The February bus rumbles on - only stops are Valentine's Day, Pancake Day and BFP-land. Ding Ding!

[MrsGingerbread]

Hello ladies,

Last bus looks full up. Unless there is a new one that I can't find...

I get plenty of open circles Dizzy - I don't fret too much over the timing of my temping as I don't want to get too stressed over it. I'm sure that if I could be more diligent about it I'd get more accurate charts but I'm not sure how much more helpful they'd be. As it is they show me ovulation pretty consistently, and a temp drop as AF arrives. Why not try it without stressing too much and if you find the chart unhelpful you can start to be more stringent with your timing.

MrsG thanks. I think my tablets are 50mg so maybe I'll consider increasing that if need be, once I speak to my GP.

Dizzy I'm a shift worker too so my temps were all taken at different times within about a 2 hour period. It did mean some variance, and a lot of open circles but you could still see the general pattern and the upward shift after ov was still visible.

Hi. can I join in this month? been reading all your chats but not had chance to join in. I'm due to test/AF on Valentines day (ish). not done any special charting etc just estimating a 28 day cycle and looking at secretions. Oh and we are both taking a multi vit.

I came off my pill around New Year, and waited about 3 weeks for my first bleed, that was a weird couple of weeks. I'd had no periods on my pill and once I came off I had loads of symptoms- it was like my womb was waking up! So this is my first proper month. Like I said before I have no idea if I still have a 28 day cycle as this this first month but when I conceived my first child I was pretty regular.

If we do get lucky then there will be over 7 years between my current only child and the next baby. we've not told anyone we are TTC. Hoping that by chatting with youse lot the next 7 days will go quickly. I currently have no symptoms!

cake and brews all round from a newbie

Well done thenailgirl and allthefours congrats to you

Welcome autumn , I think there's a few hoping to test on valentines day. Good luck.

The joys of being a ttc-er. Only we could get excited about throwing up into mouth a little bit when trying to drink morning cup of tea......or is that just me?? Bring on the up - chuck!

Also loving babs dtd - std auto correct. Beats my erection - election mix up, surely

I can see two lines!!

My back is in ribbons today, I must have slept funny. It won't stop us dtd later though, ohhhh no.

So what's the consensus on quality/quantity of sperm - ie if you dtd every day (or more) between days 10-20 say (if you could be bothered!!) - would that lower the concentration of sperm per shot, thus meaning there's no point? Is that why every other day is better?

Sarky, are those pg tests rather than opk? Deffo lines there!!

Yes my opk's are blue. I just bought the tests now. This cycle has been so strange I don't quite know wether to believe what I am seeing.

Yay Sarky, you're pregnant, Congratulations

Welcome autumn, good luck

Congrats Sarky short journey on the busses. I can't remember if you were charting?

Yes sarky I see them too. Congratulations

Oooo well there are definite lines there!!!! I'd say you're pregnant!

Re the mouse - get snappy traps. It's the only way.

great news Sarky! what you going to do now?

For the BFP's! ???? congratulations all!

About to go and get my broken wisdom tooth out.

Made an appointment at the docs for 8 weeks time and started taking vitamin B complex & Vit C.

Hope everyone has a lovely day xxx

Congratulations sarky

babs you didn't offend me don't be daft

Thanks for the boot sparkly feeling bit more positive today, think my sore bits were getting me down last night!!

To those taking b vits, has it delayed your ovulation at all? I was finding my ovulation was getting later and later each cycle so only take them after ive ovulated now

No I wasn't charting. I used opk's and shagged almost constantly. I thought it would take me much longer, especially as I had a UTI around the time of ovulation from all the shagging probably I was going to temp but I found it difficult in the morning with DS.

I'm still a little confused as to why the tests went from BFP-BFN-BFN. Does HCG fluctuate?

Congratulations allthefours and sarky yaaaaaay!

Congratulations Sarky! How wonderful!

bowie I don't want to kill it. I have a soft spot for mice, I used to have them as pets as a child. I took the panel off the cupboards and there are all sorts of things under there. Only two droppings so I don't think it actually lives there. I thought DP had actually been moving the dirty tea towels from the floor to the washing machine for a change, oh no the mouse had been stealing them its probably making a nest isn't it? Shit.

Wood I would totally have thought you OV CD20 looking at your chart?? Mmm. Strange.you had the huge temp rise then? I hope you are both feeling better now!! Fingers crossed for you!

Allthefours wooooo!!! It's a proper BFP!! Great news! Well done lovely!

Austral good luck with the temping.. I like doing it and helps to pinpoint OV. You using OPKs too?? My sleep is very broken yet my temps tend to correspond most months so I don't worry too much about that, I just take it at same time each day. Someone else here may know advice as to whTs best for you with different wake ups! Good luck !

Missmrs good luck dtd! This could be your lucky month!

Sarky I would def get another test. Hopefully a BFP! But even if a bfn, at least you will no where you stand better to move forward.. I would speak to GP if bfn And AF doesn't show up, a week is quite long. Fingers crossed though for a big sparkly BFP for you!!

Welcome Autumn fingers crossed for you! Here's some lovely cake back hope you get a quick BFP! I'm also due to get my BFP around V day.. So are quite a few others so we are all in it together!

Sarky disregard my above... Wooooo!!! A line a line a line!!!!!

Bowies I follow smep and we dtd every other day up to positive OPK then usually about three of four days straight. There's a constant debate over which is best- I don't know what the answer is really! The GP told us eod but then when I got a BFP we did pretty much every day over fertile time.. Which I often see on people's charts who get BFPs, they have lots of sex basically!! Sorry that doesn't actually answer your question at all!!... I just don't know!

Beansprout I know, pain does get you down it's inevitable you will have days like that so don't beat yourself up over it just try be positive when you can.. We can all my positive for you! Glad today is a bit better

Purdey Purdey where art thou ?

I have lots to tell you about my visit to my fabulous GP. Please feel free to ignore if you can't be arsed to read:

• DHEA cannot be legally prescribed by GPs outside of the US (where it is classed as a foodstuff by the FDA). He will, however, write to my consultant who prescribed me Clomid when I begged for it (when my doctor asked me if I was prepared to pay for a private consult, and I asked why, he replied: 'Because money can buy you anything').

*We talked at length about fertility and timing of intercourse and the longevity of sperm. I told him I don't believe sperm lasts five days as I have read that is atypical and that the typical sperm lasts approx 1.5 days. He agreed and said that data surrounding fertility is always politically motivated ie. our government likes to push the five-day theory as we have high teenage pregnancy rates and they want to discourage scrotes sexually active young people from assuming safe sex days before their fertile window.

*He told me off when I admitted we don't have sex at all in the 2ww. He doesn't believe that charting temps or observing cm or opks are reliable. He said he has a consultant friend who lectures all over the world on fertility who says the amount of women who erroneously believe they have pinpointed ov through charting is depressing. I ignored him entirely on this point, even though I'm in love with him

*When we were discussing the likelihood of my consultant prescribing the DHEA he asked me if I had looked at the NICE guidelines to prepare myself. I said no. He turned his computer towards me and there was the most depressing instruction: Do not use DHEA during IVF. This runs contrary to the fact that a third of IVF clinics worldwide now prescribe DHEA to women with low ovarian reserve in the run-up to their IVF cycle When I said this to my doctor he said 'we also prescribe folic acid to women who - 99% of the time - don't need it.

*When I told the doc about adverse side effects of DHEA being nothing more severe than oily hair and zits he said: 'There is a rule of thumb in the field of medicine that says if a drug has no adverse side effects it doesn't work.'

...After half and hour in his surgery (we are only allocated 7 minutes per patient) I asked him about my bowels. I explained I had a hunch I wasn't merely constipated and that I had an internal 'mechanical' issue possibly wrought by childbirth. I said I think I needed a rectal examination and he nodded his head. I told him that I would not allow him to do it as we have discussed my sex life far too graphically and also because I once had an inappropriate dream about him. He blushed lobster pink and the roared with laughter, muttering how I could, if I preferred, have the rectal performed 'by one of my female colleagues'. I ran out of the surgery, taking with me a memory of his exquisite cashmere sweaters and vague whiff of his sublime Creed aftershave

Sorry what is DHEA?

Sounds like an interesting appointment though. Your doctor sounds down to earth!

He said

"money can buy you anything" ?
It was in the governments interest re 5 days?!
Folic acid is not usually needed?

How is this man still employed by the NHS?! He is brilliant!!

Don't talk to me about NICE guidelines Purdey. They are outdated most of the time and so limiting. The research is there.. You have the literature! Just prescribe it for goodness sake!!! I have been told similar re Folic Acid from both my cardiology consultant and an alternative doctor (I know how much you love them.. )hence why I was reluctant to take it too.. They pushed the folic acid but were not a bit concerned about pushing B Vit or D when these are extremely deficient. Honestly.. The system scares me sometimes! Ridiculous..
I WANT YOUR GP!

So what's the plan of action?! How do you feel?