TTC April/May 2021 - Sperm meets Egg Plan "SMEP"

[spttc]

Hi ladies Has anyone tried the sperm meets egg plan? I downloaded the free ebook earlier on amazon & Im going to give it a go this coming month! Anyone want to join? 💁🏻‍♀️ I'm month 4 ttc.

...and then obv every 2nd night from cycle day 8 😅 I'm honestly at the point I might do SMEP++ and add a few extra days! 🙈😂 see how that goes

@spttc ok got it! Totally ready for this cycle 🙌🙌🙌
Did the strips match up to clearblue? I brought clearblue because I couldn't be bothered to pee into a cup 😂

What else are you trying? I started taking the Proceive Women Fertility Supplements and my husband is taking the FertilMan Male Fertility Supplements :)
I've also booked an acupuncture appointment for the middle of my cycle but I'm thinking of moving it to the beginning of my cycle instead

@Elsbeth1 I'm on proceive too. My husband is taking the male version. We are on the MAX ones because We're both 35. I'm taking ubiquinol aswell on top of that. There's 100mg coQ10 in the proceive max but fertility clinics recommend 600mg coQ10 apparently (ubiquinol is the more absorbable version of coQ10). The strips did match the clearblue HOWEVER not exactly! I now favour the strips. I think it's more exact and clearer. I attached the bottom of my chart last month & my OPK results. I logged the clearblue under the FM section. So see how when I had flashing smiley (H) the opks weren't fully positive yet. Then when it went to static smiley (P) the opk strips were positive, day 16. BUT my highest opk strip was on the 2nd day of static smiley (day17). Which is good to know. Because I probably would have presumed it was day 16 as soon as I got static smiley on the clearblue! I also had positive opk on day 18 so it shows the surge lasts! Looking at it now the SMEP makes sense as I really should have gone again on day 19/20. I definitely stopped trying too early and didn't start soon enough. Yeh I was looking into acupuncture. Apparently in IVF cycles they recommend acupuncture on the day of embryo transfer..... so that's the equivalent of 5 days post ovulation....I think! I only read that today as I was looking into it. But I don't know much about it. I might add it to the never ending list 😅

@Elsbeth1 and yes the peeing in a cup is an interesting one 😅😂 month 1-2 I only did clearblue. I only started the peeing in a cup on month 3 😂 it's like 2nd nature now 😬🙈

@spttc AMAZING thanks for the tips!

Omg 600mg!! I just checked my pills and they're only 25mg might buy some for next cycle

Oo interesting how does the app know the amount of LH? Do they determine it by how light or dark the sticks are and if so would the picture lighting distort the results?
I guess with SMEP you would have done 17/18/19 and then 21? You were pretty much there 😅

Oh interesting re acupuncture I just googled it and it says to get it every week apart from your period week I'm going to change it to the first week after period I think since I don't know when I ovulate and would have already missed the boat if I did it after 😅

I'm thinking of getting the Ava fertility bracelet which tracks your temperature, heart rate, sleep, and breathing rate too! I might start drinking grapefruit and pineapple juice during my fertility weeks since I like drinking them anyway! So many things on my list this cycle 😂😂

So excited to start hoping this is our month!

[quote spttc]@Elsbeth1 and yes the peeing in a cup is an interesting one 😅😂 month 1-2 I only did clearblue. I only started the peeing in a cup on month 3 😂 it's like 2nd nature now 😬🙈[/quote]
😂 😂 😂
ok i'm defo going to start peeing into a cup in cycle 3 then!
Hopefully I get preggo this month and it doesn't come to that 🙈🙈🙈

@Elsbeth1 interesting on the acupuncture! I'm going to look into that. I heard about the grapefruit and Brazil nuts. Pineapple aswell apparently. Although it must include the core of the pineapple.

The app....it's a ratio of the control line. I thoroughly tested it. Lol each one of those ones there I took the photo like 5 times in different lights. Always came up the same score which was cool, I do also just use my naked eye and could see on the high day it was super dark. And now I just always take the photos in the same place. But it's a great (and hygienic) way to keep your LH strips without actually keeping them 😂😬 Honestly at 35 part of me is wanting to have data for the doctors/fertility specialists if I have to go so when they ask me questions I'm not there like 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ Are you charting BBT? Although with the Ava bracelet that would be doing that for you 👌👌👌

@spttc I'll let you know how my acupuncture appointment goes :) but it seems quite detailed even in the "getting to know you" form it asks what you have for each meal of the day, what you've been trying so far etc.

Oh it is just the core can't be bothered with that 😂i'll just stick to grapefruit juice which I was going to buy pre squeezed

Oh that's so interesting about the strips and that's amazing that they can give you the exact levels! And yeah that's smart to be so prepared!!
I wish I had started tracking things earlier I didn't even know my cycle length until this month 😬😬😬

No I haven't started tracking BBT have you? I'm definitely going to look at buying a second hand Ava as soon as I know I'm out for this cycle 😂

Ok I just did my first OPK test and got a "high" I'm day 6 of my cycle is that normal??

@Elsbeth1 did you test with first morning urine? The clearblue you're meant to use first thing in the am. The opk strips you can use multiple times a day. If you didn't maybe that's why? How long is your cycle? Mine is 30-31 days. The first time I used the clear blue I had 8 days of flashing smileys before I got the static one. I think anything can be normal!

@Elsbeth1 yeh the grapefruit, pineapple and Brazil nuts I haven't gotten on board with (yet!) I saw people talking about pomegranate juice aswell! It's too much for me at this stage! I'm taking my supplements and that will do me for now! 😅 Yeh I started tracking BBT on month 2. I'm just starting cycle 4 now. It's like I add something new each cycle 😂😅🙈 maybe il be on the juices/pineapple core & Brazil nuts for cycle 5! 😝

@spttc yeah I tested with my first urine of the day which was at 11am 😅although I did also pee at 4.30am in the morning 😅

I think I'll start DTD today it's only one more day from the SMEP start at cycle day 8 anyway! That means we're starting at the same time right? 😂😂😂
My cycle is 30/31 days also! Cycle buddies 😂

I have the Clearblue fertility monitor which I thought would also be smileys but actually it just says "high" or "peak :)" I'm not sure if thats a bit different from the digital tests as maybe it has more of a long term view and is just trying to sus out my levels for this month? Time for some serious googling 😂

What do you use for BBT tracking?
I feel better for trying sometime new every month 😂 hopefully I don't run of of things to do 😂😂
Fingers crossed its your cycle this month so you don't have to try the juice nuts 😂😂

Yeh I'd start today why not! I'm of the opinion this month the more the better 😂 I use BBT to confirm ovulation. I put my chart here. See on cycle day 17 my temp dropped slightly from cycle day 16. Then sky rocketed up on cycle day 18. And it stayed dramatically higher. That's evidence ovulation occurred. And see the red line on the chart. When ovulation is detected it draws that line. And if temp drops below it during 2nd half of cycle then there may be hormonal issues etc. nothing in this is definate. But yeh I use it to see that little dip followed by massive rise (needs to stay up for 3 consecutive days to confirm ovulation)

@Elsbeth1 forgot to attach the chart 🙄

@Elsbeth1 see also on the chart the big dip at the end that made my chart look like Batman 😂 That dip was right before my period arrived. So I knew it was coming. It's caused by a massive drop in progesterone. Whereas if you are pregnant it will remain high/go higher.

@spttc ahh that's so interesting
Ok I've broken down and brought a second hand Ava so I can track my temperatures too! Found one on shpock for less than half price so couldn't resist

Welcome @Elsbeth1 I'm coming to the end of cycle 1 TTC#1 and I'm 36.
I'm currently on cycle day 26 and I'm 6/7 DPO. My cycle has been all over the place this month and my ovulation day moved like 4 times based on the readings from my LH strips and BBT measurements.

I don't feel like we DTD on the right days for this month to be a positive month after all the date changes in my ovulation. So I'm definitely doing SMEP next month when hopefully I can better predict my ovulation. And my OH won't be away with work do will be easier.

@spttc I need advice on the vitamins you're taking. I'm taking pregnacare and that's it. What else should I be / could I be taking to help increase my chances?

I'm not sure if I'll even test early this month or just wait for AF to come.

Hi @charja100 :)
Still so early in your cycle good luck! Fingers crossed for you :)
Oh that's so weird is it because it's your first cycle trying so its unclear?
What dates did they move from/to?

@Elsbeth1 I'm normally a 26/27 day cycle but this month my apps are predicting a 35 day cycle which I don't think I've ever had!
From some of my reading it looks like the reason my cycle had been lengthened is because I started talking Pregnacare Conception vitamins.

Hopefully next cycle it's easier to track, but also am hoping it's not another 35 day cycle! Want to get back on track next month but also means I can't predict when I'll ovulate which is annoying!

@charja100 have you taken a pregnancy test? Might explain why you're all over the place?

@Elsbeth1 I haven't because technically I'm only 6DPO based on the BBT results. So even if I was it wouldn't show up yet on a test! I think I just need to sit it out and be patient!

@charja100 Iv actually seen people talking about pregnacare on these threads and some saying they lengthened their cycle. It's a strange one I don't know what's in them. I certainly wouldn't lose hope for this cycle like @Elsbeth1 said. It only takes once and you may have hit the right day 👌👌 I think that's the thing about the SMEP....kind of takes the guesswork out of it. Start early and keep going!

I'm taking proceive max women, my husband is taking the men's ones. 600mg of ubiquinol. A dha tablet. And I'm taking low dose aspirin, apparently good for implantation if there's any inflammation, I don't know of any I have but I figure I'm a geriatric so why not!?

Iv emailed a place about acupuncture @Elsbeth1 👍👌 Iv always wanted to try it in general so it's the perfect time! Very interested to hear your review of the Ava bracelet! Keep me posted!

Thanks @spttc where do you buy ubiquinol and DHA tablets from?

@charja100 these are the ones I have. I live in Ireland I'm not sure where you're from I'm sure you can get similar etc

I got the ubiquinol here. Pricey. But it's buy one get one half price so I do that.
https://discounthealthstore.ie/products/natures-plus-beyond-coq10-200mg-ubiquinol-60s?pos=3&&sid=9473e262b&ss=r

I got the dha from www.meagherspharmacy.ie

@spttc thank you so much! I'm going to look into this more this afternoon.

No problem @charja100 😁