Charter's Anonymous

[LittleSilver]

I thought I'd start a thread for all of us who worship at the shrine of Toni Weschler, spend whole seconds analysing cervical mucus, slip over in the shower checking cervical position and spend two minutes every morning flicking their heads from side to side in a valiant attempt to stop a baby pulling the thermometer out of their mouths. Ladies, this thread is for all of us, may it see many many BFPs!

If I had any kind of control over it I'd tell you all gladly so we could schedule our large glasses of red wine lives better! As it is, it's never been something I can influence. But we have our first graduate, hooray! Hippy, you know we will treat you as a guru now don;t you? Don't be a stranger now you are off to the antenatal boards!

Oh, that is fantastic news, Hippy! You have brought a tear to my eye

Spurred on by Hippy's news I'm cracking and will probably test tomorrow morning, which is 10 DPO and I usually have a 10 day LP. I was going to wait until next weekend when my period would actually be late!

Here comes unneccessary suspense and disappointment...

Do you all swing between utterly convinced you are pregnant and miserably certain you won't be several times a day?

Would be gutted if this months efforts go to waste. We had sex every day for 8 days. 8 DAYS I tell you! Even DH said "thank God" when I told him I'd ovulated. We have even been on holiday, so nice and relaxed too.

It's a trial!

I work out due dates, qualifying dates for SMP, earliest date I could go on wonderful wonderful maternity leave from shitey, stressful, possibly-being-made-redundant-soon job each time. Very sad aren't I?

"Even DH said "Thank God" when I told him I'd ovulated"

spilt, I just inhaled my diet coke up my nose when I read that! No, don't think you're sad at all. So poas tomorrow am, right? Keep us posted, how nice it would be to have 2 graduates this month!

DH said to me this am, touching my belly, "So why aren't you pg yet? It's never taken this long before!" I did point out that him declining SWI on peak day wasn't the most helpful of (non) actions, ho hum.

Good luck spilt!

Yes, spiltthetea, I absolutely swing between the two extremes - 'tis a bit of a rollercoaster, ain't it?

I don't work out dates though - too superstitious about that

Well I'm now very frustrated.

Tested and got a negative, then pretty much immediately started bleeding. One day early. Which would give me a LP of only 9 days this month. I've spent half the morning trying to kid myself it might be implantation, but really it's heavy and period like.

9 days really is quite crap isn't it? 23 day cycle in total this time. WTF is happening!?

Have now bought EPO and a Vit B complex (closest I could get to B6 only in the supermarket). I think B6 is the one that is supposed to help with short LP's isn't it?

Anyone know of any reason why I shouldn't take EPO, a collection of Vitamin B's and Folic acid every day?

The EPO is 500mg and says you can take one or two. What do you think? BabyValentine how much are you taking?

The Vit B complex also has 200 micrograms of folic acid, and the folic acid I'm already taking is 400 micrograms. I don't think the extra should be too problematic, do you?

God I'm confused and annoyed! Would be nice to have a surprise pregnancy, but I'm far too involved now for that to happen...

Better luck to the rest of you.

split I know it is a worry when your LP is short but don't forget that my last cycle was only 21 days and i think I ov'd day 11 or 12 so that's only a 9 or 10 day LP. I rarely get over 10 days for a LP.

Then this month all was good.

The only thing I did that was different was that on day 10 I went for a reflexology session and she said because it was pre-ovulation she could do extra stimulation on my ovaries. (They wont do that after ovulation if you are TTC just incase you are preg).

anyway, she did some extra stuff and then i was suprised cos I didn't ovulate early after all. It was either day 13/14 cos my temp went up on day 15.

I wondered if the extra stimulation had made me ov later but maybe it was a good thing. I'm now hoping it means that she somehow got me a good egg .

I do think the reflexology helped me to get preg cos for my age (43) I got preg quite quickly - 3 goes this time and 5 goes last time.

Anyway, I just wanted to try to re-assure you that it can be done with a short LP (please god it stays put!!!)

Also, I have been taking vit B6 and it never seemed to do anything for my LP but I know other people say it does help. HTH

Oh, poor old spilt! I don't know anything about supplements; I am sorry.

Sorry spiltthetea

I heard that you can take anything between 1500 mg and 3000 mg EPO. I currently take two high concentration 1000 mg capsules every morning from CD1 to ovulation.

I started it in an attempt to regulate my cycle (I had had an anovulatory cycle, then ovulation on CD10, then CD20). Last cycle was my first month with EPO, and I ovulated on CD15 and has a 17-day LP (!), following 14-day and 15-day LPs.

I've also heard that EPO increases EWCF, too.

Oh, and this month, my 2nd EPO cycle, I ovulated on CD15 too. So perhaps it is regulating my hormones. No idea what my LP will be yet though, hopefully 9 months

Have been reading and I think I will go out and get some EPO tomorrow and have a go!

Do you think it is better than Agnus Castus?

~pokes her head in~

can I join you guys in here?

You're more than welcome Ivy

spilt I'm so gutted for you hon, I was just about to agree about the swinging wildly from 'I really think I am' to 'of course I'm bloody not' it's driving me mad!

I hope you're consoling yourself with pregnancy contraband x

ps) if I'm not pg this month I'm going to try agnus castus. Does anyone know the dosage?

I think it is just one tablet a day decaf but fingers crossed you will not need to know xx

thank you

I still have some EPO left from my pg with #1, I've not heard about taking it for TTC, what does it do?

Thanks pet x God I hope this is it x

Hi Ivy

From my very little knowledge of it i think it is supposed to help regulate and improve the quality of EWCM. You can only take it until you ovulate though. I am going to give it a go!!

I'm thinking it'll be too late for me for this cycle (I had LH surges on the OPK yesterday and the day before) but I'll give it a go next month... things are a bit up in the air at the minute, so I'll take all the help I can get.

Hi Ivy , EPO seems to have regulated my cycle (based on my huge survey over 2 cycles!). Not noticed any changes in EWCF though.

Decaf, hopefully you will not need AC! I have read a little about it, and I get the impression that it can have a significant effect, although I'm not quite sure in what way. I'm sure I remember reading about people with fairly regular cycles going a bit haywire under the influence of AC, so I would read up a little first, just in case. I have taken it before - can't remember when, memory like a sieve - p'haps after my periods returned after BF DD - but don't remember what the effects were. Sorry that doesn't help in the slightest does it?!

And spilt, I wouldn't have thought that the extra FA would be harmful. I think it is present in some foods, so it could be increased through the diet anyway. But obviously I can't be sure...

Thanks all for your lovely messages. Hippy thanks for popping back to encourage us that it can be done, I really hope your pregnancy is trouble free.

Have been very tearful and low this afternoon, after being cross this morning. Ended up having a Big Glass of white wine and stuffed myself with cookies, so there are some consolations I suppose. DH was lovely and went out specially to buy me an enormous bar of chocolate when it turned out there was none in the drawer

Thanks BV I hope I won't need it either but it's currently my plan b!

I had ridiculous cycles ttc DS ranging from 38 days to 70! It took us a year to conceive but looking back we probably got lucky the 5th time there was an egg IYSWIM.

Anyway I never went back on the pill and managed to regulate myself with wellwoman pills from boots. My cycles were 33/34 days for months and months and then last month I had a 47 dayer and this month will be a 49 dayer (we only hit the right time as a fluke) so AC is the only hope I have left I think.

I have no idea why the wellwoman things stopped working. They had EP and starflower something in them. It's just so utterly frustrating. Do you think I'd be a candidate for clomid or is that just if you don't ov at all?

Sorry, just realised I've really ranted here... xx

BabyValentine thanks for the EPO dosage info, sounds like I can take a lot more than I thought. Think I'll go for 3 x 500mg daily.

Welcome Ivy, sorry you had to arrive just as I was having my pity party. Fingers crossed this is your month!

Danilou I'm not sure about the relative merits of AC/EPO, but EPO is miles cheaper as far as I can see

Rant away decaf, that's what we're here for. 70 day cycle though, that must have been torture, you poor thing.

I would definitely look into the AC if I was you. It was something I was going to research when I came off my pill if I didn't get some approximation of a cycle pretty soon. I have a feeling it shouldn't be taken in pregnancy, but that might of course be crap...!