What worked for you - something I'm missing?

[KerryW87]

Hi,

So today after a BFN at 12dpo and period due tomorrow I'm about to start cycle 8 after we lost our wee boy halfway along our pregnancy last July. I had Day 21 bloods done on Thursday so awaiting results for those, but wondering if there's maybe something that has worked for others that I haven't heard of? Any advice at all would be welcome, I'm really struggling with this failed cycle today and have just sorted myself out after a bit of a teary meltdown 🙈 So far I:

Use One Step OPKs from CD8 onwards
Use Preseed
DTD every other day in window
Take a prenatal
Take EPO until ovulation
Eat pineapple core 1-5dpo

and this last month I have cut out alcohol and caffeine.

What worked for you? Is there anything else I can try? Thanks in advance ❤️

Keep your feet warm!

@CountessSaberhagen Oh really? I run really cold naturally, always freezing! 😂 Just all month really? Thanks!

After 16 months ttc and 4 mc along the way, the month I got my bfp that seems to be sticking so far I did

Temping using ovusense
Opk’s too
Soy isoflavones days 2-6
Conceive plus lubricant every time we dtd
Dtd 8 days in a row over fertile window
Stayed lying down after dtd for around 30 minutes
Drank pomegranate juice from 6dpo
Took 150mg aspirin from 1dpo

Since getting the bfp am now also on daily progesterone pessaries.

There are cough medicines that increase your cervical mucus , if you google it you will know which one to buy. That helps the egg to travel .

@Moominmiss Oh I'm sorry to hear about your MCs ❤️❤️ So happy you got your BFP! Did your bloods show low progesterone then? I get my results this week and very anxious to find out 😐

I've actually always thought temping would be really daunting but I'm on Amazon now looking for a good BBT! Ovusense looks amazing! Something I'd need to save for though haha, might start off with a cheaper one and see how I go - did you find it quite easy to do and interpret your temps?

Oh I have never heard of pomegranate juice! I'll Google it and might add that in this cycle! Thank you so much for the tips ❤️ Hope you have a happy and healthy nine months too! xx

@pumpkinpie01 Thanks so much! I actually have read about that, have you taken it? Do you just take it every day up until you've ovulated?

Pregnacare his & hers conception vitamins, SMEP and CB Dual Hormone OPKs (and legs in the air after, probably old wives tale but can't do any harm :)) x

Took me nine months to TTC my first.

The best advice I can give is abandon all of the fertile window stuff and have sex 2-3 times a week every week. Took six weeks of that with DS1 and three weeks of that with DS2.

Yes I did take it , was quite a few years ago I think I took it week before ovulation it definitely increased the cm

[quote KerryW87]@Moominmiss Oh I'm sorry to hear about your MCs ❤️❤️ So happy you got your BFP! Did your bloods show low progesterone then? I get my results this week and very anxious to find out 😐

I've actually always thought temping would be really daunting but I'm on Amazon now looking for a good BBT! Ovusense looks amazing! Something I'd need to save for though haha, might start off with a cheaper one and see how I go - did you find it quite easy to do and interpret your temps?

Oh I have never heard of pomegranate juice! I'll Google it and might add that in this cycle! Thank you so much for the tips ❤️ Hope you have a happy and healthy nine months too! xx

[/quote]
@KerryW87 so no my progesterone levels were actually really good, but after the miscarriages the doctor said the extra boost would do absolutely no harm and could only help.

Honestly the OvuSense was the biggest game changer for me.
I’ve never attempted regular temping before because I wake too many times in the night and sleep with my window open, legs out of the covers etc, all of which affect temps.
The OvuSense just does it all for you. Just pop it in when you go to bed and it takes your core body temp reading every 3 minutes throughout the night so doesn’t matter if you wake etc. No external factors will affect it.
Then in the morning you take it out and sync it to your phone. No interpreting to do, it just plots the chart for you. Pinpoints fertile days etc. Confirms that ovulation has occurred etc. I also input the temps that OvuSense gave me into fertility friend app because I liked the chart better and could input more signs etc. But it’s so easy. It was a good chunk of money (£160 for the device itself and a 12 month subscription) but well worth it in my opinion. I got pregnant on cycle 2 using it, but mc, then pregnant again on cycle 4 using it.

Pomegranate juice is supposed to be good for aiding implantation. I just drank a good glass a day from 6dpo. I drank the POM one. Was actually delicious and something I still drink now!

Good luck!

Hi OP, really sorry to hear about your loss. I conceived my children outside the "fertile window" so my main advice would be not to rely too much on that period for things to happen! We DTD throughout the month, every couple of days. Also did the legs against the headboard thing after!

@KerryW87 I'm so sorry for your loss, I posted too quickly earlier and didn't read properly

Yep, I heard cold feet = cold womb. It worked for me, as the first month I began wearing warm socks in fertile window/feet on hot water bottle, I fell pregnant! Sadly had MMC though, but I really think warm feet helped! Wishing you the best of luck

TTC since July 2019. Had an ectopic in October 2020 and got a bfp on 6th Jan.

Some things I did different that month:

• kept my feet warm as someone said from my fertile window. Had cosy socks, hot water bottle at the bottom of the bed, etc.
• it was my first cycle using Myova insitol tablets alongside my conceived plus ovulation support
• used a ferti lily up
• stayed laying down for 20-30 mins after DTD
• DTD everyday for 6 days over fertile window

Some other things I had been doing that I think also helped

• acupuncture
• temping using an ava bracelet (had I known about ovusense I would have gone for that)
• using conceive plus lube

Good luck and sorry for your previous loss, must have been awful and glad to see you are trying again x

@Moominmiss Ahh ok, that's interesting! Anxious to see what my progesterone levels are at but definitely worth looking into regardless then!

Oh that does sound amazing to be honest! I do wake up at different times etc which always put me off normal temping....I'm going to end up dipping my Christmas savings now 😂

I'll definitely read up on pomegranate juice and get some for after ovulation then! Thanks again, really appreciate it :)

@CocoPark Thanks so much. I actually do think now that this may be an issue - I definitely focus a lot on the window and tend to just leave it after ovulation day and I suppose before the fertile window I can't be sure how often we DTD, so every 2-3 days throughout the cycle might be a great idea. Will try that this cycle, thanks so much ❤️

@CountessSaberhagen Oh not at all, and thank you. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss too ❤️

In that case my womb must be like a wee freezer, I'm always cold! I do have a hot water bottle so I'll definitely be doing that and making sure I've always got cosy socks on! I'll enjoy this anyway so it'll be an easy thing to add into the list of strategies, haha. I was feeling so down this morning after another failed month but all these tips and advice have really boosted my mood! Thanks so much :)

@Chica1990 Oh sorry to hear about your ectopic, that must have been awful :( Massive congrats on your pregnancy! ❤️

Was the acupuncture just generally to relax you? I have read it's great for women trying to conceive but wasn't sure exactly how!

Thanks so much for all the advice! I have a lot to read up on :) x

We tried for DD for 3 years, in the months leading up to BFP I lost 2 stone, both cut out alcohol and went to the gym 3-4 times per week. Took all the recommended vitamins etc. The first month we used Conceive Plus lube I got my BFP.

Second time we just ditched the condoms and BFP after 2 months - weird!

Oh, the first time I did the legs up in the air thing as well!

@KerryW87 thank you!

Yes it was to help with my anxiety, I have a stressful job which friends said they don’t think helped the situation and they also concentrated on blood flow as I started after my surgery for the ectopic.

Talking of stress, I had two weeks off over Xmas that my fertile window fell on (which is why we DTD every day and I could stay lying down) and I’m not sure if the lack of work stress maybe did help.

I have no doubt you’ll get there but I know it’s a horrible place to be in and sometimes there is no chance it could happen. Best of luck to you 🤞🏻

Have you tried just relaxing? Lol only joking

I’m 7 weeks pregnant and was already dtd every other day in fertile week, using OPKs, taking pregnacare and putting legs in the air. BFP month (cycle 6) I started temping (to see if I was actually ovulating) and switched to conceive plus lube. If that didn’t work the next month I was planning to add pomegranate juice and reviewing supplements as have a short LP. Good luck!

@Aozora13 😂😂😂 "Stop trying and it'll happen!"

Oh this is interesting, I've used Preseed but read a thread on this earlier and most people did say they preferred Conceive Plus, think I'll order some for this cycle and see if it works any better. Thanks!

Did you find temping easy enough? Want to try it but wondered if it would make an already stressful thing MORE stressful 😂 Thanks for the advice! x

@KerryW87 You've had all the best suggestions. I just wanted to add that we have been ttc for 5 months, only started temping 1 cycle ago and honestly I wish I'd done that from the start - I don't find it stressful at all, just really interesting to learn about my cycle from it. I barely rely on opks now because I find them a bit hit and miss, but temping is great. Fertility friend is the best app.

@Toastedsesame Oh I think you've just sealed the deal for me with temping...it's probably the last major TTC thing I haven't tried so it's worth a shot!

Do I need the expensive ones or would one of the sort of basic basal thermometers do the job with the app? I recognise your name too, I think we might've spoken before on a thread so thank you again! ❤️

@KerryW87 I didn’t find temping stressful, or doing OPKs. I like data though and found it calming like I was taking back some control. I was also worrying I might not be ovulating after a few 22 day cycles and getting positive OPKs on CD12 so short LP. Plus I’m 40 so peri-paranoia was creeping in. It’s not for everyone though and not sure I would’ve been arsed to keep it up after 2-3 months to see the pattern. I spent less than a tenner on a basic BBT thermometer. Worth a go!