Yo yo!! Calling all Ladybros over 30 TTC #1. Join the Berries aboard the Charabanc of lurrrve. Bring real Champagne, from the actual Champagne region. No Colombian builders allowed.

[happylass]

The small print:

The Berries have strict entrance criteria: TTC #1 for 12 months+, over 30, NO instadiffers, must have a special pimping pot and absolutely no mention of baby dust/dancing. Not that we're fussy

Current passengers

WildflowerMarmalade 40 - TTC for three years. FET done in June with immune treatments - waiting for result... Six embryos in the freezer after two freeze all cycles.

Minx 35 in August - TTC 2 years. Stage 4 endometriosis, both tubes blocked, 1 buried ovary, IVF booking in appt in July, hoping to start IVF soon after

Smidge 39, TTC since Jan '13. Unexplained. IVF#1 Short protocol July '14 BFN, IVF#2 Nov'14 and IVF#3 Feb '15 both Long protocol BFNs. High NK cell immune treatment. Natural FET in June '15, awaiting result.

Happylass, 37, TTC since Aug 2012. 2 failed ICSI cycles and 1 failed FET. Hoping to start long awaited NHS cycles in late August provided pesky smear test is sorted by then.

Beaky 35, ttc coming up 3 yrs, 2x failed iui 1x long protocol ivf cancelled 1 BFN following IVF

Tigerdog, 34 (soon to be 35) TTC since Jan 2013. Unexplained. IVF#1 May 2015 resulted in a chemical pregnancy. Now transferring clinics in the hope of a second round of IVF on the NHS and considering an NK cells biopsy in July/August.

barkingtreefrog 36, ttc 3.5 years. clomid bfp summer 2013 then mc @7 weeks, iui bfp summer 2014 then mc @6 weeks. Factor V leiden thrombophilia diagnosed at the repeat mc clinic. IUI bfn Jan 2015, IVF bfn April/May 2015. Currently awaiting nk cells results before a FET possibly in August/September.

Lumen, 35, ttc since Nov 2011, unexplained, two IVF cycles in 2014, both bfns, waiting for lap&dye and results of numerous bloods, aiming for one last IVF cycle.

Kuma - 40. TTC 2.5 years. Low AMH high FSH - DH antisperm ABs. Failed IVF June 14 and March 15. Looking to change clinic and try another natural cycle in June 2015.

Lucieloos, 35, TTC 18 months, low AMH & sperm motility. 1st ICSI in Czech Republic in April BFN.

Rain, 33 ttc since March 2012. unexplained. mystery bfp oct 13, MMC Nov 13. NHS IVF starting in June

My cycle was cancelled due to poor lining. I already had egg collection, so they just froze everything. They told me I needed to wait at least 3 months for my body to get back to normal. I guess even if you've not had the ovaries punctured, then you've still used a lot of drugs up to that point, so they may say your body needs time to recover from those. Certainly worth looking into though. Would be good to get cracking with things ASAP

Lucie my clinic were happy for me to go into another fresh cycle straight after having a failed fresh cycle. (Well it was a down reg cycle so that meant 2 periods inbetween if you see what I mean). But I thought my body should have a rest so delayed a bit longer. I agree that without EC your body won't have anything like as much to recover from, but it wouldn't hurt in my mind to give yourself at least one full month free from drugs.

I think you'll find clinics vary in how long they suggest between cycles so responses will vary - as you can see from funky's and mine already. I think a lot of it is mental readiness to be honest (particularly given the lack of surgery in your case).

Lucie CRGW recommend you have one natural AF after a failed cycle before starting again. I left it longer though because of the Xmas holidays. But as Smidge said it's different for everyone and obviously different if you've not had EC.

Argghh lol mentally I would be better if I could start in a couple of weeks when AF arrives. It's worse for me having to do all the waiting. I'm so impatient and would rather be doing something but I obviously don't want to jeopardise results either! I will speak to crgw and also my czech doctor and see what they say. Worst case scenario I have to wait until the end of July. One of the advantages of short cycles I guess!

kuma that sucks . so sorry. Hope a bit of space enables you and dh to come up with a plan.

We're en route to Devon now for a week's relaxation by the sea. Will still be checking in for our lovely PUPO ladies (hang in there!) but won't be around much otherwise. see you all Don

kuma I'm so sorry, that really sucks . Would freezing the spaff be an option? I know this is done anyway if the bloke is prone to performance anxiety, means there's no pressure on the day.
Totally understand if you need a break from the thread.

Lucie clomid has a negative effect on the womb lining? I hadn't heard this before. I had a mc after my clomid bfp and I've always thought with my short lp I had lining issues anyway.

I don't think it sounds stupid at all to say you know more than your doctor, you know more about your own body and you're the one invested in finding out exactly what would work for you rather than the doctor who is focused on best practice for treating the majority. You've got to follow your gut with these things.

smidge and wild fingers crossed and pom poms going for both of you. There's no way I could wait longer than the equivalent of 14dpo, that's when otd is at our clinic anyway.

Tiger, no, still no nk cells results even though I was told 3-4 weeks and it's now 4... And the invoice we got for the pathology was dated 11th June. So why can you send an invoice but not the results?!
I really need a hair cut. Must book one in... Last hair cut was October.

funky yep, I definitely recognised wobenyzm from the rmc thread.
Are you taking any drugs for the FET?

I was slammed with a pg announcement today dropped into conversation. A couple who weren't even together when we started ttc, they got married three months ago and now they're upduffed. Where's the fucking fairness in that? These people need to join the bloody queue . And it was all about how she inconveniently got pg just before they were all supposed to be going to a festival together but as she couldn't drink she didn't go, and wasn't it a shame she got pg so damn quickly. Grrrrrr.

Just seen your news kuma. What a let down, I'm really sorry. There are just times when it seems everything's conspiring against you.

mminx the phoen is no more. I dropped it in the loo actually (pre-... you know. But still) I just hope those poor people on the PPI companies are finding something else to occupy their time other than calling me incessantly.

tiger you sound so much more cheerful, props you to lady for mental strength. As Bosely from CHarlies angels says, the heart is a muscle and onyl by exercising you do we go strong. Wise words.

rain funky hallo berries nice to see you back!

beaky how are you feeling pet?

barking other people are just the pits. hope you spat in her sparking water.

I'm off travelling again but will do my best to check in this week to see how are pupo lot are getting on.

my god, I think I actually have dementia. How could I possibly write are for our? a sad decline in mental function there.

Nolly actually has dementia, was the first thought that came to my mind. Have a good trip. Where you off?

Hope the new barnet looks good Tiger.

Think I'm going to crack on with the wobenzym. Done a little more reading and it appears to be good for lining and immune stuff too? Surely a natural enzyme can't do much harm??? I'll check with the nurses at the scratch on Wednesday. I'm limbering up ready for this. It'll be a lonely time without DH for the first month, so I'll be a regular caller in to Berry HQ if you'll have me after my long time away again!
Barking, how's your dad? Bit of a piss take that your nk results aren't back yet. Perhaps you'd be good to take this wobenzym too?? ...They've not started me on any extra drugs yet. I start downregging 8th July and have appointment on 16th with consultant. I'm a little annoyed that they haven't prescribed what I was told I needed. If they mess up this go and my lining is still too thin, then I'm going to transfer to Liverpool Women's instead. My little snowflake babies live in their lab already so it can only be a good move I reckon.
How are you Berries enjoying the weekend? Smidge and Wild, will you be testing early?

funky I'm very much currently in the mindset of fuck this shit I can't be arsed anymore. Having been wheat free for 3 weeks (I think?) I had a bacon butty for breakfast yesterday without thinking about it, then we went to the pub for lunch and I had a sandwich, again, not intentionally, then in the evening we went to a comedy night that included a beer and a banger (ie hot dog) with your ticket, so I gave up and had my third dose of bread in one day....
I feel like giving up now. The acupuncture lady suggested I should calm down on the exercise and my response was NO. I can't afford weekly acupuncture anymore so I'm having it at key points in my cycle instead. I'm taking b6 and vit C but keep forgetting. Part of me thinks all or nothing, so I might as well jack it all in. I've tried it all before and it's not worked, so why am I still putting myself through all this stuff that doesn't make me happy and hasn't shown a proven benefit?!

My mood at the moment is not improved by yet another announcement - this time a birth announcement. . .

rant rant rant rant rant....

Oh, and my dad has been moved onto a rehabilitation ward. It's a very long story but the situation is not great.

You know my views, barking. Woo is unlikely to affect outcome, but if it makes you feel better, do it. If not, have your bacon butty guilt-free.

I like 'snowflake babies' funky. When's mr F back again - will be be there for transfer/testing (Excuse my ignorance, I'm sure you've said).

Off to Milan - with work tho. then Mr Nol is coming home, a whole 10 days early. Am so pleased. But terrified about the wait, especially with this terrible news from Tunisia.

Barking I understood that B vitamins had to be taken as a complex rather than just B6 on its own.

kuma if you're reading, I just wanted to say I'm thinking of you.

Lucie interesting approach from serum, I didn't respond well on long protocol/agonist as I think I was oversupressed as well as the DOR. Fwiw I'd give yourself a cycle between this one and starting again, nobody's cycle after a full or cancelled IVF ever seems to be normal. Also, how long did you wait for your consultation with Gennet please?

Wild how are you getting on? Feeling ok? How was your dh's cake?

Smidge how are you doing? Any let up with the cramping? It is a side effect of the progesterone too isn't it.

Joining in with Minx's twerking for both Wild and smidge also Minx I know a fab hairdresser in Newcastle if that's any good for you.

Funky I've not heard of that before but which ever you decide, all fx for you.

Rain enjoy Devon! I hope you get lovely weather!

Barking wtaf at the preggo announcement and whining about it being quick too! Fuckers. Also for the baby announcement too. I hope your dad gets some good care on the rehab ward. Re the doing wheat free/acu etc, if you are finding it really hard then that can be just as negative for you as I think having your head right helps too. Such a difficult thing to know what to do eh.

Tiger hope you enjoyed the hairdressers and your busy weekend! It mustn't be long til your hol now?

Nol hope MrN is safe wherever he is, we just cancelled our hol as it was to Tunisia next week. So awful for those poor people there. When are you looking at starting IVF then?

I've had a weekend free of thinking about it and it's done me the world of good. Holiday coming up, follow up after that and then decision time.

Hope everyone else is ok and has had a nice weekend!

Nolly thanks, I think at the moment it's doing more harm than good as beaky has pointed out and I need to take a step back from it all. Glad you get dh back early
The news from Tunisia is awful, have you changed your holiday to somewhere else beaky?

pip the catching rainbows lady told me to take b6 and c to extend my luteal phase. When I was taking it last time it did bring ov forward, but I was also wheat free, on the acupuncture and taking Chinese herbs so who knows what worked?! Didn't get me pg though, which is why I'm wondering why I'm bothering trying, when I can't afford to do everything I was doing before anyway.

I am certain this hasn't worked for me. I haven't pimped yet but I am so sure it hasn't worked, despite a friend's dog being overly friendly to me yesterday and wanting to sit on my lap (everyone commented on how much in favour I seemed to be with him that day). I've had a few pink tinges to the crinone gel lately but not massively bad either, but the overriding feeling is it's a no. Boobs feel flatter than usual! Had the pre AF back ache yesterday. I've gone back and checked my notes from previous attempts and noticed a massive difference between the 2 DR attempts (where spotting started within about 3-4 days of ET, and just got worse) vs the Short Protocol (my first attempt) and this FET, where the crinone seemed to hold off spotting until the day before OTD.

So if (and it's a big if) we do this again, and she insists on DRegging then I shall insist on freezing any embies and having them transferred a couple of months later. I feel as if my best chances have been the first and last attempts though I realise with all BFNs it makes little sense to say one method was better than another

Wild how are you doing? You must be the equivalent of 16dpo now aren't you? Surely you'll have wanted to test by now..... I would have done myself except DH wasn't keen, and now I'm so sure it's a negative I actually feel I'll even be able to handle the phone call from the clinic on Wednesday on my own.

Barking all the best for your pa. And yes yes yes to not worrying too much about what you do as prep. Anything that helps your mind be calm is probably worth more than physical health (as it's not as if your diet is fast food three times a day. I'm sure a relatively balanced diet is all we need).

Hope everyone else is doing ok.

Barking yes, going to Greece now. I think when you are struggling with doing stuff that you don't like and find difficult and costly, it only makes you feel feel worse. So go for what you are happy with. she says shovelling spinach into her gob!

Minx thanks for that, I've zoomed over to have a little look.

Smidge it sounds different so far though.... All my fingers crossed for you!

Afternoon Berries. Bonus day off for me today. Had night away with DH last night and currently soaking up the sun in the garden. Good times!
Hope our PUPO ladies are hanging in there. My OTDs were always 14dp5dt, even on the natural FET which is ludicrous. I always tested a few days early though. Sorry you're not feeling positive Smidge, I know exactly where you're coming from but it's not over yet!
Barking I agree with the others in that I don't think diet/exercise makes a blind bit of difference. Just go with whatever you feel comfortable doing.
Where in Greece are you headed Beaky? We love it there and go every year.
Kuma and Lucie hope you're ok if you're reading, thinking of you both.

A huge wave to everyone else.

Hello ladybros! Sorry for the crappy radio silence...

smidge Pom poms still waving for you. Stay strong

wild How are you?

Barking My clinic told me that clomid is thought to thin the lining a bit, but as it wasn't suitable for us, I didn't look into it more than that (I asked if I could just take clomid instead of doing stims). Keeping everything crossed for your test results...

kuma Sorry to hear your news. Life sucks

Beaky Glad you've got a holiday plan. Such awful scenes

Hello everyone else!

Oh FFS. Not even half way through the book I'm reading and already 2 women have got accidentally diffed

Barking I'm really sorry to hear about your dad. A rehabilitation ward sounds kind of promising, but evidently it isn't good in your dad's situation. Go easy on yourself. Now may not be the time for following strict fertility plans. We only have so much energy and focus and it sounds like your plate is pretty full right now. You've said before how much you love your acu sessions and I'm sure once a month is ample. I only ever went once a month - as you say it's too expensive otherwise.

Just to throw my two-pennorth in to the healthy eating debate; I think it's true that it makes little difference. An ultra healthy diet or one specifically tailored to your situation might make a bit of difference. A really crappy diet of fizzy sweet and cola would probably make a difference. Both over the long term. On the other hand, I'm really, really pleased that I did a detox after my two rounds of stimms and EC. I think it helped me feel so much better after all the drugs and bloating and gave me back a bit of bounce. It's also improved our daily diet generally and formed some good habits, and really that can only be a good thing.

Beaky I can't believe you were booked for Tunisia! I don't blame you for switching. And if you take cash to Greece I reckon you will get some good deals on eating out etc, people will be desperate for cash with the withdrawal limits in place.

Lucie I hope you are doing ok after having to cancel your cycle. It's a blow, but you seem very much on the case and very proactive about finding an alternative plan. I agree with the others that there is nothing wrong with taking charge of your own treatment. You have an instinct about your body and what's going on and as long as you are well informed you can add a lot to your own treatment. Fertility treatment should ideally be a collaboration between the patient and the doctor. I've always felt that my consultant took my input seriously - I think he agrees with me anyway so there wasn't any need for persuasion. In addition he has always tailored the treatment and added things which I would never have known about. For example, I didn't know about human growth hormone or dexamethasone to improve egg quality in DOR / older ladies. Those were added to my protocol. It's good to to try out the treatments you believe in, but you are also paying for the professional experience and instinct of the consultant. If your cycle doesn't work out this time then it's worth finding someone you have real faith in.

Happy which book are you reading? We need warning of these things so that we can avoid if necessary. I turned on the end of the Radio 4 afternoon play and just at that moment a character announced she was pregnant! Maybe we should start a warning list of instadiff films and books.

Minx 'illustrious and glossy' is the perfect description of Pipbin. That is why she is best in show. And if the mother of dragons isn't illustrious then goodness only knows who is.

Spare glad you are back from holiday (mean).

Smidge it's good that this 2ww has gone differently at least. Am I right in thinking that this is your first FET ? Maybe that's what is making the difference. You're sounding brave and frankly a lot more together than I am. Hang on in there.

Thank you for the pom-poms and twerking Berries. I've been out this lunchtime to buy a posh pregnancy test ready to POAS in the morning. I've always had Tuesday in the back of my mind as being a good day to do it. I'll be 12 days post transfer so can be confident of a clear result. I agree with what Tiger says about it being meaningful to pick up an early positive even if it doesn't work out. But I'm not tough enough to test early and then question a negative result and drive myself crazy with false hope that it might change. I couldn't believe how much the First Response test was! £11! I've got some cheapies but felt that as it was a special occasion I would invest in something a bit more serious. Blimey - these branded HPTs are a rip off I reckon. Plus, to add insult to injury, I stocked up on my cheapo Rimmel concealer while I was there and that has gone up in price too.

Now then. ^ You can do your head in the sand self protective denial thing for your own sanity, perfectly understandable, but I still have hope for you. It ain't over yet. ^

wild I'll be excitedly tuning in for news tomorrow morning. I leave for work before 7am, if you can post a result around 6.30 then I'd be much obliged .

happy I was listening to the new education tzar bloke on the radio and it cut to an advert for a pg test. Cue screaming woman whooping over her bfp. Bitch .

spare I called the hospital to ask where my results were and she said a letter was on its way... But she read it to me and basically it's clear for raised nk cells. Which is a relief as it means I don't have to take steroids or repeat the barbaric biopsy. I emailed dh to let him know, and asked him to book the clinic appointment to discuss the FET as I always book when he can't do it and then have to call back, so it seemed better if he just called. He's not got back to me....
So timings will depend on how long it takes to get a consultant appointment and when there's an available slot after that. If we want the scratch we'll have to pay and book in for that separately.

Ok, so dh did call. His next available appointment? September. . This means FET could be October, more likely November if we have the scratch in the previous cycle. I am very upset.