TTC since July 2023

[CRMB95]

Hi all, starting a thread for anyone TTC since July 23 as that's how long we've been trying for and would really love to build a support network of people in the same boat to help each other through an give hope with any positive stories/future tests. Put your situation in here, get it all off your chest, I'm here for it all ❤

👋 I’m in the same boat, it can be lonely and super hard to stay positive and keep looking after yourself at the same time. Are you ttc your first?

Coming up TTC for almost 2 years and it's still no easier 😔 We found out my partners got extremely low counts for all parameters from his sperm analysis and had our first appointment with the fertility clinic but she said it will likely we'll need IVF (without even saying what other tests they can do for him 🙄). We only get one round of IVF on the NHS in our area so I'm really wanting to use it as a last resort 😔

Every now and then I have a cry, especially when I've been around babies but I like to think our time will come. I've always dreamed of being a mother (cringey as it sounds it's all I've ever aspired to be in all honesty 😕)

TTC is the most lonely experience. We are just all here silently in limbo waiting for it to be our turn. Sending lots of positive thoughts to you ladies xxx

Hi! Thank you for posting, it is for sure a rollercoaster ride that I cannot wait to get off someday! The monthly 1 lines are crushing and then you have to build yourself back up to go again and paint the smile on our faces to outsiders who don't understand or aren't aware of the situation (we also have lots of friends and family pregnant/have newborns atm too), but I'm hoping by having somewhere we can all share our experiences and rant/laugh/cry together we can all finally have a safe place to turn to for support as it's really not supposed to feel this hard!
So we are ttc baby number 2, currently have a nearly 3 year old who we got pregnant with in the first month so this journey for our second has been a total shock to us, do you have any kids or will this be your first? 😊

Hi thank you for posting, first off I want to send you such a huge virtual hug right now because this journey really is one of the hardest things to go through and to be told IVF would be your next and possibly only option must be such a daunting prospect, have they said how long you would have to wait to start the IVF process? And have they given any advice on if your partner could potentially increase sperm parameters? I've heard good things about men taking Impryl or Proceive supplements and icing their testicles once a day for 30 mins to improve sperm counts but this may all be stuff you have thought of or tried but if not could be worth researching about and giving it a go whilst waiting on the IVF route to give it the best chance. All I can say on the IVF side of things is all we can do is put the trust in the professionals and take that leap of faith try not to focus on there only being one round available just keep all your focus on it possibly being the next step and push the rest of the noise out and cross that bridge if it comes to it (as hard at it may be) ❤
I absolutely feel your pain of being around babies and baby talk/annoucements we have lots of that around us at the minute and its totally ok to cry and it is not cringey to say at all, it's in a lot of people's nature to want to be parents, I'm sending so much baby dust your way, we're all on this journey together and please send updates and messages any time I'm invested in this now and pray this happens for you ❤

Hey how are you both feeling this week? I got my period again a couple of days ago so I'm out again for this month, onto August I guess now 🤞😮‍💨

@CRMB95 hey lovely 💕

Ugh so sorry your period arrived. Fingers crossed for you for next cycle! ☺️

Thank you so much for your kind words, it really means the world to me. No they've given no timeline as to when we'd be looking at IVF, I'm going to try and push for more testing for him before we make that step. (Plus I need to get my BMI down as I won't be eligible at the moment anyway 🤣😫)

He's on impryl (and a couple other vitamins), and has been for about 2 months, I need to try and get him another semen analysis to get an idea of if its working. Haven't thought about the icing his balls so I might try and give that a go 🤣 he's up for alot of things to make this work so hopefully he won't mind 🤣

I've been quite lucky and not been around babies recently but we've got a trip to see some family soon and a little one will be there but hopefully as he's gotten a bit bigger it shouldn't hurt too much when I see him and have a cuddle.

Really hoping for you! Are you going to look into getting any tests to see if there's anything that might be stopping you both? It's a year now for you trying for baby number 2 isn't it?xxx

Hi @CRMB95

We would like twins! We have been TTC number 2 since July 2023(tho had a 2m break so heading into cycle 12 on the next one). We have a 3 year old who was concieved on cycle 1. I started AF a few days ago too!

We have had tests (sperm analysis, bloods, hycosy, scan etc). I have heard from friends etc that it took ages for baby 1 and baby 2 was quick so I'm praying it's just the opposite case for us and it will happen when the time is right!

Hey, no problem, thank you so much, we are keeping our fingers crossed for August 🤞
Ahh thats good that your partner is on Impryl I really hope that improves things for him, I think they say give it three months to take an effect so maybe give it another couple months to try the "icing of balls" 🤣 alongside the Impryl an see if he can have another test to see if anythings changed, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you both either way and hope you get more of an indication on the IVF side of things but atleast it sounds like there's options and things to try at the moment for you 🤞
Ohh bless you, it's really tricky having those close encounters with babies, I've really struggled lately with this but just have to keep telling myself that it can't be controlled an I'm on my own journey so don't focus on what other people are doing in their lives etc, makes it slightly more bareable,
So we have recently had our referral to NHS fertility clinic, had initial hormone bloods an progesterone bloods but waiting for the follow up appointment to come through for results, they've said it'll likely be September so just waiting in limbo currently, partner has had his SA and that has came back normal just slightly low morphology but they advised this isn't an issue due to high sperm count overall. So just a waiting game at the moment for us 😮‍💨

Hi wow this definitely sounds like we are on a very similar journey! It's so frustrating when you've concieved first time with your first isn't it, I don't think we were doing anything different at all first time round either other than maybe being able to do the deed a little more as we didn't have a toddler keeping us busy and tired 🤣
Did your tests all come back clear? We have just recently had our referral and had initial bloods done (no results as of yet follow up isn't until September 😪) SA results for partner were normal too, what does the hycosy involve? We had a private scan that didn't reveal anything abnormal and I did some online bloods called Hertility but I'm really not sure on their accuracy as I had two things retested (prolactin and tsh) at GP that came back fine so fertility clinic didn't seem to trust them 100% either. Fingers crossed like you have said, maybe its just flipped for us an taking longer second time, I really hope we both get our BFP's soon though as its such an emotional rollercoaster!

@CRMB95 all the results came back as normal. I read above that your partners SA had slightly morphology - my husband's was 5% so 'normal' but only just. Trying to convince him to take supplements but not sure it's needed!

A hycosy is a dye test - feels sort of like a smear test and they inject dye to check there are no blockages in the tubes!

I was prescribed clomid which is used for women who don't ovulate and in women who do already ovulate it increases the number of eggs released but I'm so skeptical about taking it as there can be side effects and so far nothing shown as wrong.

That's amazing that all your results are normal though, hopefully gives some peace of mind that maybe it is just a case of taking a while and nothing else going on,
Yess so my partners came back at 4% which is technically abnormal, however the fertility nurse I spoke with reassured us its a subjective result that can vary a lot so 4% is actually a very average percentage especially for people with an overall high sperm count and she wishes they would take it out of the test as it worries people unnecessarily so I wouldn't worry too much if your partners is 5%, but my partner is now taking Proceive just to see if it helps at all as I guess it can't harm to increase the percentage,
Ahh thats interesting to know thank you, I'm guessing that may be our next stage then once we have our next appointment, did the procedure hurt at all?
Bless you its always such a worry when it comes to fertility you don't want to do anything to effect it negatively, what are the side effects? I've curbed my coffee intake but it seems so unfair that I've had to go without it for so long now, its soo needed on some days 🤣

Hi ladies

How are you all?

I'm on cycle 12 approx 3 dpo. Trying to keep positive!

I’ve been trying from May 2023 and nothing apart from 1 miscarriage a month ago. It’s so hard.

Hi @Rycbar

Sorry I missed this. Have you had any tests or been to the GP? X

Yes we’ve had bloods, ultrasound, swabs and a sperm test but everything has come back fine with these.
my miscarriage was only 6 weeks ago so the GP said to contact her again when I was ready to continue to it’s the process and referrals if we want.

So sorry to hear this, its such a struggle, just take your time to process what's happened and look after yourself,
Fingers crossed when you're ready the referral process can either give you some answers or help in some way ❤️ Just know you're not alone going through this xx

We're sadly out this month, another chemical pregnancy currently, so gutted, had faint positive lines 4 days early but AF due today an still faint line, plus now light, brown blood, seems the same as our last chemical, just so fed up and down about this whole process,
Anybody got any better news this month? ❤️

@CRMB95 ah I'm so sorry. Have you spoken to the doctors at all about any testing? Was this cycle 12?

I'm on CD23 and usually AF arrives CD27-29 so just waiting for that really! I've started to get really hot in the lead up to AF so I've convinced myself I'm perimenpausal 🤣 (I'm 35)

This would be cycle 13, I'm actually really confused this morning though as after posting my original post, my spotting stopped and this morning my line looks the darkest it's looked but still super light, so I have no idea if I'm still in or out this month 🤷‍♀️ I think if I get to one week post period I'll call doctors an try to speak to them about getting bloods, problem is there's normally weeks of waiting for bloods! Will attach photo.

How are you getting on? Any good news!? Its really hard not to convince yourself of things like early perimenopause, I'm 29 but started to convince myself of this as my periods have varied and I've gotten hot overnight etc but it is just summer at the moment so could just be as easy as that but really hard not to nit pick at symptoms isn't it 😂

@CRMB95 oh my goodness. That is definitely a line. What cycle day are you on? Definitely take another test in a few days!🤞

I'm on day CD28 of cycle 12 but spotting started yesterday. I have had quite a lot of tests including oestrogen so I know the peri is all in my head too.

Maybe cycle 13 will be the lucky one! Keep me updated. Praying it is your time for a BFP❤️

I think today I am cycle day 30 and I've done another test that I think definitely looks darker, I've also done a first response rapid result (so I think it's less sensitive) but that one's darker than the first response I did the other day, trying not to get ahead of myself though as I just know things are so early days 😬

How are you feeling today? Has the spotting continued!? Ahh I'm glad you know for sure it's not peri atleast then!

Thank you so much ❤️

Hi all how are you all doing? Any updates for anyone?

I just wanted to update the thread with some positivity that I now have a 6 week old happy healthy boy so my last post on here about the faint positive was infact a viable pregnancy, I hope you're all keeping well and that this post can give anyone in a similar situation a boost of positivity to carry on, I know it feels crushing every month getting that negative test but unless there's good reason to believe its not going to happen, never give up because it may well just happen randomly like it did for us with no explanation for why it took so long ❤️ here to talk if anybody needs to.