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

[m33r]

Hopefully we'll see more BFPs on this one!

How's your line silverine? Darker?

Hello, do you mind if I join? AF has arrived today after an epic 63 day cycle, we have been ttc no.2 since last July but I only really got my periods back properly in August, so now 10+ months and not a sniff of a BFP. I haven't managed to read the whole thread yet but have skimmed through and it looks like lots of you are at various stages of tests and treatments, so I was wondering if you could give me some advice?

I often had irregular cycles pre DS, but since they returned in the summer up until March they were long but fairly regular at 38-40 days. Since then I have had one 50 day and one 63 day cycle, both with mid-cycle spotting, so something is clearly not right! Have decided to bite the bullet and book an appointment with my GP (should have done it a long time ago but I'm terrible at going to the doctors, I always put it off as long as I possibly can).

However, as we've not really been ttc for 1 year yet and I am under 30 I'm not sure it will be that useful or if they'll just send me on my way. I just want to try to find out what's causing the irregular cycles and spotting really, but not sure what to expect or ask for from the doctor, does anyone have experience of this kind of thing and can give me some tips on what to ask for? Or is it a waste of time and better to wait until 12 months + ttc?

Congratulations silverine and I hope the digi tests confirm it for you this weekend!

Will now look back through the thread to get up to speed a bit!

Hi mister welcome to the group. I'm afraid I can't help or advise with your cycles as that's not our troubles with ttc so I don't know much about it. I'm sure someone else can help though :-)

Hi everyone, sorry I have been AWOL for a bit, just trying to get on and enjoy life without constantly thinking about babies, though as you all know that is easier said than done. Too many to reply to all but nice to see that a few of you are moving along with appointments and will hopefully start getting some answers and hopefully some BFPs soon.

vic have you got any dates yet for IVF appointments?

Special wave to Metalhead, I was on the ttc no.2 thread with you!

may glad you had a lovely holiday, but I know what you mean about the reality shock! Glad your DH is going to try and be a bit healthier too.

I still go through ups and downs with the whole thing, it was wonderful not worrying about it all the time, but have been feeling a bit down again the past few days, I think it's because I'm fairly certain AF is on her way, although to be honest it would have been a near miracle conception this month with our dismal attempt at DTD! DH went for his first SA test this week, should get the results in about 2 weeks, then I have my next appointment in 6 months so going to try and be as healthy as possible until then and also lose some weight, so I'll be joining you blue with the weight loss! Are you doing any special diets or just sensible eating and exercise?

Welcome Mister not too sure about the irregular cycles either, it's a buggar when they start messing you about right when you need them to be regular isn't it. Mine have become increasingly irregular since ttc-ing, now I never know when to expect AF. Have you started any conception vitamins or made any radical changes to your diet? Have you been using opks or temping? I do know most women have a few cycles a year that are irregular, or even non-ovulatory. I would definately pay your GP a visit though, just to get the ball rolling, it can take months if you do need any extra tests/appointments down the line.

Hopeful congratulations to you silverine really hope you get a strong BFP soon!

Thanks Ginger and Victoria. I was charting for a couple of cycles, got a significant shift each cycle and AF about 16 days later, so I think that means I probably was ovulating - not sure if that's a foolproof test? Didn't bother for the latest cycle as I wanted a bit of a break from constantly thinking about it, but it turned out to be really long so we probably completely mis-timed our ttc efforts. Think I'll go back to charting this cycle. I have booked a gp appointment for the week after next so hopefully she/he will have some ideas.

Hi Gingerbread! I remember you from the ttc#2 thread - sorry to see you're still waiting for you BFP too.

Mister I had a really long cycle last year (I think it was over 80 days!) and I believe it was down to illness and stress. I didn't have any mid-cycle spotting though, so definitely worth talking to your GP I think.

I've been feeling really low this week as I had got my hopes up a bit last cycle (for no real reason I might add), but thankfully DH and I are going away for the night on Sunday for an early anniversary treat. We'll be staying in a nice hotel and going for a lovely meal, and hopefully dtd just for fun! (Something which we don't do very often these days as I'm usually all shagged out after my fertile window and not in the mood the rest of the month...)

Morning ladies,

Congrats silverine

Welcome mister wow that was a long cycle! Does your midcycle bleeding coincide with ovulation?? Is it red or brown? I cant help with cycle length unfortunately my cycles are fairly regular 28 days but im not ovulating

ginger I am trying to do the same, ttc really can take over every aspect of life

metal sorry your feeling low its really not easy but staying in a hotel will be nice.

Im not really doing much this cycle still got lotsa tests to book in. Exercising as much as I can although at the moment I have a bad leg and cant walk well lol. Eating salads for lunch and down sizing my meals fx it works.

Cant wait for a day off to sleep tomorrow lol

Hi Ladies!
Been pas almost every day this week! Lines getting a bit darker, even on the ice but still nowhere near the control lines. I guess that's to be expected though, it was 4 weeks , af was due wed/thur so early days. Still nervous it might be cm and disappear any time! I guess it will be another week or 2 before I might believe I would be over this hurdle (before I start worrying about the 7-12 week me danger zone!). Did cb digi yesterday, it said pg 1-2 weeks, so DH finally believes me too! I know it will be a long time though before we both start feeling a bit more optimistic, so will you ladies bear with me for a few more weeks of this Thread?

may for supplements my acupuncturist recommended Biocare ASC for men, and biocare one a day and Mor DHA for women to, haven't had a chance to try them though.

metal enjoy your anniversary TREAT! We're planning to go see Mrs brown the movie and go out for a meal tomorrow to get our minds off things a bit.

blueberry good luck with the weight loss! It was my intention to focus on this this month if ban but will still try to eat sensibly etc and I don't pork out. Really knackered all the ti with though so exercising will be difficult.

mister sorry to see you on here. Your cycles seem like a nightmare! glad you booked app with your go, hope they offer some good advice.

ginger fx sa results come back fine. 6 months seems like a long time to wait for your appt though...

Hi girls, hope the weekend is going well for you. Having a bit of a lazy one, hardly left the house/garden!

Ginger, what appointment have you got? And why 6 months?

Blueberry, sounds like your weight loss plan is a good 'un. Hope it works and your leg gets better so you can exercise too. I went to Zumba yesterday, highly recommend it! Its fun, so not like 'real' exercise!

Silverine, stay as long as you like here! 12 weeks and beyond! Really hope this time it works for you and we don't see you back here, in the nicest possible way ;-) x

Just finished af no.2 since finding out 'the news'. I'm feeling a lot more chilled about it now. Knowing its not going to happen naturally. No timed bd-ing, no symptom spotting. I know af is just going to arrive and Ican get on with life. I'm kinda nervous about clinic appointments. Pretending its not happening at the moment as we don't yet have a date. Ivf doesn't sound the nicest thing to have to go through :-( and if it doesn't work I'll have to do all the grieving crap all over again :-(

Vic try and stay positive. there is a good chance ivf could work for you so don't torment yourself with the alternative just yet. focus on getting to that part of the journey first. not having appt dates is the worst. its certainly when I'm at my mist crazy in all of this. I'm worried that when we come out of next appointment we'll be on a waiting list for months and months just waiting for a letter and hoping they haven't forgotten us! you've had bloods and us done though right Vic? so hopefully u only have to get hsg done before you can get onto the waiting list.

hope everyone had s good weekend. I've fallen head first off the diet wagon. need to find inspiration again!

I just hate the fact that we only get 1 funded cycle in our area. I think I would be more hopeful if we had 2. One to fall back on. I just don't want to spend 6k on a cycle. That's a lot of money. And we might not have anything to show for it at the end of it. I just can't justify spending that amount of cash. It would take months and months to save for just to put my body through more crap. I might feel differently at the time but these are my thoughts at this moment in time.

It must be hard Vicky I think the best thing you can do at the moment is concentrate on making sure your the healthiest you can be so help the chance you do have.

If my first Ivf didnt work id pay for it but I can guarantee my dp wouldnt be so keen, money doesnt mean anywhere near as much to me as him, but everyone is different.

ps my leg has actually got worse and not extending into my foot gonna have to go to docs I think. Its electric shock like pains which bloody hurt!!

Lil Im not very good at the dieting part but I eat quite healthy anyway and im working so much at the moment I deserve chocolate lol.
Im concentrating on making my portions smaller and exercising but im so tired all the time anyway this is not easy.

Definitely making my body healthier so I have every chance. Only hope I've started early enough to make a difference! High protein low carb diet is meant to be good for embryo implantation with ivf. Doesn't bother me in the slightest as I dislike spuds and only serve myself tiny portions of potatoes/rice etc anyway. Started having salads for lunch with a meat so I'm having less bread. Goes out the window when we have a pizza though!

Just had an afterwork yoga session! Zumba on Saturday and really must get back into my salsa dancing!

Do I sound mean that I don't want to cough up for more treatments and accept my lot?

Hi vic don't beat yourself up about how you feel at this stage. I understand why you feel like that - a lot of money with no guarantees. Many things can change in the meantime though - you might even have moved house. But also, you have to have every faith the first time will work - don't go into it defeatist!

Having said that - I'm absolutely shitting myself with that pg - I've booked for GP tomorrow to do the test and get the ball rolling with midwife, acupuncture on Wednesday, my regular counselling session on Thursday and I booked to go to the Homerton hospital early pg assessment unit on Friday for a check-up. Overdoing it?! But I have been getting frequent stabby pains and until someone tells me, yes things are as they should be at this stage (even if they can't see anything!) I'll keep making myself sick with worry...

Definitely making my body healthier so I have every chance. Only hope I've started early enough to make a difference! High protein low carb diet is meant to be good for embryo implantation with ivf. Doesn't bother me in the slightest as I dislike spuds and only serve myself tiny portions of potatoes/rice etc anyway. Started having salads for lunch with a meat so I'm having less bread. Goes out the window when we have a pizza though!

Just had an afterwork yoga session! Zumba on Saturday and really must get back into my salsa dancing!

Do I sound mean that I don't want to cough up for more treatments and accept my lot?

Sorry, no idea why it just re-posted my last post!

Silv, easier said than done but really don't stress or panic. That can't be good for you or the bub. But if putting your mind at rest means doing all those things then deffo not overdoing it! Best of luck with everything hun x

Not overdoing it silv you do what you need to do to stay calm focussed and happy. Do let us know how the scan goes.

Vic everyone is different, everyone's situation is different. I'm very lucky that DH earns very good money so if we needed to go private it wouldn't be too much of a financial risk to us to do it, and we are on the same page about it. Sometimes it only takes one shot! I've been reading blogs from people doing IVF and a common theme I'm seeing is positivity, keeping stress to a minimum and acupuncture! It's all still raw so you are going to find it hard to feel positive at the moment, but hopefully by the time you get to that next appointment you will be feeling ready to go forward with everything in you and fight. I hope that we can help you get there

blueberry I'm the same, generally I eat well, and don't eat loads, but have to watch the portion sizes creeping up. Its when I do something out of routine and end up having bad food that I spiral into a mess of eating all the things I shouldn't! It doesn't help that DH bought me sweets either! And I'm useless when it comes to exercise. Have been trying to do more walking as the weather has been nice but its hard to get motivated. I'm going to try and start again tomorrow now there is less temptation in the house. I have bought myself a milky way bar for tomorrow though....I'm not good at cold turkey!

How is everyone?
How was your night out metal? Sorry you are still waiting too. I'd also got my hopes up last month as I well and truly 'gave up' for a few weeks, but still dtd a couple of times in my fertile window. AF arrived on sunday after I rather optimistically POAS. Guess I won't be one of the old wives tales of people who give up and then it happens.
silverine how are you feeling? good luck for your check up on friday.
vic my appointment is the referral to the gynae to have the scans etc done. Bit cross really as when the GP referred me she said it was a 4-5 month waiting list, 2 months later I got a letter telling me it was another 6 month waiting list, so another 5 or so to go. Can't decide whether to ring and try and get an earlier appointment or just use the next 5 months to get as healthy as possible. Will get DHs results in a week or so, so maybe I will see what they say first. Glad you are feeling a bit better vic, I think it's totally normal to be anxious about the whole IVF thing but it sounds like you are doing absolutely everything you can to help things along, zumba and yoga sound like fun! I have also heard good things from acupuncture, have you considered doing it alongside your IVF? I think that will be my next step if I can convince DH to spend money on it.
lil I'm with you on the downward eating spiral and lack of exercise! Once I start..... and then I feel ridiculous and cross because I have just delayed things even more for myself! that said I am now off for a glass of wine and mini pudding from M&S.....oh dear!

aw ginger glad I'm not the only gluton here! I wanted to make one of those microwave mug cakes earlier cos I really wanted cake. dh made me work out the calories first.....894!!!!!!!!! I had a chewee bar and some crackers instead!!

I'm also trying to lose weight whilst we wait to find out our next steps. Just eating smaller portions and not snacking so much.

Usually when I'm down I find it hardest to eat right but have to say at the moment I'm struggling to be bothered to eat at all. Luckily I have plenty to lose!

My darling dog has no such problem and ate a peach stone this evening which resulted in us spending 3 hours and £100 at the vets whilst they induced vomiting so she brought it back up...better than the alternative of it getting stuck further down. Not fun though.

Got my ultrasound and tv scan tomorrow and af arrived after only 26 days this month so that will be double fun. Plus Her early arrival also means my bloods will again have been on completely the wrong day.

After always thinking I was a regular cycle it turns out they go from 24 to 34 days but interestingly I always seem to ovulate on day 17 or 18... Thought the luteal phase shouldn't vary? But I guess that's why I'm having all these tests to try and find out what might be wrong.

I'm finding finding hope is the most painful thing at the moment. Even though I know dh sperm count is so low the chance of natural conception is minimal I still can't help hoping. When af arrived yesterday I found it even harder than usual.

Why do we do it to ourselves?

nature maybug is why we do it. its in built that we should recreate to keep the species going.
leutal phase shouldn't vary by more than a day either way. what are you basing ov on? its possible to have an LH surge and not ov then surge again and ov, could it be that?
as for hope I think I pretty much gave up when we got dhs results. I guess all I'm hoping for now is a short waiting list for ivf!

True Lil. Seems a cruel twist of nature that were designed to do it but sometimes can't.

Basing ov on temp charts and opks but until all the test results are back I guess I won't know for sure.

Do you know what the wait is like in your area?

My night out was really nice, thanks Ginger! Drank too much wine of course but actually managed to not think about ttc for a whole night and just enjoy being with DH. I'll have to try and hold onto the thought that, whatever happens, at least I've got him and our DD, so things aren't all that bad.

I've been on a health kick too since our holiday last month as I felt so fat from having all-you-can-eat buffets twice a day for a week! I've been doing a sort of primal approach, where I've cut out almost all grains, potatoes, rice, pasta etc. and try and avoid processed foods and sugar. I'm not being super strict and usually have the weekends off, but I have to say I'm feeling a lot less bloated and my clothes do seem to be a bit looser. Not sure if it's actually going to make a difference in terms of ttc, but at least I feel like I'm doing something...

Hi gals.
Good to see everyone's doing well on health kicks etc. I have some weight to lose too, but too nervous and tired to exercise. My appetite seems to have gone down down and I must be using energy down there as I seem to have lost a pound or so but I might be imagining it!
Sorry af arrived may & ginger, can't help but be hopeful when ttc.
I'm feeling quite nervous about the scan now. Had almost no symptoms over the last few days, my stabby pains have gone, don't know if that's a good or bad thing.... fx!

not sure may, hoping we will find out when we have our appt on 17th.

metal glad u had a nice night out. it is nice to finally find a way to get ttc out of your brain for a bit isn't it!

silv try not to worry. is scan tomorrow? keeping everything crossed for you.

blue, Vic hope ur both OK. and everyone else.