One year+ TTC part 3

[BritInNZ]

Hey ladies - new thread here we come! Changed it from 9 months+ seeing as we're pretty much all over a year of TTC now (boo!)

Feel free to add anyone else I may have forgotten 😊

@Carla2601
@lemons44
@LucyAnne34
@NatW2021
@Indianna2006
@KatieLooLa
@Hoping43
@Flyonthewall89

Newbies welcome too! Just a bunch of lovely ladies going through a tough time TTC and having a good old time venting and supporting one another 😊

@NatW2021 I’m excited for you !! Once you get going and start seeing results you’ll be so motivated .. it’s always getting in the flow of it that’s the hardest bit. I always find that focusing on nutritious food rather than calorie counting gets me the best results but I do that along with exercising every day. Keep us updated! I’m re starting my healthy habits as of tomorrow too ☺️ X

@Koalie - thank you 😊 i think i just need to start moving more and also reducing my portion sizes aa most of my weight gain happened slowly over 8 years since moving in together and dividing everything in two 😂 good luck on your healthy start tomorrow too x

@NatW2021 i know exactly what you mean! Good luck on Tuesday….knowing is always better than not knowing so you can make a plan and move forward

@FlyOnTheWall89 and @BritInNZ I am just catching up with this thread as I still do from time to time and just wanted to say OH MY GOD YES YOU GOT YOUR BFPS!!!!!!!!!!! Massive congratulations to you and anyone else I missed. Hope you're both doing well and super excited! So happy for you. Hope everyone else is doing well and hanging in there, it's the hardest journey. That's me 26 weeks now and I still can't believe my luck. X

Hi everyone.

hope you’re all okay.

@NatW2021 good for you on starting the weight loss journey. It will be so worth it and once you start to see results. Will make you feel so good. Sorry about arrival of AF bang on time though.

@Koalie sorry to hear you’ve got to avoid 3 months ttc. That must be really hard but just try fill your time as best you can.

No update from me really. On cycle 4 since my mmc. Just plodding along going through the usual as you do. Just waiting and biding my time until we hopefully eventually fall pregnant again.

we have discussed stopping. But think we’re gonna keep going for now and think about calling it a day nearer to the new year. Hoping for good luck before then but I’m not so sure.

@kmbegs nice to hear from you and glad it's all going well so far :) Have you found out the gender yet?

@NatW2021 I know what you mean. I also work from home, so feel like I've gained so much over the last two years and so true about portion size I didn't really think about it. I don't think I used to eat as much before we moved in together. I also pretty much divide everything into two without even thinking! I really do need to start my health kick too so we can motivate each other. All the best with the gym plan and hope you enjoy it and see some results soon! Good luck for tomorrow's appointment.

@FlyOnTheWall89 thank you so, so much for your in depth post and your kind words - you are so good and I am so appreciative! My OH isn't taking proxeed but everything else really, so I'll order a box of those for him. I had some pelvic scan results today which I can't really make head nor tail of so hopefully they are OK and we don't meet any major road blocks! Enjoy all the scans and milestones - wishing you a very happy and healthy pregnancy!!

Hi Ladies

I had my phone appointment today and tbh feel no more empowered/knowledgeable, in fact i just feel upset/frustrated.

My AMH is "perfectly" normal at 9.7 which i consider low? Also adenomyosis looks mild so thats something but i just find it hard to trust what they say.

They wont do a hycosy as my bmi is over 31 so looks like im going private for that, i am really worrying thats the problem now as she said it looks like we are "unexplained"

I have 6 months to lose weight which is fair but considering private as with a lower AMH i dont want to hang round too long x

@NatW2021 sorry you don't feel like you got more info today. How old are you? In terms of stopping you from getting pregnant, your AMH won't be the answer. Frustratingly, it sounds unexplained at this point doesn't it?

Get a HSG privately and go from there whilst focusing on getting your weight down a bit and feeling more positive on that front. X

@NatW2021 sorry the appointment made you feel rubbish! Good news on the adenomyosis. I didn't realise they had a bmi threshold to do an HSG. I got it done privately to reduce any delays. As @FlyOnTheWall89 mentioned, AMH will have no bearing on natural conception. It's really crap to be in the unexplained category, I know how you feel. Try to stay positive and focus on your gym plan and hope it will distract you from TTC for a bit in a good way X

I'm having a weird cycle this month. Potentially the last cycle we can try naturally before IVF and it feels like my body is on strike and does not want to ovulate! I have very regular cycles and have never missed a period. I've been doing OPKs for God knows how long and I get a peak on Day 14/15 and EWCM a couple of days before that. No EWCM this month, no peak (the second line is almost non-existent and getting blank circles on CB, not even a flashing smiley) and no BBT shift. So strange, as if my body has just given up now.

@FlyOnTheWall89 @Tinkerbell098 - i am 34 1/4 i know AMH isnt the be all and she said she wasnt concerned as my AFC is 16. I think the whole situation is just draining/upsetting as you all know and no result even if good makes you feel ok as it doesnt mean anything as still not pregnant.

I am feeling a little positive after a deep talk with my hubby as he seemed to think it was better than expected i think i just look for the negatives (i know its not a good thing) i think after 14 cycles its hard to keep so positive.

I spoke to the clinic before about the hycosy and they could possibly fit me in next week i just need to call my gp tomorrow and get them to send a referral.

@Tinkerbell098 - how strange is that! What day you on x

Hi everyone.

@NatW2021 sorry to hear you don’t feel happier after your appt. Also unexplained over here so totally get how you feel. Not sure on AMH. It seems everyone has a different opinion as seems to be the case with most things fertility related.

@Tinkerbell098 i also know how you feel. I’ve had the odd cycle like that, so frustrating.

I am also having a rubbish month! First month of letrozole and they haven’t seen a dominant follicle on my scans on day 9, 14, 18 or 21 so I’ve been really disappointed. But they think I’ve ovulated between scans as my lining was 8.7mm which apparently it can be up to 11mm before ovulation and then it was 13.7mm and apparently it can be up to 16mm post ovulation. I mean I’m really not convinced AT ALL 😩

@NatW2021 im sorry it wasn’t as helpful as you’d hoped but I think your OH is right, it’s funny how you can hear the same things and take away totally different messages isn’t it. Great that you have that focus and 6 months is a really sensible time frame so you’re not rushing and stuff. I was also completely convinced my amh was lower than it should be but I was wrong so hopefully you are too 😊.

@Tinkerbell098 im sorry about your cycle - apparently it’s super common before IVF. I had never been late and I was late too but it doesn’t stop how bloomin annoying it is. I reckon it’s because you’re thinking about it even more maybe? Hope it sorts itself back out for you asap!

@Hoping43 @Carla2601 - thank you for the encouragement 😊 i suppose on reflection i wasn't really going to find out anything major. I am keen to have the Hycosy this cycle and i have a call with my gp today so hopefully they will send a referral quickly.

I am worried though as my smear tests are always difficult and they really struggle to find my cervix so worrying it wont work!

@Hoping43 - i bet that is frustrating, are you going to do another monitored cycle? X

@NatW2021 definitely get it done. They'll be super used to all sorts of cervix's and if it was like mine, the nurse by my head literally spoke to me solidly so I had no time to think about what was going on down below and it was over before I knew it. Lots of deep breathing and stay relaxed. You can do it. X

@NatW2021 theyve said I don’t need anymore scans or blood tests 😭. Taking the letrozole deffo hasn’t worked out as I expected (surprise!!) x

Hi all,

@NatW2021 my DH lost a stone very easily just by logging his calories into an app called 'my fitness pal'. It's really opened our eyes up about how many calories are in our meals. Some meals we thought were really healthy are actually really high calories, and other big meals we thought would be high, have much lower calories.

I'm also having a pretty rubbish week, but mainly because I am the most impatient person in the world and any sort of waiting around just irritates me. Our private clinic can fit DH in for semen extraction on 15th September which is SEVEN weeks away. For a private procedure I think that's terrible?!

So I was torn between looking for another clinic and hope it is quicker or just booking it. At the same time our GP has finally made our referral to NHS fertility services and I am just kicking myself massively that we didn't push for that referral sooner.

I've just felt really fed up about all this waiting and also constantly weighing things up like I was wondering if we book the semen extraction knowing it will take seven weeks or now just wait for NHS? It's impossible to know which will be quicker.

How long did everyone need to wait for their first NHS appointment?

@lemons44 7 weeks feels too long when you’re paying I agree with you so I’d call around or keep calling back and seeing about cancellations….you never know.

i didn’t wait too long for my appointment but it depends where you are as I know @Tinkerbell098 waited a while so I think it varies

good luck!!

@Hoping43 - you would think they would do another monitored cycle as this one was a unclear wpuldnt you. Are you going to keep taking it? X

@lemons44 - i would keep private and try get something sooner. I know NHS are generally great but i can only speak from my own experience and i think i agree totally with you that all the waiting is hard going and you just want answers now rather than hanging round. I was referred at xmas took 4 months to initial appointment then a further 3 to speak to a consultant (yday) x

I just contacted another private clinic and they said we would need a consultation first and the earliest that would be is September and then 3 months after that they would do surgical sperm retrieval.

So that makes our 7 week wait look good.

@Carla2601 did you have a straightforward TESE with Dr R? Do mind me asking if you remember how much that was? We don't really want to spend more than 2.5k on it. I know Dr R mentioned to us about a 6k operation but that was for MicroTese I think 🤔

If not I may just accept that we have a 7 week wait.

Thanks for the input on NHS waiting times @Carla2601 and @NatW2021 . I think I will just stay private so we can have our minds put at rest around the 'is there, isn't there' sperm debate. Then hopefully by the time we do get to the front of the NHS queue they will just do an IVF referral and not need more tests.

X

@lemons44 my experience with NHS hasn't been great so far as it's been delay after delay. I went private at the start of the year to get all my tests done and they referred me for IVF pretty quickly and it's been about a 3 month wait since then. However, for the initial referral the GP did back in Aug last year took about 10 months to come through. I'd still be doing my initial tests (ultrasound, HSG) if I had been waiting. But I think it's just my area as everyone else seems to get through quite quickly. The clinic here is quite small and don't have much staff from what I gathered. That plus COVID backlog didn't help.

@lemons44 i think it was £5 or £6k (sounds terrible that I can’t remember we just did everything through the one hospital so it all kind of merges) but definitely a lot more than other private hospitals. Now I type that out I wonder why we didn’t shop around but I think we just got swept up in the momentum of it plus it’s local for us.

7 weeks clearly isn’t too bad and it will give you time for that nhs referral too because WHEN (I’m manifesting it because I’ve been there and I know you can’t ☺️) you get the sperm you then might have less of a wait to start your treatment. Good luck I remember that time so well (and if it helps at all that was us in February this year so it can all change very quickly and I’m so so hoping it does for you two too)

@Carla2601 didn't realise it was common to have messed up cycles before IVF. I do think I'm overthinking. I think most of my dreams are about IVF and injections which prob won't help. Got a flashing smiley today though, so hope it's coming, although the OPK strips are still v v v faint.

@NatW2021 day 17 so very late for me. Still no EWCM or positive OPK. Oh well! Hope the GP managed to do a referral for you to get your hycosy. I'm sure they have experience with all shapes and sizes of cervixes. It's never been easy to to a smear on me either, but they didn't seem to struggle with the HSG.

@Hoping43 would you still continue with letrozole for another couple of months?

@lemons44 - that sounds like a good plan. I totally get what you mean i am so inpatient with this whole process and it feels so much better when you have a plan. I am by no means rich but i am so greatful i have options and can go private for things (although it annoys me) i feel for people that just cant do it as the delays/waiting is hard going.

@Tinkerbell098 - yes i had call with my GP today for once it was a good call and was on the phone for 15 mins, hes doing me a letter which i am picking up tomorrow and ill send to the clinic and hopefully il they can see me early next week before ovulation. I had a call a few weeks ago about my thyroid and was on the phone for 59seconds - some GPs are rubbish!

Glad you have a flashing smiley, so weird about it being a common thing before IVF isnt it x

@Hoping43 I wouldn't accept that. The first month of monitoring is to ensure you have the right dosage, which you clearly didn't. So if they are going to up your dosage you require another month of monitoring to make sure you don't over stimulate and produce too many eggs. I would say this to them - I'd expect better seeing as you're paying privately!