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!

@mrsmacmc im sorry to hear AF is on her way and that you have a migraine! How rubbish! Hope you're feeling better soon.

Oh gosh! That's dramatic @mrsmacmc , sounds like tensions are running high. TTC can be very stressful, and this stress might explain your migraine 😔 i hope you patch things up soon xxx

@Kay00 thank you. The hangover from migraine finally cleared early afternoon - was quite chuffed as was facilitating a workshop today in work and had a bubble to myself in the loos as the feedback from the clients was lovely (must've hidden how crappy I was feeling really well!) and discovered AF making her appearance early!

I think what's eating hubby is his bro & our SIL have 3 children when SIL claimed she couldn't have Chileans.

He's also been very stressed with work trying to get a new system implement entirely remote - he woke me on Tuesday night demanding scope papers from me!

We never go to bed on an argument, agree it's quite stress inducing TTC which is counter productive to the cause - haha! Shall see how things pan out. Might take some time out till the new year. ❤️❤️

Sending you so many hugs @mrsmacmc 💐❤

@mrsmacmc maybe taking the pressure of TTC off would be good, but you could stay off the pill and just 'see how it goes' this side of Xmas. Maybe look to book a day off work together or arrange a date night (at home... a nice meal, fairy lights, movie etc). Sending you hugs!

Also... sounds like you are doing really well in your job... you go girl! 💪

@mrsmacmc if it reassures you then the only thing involving foof in the initial tests is an ultrasound and you can just skip that? Otherwise it's just blood tests. They can take a couple of months to take so not a bad idea to get the ball rolling if you can. Weight shouldn't be a factor unless you're obese and going for ivf, so they shouldn't even mention it at this stage xx

@MintGreenLife how did you temp go today? GP called yday and said the 2.5 tsh rule is only of you're already on levothyroxine... She kinda admitted that the fertility clinic would probably action it but that it's not for her to do, as my levels are in the normal range so she won't be referring me to an endocrinologist. Next step for me is registering at my new gp and asking for a fertility clinic referral...

Sorry for the other girls on here feeling down atm, I don't have many words of wisdom as I'm kinda in your boat too 😅.

Attaching my chart just for the sake of it.

@Juno231 it's on the up! So looks like my bruised feeling and bloating was ovulation related ☺️ In a way feels good to have had those symptoms as I've not felt much before apart from a few twinges. Your chart is looking good, that's a nice rise.

Ah thanks for passing on what the GP has said to you. That's interesting. Why would you need to register at a different GP to get a referral? I'm not sure if my GP may take my TSH slightly more seriously, perhaps if I did happen to fall pregnant, as my local endocrinology guidelines is TSH should be under 3.7 for the first trimester, and mine is 3.5, so very close to the limit. Like to think at the very least if I found out I was expecting they would test it again to see if any action would need to be taken.

@mrsmacmc sorry to hear you're having a bit of a rubbish time. I think I what others have said is a good idea, making taking the pressure off TTC is a good idea. Even if it's just for a few weeks to reset yourselves xx

@Juno231 forgot to attach my chart x

@MintGreenLife ah brilliant rise there! I need to register at a local GP now that I have moved.

@Juno231 ah got you! I'll need to do the same soon I suppose. I found out I'm actually on the waiting list for a scan, but whether I'll be able to go to the appointment before I move is anyone's guess! x

@MintGreenLife that's a good point - what's the latest on the house purchase? We've picked an architect and she was over yesterday for 3 hours to take all the measurements. Hoping to get started on the loft conversion early next year as it should be permitted development.

I had all these plans of doing up the first floor in the meantime but as a noobie I hadn't appreciated before how everything is reliant on something else lol. So we can't paint without having the walls replastered or skimmed, which we can't do unless we get the electrics sorted first - which there's no point doing now if we're having lots of tradesmen in for the loft in a few months potentially anyway. So we're kinda stuck for the time being I think? Share your wisdom you victorian fixer uppers on here!

Morning ladies, feeling a bit less bleaugh this morning - having a fat Friday too as treated myself to a bacon roll & coffee from Greggs. @AMS19 thank you hugs were much needed.

@Kay00 I said to him I'm not going back on the pill as it's a pain to go on and off (turn into Jekyll and Hyde!) think it will be the see how it goes for next couple of months. Date night idea sounds amazing especially with the dark nights now!

@Juno231 thank you for the info, I could cope with the foof ultrasound, when I had my colposcopy they didn't tell me even though I had asked them to walk me through what was happening as it helps with my anxiety what they were up too or that it would burn like hell when they put what felt like vinegar in her! For some reason my GP surgery is obsessed with weight 🤷‍♀️ even when there is no need to be! Since March I've dropped 2 dress sizes (I've never done it by weighing). IVF isn't on the cards, our plan B would be to adopt as I think IVF is meddling with nature. Your chart is looking good!

@MintGreenLife think a reset is needed!

May everyone's Friday be short ❤️

@Juno231 exciting! We had our mortgage offer this week, so everything is ticking along. Still hoping we might just about get in for Christmas, but not hopeful on that one. We shall see. Waiting for our searches to come back at the mo.

I think it's definitely sensible to hold off on decorating while there's going to be a lot of dust and dirt from the building work in the loft. What I would say is it might be worth asking whoever is doing the loft to quote for the rewiring of the whole house, and potentially the plastering too, as you will be having electric works and plastering done in the loft, it may be more cost effective to get it all done while they are on-site anyway. Also as a little tip, if you're thinking of restoring the original floorboards, if there's carpet down already, leave it down until after you've had the plastering done and even done the painting, as it will act as a protective layer, otherwise you'll either be faced with having to scrape plaster off the boards, or pay extra to have coverings put down x

@MintGreenLife thank you I appreciate that as that's exactly what we're thinking we'll do (ie use the loft work as the time to also have them do the rest of it). Thoughts on wooden floors on the first floor though? I thought that for sound and warmth insulation purposes we might be best off having carpets upstairs.

@Juno231 sounds like a good plan :)

We did expose the floorboards upstairs, and in the older part of the house I find the sound/warmth insulation fine. But in the newer part (extension built in the 50s, like lots of Victorian houses, as they used to just be two-up-two-down) it's much colder and you can hear everything through the floor. Our back bedroom is above the kitchen and you can clearly hear word for word what people are saying if there's someone in the kitchen underneath. If you like carpets then I'd say stick to carpets upstairs :) I got into my head that I wasn't a fan, but then I do appreciate the practicalities of them! x

@Juno231I have wooden floors through out and have big rugs everywhere, they are good because you can clean/move/replace easily... but then I have two massive dogs. Carpets are certainly warmer!

Hiya gals, just checking in!

Welcome to the thread @dechie :) I was NTNP (kind of!) for the first little while coming off the pill on these threads - I'd say starting with the Natural Cycles app was probably pretty good for me? That's what I used, and it basically is just taking your temperature every morning (BBT) and putting it into the app, so it's quite an easy way to get into tracking. You can also use LH (aka OPK) tests with it if you like, but you don't have to. It tries to use your temperature to predict when you ovulate, so you know when your fertile window is - so you know then if you are trying to get pregnant that you should get doing the deed (DTD!) or if you're holding off, to use other protection over those days. Now that I'm actually actively trying, I've switched to Fertility Friend, as it's more focussed on more data - like inputting cervical mucus (CM), etc etc.

@mrsmacmc - sorry you're going through a hard time at the mo 😢 It does sound like tensions are high on the TTC front - it is super stressful. Maybe could be worth a break from tracking at least? (Defo don't go back on that godforsaken pill though!)

For those of you ladies having issues with the OH's sex drive... I can relate! 😂🙋🏻‍♀️ @Kay00 I'm also 100% your OH in this scenario, but the same as @Juno231 now I can use my tracker to remind him it actually has been longer than 3 days! He always had a higher sex drive than me on the pill too, but he's had some issues with his job through COVID and I think has been a bit depressed, which has affected his libido. Meanwhile I've came off the pill and mine has increased drastically, so it's a bit of a nightmare. Trying hard to remind myself if it was the other way around and he was pressuring me for sex I'd call him a creep 😂 So trying to do my best on the seduction front! Hopefully we'll do better this month, as he has actually asked about fertile windows etc, rather than just leaving it all to me to orchestrate.

Excited for the home progress @MintGreenLife and @Juno231! I'd agree that you're best holding off on the first floor until you've had your loft done. I also have pets and am very pro wooden floors with rugs combo for cleaning... but agree carpets are better for warmth and sound!

I'm only on CD5 here so not much to report. AF was absolutely pitiful, again, so I'm a bit worried my lining won't sustain a bean even if I did conceive. Basically had one day of requiring essentially a pantyliner, and the rest pretty much just spotting. Thinking about trying to track my cervix position this month - trying to overload on data - but I've never done it before so not really sure what I'm even looking for 😳

I’m pretty sure AF is here! I’m not even a little disappointed as I have a 14 day LP, a 28 day cycle and my heart rate showed me ovulation and that AF was coming!

@Sperr Amazing! It's good you can see the positives of AF showing you've had a good cycle!!

@crabette I literally just started my new job as well so now I’m eligible for maternity pay from the firm! But also now I don’t have to DTD so much as I have a short cycle and I can really try hard to get a peak OPK since I know roughly when it should be.

@AMS19 did you say you DTD every day the week before peak?

@Sperr that is a beautiful cycle!!

Yeah we DTD:
O-5, O-3, O-2 (twice), O-1, and twice on O day!
Then nothing for about 8 days 😂😂 we were both over it at that point!

@sperr that's brilliant! Such a classic cycle, I'm very proud of your body as weird as it sounds

@crabette @kay00 @MintGreenLife thank you thank you for the carpet vs wood thoughts! I'm big on wood floors (growing up in Sweden, carpets weren't really a thing) but OH is super keen on having them in the bedroom so we'll see what kind of compromise we'll reach. And yup Mint - ours has the same kind of kitchen/3rd bedroom extension so it's good to know carpets would be best off there.

@crabette I can't tell if perhaps my OH's drive has been like this for years and years as he was in the army up until 2 years ago. He was quite down when he left though and has found his civilian transition a bit stressful I think. I was therefore kinda hoping it was this affecting him as he certainly seems to be a lot more tired nowadays than he was back in the army. God knows. I swear I've read somewhere as well that women's drives peak in their 30s/40s whereas men's peak in their 20s so you often end up with a mismatch.

@Juno231 we have carpet in our victorian house! We tried to restore the floor boards but the previous people had stained them a really dark brown and we just couldn’t shift it so we threw a carpet down for ease at the time but the plan is to put a wood floor down with big rugs! Although we do get a breeze from the cellar without the carpet! Hallway is a mix between tiles and grey laminate, it is my favourite flooring in the house, I love the tiles a wish we could would of used them through the whole hallway!

@Sperr your cycle sounds perfect!

@Juno231 tiles also appear in the dining room!

Now I'm in the TWW and trying to do everything I can to make my LP a bit longer, I'm Googling all the supplements I'm taking and trying to make sure I'm not taking too much of anything.

Hope you don't mind me asking you @Juno231 & @Kay00 - do you take your b vitamin complex the whole way through your cycle, including your LP? I'm taking this one: www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-complete-b-vitamin-b-complex-caplets-60001250?skuid=001250

Plus extra B 6 xx