Preparing and TTC in 2023 - Thread 2

[DanisEndo]

Thread no 2 as thread 1 was so close to getting full!

As a reminder this is a positive support thread for anyone preparing and planning to start TTC in 2023 💖

If you join start by introducing yourself with your age. what no. you're trying for and when you plan on starting plus any goals you might have before then! for example:

@DanisEndo
Age 27
TTC No.1
Starting Sep 23
I want to:

• loose some weight (would like to get down to a healthy BMI by exercising and doing all home cooking, nothing to major or restrictive)
• do some decorating around the house
• get married (1st September woooo!)
• change job / company

I have endometriosis and PCOS, 2 surgeries down and hoping I'll still be all clear by the time we get to trying.

Theres a long list of us now so bare with me updating it as we go 😅

Good luck everyone!!!

My last 2 cycles were exactly 28 days

However - day 34 or 35 ish here now and twitching.. we might of been lucky

@worldwidetravel2017 oh wow! Fingers crossed for you! Have you not tested yet?? X

My ovulation was late ..

My cheap ovulation sticks

&
Clear blue ovulation
Both coralated
4 ovulation last mon Tues

So only potentially 6 / 7 days post ovulation

Also im on folic acid - prescription - which ive heard can also perhaps mess with cycles

I took the shop dose ( 400 ) from mid june

But since sometime in jul - ive taken prescription higher..

( unfortunately had glandular fever last year - was way lighter b4 glandular fever etc - equally now have cfs etc since glandular fever - so if we manage to concieve - il probably be consultant led care )

My flo app where i logged sex around ovulation says to test from tomorrow - through to aug 3rd ish

Apparently can take 10 - 14 days from sex to show..up...

I did buy an early blood test that i I tried 2 do at wkend
But couldnt get blood in the silly pipette thing

Did you use OPK’s the first month after the pill? I’ve recently come off my contraceptive pill and was wondering when/if I might ovulate as I don’t think I have so far, the OPK’s have been a bit up and down but I’ve never had higher than 0.39 reading! X

@Mrsttcno1 yes, I waited until I had my withdrawal bleed, and then tested from the day after I stopped bleeding upto my next bleed. I didn't ovulate at all in May and got readings no higher than 0.29, I then had another bleed 22 days later. Started testing again day after I stopped bleeding and finally peaked on CD12 but it wasn't a very high peak (0.69) but was confirmed with BBT. Then I had my period 14 days later making that cycle my normal 28 days, and started tracking again day after period and have had my peak again today CD12, and it was a much more positive peak at 1.23. So, it's taken me a couple of months to regulate, it can take some people upto 6 months.. but the only way to really know is it track it. But don't be disheartened, I was stressing so much to begin with thinking there was something wrong with me, but it was just my body and hormones adjusting xxxx

@Minnierose11 That’s really helpful thank you! I haven’t been tracking BBT, mainly because we decided we were going to take a laid back approach, but within a week I had the ovulation sticks on the go 😂 so maybe I will try tracking BBT as well as I didn’t realise that’s a way of confirming ovulation! Hopefully I’m the same as you and it just takes my body a little while to get itself back on track 🤍

@Mrsttcno1 yes, so BBT is the only way to really confirm ovulation! Apart from ultrasounds of course.

But what I do with testing strips is I do one a day after my period until around day 10 then I start doing two a day, then when I start to notice my levels staying consistently higher I start testing 3 times a day, morning, afternoon and early evening. Make sure when your testing it's with limited fluid intake and atleast a two hour urine hold. Otherwise it can be diluted and inaccurate. When you get your peak you'll usually ovulate the day after!
And with BBT your looking for 3 temps higher than the previous 6 to confirm ovulation, and temp needs to be taken first thing, as soon as you wake up, before you sit up/drink or talk. 😂
Sounds mental when you right it all down xxx

me again with ovulation questions🤣 is it possible that I could have missed a peak by testing at 5pm and then not until 10am the next day? On Wednesday afternoon I had a strange almost cramp feeling, took an ovulation test and it was a much stronger line than that morning, I continued having those cramping feelings all night & (TMI sorry) noticed some EWCM for the first time, took another test at 10am Thursday morning and it was a stronger line again, but then they have levelled back off and the second line is now basically totally gone today. Wondering if it could have missed my peak between 5pm Wed to 10am Thurs? We DTD Wed night so possibly caught it but just wondering if it could have been then? X

Yep
Often best 2 test twice a day with cheap sticks

Sorry have been AWOL, have been on holiday :) My pre period spotting has arrived which means I start my IVF cycle this coming week!

Soo I’ve just done my afternoon OPK and got my first proper positive OPK! I know others said the only way to really know if you ovulated is by temp checking which I haven’t done this month but have ordered one to start next month, my question is for now, what day would I count as 1DPO for testing? Tomorrow? Or do I keep doing OPK’s until the levels drop back down and then that day would be 1dpo?

typing this while lying in bed on my back with my legs in the air like a crazy lady as my gran always swears this got her pregnant!🤣🤣

Hello! Back again! Cycle 6 - O+4 here!

@Mrsttcno1 - congrats, I remember how exciting getting a proper positive was! In the absence of BBT, I would count 3rd august as ovulation day- as it can take 12-24 hours after a positive test to actually ovulate. So 4th would be O+1 etc. you could take today as O Day but it’s optimistic.

@Hopingforno2in2023 - exciting, hope it all goes well for you!

My DH had to do another sperm test for our referral, we didn’t think too much about it because he had a good one a year ago. But surprise surprise - he had 1% morphology and borderline low concentration. So where I said “I feel like something else must be wrong”- it was! Trust your gut. My research says it’s not impossible to get pregnant with low morphology so we’re continuing as we are until our first fertility appointment (told it would be September).

Again, no changes this month except for actively trying to stay calm and lo and behold, I ovulated on day 17 which is my second shortest cycle ever. Thrilled! I’m assuming I’m pregnant - adopting a positive mental attitude hahah. Trying not to think too much about it.

thinking of everyone!

Great news about your cycle CRBear!

how is everyone? I have been on clomid for four days now and no side effects. Waiting anxiously for my CD7 scan on Tuesday.

Hey @Hopingforno2in2023 ! All well here. I’ve just caved and done a test at 9/10 DPO (evening as well) and I think there’s a whiff of a line! Nothing I could photograph. I’ll have to wait for FMU but there’s a quiet optimism in me. My boobs feel massive and weird and TMI but I’ve got masses of milky discharge which I’ve read can be a symptom of early pregnancy. Feel oddly calm.

how are you doing? What’s the clomid for? I’ve never heard of that in an IVF regime? Glad you’ve got no side effects!

Ooh that sounds v promising CRbear, keeping everything crossed for you.

scan today showed 8 follicles of which 6 are looking promising :)

Not sure about why clomid tbh!

6 promising follicles! That’s fantastic news. Won’t be long before collection I guess? I’ve been watching “Alex Jones: making babies” following people doing ivf at kings and I’m amazed at how quick it all is once you start (though I bet it doesn’t feel it). Everything crossed for you.

im in a bit of limbo. I got another faint whisper of a line the next morning (yesterday). That was my last internet cheapie (10mlu sensitivity). I bought two sainsburys cheapies which are 25 mlu and got a whisper of a line last night, and I might be imaging it but it might be ever so slightly stronger this morning? So i am confident they’re early positives as it’s two brands but worried it’s a chemical. Why oh why I couldn’t just wait for my missed period.

I’ve ordered 2xFRER (6 mlu) and a clear blue digital which are arriving today from Amazon. I am either 10 or 11 DPO. So the first test with the whisper was potentially as early as 8DPO so I could be over reacting about the fact the lines are still so faint. The mixed sensitivity of the tests I used won’t be helping with that either. Unfortunately I’ve also been cramping a lot. So who knows at this point. I think I’ve accepted I’m going to be a bit mental for the next few days.

Oh CRbear I am sorry you are so stressed but I agree that faint lines this early doesn’t mean anything is amiss. Keeping everything crossed for you.

I think clinic are aiming for collection on Monday but my scan on Friday will confirm that. It does go crazy quickly once you get going after months of waiting

I’ve taken the FRER and it’s a clear as day positive - middle of the day. So I’m going to assume I’m pregnant until proven otherwise now. Can’t believe it.

Congratulations @CRbear !!! I'm so pleased for you!! How exciting!!

Sorry for disappearing, CD1 today. But my cycles have proper levelled out now!! Peaked CD12 last 2 cycles, bbt confirmed, and 14 days luteal phase each cycle, and 28 day cycle.

6 weeks and 3 days to go !!

Congratulations @CRbear!

Congratulations @CRbear !

Morning everyone! I’m really hoping someone on here may be able to explain this to me, as I’m so confused! I’m 8DPO today, and this is my OPK? Now I do know it’s not positive, but I’m really surprised at how dark the test like is and don’t really understand why it would be this dark? For reference, my app measures it at 0.6 and the last time I had a 0.6 was the day before my peak, so surely I’m not going to ovulate again now?!😂

@Mrsttcno1 Hello, so this could be several things, firstly, depending how long your cycles are, it could be an indication your period is near, as levels can rise close to your period.
Or it could be failed ovulation the first time so your trying again. Do you track bbt? Did it confirm it the first time?
Or.... a small possibility it could indicate pregnancy?? Although would be a small chance given your only 8 days past ovulation..