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 in really sorry. It’s the worst! I also chart BBT and always know when it’s due to come and when it does a nose dive it’s so depressing. I stopped whilst I was on holiday and was considering stopping all together. I’m glad you have your holidays to look forward to. It’ll be a great distraction.

@Carla2601 yes it was lovely. We were in Rhodes, Greece. Loads of nice food, swimming in the sea and lots of hikes. Really didn’t want to come back and face reality. Oh well!

@NatW2021 that sounds like a great idea, take control of what you can control and book yourself some lovely distractions. You’re doing everything you can and it’s ok to feel down it’s really shitty and really hard.

@Tinkerbell098 sounds dreamy! But yes I can imagine not fun being back, at least it’s sunny that always helps a bit x

Also @NatW2021 I wouldn’t worry too much about giving things up for IVF. My nurse said it really doesn’t make much difference what you do. If it helps you feel in control definitely good to do but if it makes things harder I wouldn’t deprive yourself of everything (I didn’t)

@Carla2601 Thanks I dont think ill go 100% t-total but really going to try cut back more from a weight loss point of view - i do so well all week then the minute i have a drink/treat i pile it all back on its so depressing and just feels like another massive hurdle to overcome. I walk daily but dont do any cardio etc so i am hoping it may help shift the weight, the only time i lost serious weight was when i went india in my early 20s for 3 months 😂

@Tinkerbell098 - glad you had a lovely break away. What are your next steps have you heard from NHS. Yet? X

All these holidays sound like a fab idea. We go in about 6 weeks. And I can’t wait. It’s just what we need I think.

well after one night of terrible pains. I feel much better today and more myself. Think my bleeding is already tapering off. And my tests are faint ish already. so hoping I shall be back to me soon.

it feels really weird. When we started back last year beginning of summer. And it’s back to summer again. It’s almost like the last year hasnt happened.

but I’m trying to start on a clean slate. Almost as if we’re only starting ttc now. This is the beginning of my journey to the baby I hopefully get to take home 🤞🏼 An fingers crossed I’m blessed to fall again. If it’s meant to be it will be

Going to enjoy the weather now it’s warming up. Get out in the sunshine. In the garden. And enjoy my summer. Having cocktails etc. Not put too much pressure on anything.

@NatW2021 I think it’s good to concentrate on other things. I want to lose a little weight before holiday and try robs up. And I just want to do things for me and focus on me x x

@NatW2021 sorry to hear AF has arrived. Mine will be coming tomorrow. Glad you have your holiday (s) to look forward to.

@Tinkerbell098 are you starting IVF soon now?

@Carla2601 yes the sun definitely helps! Hope you’re enjoying the lovely weather x

@NatW2021 @Hoping43 i’m still waiting to hear back from NHS for an appointment to start IVF. I was told the wait is about three months. It’s been two months now so hoping I’ll hear something soon but really doubt it as I’m yet to hear back from the initial referral which was done back in august 21.

@Tinkerbell098 ah I see. I think I thought you were having it privately for some reason. Fingers crossed your hear something soon xx

Hi guys, I've been a bit quiet recently trying to just at focussed on my own journey.

@Hoping43 so Proxeed is not a miracle worker. It's a combination of lots of vitamins that are best for healthy sperm production. My partners count didn't change, but his morphology changed drastically and is now well above normal. The doctor we spoke to said morphology is the quickest thing to fix. Can't guarantee it was Proxeed but it is likely to have contributed to the good result. Just a word on Dr R... and this may be me being brutal/cynical. My partner is in finance and just sees through people immediately with these kind of things. He is amazing, but be under no illusion that the whole thing is a money machine. He will ask you to go immediately to the other clinic to book 1k worth of tests. Don't feel obliged to do that, please just consider what is required and what is not. A few tests ticked on the sheet were totally unnecessary - ie, an STI test which we have both had for the fertility clinic, a SA which we had only just done. He knew we were already recommended ICSI and he suggested a DNA frag test. The US we got privately through BUPA... there was no varicocele. With your case, he is probably the best person to go to, but just don't rush into all the recommended tests.

A little update... We spoke to the consultant again... together for the first time. She was quite insistent that IVF with ICSI was our recommended 'treatment' and that idea of it being a treatment was new to me I think. I asked about getting a DNA frag test and she said that ICSI would be the 'treatment' for that which in our case is already the suggested route so she said it was wasted money. It's about 6 weeks between asking to start IVF and actually getting going. My OH wants to do one more test and then we will make a decision. If we decide not to begin at that point, the hospital will discharge us. Battling with the (I think) male narrative that IVF is failing in some way. It's been a tough week.

Hope you all had lovely sunny weekends x

@FlyOnTheWall89 by normal do you mean above the 4%? We have been told everything’s normal but always looking for an answer…. You know what it’s like.

glad to hear you’ve made a bit of progress with your partner. Hopefully now you’ve spoken to the consultant together he will come around to the idea a bit quicker. I was thinking of you as I noticed you’d been quiet. Hope you are ok xx

Ah @FlyOnTheWall89 thanks for the update (and agreed re Mr Ramsey - we did the tests not thinking and then my OH came home a bit shocked!!!). It is treatment although I agree it’s strange terminology - it’s also the only thing in the world I can think of that you get treated for on behalf of someone else. And that might be part of the problem I imagine it’s awful for them because it’s technically them who need treatment and then you have to be treated.

i had my treatment at the lister if you’re looking for recommendations (although again it’s expensive) and we also had ICSI

So sorry @Hoping43 I was getting confused! Most of that info was for @lemons44 ! Yes above 4%. Have you got the exact results? Were any borderline?

We have one round on the NHS @Carla2601 at Chelsea & Westminster. I didn't realise when you get your funding, you can choose what hospital provider to use. We are so far down the line now and they've been very good so far and quick, so I don't think we will move but if it fails, we will look into Lister.

Hope you're okay xx

@FlyOnTheWall89 i can’t remember them all specifically but all of them were above the normal limits. Some more so than others and the results were better than when we conceived our second so I took that as a good thing. It’s 4 years ago now since we were trying for our second (!!!! Which seems two minutes since), he turns 3 this year so I think my fertility has declined with age which is probably the ultimate cause because in my younger days I had no real issues 🙄 (1 month and 8 months) xx

Hey ladies, hope you all had a nice weekend, despite some AFs arriving!

I had a big blow out Saturday night and went partying 💃🏼 I said to DH that if we want a night out in our new home city then we needed to do it before I start letrozole because I'm not going to be drinking while on that. Fair to say I had an awful hangover all day Sunday and will remember that when I'm missing alcohol in a few weeks time 😂

No other update from me really. I had 3 days of ovulation bleeding this weekend, which is the most I've ever had. I loved on Google trying to figure out if I should be worried but couldn't find anything...

Also picked up my letrozole and AF due end of next week so we'll be full steam ahead from there. Though I'm not holding much hope for the whole letrozole situation, but at least it will feel like we're doing something.

@FlyOnTheWall89 yes they said we’d get a choice of three too - until they lost our form and forgot to file anything about us 🙄🙄🙄.

here’s hoping one cycle is more than enough. Keep me posted and if you have any questions (I did my booking in then felt like I couldn’t remember how to do any of it!) you can PM me anytime and if I can help I will x

@BritInNZ hi! So pleased you had a fun night out! I think it's so important to do that sort of thing and keep it fun. Have you spoken to someone about the ovulation bleeding? That sounds a bit strange! Good luck with letrozole - how are you feeling about it all? I think our cycles are finally in sync as I'm also due AF in about 5 days. X

Hi ladies
aahhh every time I pop on here so much has happened, I can’t keep up with you all! Lol.
@NatW2021 Sorry to hear AF came :( mine did too .. CD3 now. I noticed you had said about BBT … I find it extremely stressful but managed to find a wrist thermometer on Amazon called pouchpass which I have being delivered today so I’ll let you know if it’s any good!

@Carla2601 Are you taking pregnacare by any chance? I suffered with extreme, painful bloating when I was pregnant and worked out that it was the iron in the pregnacare !

Update from me.. I had an appointment with my GP yesterday who has agreed to start doing bloods (just need to wait for CD21) and has referred me back to the hospital for another ultrasound to see if we can work out what’s going on with these bloody cysts 😩

Hope everyone else is doing ok on their own journeys.. x

@Koalie that sounds like progress! Do you have standard cycles? I only ask because mine are 26/7 days and they wanted to do my day 21 on day 19 (but it seems like they don’t always check idk why).

im actually not, I’m taking folic acid and vit d as that’s what my clinic recommend.

little update from me, I had my scan today (7 weeks) and they found a heartbeat. Of course still lots of room for something going wrong but we’ve graduated so now I’m just a regular standard nhs patient which feels really nice. I have my first appointment on Monday so I’ll let you know if they say anything IVF related

@Carla2601 congrats, that’s great news. I hope everything continues to go well for you xx

did your clinic say anything about optimum vit d levels? My acupuncturist told me that clinics like it to be over 100pmol. I just had my results back and they are completely normal vs. the standard NHS reference ranges but they’re at 64 so obviously way off optimal for fertility 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Carla2601 That’s amazing news! I bet you’re relieved :)

My cycles have been a bit all over the place since my miscarriage .. longest was 34 and shortest 19!! I do tend to ovulate around CD14 though, it’s just my luteal phase that’s a mess. 🙄

x

@Hoping43 thank you! No they never mentioned it but they didn’t do very extensive tests on me because of my OH and his missing piece and my upfront tests looking fine they just went for it and we got lucky I guess

@Koalie thank you! Ah ok that’s tough but good that the tests should be right for you and it sometimes feels good just to have something booked in so you’re doing something doesn’t it

@Carla2601 yey! That's amazing news! Hope that has put your mind at ease now xx

@Tinkerbell098 a bit but then there’s always something else to worry about isn’t there! Im trying to relax for today and just be happy for the day at least. How are you this week? Did you hear back from pals?

@Carla2601 amazing news! I know you'll probably always be worried because of the journey you took to get here, but you must be starting to get excited now?!

@FlyOnTheWall89 it was fun! But the hangover the next day reminded me why it doesn't happen very often 😂 I spoke to a gynaecologist about it a couple of weeks ago and she said it was nothing to worry about. So I guess she's the expert and should know?! I feel fine about the whole letrozole thing, actually looking forward to having a plan and feeling like we're making some progress. Of course, I still have that thing in the back of my mind like 'how good would it be if I got pregnant this month and didn't have to do it' but I'm also a realist now, so just looking forward to the letrozole phase. I think my first scan should be around the 30 May. DH isn't looking forward to using condoms again (you have to have protected sex until your scan in case you have four follicles and accidentally end up with quadruplets) 😂 although I think the chances are slim seeing as we can't even make one baby, let alone four!

@BritInNZ IMAGINE!!! I agree - it’s good moving into the next phase in a way you’re like one step closer to your baby and there might be a few hurdles but you’ll get over them.

I am I cried a lot when she said there’s the heartbeat (and then pretended I could see it like Rachel from Friends, and she gave me a whole load of photos that I’m hoping nobody asks to see as I’m not sure I really know what’s on them!) I figured as long as they’re happy then I’ll take it, there will hopefully be other scans that are a bit less confusing!