TTC after chemical pregnancy

[LucyCL]

I had a MC this Jan , 6 weeks and 1 day. Then I had a CP last Tuesday, 4 weeks and 6 days. I finally stopped bleeding today. Two pregnancies and two MCs so far.

I would like to know what your ttc experiences were like after CP. I admit I felt so lost when I saw the line getting fainter and I have been feeling very low and anxious for the last 7 days. However it is not healthy and it is time to be positive! So, I will be trying again this month. That is why I decided to start this thread.

I think the CB is super sensitive but your e@h looks like it’s about to be positive in the next 24 hours!

I also wouldn’t pay too much attention to the numbers on Premom! I would do it by your eyes, so many things affect their ratio!

i’m not sure about bbt so I don’t know what a decrease means 😅 but all you can do is keep trying! Some things are out of our control ❤️

im planning to test with a digital on the first weekend in June as hopefully it will cover the DPO between both OPKs. I imagine I’ll be too nervous to test though and keep putting it off 😩

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I assume you had your LH peak, which DPO are you? : )
BBT: Your basal body temperature is your temperature when you're fully at rest. Ovulation may cause a slight increase in basal body temperature. You'll be most fertile during the two to three days before your temperature rises. By tracking your basal body temperature each day, you may be able to predict when you'll ovulate
It is a great tool. When BBT rises, that means we are about to ovulate or are ovulating. It will stay high during the luteal phase until AF arrives. If pregnant, BBT will stay high.
I am CD15 and I had two LH rises however I don't think I ovulated based on my BBT.

@LucyCL did your temp go back down and that’s how you know you haven’t ovulated? It seems useful so if I still don’t have a BFP by July, I will deffo give this a go!

I think I got my peak? It looks like I surged overnight from CD19 - 20 which matches up with my surge last cycle (CD20). But honestly I’m not sure. CD17 was also strong but didn’t test in the evening! I removed the ratios because they weren’t helping and would go either way depending on the light 😂

I’m either 1dpo or 8dpo (if going by CB) but not testing until 1st / 2nd June as that’s after my AF anyway! But I’m CD22 today!

going to carry on testing for the next couple of days anyway!

@LucyCL hope it’s going well for you and you ovulated - do you have an image of your OPKs?

I was thinking about posting an update this morning. : )
Yesterday was CD16, my BBT dropped down to the lowest point (36.25 degrees) below the baseline (36.40 degrees) and my LH strip was really faint so I totally didn't know what to expect. I was panicking.
Today is CD17 and this morning my CB digital monitor showed High on the screen for the first time and my LH strip looked darker. My BBT rose above the baseline (36.47 degrees). Then I tested it again this afternoon and the LH is slightly fainter.
Hum... the monitor detected a rise in estrogen and my BBT rose from the lowest point. This could be good however I am not sure if it is just going to be my third LH rise (not the real ovulation).
After seeing 2 rises, I am becoming skeptical about the tests. Any thoughts?

@GreenPickle
Here is a guide line from Clearblue Fertility Monitor Advanced
Today is the first day of it showing "High" (CD17)
If everything goes according to plan, that means CD18 and CD19 will also show "High"
Then on CD20 and CD 21, it should show "Peak".
I hope this is true.

@LucyCL i see! So the ‘high’ is the equivalent of a flashing smiley? Yes, you should O then! I always take the CB stuff with a pinch of salt because even with the LH detection, it goes ‘peak’ at any hint of LH rather than the surge of it if that makes sense.

i find the strips hard as well 😂 diluted urine affects them but you also can’t use FMU which is why I think I missed my Peak. However, at CD 24… I’m going to stop testing and wait for my period which is due end of next week.

Do you use SMU when you test in the AM? Do you drink beforehand?

also, you are uploaded your strips to the premom tab rather than easy@home tab… not sure what affect that has!

I think keep testing for a few more days but looks like your fertile window is open so keep having sex for the next few days!

Yes, the ‘high’ is the equivalent of a flashing smiley.
I read somewhere online saying SMU is the best to test LH in the morning. I have a weak bladder so I get up to pee between 4 and 5 (FMU) then I wake up at 8 to test LH with SMU. I drink little when I am thirsty before bedtime. I don't drink until I finishing testing LH.

Now you mentioned it and perhaps the easy@home tab maybe more reliable.
Today is CD18 and my BBT rose from 36.47 degrees to 36.90, the monitor didn't detect a LH surge. My LH strip was fainter.

It could be just my estrogen rising without LH surge. Women cannot ovulate without LH peak even the estrogen rises.

It couldn't be the anovulatory cycle because during an anovulatory cycle, your temperature will remain low during the entire cycle.

"A high BBT is often an indicator that ovulation has occurred. After you ovulate, the hormone progesterone is released, which causes a rise in body temperature." It couldn't be after ovulation because I am still yet to have LH peak.

"Estrogens tend to promote lower body temperatures" - Well, I had a rise in BBT and a rise in estrogen. Very contradicting.

I assume I am somewhere between mid and end of the follicular phase, so why did I have a BBT rise? Here is what I found:
"What causes high BBT in follicular phase?
The values of BBT recorded in the follicular phase should be reasonably steady: not the same each day of course, but not varying (Fig. 3.15) by more than about 0.2 or 0.3°C (0.5°F). Fever, lack of sleep or alcohol consumption will cause unusually high readings."

I don't drink alcohol and I don't have a fever. However I was quite sleepy last night so I guess a sudden BBT rise could be caused by lack of sleep. So this morning's BBT didn't reflect my true BBT. My true BBT could just be around the baseline which actually fits the criteria of an anovulatory cycle.

I am just self analysing right now and also CP does mess up the hormones. I will do another LH in the afternoon. If it gets even fainter, that means my BBT was not accurate this morning. If it gets darker, that means I might ovulate.

It is really tricky to track when you ovulate and I will also stop testing LH on C24. If I don't get a LH surge, so be it. : )

@LucyCL honestly your CD12 looks pretty dark and looking at your chart, it looks like it dipped and when back up - so is that not ovulation? You also could have had a darker line if you had taken it before bed too and it could have gone back down by the morning.

maybe when it rises about .6, take 3 a day? Morning, noon and night!

I would pay no heed to the numbers in easy@home - it’s all guesswork on their end and massively depends on lighting. I took one earlier that was .49 but in a different light it was about .3. I would go by how it looks.

i even tested my old batch and new batch using the same urine - with my new batch coming out darker! (Pic) So I do wonder if I would have hit a peak if I used that on my highest LH day.

there are too many factors and this whole malarkey is causing more stress 😂 i really hope im pregnant this month because i can’t do another month of this lol! I am getting married in the next few weeks so… I imagine a lot of natural bd’ing will happen anyway!

Looking back on your LH strips, and I do think that you ovulated on CD20 because that is the darkest one out of all.
Wow, I didn't know about the things you mentioned about the numbers in easy@home and how light can affect them... Thank you for sharing !!
I have to accept that I might not get LH peak. Not knowing when to ovulate is hard however at least I know the estimated date of my AF. So, if I get AF on 6/6/24, then I will know next cycle will be a normal one.

Yes, if you get your AF instead, you will know next cycle will be normal and it is very likely that you will get pregnant in the month of your wedding. I got pregnant in the following cycle after the cycle of my first MC then CP happened. So stay positive! Also congratulations! : )

@LucyCL im hoping CD20 was it for me and I just missed it! I have no idea how long my surges last 😫 hopefully I get a BFP this month because this OPK business is not for me!

yeah the lighting affects it a lot. The numbers can be helpful, but they aren’t gospel. Sometimes I change the ration on mine depending on what I see. I’ve noticed the app makes numbers higher when I can visually see it’s lighter than other ones that it’s made a low ratio!

if you take a photo in one light, close the app down and go back into it and take it in another light - the ratio changes most of the time! If I don’t close the app down, I think it just she’s the same number as it probably realises I’m using the same Opk!

thank you! I’m hoping this is the month but will take a more laidback approach next month anyway.

how is your bbt chart looking? From your opk and previous chart, it deffo looks like you O’d o somewhere between CD13-14!

I wish CD13/14 was the LH peak day however my BBT and LH have been so consistent in the past cycles, they tend to rise together. Because of this, I am not convinced that I ovulated on CD13/14. Otherwise, BBT would have risen.

I did try to take the same pictures under the daylight and the lamp. The ratio is still the same. This afternoon I will turn the app off and do the same thing again to see if it changes. Btw, how do you change the ratio?

From CD18/19, LH has been rising slowly which also matches an increase in BBT. This pattern matches the one in the last cycle before ovulation.

I will test again to see if LH is higher this afternoon.

@LucyCL i would ignore past cycles and previous patterns. See this month as a reset - your cycle may be a bit longer too.

Your cycle may be a bit off because of the chemical and go by what you see this cycle and it looks like you O’d around CD13/14. No two cycles are the same! Keep testing anyway but it does look like you ovulated according to the temp drop.

Looks like all basis are covered with the love hearts anyway. Whatever happens will happen but looks like you’ve maxed your chances.

how long are your cycles normally?

This afternoon I tested LH twice. I closed the app then retook the same pictures.

First attempt:
15:56 LH is 0.58 LH ratio is 25 (under the daylight)
15:56 LH is 0.58 LH ratio is 25 (under the lamp)
The results are the same as expected (based on the previous experiment)

Second attempt: I turned off the app and reopened it.
15:58 LH is 0.63 LH ratio is 27.5 (under the daylight)
15:59 LH is 0.63 LH ratio is 27.5 (under the lamp)

The results are the same as expected (based on the previous experiment)

You are right! Also I admit it was an interesting experiment! : ))))

Past cycles before my 1st MC: 28 - 35 days, I used to ovulate on CD14

Cycle 0: 15/12/23 - 20/1/24: I don't know when I ovulated because I was so busy and stressed therefore I wasn't tracking my LH. Looking at my BBT chart for this cycle, there was a BBT rise apart from CD11 then it immediately dropped below my baseline. Then there was a BBT rise on CD 28 then I had my period. 35 days

Cycle 1: 21/1/24 - 2/3/24: I ovulated on CD14, and had a MC on 2/3/24. 42 days

Cycle 2: 3/3/24 - 2/4/24: I didn't BD and I ovulated on CD21. 31 days

Cycle 3: 3/4/24 -6/5/24: I ovulated on CD17 then CP happened on 7/5/24. 34 days

Cycle 4: the current cycle - Because of CP, the LH and the BBT are all over the place. Currently I am CD 20, there is actually a rise in LH again based on the latest data I collected this afternoon.
I think there is a good chance of ovulation happening in the next 2 days.

Yes, I don't want to miss my LH peak so I have been BDing since the end of my period. I cannot stand not using the past data to predict the current cycle so this month has been a roller coaster for me psychologically and emotionally. I can imagine it is also the same for you HOWEVER seeing your comments has been a great comfort and help. I really appreciate it! : )

This is for people who are experiencing the same or similar thing like me who want to understand more about the premon app and the lighting.

First attempt:
15:56 LH is 0.58 LH ratio is 25 (under the daylight)
15:56 LH is 0.58 LH ratio is 25 (under the lamp)
The results are the same as expected (based on the previous experiment)

This is for people who are experiencing the same or similar thing like me who want to understand more about the premon app and the lighting.

Second attempt: I turned off the app and reopened it.
15:58 LH is 0.63 LH ratio is 27.5 (under the daylight)
15:59 LH is 0.63 LH ratio is 27.5 (under the lamp)

I find threads talking about CP and other MCs useful and some are also quite educational. However everyone's body is different and we can only reply on people's experiences to "kinda" predict what is going to happen to us. Also the more I read threads like this, the more lost I feel because I feel like I am alone in this in terms of predicting my ovulation date and when to get my period. Waiting is dreadful. At the same time, reading other people's experiences gives me some comfort and hope. So, it is contradicting. I bet it is the same for you?

I do try to share my experience and data here , just in case, in the future someone like us will find this thread useful, just because they want to know or are experiencing the same or similar thing.

@LucyCL your Opk is looking darker though! But I do believe you O’d around 13/14! Maybe test again before bed to see if it gets darker?

I think just take each cycle as a new one and forget about patterns, especially when each month is so different (losses, being busy etc). This month will be an outlier also! The only thing you can do is keeping BD’ing and hope for the best 🤞

have you gone to the doctor at all about multiple losses?

im on CD26 currently and will probably stop testing. Attached my current tests - I took a LOT on CD24 because I wanted to see when is best for me to test but if I don’t get a BFP this cycle.., will stick to 10am and 5/6pm. TBH that experience just goes to show SMU is best anyway 😂

not sure how long this cycle will be but I reckon 32 - my December cycle was 35 (due to stress I think!) January cycle 32, Feb was 29 (not sure why it was so short), March was 32 and last month (cp) was 40.

will take a test next Sunday if AF hasn’t arrived. I am getting PMS symptoms but I was also getting them at the same dpo last month and I got a BFP so not sure if it’s a good or bad thing!

Will just have to wait and see but praying for both of us that this is our month 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

@LucyCL to change your ratio, swipe left on the test and then ‘delete, high, peak’ should show up. There’s the ratio to the left of those( I.e 0.32 with a pencil icon). - tap on that and it will take you to another page to change it xx

Today you are 7 dpo and usually people start getting some symptoms from this point.
We don't know if you are getting PMS symptoms because of AF or the potential BFP. However I really hope you are getting them because of the BFP! Which dpo did you start to get symptoms from the last pregnancy? And this cycle?

I used to do symptoms spotting and it didn't work for me.

The only symptom I got before BFP was sore boobs for the 1st pregnancy (one week before BFP). For the second one, I felt dull ache under the belly button on the right hand side (on 3dpo, 9/10 dpo) and didn't get sore boobs.

This morning I finally got my LH peak, the darkest LH peak I've ever got since TTC. There is also a BBT dip which is interesting.

I also used FMU and SMU to test my LH. I slept for 5 hours and used FMU. The LH is 1.4 then I slept for 3 hours and the LH is 1.53 (using SMU). It could be the fact that my LH keeps rising which causes bias in this experiment. In this case, SMU might still be better than FMU?

I will keep testing this afternoon and tomorrow which I assume is Ovulation day. Then 29/5/24 will be 1 dpo.

@LucyCL ahhh you hit your peak!! would you recommend the fertility monitor?

Later than usual but the same O day as I usually get (as far as i know anyway!). Super high and great test! I think this might be your month 🍀

My PMS and pregnancy symptoms were the same last month - i was super surprised to get a positive as I thought I was starting my AF. I was symptom spotting like crazy and not sure when I implanted but I sort of dismissed everything before 8dpo as i thought anything before then was too early!

I'm unsure of what my CM is like before a period so i have nothing to compare that too. I am keeping an eye on it so if I don't get a BFP, I can use it to compare to the other months!

My boobs were super heavy and sore the day I got a positive (but again, that's a usual PMS symptom for me anyway). I can't think of anything that I noticed different really!

So i'm with you that symptom spotting doesn't really work as it's probably just progesterone.

Really hoping this is our month - my AF is due (i think) on Friday and I would usually spot 2 days before so if there's no spotting this week...i'll take a test on Sunday!

When do you think you will test?

Yes, the fertility monitor did detect a rise in estrogen 5 days ago including today (peak day) before ovulation. This is how it should be. So I would recommend this.
I have been trying to take the data of daily CM and hoping it could give me an idea of my fertility. However most of time I get sticky and clear CM so it is not helping me sadly. But I will also use the collected data to compare to the other months if no BFP!

There are two tests I will do during 2WW. I will start testing HCG from dpo 1 until AF/BFP. Also I will test PDG levels from 7 dpo until 10dpo to see if I actually ovulate this cycle.
Baby dust to both f us!!

@LucyCL yes interested in the PDG test - what will you use?

also excited to see the HCG tests - i used them last month from 1dpo as well but obviously were all very faint from the positive! I think that made me feel worse so promising myself only 1 test if AF doesnt arrive! and maybe one the week after to know all is ok!

if im not successful in the new few months, i will look at the fertility monitor (after temping!) but im hoping this is the month 💗

I have started to use Proov's pdg test. This is how it works if you are interested.
There are 6 days to take the tests.
Day 1 (Follicular phase, baseline pdg test): the first day after your period ends or on CD5. Expect this test result to be negative, as this provides an important baseline result to which you can compare your future results.

Here is what I found regarding the importance of the PDG baseline tests.
"To understand what “elevated” means for you, we first need a good idea of what your natural levels look like so that later on we can tell whether or not your PdG levels reached an adequate level in order to allow for the best possible chance at conception.
Additionally, baselines can help us confirm whether or not you ovulated, in the event that your 7-10 DPP tests weren’t quite positive. If there is a significant enough change in intensity between the test line on your baseline test to your 7 DPP test — meaning your 7 DPP test is significantly lighter — then we can confirm that ovulation did in fact occur."

Day 2 (Fertile window): the day when you detect peak fertility
Day 3 -6 (Luteal phase): 7dpo - 10 dpo, 4 days pdg testing. Your levels cam fluctuate from day to day.
Positive: If only a single line shows (the "control line"), your test is positive, indicating elevated PdG.
Negative: When two lines appear, the result is negative, indicating PdG levels are not elevated enough for a positive result.
Note: A baseline reading will typically be negative, although the test line may be faint.

Successful ovulation: Positive results during testing window (sustained PdG levels during the testing window) indicates a successful ovulation this cycle.

You must use FMU and I dip the test strip in the cup for 15 seconds and wait for 10 minutes then I use the Proov app to read the result.

I used it for the last cycle (3/4/24 - 6/5/24) starting from dpo7. So, I didn't have the baseline.
As you can see in the images, CD25 (8dpo) shows pdg 5.5 which means it is positive. Anything below 5 is negative. I had negative results for 7dpo, 9dpo and 10 dpo. My guess is I did ovulate successfully however my pdg level was not enough to support this pregnancy so CP happened. This is only my guess and I could be wrong. However if I have the same or similar test results for this cycle, then unfortunately end up with the 2nd CP, well, that would tell me something about insufficient Pdg and that is something I could take to show to the GP.

This cycle I started to test Pdg on CD8 (14/5/24) and got the baseline level pdg 0.3. Today is the LH peak day so I tested again and I got pdg 1.5. Will test for the third time for 4 days from 7 dpo.

Yes, testing HCG on 1 dpo and starting to see the shadow on 10 dpo then spotting a super super super faint line is definitely exciting. Watching it getting darker then fainter is also heartbreaking. So, only testing if AF does not arrive is a sensible and smart move.
I am at the stage that if CP happens again, then I would be more prepared to handle this. I will have more data and talk to the GP to give me Pdg when I get pregnant again in the future.
After 2 MCs, I am still cautiously hopeful. I look forward to hearing good news from you! : )----