TTC after MC - new thread for newbies / lurkers on other threads!

[Lowkeyloopy]

Hi all!

I know there are several threads dedicated to this topic, which I've lurked on for several weeks without saying anything, but some threads (sadly) have so many people on them that it can be a bit hard to follow, or it feels awkward to jump into the middle of a conversation between people who have been chatting for a while. Does anyone fancy joining me on a new thread?

My story: 33, TTC baby #1, conceived first cycle in Feb, but had a MC at 6 weeks in early March. Absolutely awful, as everyone knows, and I was in a rubbish place mentally for a few weeks, but I've also counted my blessings - it was early, I needed no medical intervention and at least I know I can conceive. Also AF has returned today - 29 days after first day of my MC. I usually have a 28-29 day cycle so am so grateful that my body seems to be getting with the programme again.

So CD1 for me, and I'll be TTC this month and back to tracking - BBT from tomorrow, OPKs from CD 11, still taking my Pregnacare and trying to keep exercising and eating healthily!

Would anyone like to join me if they're going through something similar? How have you been coping since your MC? What's on your TTC to-do list?! (Other than the obvious..!)

Baby dust to all xx

I don’t know what happened at the end of my previous message . It was supposed to say hopefully won’t take too long to conceive again this time.

Welcome @Pennyh123 and sorry to hear about your loss 💐 It's definitely positive that you conceived so quickly! I hope it happens like that again for you

@Lowkeyloopy My OPKs usually go dark quite suddenly too. I've done 3 today and was expecting I'd get a positive after work but still barely a second line. I feel thoroughly downhearted now. I've just had to order more tests which I didn't think I'd have to do this month. It's annoying because my cycles were sooo regular before! Ugh 😔

@Flopsy88 I am still thinking about the job, have til Wednesday to apply so I’m going to have a think over the weekend! Hopefully it comes to me 😂

@Lowkeyloopy your pains sound promising? Fingers crossed for you.

Hope everyone’s week was ok! Anyone got any nice plans for the bank hol weekend?

Welcome @Pennyh123 ! So sorry for your loss but definitely take heart from the fact that you’re clearly wonderfully fertile and so fingers crossed you will catch again quickly! You and I can help each other stay strong and not test - I’m considering asking my DP to hide them!

@Flopsy88 - hang in there! You totally sound like where I was a couple of weeks ago - I ordered a box of 50 more IC OPKs from Amazon when I had only one left, and wouldn’t you bloody know that turned out to be my peak! Are you going to DTD anyway just in case you’ve missed it somewhere? (And to cheer you up and connect with DP of course!) I hope you have some nice plans this weekend to take your mind off it?

I’ve had a few more light twinges this evening. I’ve also told myself that irritability is a symptom. Got so frustrated about someone USELESS at work who created another two hours work for me today. I was mid major rant to DP over dinner when it occurred to me they probably weren’t the devil incarnate and that perhaps my hormones had something to do with it - either PG or (more likely) AF!

@CMcA21 I hope the headspace over the weekend gives you some clarity!

@CMcA21 I would just apply for the job, even if you got offered it you don't have to take it. That way you can have longer to decide etc. It keeps all of your options open that way too. Good luck X

Welcome @Pennyh123 sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you find this group helpful.

Hope everyone else is ok today.

I tested again this morning and still BFN. I've just had quite intently contraction like pains. I'm CD30/17DPO today. I'm wondering whether I'm having another CP and the HCG levels aren't high enough to be picked up on a test.

Thanks @Mrsmujic I think i will.

Sorry TMI and quite graphic but, just been for a wee and there was blood in my discharge. Once I’d wiped that bit the rest was just normal.. I thought implantation but this was quite red and not brown/pink? I’m worried

@CMcA21 what DPO are you today? My implantation bleed back in December was just a tiny bit of bright red blood when I wiped and that was it! So fingers crossed 🤞

@Aila1994 about 5DPO today I think, I never had any implantation bleeding with my first pregnancy so I have no idea of what to compare it to.. it was like a dash of it in the discharge! So maybe it could be??? Fingers crossed 🤞🏻

Morning all!

checks watch Woops - afternoon all! I've had a very slow start to the day - am SO tired! Saw parents and went for a walk yesterday so maybe the exercise and post-lockdown socialising is getting to me. But hoping it's a symptom anyway of course!

@ItsMeantToBe I'm so sorry to hear about your pains and that all must be quite confusing. How long are your cycles normally? Did you use a FRER or a normal one? Maybe a normal HPT wouldn't detect it. When I had my MC the first doctor said my test was negative (when I hadn't started bleeding) then the following day (mid heavy bleeding) another doctor said it was a faint positive! So maybe depending on dilution of urine you got a negative when it might actually have been a faint positive? I hope you get some answers asap - is it worth talking a doc about the pains either way?

@CMcA21 Fingers crossed that's IB for you! I agree with @Mrsmujic about just applying for the job and seeing what happens and how you feel down the line!

How are you doing @Aila1994 ? What stage are you at now?

13 DPO for me today. Had a sore throat and headache last night, replaced today by tiredness and feeling a little foggy headed. No real cramping or twinging today really, but yesterday I felt so much like AF was about to arrive I put on my period pants! Haha.

If I am PG, my bbs have not worked it out yet... zero tenderness or sensitivity at all, which is the main thing making me think I'm unlikely PG. Though I would usually have some tenderness pre AF. overthinking massively...

I so don't want to test and see that bright white empty space and have to wait for AF.. definitely going to hold out and see if AF doesn't show on Tues/Wed.

Anyone else nearing the end of the TWW?

@CMcA21 Sounds like implantation bleeding! I've never had it myself.

@Lowkeyloopy thanks. My cycles have always been 28 days. I was reading last night that some women had found that taking Seven Seas has messed their cycles up, so I'm wondering if it's that? I've only tried First Response tests so far, some FRER and some rapid response ones (as I ordered them by mistake), all negative, first thing in the morning. I'm wondering if my HCG is just too low for them to have picked it up but also conscious of how much I'm spending on tests. I might test again in the morning if still no signs of AF. I've been super tired this week and still getting contraction type pains a few times a day, so will go the doctors if no BFP this month.

I bet you're so glad your nearly the end of your TWW!

Morning ladies - happy bank holiday! (To those in the UK at least - sorry if you’re elsewhere!)

14 DPO for me today, AF due tomorrow or Wed and I’m pretty sure I’m out. I just don’t feel.. anything! My body feels silent! I feel pretty sure based on last time that if I were PG I would have something else going on - blue veins on bbs, sore breasts, increased sense of smell etc.. But nowt!

Felt a little teary about it last night (comforted by my lovely but bewildered DP who can’t understand how I’ve made up my mind without taking a test!) but I’ve made a nice list of the things I’ll do if I get AF soon - glass of lovely cold white wine, book a deep tissue massage, do a really intense workout and sweat out the frustration without fear of disrupting implantation etc. Any other ideas of what I can add to my list?!!

@ItsMeantToBe I read that Pregnacare can extend your cycle (think it says it on the box too!) so maybe the same is true with Seven Seas. Your luteal phase stays pretty fixed though doesn’t it? I don’t know whether the tablets could mess with that half of the cycle. So hope you get some answers soon and can start with a fresh slate and new cycle! Or maybe you may have O’d later than you think and have been feeling implantation pains?

Made the mistake of checking my notes for 14 DPO for when I was PG last - at this point I had had three days of positive HPTs (and my MC didn’t start for another 2 weeks):

“Feeling no symptoms! Not lightheaded or foggy anymore. Nausea / hunger seems to have faded. Breasts don’t feel tender.”

So maybe the jury is still out. Definitely need to distract myself today!

Don’t worry, I’m not actually going loopy with this 😂

@Lowkeyloopy I’m not sure where I am in my cycle honestly, we’ve decided against any tracking this month to give us a break. (Still not preventing, just taking away the added pressure of timing). If I had to guess I’d say around CD10.

Fingers crossed AF doesn’t show for you and this is your month 🤞

@Lowkeyloopy definitely don't loose hope (although I know how hard that is). I definitely get more symptoms of AF than I do when first pregnant 🤞x

I'm feeling so down today. Done a CB first thing and it was of course a BFN. I've told my DH and his answer was "it's only a month, it takes some people years to get pregnant". He's wondering why I'm so down "when it's only been a month" 🙄. I know what he's saying is true, but it really doesn't help. He just doesn't understand. I've always got pregnant straight away. I don't really understand about luteal and follicular phases- definitely something I need to read up on for next month. My app says luteal is 13-15, but I don't know if that's accurate. I've stopped taking Seven Seas, in case it's that.

Hope everyone else is having a better day than me!

Hi everyone! Hope you've all had a lovely bank holiday. It's so wet and horrible today we've just lazed around in our PJs all day. It worked out well though cos I finally got a positive OPK so lots of time to DTD. I'm on CD17 and ovulation has never been this late before. I'd just about given up hope and assumed I wouldn't ovulate this month.

@ItsMeantToBe I'm so sorry you're feeling down. It must be so annoying getting BFNs and not knowing what's going on. Very unhelpful of your DH to say that. A month feels like a lifetime when you're TTC!

@Lowkeyloopy You have so much willpower!! I don't know how you've managed not to test yet. It's sounding promising though! The month I got pg I had no symptoms at all until after af was due. Is your temperature still high?

@CMcA21 Fingers cross that was an implantation bleed!! It certainly sounds like it 🤞🏻

@Flopsy88 Good news about the ovulation! Hope your TWW goes quickly for you.

Well AF has finally reared head this evening. I don't really know how I feel, disappointed of relieved that I know now and can plan next month. My DH is trying to comfort me but failing miserably. I said that this month has been as long as December is for a child and all for nothing. I'm planning on getting some nice food in tomorrow to treat myself and then starting to be healthy again after that. Can anyone recommend a reliable thermometer? I want to start tracking my BBT. I don't know whether to get some cheap ovulation sticks too or whether to continue with my digital CB one (which I thought helped me capture my OV this month but obviously not!)

@Lowkeyloopy @ItsMeantToBe I didn’t have implantation bleeding with my first pregnancy, I’m talking myself out of it being that now though because it’s saying everywhere it should be 7-14 days after fertilisation and it would be 7 at a push (going from when we first DTD in FW)

I’m going to apply for the job anyway and see how I get on, I can always decide before the interview if I don’t want to go for it.

AF due a week today and I’ve had sore boobs for the past 3/4 days - not sure if I’m just trying too hard to convince myself though.

Hope everyone’s okay and had a lovely bank holiday weekend?

@Flopsy88 good news about your ovulation. Fingers crossed for you 💜

@ItsMeantToBe sorry to tag again, I always miss messages and have to write two! You may have capture ovulation but it just didn’t take which I know isn’t any easier to think about but I found that temping was so stressful. I would obsess over it and wake up in the night panicking id missed the time slot to do it, plus so much stuff affects it I didn’t always trust it. I would say maybe cheap OPKs if you don’t want to be spending the money on a CB every month though. So frustrating about AF though but definitely give yourself a few days to enjoy your food and drinks 🥰

Oh I'm sorry af arrived @ItsMeantToBe How are you feeling about it today? I hope you're enjoying a big glass of wine and some nice food xx

Does anyone ever get 2 days of positive OPKs? My app seems to think I got my peak yesterday but todays lines are just as dark. I'm not sure any of them are dark enough to be positive though! I wonder if my body is trying to ovulate but hasn't managed it yet. No temp changes but I missed a day yesterday cos I woke up late and was a bit hungover. I wish I knew what was going on in there 😒

So sorry to hear AF arrived @ItsMeantToBe. I think it's understandable to feel both disappointed and relieved. Definitely treat yourself for a few days - we spend so much of our time thinking about TTC and trying to prep our bodies for what might be around the corner - take some time out for YOU and be kind to yourself!

I used this thermometer which is easy to use and seems accurate! Can't link to Amazon for some reason, but this is the description: Femometer Digital Basal Body Thermometer Fertility Monitor Record BBT Manually, Draw BBT Chart Pinpoint Ovulation Day, High Accuracy Perfect Companion

Warning - It does beep 10 times to signal that it's settled on a temp though - I've learned to shove it under a pillow at that point to stop it waking up DP!

I would also recommend these testing strips - Femometer Ovulation Test Strips Kit, 50 LH OPK, Sensitive Fertility Predictor Testing Sticks, Accurate Results

Found my peak on them both months I've used them (and I'm rapid onset - blink and you miss it).

Also, as @CMcA21 says, it's entirely possible you did everything right. I read somewhere (I think it was The Impatient Women's Guide to Getting Pregnant, which I would recommend if you haven't read it!) that even if you do everything PERFECTLY, the chances are still only 1 in 3 or something - our bodies simply don't let us get pregnant every time sperm is within the vicinity of egg otherwise women would be constantly pregnant (evolution didn't factor in the possibility of birth control...). So hopefully you can take some comfort in that.

I think I'll be right behind you with AF. Got low back ache and the beginnings of some cramps and my cervix has gone from medium/high to low in the course of today - think she'll arrive overnight. Part of me is tempted to test even if it's only to confirm a chemical, because I was so sure those twinges meant something! But think that would be more upsetting than comforting, so will resist.

@Flopsy88 Maybe you've had multiple peaks?
This article is helpful: premom.com/blogs/how-to-use-ovulation-tests/surges-and-peaks-gradual-onset Particularly this bit: "In order to achieve pregnancy, a follicle (casing and egg) is released from your ovary. The follicle must rupture to release the egg. In cases of multiple follicular stimulation, your body releases the follicle, but it doesn’t rupture. So, the egg is not released and you are unable to get pregnant. Your body realizes that this has happened and so releases a second follicle a few days later."

Or maybe you've released two eggs and are going to have twins

Thanks ladies. I feel ok today. It just wasn't meant to be my month I guess. It's been nice having lots of coffee! I'm going to get some Camembert and wine in when I go shopping tomorrow. Thanks for the recommendations @Lowkeyloopy I've ordered the thermometer and OVK and will see how I get on with them this month. I will start reading The Inpatient guide! I definitely need to learn more about ovulation etc.

You never know, could be signs of pregnancy rather than AF @Lowkeyloopy let us know how you get on in the morning.

@CMcA21 Good plan re the job. I've been for interviews before and it just didn't feel right, so you can decide then. Not long to go now until you can test!

@Lowkeyloopy thanks for the tip will be purchasing POM Juice on the way home tonight hahah xx

Hey Ladies,

Just jumping in to get it out I guess :)

I am 27, got a BFP end of Feb and MC mid March. I just finished AF. She arrived about 26 days after day 1 of the MC. My hormones are back down to 0, went for a blood test 2 days ago to confirm.

The doc said 2 weeks ago that I should wait 2 months before ttc again. I am reeeeeally wanting to try from this month and really just want to not listen. She said it's easier to track my hormones if we wait 2 cycles but I mean, my hormones are at 0. Am I just being impatient?