Preparing to TTC in 2022 part 6

[WingingIt09]

Hello and welcome to thread 6! You guys are all amazing, can't believe the thread is still going! Congrats to those with BFPs and baby dust to those who are trying! Xx

Aw sorry @LucyLoopyLu
& @Dreamingof3 this sucks balls. Seems like their could have been something and as someone whose had a cp before the amount of time doesn't make a difference to how crushing it can be, some men don't get it because it isn't happening within their bodies. There are definitely things you can do to increase your luteal phase that don't involve going to the drs vitex is one a lady from a thread I'm on just had some sucess with vitamin b6 as well and these things can work pretty quickly. Take care of yourself and tell dp to shhh

@SarahShorty your responce actually made me lol

@Jennifer89 I'm glad it looks like your cycles are regular again hoping october is your lucky month!

@PinkButtercups how on earth are you 26 weeks!!

@DesertSnow thank you. Me too!

@Nypie tell me about it! This pregnancy has flown by!

@Nypie just telling it how I see it 😂 People that say 'it's just a clump of cells' piss me right off. It makes me question the way they view life. A coma patient is an inactive member of society and therefore bed-blocking, they're just a coma patient, so should their life support be switched off? They're just a clump of cells, right? There are people out there only alive today because of a pacemaker, should the pacemaker be ripped out? Again, they're just a clump of cells. People with cancerous tumours are dying slowly and painfully because several clumps of cells that are fast-replicating are growing and breaking off and lodging themselves into other parts of their bodies, ie metastasising. The people are clumps of cells, so does their life not matter either?

An embryo is a growing life with every potential to grow into a fully-formed baby. It's not 'just a clump of cells', it's far and away beyond that.

gets down from soapbox

@SarahShorty preach!!! Agree wholeheartedly with your comment! Couldn't have put it better myself!

Hi everyone, thanks for all your kind comments and sorry I didn't come back to say so! I know realistically we are probably still in with some chance this cycle. Been using preseed for 2 cycles now which I'm glad I bought as I haven't seen a trace of EWCM, I usually get it 1 day or 2 days in a cycle. Not sure what's going on.

Let's see whether AF turns up (I think due 7th Oct). I know I will be a bit fed up as I really wanted to be pregnant and be able to feel like I could tell people at Christmas / NY without the awkwardness around not drinking as its not like me to say no at Christmas. Although at this point obviously I will be happy if it happens at any point but just had that in my head since last Xmas that this year I would hopefully be expecting.

@SarahShorty hope you're ok, sorry you're having a tough time. Totally agree with your point, any anyone here would back you up that it is a big deal and not to minimise it as a "clump of cells" 😑

@PinkButtercups aw hope you get some better pictures this time! So lovely hearing about your twins 🧡 hope you are all well

@DesertSnow sorry to hear that. I have a feeling I may have had CP too as weird pregnancy type symptoms and clots also a few days before AF arrived. In some way I will just it as positive if it was that it shows implantation happened and they say after CP or miscarriage next time baby usually sticks. Let's hope so, fingers crossed..

@Nypie thank you, hope next cycle brings better news 😊

@LucyLoopyLu know how you feel about the drinking. I am also trying to avoid alcohol now ttc except during AF days so also don't want people to get suspicious. If I get a positive in October would be lovely to share news at Christmas/new years but will see..

Think AF is finally on her way, after 10 days!

been cramping all morning, with achey hips and thighs as usual and spotting this morning …

quite relieved so I know I’m onto the next cycle 🤞🏻 Did anyone have anything they did differently on the cycle they got a BFP?

Thank you everyone for being so kind. @Nypie yes it does suck balls indeed! (I looked into vitex but I think can mess with your cycles so holding off on that for now. I started b6 last cycle but didn't seem to have effect so might need longer.)

@SarahShorty You put it very eloquently! For me it was about the potential, and especially if it could have potentially been a viable pregnancy if not for my issues. It's hard to say whether it was a chemical or not as I didn't test - but this period is distinctly more crampy and heavy than usual and just feels different. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I know my body and something just felt off this month.

I spoke to OH about his clump of cells comment, and I get that he was trying not to get attached to protect himself, but I explained to him what it feels like from my point of view. Of course he can only get it up to a point, but he listened and apologised and realised that he got it wrong. I literally just needed some sympathy and for him to be there, but he was trying to rationalise the situation away (he's a scientist and has a habit of responding logically rather then emotionally, but he's working on it).

So I spoke to the GP and was actually very pleasantly surprised. They agreed the sudden dramatic change in my cycles (from 34-36 days down to 27/28) and teh recurrently short luteal phase are causes for concern so they've ordered some blood tests, to be taken between days 5-7 of my cycle. Bit confused as would have thought the progesterone would need to be tested in my luteal phase, but it's a great starting point and I guess I can request that later. He even suggested that they test my OH's sperm too! Which is a real bonus, and given the variocele, very welcome.

In the meantime I'm going to continue on the vitamin b6 and continue taking 2 rest days from exercise. And also practice managing stress (wedding is 5 weeks away so easier said than done, but I'm on holiday next week - first time abroad since 2019!)

Really hoping that this luteal phase thing can be fixed.

@DesertSnow I'm glad that he walked it back. It's just one of those "Wtf?!" moments, I think. Good man. I'm very happy that you've got the interest of a GP to investigate your luteal phase and for the sperm test for your OH. All steps in the right direction. Onwards and upwards! xx

Hope everyone is doing ok! I’ve been a bit quiet getting through what seems to be the longest AF I’ve ever had!
Now on day 7….AF generally gone with just a little bit of coloured discharge. But I have what feels like period pains/cramps!! Has anyone had this where you get pain at the end/after AF?? Any ideas what might be going on?

@DesertSnow glad you managed to have that conversation with your OH and share what you're feeling. I also have a partner who likes to rationalise and go straight into "solution mode" when sometimes you don't want to hear solutions

@SarahShorty you said if so well it’s not just cells it’s human life! You put it so well especially when making a baby for some it’s a complete miracle!

still no AF for me and it’s day 37 now. I took a test a few days ago and it was negative. App says AF is due tomorrow so we will see!

The intense stomach cramps I had at the start of the month before ovulation are back and I’m feeling pretty awful. I’m a bit worried now and think I may ring the doctors in the morning just to get checked out. Has anyone else had anything similar? Never had anything like this before until we started TTC!

Hope everyone else is okay x

I’m so confused, j was convinced AF was coming, had achey hips/thighs when I woke up and cramps but I’ve literally had the smallest amount of spotting (only on wiping)… and it’s stopped now

I’m CD 34, apparently ovulated on CD 10 according to OPK so technically 24dpo… and period is 11 days late according to my normal cycle

it’s my first cycle off the pill and I wondered if it’s that but I’m just so confused now

@BethSuz27 it could be coming off the pill and hormones are adjusting as well but keep testing fingers crossed for you xx

Currently cd18 and 3dpo according to the premom but im not hopeful, I did use lh strips and only got a good line on cd14 but still classed as low on premom. They were so faint the rest of the time so i got excited expecting for another darker one but it went back to faint lines after that😔, so now I don't even know if I've ovulated this month.

Hello all ❤️

CD45 for me, wasn't expecting a long cycle on the Metformin but nothing surprises me anymore. Yesterday was my last of 12 days on Provera- based on my last cycle using it, AF should hopefully turn up by the weekend.

I've made the decision that I need to focus more on self care as well as TTC. Between having DS, lockdowns and now WFH the majority of the week, I've kinda turned into a walking pair of pyjamas and it's a good day if I manage to brush my hair 😂

Ive been taking the Metformin for about 3 months now- my periods seem to be back on track but my weight is going nowhere so I need to buckle down with that. I had a day or 2 of panicking this week thinking that I'd suddenly moved into full blown diabetes and developed neuropathy- I kept getting this tingling sensation in my foot, like halfway between burning and falling asleep.

I had visions of more medical issues to add onto the pile until I took a breath and realised that it was pretty much in just one foot (that already has nerve damage), my HBA1C in June was within normal levels, and the tingling only lasted a few days.

As I'm sure you've guessed by now, I suffer from health anxiety 😂 So I'll be working on that alongside TTC.

Hope everyone is well, hugs and baby dust to you all ✨

Hi @HeathenPlayingHouse , good to see how you are. I wouldn't say I have health anxiety but even I have managed to convince myself I have all sorts of health problems whilst TTC so I kind of know where you're coming from.

I think you're totally right about focusing on yourself. I also WFH (although no children) and although I work regular hours I still sometimes get to the end of the week and realise I haven't left the house all week except for a few mins in the garden. And I haven't been good about keeping my strategies up for my mental health. I am off work this week and I am going to spend some time thinking about a healthier routine and bring back in some of my CBT exercises from a couple of years ago when I was really struggling.

I've been thinking today, I might see if I can speak to my GP if this cycle is another BFN before booking anything privately. I'm not sure if they will investigate until 12 months are up but I thought it might be worth getting some things on my notes as concerns now - semi-irregular periods, adult acne, little to no CM, heavy periods etc and see what they say.

Hope everyone else is doing well x

CD23 today for me. Got my LH surge yesterday (CD22), the day before that (CD21) it started climbing. Yesterday I wanted to pin DH down on the bed. We both WFH some days and I couldn't keep my hands off of him. Hormones, eh? 😂We picked up DTD as of Saturday, so last night was the 3rd night in a row. Another go tonight and with any luck, that's this cycle covered.

I ended up going to the doctors today because I was in so much pain yesterday with cramps. GP just said to wait and see what happens next month. The cramps are off and on and thankfully feeling much better today!
He did say it is possible I could have had an early MC at start of the month when I had the random bleed and a few days of cramps. Though that happened a few days after DTD and as far as I know I wasn’t ovulating then…

I feel really confused tbh, if it was MC why has the cramping started again now 2 weeks after I last had it? I don’t know what to think!

@Welshgal85 where is the cramping? And what does it feel like? I get a crampy/stabbing pain in my right lower abdomen...had an ultrasound previously to check for ovarian cysts (all clear then) but it never really went away. I'm not being investigated for IBS, so just wondering if you could be dealing with something similar?

Thanks a lot @SarahShorty @Nypie @DesertSnow for your views. I absolutely agree it is a personal choice and can totally see how getting stressed about it makes it counterproductive!
It helps to think that it is a thing that I can to some extent control... so many factors are outside our control, so much can potentially go wrong when TTC, that it feels go to me to know that I´m doing everything i reasonably can!

Anyone who does temping - can you recommend a thermometer?