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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Post Pill TTC Party

996 replies

TheDaydreamBelievers · 07/09/2020 20:52

Come one, come all Grin! A thread for those TTC after coming off hormonal contraceptive pills.

Discussions typically include:

  • Baffling temp charts
  • Absent or oddly timed EWCM
  • Whacky cycle lengths
  • AF gone AWOL (current high score is 141 days post pill)
OP posts:
Thread gallery
57
Sarahp2308 · 23/09/2020 11:27

@Flowerkm so am I, definitely one of my favourite programmes!

Yeah it is incredibly busy, just glad to still have a job though in the current climate to be honest! I think the marshalling will be ok, I think the aim is just have a high vis presence in the town centres to remind people.

Thank you! Keeping my fingers crossed

Juno231 · 23/09/2020 16:06

@Sarahp2308 oh no that sounds super stressful! Hope it doesn't get in the way of your BD! I'm a big fan of GBBO as well so I thoroughly enjoyed last night:

Well OH was meant to get a letter from the GP about his SA - which he's been waiting for since Mon last week. He chased again today and they basically were like fine, we can print it out and you can come pick it up at reception? So he did. Turns out it was a referral form (they did not explain that lol) which he could've done online a week ago...

Anyway earliest appointment is 27th of Oct!!

MrsBtobe2020 · 23/09/2020 17:23

@MintGreenLife I think this month I might have to chart temps but Ive been really putting it off for some reason. This will sound so stupid (sorry!) but what sort of thermometer do you have to use? I have regularly been checking cervix, I can sort of say when it feels lower or higher and I think I did feel a slight change in softness this month... The things we do!
@Kay00 ooh that sounds promising, I've been taking vitb12, vit d and folic acid already. Making OH take a multivitamin as well! Il have to get some vit b6 to go with them and see if it does anything.

MintGreenLife · 23/09/2020 17:27

@MrsBtobe2020 that sounds like a good idea :) I use the femometer thermometer which is around £10 from Amazon - which ever one you use it needs to be to two decimal points. My cervix seems to have no pattern really, but that's possibly because my cycles are all over the place anyway x

Sarahp2308 · 23/09/2020 20:47

@Juno231 it is quite stressful but I am pretty good at switching work off in my head as soon as i get in my car so hopefully won’t effect the BD, OH is super busy at work aswell though 12 hour shifts most days! OPK’s have starting getting dark today though so fingers crossed something is happening

MintGreenLife · 24/09/2020 11:07

Hey everyone. Just had a call with the GP, who said as I expected that it can take a while to settle down and blah blah. She said they would do blood tests and a scan, although when I asked about blood tests being on a specific day of my cycle she said not at this stage and only if they were investigating infertility. Does that sound right? Also she said that they wouldn't usually run any tests until we had been trying for two years?! Which isn't what I thought...I thought it was after a year of trying? xx

TheDaydreamBelievers · 24/09/2020 11:27

It's a year @MintGreenLife. Im sorry your GP is acting as a barrier and you must feel very frustrated. You can quote both the NHS and NICE guideline CG156 (www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg156/chapter/Recommendations)

"1.2.13.5 A woman of reproductive age who has not conceived after 1 year of
unprotected vaginal sexual intercourse, in the absence of any known cause of
infertility, should be offered further clinical assessment and investigation along
with her partner."

Unfortunately fertility and conception is an area where care is often poor and women often have to self-advocate.

OP posts:
TheDaydreamBelievers · 24/09/2020 11:29

This NHS link says over one year without success - www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/pregnancy/how-can-i-increase-my-chances-of-getting-pregnant/

OP posts:
TheDaydreamBelievers · 24/09/2020 11:33

Its sooner btw if you are over 35. Also, I'm not sure if you have considered some private work, for example a semen analysis?

OP posts:
MrsBtobe2020 · 24/09/2020 11:39

@MintGreenLife sorry you've had such a disappointingly unhelpful conversation with the gp. I think there should be more in depth conversations about the pill when youre on it, sucks that we have to find out so much about the negatives once we've taken it for years on end!

Kay00 · 24/09/2020 11:47

@MintGreenLife oh no that's Rubbish! I hope you re-approach them with the above quote from NICE. It seems like we have a bit of a postcode lottery going on, with some areas happy to see women earlier than others. Or maybe it is she who shouts the loudest?

i'm keen to hear how your Angus Castus works out - it sounds like a pretty powerful supplement :)

@Juno231 27th of Oct seems ages away, but its 4 weeks, and you could have an entire cycle of trying in that time, hopefully a lucky cycle. And if it isn't then you know your OH will be seeing an expert very soon afterwards.

@Sarahp2308 - how are your OPKs coming along?

Sarahp2308 · 24/09/2020 12:03

Hi @Kay00 yesterday evening OPK’s and one I did about an hour ago are definitely getting darker...I need to go buy some more though 🙄

Sorry I to hear your GP wasn’t very helpful @MintGreenLife

Kay00 · 24/09/2020 12:17

@Sarahp2308 oh no, haha! Just get DTD anyway - so you don't miss your chance Grin

Trying4one · 24/09/2020 12:19

Oh I agree with postcode lottery. I have seen this happen many a time. I am thankful that I love in a area where they are not so tight with purse strings. I am under an endocrinologist due to hormone imbalance. I mentioned last week that I am trying to conceive and all of a sudden I am having to go in for blood tests to check everything. I am yet to see whether my hormone imbalance will be an issue or not.
@MintGreenLife it is supposed to be a year. I would ask for a second opinion if I was you.
I am due to ovulate this weekend but my lh levels are still low. I expect they may just rocket up and back down again.

Sarahp2308 · 24/09/2020 13:42

Thanks @Kay00 both of work today so no excuse 😂😂 just got a peak reading on a OPK yay!!

Kay00 · 24/09/2020 13:54

@Sarahp2308 yey!!!

MintGreenLife · 24/09/2020 15:26

@TheDaydreamBelievers thank you, I was sure it was a year, made me feel like she didn't really know what she was talking about, especially as she's not advising having bloods taken on a specific cycle day, but maybe I'm wrong. Will have to see what the outcome of the tests are.

@MrsBtobe2020 totally agree, it's awful that we're not given more information before we start taking it, or at our annual pill checks. I asked multiple times if I needed to come off ahead of TTC or if being on it a long time might cause issues and was always told no.

@Kay00 I suppose what she said about the two year thing probably doesn't matter for now as it's only been 5 months of actively TTC, but does make me worry about struggling to get help later down the line should we need it.

@Trying4one thanks, we are relocating anyway, so if we do have no luck after another 6-7 months hopefully who ever we deal with once we've moved won't suggest two years instead of the usual one!

I've got a blood test next Wednesday, which incidentally is CD21 which I know is when progesterone is usually tested. Do you think I should put a pause on taking agnus catus for now to get the most accurate picture of what's going on from the bloods? Or maybe taking it for a week wouldn't even make that much of a difference by then? Not sure what the best thing to do is :/ to be honest I'm not even sure what they are testing for as is there any point checking things like LH and FSH that late in my cycle?!

TheDaydreamBelievers · 24/09/2020 16:01

Came across this brilliant thread today on instagram about cervix and mucus changes across your cycle. Thought it might be helpful to post this image in particular

Post Pill TTC Party
OP posts:
Flowerkm · 24/09/2020 16:56

@MintGreenLife Sorry to hear the call didn't go as great as you had hoped :( Really hoping the Agnus Castus helps.

@Sarahp2308 Yay for the positive OPK

@TheDaydreamBelievers Ooh very helpful, thank you :) After looking at the graph I think my progesterone is extra high after ovulation as I feel so poorly the lead up to AF, nausea, tiredness, headaches..literally every pregnancy symptom which is why when I felt it this month I wasn't excited as Ive felt that before. Or is this normal? I felt so ill and can't believe thats a common way to feel 2 weeks of a cycle...

Sarahp2308 · 24/09/2020 17:43

Thanks @Kay00 & @Flowerkm I was relieved to see such a strong positive result i know it doesn’t confirm I’m ovulating but its a good sign!

@TheDaydreamBelievers that diagram is really helpful, I just popped on her instagram and read the thread

MintGreenLife · 24/09/2020 18:15

@Flowerkm to be honest it wasn't entirely useless as at least they are doing some tests, I fully expected them to tell me to wait a little longer. Did AF arrive in the end? Sorry if I've missed an update and she's already here! I think PMS can be worse while your cycles are still settling down. I've had a few instances where I've felt completely exhausted and had all sorts of weird pains and feeling nauseous etc x

Flowerkm · 24/09/2020 18:42

@MintGreenLife Yep, she came this morning in full force..eating my body weight in Maryland Cookies but the Jaffanator ones..basically jaffa cake cookies and they're saving me 😂
Ahh, not just me then. Definitley struggling the last part of my cycle with nausea and tiredness, it's horrible :( xx

MintGreenLife · 24/09/2020 18:47

@Flowerkm ah sorry to hear she arrived and that it's not a pleasant experience...but when is it ever 😂 Haha oh they sound so good, glad you're having some treats to help yourself feel a bit better. I think it's just while your hormones are still getting back on track. It's evil though as I definitely convinced myself I was pregnant the first cycle we TTC because those are classic pregnancy symptoms! I'm thinking I might hold off on the Angus castus until after my blood test, although I'll be so miffed if they don't test hormone levels, but then if they don't I don't have a clue what they would be testing for 🤷🏻‍♀️ Xx

Kay00 · 24/09/2020 19:13

@Flowerkm sorry to hear AF arrived Sad I was holding out hope for you! We are still roughly in sync and if ut helps my AF symptoms have subsided a lot today (though I'm still feeling fragile and weepy and like I just want yo eat ALL the chocolate Grin).

@TheDaydreamBelievers I think you're doing the right thing, be supplement clean before your tests... whatever they may be! Hopefully the nurse who takes your bloods will be able to tell you more x

Kay00 · 24/09/2020 19:14

Sorry... I meant @mintgreenlife !!! See... im blaming AF for that one Grin