learn to proof read!!

ah yes that rings bells, I'm only aware of Clomid from reading about it on various threads, so please ignore my expert opinion .

Hello ladies, I'm finding it difficult to keep up with everyone! Ok, my new thing for today is Refloxology. I see some of you have done it. Does anyone have any recommendations in the central london area??

joycep there are a lot of people on the thread.
I'm a newbie to it and it would be nice to know about more regular posters and how long they've been TTC and what stage they're at

Would a role call type thing be a good thing?

Hello to all the newbies.

Spirita About the Clomid my GP said that they aren't allowed to prescribe it any more because you need to be monitored. She said only a Consultant can give you it. Whether that's universally true who knows!

Fatima you will probably still be able to have day 21 bloods this month. When I first went to my GP she ordered Day 4 and Day 21 blood tests and an internal ultrasound. But I am an old fart and crusting up as we speak

Madness I think that they deliberately hide the SA lab. My DP had trouble finding it too and did have to ask someone. This is despite having been on a reconnaissance mission first. Fortunately he has no sense of shame.

Nelly Are you TTC number 1? We're of a similar age and I'm really worrying about my age impacting things and dreading my next birthday!

So the gum disease thing. I have one thing to say on this. Has anyone seen the guests on Jeremy Kyle demanding DNA tests on their dozen children? Many of them I don't thing are too au fait with a toothbrush yet alone floss.

Hello,

How are we all?
Af arrived this am.

I'm going to follow the baby making bible for the next 4 months, anyone going to join me?

Sorry about AF Karbea. There seems to be a spate of them at the moment!

What's the baby making Bible?

It's a book, the writer is a fertility expert and looks at both Chinese and traditional medicine. I'm really enjoying the book, it says that you should not look negatively at af arriving, but think that this is another month I've been given the opportunity to get my garden(womb) as healthy as it can be for when the egg is fertilised.
So it looks at food, exercise etc. I says you shouldn't use tam ax so I'm using a sanitary towel for the first time today since I was about14!!!

I know this thread is busy, so I hope there is room for another newbie. I think I could write a small book on my adventures in ttc feel like I've tried most things alternative wise! In the grand scheme of things we haven't been trying for that long, it just feels like forever. I will try to give a potted history, lest you all fall asleep.

Me - 34, Him - 32 on cycle 9 now of TRYING with a few months before dabbling, with no idea about mucus and hormones.
Started tests in May. Me - 2 prog 21 tests at 32 and 49 (first one two early I think) dildoscan says everything looks fine. Him - two SA tests. First 3% morphology, everything else good. Cue much crying and reading about ICSI. 2nd SA today, 6 weeks later, 7% morphology and big I changes to motility too. We are hoping well man and pine bark might save the day. No idea what happens next, see the doc tomorrow.

I'm lonely, obsessed and broody, could do with some company and I thought you all could help. I've tried acupuncture, homeopathy and reflexology so do ask away.

Room for another newbie? We've been TTC for 18 months now although we already have a son who is 2. You might have to bear with me as I'm not too sure of all the abbreviations and everything so apologies if I seem a bit dim!

We were referred by our GP to the fertility clinic in earlier in the year after I had the relevant day 5 and day 21 tests (which seemed OK) and my hubbie had his 'donation' tested (which showed low sperm motility). We went for our first appt at the clinic in May and they referred me for a HSG x-ray (all clear) and my hubby for another donation - this one seems to be ok, although we are yet to have our follow up appt to see the consultant to see what they say.

We have our next appt next friday and I am really hoping that they can give us a bit of info about where we go from here - fed up of being in limbo and the general roller coaster of it all.

Peaceport - seems like we're in a similar position? Although maybe you are one appt ahead of us at the clinic? Can I ask what ICSI is?

Anyway - would love a bit of support from anyone out there before I send myself mad with the stress of it all!

Thanks
Lisa

Hello

Just spoke to my gp and all my results are good and normal, so he can't refer me until we've been trying for a year, this is 8months for us, so a few more months of giving it a go :)

Hello to peaceport and lisa - there is always room for more - lonely, obsessed and broody are common personality traits here! A problem shared etc etc .

pout - yes trying for our first. I spent so long convinced I didn't want kids, that when I finally realised I did, it took me about another year to pluck up the courage to talk to OH about it. And then, it took us about another year to get to the place where we realised we could make it work, and agree on suitable compromises in our current lives. And so far, a year of - well - just sex. I was going to say pointless or unsuccessful but neither of those are true, as we are lucky to both enjoy our shagging :). But it would be nice that we got the little baby bonus, too. It was actually the day after my 36th that we finally agreed to TTC as I had a melt-down about my age. God only knows what will happen a month from now if I haven't had a BFP. . Oh and I also just snorted out my tea at the Jeremy Kyle comment

karbea I think someone on another thread I am on is using the book. I nearly ordered it earlier in the week, but I know I will just obsess like I do with MN so decided against it. However, feel free to share any true gems with us . Maybe it's the Bible part of the title that puts me off as I'm not a fan of being told what to do . That's good that your results are normal, so a few months of carefree shagging for you by the sounds of it!

Hi all,

Welcome again to the even newer newbies. I think that starting a new thread has done the trick. We are positively popular :o.

DH did manage to find the right place to drop off his sample. It wasn't at the place labelled on the map as "Laboratory Reception" so glad that we read the notes really carefully. It was actually right beside the maternity wards. Made it there in about 35 minutes and I drove so he could keep it tucked under his shirt (pockets were too tight and he was supposed to keep it upright!) Read through his letter again and it says that the results would be back with our doctor within about a week. Since I have my day 21 blood tests tomorrow I think we'll book an appointment to go in together to get both sets of results back at the same time. Hoping that this will all be in vain and I'll be pregnant by the end of the month, though, of course.....

Because there are lots of new people wondering about us old-timers, I thought it might be good to give a very potted history of my TTC so far:

me: 32
dh: 35
Together for 9 years, married for almost 2
TTC no. 1
Currently on cycle 13
Mid-cycle bleeding a common occurrence (usually from day 21)
Referred to fertility clinic last month and hoping to be seen in about 16 weeks.

Welcome everyone. Pout don't talk to me about Jeremy Kyle show guests!. I even saw a woman in the Daily Mail online today who is 50 stone and has given birth to two kids. 50 stone!! How can she be alive let alone her ovaries still work - it makes me fume

Karbea - sorry about AF but that's good everything seems normal...let us know anything that sticks out in the book you are getting. I can't buy anything else , i will go crazy.
My potted history so far:
me: 31 and dh:30 . TTC#1. Pregnant 2nd cycle - m/c at 7wks. Now on cycle 14 since m/c. Cycles use to be clockwork 28/29 days but have never been that since m/c. Now more like 25/26.
All bloods seem normal apart from Day 21 which showed 30 (apparently should be above 40). Shortish LP though - 10/11 days.
HSG and internal all seems normal apart from i only have one ovary apparently but luckily i ovulate from the other every month.
DH SA all normal but 7%morph and 49%motility. Put him on zinc, wellman.
Been put on clomid, ovitrelle and progesterone. But I haven't taken clomid this month as it messed me up.
Done acupuncture - did nothing. Taken B6 - did nothing. I floss - done nothing. I don't eat peas.

uuum what else can i add: never cried so much as i have in the past year. Have become emotionally unstable and slightly withdrawn. Have spent my life's savings on vitamins, opks, cough mixture, books, acupuncture, private gynaes, ovarian reserve tests all to no avail. Getting pregnant and staying pregnant just seems like the impossible right now but then i look at that 50 stone woman and think i must be able to do it!

Ah Joycep - it's so hard isn't it - realy messes you up and you end up feeling slightly obsessed about it all. And then everyone says 'oh, just forget about it and relax and it will happen'. HOW do you forget about it?

Have you been referred to a fertility clinic yet? I guess so if you've had all the tests? What do they think they will do now? xx

Hello Peaceport and Lisa

Karbea I'm glad that your test results were good. I haven't heard of the baby Bible thing. It sounds interesting but my DP has banned any kind of pregnancy/fertility book buying - it's like he thinks that I am uptight about the TTC thing or something. Can't understand it myself

Nelly It took me a while to threaten to leave convince DP to start a family. I so wish we had started sooner. I just stupidly never considered that fertility declines. I think that I got so used to seeing celebs in their thirties popping out children left right and centre that I never thought we might have a problem.

Joycep My God 50 stone. How the flippin hell is she going to manage to run around after two babies? So much for BMI affecting fertility then.

My stats
Me 35 soon to be 36. DP 40
TTC baby 1 for 15 months though were using the withdrawal method for a long time before that.
Got mild PCOS but I seem to ovulate
Referred to fertility clinic last September. Discharged March (ish) with unexplained infertility and advised to have private IVF. Which we can't afford!

I too am slowly losing my mind & my confidence. I feel old, useless and stuck in limbo.