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!)

Hi all
Can i come and play? Waves at joycep who I know of old from a short luteal phase gang thread - whatever happened to that one?
Have been TTC for a year now, no joy - even with 4 cycles of Clomid. Ladygee - for about 6 cycles straight I had, what sounds like, an identical experience to you, with late O, spotting from 3dpo and period coming at 9 or 10 dpo. The Clomid changed that a bit - but nothing dramatic - and it has varied each cycle. My personal best was O on cd18 and a 12 day LP (still spotted from 7dpo though - and had my progesterone tested and it was lovely and high - so we ruled that out).
Bizarrely, this cycle is un-medicated and I o'ed on my own on cd18! Am 4dpo today. Really interested to see how much of an LP I can dredge up on my own. HSG booked for next cycle, then going to have another 3 months of Clomid and see what happens.
By the way - have just read a thread on another forum which practically made me wet myself. I think you guys would appreciate it.
A woman was waxing lyrical about a conception method she's sure will work for everyone - in fact she's threatening to write a book about it. What's involved? Well... all you need to do is get your man to wank into a Mooncup, top it up with egg whites, microwave it until its lukewarm, sit on the loo, put it in and then bring yourself off. Who says romance is dead, eh? I posted that I was trying to make a baby, not an omlette, and I'll probably get lynched now...

Hi MrsHY1,

And welcome (although sorry you have to be here at all).

Please post a link to that thread - I had a quick gander but couldn't find it. I am sure that this is exactly the scientific sort of thing we should all be aiming for....

www.babyandbump.com/trying-to-conceive/761738-got-my-bfp-two-times-row-you-can-too.html

Feast your eyes. I should have said that a syringe and sunflower seeds are also involved. The mind boggles.

And congrats Biscuits! That gives me some hope! :-)

Well, I did wonder from your initial description how such a scheme could possibly work without the use of a few good quality sunflower seeds

I'm off for a giggle scientific read :)

Well, I can't believe we have all been missing out on such a simple way to go about things. I mean that seems much simpler than shagging

In fact, I think ICSI would be simpler if I were to do the entire process myself.....

I'm so glad you posted something sensible on there - I can't believe how many people said 'oh what a great idea, I'm off to give that a go....'

Anyway MrsHY1, I do hope you get a good LP this cycle. Good effort for an unmedicated ovulation - well done indeed :) Have you had the blood test type things and SA done? I imagine so if you've already tried clomid?

Thanks biscuitsandtea. Yes I hope so too. It's very odd - I really didn't expect to ovulate that early. Because it is HUGELY early for me (usually cd25 +). Yes I've had all the tests and SA, bar the HSG. SA was normal, blood tests were surpisingly normal (I have PCO, but not it would seem, PCOS - which was a bit of a revelation because I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2001 and my blood results were all over the shop). I put my 'recovery' down to metformin which I've been on for 5.5 years - my side-effects cleared up and I started having periods again! Now just hoping my ovaries will stop playing silly buggers and realise they're normal. Or my tubes - something's not behaving!!

Bloody hell, so thats where we've been going wrong! Who needs sex when you can push spunky microwaved egg whites up your fanjo and trap them in there? I could maybe, in desperation, concede that a soft cup might stop spillage. But I can't imagine using them. I've only managed to use preseed once, we found it all a bit of a sloppy faff. Also, clomid after one month of trying? welcome mrshy I've enjoyed that a lot! You're in good company here.

joycep am loving the idea of our ladyscanner company! I also wish I could share cake and illicit wine with you all, you cheer me right up

Thanks whereismywine!
Sorry - I keep going back to that thread because it's quite frankly brilliant. I've also just found my favourite bit:

"Once you have a softcup inside you with semen and egg whites, I strongly suggest reaching orgasm. You can do this with your fingers, with a clitoral vibrator, or have your partner assist you. However, DO NOT have intercourse once the cup is inside. You don't want to risk losing any sperm."

Do not have intercourse while the cup inside? How big is this woman's chuff?

Evening ladies
Ooh I love it when this thread gets chatty, cheers me up no end :) everyone seems a bit happier today which is lovely :)

Hi MrsHY1 welcome, and sorry to hear of your troubles but thank you for bringing the joy of that thread, absolute genius, babymaking methods are now dead to me if they don?t involve a microwave and a mooncup

karbea he didn?t really say why I had to wait until Feb, just that that was when the appointment would be. This is NHS so I guess that is just the timescale they are working to with the appointments, also he seemed to think the HSG could be ages. Have you checked out the HFEA website, you can compare success rates for clinics on there.

Meant to say yesterday ? I was offered a lap as an alternative to the HSG but chose the HSG. Now wondering if I?ve done the right thing and should I have gone for the more invasive, but comprehensive method of investigation ? hmmm, oh well too late now.

izzy it?s still early! Keeping things crossed for you and still for joycep xx Didnt realise the clearblue monitor also measured oestrogen, that?s interesting.

munki so sorry it?s got a bit much for you, I know we can all identify with that on this thread. I really hope you get your bfp soon and please come back if you feel like a chat.

biscuits am loving the positive vibes you bring!

pixie glad your appointment was ok and that you are feeling positive.

wine you sound loads cheerier which is great, so pleased that you are feeling a bit better too. When?s your acu appointment? LOL about the cough mixture for ttc kicks, I may join you in that in a couple of weeks, maybe crack open the grapefruit juice too, old skool ttc stylee!

I was ok with IVF being mentioned, although I was a little taken aback there was no talk of clomid or IUI first. Also, I had read somewhere that the NHS wouldn?t do IVF for unexplained until you?d been trying for three years, but I guess that?s probably gone out the window now half the PCTs aren?t even funding it at all so there must be much fewer people doing it in the NHS. But generally, I am up for IVF. I?d rather not, but if that?s what it?s going to take to have a baby then I?d rather just crack on with it while there?s plenty of time, especially as the first cycle can apparently be more of a diagnostic tool. And I consider myself extremely lucky to have one NHS chance (although I don?t relish the prospect of having to start over again at a new private clinic if the first cycle fails).

I miss pout too :(

Oh I have to just quickly tell you my tale of woe from today before I go! Today-17DPO and no AF. This has never happened to me before. Off I trot to Boots then to some manky shopping centre toilets to do POAS. Result - BFN. About an hour later - AF is here. I can tell that my miserable hormones are currently exiting the building because I am actually finding it quite funny at the moment! Cycle 14 here I come.

Christ, just read that thread. My absolute favourite line is 'Now this is where the fun begins', before going on about syringing :(

Hi again,

Another quick update, cd1 arrived today & I'm now booked in for my hsg in 2 weeks. I'm pleased it's happening quite quickly, though can't help but think that it should be like this for everyone. Hope yours comes through soon Kitty. There was no mention of the option to have a lap when I had my appointment, though I wouldn't have gone for it anyway I don't think.

ah hiya mrshy !. I assumed everyone had gone on to get a bfp after that thread fizzled out. It's lovely to have you around especially when you bring to light classic research you have been reading!! It sounds like you have had some progress with the clomid - a 12day lp is good. It will be itneresting to see what happens this month. Crossing fingers for you. I didn't last long with the stuff. I think it stopped me ovulating all together.
Kitty - sorry about AF. I 've had that happen before. It's bloody annoying. I would have gone for the hsg as well. I'm scared of being put to sleep so would avoid the lap. Although i think you are put to sleep with ivf at some point but i may be wrong.
pixie - sorry about af as well but pleased you are booked in for your hsg.

jsut been to my gp about my recurring thrush. She was so lovely. She was standing in for my other one. She has given me a subscribption for about 30 boxes of pessaries which i have to take every day for the next 2 weeks. The pharmacy is going to love that! Anyway we had a good conversation about me not being able to conceive and she really believes worry and anxiety affects things. Although i am not anxious per se, it's the continuous thinking about it plus worry can cause my cycles to be messed up. She said i obviously knew far too much information about ttc which will add to worry and i shouldn't know so much. Anyway, she totally understands that it is ipmossible not to think about it so the conversation didn't really help. Although she told me my sugar levels were too high at my last blood test 4 months ago and this should have been mentioned. Will go for a fasting test tomorrow. I know i'm not diabetic though.

Yuck that whole cooking sperm thing sounds absolutely gross! It must be a wind up surely!?!?!?!?

Joy cep, sugar that's interesting, my acupuncturist says sugar can have some funny effects.

Well, I'm spotting a tiny bit today. Even though I 100% knew my period was coming I am still relatively fed up with it. I'm 12dpo according to ff so af should be here in the next day or two. I guess in the grand scheme of things 2 days of very light spotting isn't a huge concern but I do fret that its because my eggs are frail and not pumping out enough progesterone. Wish I hadn't even read the fsh results now!!

Hurray kitty for old skool ttc. I'm going to throw grapefruit juice into the mix too. And maybe even a bit of post ov pineapple juice for extra fun. My mum asked me this morning if I'd thought about putting my legs up in the air. Sigh. May as well give that a go too as I tired of that a long time ago. Still refuse to make a sperm fritatta though. I was also offered the choice of a lap or hsg. Nosy question are you at Stepping Hill (at risk of outing myself - I hope i don't need a drip after any treatment!) cos I have found them to be ever so lovely there. I didn't want a cut in my tummy or putting to sleep but as it happened I'm now going to have one anyway because of my stubborn cervix. The screaming woman before me was also told she would need one (paper thin walls and tendency to eavesdrop) so out of 4 of us in the waiting room, 2 laps anyway. In one way I'm glad that I don't have to be awake for any more cervical rummaging and that if I do have any endo bits then they'll find them. This is going to sound ridiculous but I have been thinking about my clam like cervix today. I know that sperm are very small and all that but I never have a very strong period flow as it were. I wonder if a good dilating of the area might be helpful!? Or am I wandering into omelette territory?

joycep glad to hear the gp was nice. That is one load of pessaries. Have you ever wondered if a good clear up of thrush might help down there in terms of cm? Just a thought. I hope that you're holding up ok. Surely the end of the tww must be nigh? I'm willing with everything for it to be good news for you. Statistically speaking there really has to be a bfp on this thread soon!

I too want to stop thinking about ttc but am not sure how to just chill out about the whole thing. I have decided to start reading again after reading the book of the month on MN. So I joined goodread which I think is pretty ace. I thought if I could substitute my google time with books instead then that would be very helpful in terms of not persuading myself that I am already menopausal. So if any of you out there are readerish then do join me in distracting yourselves, I'd be happy to do a sending out of the book of the month, if you like.

Sperm frittata none for me ta!

Glad Stepping Hill is ok for you wine, apart from the thin walls and screaming - not nice. Yeah stay away from those drips! I'm at St Marys, happy with it so far. I have the pelvic ultrasound tomorrow and I'm nervous. I know that the scan itself will be fine, but I am a massive hypochondriac and always worry they are going to find something sinister.

wine I think that is a totally brilliant idea about book of the month. I read quite a lot but would love to do a book of the month. I've been trying to summon up the courage to join a RL book group for a while but have never been brave enough to go on my own. So yes please from me if you get chance. I think we could do with a bit of distraction from Dr Google.

pixie that's great it's all progressing quickly. How many cycles are you up to now?

joycep glad you got a sympathetic GP and a load of stuff for your thrush! It is the end of the 2ww soon?

karbea does your acu person recommend avoiding sugar? I am an absolute sugar junkie. I really try to avoid it but have a terrible sweet tooth and chocolate is my downfall. I eat green and black's dark and try and convince myself its healthy and full of antioxidants.

Oh - when I got home tonight I had a letter from the GP inviting me for a routine smear test. Like I need anyone else rummaging around down there right now - maybe I should just sit outside my house with a sheet over my bits offering a speculum to passers by?

Cool kitty if you pm me an address I can send you my copy of the Mumsnet book of the month if you like? I think it's to be read in October and the author is coming on in Nov? I may have made that bit up tho! goodreads is really good, ive made my mum join it just so I have a friend on there. dh has been asked to encourage books over evil dr google. I'm sure that will actually annoy me though. Good luck with the scan, it feels fine and do watch out for it's sexy condom covering if you get didlocam. I'm sure it will all look just fine. My scan has been the only bit where I feel like I've 'done well'!

I'm a grumpy old cow to my poor beloved husband tonight. Not like me to get pmt right before my period. But right now I am evil! This has been the quickest tww ever.

wine I'm being a dippy mare. When you said about sending out the book I thought you meant you would choose and tell us all the book to read every month :) having re read your post I have now figured it all out! It's v kind of you to offer to post your copy but I will probably just get it on my kindle as I find it easier for carrying around and nights away from home etc. Much appreciated though and i will crack on with reading it. And thanks for the reassurance about the scan. Oh-will check out goodreads too, haven't heard of it.

Hope the pmt passes soon for you. I too was a monster for the last week.

Drum roll ladies.....my 2 ww is over ...well over yesterday actually when AF arrived. I knew it hadn't worked but I didn't realise AF could come whilst i was still on progesterone and so didn't quite expect it then. She just couldn't wait. I cried on the bus home and then got home to find an enormous bill from the doctor which made me sob more. And now my gyne's office is closed until next week so i will miss out next month unless i can persuade her to do a non medicated cycle which actually i would prefer. I do actually feel better this morning as i have done some exercise and had a blood test and so November here we come. Another birthday has now come and gone and I seem to have spent a lot of the last year moping.

wine - sorry about the spotting. Don't think about your eggs being frail. of course they're not! Good idea aobut the reading. I don't think i have read a book this whole last year which is terrible. I have picked up some Harlen Coben's though and will see if i can absorb myself in that for a time being. I normally watch television to distract me.

kitty - i think eating too much sugar is considered bad. However, the gp said yesterday high sugar levels didn't have any effect on trying to conceive. To keep sugar levels down, losing weight and exercise is the best thing. durrr as if we didn't know that.

Joyce - sorry to hear it hasn't worked this time. And lets hope they could do you an unmedicated cycle? I guess that would be cheaper too without the drugs?. Have some and xx

Hope you get hold of your gynae soon.

And I love Harlan Coben books too - I almost always find them to be real page turners :)

Joyce so sorry it didn't happen this time. I hope you are ok, have a big thinking of you xx

Aw, so sorry joycep but, you know, iui is normally a series of treatments and I hope you get another bash at it this month. Hope you're feeling ok, I send you hugs and a lot of empathy. I hope you've got nice things planned for the weekend. You will get there. You've got pregnant once and your body can do it again and will. My mum told my gran that we were trying and not getting anywhere (thanks mum) and she said to me well, it will come when it's time and not before, that's what always happened for me. I think that is probably a 'relax and it will happen' in gran talk but it does comfort me. I've said it before, but when we get to know our babies, we wouldn't have wanted any other baby. Wish I could come over and make you tea/bring cake. Gale to hear you're going to join in with displacement reading. I've not heard of that author so will go and have a look.

kitty let me know how you get in with the book

A week off work in the comfort of my own home has been good at healing me. It's also given me work phobia!

Thanks girls. I've got a nice weekend planned well it will involve my mother so i actually think it will depend on whether she questions me on things. I'm waiting for the ' i told you it was a waste of money ' comment, followed by , ' you're not relaxed enough'. The thought of that is winding me up already!

Wine - Tell No One is his most famous one. It was made in to a film. It's exciting stuff. In fact all his books are really easy beach book thrillers. Lovely to hear that your mum is discussing you with gran . I think people just love a good gossip! But actually i think your gran is probably right. They will all come for all of us when the time is right and all this crap will become a distant memory. I dn't think my mum has told my gran about us or if she has my granny's comment of ' your great aunt's husband left her when she couldn't have a baby, so he went and found a woman who could have babies' - would have been exceptionally cruel of her!

Joycep Gosh, I'm so sorry it hasn't worked this time. I really hope you're able to move onto an unmedicated cycle this month. It sounds like you've done and are doing exactly the right things to keep you busy and positive for November. I hope you have a lovely weekend with your Mum.

wine - great idea about the displacement reading. I've just started reading again after neglecting it for a while, I forgot how much I love it and how much it chills me out in times of madness.

I've got a few unread ones on my bookshelf to work through but then I'll be looking up Harlen Coben - they sound like good reads, thanks joycep

MrsHY1 - Hi - welcome to this lovely thread! Thanks for the wacky tale of the now infamous sperm frittata - think I'll keep that recipe in my back pocket for the darkest of days... or not!

Afternoon all,

Well, I'm about cd 8/9 and looking forward to a week away at a remote cottage, hopefully perfectly timed for lots of relaxed swi :) That said, dh has come down with a cold so I need to get him sorted this weekend, otherwise it might be a bit of a washout.......

That's rubbish joycep, but you know the mantra, if at first you don't succeed...... Will keep my fingers crossed for a much more relaxed and unmedicated cycle for you this month xx

Saying goodbye to my surrogate children tonight (best friend's two that are moving abroad) so that's going to be tough. I guess that I just need to get busy making some of my own so that I won't miss them as much :(

I'm not doing a very good job of name-checking these days, so apologies! I am reading through the thread, but forget who said what by the time I'm ready to write

Here's hoping for a lovely weekend for everyone.

ARGH!!

I just wrote a long post and MN has lost it twice!!
In summary:

sorry joycep but if you get pregnant this month then CD1 is actually day 1 of your pregnancy!

I'm 14dpo with stark white negatives. LP phase used to be 11 days tho last cycle was 54 so god knows when AF will arrive, tho if my luck is anything to go by then it will be tonight as ive booked a surprise weekend away for our wedding anniversary. Heading straight from DHs work. Lovely 4star hotel with spa!

anyways since this is the 3rd post ive written im gonna leave it at that!