All aboard the Feb bus, as we finally take off

[Blue500]

New bus ladies, bring on those Bfp's!

Purdey thank you - not a quandary really, more reassurance I am 'normal' - not something I have really striven to be before!

I hope it might help your 'flat' feeling to know that you give such helpful advice, and from what I have seen just from this thread provide such comfort to what are essentially a group of total strangers.

Hello all, been away for a few days (bday pressure from OH) and there's a whole new thread! 11 or 9 dpo here, depending on whether I OVed when I think or when FF says... Obsessing slightly over temps. Feeling stressed because I've worked out if a bfn then we will be sleeping on a friends sofa in Canada for next fertile period and then OH says he wants to stop for a couple of months as he doesn't want a December or January baby!!!

purdey, I am well aquainted with the Big Black Cloud although have been off meds for nearly 3 years now. I always find the best thing when I feel an episode coming on is to get outdoors into the hills or somewhere else 'bigger' than me and stomp about for a few hours/days. Not sure if that's an option for you?

Heir, I am sad to say you seem perfectly normal to me. How tragic Thank you for those lovely words. When I see how many times I post in a day I think 'Blimey, they must be sick to death of my non-stop stream of warnings and advice'. I've even spoken to DH about the fact that I feel uncomfortable wondering if some folks think it is even dangerous for me to be acting 'doctor'. But...I don't think I am placing myself above proper medical professionals; I just want you all to be as fully informed about your fertility as you possibly can be. I keep saying 'Knowledge Is Power' and it's so true: spotting; erratic cycle lengths; cp's; too-short luteal phases - to the newly-ttc lady these things are unknowns and I am here to reassure you and to gently kick your arses in the direction of your doctor

Ibeka, thank you for your suggestion - and I am sorry to hear you are friends with the Black Dog. I think the winter and its concomitant shite weather conditions have really affected my days. Having to spend twelve hours a day trying to pacify a ten-month-old baby within the same four walls (we have no car) and with no money to spend has driven me slowly nuts. I spend too much time on here but without you all I would more than likely have my head on the Preston to Leeds traintrack

purdey I have read many of your posts and you are truly helpful and very knowledgeable. I am sure your advice is extremely appreciated. My GP wasn't particularly helpful and even said there was no point in temping and doing opk's even though blood tests showed low progesterone and I was not ovulating but she said this would be different every month but still wasn't interested in temping! Armed with knowledge at that time I would have challenged my GP and pushed for investigations earlier on as I was ttc but my periods were horrendous.

I hasn't heard of cp before mums net. I learn so much on here!

Plus I just swapped spaghetti for courgette tonight for my Spag Bol dinner. It was delicious! So thank you to the top deckers for introducing me to this yummy alternative!!

Purdey - please don't ever think that.
I love reading all your advice on here, we need you! Xx

Purdey please don't stop posting, I find them highly amusing and very insightful x

purdey you are a legend. Your advice is straightforward and so empowering. The nhs is so disempowering if you have a crap GP. Knowledge is power! You are also funny and kind. Keep it coming.

Evening all,
Sorry you are feeling down sarky. Maybe write down everything you want to discuss with Gp to take with you, I found this helped me.
My prostregene came back at 19 (test was done to n cd22 of 25 cycle)so I'm having another test done tomorrow which is cd 19. He has also referred me for an ultra sound. I asked about their Ivf policy - he said need to try for 12 months but coz of my age he refer me sooner.
Purdie please could you let me know if you agree with ff saying I ov'd on cd 13. Thanks much appreciated.

Purdey sorry to hear that bastard black dog is troubling you.

You are incredibly knowledgeable and you provide good, clear advice, so thank you! Don't post less - I don't know how we'd all cope!

Agree with others that a big stomp around in the countryside often helped me when I was horribly depressed. Something else which I learnt when I did CBT was the concept of pleasure and mastery - you should try to do one small thing each day which gives you pleasure, and one which gives you a sense of mastery. For me, my pleasure thing varied quite a lot, but I learnt how to crochet and then later I joined a choir, which fulfilled the mastery criteria. It sounds a bit forced when you first hear about it I think, but it did help me.

After all this wittering on, I just want to say that this is what worked for me, and so feel free to ignore it if you think it all sounds like bollocks - I won't be at all offended.

Another member of the bus who spends plenty of time with the black dog...it's shit isn't it? I know the 'flat' feeling all too well...it's like the mental health equivalent of that feeling you get just before you come down with a cold!

Nice to know we're not alone though! Please keep posting purdey, we love you!

I will remain on meds for the rest of my life - and any doctor who suggested I come off them would not have both testicles remaining at the end of our conversation.

^^Yes, this. Fortunately my current GP is really good, but it's been a bloody nightmare finding one who understands a) mental health and the dubious joys thereof, and b) that women who are pregnant/trying to get pregnant don't just knock back SSRIs for fun and probably shouldn't 'just stop taking them' (as I was once advised )

ibeka I'm in pretty much the same situation as you. FF thinks I'm 7dpo, I think I'm 9dpo and my temps are all over the place (not helped by random 5am wakings a few days this week). We also don't want a Dec/Jan baby as we are both winter babies and we already have too much going on in winter but so loathe to stop trying in case those are the months something would have happened.

This month would be great timing but I'm not holding out much hope.

Evening girls :-) sorting, I did a group CBT course coming up 2 years ago, complete with filling out calanders with things that make me happy. I thought it was going to be a load of old mumbo jumbo but I've Bern practicing mindfulness and positive thinking ever since and am a changed person! This was when we were just starting out ttc and during last years test after test and crap news after crap news I'm sure it all made me better equipped to deal with blows. If I wasn't in a better place with myself I would have been down some serious deep gutter by now!

I am really overwhelmed with your generous spirits, ladies. Thank you for reassuring me. I love you all, too!

PurpleKoala, I like the sound of your GP. If your cycles are 25 days long then a prog score at day 22 would indeed be poor, as the progesterone is plummeting ready for AF three days later. If you do ovulate on cd13, which your chart would seem to suggest, then a prog test on CD20 would be perfect - although CD19 will suffice. The temp drop below the coverline always worries me so early after ovulation, so I'm glad further tests are being done. Progesterone deficiency is so easy to identify - and remedy! - so don't fret about IVF just yet.

Sorting, you make perfect sense..and I'll tell you why: When I went into rehab for nine months I decided - on a whim - to learn how to make patchwork quilts. This is what I made. It took me six months of almost constant sewing (by hand) and I became obsessed. Literally obsessed! To see this crazy thing of beauty (albeit a clashing and rather kitsch beauty) developing in my hands over the days and weeks and months was astonishing - and very, very gratifying. Having a baby means you just don't get to do that creative mastery stuff anymore. You are so right about the importance of it though. Thanks for sharing your experiences

Purple! Apologies, but I meant CD19 would be perfect.

Agh I just got a smiley face opk!! Got an empty face at 11am. Dp on a night shift!!!! We dtd last night......we could maybe manage it when he gets in at about 3am, I'm guessing this would be better than waiting until tomorrow night?

Shit.....I just posted that in the sep AN thread, I had been snooping earlier to see how frolic was getting on

Congratulations Rhiannon, wishing you a happy healthy nine months!!

Sparkly , i can't say for certain but i am sure i have heard other ladies that have MC that it kind of reset things. Your cake Looked amazing !!!,

Sarky sorry to read you have had a chemical, its awful, Maybe go to the doctors and see if they can do some tests as, you may just need so help in carrying a baby, as it looks like you can get pregnant, might just need progesterone, least give it a try before giving up, i know its tough!!

Dojo sorry to read that you have started spotting, take care of yourself !!

Mummy, yay for courgetti

Purdey, your advice is always good to hear and much appreciated!

purdey here's what I do to feel happy:

running outside (pref in countryside - open views are liberating)
eat cake
colour in (look online for adult colouring books and treat yourself to 'proper' colouring pencils
sew stuff for friends' babies (baby stuff is so small and cute)
go on pinterest and look at pretty stuff

(smile) hope that helps

oops I meant

Spinning, 3am would be just perfect, wouldn't it? Especially if we are to believe the studies that have shown sperm needs a good ten hours in situ to be able to fertilise the egg. 3am and tomorrow night would be amazing for your chances though, right?

Miss, that list of yours made me smile and feel warm inside - just from reading it! I think walking is such an amazing tonic and yet I have really limited my time outdoors recently - the baby cries when it's too cold on her cheeks I love cake. And Twirls. And chunky KitKats. I keep reading about grown-ups colouring books and I love the idea! Colouring-in is so soothing, I find - like stroking a pet somehow. Perhaps it is the repetition of the pencil strokes?