TTC 35+ Thread 12

[Misty84]

Hope this works girls, haven’t done this before, we’ve run out of space on the other thread.
@thislittlebird @ElsieG3m @Marvellouslymadmum @KatRee @Anxiouswannabe

@RugbyGirl1 I think that's what happened to me last cycle even though I was on clomid 🤦🏼‍♀️ it was 61 days long!

Hi and welcome @lakejupiter

@thislittlebird haha I'm quite enjoying it 🙊 yes I had the test this morning even though I got a very high opk yesterday even higher today and a big temp rise so I'm hoping that means I've actually ovulated properly this month even if it is a week late!

@Marvellouslymadmum I’m glad you are, it sounds like my nightmare 😭. Better late than never!

I don’t get positive OPKs so I can’t really track. Missing a period is very rare for me, fingers crossed this one comes.

@thislittlebird I very rarely get positive OPKs tbh! Sometimes a faint positive, and always get a strong second line around O time but almost never have a darker line than the control line. I did have a day 21 progesterone test in December tho and that was positive, and I get all the other signs of ovulation (EWCM, high cervix etc) so I'm trying to just trust my body and tbh I might stop tracking LH because it's confusing for those of us who do ovulate and for whatever reason struggle to get strong positives. I think part of it might be that I have a tiny bladder and struggle to hold for a long time

@lakejupiter yeah probably not a bad idea. I’m not convinced it helps everyone, especially if it’s unclear. Spreading out the times you ‘dtd’ is probably more effective, cover more bases. I have never seen a line as strong as the control line unless I’ve been in fertility meds. My progesterone results have been iffy though, so there’s something up with me, including being infertile since we’re int year 3 of ttc. I’m just hoping ivf can circumvent our problems.

@thislittlebird yeah unfortunately as we aren't a couple and we are doing home inseminations (and don't live together and both work full time in separate places) we can't spread them out the way some people do - we have three days to work with usually (ideally the two days before I O and then the day of) and our options are 2x inseminations with 48 hour gap or 3x inseminations with a 24 hour gap. It's not ideal but it is what it is. This time we did 3x on 3 consecutive days but next time we might try leaving a gap of 48 hours between tries and just trying twice. Let those swimmers build back up....

@thislittlebird sorry to hear about iffy progesterone levels ❤️❤️❤️ why are our bodies such a mystery?! I hope you get some answers. Do you mind me asking what your day 21 levels were? Do they go up and down or just a bit low? And apologies for the info dump about my TTC/insemination arrangement, think I'm a bit on edge today!

@lakejupiter ah that’s frustrating, maybe you’ll need to try a combination of those options over a few months. We’re used to tmi here don’t worry lol.

My progesterone was been 17 and 10 when it’s been tested in a normal cycle. It’s this weird dodgy territory between 20 and 30 (ovulation confirmed, depending on who you ask) and 3-5 indicating no ovulation (according to one of the consultants I spoke to). I’m not convinced they know what’s happening with people in the middle like me tbh. A weak ovulation??? No ovulation but still periods? Low progesterone despite ovulation??? No idea. Either way, when I was on Letrozole and (I think) ovulated 2 eggs one month plus I was on progesterone suppositories my levels went up to 108, which is a huge difference, even if you take the medication account for some of that into consideration. So I clearly am capable of producing it/ovulating but no one seems to know what’s going on, other than I have quite a lot of follicles for my age and could be borderline??? PCOS. I also have very low FSH and LH, and I’m guessing that’s got something to do with it all. Again, it’s all very unclear. My husband has poor motility too so we’re starting ICSI this month with our one funded nhs round and hoping we’ve got an egg meets sperm problem and the rest will be ok in the end. Fingers crossed. I was 36 when we started trying in oct 2019, it’s exhausting.

@thislittlebird yes hopefully it'll be ok for you! I do seem to eventually ovulate when I get a long cycle but last af was so light and odd not like usual at all! 🤷🏼‍♀️

@thislittlebird I'm so sorry that sounds super frustrating and long winded but hoping it is indeed a sperm meets egg problem. I am mentally preparing myself for potentially being in the same boat - have had various wonky blood test results (inc borderline progesterone) and my coparent is 57 so may have motility issues due to his age (getting tested soon). So many unknowns!

@lakejupiter same. Fingers crossed it is. You might be completely fine but in your situation with limited chances it’s probably worth your time getting tested. Especially if you have any sperm issues, you can move on to more than effective options.

This morning I had a large amount of EWCM (for me) and now my darkest ever OPK result since October 2019 🤪. Never seen anything this dark unless I was on meds. It’s CD16 today so I guess we’ll be dtd.

@thislittlebird oh that's good! I've had the same the last couple of days too 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 for us!

Oh good that you got a ride @Marvellouslymadmum!

I’m going to fit a HIIT workout in, I got new running and workout trainers especially 🙌, then I guess we need to get on with it. Never sure whether to do it every day or every other with his motility but he’s supposed to refresh the supply, as such, every day anyway.

@thislittlebird I'm not sure about that either so we just do every other day most if the time with the odd extra if we feel like it 🤷🏼‍♀️

@thislittlebird yay those are proper dark opk lines. Good luck!!!!

I got a positive opk yesterday when back from seeing my coparent. I thought I had ovulated Sat eve as Sat AM I had strong ovulation pain and EWCM, but never mind. So today I'm 1DPO and just hoping the lil swimmers from the weekend are still hanging about! I did feel a bit deflated though and even double checked it with clearblue which never usually works for me for some reason and for once got a static smiley! Almost jumped back on a train but trying to trust that if we inseminated on three days pre ovulation that I do stand a chance still. And I've learned something for next month 🙃

@thislittlebird That's interesting that you say you don't get positive OPKs, because mine are all over the shop, even though my cycle is really regular. Doing them is starting to stress me out so I think I'm gonna try and give up.

Hello and welcome @lakejupiter. Lots of luck for your TWW

@thislittlebird And now I've just seen your OPK result today! That is properly strong! Hope you're getting down to it

@countrypunk do you bbt? As that helps with deciphering the opk too

@lakejupiter it’s sadly exciting to get these lines after 2 and a bit years! I get clear blue smileys but I’ve never trusted them because I didn’t get regular dark OPKs.

It’s funny, I can get symptoms days in advance. But because I never get much in the way of positive OPKs it’s a lot of guess work. I don’t temp because I found it too stressful, kept waking up thinking about having to temp the same time as the day before.

@countrypunk what sort of results do you get on OPKs? My cycles are 90% regular I’d say, pretty predictable other than the occasional weird month. Honestly shocked me seeing that dark line, I’m not used to it! All I ever get is no lines on any bloody tests lmao

We’ve already got down to it! Don’t want to miss the window just in case, by some miracle after all this time, a sperm can find an egg.

@Marvellouslymadmum @thislittlebird It really varies! Some months I use the Clearblue kit and I might go from not fertile one day to peak fertility the next. Or I'll have a week of high fertility and no peak. And if I use the cheapie sticks it's hard to say but I rarely get a truly dark line.

I sometimes track my BBT and actually I do find that my temp increases by about 0.4 degrees when I've supposedly ovulated. Might try that instead of the OPKs for the next couple of months.

Like someone else said though (I think @lakejupiter), I have a tiny bladder and am constantly peeing so maybe the hormones aren't concentrated enough to be picked up properly. Or maybe I don't know what I'm talking about...

Glad you got the business done and dusted @thislittlebird

My brother's partner had a beautiful baby girl on Friday. I thought I'd feel a bit sad but actually I just feel full to bursting for them. She's absolutely gorgeous ♥️

@countrypunk I used to have exactly the same issues and some months I get 4/5 false peaks on opk before I actually ovulate but coupled with bbt I can almost always pinpoint ovulation I just end up testing for most of the month so cheap opk are definitely the way to go for me lol especially when I'm known to have 50-60 day cycles sometimes

Thanks @Marvellouslymadmum. I'm gonna take your advice and start charting my BBT properly

Hey everyone, I’m getting a little envious of all the DPOs. My Clearblue OPK has said high fertility since Saturday but no static smile yet. Lots of DTD this week so fingers crossed I ovulate and this is The Month.

I never realised so much of TTC is waiting around!

Oh and I’m doing Dry Jan. really missing a g&t already

@countrypunk it doesn't work for everyone and certainly takes a few months to get used to but once you do it's ever so useful!

@LittleWins I had a 60 day cycle last cycle so I feel your pain! Cd23 here and think I've ovulated yesterday or will do today 🤞🏻 so alot better than last time but still later than it should be! Ttc is all waiting around unfortunately, I try and distract myself and ignore it after doing my opk/bbt in the morning and that does help, especially once I can stop the opk and just temp. Hopefully you'll get that peak soon

Thanks @Marvellouslymadmum . I just want to be onto the next round of waiting. Another flashing smile this morning - sigh!

@LittleWins what day are you on? It happens, can get very annoying fast.