Thread 19 TTC#1 Just. Keep. Swimming.

[AliceScarlett]

Hugh enjoys ISW and his love affair with Doreen. He watches out for skittle tits and weepyitis. Mrs Arseholey Fucknut (Af) shows up when you least want her but brings wine and soft cheese as a consolation prize.

We don't have rules as such but expect to be talked down from the ledge with kind and well meaning but firm words if you get too hysterical. But most importantly don't convince yourself you're pregnant in the tww That is paramount! It messes with your head and makes you crazy crazier

We don't get a lot of baby dust in these here parts. We want a fanny full of determined Doreen, not unicorn farts and gnome tears with extra sparkle. We've been going a while now so the novelty has somewhat worn off and we're slightly battle scarred and bruised in the cervix area.

Post your stats and add your dates. A more lovely, supportive group of ladies you couldn't wish to meet. We like it when the grads stick around. No question is too daft. We have opk experts, cervical mucus management teams and symptom spotters extraudinaire!

Jem he's tried e-cigs before but always goes back. I've just told him what you said to make him feel guilty haha

I imagine that must be hard for your OH as it's such a big part of most people's lives these days. He'll feel like he's missing out at the weekend but it's a choice - drink v baby. DH says to me 'yeh but it's the only bad thing I do' and I'm like I don't care it's disgusting and have unhealthy and I thought you want a baby really badly? I keep mentioning that 'whatever you do now will affect your sperm in January and I thought we'd love an October anniversary baby?' I'm piling on the pressure at every opportunity now. Interested to see how you and geeup get on with Proxeed.

Thanks skipper yeh he does :) And I know they're awful! He's stopped drinking them now thankfully. Just working in the cigs and tea.

Mouse that sounds tough. Hope you can get answers/pain relief soon

I'm starting Clomid in December, very excited!

So sorry Pug Good luck with the GP though, and push for those bloods as it's perfect timing.

Jesus wept! How much have you guys written IN A DAY!!!

Sounds like many of you lovely ladies are having a crapette time - very sorry I am a great believer in that the sun will come out tomorrow in the meantime:

Oh you poor thing sk1pper sounds excruciating - did they not scan you?

blue IUI may be an option too right?

mouse I think you need to see an osteopath!

Skipper shoulder pain for ectopic?? How strange! Are you feeling any better this evening? My DH is a long-haul pilot, hence the radiation. It makes TTC hard in many ways - being away a lot, the disrupted sleep, the caffeine (he adores coffee) and booze - beers down route etc. I really do wonder if this is what is behind the low morphology.

Hugs pug hope you're alright and GP goes well tomorrow

Didn't realise you were going on clomid alexia that is exciting!

Mouse - well youre loosing weight and will continue to loose weight with your gym sessions, so at least the Docs can't use that as a fob off excuse any more. How about swimming? That excellent exercise for anyone with joint trouble, I think you can burn quite a bit as it uses all the muscles of your body.

Pug - sorry you're out too xx I'll be doing 3 day bloods in a couple of weeks, it will be nice to go through the same process at a similar time. We can compare notes :)

Kwick - they didn't scan me. A few people have mentioned this so I'm a little worried now. They did ask me all about my cycle, when I told them I'd had a positive OPK on Thursday they seemed to relax as I only started getting the pain Saturday morning which I assume is too early for an ectopic pregnancy? They tested me for pregnancy too even though I told them it was far too early to yield a positive result. I think they have a process though.

Jem - well the pain is still there but it isn't half as bad as it was and I haven't had the sudden, sharp, knife stabbing feeling today. Just a dull ache and tenderness. A long haul pilot is such a cool job! But yeah awkward for you TTC, grr! Can you tempt him to take organic decaf to work?

So much to catch up on already!

Jem booze is my DH's vice too. I really don't think anything I suggest will get him to change his habits. He isn't a binge drinker but he has a glass of wine or a beer most evenings. I feel like that is a lot because from the sounds of things lots of people on this thread don't drink much! Do you know how damaging habitual drinking is for sperm quality? Pilot is a cool job! My DH works with radiation as well (he's a scientist) so I would like him to do a SA for peace of mind or to identify any problems but not going to suggest it until the new year.

Bluebird really sorry to hear about your results. It must be hard but try not to read too much into it before your follow up appointment - there might be other options and a repeat sample might look better.

skipper your experience today sounds awful!! Glad they have looked into it properly and have identified the culprit. What's the deal with ovulating twice? I didn't realise that could happen!

Sorry about AF Pug but good news for everyone seeing their GPs soon - should hopefully start to give some answers.

Alexia - I started clomid this cycle (I'm on 3dpo now) so I'd you want to swap stories swing by the Clomid/ovidrel/iui thread if you like. Will you be getting scanned mid cycle or are you just taking the pills?

geeup and alexia would you mind telling me more about Clomid? What does it do? Have you been prescribed it on the nhs?

Thanks for all the support everyone. I spoke with DH about the results tonight and I misinterpreted them. He's a doctor so probably should have asked him to begin with. The actual count is in the low normal range but it's his concentration that is low at 6.7 when it should be 15. I've read online that conceiving naturally with less than 10 can be dicey but maybe there are other options, so I'm trying to not get too worked up until our appointment next month. This was his 2nd SA though so it's been low both times.

Will ask about proxeed when we go for our appt. Dh is sceptical about all supplements so won't try anything. If the specialist suggests it he might do it... Will be interested to hear your results geeup

Sorry for your pain mouse. I understand about feeling aged. I'm 30 and sneezed the other day and pulled a muscle in my groin.

Music I read in a few places they shouldn't drink more than 5 units a week - two pints! Hardly anything I think a glass of wine or beer each evening is probably better than a binge drinking session. My DH does a mixture - odd glass of wine / beer down route, and then a skinfull when he's with friends

Skipper organic decaf coffee is a great shout. Will invest tomorrow...

music - ahh sorry that's probably the wrong way of explaining it. Meant to say I had two eggs released in the same surge (over 2 different days) but ovulation only happens once.

geeup how are you finding the side effects? Do you take it at night? Most of my friends do so they sleep through the headaches/nausea/hot flushes. I'm taking it without scans. I have a private prescription for 2 cycles of 50mg, picking it up next week. I'm choosing to wait until December to take it though. Are you on 50mg? I'll take a peel on the thread, thanks.

you'll all think I'm mad but My MIL is getting me about 5 rounds of Femara from America which I'm really happy about! I know lots of people who take it and it's much nicer than Clomid and you can take it for as many cycles as you like. It'd be a nightmare trying to get it here in large quantities and I want to be sure that I definitely do ovulate from Dec-June next year. Can't be dealing with another 45 day anovulatory cycle!

Music Clomid is a fertility drug that helps people ovulate or gives a 'stronger' ovulation. There's an 8% chance of multiples with it as you can release more eggs and there's a tiny chance of ovarian hyper-stimulation. (Femara doesn't have these issues). It can have some really uncomfortable side effects but should be worth it. Have a google. I've also seen it successfully given to men to improve sperm count and result in a baby even though double varicose surgery was needed (Carlie & Jackson Wood, YouTube)

Jem that's such a cool job but I imagine it's a nightmare for TTC purposes. It's good you can predict your FW at least. 2 pints isn't much is it?

Sk1pper yep love swimming. I try to go as much as I can. Might start and go more though but I find any front facing stroke hard on my back. Backstroke is lovely. I used to swim competitively in my teens.

CD34 tomorrow. AF style pains were pretty much non existent today. Now my mind is racing, can I make it to Saturday? Could this actually be a possibility? My heart is screaming yes but my head is pounding no.

Mouse I would be testing. Cd 34 is quite a long cycle. Don't want to wind you up or get hopes up, but I don't think you have to wait until Saturday personally! Fx

No probably not Gem but it just works out that Saturday is the best day for me to test. I wouldn't want to do it when I'm going to work. DH works early shifts so I'd hate to do it on my own. Saturday means we can do it together and either celebrate or be sad together. Plus it gives me a realistic time to wait for AF. I'm really conscious that it's very unlikely since it's my first cycle off the pill and that can mess up cycles.

Fair enough I'm forgetting it's your first cycle. You never know you could get lucky!

Hi everyone, really can't keep up with this thread! Hope you're all well.

I've been doing my opks and got a positive today, but did some googling and found that LH surge (ie positive opk) doesn't prove ovulation so going to try temping as well now!

What brand of thermometer do you all have? Seems to be big price range on Amazon!

Alexia/music - I took 50mg clomid at night just before I went to bed and I had no side effects at all. But I'm not sure dose was strong enough for me as scan mid cycle only showed one lead follicle as normal and it wasn't very big. I did get it on the NHS while we wait for our IVF cycle. Alexia - I'm surprised they've given it to you without a scan. I would strongly suggest you pay for a private scan - I wasn't worried about multiples but more that clomid can thin your lining and make it less likely to conceive so wanted to measure endo lining.

Ps I paid for my scan privately - ultrasound direct. £99.

Harriet - I use a Babymad thermometer. Works well and 2 decimal places.

Btw we need a new thread soon! Is it worth me starting a new one for ladies who've been trying for 12 cycles or more? It feels like there's quite a few of us now and I feel a bit bad about putting the fear of God into new starters who have only just come off birth control. You don't need to worry about opks and temping when you first start out - should be just enjoying all the shagging! Or do people want to just stay all together on a new thread. Happy with either!

Harriet I got this one but my temps are all over the place really I don't feel like I'm getting any benefit lol

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LUSWC5W

Geeup I like us all together but it wouldn't hurt for those of you who have been trying longer to have your own place too. I can understand us first cyclers could come across annoying!!

Haha geeup I got straight on the OPKs and temping after my first cycle. I know it might seem a bit OTT but I'd rather have a good idea of what is going on and be saving the data in case I need it for a referral later!

Personally I'd rather stick together. I think one of the benefits of having a mixed thread is that there is likely to be someone who has been there before with what you are going through and can offer advice or support. But I can appreciate that it is a greater benefit to someone who is earlier along in their journey!