TTC 10 Months Plus, Supporting Eachother & Staying Positive :)

[mama31]

This thread is for anyone trying to conceive for a lengthy period of time who may be considering/attending further tests/scans or is about to begin fertility treatment. I hope this thread can provide information and support, alleviate fears and can help one another to remain positive during this difficult journey that can only be understood by those experiencing it.

Please join and share your story, knowledge, support, laughter and tears.

M33r, I see what you're doing, or should that be what you're not doing I'm not trying this month either then hoping I can be one of those people who can tell the tale of how hilarious it was that the very month we went to the fertility clinic we got pregnant just like that and we got to tell them we didn't need to come anymore

And not that I've thought about it because I won't be trying I've worked out my BFP will be due on Christmas Day!!!!!!!

Jesse, thank you x Yes we are cycle buddies, hoping you don't join me in cycle 11, but if you do promise me you'll re-read your post to me, let's all keep our eyes on the prize

M33R I love what your doing keep it up!!! Well I've noticed the smallest amount of pink cm, but had a smear this morning and think it's related to that rather than spotting. Actually I'm pretty certain as wasn't there this morning then arrived almost immediately after the smear and GP did say you might spot a little after a smear.

Just got DH results. Count 92million per ml. Normal morphology, only 19% progressive motility when it should be 32%.
Very hard to interpret the significance. My head says that 19% of 92 million sounds good, but not sure if it works that way.
The lab wanted 2 tests done, so he has another booked but I think this should be after 3 months rather than in a couple of weeks.
We have decided to book a private consultation to discuss our options, after the next sample is done. Only a fertility specialist will be able to answer what the chances of natural conception are.
Until then, need to keep trying....

Hi jesse. They results sound great to me!! 92 million is loads! Did you get the form showing you the parameters of 'normal'. You should also know that Everyone is tested twice (in a few weeks) and you might find the results are significantly different so the motility may go way up. That's why they test twice - it's quite variable. Still think the fertility follow up is great idea. Good luck!

one my Due date for the pg I'm not 'trying' for this month is 13th December ...

Jesse, think that all sounds fairly tip top to me I am obviously not a fertility expert in any shape or form but think the fact there are loads of normal shaped sperm is really good! and even if motility is an issue with subsequent tests and they say you do need some help further down the line think this makes you a prime candidate for IUI as opposed to IVF so hopefully that's a positive in your book Think chatting to fertility expert is the way forward to know what you're looking at but with that outcome conceiving naturally still sounds pretty likely!!

Mama, don't you go worrying about the pink cm, like the dr said it is common after a smear, fx it stays away from now on.

M33r

jesse those results do sound good, though make absolutely no sense to me. Im feeding into the mindfulness thing. onelife af is a total b*tch, i hope the vast majority of your tests can go ahead tomorrow. It's so good to have something productive to look forward to.

m33r and onelife 23rd december for me!

Having been having the big O pinch all day on my right side. Very hopeful that this month will be the month despite my lack of ewcm after my grapefruit guzzling. Was actually in my new GP practice today to meet the practice nurse to fully register. She was as useful as a wing mirror on a coffin. She had me give a urine sample, then proceeded to ask me if I had just had AF since there was a trace of urine in my blood. When I told her no, that AF occurred 2 weeks ago, she offered no explanation for what else it could be despite my asking. She then asked me about contraception and I told her I haven't used any in a year as we are trying and that I want to see the GP since we've been unsuccessful so far. The blankest of looks came across her face and she recommended I see the GP. What exactly was the point in her question then Lets hope my new GP is a lot better than the practice nurse. The practice nurse in my last GP's office was amazing, really put me at ease with smear tests in the past and was really useful answering questions on various things, immunisations, allergic reactions, repeat prescriptions etc. I actually think im going to miss her!

martie flipping gp surgeries are ridiculous. I can't believe they get away with it. Hopefully new gp will be more use. Did you say you had blood in your urine? I should think that needs checking. Did you get a gp appt?

Martie that sounded a lot like my nurse appointment a month or 2 ago. Useless.

Jesse, have docs explained significance of SA or did you just get handed a sheet? Still waiting for an appointment for my hubby. Taking so long! I got booked in for scan of my bits within 2 weeks, hubby been waiting 4 weeks for a date so far! How long did you wait? Wondering whether to go private for one. Hubby said he doesn't care if he doesn't do it at all! Miserable get! Did you have trouble persuading OH? I just wanna know what are chances are naturally!

Ugh, AF has really been doing the rounds on our lovely thread. GO AWAY! lol

jesse I hate that you've been offered no help analysing though SA results, although they do sound ok to me. Is DH feeling ok about it all? Maybe schedule a steak-and-you-know-what night to keep him feeling macho! Haha! ;-) My DH will probably do his in a couple of months so I'm sure I will be back asking you questions!

martie I actually wouldn't worry too much about having a small trace of blood cells in your urine. Blood vessel walls will thin out if they become inflamed (think of the skin of a balloon as you blow it up). Sometimes this will be thin enough for a few blood cells to leak across the membrane and into the bladder. So if we are dehydrated, have a very slight UTI or even been eating very spicy food, this can sometimes happen. I wouldn't stress unless you have any swelling, pain or stinging/ burning when you pee. Xoxo

My update is that this the SLOWEST week ever! Lol I think this is because of some stupid work things but also the fact that AF is still not here and I am just hoping and praying that I can see this out til Friday which would give me a 10 day LP and a 30 day cycle... Which would be workable, maybe?!

And if that DOES happen, I am going on a nationwide, one-woman campaign to promote B vitamins and AC! LOL! I'm already pretty impressed that it has taken me from 24 day average to 27 day cycle and an 8 day LP (one day added) so far. Way morse than I would have expected for month 1. I panicked at first because it delayed ovulation by a day or so, but there is obviously some other stuff going on in the second half of my cycle too.

The weirdest thing this time has been that since ovulation, I have felt like my period could start any hour. I haven't had as many localised, pinchy cramps at usual but I'd say I have had pretty much constant dull type cramps.

I'm not peeing on anything til 12dpo.
I'm not peeing on anything til 12dpo
I'm not peeing on anything til 12dpo
I'm not peeing on anything til 12dpo
....Repeat.

Lindsay I'm also very impressed with the AC. This month I ovulated 2 days earlier on it and i had a 26 day cycle last month also when 23-25 would have been usual for me. Just hoping so much it sorts out the spotting. I'm putting the small amount of pink cm down to my smear yesterday as there is no sign of anything this morning. So fingers crossed the spotting stays away, I get a long undisrupted LP and longer cycle.....oh and a bfp would be the cherry on top!!! if that happens I will join you on your nationwide campaign ;)

Jesse I'm pretty clueless but SA sounds like good results...92 million! wowzers! DH finally got his appointment (took 4 weeks) for Tuesday of next week. The jokes have been so innapropriate funny in our house about it....he's being great about it but I've no doubt he will find it mortifying at the time.

One....sending prayers and best wishes your way for your appointment today. Let us know how you are and how it all went for you hon x

You are welcome On my campaign mama so glad it is working for you too!! Re the pink CM, I actually really bleed after a smear. Like (TMI) bright red like I've cut myself. So don't worry!

one Missed the bit about today being the appointment, sorry- good luck! Come back and let us know how it goes xo

Victoria, we waited 3weeks for nhs appointment for semen analysis. Husband went to gp yesterday for results and he asked to get the print out. I don't think any GP can tell us the significance of the result, which is not a criticism, simply the truth, and we will need to see specialist to discuss. I am happy to pay privately to get expertise and opinion, but for me, I was happy to wait a few weeks for SA, as it is prob £200 privately which I think is a rip off.
My husband was ok about doing the sample. I think we both see it as a way of moving forward, but I understand why it is difficult for men.
X

So when DH gets the SA done, his GP won't be able to tell him if it's good or bad?? Gosh! So the thing will be to tell him to request a printout then I will be googling to see if it's good or bad.....and we all know Dr google is not always reliable.

lindsey81 thanks so much for that info- really useful. I had quite a few drinks at the wkend and was still a tad hung over yesterday so I would definitely have been dehydrated. That definitely seems like a good explanation. I was chugging on loads of water yesterday so feeling a lot better today. m33r i decided not to book the GP appointment yesterday, said very useful practice nurse said there is a two week wait for an appointment (that ttw seems to follow me everywhere!!). Since I am currently ovulating I thought I'd wait and see what outcome is this month. Maybe that's stupidly optimistic, I might book one just in case, then it could be a pregnancy test if all is well! Fingers crossed, come on universe, send me some baby love!

jesse maybe i've missed this, but did the NHS actually offer you an analysis of your results at all? I see you are going to go private for the analysis?

lindsay and mama great news about AC and b vits! Will hopefully keep me positive for next month should this not be the one. I send out this warning now tww is about to commence, i may head to the stratosphere at some stage, please feel free to pull me back into reality with a good slap of wise up!

I'm just glossing over all this talk of AC etc as my cycle lengths are normal and I've no idea what any of it means!

Been waiting 4 weeks already for hubbys SA date, every NHS trust will have different waiting lists I guess and I live in a big city, which obviously has a lot of infertile people!

Martie I'm in the middle of the 2ww....not feeling crazy just yet...but I'm very impulsive so that could change very quickly! I will reign you in if you do the same for me.

My 2ww rules are:
No testing before 10dpo (that is good for me I usually test from stupidly early), or if I can wait even longer no testing until 12dpo. No symptom spotting or recording symptoms. No obsessing every minute of every day- carry on living life, keeping busy and enjoying myself.

I hope I can follow through with these things.....

Ladies I found quite a useful website for information/guidance it's called Resolve The National Infertility Organisation. It's got lots on about what to expect from tests etc including information re SA tests. I found it quite informative and it may help some of you who are like me and need to know everything before it happens!

mama31 i with you buddy, we can be each others reality check. I was going to try leave my poas until 15 dpo since we been trying smep and that's what is recommended, that would mean testing on 2nd April. I am going to stick with this, i will, i will, i will

Oh is 15dpo reccomended?? I have 26day cycles not sure I ever get to 15dpo....i could never wait that long anyway I'm too obsessive and impulsive! would love to try though.....

mama31 15dpo is recommended in the sperm meets egg plan (when i think of this in my head, i always call it 'the sperm versus egg plan'...oooh the irony!)
In recent months I have had a 34 days cycle and usually ovulate around cd18. According to my clearblue opks I ovulated y'day which means im only cd15. Don't know if this means Im going to have a shorter cycle or what this month. Its a wait and see. In my pre-pill days I was a regular 31 days, i sort of miss that weirdly! I should reach 15dpo, as that would be cd30. I am going to need a lot of distraction techniques to prevent me symptom spotting/losing my mind!

Lindsay constant dull cramps you say? Not symptom spotting at all for you but fingers crossed for you this cycle! If not, a longer LP is amazing! I like your mantra too, hope you can stick to it.
martie how annoying about the nurse, and how strange, hope your GP is a big bundle of loveliness for you!
one hope you are having a good (as can be expected) day and your appointment goes/went well. Interesting to hear what they have to say.
jesse to echo others, I don't know much about what the results should read, but it sounds like a good result! Can't believe the Drs didn't explain any of it for you, mind you when I rang for my blood test results she just said to me...everything looks normal, when I asked if it would have been different if they had been done 3 days later (i.e the correct day) only then did she actually look up what they were for and check the levels!
mama I could never get to 15dpo either, I'm lucky if I make it to 10 so it's always pointless me POAS!
m33r also 'not trying' this month! Would result in a due date for 22nd Dec for me....I had decided to actually not try, but the other day I just thought I don't think I can take a month off! So we will still be tryinghaving sex for fun but just not worrying about what we eat/drink/timings.
Sorry to those of you I've missed, will have a proper read through later.

Some of you ladies seem so positive and chipper about it all, how do you do it!? I have just been feeling sad recently. Sad for myself this time last year when I was so excited, and sad because it seems that if it's taken this long and my cycles are so messed up that it's just not going to happen without a fight with the Drs and I don't think I have the emotional/financial ability to do that.

Right! I'm back and as instructed I will tell you everything, so if you're all sitting comfortably I'll begin

When we got there the nurse handed me a form to complete with all the questions you'd expect about medical history, periods, how long ttc etc. Was slightly bizarre looking at all the other couples in the waiting room (wondering if any MNers were there! But mostly praying I didn't see anyone I knew from school!!!) Our consultant then called us through, he was lovely and pretty hilarious actually as he spoke so fast it was hard to keep up! Made sure I didn't look dh in the eye or I knew I'd get the giggles. He ran through our form. Said he's not at all worried by dh's SA as both count and motility are v good, so much so that he doesn't even want to repeat it. He was also pleased with my progesterone level from previous blood test. He said we stand a good chance of conceiving naturally and may just need a bit longer. In the meantime they need to check my tubes so he wants me to have a hycosy (the squirt dye up your doodaa and scan thing) the appointment will be sent out in the next 6 weeks. If all ok with that then he would like us to start with IUI, apparently you get 3 rounds funded by NHS. Should start when we've been ttc for two years (which from what we told GP would be Dec) but he did sound open to maybe starting this earlier but we'll see.
Then he said he'd like me to have bloods, swabs and TV scan today (even with af, eek) so it was round to the nurse. She did a speculum first and the swabs. Then I had the TV scan which honestly was absolutely fine so don't worry anyone that's got to have one, it was easier than the speculum (not that the speculum was bad just saying the TV thing was easier!) She said my uterus was normal shape&position (tbh was just relieved it was even there.. This ttc does make you start to wonder!) looked at both ovaries. This is the bit I wasn't clear on as she was bit vague and wish I'd asked bit more, but she didn't seem overly impressed with the number of follicles She just said it 'wasn't bad' and that they'd look further at the hycosy (so going to dr google this bit later) But positively I do have ovaries and no cysts, fibroids etc discovered. Then it was round to a different room for bloods by same nurse for rubella, haemoglobinopathies and day 2 FSH. That was that. All of the bloods and swabs etc are no news is good news kind of thing, so really it's waiting for the hycosy and going from there.

The best bit was when he said he didn't want to repeat DH's SA as he 'didn't want to put him through that' then proceeded to tell me in detail about the TV scan and the hycosy for me!!! Fine to stick everything under the sun up me then!! lol

Sorry it's so much but just thought it might help those that are going soon, m33r know it's your turn v soon, be interesting to see if it's similar! Must admit It did feel a little like a production line and everyone spoke in quite medicalised terms - felt as if I hadn't done my MN research I'd have struggled to understand it all. But they we're all friendly and gave time for questions and quite frankly I don't care, just glad we've been seen.

Oh and I asked his opinion on alcohol, he agreed with it in moderation, was not in favour of an outright ban dtd eod was fine, no pillows under bums needed girls! just try and keep it relaxed and normal. And if anyone's dh cycles that is fine too.

So I guess we stick to the not trying plan and keep our fingers crossed.

Hope you're all having a nice day

Ginger, sorry I was typing my mammoth post and didn't see yours when I posted it. Sorry to hear you're feeling sad at the moment. And yes I keep thinking back to this time last year as had just stopped the pill in Feb and was so excited, little did we know hey. But I find sharing it with others who truly understand so helpful and I just accept now that I will have good and bad days. Luckily been mostly good recently (my appt today has def helped, I am never normally this positive on cd2!!) But keep the faith hon, we will get there, we will. And when we do, Mama will tell you what it will be won't you mama?

....it will be IMMENSE!!!!!!! XX