TTC baby #1 Threat #2

[GaaaaarlicBread]

Hi ladies ,

@Cheyanne101
@hopefulhel
@Liam2018
@Maddy0405
@notalwaysalondoner
@Hannahb26
@CurbsideProphet
@ToCaden
@JEMMA18
@LeaBri
@bubblyboo900

Our other thread is getting quite long and I know they stop at 1,000 comments so thought I’d make a new one for us .
I am so sorry if I’ve missed anyone , just going by usernames I remember off the top of my head !
I’m currently 5 weeks pregnant (miscalculated and thought I was only 4+3). Going for an 8 week scan (I’ll be almost 9 weeks) on 25th Jan.
but I am really enjoying joining you on your journeys on TTC and you’ve all been amazing so I didn’t want to just say goodbye to the thread .
Please come on in if you’re new here , and join everyone on their journeys . I feel like we’ve been chatting forever but it’s only been a couple of months. What a roller coaster it’s been!

Anyway, as we were!

🤞 @notalwaysalondoner...sounds like you've thrown 'everything' at it! 😂

I don't get much CM throughout my cycle but it does change consistency a bit now. It seemed to take quite a while for my cycles to settle after having my coil removed. Only the last 2 out of 6 cycles have seemed more regular.

Pre-seed sounds sensible, I definitely go along with the 'it can't hurt' school of thought!

My GP appt went well - she was really lovely and very reassuring. Was very happy to do a blood test in light of my diet restrictions so I had that done today too and should have results early next week. I'm looking forward to getting them so that if there is anything easily reversible in terms of deficiencies I can get that sorted. I don't think there will be any problems, but am glad I will know for definite.

We're religiously DTD every other day and I'm steering clear of the OPKs again this month - I coped much better with AF arriving last cycle and felt on less of an emotional rollercoaster. Feeling optimistic for cycle 7! 🤞

@MGee123 I'm glad your GP listened and you've got that blood test booked. At least you can tick something off your list.

I still feel sick. It's cycle day 24 for me now, so I'm just waiting... DH and I keep looking anxiously at each other 😬

Oh @CurbsideProphet that is so nerve wracking!!

@MGee123 that sounds reassuring, glad she was supportive - I always worry they’d just fob you off if it hadn’t been 12 months. Good that she was happy to run the tests.

I do get CM throughout the month but it seems very similar - it is maybe more watery around ovulation but nothing very obvious. If it is ever stretchy it seems pretty random and only stretches 0.5-1cm. I’ve read that low CM is basically never the problem for fertility though so probably not worth worrying about.

I just got “It starts with the egg” delivered which is an interesting read. It’s more designed for women having ivf but one thing they said which reassured me was a study of 3000 women for a vitamin deficiency and how women who weren’t deficient conceived in 5 months average vs 7 for others. I’d struggled to find reliable info on the average time to conceive and it’s nice to know it’s 5 months - it sometimes feels like everyone else does it in 1-2 months!

@CurbsideProphet thinking of you - it sounds nerve wracking and I can really empathise. All fingers and toes crossed for you.

Yes @notalwaysalondoner I would agree and try not to worry too much about CM. I'm sure your body knows what it's doing and variation between people is perfectly normal I think.

Your book sounds really interesting. My GP said exactly the same yesterday - many people take 6-12 months to conceive and some of those saying it happened first time might not be being truthful! Equally just because it takes a while first time round doesn't mean it will second time, and vice verse. I might order that book just out of interest, I like reading and learning about these things! Amazed how little I knew about my own body prior to TTC..!

Thank you both. I'm still the same. Feel so sick and have had a little cry from feeling so overwhelmed with it. Plus I can't decide what I can manage to eat for my tea
I'm too frightened to poas so I'm just waiting until Monday or Tuesday I think, which would be days 29 or 30.

Hope you are doing okay today @CurbsideProphet ? Did you manage to decide on what you wanted for tea?!

I had a phone call from the receptionist at the doctors this afternoon saying the GP would call me Monday afternoon to discuss my blood test, but that I shouldn't worry. Inevitably, I am now worried! I thought I would take a pregnancy test, just for something to do to be honest and to stop myself hoping they might tell me I'm pregnant, and this came up...I took it about 4.30pm and hadn't really held fluids for long beforehand.

It's so faint but I am pretty sure there is a line there (it is a bit clearer in person and looks like it had some colour to it). I am so confused as I had a period 7 days ago. Even if I pretended that was implantation bleeding (which I'm pretty sure it wasn't) I would be a week post implantation now so surely the line should be stronger (although my bleed started on CD23 so I would be CD30 if I didn't count the bleeding as a period). My way of confirming to myself I'm not pregnant and to stop getting my hopes up has done the opposite... 🙈🤦‍♀️

@MGee123 DH bought some waffles on his way home which I had with cod gujons. Beige tea all round 😀 I've had a bit of discoloured cm today. I'm not overly hopeful now really. I think I might be headed the same way as new year.
I've booked to see the nice GP next Friday. I've had severely low Vit D in the past and I have close relatives with thyroid issues, so I'm going to ask if she thinks a blood test would be a good idea.

Oh it's so difficult to know. There's maybe a whisper of a line? There's so much negativity in life that we should celebrate happy things, but equally it's grim to get your hopes up and have them dashed. It's good that you have a telephone call booked with your GP on Monday, as at least blood test results will settle it either way for you. 🤞🏻🤞🏻For you 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Sometimes a beige tea is just what you need! Keeping 🤞 for you over the weekend. GP appt and blood test sounds a good idea if needed, just to put your mind at rest. I have read that everyone should take vitamin D, certainly between September and March. I think it is something I will keep taking regardless!

A whisper is an excellent description! It really is a whisper. I don't know whether to mention anything to my OH or wait until Monday. I don't want to stress him out over what will probably be nothing. Yes I'm looking forward to speaking to the GP on Monday - I might give them some feedback that calling on a Friday to say they need to discuss the results with me on Monday is a bit mean!

After your period finishes, when do you start to dtd every other day?!

Because we're not using OPKs and I don't get really clear signs of ovulation we've just been DTD every other day throughout my cycle, except for when I'm on my period. It can feel a bit laborious at times but we're managing it okay so far!

I did another test this morning which was definitely negative so the one yesterday must have been a dodgy test or an evap line. Hey ho! Onwards with cycle 7!

@MGee123 sorry to hear about the negative test I was getting really excited for you while catching up with the posts! That is a pretty crap system your doctors have! What was the point in the receptionist phoning you! Might as well have just waited to hear from the doc on Monday... I hope that your results are all ok though.

I’ve just had my scan and the sonographer said that my ovaries are a normal size but they have lots of follicles (multifollicular) so I asked her if that meant PCOS and she said probably not (!) but she couldn’t/wouldn’t tell me what multifolicular ovaries means in terms of cycles/TTC. Will wait for my GP to get the report and call them later in the week.

How are you doing @CurbsideProphet?

I'm sorry @MGee123 👎🏻 Hopefully your GP will have some useful news for you on Monday. I agree it's really less than ideal for them to leave you hanging over the weekend.

@Maddy0405 🤞🏻 your GP gets the report this week. Perhaps try not to consult Dr Google... Easier said than done obvs... I've got painful cramps and (sorry TMI) stringy brown discharge. I expect I'll be in full blown AF by tomorrow. I really hope extreme nausea, painful boobs, and fatigue aren't new additions to PMS. I don't know how I'll cope with that every month 😭

Thanks both, I'm okay about it really - I couldn't believe it would be a positive! Looking forward to Monday and in some ways optimistic that if there is something not right I can get it sorted and we hopefully will then conceive!

Hope your GP report comes through quickly @Maddy0405 🤞

Sorry to hear you're symptoms @CurbsideProphet. Hopefully AF stays away. I find it weird how our PMS symptoms can vary month to month. I always get sore boobs but sometimes get backache, sometimes don't. Sometimes am really fatigued and sometimes not, sometimes really moody sometimes not. I could go on! All the more case for trying to avoid symptom spotting in theory - not that I follow my own advice!!

So I’ve had a look on Dr Google (how could I not) and basically lots of follicles means PCOS. I was expecting it to be that because of my symptoms so it’s not a huge shock although I do feel crap about it.

Had a reflexology session today as well which was good although the woman kept going on about testing for ovulation which I don’t want to do because I’ll be testing loads due to my irregular and long cycles! Just going to DTD as close to every other day as poss and go from there.

I’m going to ask my GP to refer me to gynae but I don’t suppose they will as we haven’t been trying for that long.

I don't blame you for getting on google @Maddy0405 - if the GP receptionist had given me a sniff of what my chat on Monday is about I'd be doing the same!! I suppose at least you might be prepared in case that is what the GP says. I think it's okay to feel a bit crap, it's just another thing to make life a bit harder - I feel for you. There are some positive threads on here about conceiving with PCOS, so if that is what it is, hopefully you will get some good support.

I'm quite sold on the not doing OPKs thing. I'm still finding TTC is taking up a lot of headspace but I don't feel as stressed. Everything I've read says regularly DTD (every few days) is the best thing to do in any case so I think you're giving yourself the best chance following that advice.

How long have you been trying? (Sorry if you've mentioned this before). I was a little surprised my GP gave me a blood test as we've only been trying 6 months. Perhaps given your situation, if it is PCOS, they might be sympathetic. Or at least signpost you to where you can get advice on how to optimise your chances of conceiving?

We’ve been trying for 5 months so really not that long. I don’t think they will refer me until we’ve been trying a year and if that’s how it is then that’s fine.

If anything, this might be good for us in a weird way as I’m not going to get my hopes up each time as I’m now convinced that ttc is going to take a lot lot longer than I first thought!! So it might make me relax in a weird way.

I will carry on DTD and see what happens. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for all of us x

Hi ladies, hope ye are all keeping well. I decided to go see my doctor and enquire about fertility testing. We've only been trying for four months realistically since my ectopic last June as had to go on the pill for three months after Methotrexate injection. I just wanted to allay my fears. My own doctor wasn't in that day but ended up with another lady doctor (who was pregnant which didn't make it easy). Was basically dismissed and told we hadn't been trying for long, I just said I wanted to get checked after ectopic and as I am 36 just wanted to make sure everything was in working order. I told the doctor we had been trying for about nine months before ectopic. Asked for fertility tests and explained about ectopic. Was told "but you've got pregnant before and haven't been trying that long". Now unsure of what to do. Do I try go private or go back to my own doctor? Any advice greatly appreciated

@hopefulhel I would go back to be honest. Even if your own GP won’t refer you, I don’t think you should feel as though you were not listened to or respected. I’m sure all of us understand the pressures the NHS is under and that there has to be policies and procedures in place otherwise everyone would be being referred for everything but it’s the way that you are spoken to which is

I hit post too early! It the words that are used and the way you are spoken to which makes the difference.

It is a bit tricky though - would you count the 4 month alone or would you count the 9 months trying plus this 4 months since the ectopic. If I were you I’d be counting the whole time (13 months). Yes you became pregnant but you didn’t have a baby. So I don’t think that doctor should have said ‘but you did get pregnant’. That’s like saying it didn’t win the lottery last week but I bought a ticket so I suppose that’s something’.

I’d definitely go back to the other GP and explain how you’re feeling after your last consultation as you shouldn’t have been dismissed like that.

Good to hear from you all!

@hopefulhel I would go back and emphasise you’ve basically been trying 13 months, plus I’m sure the advice is if you’re over 35 and have been trying more than 6 months to see your GP and you’re nearly there. Is it a practice where you can see another doctor who might be more sympathetic?

@Maddy0405 sorry to hear it’s likely PCOS, at least you know what you’re dealing with and can hopefully get some good advice about treatment, supplements etc.

@MGee123 annoying about the test getting your hopes up.

@CurbsideProphet keep us informed either way. I’ve had some months with super sore boobs where I actually wonder if I had a chemical pregnancy as it’s not typical for me with PMS, but maybe some months our hormones are different or something...?

I know what you guys mean about taking so long has in a way made me a bit more relaxed as I’ve now accepted there isn’t much you can do beyond not drinking too much, taking a multivitamin and DTD every other day and that it is out of my control. I think it’s forcing me to be more pragmatic about the whole thing (some days at least) rather than trying to make everything fit into my ideal life plan...

Hi Everyone 👋🏻

@hopefulhel I'm really sorry you had that experience with a GP. It sounds like she missed the seminar on empathy. I would definitely prebook at appointment with your usual GP.

AF has arrived properly last night. The only time I've ever had such extreme nausea was the 5 days before my cp at new year. I'm seeing my nice GP this week to ask what she thinks.

We went out for lunch today with DH's friends. One of the couples had a baby recently and immediately held her out to me with a cheery "here you go, have a cuddle". God it gave me a pain in my chest. That must sound so pathetic

Nice analogy @Maddy0405 - I think I agree with you. I'm sorry you had such a negative experience @hopefulhel. When you're feeling fragile the last thing you need is someone being unsympathetic. I would go back to the GP and see if you can get a referral. You've been trying 13 months with no successful pregnancy and given your age I think a few tests are not an unreasonable request! I hope you get a more positive experience 🤞

@notalwaysalondoner yes that's the approach I'm going for currently! I figure enough people get 3/4 months in without realising they are pregnant, and are fine, so me just carrying on as normal surely can't hurt!

@CurbsideProphet I'm sorry to hear about AF 😢 it's weird you had so much nausea. These fluctuating PMS symptoms really don't help us out do they. Baby cuddles must have been really hard. My best friend is pregnant at the moment and whilst I'm really happy for her every update makes my heart ache a little.

It WILL be our turn soon ladies. We've just got to keep the faith and try and stay sane until it is! 🤞😊

I had my results back from my GP today. B12, vit D and folate all fine, which were the ones I was worried about. However my ferritin level is in my boots 🙈 It was 9, normal should be >100 although over 50 is okay. So high dose iron supplements for me! I'm not anaemic though and everything else looks fine. It's good to know the majority of things are okay and hoping the iron tablets might perk me up a bit!

Hi girls 👋🏼

Sorry I've been a bit quiet on here since I joined! I was on holiday for a week and been trying to get back into routines since back but jet lag has been a nightmare!

I'm on cd14, day of predicted ovulation according to the Flo app, however I've not had any symptoms (usually get EWCM and pains on one side) and usually it's a day or two after Flo prediction. Have been DTD though so fingers crossed 🤞🏼

How's everyone doing?