2023 TTC 35+ Part 2

[VixFromThe6ix]

Hi ladies,
This is a new thread as we maxed the other one. I tagged everyone that posted in the last 12 pages. If I'm missing someone, please tag them in the comments.
@Eirlys1986
@Muriel84
@Un7breakable
@vitahelp
@Mirla
@TheFanciestPants
@Mummyme87
@FiddleLeaf
@Anna531
@Poppy708
@Golaz
@LeopardLover
@Floralsandsmiles
@Bumblebee413
@TrudyProud
@13Bastards
@DinkyGT
@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7
@TTCnumberfour
@Cirque1
@39starstartry
@Freya8
@Angelsrose
@TheBirdintheCave
@AgeGapBbe
@BengalMama
@BB2023

@Un7breakable we would literally mean length of time with unprotected sex as plenty of people present who are just having random DTD timings and no tracking etc like all the very knowledgeable ladies on here do so we certainly don’t expect people to have been actively tracking or timing things for this to “count” as TTC.

@Eirlys1986 thanks. I feel like such a Muppet. Do you count any months 'off'?

Think I need to clarify with my GP.as I thought trying was like timing and.everything.

@Un7breakable no I wouldn’t count any month as “off” if unprotected sex happened regardless of timing. Of course the medical advice is having regular unprotected sex I.e every 2-3 days for best chance. You might wish to look at months where you feel you didn’t make a viable attempt I.e only had sex once at entirely the wrong time and then discount them yourself when looking at how long you’ve been ttc but for the purposes of referring I wouldn’t look at it that way from a GP perspective 👍🏻

Just got these @Eirlys1986 as I wanted to check, does that mean my progesterone is 34.2? And I am onfact ovulating? As that's somewhat a relief and means you can rule out PCOS right? Xxx

@Muriel84 So happy to hear about your positive scan xx

Hi @Floralsandsmiles ill have a closer look at these then message you privately 👍🏻 x

@Eirlys1986 you are very kind to share your knowledge on here to many of us.
@Floralsandsmiles hope the results are ok.

Our GP told us try every 2-3 days throughout the month. Seems contrary to the ovulation tests which kind of indicate hardly any chance on the 'wrong' days. But coming round to the trying more throughout as I do feel a bit vague on when ovulation has happened!! Also I'm shattered! Thinking DTD tomorrow then surely ovulation must have happened if it's going to, clearblue said a week ago I think, pre mom no idea 😂 I want a night watching telly!

Edit - it feels like a week ago but clear blue says it was Saturday! So only 4 days!

Aww thank you @Eirlys1986 , that's really kind of you xxx

@Pineappleapple i think basically the advice of every 2-3 days is put out there to cover any possibility of ovulation timing being off or misjudged. So you could aim for once every 3 days or so as that should hopefully guarantee a “sperm meets egg” as sperm can live upto 5 days internally but usually around 72 hours. If every 2-3 days feels impossible (it did to me!) then do the smep method which will give you a bit of time off first few days of cycle and then also after ovulation- does require more OPK testing though 🙄

Hi ladies, had anyone done an AMH blood test? I had to take one before my consultation with the fertility doctor and I went on the portal to see my results. Then compared it with the ranges on another fertility clinic website and I fall within the "low fertility" range. So, of course, this got me bummed.
I don't understand everything these test results mean but wanted to ask if anyone else had to take it.
One site says I can't raise my amh levels, another site says I can with either treatment or lifestyle changes and diet.
I'm not surprised at the results given that I'm a couple months away from 40 but this just feels like another hurdle on our road of conception. And frankly I'm so tired and discouraged.

@VixFromThe6ix I have had mine done, it was probably 25th percentile so not high but not super low either. The gynae said AMH testing isn't super reliable and that my levels were most definitely not anything to worry about. It can and does vary quite significantly through time and which lab does your tests so as long as it's not super low not to be worried. Please don't be disheartened. 🫂 I have had a friend who underwent 5 years of IVF and hers fluctuated a lot (both up and down)with different labs testing it.
Have you had an ultrasound? The gynae I saw said the AFC (antral follicle count) is more important than AMH, but equally even if this was lower than average it isn't necessarily something to worry about (mine was about 60th percentile).

@TheFanciestPants thank you for replying!!!! I'm just anxiously waiting for this phone call. And in the meantime I'm playing doctor. The results I got for amh aren't percentages, it's some unit of measure which places me in the low fertility group but it's on the higher end of low fertility. I hope that means we can continue to try naturally and I'm not a lost cause....
I also did the ultrasound. I'm looking at the results and I have no idea what any of these numbers are ....

@VixFromThe6ix I am 100% sure it is not as bad as the catastrophising in your head! If it makes you feel better even though the gynae said everything was fine, I still googled and got in a tizz! My results were all in the inter quartile range so nothing to worry about. Obviously we'd all like to have top quartile results...

I am sure the doctor will explain everything, let us know how you get on. Sending you ethically sourced unicorn tears 🦄

@VixFromThe6ix best of luck for your call with the doctor. I’m afraid I know very little amount AMH results as we don’t routinely check on NHS but part of why we don’t is because they aren’t 100% reliable and only give you part of the picture when it comes to fertility. Let us know how you get on xxx 🦄

@TheFanciestPants @Eirlys1986 thanks, ladies!! I'll keep you updated when I know more. Still gonna DTD around ovulation this cycle, while I wait for this appt. 🤞🏻 Low fertile is still fertile, right?

@VixFromThe6ix I know nothing about it but definitely go for it with DTD! Hope you get some good explanations soon

Hi @VixFromThe6ix I just had mine tested and what I understand is it does only give a partial picture as it says nothing about egg quality so a low number isn’t necessarily bad at all as the eggs you have may be of very good quality, and you only release one each month. It only takes one good egg. I’m on opposite end with much higher range than for my age and they think it may be poly cystic ovaries (but not the syndrome) which means there may be lots of eggs but they might be not fully mature. I think it’s not something to worry about and is only really applicable if you have ivf and what protocol they put you on.

@VixFromThe6ix AMH like others have said really isn’t that reliable on its own. My friend who is pregnant ant now aged 40 had hers done back in her 20s and was told it’s very low, and another friend had a baby aged 40 about 3yrs ago also with low AMH. All spontaneous conception. I really wouldn’t look into that number on its own

Hi everyone, I'm 36 (nearly 37) and have a 3 year old. Been TTC #2 since we had a miscarriage in January. Had 2 months of not getting pregnant, 1 month of not trying as I was ill so waiting for another attempt this month. Thought I'd be on a peak day today but Clearblue Ovulation test has me on a 4th high day so really no idea. Tempted to test again later today.

@RoseH36 welcome and sorry for your loss. I'm 37 with a 2 year old and also TTC no.2. Had a MMC mid-April and currently on my last day of AF so will be back to opks soon. 4 high days is a lot! Hope you get your peak confirmed soon. Have you been DTD regardless? I think we'll go for an 'every other day' type approach... (Toddler allowing!!)

@SnookyPook thank you. Mine was a mmc too, didn't even know there was such a thing! I don't think my periods have been right since, although this last one seemed more normal for me. Sorry to hear you've been through one too and hopefully you can get back to testing soon. I should maybe look into opks as another option rather than Clearblue. Sadly not, due to my age and OH age we've only been DTD on our peak days 🙈

@RoseH36 best of luck to you! 😊 Some people find the cheapy opks rubbish but they've always done the trick for me!

@SnookyPook thank you. Have you used the one linked to the app? One came up on Amazon that looks like it's got really good reviews. Spoken to OH and as I'm not convinced about the Clearblue I'll test again this evening but decided we'll try anyway as I was sure today would have been a peak based on previous tracking.

@RoseH36 welcome and sorry for your loss. There's a lot of us in a similar position (I had a mc in Feb) so although it's not a path any of us would choose at least we aren't alone!
I used the easy@home sticks with the premom app for the first time last month. I found it very easy and liked the detailed information. I also temp with an ovusense.