TTC for 10 months or more, and now we're moving onto thread 4! Ten plussers welcome!

[MPP81]

Thread for anyone TTC for over ten months. Please feel free to join us!

Took the liberty of starting a new thread (with what is obviously a brilliant piece of rhyme!) as I assume everyone else is sleeping peacefully right now :)

MPP81 oh that's interesting! I think I saw further back on the thread that you are going through IVF? Do you mind me asking how long you were TTC before going down that route and did the doctors figure out why you were having difficulties?

You are right about the loneliness - my sister and mum know I'm trying but I still don't really talk to them about it - just when I have appointments coming up. Also I get baby bombed ALL THE TIME!! Literally since I've been trying, every month and now some of them have had their babies! I really resent myself for feeling jealous and upset when it happens but out of all of them I've spoken to they weren't trying or it was first month off the pill. Sigh sorry for the moan!

Anyway hope you all have a good day - I'm finding this week dragging on! Looking forward to the weekend and the scan actually. Although I'm not sure if they tell me anything then or if I just have to wait to see the consultant in a few weeks!

Maple I'm starting to lose track of what happened when now! In fact, I just had to go back through my app to double check what cycle we're on! As far as I remember:

I came off the pill in July 2014. After about 8 months, went to the doctor who ran a couple of blood tests. Ive no idea what they were. At that point, I wasnt too worried and didn't think to ask, just sighed with relief when they were 'normal'. Id beeb having a fair amount of pain too so Doc sent me for an ultrasound (internal) which came back fine, so he told me i had mild ibs and to come back at 12 months for further investigations if we weren't pregnant. At 12 months he sent DP for an SA, which took a couple of months for referral, then 2-3 weeks for results. The SA came back with a very low count of under 2 million, so doc didn't recommend anything else, just told us we needed ivf with icsi and referred us to the clinic. Waiting time here is apparently 12-18 months, plus since I already have one DC (14) we weren't going to qualify for ivf on nhs, so we decided to go private. Private SA in December confirmed the first one, and the private clinic also recommended ivf with icsi, so we tried fertilaid for 3 months and repeated the SA to find that it hadnt helped at all. After talking to Lucie and a few others on here, we decided we would follow their example and have ivf in Czech. Because our wedding is so close, we will be aiming to start soon after our honeymoon, so I've already contacted them and have a protocol in place. All that's left to do is message them when we're ready to start so they can send the prescription and we're good to go, so it's likely to be july/August when we start. Currently, I've given up temping and opks etc as they seem a little pointless but if I said I wasn't still hoping for a pre-ivf miracle I would be lying

That's pretty much it. Currently on cycle 21, and I've told my close group of friends, and we've told our parents, but that's it so far. As I said before, this thread is a godsend, and I'm really grateful to have people to talk to. And don't be sorry about the moan! That's what we're all here for - to listen and support :)

Hi Boris! Hope you are doing OK :)

lucie fantastic news about hcg dropping. Hopefully you can avoid the injection.

brenna glad the visit went well and DDog survived

maple welcome. As the others have said, you couldn't hope for a lovelier, more supportive group of women!

mpp so excited for your wedding!

Stealth, me too! This morning I've been told my dress is back from alterations and I can go for my final fitting when I am ready. I'm practically bouncing off the walls today haha! :)

How are you feeling today, btw? Has it sunk in yet?

Hi Maple, welcome to the thread, sorry you find yourself here but lovely to have you with us.

Great that your hcg levels are falling Lucie and you can avoid that injection. I hadn't realised that you can get 5mg folic acid from Amazon, I am nearly out and thought I was going to have to sort out a repeat prescription.

Really glad the visit went well Brenna

We should post our stats at the beginning of the next thread so that we can all keep up with where everyone else is.

My story - short version
34 (very nearly 35!) TTC since December 2013- no idea what cycle. DH has slightly low motility and I have pco (not pcos though) techinically we were 'unexplained'. Had IVF privately last Summer, BFN. FET a few months later also BFN. Couldn't accept that we'd just been unlucky so had some implantation failure tests done and turns out my natural killer cells are elevated. Currently getting ready to start our NHS IVF cycle and will be having immune treatment.

Re time off work for IVF. I work for a very small firm and told my boss about our treatment because it would be easier. He basically just said to do whatever I needed to do so I ended up taking part of my time off as sick leave (egg collection and recovery) and part as annual leave (transfer and the days afterwards) however, I was actually put on complete rest after transfer due to very swollen ovaries and fluid on my stomach and in hindsight should have converted it to sick leave. I actually spoke to my boss earlier this week re time off this time and again he said to do what I needed - I have a very nice boss!

As much as I am trying to stay relaxed about treatment my subconscious is telling me otherwise. Had a really vivid dream the other night that I was pregnant and then all of a sudden I was due to give birth and thought it would be a good idea to drink lots of wine cos that would make labour easier- wtf! Then last night I dreamt I was in a shop with DH and we handed over his sperm and my eggs, they mixed them together and one rose to the top, it was silver and the size of a tennis ball and then off we went with this tennis ball sized silver embryo....

MPP - wow thanks for telling me in such detail! Sounds like you have a good plan in place! I definitely feel less stressed now that I have the ball rolling and seeing the consultant / getting tests done!

I don't do OPKs or temping either. The negative OPKs disheartened me and I did buy a thermometer but it's still in its case! Not sure why I'm dithering over temping... I guess I thought it would stress me out more especially if I didn't see what I wanted to (that I ovulate!)

Why is Czech Republic favoured over the UK? And you must be busy with wedding planning too - so exciting, when is the big day?! I have 3 to go to this year - love a wedding!

Thanks Stealth! Everyone being really welcoming and friendly already

mpp ooh exciting! Hope the dress is a knockout!

I am trying to remain calm, am conscious that this could be a disappearing line so am not counting my chickens (scuse pun) just yet. But yes it's very exciting and scary to think that it might actually be happening. Due date would be New Years Eve so it's kind of fun thinking about that!

Trixie hello! What is the difference between PCO and PCOS? My consultant said she thinks I might have it mildly but I'm not sure..

Did you get the immune tests via NHS? When do you start your IVF cycle - fingers crossed for you! So lovely that your boss is so understanding, that must be a weigh off your shoulders - I like to to think mine would be like yours!

Loving the wine drinking dream - if/when I get pregnant that sounds like a good way to get through labour!

Thanks Trixie, just waiting for the hospital to call me to let me know if I can go in for the betas weekly now rather than every other day. Would be so lovely if they said yes. It's such a trek every other day. If you google folic acid 5mg Amazon it should come up or I can send you the link. They aren't that expensive and less hassle than going to the doctors.

Maple, I have had many ivfs in Czech. The main reason being they are a lot cheaper than the U.K. Probably less than half the price, they are very professional, clinic is spotless and their embryologists are second to none. It's worth thinking about if you do head down that route. I have always taken any time off as annual leave or flexi time as we have quite a generous leave system and I'm quite a private person and would rather not tell others unless I really have to.

Lucie that's interesting to know - I will keep that in mind if I need to go down that route, thank you. I hope you get to go in for the blood tests weekly, you must feel like a human pin cushion rooting for you that your results show that you don't have to have the injection.

I've found them Lucie they're only a few pounds more expensive than on prescription so definitely worth it for the convenience. Dr. Gorgy had said that 800mcg was enough and I am taking a Zita West supplement with 400mcg in so I've been kind of alternating between 5.4mg and 800mcg...I hope you can go weekly from now on, you must be so fed up of having to trek back and forth and all the waiting around.

Maple, pco is where your ovaries are polycystic but you don't have any other symptoms of pcos. I have lots of follicles on each ovary which is good because I only need a low dose of meds for IVF but am at risk of overstimulation which is bad. I have regular cycles 29-34 days and blood tests all normal. Apparently 1 in 5 women have pco but are not aware of it.
I had my immunes test done privately, you can't get them on the NHS unfortunately. I definitely wouldn't worry about immunes at this stage though. Did your second blood test show that you'd ovulated? good that things are moving in the right direction for you. The waiting and baby bombs are very hard to deal with. Practically everyone I know falls pregnant straight away.
Thank you I've got a scan on Monday and then hopefully will start injections towards the end of next week- eek!

Thanks maple, I hope so too. It's been a horrible few weeks!

Trixie ok that makes sense! My consultant must have meant PCOS then as she pointed out my acne on my chin and hair on my upper lip... I thought everyone had hair on their upper lip! Plus the first ultrasound showed all was normal so I'm not sure..

I haven't had the results back yet from the second blood tests but I presume we will go through the results of them, along with the ultrasound I have on Sunday, when I see the consultant again in 2 weeks.

I think she said she was looking at my ovarian reserves and egg quality too? Not sure if that is via the blood test or through the ultrasound though!

lucie that’s bloody awesome about the hCG! Begone MTX, begone! Good to know about the 5mg folic acid, although as I get mine free from the GP (and that’s the only fertility related thing I get on the NHS full stop, won’t prescribe me anything that’s remotely related to private fertility treatment whatsoever) I should probably save the £5 as a small victory! I have to take mine because I have epilepsy, wasn’t allowed to start TTC until I’d had 3 months of the stuff under my belt, due to risk of birth defects (ha! as though I’d have got pregnant!)

Welcome maple - absolutely wonderful group of women here, fantastically supportive. Sounds like all the right investigations are underway, and hoping that you get some answers and next steps asap

MPP sooo excited for you

mysterious ah the case of my vanishing PCOS and eggs! Well, my consultant, who trained with Prof Robert Winston and is both a specialist in PCOS and POF (premature ovarian failure), ahaving done his MD thesis and won awards for his POF research, said of me “I’m stumped - and I’m not usually stumped”. He also said he’s been a fertility Dr since 1992 and I’m one of the most surprising cases he’s ever had (which as I think a diplomatic way of saying ‘I have no idea WTF is going on with you)

Aged 28 I came off the pill to get my fertility checked out,as I suspected there might be issues as I’d never really had periods when not on the pill. One 10-month-long anovulatory cycle later, get diagnosed with PCOS, with 3/3 of the criteria for the syndrome (irregular or absent periods, clinical or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism - normal testosterone but acne for me, and PCO on ultrasound). Had fantastic ovarian reserve, and very polycystic ovaries with a follicle count of 42

Then aged 33, I come off the pill expecting to still have PCOS and not ovulate, but I do. Which is strangely, the sign that something is wrong. Get checked out and discover I now satisfy 0/3 of the criteria for PCOS, my ovarian reserve has declined 93% in 5 years, I have the follicle count of someone in their 40s and I’m in borderline POF. SHIT.

Dr believes IVF should be a last resort, but sort of indicates how completely fucked he thought we were that he recommended IVF within 2 months of starting TTC, as if we waited any longer, I was hurtling towards early menopause

Then it gets weirder, as in my 2nd IVF cycle I get 17 eggs, which is more like the response of someone with PCO.

I got pregnant from that cycle, but sadly miscarried 6 weeks ago @ 10w. Now still in miscarriage limbo and waiting to cycle again

There is some new research into PCOS that suggests there is a particular genotype of women who have skinny PCOS in their 20s (tick) who then transition into a state of severely diminished ovarian reserve in their early 30s (tick), who from having been in a state of hyperandrogenism in their PCOS days (tick) then find they have very very low testosterone (tick) as their ovaries got used to too much testosterone and have literally burned through their egg supplies (they call it ‘burning out PCOS’). These women, when they take testosterone supplementation like DHEA, then find they get much better egg and embryo quality (tick). So I’ve had the genetic test to find out if this is me - it doesn’t matter too much now whether it is or isn’t the cause, as it’s the solution that matters. Sorry for epic ramble, I’m a bit of an odd case!

brenna big hugs and great news about DDog

AFM glad Dr agreed repeating hCG bloods every few days was a waste of time (BUPA will pay for the hysto but as with all my tx, the bloods are out of pocket, and at £95 a pop endless betas were adding up!) Tues is d-day, when we’ll decide if the op goes ahead or not. POAS and the BFP line is getting a bit lighter, but seems to be dropping at such a glacial pace it seems unlikely to be zero by Tues. ‘Hysteroscopy with endometrial curettage’ sounds so elegant compared to ‘D&C with vag cam’

Depressingly, I will have been pregnant without a baby for as long as I was pregnant with a baby (6 weeks post ERPC vs 6 weeks from BFP to MMC @ 10w)

As soon as levels are zero can get stimming. 3 cycles in 3 months (hopefully), I must be mad…

maple don’t let them convince you the ovarian reserve test says anything about egg quality - all it will tell you is your egg quantity - i.e. how are stock levels looking

There is no test for egg quality - i.e. how good quality is the merchandise

Ovarian reserve is usually measured through two blood tests and ultrasound. Day 3 FSH levels, AMH levels (this hormone might not be done on NHS) and follicle count on ultrasound

Low FSH, high AMH, high follicle count = lots of eggs, good ovarian reserve (+ often PCO)
High FSH, low AMH, low follicle count = few eggs, diminished ovarian reserve ie me)

Egg quality is primarily determined by age - so even though my ovarian reserve tests were absolutely catastrophic, Dr said it was quality not quantity that mattered, and that I had age on my side

Good luck with the tests!

Maple your blood tests will come back to prolactin levels too, which can sometimes inhibit ovarian function if too high.

Mine keeps going up and has done for the last 6 months from 600 - 900 at my last. My gp made a big deal of it at the beginning, then my IVF consultant said that he's not worried... But I dunno!

Banana omg I didn't know that could happen!! When do you get the results from the genetic tests back?? And what does stimming mean? Positive vibes for your next cycle - so sorry to hear about your mc

I'll be able to fill everyone in on results in a couple of weeks - I wonder if they will talk me through the ultrasound on Sunday. Does the consultant do it? When I had it done before it wasn't and they didn't explain anything (I kept asking questions - they were very reluctant to answer them!) but not sure if it is different when you are actually referred and at the clinic getting it done?!

Thanks itsme! You ladies are all so knowledgable!!

Ohh just had a voicemail from the hospital saying they have booked me in for a Hycosy next week! They must have had a cancellation.

I'm terrified now!

Trixie what an interesting dream! We've had quite a few strange ones here in the last few weeks, if I remember correctly. No ttc dreams for me, though I did dream a few nights ago that I was trimming my own hair (which I have never done) and I couldn't get it straight, so I kept cutting and cutting and ended up with no hair just before the wedding and the hairdresser said they couldn't do anything with it, so it was tough. Then my wedding car dropped me off in a location about 20 minutes away from our venue and I had to walk through muddy lanes in my wedding dress in the rain. My DP drove past and offered me a lift, but I shouted at him and told him to just go cos he shouldn't see me in my wedding dress beforehand. Then I woke up. It was...unsettling. :)

Maple haha, it was a bit of an essay. I missed out actually that they did say at the private scan we had that one of my ovaries looked mildly polycystic but that it was nothing to worry about. Wedding is in 6 weeks ish, and time is flying by now! And as Lucie said, Czech is very much cheaper than what we were told ivf would be here, and I've only heard good things about the clinic and doctors, so it's kind of a no-brainer for us, though I imagine others might feel differently about travelling for ivf maybe. At my NHS scan, they were very reluctant to tell me anything at the time, and that made me worry a little, but when my doctor gave me the results he just said 'everything's fine' and I'm just not pushy enough to ask more info. Hopefully, if you ask, they will tell you more. At the private scan, they were lovely, and talked me through every step and everything they could see. Good luck for the hycosy! Try not to worry too much (though I know it must be nerve wracking). I'm sure it will be fine.

Lucie did you find out if you can go weekly now? Hopefully they will be OK with that now the hcg is dropping.

Stealth wow, a new years eve due date! What a fab way to see in the new year. I have everything crossed for you :) And I LOVE my dress. I keep telling DP, he'll be coming home from work after the wedding to find me sitting doing my coursework while wearing it!

Banana so Tuesday is d-day! Hopefully your hcg will be 0, but if not, at least you have a plan in place. I can't believe the betas are so expensive!

Itsme the prolactin thing still confuses me despite my copious googling, as my levels were not far off yours, I think, but no one at the clinic seemed overly worried.

That sounds like pre-wedding nerves MPP. It will be fine on the day. I am so glad you love the dress. I love mine too and I fully intend to wear it again over the next few years. Mine is an evening dress rather than a wedding dress, so I can get away with wearing it to posh dos as well.

I am late and my temps are still high. No sign of the pre-AF drop in them. I am going to test tomorrow.

MPP thanks! I don't know which I'm more worried about - the procedure or the 2 suppositories I have to insert before!! DH can't take time off but my sister is coming instead to hand hold.
And as Brenna said, def sounds like pre wedding nerves! 6 weeks - not long now then! Where are you going on your honeymoon? I don't think I fit into my dress anymore

Brenna that sounds very promising! Sending positive vibes your way for tomorrow!

Oh I forgot to say best of luck Maple. It will be worth it.

Sure it will all go absolutely to plan on the day MPP!

Good luck for tomorrow Brenna, late and high temps does sound very promising.

Try not to worry about the hycosy or the suppositories Maple. I had one and it was over pretty quickly, you'll be fine.

Bit late to the introduction party, but my stats:

Came off pill in October 2013, periods returned to normal immediately (although noticeably lighter than before the pill). 1 year in I went to the GP for tests and had bloods and DHs SA. All fine (borderline morph, but fine on the repeat). We didn't want to wait to 2 years so started private IVF in July 2015. We got 5 blastocysts but all frozen as unfortunately I got ohss. After several attempted FETs were abandoned for various reasons we finally had our first transfer in November 2015 which resulted in bfn. Second transfer in March 2016, also bfn. Now we are heading towards our NHS fresh round, although no dates set yet.

Anyway, welcome! Xx