Post Pill TTC – Party Harder

[TheHotelCalifornia]

Roll up, roll up, it’s time for a new thread for the ladies who are experiencing the highs and lows (mainly the lows…) of coming off the pill and TTC! Here you’ll find stories of delayed ovulation, crazy long follicular phases, crazy short follicular phases, light AFs, short luteal phases, long luteal phases, confusing temp charts and blindingly white OPKs, to name a few. This our 4th thread (I think!) and we've had a few ladies get their BFP recently which is so exciting! Join us, won’t you?

Welcome back:

@mintgreenlife
@juno231
@kay00
@sperr
@mrsmacmc
@chinchilly
@curcurbita
@tillybabs
@ams19
@moocher90
@trying4one
@flowerbudd
@pumpkineverything
@tatty1987
@mancmama39
@elsie2021
@danielle2012
@spencer22
@charwils
@ftm94
@lobster8
@musicaljojo

Apologies if I’ve forgotten anyone, please tag them!

@ChinChilly most of my pain comes before AF and disappears when she arrives. But I am an outlier there! Then I get cramps around ovulation, more like a stitch feeling around that time

@moocher90 hopefully that is a good sign your body is busy doing something. Not long to wait now until you test, well done for staying so disciplined

@kay00 really sorry! TWW definitely isn't ideal. When would Xmas day be? Putting a positive spin on it, what a magically time to find our you're pregnant 😍

@Kay00 sorry to hear about AF. I also think we will probably only get one more shot before xmas, which seems ridiculous given I'm on CD27 right now, but when ovulation takes 30 plus days you don't get many chances 😂 Super annoying!

@Kay00 sorry to hear that!

I did a test this morning and it’s BFN. I estimate that I’m only approx 10dpo anyways so I have time.

I was roasting last night. Like had to come out the duvet I was so hot. I’m the coldest person ever, even in summer I’ll sleep under the duvet! My cervix has now gone so high I pretty much can’t feel it at almost can’t feel it.
My coffee made me feel sick to my stomach straight away as well 🤢

@Sperr eeek got everything crossed for you!! ❤❤❤❤

@Sperr all good signs... test again in a few days time?

@MintGreenLife I know... its so true and feels completely unfair! haha, I get one cycle in the time it takes some ladies to have two . Which is my excuse for getting doubly upset when AF arrives - hehehe .

@Kay00 I think it's totally OK to get upset, hope you can be kind to yourself and have some nice things to eat etc today.

DH and I are getting our serious TTC heads on from today! We both got up and did a workout first thing and are planning on doing that every day and eating super healthy. I'm still on my gluten and dairy free diet, but I'm going to cut out the gluten free bread and pasta etc and just rely on natural sources for carbohydrates, plus going to cut out sugar and alcohol apart from for special occasions like my birthday at the end of the month, and up my veg intake. We are both already healthy weights and have fairly healthy diets, so not sure what good it will do, but you never know. I did stop working out for a couple of months after the wedding, so being more active may make a difference. Fingers crossed all the effort pays off!

@MintGreenLife I love it! Well done! We have also made a pact. My DH has done a lot less exercise since working from home so we have agreed to go running three times a week together... no excuses! He has also cut out alcohol for November and will consider cutting back on caffeine (this might be a step too far for him ), whereas I have been caffeine free for years. We both eat heaps of fruit and veg and I eat hardly any bread/pasta etc. My Achilles heel might be dairy, but i'm going to try and eat more full fat yogurt/milk.

Positives from my last cycle: I had another really decent LP of 13 days, so the B-Complex appears to be working so i'm going to keep up with that (for the LP at least). And I think i'm going to start taking Co-enzyme 10 200mg daily - as i'm in my late 30 now and I want to improve my egg quality. I'm going to suggest my OH takes them too... just in case his swimmers need a boost.

We had a little discussion yesterday and agreed that if nothing happens in this cycle that I might have a chat with my GP in Jan about my long cycles and low temperatures and ask them if I can get a thyroid test too... as it was something that could explain some of the strange illness I had just over a year ago. I will also be approaching 6 months of trying, and as i'm 35+ I will ask what other tests I can have done.

@MintGreenLife @Kay00 you both sound like you have fab plans!! Both my husband and I were exercising a few times a week. I also added loads of beans to my lunches as heard these helped?! And pineapple! So for lunch last week had mixed beans, roasted butternut squash with grilled chicken. Had fruit smoothie with almond milk or Greek yoghurt with homemade granola. And lots of pineapple given the potential benefits for implantation. I was muching on the core like a weirdo 😂😂

@Kay00 it's nice to go into the next cycle with a plan of action isn't it :) yours sounds good. I've been caffeine free since January, my DH has a fair few coffees a day too, but like yours I think it might be a bit much to ask him to give them up as he's planning on cutting down on alcohol too. He has two coffees day I think, so maybe that's not too bad. Full fat dairy sounds like a good plan.

That's a big positive, as in theory you'd be able to conceive with an LP that long! I really hope mine is better next cycle. I inputting my very first chart into FF yesterday as I initially put it into Premom and then I wrote out all the main points of each cycle since I came off the pill and it doesn't make for good reading, if of interest to anyone, this is the situation...

Stopped pill on 7th of April
Cycle 1: 30 days, ovulation around CD26 (going on EWCM), 3 day LP
Cycle 2: 37 days, ovulation day 33, 4 day LP
Cycle 3: 53 days, ovulation some time around day 42-45, 9-12 day LP
Cycle 4: 32 days Anovulatory?
Cycle 5: 34 days, ovulation dat 25, 8/9 day LP
Cycle 6: currently CD 27 with no ovulation yet

I'm contemplating trying the Conceive Plus ovulation support, as this seems to be where my issue is - with ovulation.

I think that sounds like a good plan, you should totally push for tests given that they say try for 6 months when over 35. I feel so much better now having my DH more onboard and making more effort, feels like it increases our chances.

Can you remind me what you did with your B vits this cycle just gone? I was taking 100mg b6, plus a b vit complex (with around 10mg of each b vitamin in), but I stopped the b6 to try and bring on ovulation on CD13 (ha) but carried on with the b complex, halved the b complex a few days ago, and still no ovulation, so thinking maybe I'll stop taking the b complex for a few days now, and then add it back in plus the 100mg b6 after ov x

@AMS19 sounds super healthy! I never get the whole pineapple thing, as it is meant to be the core that helps implantation, but then there's so little core in each pineapple you'd have to buy so many to have it every day! I've eaten the core out of pineapples when I've had them in the past, but never kept it up x

@mintgreenlife I dont think there is even any science...but didn't stop me 😂😂😂

@MintGreenLife I know you're trying to be proactive and good about TTC but I'm worried you're going to beat yourself up over all of these really rigid/tough lifestyle changes if you can't keep them up. Have you read Expecting Better by Emily Oster? She explains the rationales for all the diet limitations and debunks a fair amount of myths. E.g. that there's not much to link caffeine consumption to TTC.

I just don't want you to feel miserable and restrictive on top of everything else - but I totally get trying to sort out the TSH bit as much as you can yourself.

Then again I'm saying this whilst munching on a leftover poppadom and drinking my morning coffee .

@AMS19 well it's worth a try :)

@Juno231 hey :) thanks for your thoughts, I totally get where you're coming from. I think I may buy in a few treats for days where I do feel like I need a little pick me up, or for when the dreaded AF arrives, and then at least I can stick to my plan 90% of the time, but give myself a bit of a break when I need it.

I've not read that no, I'll have a look for it today :) how are you getting on? x

@MintGreenLife Oh yes, the Conceive Plus ovulation support includes Co Enzyme 10 so hopefully it works for us both!

With the B vitamins I took: B12 600ug, B6 100mg and the complex includes other B Vits (B1 100mg, B2 100mg etc) and an additional 400ug of folic acid (which is also in my seven seas pre-pregnancy tablets). I have attached a picture of the the Co-enzyme 10 I have bought, it arrives on Wednesday

Pic

@Juno231 I think you're right, we need to be careful not to make the process any more stressful than it actually is. I was pretty chilled all cycle until the last few days when I fell down a bit or a google rabbit hole. I'm going to try to be a little more restrained this cycle (easier said than done)!

@Kay00 did you just take them in your luteal phase? Or all the way through?

No picture attached I'm afraid. I've been taking ubiquinol for several months now, but it's so expensive. Hopefully it's helped with my egg quality, but may switch to the ovulation support instead now, although that's expensive too, but conceive plus do a bundle with that and a prenatal which is good value. I stopped taking a prenatal a few months ago as the one I was taking was £40 a bottle urgh.

@Kay00 can see the photo now :)

@MintGreenLife I'll be watching closely how you get on with your new pre-natal and Conceive plus.

I took the B-Vits from CD1-10 then from Ov to end of LP. Although I felt they helped bring my Ovulation forward on the 1st cycle I tried them I don't think they did on this most recent cycle... but in both cycles my LP has extended.

Off pill in June, withdrawal bleed started June 27th
Cycle 1: 41 days long, Ov CD31, LP 10 days
Cycle 2: 34 days long, Ov CD26, LP 8 days
Cycle 3: 32 days long, Ov CD18, LP 14 days (started B Vits)
Cycle 4: 48 days long, Ov CD35, LP 13 days

@Kay00 our cycles aren't too dissimilar, apart from my LP is a lot more dire, can you believe it was 4 days the first two cycles post pill, eek!

Yes, very similar. I started my withdrawal bleed 7th Jun (not 27th) so im exactly 2 months behind 1.5 cycles 🙃

We need to make this cycle the lucky one!!

@Kay00 fingers crossed! x

@MintGreenLife just double checked my day 3 bloods from July and realised my TSH was 3.03 on there - didn't you say anything over 2.5 for TTC isn't great?

@MintGreenLife lol found your source - makes me glad I happened to have picked up iodised salt last week! Got iodine tables somewhere in the house as well as I was planning on taking them once I got my BFP but I guess I can start now.

@AMS19 I’m going to leave it a few days (maybe until Friday since I’m busy with work I can at least think about other stuff! I’ve been super crampy for about a week now. One of the days my cramps were so bad I thought AF would arrive a week early! I’ve never been one to have cramps so I thought it was weird.

Today I had loads of thick CM (TMI). We are still DTD every other day just in case as well

Hey gals - active thread today!!!

@Kay00 Sorry to hear about AF... I'm calling today CD1 too. Still ridiculously light, which is a bit stressful - I could still use a pantyliner I think, and I'm just so desperate for a normal flow. BUT, (TMI) I did feel there was a bit more this morning when wiping, and a bit clotty, so I'm calling it as AF. She's due today anyway, and I've been spotting and cramping for like 5 days straight already, which is beyond annoying! Just looking forward to being strict with the temping this month to get a firmer grip on the actual O date. (Thanks for the advice @TheHotelCalifornia and @MintGreenLife advice on setting a BBT alarm before you actually have to get up, I'm going to give that a try this cycle - I'm sure my OH will be delighted 😂)

I've also started taking Vitabiotics 'Pregnacare' for before conception this weekend? Which apparently has Folic Acid, Inositol, Vits D & B12, Zinc, and CoQ10 as well. So hopefully it works for all of us!

@TheHotelCalifornia was it also you who asked about apps? I have been using Natural Cycles - which annoyingly has just auto-renewed - but it's not great compared to what all you guys are posting from FF, so I've switched to that for this cycle to see how it goes. I've got I think a month of premium free, but I dunno what the premium features actually are! It looks pretty thorough to me though.

Good luck @Sperr! And still thinking of you and willing your bean to stick @AMS19