Clearblue Fertility Monitor support group buddies vol 2!!

[monkeybumsmum]

Thought I'd get a new thread started as we seem to have run out of space

Let's hope this one brings us all lots of luck!

Fridays List

Cynthia TTC#1, Cycle 5, Age 30 PK 21,22 UCL 35 days CD 31
Monkeybumsmum TTC#2, Cycle 3 or 4 with CBFM, Age 34, UCL 28-42, CD30 (+ not yet peaked)
Gina84uk TTC#2, Cycle 1 CBFM, (TTC since Jan 09) CD29
JustShaggy TTC#1, Cycle 2 CBFM, Age 38, UCL 29, CD 28
Keziahhopes TTC#1, Cycle 4 CBFM (Cycle 15 overall), Age 34, UCL 28-30, CD18
Amber TTC#2, Cycle ? CBFM, (Cycle 10 overall), Age 37, UCL 26, CD18
Vikks TTC#1, Cycle 4 CBFM (Cycle 33ish overall), Age 32, UCL 32-40, CD6
NicNac456 TTC#1, Cycle 2 CBFM (Cycle 9 overall), Age 34, UCL 26-31, CD4

Happy Birthday Amber! Have a great day x

We got our results back. It isn't good news. My DH sperm has problems. I don't really understand fully the results but he has 28% motility (should be above 50%). I think it means there aren't as many moving about as there should be. Gutted.

Feel a bit numb. I thought it might be something to do with me (my sisters has has unexplained secondary infertility).

DH hasn't taken the news well as you'd expect and I don't know how to help him.

Does anyone know much about this to maybe give me a glimmer of hope?

hiya
nicnac iam sorry to hear about your husband
i dont know much but i hope it will work out.
iam nerveis today as this is 1 week since i
got blood taken to check for pcos,the doctor told me to phone back today after 2pm but i think i now the answer there but it will be hard getting told
xxx

sorry i must have got it wrong vikks when i wrote in last time iam on cd 30 today
xxx

Hi ladies

nicnac so sorry to hear about your results There is still hope though, and 28% has got to be better than 0%... Remember it only takes one swimmer! My dh had tests in the summer and I was terrified it would come back as a bad result - I was really worried it would knock his confidence, and I'm sure that must've happened to your dh. He's not alone, and the good thing is that now he's been tested you can get help. Perhaps they'll suggest 'washing' (am sure it has proper name) but I think it's when they wash away the bad'uns and put the good ones in? Was anything suggested to you?

I can't be long as have people arriving in an hour, the house is a mess and to compound it all and panic me further one of the dogs has just poo'ed in the kitchen and now everywhere stinks too Bet our friends will be glad they've made the effort to come over

Anyway, am terribly confused - am actually on CD28 (so got it wrong y'day) and my monitor went to low this morning after 8 highs. Was thinking maybe am not going to ovulate after my laparoscopy, but then have had period pain a bit this afternoon, went to the loo and AF has started What do you thinks going on????? Brill if it is AF as was wondering how long it'd take but how weird!

Must dash, hi to all and will try to come over the weekend and post more. Sorry for the me-ness of this post!

gina and monkey thanks for writing something. It's been such a hard day. Went to Toys R Us this afternoon for nephews xmas present - didn't think - but that was a bad idea. Could hardly keep the tears in at the check-out.

I've talked to a couple of clinics and in our case the only option available is straight to IVF with ICSI.

The reality is really begining to sink in

We're going to keep trying naturally with the help of CBFM until the process starts (could be 8 months from now, nhs waiting list) - as like you said it only takes one.

I'm going to try and stay positive.

Thanks again for the support.

Nicnac sorry you didn't get good news. Please try and stay positive. I'm afraid I don't have any practical advice as when I struggled to conceive it was due to PCOS so differnt circumstances but I understand teh stress invloved.

Good luck.

hi iam very p*ssed off,the doctor told me to call back today to get the results off my blood tests and when i phoned they were not back got to phone back on monday now arrrrr!!
so iam still waiting
nicnac that the right thing to do stay positive you never now what can happen i will keep you in my prayer's xxx

NicNac - so sorry to hear your news and I can only imagine how low your poor DH must be feeling and how that must be impacting on you.

I have near zero experience of this, but do remember watching a documentary on improving sperm with diet. The recent documentary called The Great Sperm Race touched on this and they did a diet experiment, with very positive results:

"Six sub-fertile men whose sperm counts were between 5-20million were put on a high nutrient smoothie diet to see if they could improve their levels of motility, morphology, sperm count and DNA fragmentation with the aim of reaching the 100% target.

Mid-way through the study, one couple had conceived and by the end there was a consistent improvement in the quality of all of the men?s sperm, especially in the sperm DNA levels."

The site provides a list of smoothie recipes and stresses the importance of anti-oxidants and micronutrients (whatever the hell those are). Recipes here.

I did a bit more searching around, and other changes your DH should make are:

• cut out alcohol - bad for sperm
• no hot baths or soaking in hot tubs
• healthy weight
• no smoking

The same site says:

"Folic acid in combination with zinc sulfate has been shown to have often dramatic effects on sperm counts. Some men when taking these supplements increased their sperm count by as much as 74 per cent."

There was another documentary I watched ages ago - but can't find links for now - that showed dramatic improvements in sperm health by putting men on a strict diet and exercise regime.

Personally, I think I would feel devastated by the news you have just had and like you struggle to find my feet. But evidence does seem to suggest there are things you and your DH can do. (NB: I have no idea whether these tips are about improving counts or motility.....)

I think, if I were in your shoes, I would do some serious research into finding a dietician or holistic expert type person, who can provide this sort of diet/exercise programme. Please don't go into this without serious advice because I also stumbled across another site (here) that said TOO MUCH zinc has been associated with low sperm motility -- too much of a good thing can be bad.

That above site also had this about coffee!!:

"Keep drinking coffee, if you like it. Two Brazilian studies published in 2005 confirmed earlier suspicions that caffeine could improve sperm motility (the sperm's ability to move). In one study of fertile men who were about to have a vasectomy, men who regularly drank six or more cups of coffee a day had significantly higher sperm motility than men who didn't have the coffee habit (Sobreiro et al 2005). The second study looked at infertile men and found a similar effect of regular coffee drinking associated with improved sperm motility and antioxidant levels (Pasqualotto et al 2005). Improvements in sperm motility seem to get higher as coffee intake increases but there is no evidence, as yet, that increasing your caffeine intake will definitely improve your chances of conception."

Tell your DH not to give up and you hang onto hope too. I hope this helped a little bit. Lots of hugs... x

Hi everyone ..... I got a BFP this month. It is very wanted but I'm feeling slightly shell-shocked at the moment. I think I need to get past the 12 weeks before I stop thinking about my last awful MC... which suddenly feels very real again. Will come back when I've got my head a bit more together. x

Sorry to hear your news NicNac - keeping positive sounds good idea.

JustShaggy - great news, are you able to get an early scan to help?

Keziah x

justshaggy - thats great news on your BFP, congratulations Thanks also for your advice. I'll certainly look into all the things you mentioned. Its amazing how much you can learn on a subject in one day!

DH gave in another sample this morning - we get the results back thursday evening. I'm so hoping the last one was maybe just a one off but at the same time trying not to get my hopes up too much.

Its too horrible to think we might not ever have a kid so I'm not going to. If the IVF route is the only way then we'll give it our best shot.

Thanks to everyone else for your words of support - it helps to know I can share all of this.

Shaggy ? Congratulations!! I?m so happy for you. I hope you can enjoy your BFP and you can get an early scan for peace of mind.
All the best?.what?s the secret?!

NicNac ? I?m very sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope the results on Thursday are better than you expect. I?m about four more cycles away from having IVF (if my current injections don?t work) so I know how daunting it feels. But IVF has good success rates and it only takes that one swimmer. I hope you and DH can stay positive, it?s amazing the treatments out there and you are far from alone.

Gina ? Did you get the results you were after?

Monkey ? Did AF get you? Hope you get your ?highs? this month!

Cyncan ? Have you tested?

I?m at the hospital tomorrow and hoping for some fat follicles! I?m not holding my breath, I?ve only been injecting for a week and last cycle I needed 15 days. Well I?ll keep you posted, the nurse said I could be doubling my dose! x

Hi all... thanks for the kind words. In the context of this thread where so many are doing so much to try and conceive, I wanted to explain what might look like ambivalence.... Trust me, this baby is very wanted and I am very glad I got a BFP.

However, in my last pregnancy I suffered horrendously from extreme anxiety which slid into a severe depression. Not like me at all, and very very scarey. I have spent a lot of time trying since then to get non-medical help, but there is no easy 'fix' for this and there seems to not be huge awareness of it. I am currently facing the prospect of maybe needing medication... but I don;t want to do that... for obvious reasons.

My first clue I might be pregnant was sunday last week, when I started having gut churning awful anxiety that persisted, did not go away. You may remember I did an early test at 10DPO and got a BFN, which really upset me because I do want this baby. That was weds last week. But the anxiety feelings grew and grew even though I thought I was not pregnant.

By this last weekend, my hands are visibly shaking, no sleeping, heart racing, legs trembling ... did more tests and got the BFP which has confirmed my biggest hope and also my worst fear. The worst fear is that my worst nightmare would turn out to be a typical pg symptom for me.

As badly as I want this child, the awful feelings of being 'unsafe' and 'frightened' and in a permanenet state of tension and fear are too awful to describe. I don't know how I am going to get through this if they just worsen as the pg progresses, so... I want this child, but I'm scared for all the wrong reasons....

Vikks I did do a couple of things differently this time. For a start, I bought some pre-seed - you recommended it in one of your posts a while back. I also went for reflexology when I was on one of my high days, and I told her I was TTC. No idea if that helped at all.....

Should point out that the CBFM has now worked twice for me. I got a BFP in March after I used it the first time, and a BFP now using it the second time. Extraordinary really. I looked at what I did then and now, assuming you all might want more detail .... sooooo

In March, I got 6 highs and then 2 peak days. Dh and I did the deed on one of the low days immediately before a high, again 5 days before a peak.... and then on both peak days. We did nothing on the high day that follows the peak and which is when I assume ovulation happens.

In Nov, I got 4 highs preceeding a peak. We BD'd on a low day just before the first high, then on the high just before the two peaks, and on the two peaks. Again, not on ovulation day.

(Have to say when I thought I got a BFN last week I was kicking myself to hell and back for not being busy on ovulation day as well!)

My thinking about getting jiggy on the low days immediately before highs, is that it 'flushes out the tubes', so to speak, and gets things in optimal condition, the 'swimmers' doing warm-up stretches, before the real show begins, IYKWIM.

I don't lie about for ages with a pillow under me. But I do fling myself into a shoulder-stand on the bed while DH is in the loo and drop back down quickly before he walks in and sees my bare bum waving high above the bed . And then I sort of lounge about for a little while hugging my knees to my chest while lying on my back... not too long though, because I get cystitis if I don't pee reasonably quickly.

I hope my BFP gives people some kind of 'hope' when it comes to TTC -- I think I might be the oldest person on this thread, and if I can do it - when the odds say I shouldn't be able to easily - so can you.

The other thing that might be in our favour, despite our advanced years, is we are fairly healthy. I do little exercise but we eat properly with lots of veg at home... I can only think that that must help.

Early testers... you see what happened to me....? I did a test at 10DPO and got a BFN. Dreadful.

Did another at 13 DPO and no positive appeared fast enough for me so I threw the test in the bin in a big fat strop.... only to fish it out about 30 mins later just to look again at it in disgust (long after you are advised to read it) and saw a very faint positive.

Because it was so delayed, I wasn't sure if it was a false positive.... so went out and got two more tests (this time Clearblue and not Sainsburys). A second test on 13DPO should up positive. So did a test on the day AF was due.

The early testing put me on a real roller coaster. I guess the one positive to take from it is the hope that the early tests are wrong.....

Is it OK if I stick around until the 12 week mark?

hiya that's great news girls!!!
iam so happy for yous,i will keep you's both in prayer that everything will be alright

vikks i have not got the results yet i phoned again today but nothing i will phone again tomorow hopefully.iam on cd33 had 4 highs this month but no peaks,what do you think?...could i have pcos cause i did not ovulate this month or could it be it's my first month on the cbfm? i know iam not pg as i got cramp's today so iam just waiting
but that is great new's iam so happy for you
xxxx

Hi girls,

Liking our nice new place. barrenbrook pulls up a chair and orders a vodka tonic

Long time no see again, I've been pants although purposely trying to avoid coming on here too much to stop with my obsessing!

Hello to everyone I've not yet 'met', nice to 'meet' you, I hope you will be very much at home here with us all.

Justshaggy Yey, exciting stuff lady, so very pleased for you, but also am also concerned about you saying that you are starting to stress already. Could you perhaps think about going to a class to relax you or perhaps reflexology, I've had two sessions so far and it's been awesome, so incredibly relaxing, or do you think that perhaps talking through your fears with someone may help? You know that we are all here for you should you need to talk to anyone as sometimes I guess it's difficult in the real world. Oh and I insist (i'm sure on behalf of everyone) that you stay with us all the way, we can hold your hand and you can tell us all about what to expect!

niknak (hope I spelt that right!) chin up chicken, I echo monkey, we must remain positive (although incredibly draining) there are ways and means, and it does only take one. Perhaps taking on the advice re the diet etc from a previous post may help??? You can but try and in the meantime we are all here to support you

Vikks How are those follicles coming along this month?

Well, I'm in the 2WW, CD16. We used Preseed this month, I have no idea if it might have worked, fingers crossed, I guess I won't know until AF does or doesn't show.

Tuesdays List

Cynthia TTC#1, Cycle 5, Age 30 PK 21,22 UCL 35 days CD 35
Monkeybumsmum TTC#2, Cycle 3 or 4 with CBFM, Age 34, UCL 28-42, CD34 (+ not yet peaked)
Gina84uk TTC#2, Cycle 1 CBFM, (TTC since Jan 09) CD33
Keziahhopes TTC#1, Cycle 4 CBFM (Cycle 15 overall), Age 34, UCL 28-30, CD22
Amber TTC#2, Cycle ? CBFM, (Cycle 10 overall), Age 37, UCL 26, CD22
Barrenbrook TTC#1, Cycle 3 CBFM (Cycle 9 overall) Age 34, UCL 28 CD16
Vikks TTC#1, Cycle 4 CBFM (Cycle 33ish overall), Age 32, UCL 32-40, CD10
NicNac456 TTC#1, Cycle 2 CBFM (Cycle 9 overall), Age 34, UCL 26-31, CD8

Graduates
Schmoo BFP Dec 09
Justshaggy BFP Dec 09

Brook - I?m joining you with a Vodka! Bloody ovaries!
Good luck on the 2WW, hope the pre-seed helps. I love that stuff, we?ve been using it for months.

Shaggy - Thanks for filling us in. Please stick around!!

Gina - It defo sound like your ovaries are putting up a fight, just like mine were/still are (I think I?m finally winning). I had very long cycles, very irregular and the tests comfirmed I had cysts which were affecting my ovaries funcion. I think if the CBFM didn?t show ?peak? then you probably didn?t ovulate this cycle. Good news is there are loads of differnet treatments out there to help you ovulate, so stay postive. If they find something they can do something about it.

I?ve been to the hospital again today and the results are poo! My lazy ovaries just can?t be bothered again. So we are doubling my dose. That should sort them out, I?m back for another scan Friday?? we?ll see.

JustShaggy!! Congratulations! Thank you so much for your narrative!! I really gives me hope. I have been using the CBFM for five months stopped using it this month since my cycle seems to be pretty predictable now. I was expecting AF today, maybe will be getting it tomorrow. I tested a couple of days ago and got a BFN.... but with your response I am still hopeful!! You never know. Barrenbrook is right, we are here for you all the way!! so please don't leave us!!

Would you mind sharing your symptoms too? (if any)..

Barren, don't worry about obsessing... during all my time at this forum, even the most obsessive ladies have gotten BFP's... Thanks for updating the list!!

Gina, one of my months was just like yours, I think it was the second one. I got peaks, but didn't ovulate. I think it was due to the expired sticks I was using (didn't check them, the vendor gave me expired ones) Once I switched to new sticks, the next months worked like clockwork.

Vikks!! Those lazy ovaries need to start getting their act together!!!! Sending you positive vibes for Friday.

i phoned the doc's today again no results yet!!,that will be two weeks this friday got told to phone back again tomorow

Gina, hopefully the results will be ready tomorrow!!! good luck!

yeah!!!,the results are in,i phoned today the receptionest said they were back and it is normal so it look's like i don't have pcoshopefully i will get a letter in telling me more but for now iam happy
xxxx

Just shaggy - congratulations! I think you would benefit massively from talking therapy and probably something like accupuncture. Well done!

I haven't been on for a while - not until I knew what was happening with my quest to get pregnant. Had my follow up app today with the consultant and I am now on cycle one of IVF god help me. There is no chance of me concieving naturally so I can chuck out the CBFM! I wanted to cry at the appointment but at least I am doing something. We have gone private and I can't believe how much it will cost. I will probably need to migrate to an IVF thread now but the best of luck to everyone on here and I hope to pop back in soon to tell you about my BFP (please please please!!!!) Amber x

PS - consultant said antioxidents are good for sub optimal sperm (you can buy from chemist Solgar do one)