TTC 8 months in, still early days but starting to feel more and more every time AF arrives

[30somethingyorkie]

Thought I'd start this post as hoping there are some lovely ladies in a similar boat to me.

DH and I are now 8 months in TTC and no luck. We both really want it to happen though he does have a son already so not always as emotional about AFs arrival every month as I am.

I know it's early days still and some have to go a lot longer but I'm now starting to get to the worried/upset stage. Get pangs of sadness when I see a baby bump or something pregnancy related in the shops, on TV or online.

Would love to hear and support others who are in the same boat as me

@SparkyLauz 😢 I’m so sorry. Maybe test in a couple of days again and see? It could have been an indent but you never know until AF shows. Sending you positive thoughts. ♥️

Thankyou @marmar123 im due AF any day, I haven’t bothered to test this morning so think I'm going to just wait a few days see if AF shows up. It's a shame, tiny glimmer of hope this time but I feel like it's getting closer xx

Hi ladies I hope you are doing well! Any updates for any of you? Still no change over here, about to start Cycle 21 of TTC 🙄

But I did have my initial NHS fertility appointment - finally!! Only took flipping 9 months 😂

We discussed my results - everything is normal except I have low Day 21 progesterone and slightly elevated prolactin. I've had a repeat blood test to check if my prolactin is still raised. For the progesterone, the gynae doctor briefly considered putting me on ovulation induction (e.g meds and progesterone support) but then when she saw my husband's semen analysis results (0% normal morphology) she very clearly said that it looks like our main cause of infertility is male factor. So, my husband is being referred to a urologist/andrologist to check if there is any underlying pathology.

For me, I had a Chlamydia swab and I've been referred for a HSG. Not gonna lie, I was hoping that I would get prescribed some medication like Clomid/Letrozole today just so I could have something different to try, if that makes sense? Rather than just continue to TTC naturally, which is getting so tiring now! But the doctor was saying there's no point starting ovulation induction if we don't know my tubes are open, which I guess makes sense. Plus, with the male factor diagnosis she said we are likely going to skip the ovulation induction and go straight to IVF ICSI.

Our follow up appointment will be in 2-3 months, so around December time, and I'm hoping we will get our IVF referral then - if we haven't conceived naturally of course! It works well because December we will have reached Cycle 24 / 2 years of TTC. (I may have fibbed a little and told the doctor we were already on cycle 24 because I didn't want them to send me away 🤭). If all goes well I really hope we can start IVF in 2022 🤞🏽

How are you girls getting on? @SparkyLauz @Izzie94x @MarMar123 @CausingChaos2?

@Lovebug06 I hope you and baby are doing well!❤️

@acaciabluebell hey lovely. It’s good to hear from you. So sorry to hear about your husband but at least it seems they found the problem which is great news! & December is not too far off so only a few more months to go for you 🙂

I had an HSG back in January and it was super painful for me but it only lasted 15 seconds or so. I hope yours goes smoothly and you don’t experience too much pain and you get positive results.

I have no updates on my end. To be honest I feel a little stuck. I didn’t do opks or take my bbt this month so idk when I ovulated or if did. I feel like I need to take charge of the situation but I also don’t want to do this any other way than naturally. It pains me to know that our next step is going back to the clinic full force so I guess I’m trying to take it easy until we go back.

Hope everyone else is doing well! Hopefully we all have some good news this holiday season ❤️

Hello acaciabluebell I’m glad you finally got your appointment - the waitlists are so atrocious at the moment aren’t they? Understand your frustration about wanting to move on to the next step but also makes sense to make sure your tubes are open first. It sounds like IVF would be the next logical step so hopefully they’ll get that moving for you in the next appt.

I had my lap & dye procedure yesterday. Unfortunately it wasn’t good news - they found quite a lot of endometriosis and could only remove some of it. I’m not surprised as I suffer with such awful periods but feel very let down by the nhs/ various doctors who have fobbed me off with stronger and stronger painkillers over the years. They also found both of my tubes are blocked and ivf is my only option - it’s been really hard to hear that it will never happen naturally and the emotional rollercoaster of TTC was pointless. Feeling very tearful and sore at the moment. I found this out by overhearing the consultant telling the recovery nurse so didn’t even get chance to ask any questions. Been told it’s 6-8 weeks for a follow up appointment to discuss which feels cruel. Sorry for the negative update - things feel really bleak at the moment.

Hi girls,

Sorry I have been quiet. I think of you girls often. I know how you are all feeling, and I don't want to make you feel worse by talking to me.
I just hope my news after 21 cycles gives some hope as I said before x

I came on to update that I had my scan and it went well. I was so nervous. I truly couldn't believe it was real after so long and was still doing tests 2 days before the scan. I was amazed.

Sending so much love to you all ❤️

@CausingChaos2 I'm so sorry to read that. It made me feel tearful thinking of how bad you must have felt.
Sending you all the love in the world and I hope you have get your appointment soon x

Thank you Lovebug and you mustn’t feel you can’t come back and chat to us. One silver lining to this horrid cloud is the lovely support we all have for each other. I’m so pleased that your scan went well. It must have been overwhelming to ‘see’ baby after all you went through.

I think that’s another cruel blow from infertility, if (a big if) I ever get pregnant I’ll be so worried, and can’t imagine being able to enjoy the pregnancy and get excited. I hope as the weeks progress you are able to do that and enjoy it as you so deserve to.

By pestering the hospital I managed to get in for my follow up. Consultant was so rude, I think I’ll have to make a complaint. But they are referring us for IVF due to my blocked tubes, so that’s progress I suppose. So will be waiting a few weeks for the funding to be agreed now. Keep popping in on the thread when you can, would love to hear the updates through your pregnancy and beyond x

@CausingChaos2 I'm glad you got through to the hospital. If the consultant was rude definately complain. When dealing with this type of thing they need to be sensitive and understanding I think not make their patient feel worse! X

Sending you loads of love x

@CausingChaos2 I’m so sorry babe. Reading your post made me want to give you the biggest hug. How are you feeling now? I’m glad you got the referral, I know it’s maybe not how you wanted this but it is a step forward. Keep us updated.

@Lovebug06 ♥️ ♥️♥️ Can’t wait to see if we’re right! 💙 🎀 😉

Thanks Lovebug I will be making a complaint. I’m just going to wait a couple of weeks until I feel a bit more resilient. I’m sure I’ll be fobbed off but I audio recorded the appointment so I know my recollection can be backed up and that I’m not being over sensitive.

Thank you so much MarMar123 the hug would be gratefully received! I’m a bit all over the place, one minute trying to get back to normal but it’s always there in the back of my mind, the next minute very tearful and I’m not normally the type to cry. Scared of what’s to come, but you’re right that the referral is a step in the right direction. I will update the thread with any news, how are you feeling now? Any more thoughts on going back to the clinic? Did they offer you clomid after the HSG?

@CausingChaos2 this journey is so hard isn’t it? I think it’s ok for you to feel all the feels - you need to do that to heal and be ready for the next step. Try to do things you enjoy and make you happy right now. I really believe when one door closes the universe opens another or at least a window… you’ve got this babe. And we’re all here for you. ♥️

I actually made the appointment for the clinic today. We go back January 5. So 3 more months of trying naturally.

No they didn’t offer me anything since everything looked good. They said we would have a good chance of conceiving during the 3-4 months following the HSG but clearly that wasn’t the case.

@CausingChaos2 just read your update hope you're ok sending lots of hugs your way xx

@Lovebug06 in glad your scan went well and baby is fine, its lovely to hear from you!!

I have recently been coming to terms with my own news so I'm sorry if I've been quiet on here for a while. After many repeat tests we have been told our chances of conceiving naturally are very very small due to DH, it was a bit of a shock as the first test the gp said it looked 'fine' so I'd always presumed it was me that may be the problem. Everything is normal on my end which I'm extremely grateful for bit because of DH sperm they have referred us for IVF straight away. There is a 9 week waiting list and we should get a call after then to start the process. I'm surprised at how quickly this will go ahead now and it's made me feel slightly nervous! Xx

@CausingChaos2 I'm so so sorry that you had such a rude consultant and for what you went through. Sending so much love and hugs your way ❤️ I'm glad you have been referred for IVF now and have gotten the ball rolling. Do you know when you might start?

@SparkyLauz Oh no, that's terrible that your GP gave you the wrong information!! Just utterly terrible! I know that my husband's semen analysis from the GP always had "NORMAL" written on it when it definitely wasn't!! So bad. Do you mind sharing what kind of MFI it is i.e is it count, motility, morphology? We have 0% morphology and borderline everything else and I've never been able to get any kind of clear answer as to what it means for our chances of conceiving naturally.

@MarMar123 That's great that you have an appointment booked in! January will be here before we know it! x

Just an update from myself: I had my HSG last week and all seemed fine. DH has been referred to the Andrology and it seems like we will be waiting a while, which is just so frustrating. I'm having a bit of a mopey evening today as I was checking an old thread I was very active on, and have now seen that all of the previous posters have gotten pregnant/given birth already, and it feels like I am just the odd one out, which really freaking sucks.

Thanks for such a lovely message Mars and I’m glad you have an appointment booked if nature doesn’t intervene beforehand. It’s reassuring that everything looks good but must be frustrating not to have answers why it isn’t happening for you.

That must have been a shock Sparky . It’s scary when things happen quickly but at least you’re on the pathway that’s going to have the best chance of success now.

Acacia Thank you for the love and hugs - will gladly take them. After being told it would be 8 weeks for the paperwork and then 6 weeks waiting list to see the clinic we were expecting to start end of Jan/ Feb time. Imagine my surprise when they called last week. We have a telephone appt to create a treatment plan next week and will begin IVF on my next cycle or the one after! This is absolutely pathetic and irrational but I felt physically ill and really tearful for a few days. My tubes are blocked so there really is no other way but it’s just so daunting and I’m scared about what’s to come. I know I should be pleased it’s going ahead but can’t get my brain to think like that at the moment.

It’s good news about your HSG although a pain about the wait for andrology. I know it’s the situation all over the NHS at the moment but waiting is so upsetting, isn’t it? The fertility route feels particularly drawn out with tests weeks apart, then waiting to see consultants.

Really empathise with how you feel - we’ve had so many of us with bad luck in this thread when you think it started around 8 months TTC, but at least we are in the same boat. Its really tough to feel left behind. I have to scroll past quickly when I see another pregnancy announcement or birth on social media - hate that it’s making me feel like that as I’m genuinely happy for others, but it’s hard to see.

Sending everyone love and thinking of you all. It looks like lots of us will be having intervention of some sort in the near future. I just hope we can all come back in a year or so and say it worked out.

@CausingChaos2 That's fantastic, so so pleased for you that you will be able to start IVF so soon. How exciting! But I totally get what you mean about feeling sick to your stomach about it. I remember I went into my consultant appt thinking I would be put onto clomid or something similar - I still cant quite believe we were told IVF is our next step. Took me ages to accept it. It's so daunting but it's also the best chance of success for us. I've got my fingers and toes crossed for you lovely. I hope your appointment next week goes well, do update us when it happens!

Thinking of you all - hope you are doing okay xxx

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to say hi and check in. I turned 33 today and it’s been hard. I have so much to be thankful for, but I never expected to be 33 still ttc our first baby. It’s just hard and sad.

I hope you all are doing well. I know the holidays are hard on all of us. I hope we all get our little miracles this season but if not, I hope we can all find peace and strength as we keep going in this journey.

sending you all so much love ❤️

Hey @MarMar123, I hope you had a great 33rd birthday! I know what you mean about birthdays being difficult, my birthday was last month and I always thought I would at least be pregnant by now. Sending you all my love xxx

Hope everyone is doing okay? I started my period today so another failed cycle, I think it's my 23rd or 24th cycle now, so reached 2 years of trying. I tried to chase up my hospital and see if I could get an earlier cancellation appointment but no luck, have to wait until January for a telephone follow up. So I've decided to make the jump and start medicated cycles this month, I'll be taking Letrozole during the wait for IVF.

Thanks ♥️ @acaciabluebell

Im sorry you hit the 2 year mark. Milestones are terrible but January is not far off and it’s great you will start a medicated this month. These are all positive steps forwards.
Best of luck babe. Let us know how it goes. I’ll keep everything crossed for you.

Hi everyone, happy new year! I hope you are all well.
Hoping this new year brings everyone happiness and success. 2022 will be our year, I am sure of it!

Hi everyone- it’s been a while since I last posted and I wanted to post this earlier but I was so anxious something would go wrong and I guess I still feel anxious bc it’s still early. I got my BFP back in January after 21 months actively TTC and 24 months off birth control. I just wanted to post on here to bring a little bit of hope to all of you ladies and any ladies that may stumble on this thread. This place was my safe space and I’m so thankful to have been part of this group. We had completely given up hope of it happening naturally and we were set to start IUIs right before we found out. I just want you all to know It 100% can happen even when it seems impossible. I’m sending you all so much love ♥️

@acaciabluebell @causingchaos2 @izzie94 @JeanieJ

Sorry if ive missed anyone off!

Hi girls I know it's been a while since anyone posted on here. Just want to see how everyone is doing??

I have just been through my first round of IVF which hasnt been as bad as i thought it would be at all! Only managed to get just 1 fertilised egg even though it was done with ICSI.... but im currently 4 days into my 2 week wait! (Technically 7DPO) keeping everything crossed for this 1 shot we have.

A massive congratulations to you @MarMar123 that's amazing news so happy for you! Xx

So lovely to read an update like this @MarMar123 - I wasn't actively in the thread but still lovely - Congratulations ❤️

@SparkyLauz fingers & toes crossed for you! 🤞🏻🤞🏻it only takes one 🤞🏻💕

@MarMar123 congrats on your pregnancy! 💕💕 such amazing news.

I have a little news, I got my first BFP 3 weeks ago, right before my first round of IVF and am currently 7.5 weeks pregnant. I can't quite believe it to be honest.
20 months in - I was deffo not relaxed btw 😂 in fact the total opposite.
I'd had a laprascopy in December that found & removed endo, so maybe that helped! 🤷🏻
I'm really hoping it sticks around & think I'll book a reassurance scan in next week just to be sure!
I really hope this didn't upset anyone Xx