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 :)

Well, given the vast amounts of water I was holding in my bladder, they were able to see everything quite clearly on the ultrasound & I didn't need the camera . I was told that they could see a number of follicles, though less than 10 (which seemed to imply that PCOS was unlikely to be an issue). My GP will get the results in about a week, so I'll wait to see what she makes of it all. Will be SWI now & repeatedly POAS on the assumption that follicles should mean an egg's on it's way! Here's hoping

Hubby got his SA results today. All normal apparently although as they called him back when he was using a cashpoint, he didn't have a chance to get the actual numbers but will next time he is passing the surgery.

But that's all good. So I am ovulating, my hormones are not indicating PCOS and his swimmers are fine.

SO WHY THE AM I NOT DUFFED YET?

Morning all,

I am obviously not yet on my summer holiday schedule as yet, since I only managed to "lie in" until 7am. DH never seems to have a problem sleeping as long as I will let him he can.

Glad that your ultrasound went well pixie and you didn't need the camera. I sometimes think that seeing everything in working order would give me more faith in it, IYSWIM? Will keep my fingers crossed that your GP confirms that all is well :)

Seems strange to congratulate pixie on a positive scan and then turn around and commiserate with you, euro about a positive SA result. Kind of sums up the rollercoaster that is TTC, doesn't it? On the one hand hoping desperately that nothing serious is wrong, while on the other wanting to know that there's something that they can fix so that you will instantaneously become ridiculously fertile and conceive. Hang in there and try to take comfort in knowing that it should be possible for you both to manage it on your own. As my friend said to me the other day, your stars just haven't been lined up yet.

euro I had exactly the same feeling when my OH's SA came back normal (and he hasn't seen the number yet either... hmmm...). Kind of like so WHY???!!!! Not that I've had my bloods yet, but temps and OPKs say I OV and have a normal luteal phase. Stupid TTC.

And as for those pussy cats - it makes me pleased that you haven't realised assumed that I let them crap all over my floor... I have dressed one in a pink furry color feather boa though and I think that puts me firmly on the kerazy scale!

Morning everyone,
Well ive made it to 10dpo which means the witch is likely due tomorrow or monday, when i was ttc before i had a 10-11 day LP. I have no real symptoms except maybe wanting to pee a bit more (not unusual for me as i have an overactive bladder!). Other than that nothing to report. I cant remember who is where in their cycle though i think maybe madness and i are around the same time? Am i correct?

Hey izzy we are at about the same place cycle-wise. I'm about 9dpo and waiting for my mid-cycle bleeding to start. Should be any day now. The longer it holds off, the more I get my hopes up.... AF should be due wed or thurs while we're away up north. Fingers crossed for us both :)

Good luck madness I've been out today and picked up a twin pack of first response tests, will prob do one tomorrow, ill be 11dpo so not too early is it?

izzy the sensible voice in my head says that 11dpo is too early and you won't be able to trust a negative test as being really negative...... but the other voice says that if your LP is normally short then you might as well go for it. I'm going to hold out but may take one with me on our trip just in case :)

I completely know what you mean Madness . Whilst it was good to see that all appeared to be OK on the screen, I still can't help but think, yes but what if there's still an issue with my tubes, or with DP's sample, or even if all seems ok, what if it still doesn't happen...

I'm normally quite positive, and am determined that this business isn't going to change that, but it's hard when hopes keep being dashed.

We could really do with a BFP on here, I've got my fingers crossed for you Madness & Izzy (& everyone else of course!)

Well I tested this morning and got a BFN :-( can't help but be dusappointed, though I suppose that was only our first proper cycle so not unexpected but still
:(

Hi ladies, hope good kerazy cat weekends are being had.

Izzy so sorry about BFN. It would be very early to get BFP though if you were duffed. Having said that I am on 11DPO today and 100% sure that AF is on her way so I can't really lecture about positive thinking! I was going to POAS tomorrow morning, but have decided not to bother as I can't face the disappointment of another BFN. Still have my fingers crossed for you and Madness though.

I was at (blessedly child-free) wedding yesterday. There were loads of preggers in attendance. Got talking about TTC to one girl who got married a month after me and is now 20 weeks along. She was saying it had taken her 'ages' (eyeroll), reading between the lines it was clear that she had come off the pill and conceived as soon as her cycle got back to normal. Think she was trying to reassure me, I didnt have the heart to explain that I hadnt even been on the pill and had had a year's worth of regular cycles since starting TTC :(

So agree with everyone who has commented on how you want the tests to identify a problem so you can do something to fix it and have an answer. Whilst I worry about tubes, cysts etc, I think unexplained infertility is my most nagging fear. I felt exactly the same when husband's SA results came back.

Euro you asked a while ago about when I started taking AC, I think it was about six or seven weeks ago. I've been a bit unsure about doses, started off with one a day ones from Boots, then got some from H&B which told me to take four times the amount of the Boots ones! So I took the equivalent of two times the Boots ones, and that was when my hair started shedding! I think it might be easing off now though. How about you? Also, do you think the acupuncture itself is doing anything?

Right, I'm off for some child-free Sunday fun, which involves going to M&S and buying papers and some treats!

Im sorry about your bfn izzy, it's a rubbish feeling. I'm not exactly sure how I'll feel if another line ever pops up. I think I'll go into shock. I even drew one on with a pink pen once, just to see what it would look like. The shame. Every month I start off thinking I'll wait till my period is actually late to test. Most months I've failed, I start going a bit loopy at 10dpo and just HAVE to know. Then I wonder if I've tested early ( after periodically checking test at 20 min intervals for hours)Then I wonder if my day or two of pre af spotting is implantation bleeding. Then google if a temp drop 'really' means it's all over etc etc. It's so annoying that even when I get my period I'm still wondering if I could actually be pregnant! Crazy head times.

So I'm now 5dpo. Irritatingly my boob pain started almost straight away, from 2dpo. I don't normally get it this early. For me this has always signalled my period will come. Poo. And I've got niggly pre af cramps. Maybe I'll just get it really early this month. If I've learnt anything, it's that symptom spotting is pointless. I've had every symptom under the sun to no avail. Sometimes I hate Fertility Friend. I hope everyone is having a fun Sunday.

Ps - have flossed religiously all week.

I too have wondered if I'm pregnant while in the midst of AF, peaceport. Doesn't help that I know people who continued having periods (albeit light ones) all the way through their pregnancies. Like I needed anything to encourage me to keep hoping!

I'm going to wait until Wednesday to test (13 dpo). Will be having fancy anniversary dinner (a few weeks early since my mum will be with us on the day itself) with dh that night and will forego wine if I get a BFP. If AF starts before then we'll be buying a very expensive bottle of wine . With my luck will get a BFN on wednesday but won't be able to trust it so will end up avoiding alcohol anyway and AF will arrive on Thursday, after I've missed my chance for an anniversary tipple and wasted more money peeing on stupid sticks :(

Off to distract myself with dinner guests.

Oh izzy, forgot to say sorry for your BFN. First proper cycle would have been quite quick, so try to keep your chin up :)

Izzy Sorry about the BFN, that is crappy. I hope that it hasn't spoiled your weekend. There have been times when my AF has arrived and I have just taken to my bed for a few hours. Pathetic.

Popcorn Wanting something to be wrong so it can be fixed is so weird isn't it. I think for me the problem is I don't trust that the standard NHS fertility tests even touch the tip of the iceberg of things that could potentially be wrong. I therefore don't feel at all comforted that hormones are okay and tubes are alright etc.

Peace I get the boob pain instantly after ovulation too and wonder whether if I am ever pregnant whether that would change. I totally have done the checking the preg test every twenty minutes for hours. I have been known to throw it in the kitchen bin so I'm not tempted to hoik it out the bathroom bin but then cave in and am wiping teabag stains & cornflakes off it still trying to see that faint second line. I love the thought of you drawing on your own line

I'm doing the I've got AF could I be pregnant thing this month because I feel off. Back in the real world where the sky is blue and there are such things as gravity it is likely that I've got a bit of a bug. I just hope that ovulation isn't ballsed up because of it.

Madness happy anniversary! I don't avoid anything during the 2ww - is that bad? I was merrily stuffing myself with pate last cycle. If I didn't get alcohol aggravated migraine I would happily spend the 2ww SWI times and AF week blotto, I think it would make it easier!

Afternoon ladies, hope you're all having a good weekend. Izzy sorry about your BFN .

So glad I'm not the only one who still thinks I could be pg while AF is visiting!! I'n the 18 mths we've been ttc I've had every symptom going - nightmare!! And the miner of mths I've been googling how late a bleed could potentially be an implantation bleed when it is clearly AF...

I'm not even sure I could bear to test early - I know I wouldn't trust it if I got a BFN so am religiously waiting for AF to be late - let's say I haven't needed to spend a lot on pg tests .

Currently 6dpo I think so still a long wait to AF but temperature was practically off the bottom of the chart today so clearly not of. Nice to know I guess but can't decide if in a way I miss my eternal optimism in the 2ww.... Or not!

Lisa xx

Oooh, meant to say too that to relieve the boredom of the 2ww we have our next appt at the NHS fertility clinic on Friday - v nervous and v excited all at the same time. Just hoping we actually come away with some kind of plan of action - this limbo land is driving me mad xx

popcorn I only started this week so it's early days. I am taking a tincture. The recommended dose is 1-2ml between one and 3 times a day. I am trying twice a day at the moment. My hair seems to be staying in place at the moment....

The acupuncture certainly seems to have done something. My luteal phase has got one day longer and my periods are noticeably different - lighter, less painful and less (TMI alert) clotty. I was pretty sceptical when I started but went along because I wanted to feel like I was doing something while I waited for the wheels of the NHS to grind along slowly. I am quite surprised by how quick and noticeable the results have been.

Madness enjoy your anniversary dinner, sounds lovely.

Peace I also mentally torture myself by going through the whole 'but some people have periods when they get pregnant' 'but it could just be implantation bleeding' etc etc. This is the first month where I think I've actually accepted in advance that it is just AF - I think because I am losing hope that it's ever going to happen. Blah. Classic about drawing the second line on! I think I love ovulation sticks so much because I do actually get to see two pink lines at least once a month!

Also with you girls on the early boob pain/other AF symptoms starting very soon after ov. Is annoying because you still then have to hang around for ages waiting for AF to show up.

Pout yep totally agree about not trusting the NHS tests, as I keep reading fertility is a very complex process and the tests can only look at the very basics. At least they give us a place to start, I suppose (& its free!).

Lisa good luck with the appointment, hope it goes well. Limbo land is a very good way to describe it.

Euro that is really interesting about the acupuncture. I've been surprised by how many times I've heard from different people that it has noticeably improved their cycle. Do you mind me asking how you found out about your practitioner? I have looked into clinics in my area but there are absolutely loads of them nearby, and I don't know where to start.

Terrible weather here which I am not minding too much as it gives me an excuse to stay in and be really lazy!

Sorry about the BFN izzy, fingers crossed it's just too early. I've long since given up POAS. I hate the few moments when you are so wishing a second line will appear and then nothing, so heart wrenching and worse than AF turning up I think. I know now that my LP is always 15 days so I never need to test, it always turns up before I can think of testing. I cleared my bathroom cupboard of pregnancy tests today and put them in a box in the garage, I don't think I'll need them anytime soon

peace I have often thought I might be pregnant while having AF or just afterwards. Actually, I find that I feel a bit off and sicky a few days at the end of AF which totally confuses me, I know to ignore it now.

I know what you ladies mean about wishing the tests could find something but honestly I wouldn't wish a bad sperm result on any of you. It's awful knowing that it would probably take a miracle. But also, it's kind of good to know what the problem is and also not to have the constant cycle of hope then despair. I'm in the 2ww now, think 10dpo and I would normally be symptom spotting. I have felt a bit funny the last couple of days and not myself, this would have been enough for me to feel really excited in previous months whereas this month I'm realistic that I'm probably coming down with the fluey thing DH had last week. I do think unexplained infertility is awful though because it doesn't mean everything is ok just that there isn't a test to find out what is wrong yet. Also, I think people are very dismissive when people can't say what the problem is, sort of like they think you must be doing something wrong.

Thanks for the nice messages everyone. Still a bit down but hey ho thats life. I wish my cycles were shorter then we would have less time to wait before ov, as it stands its almost 4 weeks away!!

Hey all - had a very nice weekend but also cried on the phone to my mother - although, she was more sympathetic than normal...

Love the idea of drawing on the line just to see! Also I have found OPKs exciting because they actually give a positive results - rah!

Not yet OVed this month so that is good because DH is now back from his field trip. I feel bizarrely horny this month which is not like me, but I am going to make the most of it!

izzy sympathies for the bfn. I can imagine it being very devastating. I am a rarely (read:never) POAS-er, because I (read: my DH) won't let me pee on anything, until cd32. Since all my cycles so far have been 31 or less, we have many pg tests in the cupboard and I am not really tempted. The last one I did was when we weren't TTC yet, and I was worried it might be positive. It seems a lifetime ago...

mrsden I feel so bad about your DHs sperm results and our whinging about unexplained infertility. We actually had a chat about the unexplained thing last night and agreed that really it is the best outcome from investigations, but it does mean more limbo land. DH and I have been calling it that, too pixie and madness and many others. DH's alternative is "life on hold" which sounds as depressing as it can be.

Fingers crossed for BFP for Madness anniversary, that seems like the perfect gift! Good to have waited with your egg purple and (TMI) horniness is a sign of ovulation for me. Kind of handy

Sympathy for LONG cycles izzy getting a shot very 6 weeks or so, seems mean!

And once again, so pleased I am not the only one who thinks they are actually pg during and after AF peace and others. This month I was really head up about the HSG on day 7 because I must be pg, as my period was short and light. If I had not had my day3 bloods done and results back before, I would have POAS, because I would not dislodge my 5-week embryo...

Good luck with the fertility appointment Lisa it is not as scary as you think. And getting the ball rolling is good, even if it comes to a complete stand-still again in month (talking about ours, not yours, obviously).

Oh and on symptom spotting, I have been googling (TMI) diarrhea and early pregnancy last week, because I seem to have picked up my little niece's stomach bug. Now, it has stopped, so it def was a bug... But that kind of means we're out for the month, cos there is no way anything would want to implant in a starving body, right? The good news is that I definitely lost some weight, so can go on holiday at the end of the week with a decidedly slimmer body (providing I don't gorge so much now I can eat again that I will put it all back on in 4 days).

I might quizz the acupuncture ladies more later. How bad was your clottiness euro and has it actually gone. Mine comes and goes, but is definitely icky, IYSWIM...

Ok, monster-post. Apologies and good Mondays to you all!

Hi Ladies, trying to catch up on the threads. Sorry about BFN izzy.
Glad to see others still think they may be pregnant even during full flow of AF. I sometimes have thought along the lines of although I'm bleeding that may be I am losing a twin...[hhmm].
Mrsd - i'm still so sorry for your DH's results. Are you finding you are coming to terms with it?
Purple - like you , for some reason i have a libido this month. Hallelujah! Hopefully it will last during ovulation time.

Well, strangely for the past 5 days or so, I feel like I may have been turning a mental corner and have been feeling oddly upbeat about things. This may be short lived but I had dinner at the weekend with not 1 but 2 pregnant ladies who of course were talking about babies, nurseries, bumps, conception all night. And i felt ok! I didn't feel bothered when I saw their bumps. My pregnant friend has also emailed me and I didn't snarl when I saw her email - I am feeling kind of excited for her. Actually I think I snarled when I saw Posh had had her baby and named it Harper Seven [hconfused] so perhaps I haven't quite turned a corner but Anyway, I'm trying to just re-centre myself at the moment, accept that out of our friends we are the couple with the issues and get back to how I use to be, i.e not a bitter, angry, jealous little witch [hgrin].

Long may it reign....but Harper Seven, come on!!

I'm glad to hear you've turned a corner joycep, I had been feeling quite good today although I'm having a bit of a wobbly day but hopefully it's a one off! I'm impressed you managed to see so many bumps and not feel bitter and jealous, you are a better woman than me

Harper 7? What were they thinking? Although they could have chosen worse I suppose. Do you think they had some sort of fertility treatment? I'm sure VB has pcos.

Well, today I'm feeling a bit wobbly. We saw the urologist this morning who was being very positive and nice which sort of made me want to cry, I am so pathetic! The second SA is better, higher numbers and good motility but still the count is low and nowhere near the normal range. He seemed really pleased with the motility though (69%). But the morphology isn't good (1% on Kruger criteria, normal being greater than 3%). And also they did this extra test where they wash them and leave them for 24hrs and in this one the motility is greatly reduced. So the conclusion being that IUI probably wouldn't work because they would still have to be able to swim after 24 hrs and ICSI is likely the best way forward. He did keep saying that it is still possible IUI might work and might be worth a shot, and also he said that it is not impossible that it might happen naturally. He said he knows people with worse results than ours where this has happened. He is satisfied that the hernia op caused the problem, he said it's a common result from these ops and said we were lucky the effect wasn't worse as some people have no sperm after this. I feel a bit angry that PIL never mentioned anything to either me or DH, they must have been warned that this might have happened. Anyway, the urologist is writing to my Dr and then I see her on the 28th. She will finish investigations with me and then it is likely she will refer us to the fertility clinic at the hospital. If they will do IUI we will try that I think because it's covered by our insurance but as for IVF, we will have to save up.

This afternoon I've been to see my friend and her newborn twins. I felt ok and not jealous as I thought I might, they are gorgeous though but I can see she has her work cut out. Her mum was there helping out but she spent the whole time chatting to me and my poor friend was looking exhausted. I offered to go to the shops for her and to help with anything else but she said she'd call if she needed anything. Her DH looked so scared, bless him.