TTC for 10+ months, part 8

[eurochick]

A friendly, supportive thread for those taking a blooming long time to conceive!

Oh Pout Pile GP sounds lovely, I really like those positive comments, he didn't need to look at the results and draw conclusions and so nice to let you know.

Hey Purple fruit juice was banned because of the quick release instant sugar hit it gives you. Whole fruit is ok because it contains fibre but with juice you remove the fibre. So as part of my 3 month pre-conception diet I had to give up anything that would cause my blood sugar levels to spike and it was in essence 1 month detox followed by 2 months rebalancing and now I'm on the plan for life, which is very sensible stuff with the odd treat. From now on I am only allowed one glass of fresh fruit juice with food each day. The idea being that the protein / whole carbs that I'm eating will counter the sugar from the fruit juice. Cold soup is a great idea. I love pepper and tomato gazpacho. The only bummer is that my juices need to include dark green leafy matter. Cold green leafy matter is ok but not my fave, so it just seems painful to go to so much effort to make swamp water. Hey ho...
I just wondered about the IVF thing. Sorry if it was prying. I'm not sure about my thoughts on it yet. So I guess chatting though with all the different sides is good food for thought. Sorry if I've pushed any buttons in a bad way. I've pushed IVF to the back of my mind in the blind optimism that things will happen naturally... Not doing IVF doesn't mean that you don't want a child. of your own. That's ridiculous! There's so much to consider with IVF, not least that it doesn't guarantee a baby. I think it's a wonderful scientific invention and I'm glad it's there. But I'm not sure how I would feel about having to go through with it - the injections scare me, the downregging scares me, the possibility of a miscarriage or BFN after the drugs scares me... I already feel that I'm enough of a failure without adding the finality of IVF into the mix and then possibly failing at that too. But as I said, I'm glad it's there because I will do anything to get there and if push comes to shove, I reckon I'd give it a go. You heard it here first!

X post Pout I love, love the sound of your GP and your consultant. Twins would be awesome. Sorry that The Pile is still causing problems. That does not sound nice. I am totally of your progesterone too! That's an awesome result. Fancy siphoning some off? I only need 10 nmol/L extra and you have way over!! I'm sure your AMH will be fine what with your other glistening results. You must feel very encouraged by all of this. I hope you do anyway. xx

No really, thanks for bringing it (IVF) up Princess I'm glad for the chance to talk about it and get other views. I thought the doctor might put it on the table for me in a way that made me take a proper look, but that didn't happen. I feel a bit lost with it. I'm keen to be able to look back in 10 years time (or whatever) and understand what I did/didn't do, and why.

Thanks for info on juices. Some swamp juice is nice. Root vegetables compliment green leave in soups pretty well, even chilled, particularly when its without the handy dairy.

I didn't get the kitty :( The poster decided to give it to someone else. I might look for another one though. I need a furbaby.

pout what a lovely and well-prepared GP. It's a shame it's such a surprise to hear something like that though. That's fab prog result. Give yourself an ovulatory gold star!

I thought the drugs were definitely worth a go, although they didn't seem to do much for me. I had three monitored cycles but only saw a mature follie on one as the other two scans were mistimed. On that cycle I only had one mature follie, so they didn't seem to be doing much for me. The dr was going to up the dose but I decided to stop there. Interestingly, a couple of months after stopping them I had unmedicated IUI and had two mature follies! So it seems my ovaries do sometimes push out more than one egg on their own anyway (unsurprising as there are twins in the family).

Princess that's good about the holiday. We're hoping to go away in the autnumn after the trial I have got coming up.

Purple IVF is a big decision and not for everyone (as my drug-induced meltdown a couple of weeks ago amply demonstrated).

pout amazing result! What a boost we can swap clomid notes. I feel really positive for pout twins!

I have cried in the hairdressers. What a total and utter indignity

And the woman next to me is heavily pregnant

joycep I don't have a baster, possibly due to the fact that I'm a vege, any news on the eagle??

medusa sorry about the temp drop and spotting, big hugs

purple Glad your appt went well, sorry you had a low after it and that Mr P didn't remember

princess well done and yay to holidays and booze :)

pout yay to good results that is the only reason i'm on the Gonal F except i'm yet to produce to produce the 2 follies twins would be perfect, do have piles often??

carrie she is going to be tired for the next few years so tell her to get a grip, this is the easy bit

rabbit SUPER BIG HUGS sometimes you just can't help it, and its best to let it out, I had a complete meltdown in Starbucks shortly after my 2nd miscarriage, it was full of babies and I just wasn't prepared, the staff were really nice to me

well i'm still bleeding on day 3 so i'm feeling quite pleased with that, I had my last acu yesterday and they wanted me to sign up for another 20 sessions, they looked a bit when I said no thanks, I still have 2 weeks of herbs to collect I think i'm ready to give the woo stuff a break for a bit

waves to everyone else

Can't catch up properly but

Pout - gold star to you. I think to go to the top of the progesterone exam board. I get my amh back in 10 days and am nervous.

Euro - I hope your meeting is conducive and def worth a chat to see why he is wanting to do something different.

Rabbit - sorry you are so teary at the moment. Doesn't help if you are sitting next to preggos. I think you have a good plan to see how your cycles pan out over the next few months and hopefully they will go back to normal. Your bod has been messed around a lot.

Purple- I am glad it wasnt a total right off. Sorry about the salad saga though. Mrjoy can be terribly forgetful too, I don't think they can help it! Sorry if you have said before but what is the ivf like out with you?

No news from Athens. I chased them earlier because I am impatient but they didn't respond. - i expected results yesterday.

On an overland train so struggling to catch up properly. Have a great weekend everyone.

Just done a proper catchup.
carrie at 'normal' comment. Stunningly insensitive. And mrsd for the bank clerk.
rabbit hope you are feeling better. I really hope this is the start of all things good for you, you've been through so much.
purple Hope you are feeling brighter too. Sounds like a totally normal reaction to me.
Euro Ooh a Bengal. They are beautiful, I'm very sorry you didn't get it. I highly recommend furbabies, although ours is so horribly spoiltand I talk about here far too much. I suspect my folks will have a fit when they come stay next Feb.
princess yay for the diet sign off! Have a fabulous time on your break.

MrTeu took several years longer than expected to pop the question and then wasn't quite sure about the babies. I didn't want a baby before marriage. When he was ready life here got tipped on it's head for a year. So here we are. Certainly not a choice, just life and it's curve balls. I feel very much like a fraud when I read what you have all been through. Very humbling.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Morning

Thank goodness it's the weekend.

Pout - those are amazing results. Did you do prog test 7 days after ovulation or 7 days before AF - or are those the same anyway? I'm thinking of asking for a repeat progesterone test before FET - to see if I need a top up. Sorry about the piles.

Purple - your consultant sounds fairly good - no scaremongering which is as important as getting good results. Is your plan to wait a bit longer with natural cycles? Apologies if you have already made it clear but would you consider other therapis to see if this can give you a boost?

Wine - gosh love I am so so sorry. Sometimes all you can do is cry. I imagine you must feel so frightened about this funny spotting when your body previously knew what to do. On a much lesser scale, my ewcm seems to have disappeared since I did the IVF cycle - and that was one thing I never had a problem with. So it scares me to thing that this bit is now gone for good in addition to my other problems. So to have such big difference in cycle length must feel really frustrating and scary. I honestly think you have to, have to, have to, cry, cry,cry ,- and then a bit more, then write it down then burn it. Especially if you are someone who bobs along fairly well most of the time. Your body and mind have been through so much - too much. I honestly believe in time, your body and cycles will settle down. I know that is easy to say from the outside but that is the logical expectation. Big hugs

Artemis - thank you for all your organisations

Also Carrie - flaming heck - that 'normal' comment was appauling. But sadly it doesn't suprise me. I have had some awful comments and flippent remarks from my dr's. Please ignore such comments and remember these people got good science a-levels and all that but they are NOT always the brightest people in general. I am not wishing to offend any medics - I am freinds with many lovely Dr's who are well rounded individuals. But some are too 'sciency' and don't know about emotinal intelligence.(sp?)

Princess - so glad you had success with your nutrionalist. She sounds like she has done a great job - but it was you who did all the hard work. Listen - have the best best summer, do lots of lovely things and don't worry about conception issues for a long time.

sarlat my EWCM disappeared a year ago. I used to get it every month without fail (for most of that time having no idea what it was and just thinking it was a bit yucky!) and then last August it just stopped. That was the same month I started the agnus castus, but according to my acupuncturist that wouldn't have caused it. I wonder if it was stress as that was also the point when I started to think that there was a problem, which is why I decided to give the AC a go.

My cycle still hasn't come back post downregging. I have no idea what to expect after stopping the drugs abruptly and can't find any guidance on the internet. I'm day 20 now counting from my downregging bleed, but maybe starting counting from when I stopped the drugs a week later might be more sensible. I think something is going on down there. I had several days of twingey ovaries so they were doing something. Now I have a dull ache in my womble area. So maybe my lining is starting to rebuild or something.

7 days before expected will be 7 dpo too if you have a textbook 14 day luteal phase I guess.

princess you really did an awesome job with the diet. I hope it has done the trick for you.

Euro - that is so weird about your EWCM - you might expect it reduce gradually over months and years but not disappear from one cycle to the next. I know chartney carrotts (sp?) which are baby carrotts help with ewcm. Mine was abundent when I made an effort to eat these. I have had some of these carrotts this month but still nothing. Maybe it increases what is there rather than triggers it.

About your cycle Euro. My understanding is that the down regging drugs shut down the pituity gland for 4-6 weeks. This allows time for a full cycle and all the tweaking. Although this is very frustrating, I wonder if it would be beter for you to assume nothing is going to return to normal for a few weeks as your pituity gland has no way of sending out messages. I guess if things do start up any sooner then it will feel like a bonus and fingers crossed it will.

sarlet baby carrots you say? I'll try anything for a bit of EWCM. Never heard of this one. Not sure I can get baby carrots very easily here, so new project. Mr Purple already enjoying extra tomato juice. Soon enough we will devise a whole sarlet diet. In answer to your question I'd be open to any intervention that made enough sense. The thing is though it was pretty clear that the doctor saw "big guns" or nothing. Perhaps this would be the case anywhere considering my age but I'm not surprised here as the medical culture is very big guns. I have to see him again in 2 months to take another look at the cyst (hopefully there will be nothing to see by then) so perhaps I will be able to explore his point of view a bit more.

Joycep I'm not sure how to answer your question about what IVF is like here. Can you help me understand the question? Perhaps I know so little about it I'm not sure what comparisons there are. Cheaper, I would guess. I'm not sure how much medical tourism for IVF there is, but that certainly exists for cosmetic surgery (though seeing some of the examples walking the streets I wonder about the skill levels, I don't know perhaps that's how they want to be looking?).

rabbit I do hope you are feeling better today.

sarlat I hae never heard the carrot thing before! I have tried evening primrose oil and grapefruit juice. I will add carrots to the list!

The 4-6 week thing is really helpful, thanks. I couldn't find anything on the internet about what to expect as most people who abandon IVF cycles seem to do so at the stimming stage rather than after downregging. It has been almost 2 weeks since my last downregging jab and I have the twinges I mentioned plus small amounts of CM so I guess that is a sign that things are slowly ramping up.

I asked Mr S about my lack EWCM and he didn't seemed worried, although he doesn't seemed worried about anything he just suggested pre seed, I've tried all sorts of things to improve it but can't say any had an affect, I do get a bit of EWCM but usually around CD5-8 [condused]

sarlat did you down reg for your IVF??

euro can you call the clinic you were going to do IVF with and ask them??

I have to say I think i'm more likely to go for natural/mild IVF, although I do wonder how much stimulation drugs I'll need as i'm on 150mgs of gonal f and hoping it will produce just 2 follies

teu you can never talk too much about a furbaby, I work with a lady who has 7 and yes she is single and quite mad , I actually have a furbaby gallery on my FB purely to try out different photographic techniques How long are your parents coming out for ??

Hey buzzy I don't think many doctors take the EWCM issue very seriously. I didn't even bother bringing it up with mine. I think they all would crack up reading our mentalling over these things. HEY DOCTORS, THAT WILL BE BECAUSE YOU ARE FINE WITH CALLING FOLKS 'UNEXPLAINED' or whatever then pouring yourself a single malt and adjusting your bow ties.

purple I agree but you can'y help wondering what is going on when things change, I now try and think, if Mr S is worried then I shouldn't worry

Of course buzzy we have a need to try and figure it out. Just imagine they would too. That being their job and shit.

its easy money for them, goodness knows how many holidays I have paid for some do have a lax attitude

Morning everyone (it's still morning, just, not that I have got dressed yet ...)

I'm pushed for time at the moment - I have been reading everything but not finding time to post - suffice to say I survived the manky hotel and the conference (which was actually really good) and am not showing any signs of horrific skin infections (yet).

So the northern 10+ers are meeting this afternoon - yikes!!! - maybe some of you can raise a glass to us online after 4pm. I am particularly pleased that this gets me out of going to visit DP's uber-fertile relative and her new sprog. He's going on his own and I refuse to feel like a bitch. He has sloped off into town to find her a card and token present because I'm not getting involved in that either

Right I'd best get meself ready... as well as the barren look in my eyes I shall have a rolled-up copy of What Baby? magazine, pee sticks poking out of my pocket and a brace of sparkly knobs on the table so I am immediately recognisable. And the tail feathers of course

Hope everyone is well. Sorry to hear about inconsiderate doctors, rubbish comments, wacky cycles, preg announcements and tearfulness and hope everyone is having a good weekend.

artemis I am currently getting ready whilst in the midst of an angry period sent from the depths of hell like 5 periods rolled into one. So I'll be the one with codeine induced tiny pupils, ashen face, hot water bottle stuffed in jeans with super plus tampax over spilling from her handbag! But looking forwards to seeing you

But seriously, what a weekend wrecker. Weeing on sticks really does have period charming qualities. Af has let me know with clear indignant mood that I am categorically Not Pregnant.

Do toast to us later.

Afternoon

I've just had a shower and getting ready for the northern meet up. Found a whole in the bum cheek area of my nice summary chinos which I was planning to wear - damn. How to clothes know to destry themselves the minute you try to present yourself as half decent?

Although by the sounds of it, we wil be quite a 'unique' bunch anyway with our pee sticks-a-dangling, hot water bottle accessories, tampax earings and holey bum trousers.

At least the sun is shining and brightening up our grim Northern lives and by 4pm the world will be a better place.