"It's been 84 years" infertile donkeys ahoy, all aboard! Not a fertile unicorn insight bus 5

[notyetamumbuttrying]

Buckling up for the ride of their lives, our infertile donkeys 🐗and their stats below:
@Annny27 29, no1 since June 19
@RobinRose 27, no1 since Oct 2019
@kerrym87 34 no1 since sept19

@Motherofkittens28 39 no 1 since aug19
@Yutes 34 no1 since aug19
@Crazydoglady123 32 no2 jan19, ivf in April21!
@Marvellouslymadmum 42 no3 since April 18
@Tofu35 35 no1 since sep19
@Hayley19835 38 no1 oct18
@Narwhal88 32, no1 since jun19
@Dogmum13 29 no1 since dec19
@SlothMamaToBe
@Theawkwardblonde no1 for 18 months
@CreativeThinkerTequilaDrinker 15 months ttc ivf in June, ov 8th April
@2020mission 33 no1 14 months ttc
@Sjhigs 37 no1 since sep18 ivf consult mid April
@crazycatlady1981 39 no1 since Oct18, ivf in May
@PeanutButterBrownies
@Juno231 33 no1 since jan20
@clolo 31 no1 since jun19
@Aimzie 28 no1 4 years NTNP 22 months ttc
And me 😊 35 ttc no1 for 19 months

@RobinRose both Ibs and endo for me. Had surgery last Tuesday to remove it.

@RobinRose I have both

@Annny27 I do get a few changes just not a lot of any cm at the moment, seems to be a recent change to not get much at all a little confused about it!

@notyetamumbuttrying no 😞 his ibs has been playing up so he's not in the mood 😡 but I got my peak today - he still wasn't on the mood this morning! He's better be tonight or I'll spend all tomorrow in a right strop! 😂 the maca definitely hasn't turned him into a Randy sex pest yet!

@RobinRose im suspecting endo but talking to the doc Monday about it.

With all the things you guys keep saying about endo and my dr Googling I'm actually totally kicking myself that I didn't look it up before!! I always though endo was more of a thing you would know you had and when my af started getting more and more painful after I came off the pill I just thought that was normal! 🤦🏼‍♀️ it's now got to the point where I'm in agony for 2/3 days so much so that it hurts when I sit down! I have to take two kinds of pain meds and that takes the edge off after a couple of hours plus now getting pain during sex, especially deep sex and after! I just hope the doc listens to me as I've asked her about every other ttc under the sun 😂 do you know if the gp can refer for a lap or only gynaecologist? I can't wait until nov until my referal to find out!! Also do any of you suffer with cystitis or cystitis type pain? I've had it a few times before and got it again now but the sachets are not taking it away!

@Marvellouslymadmum your not alone re: kicking yourself over endo.
i just can't believe i never thought of it when i've looked into everything else! and i mean everything lol

@Marvellouslymadmum I could have written exactly what you said!!! Pain increased after stopped the pill and I thought it was normal. 2 types of pain meds that barely took the edge off so had to take codeine and ibuprofen which eventually worked. Pain during deep sex and always left a lingering feeling afterwards. Like I could still feel him inside me type feeling. Since know that's cos it would have aggravated everything in there. The GP needs to refer you to gynae and then you should see one with a specialist interest in endo to do the laparoscopy. I don't get cystitis thankfully. You should join the endo group on fb that I shared earlier on.
Hope dhs in the mood later! Hate it when they won't play ball, it's infuriating!!

@got2be I always thought it was for those with heavy periods so ruled myself out of it. It's only since chatting to women on MN and joining that fb group that I realised it was flipping endo! It's just so hard to diagnose as scans don't see it, and how are we meant to know that. You leave a scan and they say they can't see anything and you leave going, ok, so I must be going mad then! It's only when someone else tells you that endo can only be diagnosed with a laparoscopy that it starts to piece together. It's an expensive procedure so the nhs aren't gonna offer it up each time. You've really got to shout for it sadly.

@Annny27 @Motherofkittens28 @polejunkie @thislittlebird @notyetamumbuttrying @kerrym87 interesting how most of you seem to have ibs and endo or suspected endo! Never thought to think the two could go together ... have ibs but obviously now think I may have endo to. I mentioned it to the consultant after one if my scans a couple of years ago but they didn't listen.

@Marvellouslymadmum I spoke to my gp Thursday about suspected endo, I belive the first port of call is a referall to gyne and go from there. I am going to ask if I can see an endo specialist (if there is one). I have lost count how many scans I have had!

@notyetamumbuttrying how are you feeling after your surgery now?

@annny27 interesting they picked it up on your scan!

@got2be it's crazy isn't it! I mean I thought I may have pcos but actually now I know more about it endo is definitely more of a possibility

@notyetamumbuttrying I'm glad you said that it makes me think I may be right rather than a ttcing hypochondriac 😂 I've already been referred to gynaecologist for more ttc tests but the wait list is nov so don't know if the gp can get me bumped up or if it's a different gyno 🤔 will hopefully find out Monday - the nurse said it certainly sounded like endo so at least I know I'm not crazy!

@RobinRose ive actually already been referred to gynaecologist for tests but they put it down as routine and the waiting list is loooooong around 8 months just to be seen!

@Marvellouslymadmum 8months?! 😳 bloody hell, I thought 3 months was bad!

@RobinRose I know It's crazy!!

@RobinRose I'm not surprised they didn't listen. It gets dismissed so quickly as it's expensive to diagnose and tbf to them, the symptoms do mimic ibs, but I think the kicker for me was the pain after sex, it was every single time and just so uncomfortable! They took me seriously as I was already in the fertility unit and it's linked to gynae at my hospital so I was able to get seen relatively quickly. They told me the wait time was a year...I was seen within 2 months!
Feel much better now thanks. Excisions are sore to touch but all feels ok internally. Periods stopped now too so might be brave and dtd tomorrow!

@Marvellouslymadmum I'm sure you're right hun, it's horrible how we're made to feel like crazy women when we know our bodies! You'll need one with a specialist interest in endo but not sure if they can refer you again or not. Join the fb group that I posted earlier and ask on there. There are some really wise ladies that have researched endo and have files on things and will give great advice. One really helps me out! She's called Martha and has a penguin for a profile pic.

@notyetamumbuttrying thank you! I joined the fb group the other day but it was a little
Daunting so I've just watched so far lol

@notyetamumbuttryingif, I thought it was something a gp/ gyne would go on symptoms and check. but its never been mentioned considering the amount of appointments in last 3 years. and that they've labelled me unexplained!
im going to talk to gp but still look into it private as it could really be a small cost to pay if it takes away the pain ive gone through the past decade.

@RobinRose @Marvellouslymadmum if @Annny27 didnt ask the question about ov pain & endo I would still be sitting here thinking, blocked tubes, immune system, hostile environment, pcos, not ovulating, low iron, low vit d, thyroid/ graves... oh an my latest one vit b12 deficiency, when endo really fits everything.. esp going back on my cycle historically, i use to pass clots so big it would scare me.

well it looks like a lot of gp will be receiving a call monday morning!

Thoughts are with our doctors surgeries on the Monday morning 😂😂😂😂😂 I am calling both the gp and the fertility clinic to chase my referrals

@got2be it's actually hilarious all the things we think of! So I started off thinking my husband had bad sperm, then I thought it was low progesterone, then I thought I had low ovarian reserve. So I am happy to it looks like we are coming to a diagnosis! Even if it is severe :S

@Annny27 you just me LOL. oh i forgot the blaming dh bit, well that didn't go down well once sa came back.

Ive chased a diagnosis for years, im a fixer, and if that is the case then as severe as it may be fingers crossed it can only get better x

@Marvellouslymadmum probs smart move, get a feel for it first! I posted straight away and got a laughing response, had to edit my post to explain I wasn't as thick as I first sounded 🙈lol
@got2be I think because all I could ever say was my periods are bad, sex is painful and we've been ttc for 19 months, my story never changed apart from the increase in months. It's weird cos initially it was all male factor and that's how we got funding for ivf but then that improved and then I realised about endo! Everything's been against us 😂
@Annny27 haha thoughts are defo with the gps 😆 have you had your amh and afc done? My ovarian reserve isn't great so that's why we're just ploughing ahead with ivf now. No time to lose!

@got2be I have literally had that smack myself on the head moment all this week! 😂 like why didn't I look into endo sooner! I am
Also a fixer lol

@notyetamumbuttrying every time I think about posting in there I rephrase it 5 times then delete it 😂

The mild cramps are starting now which I assume is the ovulation then I get these on and off until af is looming then it gets worse 🙄

@notyetamumbuttrying, everything happens when ttc. but at least now you know theres a plan to move forward.
with all the same symptoms i thought maybe tubes were blocked. and waited over a yr for hsg, lockdown, machine broke, referral got lost, the list goes on! i dont know why i really thought endo was something doctors would know or a scan would pick up.

I'm not gonna lie ladies - I'm super intrigued to see if I do have endo after all! I was diagnosed with ibs and had it for 3-4 years but it went away suddenly? I doubt it would have gone away if endo?

But yeah endo is meant to account for a lot of infertility and it can be silent. The pain of it doesn't translate to the severity of endo - so eg I technically could have severe endo and never have had any pain.

The only thing I do have is like a pulling pain on my right ovary that started once I came off the pill. At first I thought it was ovulation pain but then got suspicious about it always being the same side. I've had it even when ultrasounds have confirmed ovulation on the left and now it comes and goes a lot throughout my LP instead of being confined to OD. Let's see if it's all in my head or if the lap spots something!

@Juno231 you can have endo without any symptoms! So some women have crippling pain that can flare up at any time (must be horrible!) Whereaa others dont have symptoms

@got2be yep my husband had slightly low morphology but its back to normal levels now. Yep I am a fixer too haha

@notyetamumbuttrying i have had my amh done and its 40 something so looks okay! I am 29 so I guess it would be okay at this age usually!

@Juno231 its a crazy thought that something so known about could be the last thing investigated.

here's hoping we all get endo investigated properly, fixed and finally receive a bfp x

@juno im the same with the pain after ov even as we speak. pulling stabbing pain in left but had scan 4 days ago an was told i ov on right.

@Juno231 I have the same right side pain as you! I get it around ovulation and leading up to af but it has been constant this month since af finished.

@notyetamumbuttrying it sounds like they are not willing to investigate unless you put up a fight! Glad your feeling OK! Dtd... you can just lay like a starfish and let your dp do all the work!🤣

@got2be oh bless you, I hope you manage to get some answers soon!

All this talk of endo makes me want to track down my hospital notes from my lap many years ago. Because the a&e I ended up with my cyst wasn't my catchment one, my gp never received notes from the op and when I had my check up it was with a gynae at my local hospital and she had no notes either so I had to tell her what happened and why. When I had the op, for the cyst removal my coil had gone missing at the same time and and when I was not long round the consultant came to explain how the op went and said it wasn't the cyst causing me pain it was "x" which at the time I assumed she said the coil but I was by myself and still so groggy I couldn't say for sure. I know my tubes are clear as I've had a Hycosy but my period pain has progressively got worse over the last few years. I have one day in agony where I have to take ibuprofen and paracetamol to get on top of it. I get a lot of pains in general in my pelvis which I've since my lap been told IBS (although the pain would be my only symptom) or scarring caused from the cystectomy. Does anyone know if and how you could request your notes from the hospital? Like I say my GP doesn't have them at all. I've always wanted to see them as the consultant had loads of pictures in the of my insides 😂

@Juno231 I have stage 3 endo and only really ovulation pain, so it's totally true that pain and severity don't always correlate. When I had my first lap in 2007 I had painful intercourse but it seemed to go away after. When I very first started my periods it was agony every month, so it seems like it can change over time. I wish I'd been more insistent on another lap sooner this time tbh but we are where we are!