TTC - anxious over early pregnancy possible symptoms?

[PrtyPsn]

Hi,
First time post so please be kind :)
Been TTC for 4 months now (though month 1 we missed my fertile window)
I'm around 5ish days from AF being due but wondering if I could be pregnant for a few reasons: I e been really struggling to sleep the past few nights and when I manage to I have really vivid dreams (the kind when you aren't sure if they have actually happened when you wake up) I've been peeing almost double what I normally would and every now and then I get a weird feeling in my stomach, in a similar place to where I have period pains but it's not pain, it's more like when you over extend a muscle, just a twinge then it's gone.
Was wondering if anyone had similar symptoms? Sorry to pour all this in here (you've probably heard it a million times before) but nobody knows we are TTC so I'm kinda on my own with this!
Thanks

According to my calculation around two days (since I tend to have a 28 day cycle then a 35 day one - this month should be 28)
According to the app around 4 days (it has merged all my long and short cycles and average then to out predict a 31 day cycle each month for me)
I know there's still time either way but I just feel really down about it cos even had EWCM yesterday but still nothing on the tests :/

Oh Prty tis just why I ain't going down that road. There is after all only so much stick/wee/no combos a girl can take....

I'm totally seeing that godmother and it was why I didn't wanna go there but I'm starting to worry that I'm not ovulating and feeling like I'm sat in my hands about it rather than taking action :/
However, last night's test showed a very faint test line - I know it's still a BFN but was nice to see it do something bloody different!! Maybe my app is right - CD15 today and it reckons I'll O on CD17 (my calculations have it as today!)

Oh how nice it sounds to know that you do ovulate, and the challenge being to catch that egg

I can offer a counterpoint to the stress of peeing on sticks - if you don’t know that you DO ovulate at all, then peeing on sticks with no expectation of ever seeing anything, means if you do ever get a +ve OPK it’s like diamonds falling from the sky!

I doubt that’s any comfort at all, but in PCOS worth a +ve OPK is almost as exciting as the prospect of a BFP…cos you gotta be in it to win it!

If you’re worried about when you O, as someone who’s temping and POAS every day from CD9 onwards (and possibly doing so for 50 days+!), it actually isn’t that much stress, and tbh with your lovely short cycles, I wouldn’t have thought you’d have too many days to be doing OPKs anyway

And in any case, if you know you do O, then there’s always the ‘shag a lot and you’ll get the timing right at some point’ approach

I know ‘try to relax’ is the most infuriating thing for anyone to say to any TTC woman so I wouldn’t dream of throwing those evil words out there! More a case of - if you want to OPK, it’s honestly not that stressful, even if you don’t know if you ovulate…and if you do, then you’ll get that +ve OPK soon! xxx

I can see what you're saying banana but for me and my personality type it's getting too much. I know you must have it much harder with longer cycles but even these short days I need to OPK are tearing at my insides. I have absolutely no idea if I O - 15 years on the pill, 1 years of waiting for periods to return then 4 months of TTC with nothing but BFNs to show for it mean I'm absolutely clueless.
I'm acutely aware that I'm being a whining little bitch but that's just how I roll today. Flushing those godamn sticks when I get home.

That sounds like a great plan Prty -and you don't sound like that at all! It's all stressful whatever our circumstances Anything you can do to make it any less stressful can only be a good thing xxx

Sorry to hear how frustrating you're finding it prty, I haven't used OPKs yet as I think I'm likely to get too obsessed and go totally bonkers. Currently opting for the 'shag lots and hope for the best' plan but so far no joy of course.
A friend was telling me the other day about a method of detecting O whereby you take your temperature at the same time every morning, before you even get out of bed, in theory your temp should spike around the time you O. Has anyone tried this? No peeing and cheaper than buying OPKs! Don't know much about the science but might be worth investigating x

Yeah annie temping - tracking your basal body temperature. I've debated this but it has to be done every day to build up a pattern and accurate picture so there's more opportunity to obsess haha! It's incredibly reliable in terms of finding out if you O or not, think it might be my next step!

Whoops - just bought a basal thermometer... I'm my own worst enemy!!!

Hi ladies,i temp and it's brilliant at understanding your cycles and confirming IF and WHEN you've ovulated, which can help you get a general idea for the next cycle, but it absolutely can't predict ovulation - CM and OPKs are the only ways to really accurately predict ovulation.

I'm one cycle in temping and charting and it was also great in helping me identify if it was worth POAS or not. Because I could see my temps dropping around 13 dpo I didn't have the disappointment of seeing a BFN by testing - I knew AF was looking like she was on her way. I also knew my luteal phase was looking good, so hopefully less likely I have any kind of luteal phase defect (hopefully)

If you are temping I can massively recommend the book Taking charge of your fertility (often referred to on ttc boards as TCOYF - as if we didn't need more acronyms!). It's soooo helpful and I consultit often, find it really reassuring in helping me to understand my cycle and my chart ymmv but I can def give it a big thumbs up

Ooh great! Thanks for the recommendation banana! x

Think I'll try my hand at temping next cycle, anyone else feeling it shouldn't be this complicated? Seriously can't believe all the years I lived in fear that sex without a condom (even when on the pill!!) would result in an instantaneous pregnancy... feeling pretty fucking dumb now

Well good news is no headache today though have a dull feeling at base of head but nothing painful, but on way home started getting indigestion...if we were successful it shouldn't have even implanted yet so goodness knows why I am getting odd symptoms.... am so crap at waiting sooo impatient lol

I agree Prty - first time we DTD I was suddenly a bit in a panic convincing myself I could be pregnant and now I feel like how will it ever happen! and does anybody think about situations in a few months and think " I'll be x months by then " or is it just me being stupidly optimistic ! Going to give the OPK's one more try this cycle - think it's worth charting temp as well - does this become too much ?

Yes stripes yes!! When plan making for Xmas last month other half was talking about visiting family and I remember being like 'no chance I'm dragging my 6 month pregnant ass half way across the country to argue with your mother' at this rate I'll be lucky to be upduffed before next Easter!!
Totally feeling that huge leap from 'what if I'm pg cos had unprotected sex' (no tie haha!) to 'wtf is going on, why aren't I ever pg??' Think I'm struggling with the lack of control the most, I do like to be in charge of things!

Thank god it's not just me ! My FIL is getting married in Nov & when they booked I was moaning to OH about not being able to drink and thinking about what id wear etc etc etc - can't see what happening ATM
Like you though i like to be in control and at the min don't know what the hell is going on in there and doesn't help the OH is so relaxed about it and I'm trying to appear "breezy" about ttc and not be physco sperm gatherer !!

I am totally with you ladies- it's impossible not to think about the timeline of a possible BFP. I get really cross with myself for doing it! Also all the years of fear of getting pregnant from just looking at someone are retrospectively really pissing me off now! It seems like the most difficult thing in the world. We'll get there ladies...won't we?

Stripes & Prty - am just the same.... planning in my head for something that isn't happening & dangerously close to becoming a tad obsessed!
Loving banana's insights into temping and the book recommendations too. Hitting those up at the 6 month TTC mark for me I have decided already to keep casually trying for now... hah!
Fingers crossed for July now am back in the game after my crazy 6 week cycle. You ladies all give me so much hope & comfort it's ridiculous x

BFN this morning. But I was kinda expecting it and I still have a little bit of hope yet as AF isn't officially due (going on last 2 cycle lengths) till Sunday. But we are going away today with family so thought I'd try and see.

And yes with you ladies on being optimistic! Me and Oh talk about us being pregnant at Christmas etc! The first time we had sex after I came off the pill I felt like.."omg, I just made a baby!" Haha I too feel so dumb and naive now!

stripes psycho sperm grabber hahaha!! That's how I'm starting to feel!! I'm a bridesmaid at a wedding next year, my fears have shifted from 'how will I breastfeed in the dress?' to 'what if my waters break halfway down the aisle?' give it a few months and it'll be 'what if people think my dress makes me look fat(ter) cos they don't realise I'm pregnant?' Life just gets in the way sometimes
life sorry to hear of your BFN but like you say, AF not strictly due yet so fingers, toes and eyes (not legs hehe!) crossed, my lovely x

godmother glad to hear you're back on the hubby horse and ready for the next cycle
annie yes! All those annoying years and cycles we let slip by never knowing the struggle we might face! We were ready to start TTC in Jan but got important stuff already booked for Oct which involves travel so I knew I couldn't be heavily pregnant then so we started in March... and I feel like a dumb ass, I mean I didn't necessarily assume we would get pg the first time (alright, a little bit!) but I just know if we had started TTC earlier it would have bloody happened!
Glad I'm not the only one feeling a tad naive

Jeez I'm hogging the thread this morning (cos I'm on the app and you can't see previous messages once you start typing yours!)
Forgot to add godmother totally get it re:comfort and hope. I feel so supported here it's hardly believable. I sent a message to my one friend who knows we are TTC last night cos I was really low (2 pregnancies announced at work yesterday!) she messaged back saying 'sometimes it's like that, it'll happen' and it just pissed me off cos I knew you ladies would have been able to help me so much more than that! Not that it's necessarily her fault, she just doesn't understand.
annie yes, yes, yes and definitely yes - it will happen for all of us. We will get our BFPs. We are determined, strong women and we will all get there. No soldier left behind

It's so nice to be able to chat with others about it I agree, especially when symptoms start and you think you are going crazy..