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 :)

Pout - So they just discharged you from the clinic? That seems harsh given you're trying for No 1? Are there no other cheaper alternatives than IVF? I don't know a lot about all the alternatives out there.....

It's so hard to stay positive isn't it when every month it's the same old thing - boo! Is there anything they can do for PCOS? As I say - I'm not that knowledgeable on all of this xx

Wow all of your OHs are so well-behaved and dignified. Mine is normally quite sweet and shy in real life, but he waltzed into the hospital on his own (he left me in the car thank goodness), asked where the path lab was and then headed straight to the men's loos, appearing 5 minutes later slightly sweaty and headed for the path lab!! No shame at all!

OK so to add to the old timers list:
Me 31, DH 29
TTC #1
Not actually sure how long we have tried because we had a go once in the past and took a break because I got a new job. I think it totals to us being in the 14th cycle.
DH had an SA come back 'normal' so we got refered to a specialist and only had to wait 42 days for the appointment, which will be on the 10th August... I guess they will recommend bloods and they are apprently going to do an ultrasound. I am certain (temps, OPKs, EWCM) that I ovulate every month and that my luteal phase is 14 days.

My little brother gets married in 2 weeks and I know they want to start trying straight away. This is my biggest fear in life right now...

Sorry lisa and poutster, x-posted!

Lisa -ICSI is a common route for low morphology where they inject the sperm into the egg rather than letting them fertilise in the petri dish. I do tend to fast forward to worst case scenarios though! I've already got a plan B ie dog at 40!

Joy cep (annoying phone correcting insists on cap, no idea how to do bold) dh has had massive improvement in motility with well man/pine bark combo.

It feels good to find a friendly forum and to know I'm not alone in this. It seems to be a universal fact that the moment you start to ttc, odd things happen to your periods and everyone else gets pregnant around you. My 2 best friends and I all started trying together and they now have babies! sil got preggers in October using the withdrawal method!!!

Hi everyone

Another new poster here, hope you don't mind me jumping on board!

Felt a bit overwhelmed reading this thread as there are so many of you in similar situations to me. It's such a relief to be able to discuss freely how difficult TTC is and how hard it is when everyone around you is up the duff at the drop of a hat! Had a particularly grim weekend with three preg announcements, two of which were very close friends. Got upset and ended up having a big row with DH as he thought I was being selfish and not happy for my friends (which wasn't actually the case although I can see why he thought that given my reaction!)

It's good to know that there are people out there who actually understand the horrible limbo of TTC.

We've been TTC #1 for just under a year now, on cycle #10. I'm 32 and DH is 33. I've got slightly long cycles (33-35 days) but other than that there are no obvious problems on the face of it. DH has had an SA done, the count was 'not bad' (but not brilliant) but otherwise the analysis was ok. The GP told DH to avoid alcohol completely for six weeks to boost his count, you can imagine how well that went down! But, DH was very good, and did as he was told. In the end we both decided to have a completely alcohol free cycle this time, so these last four weeks have been the longest of my life! I'm now 7 DPO and can already feel AF brewing.

We'll be back to the GP together once AF has arrived, to get the ball rolling with tests for me. At least I'll be able to have a sodding glass of wine though!

So sorry for not name checking (and generally being rubbish at etiquette!) but there were too many posts I wanted to reply to! Oh - I have got the Baby Making Bible and it's a lovely book, sensitively written and very hopeful
with lots of practical tips.

Good luck to you all X

Hello everyone,

Nice to see some new names popping up. Im on Cd35 and 7dpo so in my tww, my LP when i was ttc#1 was 10-11 days so i should know soon if we've been successful. This is my first proper cycle since november, i came off the pill and had no period for months on end, went to GP who prescribed progesterone and that induced a small bleed. Had a 53 day cycle and then this cycle started 5th june. I seem to have long cycles, which was the same when ttc#1.

Fingers crossed it happens soon!

Hi Popcorn

I know exactly what you mean re the pregnant friend thing. I have a friend who started trying after us who now has a 6 mtg old, people who only announces pgs after we'd been trying for a year who now have babies, and 3 friends who have all just have babies within 3 weeks of each other.

And although you're really chuffed for them it doesn't stop you wishing it was you as well. Hope this cycle turns out well for you and AF doesn't arrive. xx

Gosh, excuse typos there - stupid auto correct on phone! Please feel free to translate into English x

Lisa thanks so much, the same to you. It is awful that feeling of being left behind by your friends isn't it, especially when it's something that they can't really understand, it makes you feel like you are drifting apart from them. Got to keep hoping we will get our time soon! And in the meantime take a deep breath when people tell us they got preggars by accident!

buggerlugs - ooohhhhhhh that 'fertile hottie' paranoia I can SO identify with, I must have had that thought about 1,000,000 times. And I keep thinking how unsexy I must be to DH at the moment, constantly POAS-ing and ordering him to perform on demand when I consider it to be the appropriate moment, haha. Not to mention randomly crying and being massively miserable! Oh god, makes me cringe, I really will have to start at least pretending to get my shit together...

izzy - fingers crossed for your 2WW! You are same day post ov as me!

X X

The other thing I imagine is that DH and I will never have kids and will turn into an eccentric old couple with strange habits - as Monica says in Friends, 'one of those couples who collect orchids or have a lot of birds'

popcorn you should take a look at some of the stuff we all said on the first version of this thread. I know that I ranted talked a lot about my best friend who just had her second. I had totally convinced myself that there was no chance I wouldn't be pregnant by the time her baby arrived, so when I wasn't I went stark raving mad got really upset for a few days. DH was asking me to go to counselling and I was getting tearful at work, in the car, everywhere. That horrible phase seems to have passed. I am still anxious and will still be upset when AF arrives, but I seem to be having a break from the jealousy and desperation that I felt then.

buggerlugs it took me so long to convince DH to have kids, and he still sometimes asks me if I'm sure that I don't just want to travel lots and retire early, instead of having kids. I know that he'll make a great dad and he really is totally committed to making this work, he just doesn't have the need for children like I do.

purple I laughed out loud at the thought of your DH in the hospital toilets . My DH would never in a million years have done that! My mother will be here when he needs to give his second sample and I am already under strict instructions that she must not know anything about it. He says the thought of his mother in law knowing what he was up to would be enough to make the task impossible :o

madness oh no, having the MIL around would be MUCH worse than an anonomous hospital admin... He honestly didn't care though - kind of reminded me why I married him... sort of. The crying in the care stage is definitely the worst - I'm sure that lots of people used to notice me sobbing on the way to work but like you, I've calmed down a bit. I think this is the apathetic phase.

popcorn there is nothing selfish about feeling like that - nobody knows what it's like until they have been through it and consequently, they rub the whole PG thing in your face without really knowing it. My mother decided that I was very selfish because I told my brother and SIL-to-be about what I was going through and how hard it is when other people annouce their PG. It's nice to have such a supportive mother. I've had a birth announcement today so not at my best. 2 helped

Oh dear, car not care (this is the wine talking). By the way, we are past 10 % of our message quota already - this thread has gone so popular! It makes me proud to be subfertile

This thread is on fire! I can forget that new book I was about to start and just read this all night. I must say it's interesting reading other people's stories and although I don't know you all in RL, it gives great comfort we are all experiencing the same emotions and sporadic crazy behaviour.

izzy hi , how long did it take for you to conceive your first child out of interest?

buggerlugs - it's also a common thought I have although I don't even fear DH leaving me for a hottie, i just fear he wil leave me for someone fertile. He is desperate for kids and would make a great dad and I worry he has married a complete dud!

Enjoyed reading other people's posts. I must say I have been very cheerful the last few days as I have been trying to plan my life around not having kids and how I can make all my friends with kids envious. Just thinking about the places in the world I can go to excites me. I definitely will also become a mad eccentric woman with loads of animals if I don't have children. If I keep thinking along these lines, I will persuade myself I don't want them and the. Of course that happens, they will come along... Surely!!

Sorry for the ramble, a little bit drunk tonight.

Hello ladies

Old and new... I am a lurker and have been following the whole of the last thread in silence, but now there is a massive joining of newbies I thought I should say hi too.

A quick where do we stand: 32, same for DH, been TTC since June last year and have just been for millions of tests this month (they work quickly here!) and all has come back fine: day 3 bloods, HSG, SA, ultrasound and PCT. The most likely scenario is trying for longer, as apparently interventions don't increase our chances, yet... I don't have pets, sadly allergic :( and do take to having fits of what we call a cryathon. And this included a complete flap at my most recent appraisal - so now my boss knows, which was handy as I had a lot of time of work for all the tests last week.

And Pout, you always make me smile. MrsDen, I was so sad about your husband's results. And other ladies: too many to reply to all. But I have to admit, I have not entertained thoughts of DH leaving me for a fertile, nubile type. That is a new obsession for the list

I'm really enjoying this thread! You will all keep me company as I am now officially in the Tww that turns me into Tearful Tantrum Woman. So, today we go to the docs to discuss 'what next' dh made the appointment and gently broke it to me that she is going on maternity leave next month. How did I miss the bump!? And the irony!

Slowbutnice - hello! I will be using cryathon from here on in.

Hello peaceport (it took me three gos to get your name right ) and good luck at the doctors. I managed to deal with my GP over the phone only and thankfully have had neither pregnant nor fit doctors at the fertility clinic. It is good to be grateful for small mercies...

Popcorn and Lisa (and lots of others): total recognition on the left behind front... I have been overtaken by people having (diagnosed) trouble to conceive, which I do think is a complete irony.

Purple - your husband is a hero. At our hospital there is a special room for these things and as DH has the sense of direction of a gold fish, he opted for produciton there and then. It was a bit of a "small sample" so he gets to play again next week (timed in my TWW, handily).

Oh and guess what happened when poor DH did this for the first time - he bumped into a friend of his. This is still my worst nightmare and I spent most my waiting time hiding in the loos

joycep it took us 9 months to conceive #1 which isnt really long at all. Used the CBFM for the last 3 months which was interesting as it showed i ov really late, though on the month we conceived i didnt actually get a peak just a whole load of highs!!

Wow, this thread is flying! Hello to all old and new.

I have a busy day so will just add my potted history.

Me: 35, Him: 36
Trying properly for 8 cycles but not using artificial contraception for a couple of years before that and as I now know I ovulate later than I thought, I am classing our time using the rhythm method as ttc time!
I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 17 and still have some symptoms but my latest blood test results were normal. I am eating a low GI diet (most of the time, ahem). My cycles are pretty regular and I appear to be ovulating although my progesterone levels could be higher (blood test result was 30).
His SA analysis results are due this week and I am waiting for my gynae referral to come through.
In the meantime I am having acupuncure and trying various supplements - currently B6, low dose aspirin and as of yesterday Agnus Castus (on the advice of my acupuncturist).

Hello to Slowbutnice and Popcorn - hope I haven't missed anyone out. This thread has gone crazy mad. It's kind of comforting and worrying at the same time how many of us are taking an age to get upduffed.

Purple I have to say that I like your DH's style.

Lisa I'm not sure about alternatives. The gynae I saw can't seem to make her mind up about what's best. She initially suggested IUI which is cheaper but then in her letter she changed her mind to IVF which has a higher success rate according to her. Either way we can't really afford it and the dilemma is would we spend all that money when, on paper at least, I could fall pregnant naturally.

Euro Can I ask you what the aspirin does and what dose you are on?

If I can't have children I fully intend to be barking, I'm thinking something not too dissimilar to Dawn French's character in Psychoville.

Should also amend my potted history. Was discharged from hospital in May. Not that it matters!