Feisty & Fabulous at 40+ - the continuing adventures of TTC

[fruitbowl]

Erm hope this will do as a continuation thread. Hello to anyone new to the thread. All welcome... xx

Hi every1 hope i can join yr thread, its so good to know that im not a freak being broody at my age..forty four..i cant bear to type it in numbers lol ive been ttc for about 1yr ive had 2 mc back to back the last one at 11 weeks in march but it didnt all come away till end june. So have been waiting and waiting to get going again. Im on cd4 but my cycle only lasted 1 day and was over a week late, im gonna take a test 1st thing in morning so ive prob already done it by the time anyone reads this,, just to check its a BFN, you never know ? someone may be smiling down on me!! ive got 2 older children so i know i can do it... i can cant i??

Am i fortyfour?? oh yeah god i have to think about it, how bad is that? and i want to bring a child into the world hmmmmmmmm

Thanks Rowing,envy is a horrible emotion because even thought you know you shouldn't be feeling it, you just can't bloody help it! Actually it wasn't too bad this evening tho - apart from when we had a 'Moonwalk' stories moment - 'oh yes so and so did it just 4 weeks pregnant, I started TTc a week after etc' - no bloody mention of me doing the bloody half marathon 5 weeks after MC!!
Enough enough I am now going to bed, have a lovely day ahead tomorrow with DS and some friends off for a bit of retail at a well known Bristol shopping centre, then out for a meal for friends birthday.
Misperfectoes (good name!) NOTHING wrong with having to think how old you are lol
Happy Friday everyone xx

Ddilemma, I know exactly what you're talking about. Glad this evening was a little easier than you expected.

Cd16, entering into the loooong 2ww ...

Yahoo for the weekend!

As crazy as it looks when written down : I tested again this morning...Holy S* Batman,why can't I leave it alone!!!I could be 9 dpo or 11 dpo and it was definately neg.Last time I got a + at 9dpo.But I guess it doesn't necessarily mean it's all over.

It's just these symptoms are still hanging around and are not a figment of my imagination.However I know they can be a result of hormones out of whack can't they? I felt quite faint in the shower last night,boob twinges,gagging on my toothbrush,feeling drop-dead tired,headaches etc.Time will tell.

I feel quite cross with myself for getting all hopeful, and I have felt completely useless all week,roaming the internet instead of doing my housework, just generally feeling blah.I have to snap out of it.I am just glad my DH is away for work so he doesn't have to see what a funk I have got myself into,he doesn't know about the possible + tests, I'd rather not say anything until I know either way.

Rowing I hope the hospital will let you start sooner.The waiting is so hard.

Good Luck to all.

I am a real advocate of the FAM approach (fetility awareness method) as described in TCOYF which is a fantastic read if anyone hasn't heard of it.

I know the docs say you shouldn't have a 'targeted' approach to ttc but I think they don't take into account how exact temping etc can be. I think they should credit us women with being able to understand our own cycles FFS.

If you can take your temp accurately (which is a challenge if your dd is waking up in the night!)then charting is very clear.

Yes it is easy to say have sex every other night or every 3 nights but I certainly don't have the energy or the will to be honest to do that! Also I know that there is not a hope I can concieve until I ovulate so targeting, IMO works best for me.

Doctors just annoy me sometimes. Plus Toni Weschler is a fertility doctor herself so she knows what she's talking about.

Just to add that obviously it isn't working best for me at the moment! However that is due to my increasingly advancing age I think!

I got pg within 3 months first time (lost to a mc) and then within a month second time using the targeted approach.

It seems to me that a lot of us are in the same boat re MC. Not so difficult to concieve but a problem holiding on and early on is implantation before the placenta kicks in. Any experts around? Attila the Meerkat seems to know a lot - is she Vita West in disguise?
Rainbow Days you're not alone and some advice would be great trouble is those who are successful wouldn't be on the TTC thread anymore - there's the rub.

DDilemma I seem to see pregnant women where ever I go at the moment including a new 40 yr old neighbour that I'm supposed to be over the moon for and am actually really envious of and disgusted with all at the same time (long story) Would love to meet up though, is Chippenham the best place? I'm free next week.
I've also been having a glass of wine to consol myself - gone off it now it's been so long. Coffee is my weakness but I'm on the wagon again.

Rowing et al thanks for the sym/emp. I just know I can fall into depression if I think about it so it's onwards and time for me to start cleaning again too.
Muchlove did you buy it as a ready made tea or loose herb, from ebay or elsewhere. I'm also doing yoga and it's great has been very fruitful in the past.
angififi I used to gag when brushing my teeth as a sign so fingers crossed for you.

Hello everyone, sorry for the long absence but been manic at work and have PIL staying for a month.

rowing - I'm so sorry about Papa and Toto. I was reading the thread with bated breath. So for you sweetie. Hope Foo-Foo, Fluffy & Barry are getting ready for you (another fan of the names here).

And summer - sending you a huge dose of empathy given you've banned sympathy. It just seems so hard.

Lovely to see this thread so busy - welcome to everyone! Sorry for the AFs where they've arrived.

I've finally ovulated this cycle (didn't for the last 2 months post m/c) and now in the 2ww. Such a relief. Started using a Clearblue monitor last month and got 18 days of HIGH in a row. Talk about stamina . Stupid me didn't think about ringing their helpline until last week. Apparently you get a HIGH when the monitor detects an increase in estrogen and it automatically stays at that level until it detects a LH surge. And there was me desperately jumping on DH, anxious not to miss any opportunity .

Afternoon all

Summer - The tea is loose and I actually bought a cheap coffee cafetierre thingy in tescos and made the tea in that -left it to infuse/brew for cupla hours then drank it. It isn't cheap bout £11 a tub but it lasted me a month and half. I'm thinking about ordering somemore actually.
I wish I had some golden words of advice regarding the MCs but Im afraid that area seems to be a minefield to me.

xx

Sorry guys. AF got me yesterday .

I felt a right numpty for doing the test the day before. If only I'd waited one more day.

I am a bit worried actually cos I defo ovulated around day 14 but the cycle ended up only being about 25 days long. Meaning the second half was a bit short (11 days) - am now convinced I have that Luteal Phase Defect thing

I'm probably worrying for nothing and I must remind myself that I only had the coil taken out in July so my body is probably still settling down. The weird thing is that my temp was still up this morning (37.4) despite the fact that I started my period yesterday. All very odd - I was 33 and 36 when I had my DS's and I didn't even know about Luteal Phase then!! The more I read the worse I worry.

DDilemma - i agree with Summer sky everywhere you look there seems to be either small babies or pregnant women. I find it really difficult as I have a job where I am responsible for telling newly pregnant mums what they are entitled to by way of maternity leave and benefits. I have to be happy and smilie and congratulate them when all the while i'm thinking why can't that be me and to top the lot my youngest sons girlfriend is pregnant and due in december which I find extremly difficult.
I do feel happy for them but at the same time quite jeoulous.

x

Hippy that's rubbish news. It couldn't have been implantation at 11 days could it, which would explain the high temps?
Wait a bit longer and test again.

Lucky that has to be so hard, you are obviously a very patient person. Was the younger son's girlfriend a bit of a shock?

TFLS I was wondering where you had got to. PIL for a month, that sounds like fun? Are they still there?

Hi ladies. Not much to report here, but I just have to tell you about the weird and infuriating conversation I had with the help line from the preg test I took that I got a faint positive from.The brand is "crystal clear" (what a joke).
I told the helpline lady that I had a positive from their brand and negatives from two other brands. She asked if I had regular periods, i told her I hadn't had a period due to breastfeeding, so wasn't sure.She says, well you have to wait 19 days from intercourse.(it says "test 5 days before your due date" on the pack.)Then I said I have heard of false negatives, but not false positives. Her reply was, well it can happen in certain situations and breastfeeding is one of them.
WHAT!!!I have never heard of BF causing HCG in the body, and why didn't it make other brands positive!
How unhelpful. Obviously their brand of tests is faulty and I will never,ever be tempted to waste my money on them again.
According to FF I should get a visit from the nasty aunt tomorrow, but I am not so sure and wouldn't be surprised if it is Tuesday instead.
Still feel symptoms, but for now have to right them off as nothing.
Has anyone ever heard of breastfeeding causing false positives?I'd love to know.
Good luck, hope someone gets a bfp.

That is v annoying Angififi thinking it is a pos and being a neg, I agree with Rowing wait a few more days and re do with a different test.

Hi TFLS I too was wondering where you were, we can't get our PIL to visit for a day let alone a mnth. Yeah! for the egg!

Luckywebby That must be tough for you. Sister at the EPU the other day said she finds it hard with heroin addict mums when there are so many like us who really want a DC. Now there's an interesting survey is it easier to fall pregnant while on heroin and no I'm not suggesting anyone try! Oh those poor babies.

Nice weekend everyone

Hi everyone,
Angi that is so annoying about the test. I haven't heard of false positives whilst bfing.
Could you go to the doctors and explain you are TTC, but you aren't sure of the state of your hormones, see if you can have some blood tests done to see where things are.
Have you tried Agnus castus, it is good for regulating prolactin and women's cycles in general. You are likely to have higher than normal prolactin if you are bfing, I would have thought at least.
It sounds as if your irregular cycles are really getting to you, must be so frustrating.
Sending you a hug! {{{hug}}}
Summer that is very interesting about the herion. Not that I'm that desperate, prefer to have a baby and be in a fit state to look after it.
How is everyone.
Sorry for not replying to everyone, it has been very busy on here over the past week, but a big welcome to all the new people, it's very friendly on here.
Oh has anyone tried Dong Quai? I've been taking a couple, to try to get my body back to normal (but better I hope).

Hi rowing boat

Yes my sons GF pregnancy was a bit of a shock. He is 18 and she has just turned 18. He has recently joined the army so is away for 14 weeks at the moment. Not planned at all. Due in December. Why is it some people get all the luck.

X

That must be bitter sweet luckywebby.

Sorry to hear about AF hippychick. Know what you mean about worrying the more you read. I had an appointment with my acupuncturist today and she commented that my post o/v temp surge was a bit staggered which can suggest problems with prostergone levels and be linked with m/c. Too early to tell as it's the first cycle when I've temped and ovulated. But another thing to go and google hey ho! I keep alternating between knowledge is power and ignorance is bliss.

Hope you're doing OK rowing. I've been thinking of you. What's Dong Quai?

angifi - sorry no idea re false positives and breast feeding. Don't know if a post on the breast feeding section would be worth it?

PIL have gone to visit some other relatives for a week so we have the house back to ourselves. Bliss. They are really lovely and it's great having them stay but entertaining people non stop for several weeks is tiring.

Couple of things my acupuncturist said today that were interesting. Apparently under TCM you should eat red meat 3-4 times a week. I eat hardly any but upped it in the last week and there was a noticeable improvement in my tongue (still feels very strange typing that!) and pulse. Also you should stay warm when TTC (warm drinks, warm foods, wrap up etc) - forgot to ask if this was at certain times in your cycle. Seems a good excuse to keep the heating on this autumn!

Morning everyone, nowt to report, just wanted to say hi.

I'm interested in what your charts look like, as I think my temps are low, so would be interested to compare mine with yours. What are they like in the first phase, then in the luteal phase?

Hippychick I understand LPD to be for under 10 days, eg 9 days or less.

I wouldn't have thought an 11 day luteal phase (in itself) would represent an issue.

Ta for all the advise. It doesn't seem like it was implantation bleed (too much blood - had to be our least favorite Auntie!)

Some places say LP should be 10-16 days but then a couple of places say anything less than 12 is a worry. One website says if you have a short LP you WILL have an early miscarriage - that seemed very definite and awfully negative to me.

Anyway, I have thought about giving up temping - my temp is still up every morn (37.5) despite the fact that I'm having a period. So either my thermometer is crap or I'm odd. To test it, I used the same thermometer to take my sons temperature when he first woke up and he was 36.5 (and he was in the same bed as me - had a bad dream and ended up with us).

I thought I might take B6 to help lengthen the LP but it says I should check with doc. Does anyone know if it's defo ok to take B6 when ttc and what dose is best please? Also could the mirena coil have affected my LP or is that a set thing??

I'm wondering - Any BFP's from you guys yet

Hippychick, Agnus Castus is supposed to be very good for the luteal phase, and oily fish.

Thanks Kiwi. I looked in to this and one site said it shouldn't be taken when pregnant so I looked further and I found this -

For women who are trying to get pregnant, vitex (another word for agnus castus) may be helpful to help regulate the ovulatory cycle. It may be taken throughout the end of the third month of pregnancy, which may help prevent miscarriage, according to German research. After the third month it is still safe to take but is not recommended, because it may bring on the flow of milk too early.

I think I'll wait and see how long this cycle is, because I've only had 2 proper periods since the Mirena came out and I wasn't taking a lot of notice before because I was blissfully unaware of this whole LP nightmare! If this one is short too - I'll defo go to the docs.

I am gonna eat a lot of oily fish in the meantime though cos I really like it and it could help. If nothing else it tastes nice and is good for you generally

Hi everyone, well despite still feeling sick practically all the time, sore boobs and no PMT symtoms like I usually get, AF snuck in precisely 27 days (give or take 5 minutes) after the last one! So nothing wrong with the regularity of my cycle, but as yet no cramps or anything so we'll see how it is over next 24 hours.
Hippy, my cycle before last had 11 day LP, this one was 14 again so it's self corrected I guess.
Summer am planning on being in Chipp or Bath Tues am so could meet for a coffee if you're around? Be great to have a moan chat face to face with someone who understands!!!

Sorry to hear your least favorite relative has come to visit dilemma. Good news that you went from 11 to 14 days LP. V. encouraging for me. We'll both be back on here soon complaining about the old 2WW.