Right, that's it! Fabulous Forty Somethings ttc want our bfp's and we want them now! We have waited long enough!

[hopefulgum]

Here's our shiney new thread. The one where I finally get upduffed with everyone else!

Jbrd, yes, erratic sleep patterns will definitely affect your temperature. Try not to worry about it. If you've had your + opk and a peak reading, then I think you can be quite sure of ovulation.

Supplements: at the moment I've cut back on a few. I used to take a lot more, but at the mo, I am taking fermented cod liver oil (in capsule form) as it is very high in Omega 3's and vit D - both very good when ttc. I also take Co q 10 - important for fertility too. I've read that up to 800mgs a day -I take about 400. I also take a probiotic, and aspirin in the tww, and B complex in the tww when I remember. I'll sometimes pop a Vit E before ovulation too, but lately I've been a bit lazy with the supplements. I've been taking anti-biotics and extra probiotics to counter the anti-b's, and painkillers, so adding supplements just all felt too much!

The anti-b's are finished now, but I am wondering if I should have another course as the lump on my gum is much better, but not fixed, I'll ring the dentist today.

I tried calling my Doc yesterday re: the progynova script, but she doesn't work on Tuesdays Will try again today, as I'd quite like the script for progesterone as I think I will ovulate today, if I haven't already. I had a + opk yesterday and much to my delight, I had lots of EWCM!! I haven't had it for ages. Anyway, I have a raging headcold - very snotty and blocked up and not at all attractive. After getting the + opk I thought, "Oh well, at least we had SWI yesterday", because I really didn't think DH would be up for it with Mrs Snottymacsnotnose last night. But I took a double dose of robitussin, did a steaming session with head over bowl of vicks and hot water, and seemed to clear the sinuses for long enough to actually be attractive!!

So, I am feeling satisfied that having done it 4, 2 and 1 day before O will suffice.

morien - have a wonderful week in Morroco - gosh that sounds so exotic to a a girl from Oz.

Big wave from down here to everyone - I hope all is well for the preggy ladies.

Actually gum although it's less than 4 hours flight time from here, Morocco is still quite exotic to me too! It's a different world. We had a week there last year and loved it, and this time we're going to a little guesthouse inch the foothills of the Atlas mountains, owned by a good friend of our Moroccan lodger. And then we're spending our last night with the lodger's parents in Marrakech. Am so looking forward to it.

Supplements - I take pre-natal vitamins with folic acid, and for ttc purposes that's it. I also take a couple of other things which won't harm ttc but I don't take them for that, more for general health - I top up my vitamin D once a month or so with a high-strength capsule because my blood tests when I was pregnant last year showed my levels were low (my gynae said just about everyone has low vit d), and I keep an eye on my B12 too (because it's been a problem in the past).

Hello! Back from hols - great time though not at all relaxing with children waking up 5am-ish . Also very cold (we were in Conwy, N.Wales, close to where I'm from originally) but the dcs had a blast so all good.
I'd far rather Morrocco morien which is both exotic and very warm . You will have an amazing time I'm sure
Gum another sterling ttc effort from you! Permission to take a night off I'd say!
calibee that picture of you and dh radiates happiness . I am so pleased for you xx
Well I'm back from 20 week scan at FMC yesterday and all looking good with baby. I was very very anxious beforehand (and during) and actually couldn't wait for it to be over . It took 1.5 hrs because the baby was so active (I have a feeling they would have abandoned it and asked me to come back again if NHS) but she persevered and was able to see everything. It also seems that the earlier 'girl' diagnosis was very wrong . Definitely a boy so don't need to continue my argument with dh about Beatrix/Tabitha name choice... Had to have an internal scan too as she needed to have a look at my placenta which is a little low (and had a peek at cervix too which is measuring fine) but she's pretty sure it will move up.
So pretty pleased with that - also got some groovy 3d piccies where baby looked very very grumpy but quite cute. Over the moon with my little Laurie!

Oh and green best of luck for today at the FMC - wonder if you'll get the fab sonographer (Jenni) I saw yesterday?

diege congratulations for your little boy and the successful scan!

..I just had a raw with my DP because I dared to mention egg donation, I have many doubts on my own but I need to have something left to try if we keep on not succeeding.. He doesn't seem to want to hear about that and he complains bringing him pressure and spoiling our time together .. I was afraid to speak to him but I thought I had to.. and that's the result.. .. I didn't want him to say: "ok let's do it".. but he could be more understanding..
I dont' know what to do now..

Thanks mozzarella . I totally understand where you're coming from re: having something to move on to, even just to keep you positive and focused. I'd leave dp to think it over for a bit - chances are he'll get it into perspective in his own time. I can understand how his reaction would have felt to you though - give it a bit of time xx

Congratulations on your 20 week scan, diege. Really pleased for you.

Is junior asprin prescribed by your gp? Have I read somewhere that it helps prevent miscarriage?

Congratulations, Diege, to having a DS! They're great So glad to hear that everything seems as it should be with you, it gives me hope.

mozzarella Are your eggs actually in a state that you need to consider egg donation? I could understand if it was the thought of sperm donation that upsets your DH, injured pride and all that... But men are strange creatures. And I really think that they have a very different approach to the concept of ttc than us.

I also find it really difficult to discuss ttc and everything connected with my DH. Even though he is very supportive and positive, I often feel that all the actual 'effort' is up to me. I know it's my choice to temp, chart, use OPKs, count the days and all that, but I wish that he'd be a bit more proactive sometimes! Just doing some reading up, or research, to be able to discuss things with me. Like acupuncture, vitamins, timings etc - things we all tend to think about. And once in a while I really do want him to initiate dtd . He has become incredibly lazy and will leave it completely up to me to get the ball rolling. Which I don't mind as such, but I'd much rather split the effort - I start around the 'critical' time, he during the rest of the time - or something like that But honestly, I cannot remember the last time he initiated it. Which really makes me feel as if everything is down to me.
Plus, it also results in us only frantically dtd around ovulation time (sorry for tmi/ranting).

gum Have you managed to get hold of your GP? I really wonder if she made a mistake prescribing you the estrogen instead of progesterone, and if she did, it'd be quite a worrying mistake! Definitely not what you should be taking (or anyone, for that matter, that isn't very closely supervised and for whom it's actually intended!).

Deige - wonderful news about your little Laurie (I love that name). How lovely!

Mozzarellamama, so sorry to hear you are feeling down, but honestly , as Jbrd said, men are strange creatures. Give him time to think it over. I think in some ways when it comes down to ttc, men are actually "romantic" and I don't mean that in a chocolates and flowers type of way, I mean they would prefer it all just happen naturally through great sex that involves very little effort. I think it is all part of the huge ego they have to carry about. Somehow, if they can't just produce a baby from great sex and super sperm, it is an affront to their ego.

Jbrd, I hear you on the sex thing. My DH is lazy in that regard too. I feel like it will only happen if I initiate it. Honestly, if I wasn't ttc, I'd be doing an experiment to see how long it would take him to actually initiate it and actually use foreplay. Instead of it all coming from me. I suppose I ought to be grateful that he actually does respond when I initiate it, especially in my situation where officially we are not ttc

As for my doctor, I emailed her yesterday (turns out not only was Monday a public holiday, she had the day off on Tuesday!) and she called me last night, very apologetic for making a mistake. She said her other patient was on it because she was doing IVF, and was also on progesterone, which I think is called "progest" or something similar and she just wrote the wrong one down for my script.She really was very apologetic and kept saying how sorry she was. I am just glad I was on the ball enough to do some research. But I did pay for the other stuff, which was a waste of $30, (unless I also use it).

She's written another script which I will pick up today, then I can start my progesterone in a day or two as I am pretty sure I ovulated yesterday.

I am not sure whether next cycle I might also take the Progynova (hopefully there won't be a next cycle, I will be pregnant) to help boost my lining, as my period is getting much lighter as I age. Would the estrogen cause any problems with ovulating?

I would love to hear some opinions on that. I have heard that on IVF cycles women take it from day 2 - 27 (if not pregnant) or until 12 weeks. So somehow it must balance the hormones. However, if you aren't having IVF, would the estrogen (progynova) cause problems (could it become too high, or stop ovulation?)

For now, I have DTD, pretty sure I ovulated yesterday, and will probably start taking the progesterone tomorrow. Then I promise I will not symptom spot as I am sure the progesterone will cause all sorts of symptoms.

Glad to hear the good news on your little boy diege - how exciting and reassuring laurie is a fab name! I am off to FMC today to get my loads done but I think they do a quick scan to see if the pregnancy is still viable before taking the blood - so have got myself in a bit of a knot again....honestly I have never spent so much time being so anxious and no wine allowed for medicinal purposes either

hopeful that is really shocking that your GP described estrogen in error! I know they are only human but it really is just as well you were on the ball and checked (note to self in future).

mozzerella agree that you need to let DH reflect on your conversation. I honestly think that men generally need longer to process anything that wasn't their idea as it always comes as a bit of a shock to them! Early on when we started TTC DP was adamant that he didn't want to go down the IVF/assisted conception route but six months later he "suggested" it as if we had never had the conversation before! I think hopeful is right also that men are romantic in their view of TTC (it will just happen) and the thought of it not makes them feel they have failed in some way....I wonder if Isabeller might be able to give you some perspective on how her DH felt about the use of donor eggs?

Yes Green it is a bit disturbing about getting the script wrong. But would you believe when I went into to pick up the proper script from the surgery, the receptionist wanted to charge me $10 . I said,"No, you had better talk to the doctor as it was due to her mistake that I had to come in and get this script". Unbelievable. She didn't say anything, just handed it over.

Anyway, I've taken my first 2,5 mg tonight. I have to break the tablet in half. I wonder if the dose is high enough to make a lot of difference?

I hope the scan and test went well.

Oh bugger. Now I have researched what she's prescribed me: provera. I know it is progesterone, but it seems it is prescribed to bring on AF. Will it work to maintain a pregnancy? I have read over and over that it isn't the best choice for ttc, that most people use other progesterone like prometrium.

It's all so confusing, I have gone from feeling hopeful and excited to throwing my hands up in disgust.

I guess it can't actually do any harm, and I will take it for the tww and if I get a bfp I'll insist she prescribe prometrium. Because right now I can't be bothered dealing with the doctor (it's so difficult to talk to her or get an appointment) and besides, the IVF folk had prescribed it for her other patient, so it must be alright???

Argh!

Really starting to think the Universe is trying to tell me something about this ttc malarky and I don't want to hear it

Heellllo there!!
Diege congratulations and I loved Laurie !!!

Mozzarella.... Men are funny and I would listen to the sensible advice here ....don't let it bring you down...

Hopeful...the cheek to try to charge you!!! I have no idea about dosages or anything but I just wanted to say that I am keeping everything crossed for you!!!

Green good luck at the FMC today..thinking of you babe...

Jbrd I hear you on the dtd front. My DH would prefer to not dtd if our teen son is in the house ( night time I mean)...
Well ds is out on sleepover sometimes but not all the time. Also when he sleeps nothing can wake him up.... I can get very cross with the whole thing!!

little wave from over here

tired but ok

We have not started with the temping & charting etc yet. We kind of had the talk in bed one evening & ditched the condoms but that is as far as we have got for now. This is our first proper month of trying but I hold out zero hope that anything could have happened yet as we have not had the chance to dtd enough. DP works nights every Mon - Fri & with a teenager and a demanding 10 year old always about, the opportunities are few and far between! I am pretty sure we missed ov this month but as I had to have my smear test mid month, I would only worry that would have done harm to any possible pregnancy anyway.

After reading your posts yesterday I decided to order some baby aspirin, just incase we eventually get lucky. Anything is worth a try.
Do you take one a day from the moment you get a positive test?

hopeful, jbrd, green, notsoold.. thank you for your wise advices ! For now I will give him time to think about it.. Jbrd actually I don't have any idea about my eggs' quality.. but working with statistics I'm brought to think that at this age we should either be so lucky to conceive naturally or just try egg donation which raises considerably the chances.. I'm afraid for me trying other routes and failing would be to stressful (as it would be for anybody actually), since I'm already quite upset with what has happened.. I know it doesn't make much sense ... anyway my secret plan would be: persuade DP to try egg donation maybe in a year time and conceive naturally before that!!!
green .. hope everything will be fine tomorrow!!

Green, good luck with the scan!

Gum, I guess progesterone is progesterone, never mind the trademark. On the amounts I can tell nothing because I am on pessaries and they go streight were you need the hormone, so you need less. And yes, progesterone is also used to bring af on, you take it for some time, then stop, then af should arrive. So, nothing to worry there. If you are pregnant, you just continue with it so that withdrawal will not cause miscarriage, so you now really need to test either 10DPO and thereabouts or when you have taken progesterone for 10 days. Because, when you are not preg, you should stop progesterone in 10 days from the day you started And ideally you start from CD 16 having ovulated on 14th day. So you take it 16-25 and then stop, letting your Luteal phase to end no more than 14DPO.

Jass, thanks for that.

I have been reading and it seems that not all progesterone is created equal, and giving me tablets was probably a waste of time and money. Firstly provera is a cheap synthetic form of progesterone whereas "prometrium" is closer to our natural progesterone. And secondly, for pregnancy support progesterone needs to be inserted as a pessary or injected. Also, everything I read said that provera is not to be taken when pregnant, as there is a possibility of birth defects. I wish my doctor had done some research

I feel so annoyed right now that I am not going to continue taking the provera, and will go back to the natural progesterone cream (which probably doesn't do much, but is better than taking a drug that is contraindicated in pregnancy).

I am peeved that I have now spent over $50 on two drugs that I am not going to use. Wish I'd done the research before filling the scripts.

Grrr...

On a happier note, my temp has risen so I most likely ovulated when I thought.

Bring on the BFP!!!

Gum I think you are wise not to take the provera, until you've managed to talk to your doctor again - she really doesn't seem to know what she's doing! Or she just doesn't concentrate, not sure which is worse... But taking hormones really shouldn't be done lightly, they can mess you up so much. Would you maybe be able to see a different doctor? I know you said you liked her, and that is really important, but she seems very scatter-brained and not very focussed.

mozzarella If you don't mind me saying so, I think you might be charging a bit ahead of yourself, don't you think..? Egg donation is quite a bit step to consider if you don't even know if yours might actually be ok! I'm sure that there are lots of other things to investigate first (e.g. your DH's sperm quality etc.). Statistics is all very well, but lots of women over 40 have babies! But you are right, it is all rather stressful and worrying...

2minds Yes, I was told to take the baby aspirin when you get a bfp - however, others say to take it while ttc, too, which is what I'm doing now. It really depends on who you talk to (as with everything regarding ttc, there is no hard and fast rule). I'd recommend trying not to stress over temping and charting, but I'm not the one to talk . But it has helped me immensely in the past to conceive very soon after starting to try!
And you never know, you might get lucky first time !

So I'm now officially in the 2ww. FertilityFriend suggest testing next week on 11DPO, which seems very soon! I think I might hold out a bit longer... But I also don't have much hope for this month, we didn't manage to dtd as much as I would've liked to.
I've been reading up on the Egg Meets Sperm plan and am in half mind to try it next month. Bet DH would be delighted It sounds exhausting, though!

Jbrd you are right,maybe I should check my egg reserve first but I know it would be hard to make DP check his sperm..I tried one cycle of clomid ..no effects..now my Dr suggests another drug (gonal I think) but I don.t know exactly on which basis..meanwhile I have this lump in my breast so I am quite scared to take all this hormones..also I know you can check egg quantity but not quality..which step would you undertake?

Hello all.....just a quick check in. I have managed to have a quick read through of all that is happening.
diege such lovely news about baby Laurie....I adore the name.
hopeful I'm shocked at your treatment from your gp..mistakes like that are not acceptable. I have heard of Provera used at low doses for progesterone boosting in lp. Its all in the dose you see. 2.5 mg is just enough for maintenace. I take 20mg for bringing on af....when you stop at that dose it causes a progesterone crash and lining sheds.
I'm sorry to not mention everybody...i'm on my phone, which is damn awkward to type on.
We are currently basking in a heatwave on the Welsh coast...its been such beautuful sunshine with wall to wall blue sky. Travelling home later today :(. Back to reality and the heartwrenching weekend of ds moving out to his Dads and DH leaving for N.Ireland on Sunday next week.
My dual clearblue's have given me a flashing smiley face today though...so fingers crossed i get a good chance to catch his swimmers before he leaves. Hehe.
Thankyou for all your lovely comments re the photo by the way. Personally i think i look like a beached whale on all the pics. I am embarking on a healthy eating plan and upping the exercise from next week when honeymoon period is over.

Hi all I am back after a year and an awful mc in January 2012. It has taken that long to feel strong enough.
42 and 2mc I am going to see what happens naturally if not may seek help. MN really helped me through last time and I hope I don't bump into any old friends as that gives me hop that they were successful ,good luck all x

Thank you for your good luck messages. I didn't make the FMC yesterday after a sudden bleed at work in the morning landed me in a & e. I was examined and scanned to be told that our baby had died only a few days before and it looked like I was started to pass parts of the sac. I have to wait until Tuesday now for and ERPC if nature hasn't started things off in the meantime.

I know many of you will understand it when I say that I am beyond devastated and feel completely bereft.

Ooohhh green ..... I am so sorry!!! I can not even say how sorry I am for you!!!
Oh dear one!!! My hugs are with you!!!