First Timers TTC. Safe space for brain dumps, questions, whinges and celebrations. Part 2!

[TinyDancer91]

Hi All.

This is a continuation from my past thread, but no need to go read that one if you're new here!

Quick TD;LR from the old post (but with up to date info) - I'm 31, OH is 35. We are TTC baby #1. Been TTC since Jan 2022, now on cycle 14. Haven't told anyone to avoid pressure.

Feel free to post any questions, thoughts, whinges, celebrations, basically anything here!

Going to try to be a bit more positive than I was toward the end of the last thread 😂

Love & baby dust to all. Wishing for BFPs for everyone this year 💖

New here! Wishing you all the best with your appointment @TinyDancer91. Me (31) and DH (29) are about to start trying for our first. Still learning the ins and outs of testing LH while I wait for the withdrawal bleed after coming off the mini pill earlier this month. Have always had irregular cycles so the journey will surely be a barrel of laughs.

Fingers crossed for you all.

Hi All

How is everyone doing? Do we have any good news out there?

We (finally!) had our first appointment with the fertility clinic today. Still trying to process everything

Things I have taken on board so far;

• I have polycystic ovaries (I had no idea, no symptoms...)
• OH's count was less than half compared to 'normal' for his first analysis, then lower for the second one. Motility also low
• Essentially, our 'best' chance is to go through ICSI
• Due to my polycystic ovaries, I have a higher chance of the medications causing over-stimulation, which would result in me being hospitalised and that round abandoned
• Due to the waiting lists for OH's tests that need to happen before we can be approved for treatment, this is unlikely to be before the new year
• I'm rubbish at asking questions in-the-moment

We've both had blood tests done today and OH's could take up to 12 weeks to be analysed (looking at chromosomes)

None of this feels real, it feels like I'm observing someone else go through all of this and I don't know yet how to react to any of this.

So, yeah, that's me. Please give me some good news, guys! Anyone had a BFP?

Love & baby dust to all 💕

Hi @TinyDancer91. I’ve just read through all your posts again using ‘see all’. It’s a really interesting diary. From doing this, it seems to me that polycystic ovaries can explain your random long cycles you occasionally have. I remember you being confused about them! Polycystic ovaries don’t necessarily mean you have the syndrome either if my understanding is correct. The syndrome can preclude getting pregnant as there are hormonal issues associated with it. Just having polycystic ovaries just means they have to be careful when giving you fertility treatment. I’m not a doctor so I could be wrong but what I’m trying to say is that I think polycystic ovaries are quite common and as long as your other hormone levels are normal then ovulation and implantation will probably generally be ok.

Your main issue is definitely OH’s sperm count. ICSI would make sense for this. I’m sorry you have to wait so long. My OH is awaiting a semen analysis and I suspect his will also be low. He has a varicocele (a varicose vein on the testicle) and this often affects sperm count since it makes the testicles hot. I wasn’t mentioning that to make it about me; I’m saying that I’m likely also dealing with male factor infertility so I know a bit about ICSI and sperm count. As such, I know that going cold turkey on caffeine and alcohol, taking WellMan Conception and wearing loose boxers will help bring his sperm count up. Have you tried these things? At least if you do this then you’ve got a nice three month period of making sure his sperm are as good as can be for the New Year. And guess what? Three months is how long it’ll take for these things to have an effect. So you’re sitting pretty with the appointment being in the New Year. Can you take Pregnacare too? They’re the best preconception vitamins.

I’m sorry you’ve had a lot to process. Your results are not ideal of course so definitely take time to process them. You and OH are still reproductively young (me and DH are 36 and 41!) so you have time to go through these treatments. I really hope it works out for you.

Hi @TinyDancer91

Sorry you've not been given the best news. I hope you're OK and let yourself have the time to process all the info and the plan. Sometimes I feel better with a plan but you can't expect to skip the part where you feel upset or overwhelmed or whatever!

Friday will be 18 months since my copper coil removal.
I have an appointment with fertility on 25th Sep but it's a telephone consultation so I don't know whether they will order more tests etc or if it's just for triage.

Feeling a bit hopeless now. Still trying but I'm pretty tired of sex on schedule.
Work is very busy and quite stressful at the moment so I'm hoping (it's been a very full on 6 months). I'm hoping that will be easing up in the next few months.

Were waiting for our first appointment with the fertility clinic and it's proving to be such a long wait already, how long did you have to wait for an appointment? Some scary information to take in, but I feel like you are in the best hands now and they are there to make this happen for us couples who may have unfortunate issues of conceiving naturally. I never thought id be in this situation, but I dont think anyone does 😭 xx

@Feliciacat don't worry, I don't take any responses on here as trying to make anything about themselves - we all have a story to tell and wisdom to share.

Yes, I only have polycystic ovaries, not the syndrome luckily. So you are right, it's more about the clinic being aware and having to be more careful with the medications to avoid over stimulation. We're quite boring in the sense that neither of us have ever smoked, we don't drink (i'm tee total, he has one cider at special occasions), he has one cup of coffee per day, but could easily go decaf or needed.

We've both taken conception vitamins previously and we're back on them again now.

@LucyLoopyLu at least you have the first step booked, I guess different areas do things differently. I know how you feel with the hopeless/empty feeling. At least work is keeping you occupied. Hoping for some positive steps for you from your appointment!

@Rockyslife we received our referral on 3rd April. I know it varies by NHS trust though. Have you got an appointment booked? I agree, I don't think anyone ever thinks they will be in this position, but here we are. And we all need to keep fighting our battles. Hopefully we will all win in the end 🙏🏻🤞🏻

@TinyDancer91 I remember chatting with you a long time ago! You probably won’t remember - it’s been interesting reading your update and I hope you’re keeping ok after some digestion.

I just wanted to say that any findings are a positive step in the right direction. Information is power and it sounds really productive that there are further investigations being done but that the professionals have recommended a potential treatment plan!

I think it’s easy to get held up on the negatives and it’s important to acknowledge how far you’ve come to finding out what the issues may be - with hope to over come the necessary hurdles.

I’ve got my own fertility appt next week 😬 I’ve got endo (confirmed - had 2 operations) but after the 2nd op we experienced a chemical pregnancy. In some ways it’s positive (and totally unexpected), as it’s a step closer to the goal… but in other ways it feels that the hurdles just keep coming! 🤣

I hope things are quicker than expected for you and OH 😊✨ xx

@Rockyslife hiya!

We were officially referred in November 22 - I had my appt expedited and we have our first next week.

I have confirmed stage 3/4 endo which causes horrendous periods so me being off the pill means it’s debilitating at times to live with - hence the referral being expedited as realistically I can’t stay off the pill for any longer than neccessary. It affects my work and personal life each month.

I live in Wales if that helps x

@TinyDancer91 sorry it's not better news. It sounds like I'm in a similar place, but a few months ahead of you. We had our first appointment at the clinic in April, followed by that 12 week wait for chromosome results, and we're doing ICSI. I'm also higher risk of OHSS (although for different reasons).

But the good news is I'm starting stims next week, so the first bit of waiting is over! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we're able to do a fresh transfer in 2-3 weeks rather than waiting for a FET due to my risk of OHSS. If we have to wait for the FET, we'll be waiting until January due to other life commitments.

It's frustrating having to wait, not knowing how or when things will happen (or if it will ever happen), but I recommend keeping busy with other projects and living your best life for now!

@taytay2020 good luck for when you start stims 🥰 hope you’re keeping ok! Exciting to be on a treatment plan - sending you lots of hope xx

@yolo23 thanks, the first one last night was fine! I got my DH to do it 😂 I talked away about nonsense to take my mind off it (pretending he was listening) while he concentrated on what he was doing! I was a bit blindsided by how worried I was about the whole thing yesterday, but I'm feeling better now and going to be taking it easy over the next couple of weeks. Next scan is this Friday, at which point I think I'll get a much better idea of how many eggs/how soon collection will take place/whether I can do a fresh transfer/etc. Eeeek!

@yolo23 what day is your appointment? Hope it goes well! At our first appointment we were told about what had been discovered in tests we'd done months previously - no one had bothered to report back to us before this. I also found the internal scan really fascinating, and now insist my DH gets to watch all future scans so he can share the joy 😀 So I hope you have a positive experience too!

@taytay2020 its Thursday! I’ve no time to prepare for anything so I’m going to have to have a good old google the night before I think 😅

That’s interesting, thank you for sharing - I guess everyone is unique. My tests were forever ago so not sure if they’ll refer for those again. Partner had an SA a few months back so it’ll be good to go into that in more depth if possible… we will see! I have confirmed endo so unsure if that’ll be my diagnosis to move forward to some sort of treatment…

eeeeeek! Friday isn’t too long to wait. Well done for all you’ve been through. I am hating the thought of us potentially having to inject me 🤣 I guess you just get over it. Hope you’re still feeling ok? X

Hi everyone,
I'm currently 6dpo and on cd 21. 2nd clomid cycle. We tried for 5 months and I already knew it would be hard. I've had PCOD since I was 13. Dr diagnosed me with primary infertility and started me on clomid. Last month I was on 100mg and didn't ovulate, this month 160mg and responding well to the medication. My cycles have gone from. 50 days to 30 and I had a mature follicle this month that actually ruptured instead of turning into a cyst, unlike all this time, so hoping for the best.
Good luck to you all!!

@ceruleansky that sounds really positive!! Sorry to hear all you’ve been through to get to this stage. It sounds as though things are improving 🥰🥳 at 6dpo does this mean you had confirmed ovulation? Amazing news if so x

She did a follicular study on me so she scanned me every 2 days from the follicle growth until it burst. We were asked to try BD mostly all the days. So yeah ovulation did happen this time! 😊

How about you? I read that you're going to undergo a treatment? I hope everything goes well!

@ceruleansky thats fab news!! Fingers crossed 🥰

Yes! I had my first appointment today and the specialist has referred onto fertility. She said it would take up to 26 weeks at the moment (so 6 months) but it could be sooner. The timeframe works quite well with everything we have going on - including a holiday, wedding plans (hen dos etc) so I’m quite happy. We get 2 full rounds where I live on the NHS so keeping fingers and toes crossed. Nice to be on a treatment path - although we won’t be sharing this with family which feels a bit crazy 🤣 xx

@Yolo23 hi, thanks for the update. I don't live in the same area as you but good to hear about timelines. Is your referral straight to IVF now because of your endo or will they try other tests and treatments first?

Glad you have got things moving and you're on the list now!

@LucyLoopyLu thank you! I’m not 100% sure however I’ve had dye tests, scans, bloods etc previously so I’m not sure there’s much else left to check! My partner has had a SA in the past few months too xx

As far as I’m aware, it’s straight onto IVF - it was a referral form she completed for IVF by the specialist that also supports at the fertility clinic x

Thank you!!

Oh I see! That's great then, hope it works out for you! Do you mind me asking what kind of treatment it is? Only asking because if this course doesn't work for us we will move on to some other treatment so I've just been trying to understand all the alternatives.

Oh great point. We haven't shared with family either just because they will keep following up with us and suggesting things and for now we don't need the extra stress 😄

Hi!

I haven't posted for a while. We started trying July 2022 and got pregnant at the start of Feb this year but had a miscarriage in March (on Mother's Day of all days)

We haven't had a bfp since so we are going to go to the GP after our holiday in the first week of October.

For people who have done this already what info would be good to have to hand when I go? Where the gps kind or do you have to push really hard for a referral?

@Plantymcplant hi, I remember your username from a few months back. Sorry to hear about your loss.

I can't speak for them all but the GP I saw was really good. He was very matter of fact about the process and very efficient in making sure we had everything we needed to refer to fertility at the hospital. In our case that was 2 x SA for my husband and day 21 bloods for me. He didn't give me a hard time at all. He asked some fairly standard questions about how long we had been trying, how often we had sex, etc., but nothing really in depth.
If they are reluctant to get things moving for you then put your foot down and ask for someone else but honestly I don't think you will have an issue with most GPs.

I'd do it ASAP though because everything seems to be taking a long time x

@ceruleansky shes referred us straight on for IVF by the looks. I know there’s so many options! Hope you have success xx

@Plantymcplant oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this news. I agree with @LucyLoopyLu - it’s fairly straight forward however brace yourself for the whole ‘it could take a year or longer’ comment - as you’re over that mark, they’ll likely arrange for some bloods first, along with some scans before referring to a gynaecologist - who normally then does the referral to fertility. I think GP can refer to fertility but it depends if there’s a clear issue perhaps? Mine was more complex because I was having treatment for endo so I can’t speak for everyone sorry. Hope you’re ok and you get some positive news soon my lovely xx