Trying to conceive first child with PCO/PCOS or irregular long cycles

[Catconfusion]

Hi there,

I'm currently on my 3rd cycle ttc my first child and I suffer with irregular cycles due to PCO. I conceived first cycle but it was a missed miscarriage at 10 weeks. My second cycle was a chemical pregnancy. I'm now on my 3rd and it's day 34 with no ovulation yet. I'm using Ovusense to temp which helps to show when I've ovulated. I can't help but worry it was a fluke to fall quickly like I did. Just wondering if there's anyone else in a similar situation struggling with long cycles as I'm finding it really frustrating. Looking forward to chatting to some of you! x

@EssJayyCee I used to get really irritable around ovulation. It can be the changing hormones affecting you! The opks do look like they got progressively darker. I used to get a few days of them looking positive with the last one being darkest. The actual surge only lasts about 12 hours I think.

@Catconfusion I am really hoping for a temp rise tomorrow. 🤞🏻

Do you think BDing Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was enough if I have ovulated today?
DP is hurting too much to do it today.

I can't see us getting pregnant even if I did ovulate but I want the best chances.

@EssJayyCee definitely enough bd. Advice is 2 to 3 times a week. I’d say you timed it perfectly. I read every day is too much as the sperm quality can be poorer.

Try as hard as you can to relax and put it out of your mind. It’s so hard I know. I’ve just felt in the past failed ovulations were sometimes because I’d got stressed. Then I got stressed because my state of mind was making it harder to ovulate which then made it worse.

I hope you’re successful. There is nothing else you can do now. The outcome will be what it will be and it’ll be ok either way. Even if your body needs a bit longer! Xx

@EssJayyCee we only BD once in the cycle I recently conceived. We'd been using condoms waiting to start the ovulation meds but gave it one 'go' when it looked like I was having a potential surge. As I've said before, each of the three times that I've conceived is when I've taken the pressure off myself and stopped the whole focusing on 'trying' thing - at the end of the day it only takes one sperm to fertilise an egg so I'm sure you've had more than enough BDing to do the trick if this is the one....

@EssJayyCee ps next scan is on Monday and I'm terrified!!!!

@Avocuddles I hope all goes well on Monday. How many weeks are you now? Xx

You're right @@CatConfusion it's not worth worrying over now. What will be will be.

@Avocuddles good luck with your scan, I hope everything goes well xx

My temp went high this morning (the sort of temp I had when I was pregnant!) And my chart has put the cross hairs on but I'm not sure it's right. I would have said yesterday was O day not when it says.

What's your opinions?

🧐

@EssJayyCee it looks like a fallback rise to me. In which case FF is right. You’re well covered with bd though for either. It’s all looking very good! 🤞 xx

@CatConfusion Is a fallback rise a normal thing then?

Can I join please

I came off the contraceptive patch in November 2019 to try for a baby. I had a withdrawal bleed within a few days but haven’t had a period since. Meaning I have now gone 3 months without a period.

Been using angus castus for 3 weeks but doesn’t seem to be doing anything.

Went to my GP yesterday (first time since stopping contraception). He prodded my stomach to see if I had any pain (I didn’t) and had advised me to book a blood test and it’s likely I’ll then need a scan. He mentioned PCOS so I assume they will be testing for that.

Has anyone had any similar experiences?

@Pops2019 when I came off the mini pill i had no withdrawal bleed and was 4 months before I had a period. My cycles were then very erratic (anything from 35 to 60+ days but probably averaging around 45) so after nine months my GP referred me for fertility investigations which eventually suggested borderline polycystic ovaries. If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? If you're over 35 (like me ) they may be more likely to fast track you for investigations, otherwise the NHS would most likely suggest you give it a year before they would refer you for any fertility support if they feel you do have a chance of an unassisted pregnancy. I did conceive naturally after a year, I've had two miscarriages and am now pregnant naturally for the third time in spite of super irregular cycles, so it is possible. I understand that plenty of women find it takes a good few months for their bodies to get back to normal after using long term contraception, so fingers crossed that once your period finally comes your subsequent cycles will be much, much shorter.

Can I join please :)

Recently diagnosed with PCOS after nearly a year of TTC #1

My cycles can be anything from 34days - 60days, currently on CD30. According the app clue Saturday was ovulation day so two week wait here 😬

Yes @EssJayyCee I’ve had it a couple of times. It’s where the progesterone takes a little bit longer to rise in relation to oestrogen. If you search the charts in FF you can find other examples of it. x

@Pops2019 welcome to the thread. Totally agree that the mini pill can mess things up for a bit. Also Angus castus is quite a strong herb so can actually make things worse before they get better. It can take a while to get in your system. Did you have irregular cycles before the mini pill? x

@Avocuddles how did the scan go? x

@FootballAndBeer145 sorry to hear about the diagnosis. It certainly makes things more tricky but most women with pcos will go on to conceive. Has your GP offered support? x

@Catconfusion Ah okay. I've had another drop today but I'm not sure if its because I had a bit of broken sleep I woke up at 2.15 and 3.40 before taking my temp at 5... I'm hoping that's all it was and everything hasn't failed again.

@Avocuddles I hope your scan goes well today, keep us updated xx

@FootballAndBeer145 your cycle lengths sound similar to mine. I haven't been diagnosed with pcos though. I've been trying for 20 months now with only one pregnancy that ended in MC. I am also in 2ww.. currently at 4dpo 🤞🏻

@EssJayyCee I found it really hard to sleep when temping. I think for me it was the anticipation of what my temperature would be on waking. The annoying thing is the broken sleep can affect the temperature. That’s one of the reasons I used OvuSense because it gives a more accurate reading, even with broken sleep. I still would struggle a bit sometimes with waking up in anticipation. The drop could just be the broken sleep. x

@Avocuddles thanks for your response. Sorry to hear of your miscarriages. Congratulations on your pregnancy . I’m 27 so looks like I’ll be waiting a while for any investigations. I’m going to ring for a blood test today as the GP suggested that as a starting point. I think I just need to be patient and get it into my head this is probably going to be a longer journey than I expected.

@Catconfusion my cycles were regular before contraception, but that was 10 years ago. I think I’m going to stop with the angus castus in case it is messing things up. Hoping for my body to work it’s own magic...

Xx

@Catconfusion the gp was rubbish! So have booked another app with a different one, hoping she is better

According to clue I'm 2DPO, im trying to not use OPKs as don't want to get too 'swallowed' up by it all

I am driving myself crazy symptom spotting. I don't even mean to do it and I know nothing will be pregnancy related because it's too early.

But every little thing I'm like "oh what's that" its probably not anything and I feel deep down I'm not even going to be pregnant this cycle. It's all in my dreams.

Just out of interest @Catconfusion and @Avocuddles in each of your pregnancies have you always had the same symptoms in the 2ww if any?

@EssJayyCee it’s perfectly natural to wonder. I personally am really sensitive to the progesterone rise. When it rose again with implantation I felt sick and bloated. That was at about 10 dpo. It does seem quite unique though as quite early. I did develop hyperemesis though so might be why I felt sick early. I think it’s common to feel how you would just before a period. I would hold off testing as long as you can.

@FootballAndBeer145 some gps are clueless. Glad you’re seeing someone else. I found opks stressful. Temping was much easier. I used OvuSense. Hopefully Clue will work for you!

@Pops2019 it’s a good sign you were regular before. The pcos symptoms may well be temporary. Good luck!

Xx

@FootballAndBeer145 I'm the opposite to @Catconfusion, I found temping stressful and not necessarily very accurate for me but found using the 'cheap' opks daily was fine, and they were how I conceived my current pregnancy. I imagine temping with ovusense is a lot less stressful than the standard thermometer method though the initial investment is quite high.

@EssJayyCee with my two most recent pregnancies I had a BFP at 9 or 10 days post ovulation and for a day or two beforehand I'd been feeling crampy and emotional - basically just like strong PMT symptoms. By the four week mark I usually have tender, heavy feeling boobs but again i wouldn't necessarily attribute them to being pregnant if I didn't already know by that stage. It's so hard to not constantly symptom spot!

Scan went well today, measuring 9 weeks which puts me exactly in line with my positive opk! I've been discharged from the fertility clinic now so waiting for my 12 week scan appointment to come through. Time is still moving so slowly though definitely not as bad as the first few weeks!

@Catconfusion Oh yes. I'm definitely not testing for a while. So you didn't really get any symptoms until later on then?
I'm really annoyed with myself because I didn't record any of my symptoms with previous pregnancy until I actually found out I was pregnant so I have nothing to compare with.

The only thing I remember before was having shortness of breath because I thought it was just because I was unfit!

I am having the same thing at the moment as well but I know it's an unreliable symptom to judge anything by especially at 4dpo.

@Avocuddles The same with you then. No real symptoms until after positive test.
I wish I could just sit back and forget about it all! But I think because I tracked opk and temp etc and have seen my body has ovulated I can't help but think about it!

I am so glad your scan went well! Hopefully after your 12 week scan time will start to go a little quicker or you will be able to relax a little more.

My SIL had her baby last night. She is beautiful. I can't wait to meet her but I feel slightly emotional when I look at the pictures so I'm really worried what I will be like when she is in my arms.

Next week would be when we would have had our 12 week scan if our little nugget had stuck 🙁 I'm feeling emotional about that too.

@EssJayCee The nausea was definitely a pregnancy symptom due to the second surge in hormones at 10dpo when I had a positive test. It just got gradually worse and by 6 weeks I was vomiting every day. Also more bloated than usual. My husband said he had a feeling I would get a bfp as my tummy felt more bloated. It really can vary from person to person. I would say maybe a bit more emotional but then after two losses it’s difficult to say if just the situation we were in. Xx

It’s so difficult to know how you’ll feel when you meet the baby. Surely she’ll understand if you need a bit more time. It is tough though!

@Avocuddles I’m so pleased for you. That’s excellent news. At 9 weeks you’re through the most common time for loss. Really hoping all is well at your 12 week scan! Xx

@Catconfusion Yes sorry I was thinking earlier than 10dpo like if you had any sort of signs before implantation but I suppose that isn't possible. Whatever I feel now will be progesterone... if I actually ovulated. I hope my temp goes back up tomorrow 🙁

I've just been getting sharp pain in my side but I don't know If it is anything related to anything. I hate the 2ww 😟