The geriatric gang 👵🏻🤰

[Stillwinston]

Just a lighthearted thread for those of us now considered to be geriatric by the NHS 😂 looking to meet other women TTC who may also be feeling past their prime!

A little bit about me - I'm 36 and TTC dc no.2. Been trying for over 2 years now and depressingly started AF today so am yet again starting CD1. Hubby doesn't quite understand how upsetting this is each month so it'd be great to chat with ladies who get how I'm feeling ❤️

@MK85 really? 😳 I will have to curb the crap and try harder with what I eat then definitely. I again stupidly thought that if I was eating better when a little foetus was inside me I'd be okay! It would definitely be worth it but can't help but think it's just another obstacle in this already difficult TTC game.
@Downtherabbithole83 CD6 too! When will you start testing? My cycle was only 27 days last month so going early this time.
Anyone else?

Agree with everyone about it happening when you least expect it. I wish I could stop overthinking things and it would probably help! I think it’s the luck of the draw a lot of the time. I sometimes forget my own mother had me at 39. she was a smoker at the time. She told me she had no problems conceiving. I doubt she was taking supplements or anything else in the 80s !

@Downtherabbithole83 i am 4dpo. This was my first cycle temping . I used a patch called Medicare FemSense which monitors your temperature continuously and according to that I ovulated on Wednesday.

@lemontrees22 hi 😀 really happy to have you in the group!

@Downtherabbithole83 @Infinitebows I'm also cd6 so we're aligned! I started the OPKs this morning - decided to just go for the easy @ home ones to try and save some money and I'm already addicted to poas 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

@cornflakes86 that's actually a really good point - maybe having so much disposable information about fertility and being able to test and track everything now is worse than not having it available as it just adds so much pressure 😕

@Infinitebows and @Stillwinston how funny that we’re all completely aligned. I also started opks this morning - using the easy@home ones too because they’re so reasonably priced and I like the graphs (and being able to easily compare each cycle). My cycle is normally 27 or 28 days but last month was randomly 30 which is much longer than before my tfmr (I was always 25-27 days before).

@cornflakes86 are you an early tester or do you just wait for AF?

@Downtherabbithole83 i usually wait for AF. I find seeing a BFN worse than the arrival of AF. Plus I start questioning the BFN saying oh well maybe I am pregnant and the test just isn’t showing it yet if you know what I mean . The last cycle I was one day late and I did a test and it was a BFN which was annoying . My cycles are approx 29-30 days but I have had the odd 32 day cycle.

My period is so much lighter ever since I had dc1. I am wondering if that could be a factor. Has anyone experienced this ? My first one after my mmc d&c was the heaviest I had since before I had dc1 but it’s gone back to being 3 days and light they used to be 5 days and much heavier

@cornflakes86 exactly the same for me, sometimes I only bleed for 1.5 days - teenage me would have relished it but anxious me is worried it means something else 😩🤦🏼‍♀️

@cornflakes86 I used to test early but like you I found seeing the negatives hard and then the chemical was difficult (which I found testing early). Now I’m trying to wait until AF is due… though I have occasionally done the odd opk to see if the level on those is rising as an indicator of a possible BFP.

AF for me is heavy for 3 days and then light for another 3 to 4 days. Always around a week…

@Stillwinston hoping it’s normal and not an issue .I’ve heard they can change in late 30s anyway and people can conceive with light periods. I mentioned it to my fertility consultant before I had a hsg months ago and she said they can look at my lining at the hsg and check if it is ok. I got pregnant after that hsg so didn’t bother asking. I had an appointment with her last month I forgot to ask again . she told me to keep trying and phone her back in a few months if no bfp. I am gonna mention it to her again if no bfp in a few months and see if she has any suggestions.
@Downtherabbithole83 im the same I’ve done opks too the odd time. Cos the last time i was pregnant I did an opk out of interest and it was a blazing positive .

@cornflakes86 really ? I've never heard of those patches before but I'm very interested. Where do you buy them ?

@MK85 i bought them online from an Irish pharmacy website . I live in Ireland. I’d never heard of them either I just happened upon it and decided to try it. I looked for reviews of them online and couldn’t find anything anywhere . I don’t know if they are any good to be honest. I just thought I’d give them a try to see if my opks are accurate or if there is a possibility I am not ovulating because I have never temped. You buy the patch and stick it on and download and app and it checks your temperature. According to the app I ovulated the day after opk .who knows though !

@MK85 I did have an increase in EWCM, and a higher libido so we DTD twice in the period where both those things were happening! This feels like my first proper cycle since my
MC in December, but there’s been a lot less EWCM than pre-MC.

I currently have what feels like implantation cramps, but I also experienced intermittent cramps on the same side of my uterus post-MC.

i’m so out of tune with my body I have no idea what’s happening! POAS daily/ 10DPO and no dice. Using the Sainsburys tests, maybe I should try FRER, but aware it becomes addictive and I start to imagine faint lines!

@Maizie83 I'd really suggest trying to stay away from the tests as long as you possibly can - not only is it addictive and disappointing but the FRERs have recently been hit with horrendous indent lines which I've been victim to and it's the most soul destroying thing ever when AF arrives 🤦🏼‍♀️ however, I'm a serial tester so whilst I can offer this advice I can guarantee I won't follow it 😂

@Stillwinston You’re absolutely right, and I relate to all of this 100%. Was very confused by several FRER tests in January because of indent lines.

I’m going to try and wait until Wednesday morning to test again. Feels like ages away and I should probably wait even longer!

@Maizie83 agreed! I'd hold out as long as possible to test. I'm a serial tester too and it's so unhealthy for the mind. I have a box full of tests from that one month we fell pregnant and it shocks me how many bloody tests I actually did over the space of two weeks. ( yes I'm weird, I saved my tests. I like to keep them as a nice memory that i was pregnant even if for just a moment in time )
Last cycle I surged LH but I actually don't think I released an egg. I did a frer and it was negative. Shoved it in a drawer in the bathroom unit and planned to dispose of it later when collecting rubbish but forgot. I was clearing out the unit about a week ago and happened to look at the test and saw what I think was the dreaded indent line. I definitely didn't get pregnant last month as I took other tests aswell but its kinda put me off buying frers now . The last thing you want when you are desperate to get pregnant is a horrible trickery indent line

just of note to the serial testers. Every time I have done one of those blue line clearblue tests I got a convincing looking evap line quite quickly after about ten minutes when I definitely was not pregnant.

@cornflakes86 me too 🤦🏼‍♀️ this was my one from last cycle and even though I knew it wasn't positive I convinced myself it was (excuse all the mess in the background, I seriously need to clean my work drawers 😂)

@Stillwinston it’s terrible isn’t it? Mine looked the same. It gave me hope the times it happened even though I know you shouldn’t read the test after the recommended time.

Agree with it happening when you least expect it. We tried for a few years. Had 3 miscarriages. We did investigate and turned out I needed blood thinning injections when pregnant (did those and had another miscarriage), and also had a uterine septum which I got snipped. We stopped tracking ovulation, thought we’d give ourselves a break for a few months. Drank an absolute hideous amount of booze when on holiday for two weeks (at home didn’t go anywhere!). Got pregnant and it was the only one that stuck! Gave birth just after my 39th birthday. Am now 41, so trying to conceive number 2. Had an ectopic last summer and had the injection so have only been able to start trying from Feb. Nothing so far. Have started tracking ovulation with clear blue as was relying on an app before (no temp, just put in period dates). Also taking a lot more vitamins!

@kablea I think I need to take a leaf out of your book and just relax a bit more - as each month goes by I'm getting more stressed about it which is probably exacerbating the problem 🤦🏼‍♀️

How's everyone doing? I'm cd8 today so SMEP starts today - slightly worried we won't be able to commit to it with the realities of life but going to give it a good shot!

There must be a few people on here ready to test soon - anyone have any promising symptoms? x

@Stillwinston I'm only 5dpo so nothing yet. Testing on Friday and then ordering my IVF meds when I get my negative :)

Morning all. SMEP starts today for me too. I'm not sure when I'll ovulate this time - app says next Monday but I'm not sure I trust it as AF came 3 days early this last time which is super rare for me, I'm always bang on day and even after MC's AF fell straight back into usual routine, flow etc.

Sounds like a alot of women I know. Drank copious amounts of alcohol and got pregnant. Presumably feeling care free and relaxed helps aid conception. The pressures of trying to conceive likely only hinder it