TTC for 10+ months, part 3

[joycep]

The other thread was just about to fill up and so here we are again with a slightly different name now as many of us have been trying for well over 12 cycles now. We had a few great successes on Part 2, with a couple of people getting bfp's on their 17th and 19th month of trying. So let's hope for more successes on Part 3. (Moaning, crying, sadness, anxiety & bitterness is certainly allowed on here!)

Just bobbing into the new thread, nice work joycep and welcome lady gee - may your stay be short. I know more about sperm than a girl should after we had a bit of an SA shock in may. But wellman/vit c 1000mg/pinebark/caffeine + booze reduction = big difference, particularly with the motility. Dh went from 3 to 7 % morphology and the fertility nurse thought that was fine.

Sending love to everyone who is feeling particularly 'meh' or blue at the moment. This is a hard journey no mistake. Now, I don't know exactly how many people have passed through this thread since March but 6bfps in 5 months feels quite promising -or have my expectations lowered?! It's a bit more than one a month - so in a years time.....I'm actually ok at the moment fuelled by boredom with ttc, decorating my yoga room (RIP nursery plans, for now anyway) and throwing myself into bikram yoga. I think bikram might be bad for ttc, the jury is out on google. but people live in climates that hot, don't they?

skeleton you are my cycle twin so we can ride the rollercoaster together I'm on cd4 now.

Me and dh are off for a two day break tomorrow in the hiatus of the month ( I love this bit). I finished the dissertation!!!!!!!

V wise words madness (although I did have a little giggle about lining up trains....). Any offspring of ours will have a tax lawyer for a father so is likely to display some of those traits anyway!

mrsd, there was no advice on how to improve volume. They just said they hoped it was a one off. They checked that he caught it all, etc. Yes, no problems there. The normal volume is apparently 2-5ml. His volume was 0.6ml so way under. I've noticed (on the "what goes up must come down basis) that the volume does vary so hopefully it was just a one off. There has definitely been more than 0.6ml at times!

We all seem to get told different things about what results are normal. On the printout for DH's SA results it says that volume greater than 1.5ml is normal, DH had 3.1ml and 3.5ml on the two tests he did so both ok but if you'd been told 3-5 was normal euro then it was at the lower end but I would have thought 5ml would be a lot of stuff!

welcome LadyGee
well done on the dissertation finishing wine! after doing my degree diss and looking at how much more complex the masters ones were in my subject area I imagine you are both exausted and relieved to have got it done! yay! have a

Euro and Mrsden, I've definately noticed loads of difference in volume with dh, a couple of months ago we both got slightly worried that he was having some kind of retrograde ejaculation thing going on and he was going to book into the docs, but then the volume increased again back to what I would consider 'normal' no idea why? I wonder if hydration plays a part? he is booked in for his first SA at the end of next month so I guess he will find out then if the volume is within normal levels.

We are both guessing that hydration might be an issue. 5mls does seem like an awful lot of spaff. 0.6ml seems like v little. My husband doesn't drink all that much really. Maybe he should up his fluid levels before the next test.

Thanks for starting the new thread joycep. I have got my fingers crossed for a run of bfp's on here, we are due for one. Hi to ladygee, I'm sorry you are also struggling to conceive but glad you've joined us. There is so much support on this thread.

DH had his second SA this morning. Am feeling a bit glum about it because when he had the last one, he'd ejaculated 36 hours beforehand and his morphology was 2%. This time it was 4 full days from when he last ejaculated so the morphology is probably going to be even worse. DH, in true boy fashion, is totally blasé about it and is convinced his swimmers are powerful beyond belief and it's me 'not relaxing' that is the problem. Humph.

Not sure what his volume is, I really must ask for a printout at some point.

That is great news on your dissertation wine, well done you clever lady. Definitely have a glass of you've earned it.

I'm really sorry for those feeling down at the moment. It is truly horrid sometimes. I know nothing makes it go away but it's good to chat about it on here I think as we all know what it's like. Just been feeling cross with Jamie Oliver and his perfect family outdoor lifestyle shtick, grrrr.

Hello all,

I think drinking a reasonable amount of water has got to ne important for both of you, sperm is obviously a high proportion of water.

wine interesting to hear about your yoga, I've started running again. I used to run every day and read that, that much exercise wasn't good for ttc, well I've started running and exercising again.

My temp drop below the cover line this am so af Will turn up soon, hopefully tmr andvtoday is only cd24

Hi all, can I join you? I hope you don't mind as I am ttc #2 but I am finding it unbelievably painful. We've been ttc for 13 months now, started the usual tests - my day 21 was fine and waiting on day 1-3 but DH sperm count was catastrophically bad (we are in the same boat ladygee) 2.9 million, morphology 1%, motility 25%.

He's on vits and has given up smoking but can't see it making enough difference - think we will be told icsi is our only option.

Anyway I really need to go through this with someone else because it is making me a bit mental totally unhinged.

welcome munki your in good company here , sorry to hear about your dh's sperm result, the vits and giving up smoking might make a difference I think though as I'm sure that there have been tales on the conception board of SA's coming back normal after vits and lifestyle changes? my dh hasnt been for his first one yet as the appointment is at the end of next month so I havent become a dr google sperm expert yet, though I'm sure that is my next task!

I have had my LH and FSH back today and they are both normal LH 6.4 FSH 7.5 my only worry with these levels is that FSH needs to be under 8 for me to be eligible to be a donor for egg sharing (well thats what it said on the CARE fertility website anyway) if we end up needing IVF, so I'm panicing a bit now that it might creep up to 8 on a retest and therefore make IVF without egg sharing and the reduced cost too expensive for us.

mrsd, it was 2-5ml that was considered normal (not 3-5) so mrd's volume would have been slap bang in the middle of normal.

Hello munki & welcome. I'm sorry that you are having such a bad time.

I'm sorry that so many of you us seem to have issues with our partners SA. It really makes me wonder whether there is an environmental link. I also think that mobile phones are a contributory, albeit probably small, factor and keep nagging DP to stop carrying his around in his pocket. I definitely think that being dehydrated effects the volume. I have noticed this with DH & so has he.

Well done wine for finishing your dissertation. I don't know how you have managed to concentrate on it. Since TTC I just have the Banana Splits music going on loop in my brain and not much else Writing a shopping list is just about the extent of my abilities these days.

Popcorn I didn't see the Jamie thing, I was busy on BBC3 torturing myself with Underage and Pregnant (some young girl more obsessed with finding a new boyfriend than looking after her baby) and Cherry's Body Dilemmas (some woman who 12 weeks after giving birth palms her baby off on her gran to burn off the baby weight at the gym. Classic quote from Cherry about how " I don't know how she gets up at 5.30am & goes to the gym everyday". All I thought was I don't know how her gran gets up at that time and looks after the baby). For what it's worth, I think that Jamie Oliver's wife had problems conceiving.

Skeleton I hope that your FSH level stays low.

Karbea Sorry about your temp drop. That's why I stopped temping, I hated any drop, it would totally ruin my day.

I have all my classic 7dpo PMS symptoms, sore right boob, burning nipples & headache, so already know that this cycle is another washout. Remarkably I've not had a hissy fit about it yet but I've got another 9 days to go into full meltdown mode!

Hello to everybody else.

Thanks for all the tips and advice on improving DH's SA. Hopefully trying these things will make a difference, even if only slightly.

Hi munki sorry we seem to be in similar situations. Talking to people who know what you're going through is so valuable. I've been internalising totally crazy thoughts and emotions for so long, which is never good. Now we can support each other on the road ahead.

pout It is strange that so many issues are related to SA, years ago I used to joke with DH that he shouldn't sit with the laptop on his knee... doesn't seem like such a joke now. It's also something that doesn't get talked about much - you hear about women overcoming their problems but there is such a taboo when it comes to men's fertility.

mrsd euro I've been Googling away about SA and the latest World Health Organisation reference values say that anything above 1.5 million volume is normal. It amazes me that everywhere seems to give such different advice and information!

Now I'm off for my day 3 blood tests x

Welcome to the thread munki. We also have male problem with low count and morphology. It's tough. I agree with ladygee about internalising everything, it is so good to be able to chat to people who understand.

We were told greater than 1.5 is normal for volume too ladygee so I'm that euro has been told something different. I don't know why there are different values flying about for what is normal. I was told above 3% is ok for morphology but I know others have been told higher. It makes you wonder whether anyone actually knows what normal is.

skeleton try not to stress about your fsh, that's good that it's below 8.

I have loads of ewcm today again, I wish DH was here

Hello lovely ladies!

Welcome to munki, sorry you had to join us, but there are lots of supportive ladies here and off-loading definitely makes a difference to my sanity. In fact, just following the thread before last already helped!

How annoying about the EWCM mrsd when is your OH due back? We were also told a range from 2-5ml volume as being normal, my poor DH failed at that hurdle producing only a single ml first time. But as his numbers and motility were okay, the gyn was not so worried. And thankfully the second time with a bit more time before the SA it went up to 1.8ml, excluding the bits he failed to catch, of course. We were told this was absolutely fine... But hey, I think they were just trying to palm us off and wait for longer. Good point about the hydration, though!

Boob sister pout we are actually mirror images, my hurty one is left. Sorry to hear you're probably out for the month. And no panic is good, although with a week to go, it does not quite count And agree about the hatred of the temp drop... Sorry your out for the month karbea!

Well done on the dissertation wine!!! And enjoy the and the yoga room, I am actually quite jealous about that. We don't actually have a spare room, so I occasionally do yoga in the living room, cue loud DH laughter. And running is on my list again karbea now I seem to be fixed... The not too much exercise, whilst TTC and thus doing crazy healthy living seems a bit of a mixed message. So I am going to ignore it.

Skelly don't panic about your FSH yet, it is good now. When is the IVF plan likely? Are you close to that level of intervention/that amount of money? Did you ask about the likely changes in FSH over time?

So pleased I didn't watch any telly last night popcorn and pout, I would have gotten quite upset as well, but probably mostly by pout's viewing... Why do you think Jamie's wife struggled too? Anything I should avoid if I do a couch potato impression tonight?!?

lemon I think Jamie's wife had pcos and they had some sort of fertility treatment for their first child, I'm not sure what though. I think she then conceived her other children without help. I might have this totally wrong though.

pout is Cherry the one who did a documentary about having a baby? I watched that when I was in the UK last year. It depressed me from the start when she said she'd got pregnant while using contraception. She has a perfect body doesn't she?

Here is the story, it seems she took clomid and then conceived. I can relate to so much of what she says,

www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/3318370/Fertility-meetings-with-the-Naked-Chef.html

Hi munki, welcome

pout you were dead right about Jools Oliver, quick google says they conceived their first through IVF but the others seemed to have been natural. She has pcos. I had no idea and just assumed she was one of the uber-fertile celebs, I am a bad person for judging :( can you imagine having post-baby workout dilemmas, the idea is laughable isn't it. I think I'd still be in shock from finding out I was pregnant at that point.

skeleton that's good about your fsh. I think so long as your lifestyle is ok there's no reason to think it'll go up. I am v scared of getting my fsh number.

ladygee hope the blood tests are ok.

mrsd rubbish that mr d is not around for some swi'ing, are you going to get a chance before you ov? It sounds like you are definitely going to ov this cycle though which is good news after the last one isn't it?

Hi lemon. I am sure there will be more tv pitfalls tonight, I will be on the lookout for them and if I find any I'll let you know! Just looked at the tv guide and there is something on bbc1 at 10.35pm called 'I'm pregnant with their baby' which sounds like it could be dangerous.

X post mrsd,you are way ahead of me

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! It really helps to know I'm not alone, though I'm sad we all have to go through this, it's so hard. I am starting to scare myself with my total overreactions to pregnant women, constant bursting into tears and inability to concentrate on anything so it's great to have somewhere to vent.

ladygee my h did 1.1ml and I've read anything over 1.5 is ok too. He definitely does more sometimes and less at others (ahem) so I'm not overly worried about that - not when there's loads else to worry about! I've read that morphology expected levels were reduced recently and most men are between 2% and 7% or something, so I am just stressing about the extremely low count at the moment. One thing at a time.

Oh and I found out today that allegedly sperm count is highest in the morning and afternoon - I got pregnant from afternoon sex so I wonder whether that might be true. Anyway am going to use opks this month and aim for the afternoon of O day. Sure it won't work bc of the terrible sperm count but I have to feel like I'm doing something.

Evening ladies,

Welcome ladygee & munki & thanks for the new thread joycep. Hope it's a lucky one for us all.

CD4 here, and not a lot to report really. Off on holiday next week, so hopefully there'll be lots of sunny, relaxed swi in the run up to ovulation - sounds good to me!

Evening all. Bit late so can't even begin to remember who said what! Though hello to the newbies :)

Still light spotting here so not quite at CD1 yet but it's on it's way. I am just trying to keep myself very busy, which is mostly working, but I hardly have time to keep up with MN either!

I really should go to bed. At a rather fun all day meeting tomorrow so likely to be little chance for MN then, either. Work so gets in the way of other stuff .

ladygee Good luck with your blood test.

munki It's interesting about the sperm count being higher in the afternoon.
I can relate to the over reaction to pregnant women. I find myself staring at bumps and newborns & probably look like a mad, stalker woman. Welling up is also so not a good reaction either and they must think what a nutcase.

Nelly Spotting is the most infuriating thing on the planet. I definitely hate that more than AF because even though I know that is is curtains there is that little voice saying implantation.

Loveslemon Oh the dreaded boob thing - nice to know that between us we have a matching pair! Does yours get you down? I'm getting really fed up of it now - I have wonky looking boobs for 2 weeks of the month!

Does Yoga help you lose weight or is it more of a healthy mind, supple body thing?

Mrsd Cherry is the one who did the having a baby thing. She also did the breast feeding programme and others. She does have a perfect figure and perfect face and perfect home and perfect baby etc..Strangely though I like her

I thought that I'd read somewhere that Jules Oliver has PCOS and had help to have her first baby but then popped out two surprises in quick succession. You're right popcorn about assuming that anyone with a child must be uber fertile. I just assume that pretty much everybody is more fertile than me! I suppose that it helps to be a celeb if you have fertility issues because you have the money to see the best gynae and go straight into treatment. I saw a little bit of This Morning yesterday and apparently Chantelle from Big Brother has been recently diagnosed infertile and will definitely need IVF. I didn't see what the cause of her infertility is or why/how she found out because I got the impression she wasn't TTC.

Pixie hope that you are going somewhere suitably hot and lovely on your hols!

Morning

pout yes I saw an interview with that Chantelle, she has premature ovarian failure. She said something along the lines of that it happened when she was young so the eggs are ok but she will have to have ivf to get them out, I think that was the gist of it.

I'm off on holiday for a week tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good week and I look forward to catching up when I get back. X

you're right pout that it makes it easier if you're rich. I just checked wikipedia and Jamie and Jools married in July 2000 and their first child was born in March 2002, so actually they didn't have to wait that long to get pregnant. Less than a year if my maths is right because she said in that extract I linked to earlier that they started trying on honeymoon. I don't think she would have been prescribed clomid so soon on the nhs.

Who is Chantelle? I'm off to google.

Morning ladies!

Thanks for the fast googling mrsd. I understand why I completely missed all that, it was well before I met DH and therefore before any baby thoughts entered my head. I could relate to the article too, until you mentioned the baby being born within 2 years of them starting ! Waiting for mrsd google talents to tell me all about chantelle . I ended up googling TTC and Jools myself last night and got lost in blog-land. Too much time and depressing stories. So I am not allowed today!

I don't get too annoyed about my boobs, pout, they have done this for ages (I was not on the pill for quite some time before TTC) and I am used to it now. Although yesterday as a special treat, it hurt. No egg has been, no DH here, so noone to blame... Very odd! And as to yoga, I do it for sanity mainly. I haven't been in ages, but love the way I feel and sleep afterwards. No weightloss, but then I don't really need to. Have you got any house-news? Not trying to jinx you, just keep us posted!

Sympathies over more spotting nelly. A quick question to you ladies, when does spotting becomes AF, at first sight of bright red? Or when it is proper full flow? Really not important, just wondering... Has AF shown up, yet karbea? Or are you still in limbo-land? How are the newbies ladygee and munki* doing? Hope you are okay!

Have a great sunny holiday with lots of stressfree SWI popcorn and pixie. I am not jealous, even though our rainy two weeks are a while away now!