TTC Super Ovulation part 2

[suemays]

hey ladies,

There are a few of us who are ttc after mc's, however there will be ladies out there who are also ttc for the first time or second or third without success. If anyone is on, considering or had success on a super ovulation programme then do join us. How long did it take ? Did you try IUI with it.. ? Did you have PCOS?

Kicking this off and hoping some of you will join....

part 1 here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1385998-TTC-Super-Ovulation

Hi all, glad to see the BFP ladies still thriving. AF turned up this morning So the SO was a big fat failure for me. DH has recommended we go back to eau naturelle. I don't think DR S will prescribe SO more than 6 times so it is either IVF or conceiving via natural means. Had a minutes wobble before happily walking out of boots with 20 ovulation sticks and they were reduced to £20 so I guess that is good. Nothing like buying huge sanitory pads and ovulations sticks at the same time. Dead give away. Anyway let's hope no drugs and no scans will do the trick for me. I didn't have a problem before SO but I am another 8 months older now.

A question I have is that if I ovulate does that mean an egg has definitely been released or could you ovulate and not release an egg? Any help anyone can give will be much appreciated.

Hi abney. I'm very sorry that, for you, SO hasn't worked. I think you're right that Mr S won't suggest more cycles as studies show if it hasn't worked in 6, it's not going to

re eggs: I pressed Mr S on this once, and you can't guarantee egg release. Ovulation sticks show the LH surge which goes before ovulation, but not ovulation itself. Equally, an ovary scan shows follicles that have ripened to release an egg, but again Mr S couldn't guarantee that an egg actually comes out.

Soo frustrating, isn't it?

Thanks Jaffa perhaps none of the SO ones came out then (grin). No really it is disappointing. I thought if the follies were there then the eggs would definitely come out. DR S doesn't tell you this. I have told my DH that I have 20 sticks and to avoid IVF he better make sure he puts the effort in. He has agreed (grin).

Hi ladies,

I hope you don't mind if I join you. I am currently under the care of dr s after my 3rd mc last November (1st 2 @ 6 wks the last @ 16 wks) . I've been diagnosed with aggressive killer cells and as we've struggled to conceive since last mc.I am just starting on the super ovulation plan as well as my prednisolone. At 39 and with my hubby off to afghan next April(army) really need to get my bfp ASAP and hope this will do it. Good luck to all of you awaiting your BFP's and those that have them I hope they stay sticky xx

Welcome, rainbow (how would you like to be known?) to the super ov thread! I'm so sorry for your losses - how devastating, you poor thing. I've had 3 mc, but I can't imagine the horror of 16 wks. There's a lady on the pred thread (have you found that?) who lost one at 20 weeks and then another at 14 weeks who's now been diagnosed with high NK cells, so you're in company that understands what you've been through and what you're facing.

We on here are all super OVers, so fire away with any queries. No doubt you're stocked up with the letrozole and have a plan for the ovitrelle in a couple of weeks?

I think we are in good hands with Mr S. And there's plenty of time before April for some nice follicles and, hopefully, a BFP!

abney I think a follicle doesn't bother getting too ripe without an egg behind it, so we have to assume in most cases there was one. . What about taking evening primrose and starflower? It's the only way I can explain the BFP as everything else was so poor this month. I was taking it to allay the hormone cloud of doom, but I read it improves cervical mucus as well, and I did have a lot more, erm, moistness going on.

rainbow no need to get straight into discussing the contents of your knickers; we have all got waaaay past the stage of worrying and talk about when we're shagging and all sorts (when Mr S tells you to, that's when!).

Cheers Jaffa (rainbows fine btw) I've not found the pred board yet so I'll take a look. I'm on my first course of letrozole and I'm heading to see dr s on Monday for a scan then hopefully he'll tell me to take the dreaded jag soon after. I'm a bit aprahensive about giving myself an injection but I'm sure I'll get used to it :)

The last mc was tough to take at 16 weeks but it's made me more determined to get my take home baby .... Why else would we put ourselves though this . I'm loving all the pred side effects :/ spots , insomnia etc

Dtd on doctors orders ... Can't wait :)

Ari just on 5mg of letrezole, because of my pcos I tend to over respond to any stimulating drugs!
Great you have sorted out the hysteroscopy and sounds like you are back on the super ov. What cycle of super ov are you on? Hopefully the hysteroscopy along with the other things you are doing will do the trick for you.

Kittens you must be relieved to have had your intralipids and make it to work on time, good job the pred is keeping you going at the mo!

Abney so sorry super ov didn't work for you. Jaffa has explained the ovulation thing very well so just adding that you can buy a fertility thermometer that you wear all the time under your arm called Duofertility. You may have already heard of it and is expensive at around £500 but I found it very helpful as it advises when you should ovulate but also confirms afterwards what date you have ovulated on. The ov sticks never worked very well for me and thought I wasn't ovulating but this at least confirmed I was every month. Anyway just a thought, they also guarantee your money back if not pregnant in 12 months.

Welcome to the super ov thread Rainbows and do sorry to hear what you have been through. I have had two chemical pregnancy's and one miscarriage at 7wks, having one at 16wks must have been so awful for you. I wish you lots of luck with the super ov treatment, you soon get used to injections and having "intercourse" ( that's what Mr S called it today!) to order.

Mr S was looking very relaxed today after his holiday that we have all contributed to in a casual shirt!

pebbles Ahh, so you have a tendency to over respond anyway. Well fingers crossed that at least one of those follies does the trick, if not more! I'm on cycle 4 now of SO having missed the last cycle due to the anti-bs, so I guess that gives me 2 more after this one if this one doesn't do the trick.

Btw Mr S goes on holiday I think at the end of next week, so perhaps he was looking super relaxed as he knows he doesn't have long to go! :)

kittens How much longer do you have to keep up the punishing pace? Great that pred is keeping you going, but you'll crash and burn at some point if you're not careful!

abney So sorry that SO didn't do the trick for you. I'd echo pebbles, I think that Duofertility is supposed to be really good (I remember watching a program about innovative products some time ago when they were just marketing it) and I would have considered it myself if it wasn't for the fact that I get major ovulation pains to tell me when I ovulate. Be careful on that money back guarantee by the way - it's only if you haven't been established as having "fertility issues" - which I think all of us on here would count as having.

Welcome to the thread rainbows, and so sorry to hear of your losses. As one who utterly hates injections (because they always hurt!) I would say the ovitrelle injection is probably one of the easier to do (and I was surprised to find the gonal-f is the exact same pen? Still not looking forward to having to inject myself another 3 times inside a week!). And having Mr S telling you in a matter-of-fact way your timetable for sex I always find just the slightest bit bizarre, but I guess it's all in a day's work to him :) The Pred thread is at www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1492407-TTC-Pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar-part-8?msgid=33397270#33397270 and I think it's up to part 8 now, with I would estimate as almost all of the posters on there now being pregnant.

Sorry, meant to make that a clickable link www.mumsnet.com/Talk/conception/1492407-TTC-Pregnancy-on-Prednisolone-or-similar-part-8?msgid=33397270#33397270

Pebbles - thanks for the welcome and sorry to hear of your losses also . From what I've read so far chemical pregnancies seam quite common on this programme. I'll need to be careful when I'm testing although dr s has me testing from day 10 to see f I need to stop the pred. I'll not believe it till after day 14 from now on :/

Arianrhod- thanks for the welcome and good to hear the injections aren't that bad. I guess the first will be the worst. Looking forward to getting it over and done with. I've had a good read through the pred thread too. Very helpful. It's great to find people in the same boat.

I've a question regarding ov scans. I reckon mine is on the early side but it's the only apt I could get. I ov from day 12-16 and my scan s at 5pm on day 10. Louise said this woud be fine but I'm worried it's a bit of a gamble. I'm coming from Scotland so I'm worried it may be a wasted trip. Going on your experiences does it sound too early ?

It should be fine rainbows - they know how much a follicle grows by each day (1 to 2mm per day I think) so they can work out from how big they are by day 10 when they'll be big enough to trigger ov. I usually ov around day 14 and my scans have all typically been on day 11 (as they will be this time, next Thu).

A thought about CPs being common on this programme - it could be they're more common because of the kind of issues that have led us to be on the SO programme, perhaps? Having had three of them myself, personally I suspect mine are more because of my age - I always knew I was at greater risk because of that. Reading around though, 'they' say that many women have CPs but are unaware of it, I guess probably because most women aren't tracking their OV/AFs quite as manically as us lot and so wouldn't notice if they were a few days late, or their AF heavier than usual. Just my thoughts, not worth much :)

Arianrhod - you've put my mind at rest about the scan , thanks :) re the chemical pregnancies your probably right. I've spent so much time squinting , looking for lines that aren't there over the past 7 months that the min one did arrive I'd be aware of it, unlike my first pregnancy , I only knew I was pregnant because I was misscarrying. Sorry to hear you've had 3 . That must really mess with your head :( xx

Ari, I have until Sunday here. The changeover to my other jobs going to be a bit foul though as I will get in at 1am on Sunday and then be up for work at 6am for two 10-12 hour days. And then I will lie down for 2 days

Mr S has been attending quite a lot of the games as he, unsurprisingly, has friends in the right places that have given him lots of comps. We were talking about it at my last follie scan as I told him I was working here. That's probably the reason for his more casual attire. Just popping back to the clinic between events!

I phoned NLC today to organise my scans and next intralipids and ended up speaking to Louise. She said she'd got back from holiday to "You'll never guess who's pregnant!" from Mr S. I guess I must've surprised them!

abney, damn! I'm really sorry this didn't work out for you. Did you try it with IUI? Louise said that sometimes they try people on an extra cycle or two with IUI. But then again, a couple of cycles of that is also quite a dent in a potential IVF budget too. Have you tried using the Internet cheapie OPK sticks? I found them to be as efficient as the expensive ones, at least for detecting a surge if not to know for sure if you have ov'd.

Welcome to the thread rainbows. The first time I took delivery of that box of Ovitrelle I felt sick with apprehension at doing the injection myself. I dreaded it for days. When I actually did it I was amazed at how little it hurt. Since then, I have even injected myself in a tent at a festival without a second thought so hopefully that will give you an idea that it's nowhere near as scary as you think it's going to be. The needle is so fine, you can hardly feel it.

Apart from having a month off pred, the main thing I did differently this cycle was to get a bit of a "run up" rather than just waiting to SWI on the prescribed days. I read in a newspaper article recently, and certainly not for the first time, that sperm that's "introduced" a couple of days before ovulation has more chance of fertilising the egg than those on the actual day of ovulation. May or may not have made a difference. Maybe it was just that it was the first time I had two big ripe juicy follie!

Hi all,
rainbows I'm impressed you're coming down from Scotland for this! It's always better to see Mr S, and I think CD10 is absolutely fine as ari says, but in the future if days don't work out, you could also have a scan done elsewhere and have him read the results.

kittens I also did a 'run up' this month. We were joking how it was the first month so not as bad as the last time I did SO when we were so sick of it all. (rainbow I'm a super ov second timer having conceived on the fifth cycle and then miscarried). So in our sample of two, we are advocating every other day shagging!

You've also got me wondering if I have to book in intralipids again already? I think it's every 4 weeks, right? I was going to wait for Monday's scan and then book another scan and intralipids at the same time.

ari I agree re. us being so much more aware. We are so aware of our timings with medication starting on CD2, possible gonal-f injections, then an ovary scan, then another injection, and then the 10dpo for Ovitrelle to be out of the system, and finally the nail-biting testing to see whether you're doing all that again or booking intralipids! There's no chance of a 'missed' chemical pregnancy! I told my mum when we tested positive on CD26, and her first words were, "why on earth have you tested so early?"!

No news from me until Monday...

kittens Actually I think Louise was thinking of you when I spoke to her on Tuesday morning about the hysteroscopy .. she said something along the lines of "it's really worth doing, one lady had it done recently and it's really worked for her". I suspect she meant you! :)

Interesting comment on the "run up" SWI - I've read something like that before too, in a few places. Must be something in it. How much 'personal recuperation' time do you need after a hysteroscopy, given that I'm having it on CD9 and then my follie scan CD11? Thinking given that Mr S usually has me injecting to ov CD13 or 14 that I won't be able to have much of a 'run up' .. !

PS rainbow are you going to Harley St or Epsom?

That's a good question actually ari, and sadly one I don't remember the answer to! Might be worth asking Louise to make sure it's worth you spending the money on the scan. I think they said just to abstain until any bleeding had stopped and I didn't have any bleeding. You might find it helpful to ask on a fresh thread on the conception board. I would suggest the infertility one but that seems to move very slowly with regard to responses.

Rainbows I normally ovulate quite late anything from 15 to 18. I have been having scans at day 10 and this latest one was day 9 and worried it would be to early but it was fine. That's quite a trek for you from Scotland, as Jaffa said in the future you could always pay for a scan locally and they can fax it to Mr S. I asked him about doing this and he seemed fine with but said he likes to do the scan himself the first couple of times.

Interesting info re having a bit of a 'run up', means I should get going tonight but feeling v tired after a bike ride and busy day at work... We are moving to a brand new office next week so is pretty hectic trying to pack and get normal work done!

Yeah I had no choice but to come from Scotland , there's nowhere that can help nearer home. I'm going to Harley st as it's easier for me to get the train to central London . I feel like I know my way around , even have my oyster card now ! I'm hoping next month I can get a local scan , he did say he'd rather scan me personally first time so thought I'd better go with that. Fc we see some good eggs :)

Actually I'm hoping next month I need a different kinda scan , I can live in hope lol

Hi everyone. Thank you very much for the advice. I am going to use the cheapie sticks for now and I am going to try to have a big run up before and after 'ovulation'. Kittens I guess because you are so busy it helps the time going faster. rainbows sorry to hear of your losses but like others have said you are not on your own. You will see from the posts on the pred thread that most people get there in the end. Jaffa I guess that scan on Monday can't come quickly enough. Everything crossed for you. Evening Primrose and Starflower I will defintely go and get some. I have a Boots by me so I will look.

Kittens In regards to IUI when I asked Dr S dismissed it for me saying that IVF would be my next option.

Have a nice day everyone in the sunshine (at last).

Thanks Abney , it's good to know its working for the majority of people who are on pred.

Quick question for pred users. I have a funny feeling on my tongue at the back. It feels slightly tingly or like there's a funny taste, a bit like after a night of heavy drinking. Is it pred? I know metallic taste is a pg symptom but it's not particularly metallic.

Bloating, constipation, sore nips, now those I'm familiar with!

Are you on Hydroxy? That leaves a very bitter taste.

I'm worryingly devoid of symptoms. Well, the ones I have I don't know if they are from the pred or pregnancy. Not constipated per say, but having to go in "installments". Very windy. Thirsty, but I know pred can cause that too. Absolutely no change to my knockers at all. No soreness, lumpiness etc. I was feeling quite calm about it all until yesterday and now I am starting to get a bit anxious. I was tired and dizzy yesterday when I got to work but had a 30 min snooze in the park in my break and felt fine for the rest of the day. I'm really concerned that I don't feel anywhere near as tired as I normally do when I'm pregnant.

Not on hydroxy here.
I'm sorry you're anxious. It's so hard these first few weeks. I should think the pred masks some symptoms, and it's definitely v common to either have no symptoms or every symptom! I want to ffwd to October, but then I'd miss the sun.

My biggest problem is waking nightly from 4-6am. I can't function today. Work is mad at the moment and pred makes it worse. Can't wait to leave this job on Sep 7.