London TTC buddies chat thread

[mk8]

quick one.. proper update later.

sophie- sorry youre in lurk mode. i hope your mood improves. you deserve this and i hope that this works for you, i really do. in the meantime, hope that work eases up. xx

everybody else- hello!

clanger- when are you do hun?

ive been down. not ttc related. just feel really crappy right now. dont really go into it but there have been plenty of tears over the past 2 weeks over on my side so trying hard to focus on feeling better.

xx

 

[Clanger]

Hey ladies,

Sh*tebag site and my fat pregnancy fingers screwing up my reply!

Sophiebee, sorry to hear you are in a slump.You have so much to contend with and can imagine this waiting time till things really start happening with your ivf must be very weird.Excellent idea to ensure you can take the meds at a regular time that won't intefere with festive nights out and the escapism and fun you really need and deserve.There's so much to think about isn't there!?I am excited for next year and your transfer date...cheering you on with extra huge banners.How's running/auntie duties/baking news?Hope Christmas plans will provide enough distraction for you to get through the nxt few weeks without your mood suffering too much.I think you have done amazingly at coping with unfair crappiness this year lady, not suprising you have a dip at times.Thinking of you.

Also thinking of you Mk8 and so sorry to hear how sad you have been.Hope whatever it is that has been upsetting you is a temporary problem which can be s

 

[Clanger]

.....fat finger alert!

...solved soon?!Can't be much help having your hormones all over the shop with clomid while you're feeling upset anyway....how's that all
Going?Great that you are Opking and charting to see what impact it all has.Was wondering.....as you said Mr Mk8s result were normal but maybe se
On the low average side, it could definately be that this is making your ttc journey slightly longer that the "average" for a couple in their early 30s and therefore that a bfp is round the corner, particularly with clomid super charging those eggs!It took us 8 cycles to get a bfp ( and 9 to get this one) assuming my Mr has perfectly average swimmers (which is a complete guess and we were lucky enough not to get to jizz pot stage) then it follows that someone with slightly low average numbers could take a few more cycles.Perhaps things like spacing out your sex sessions could help ensure you get the most super turbo-charged swimmers possible.Anyway-what's your Christmas plans?Hope you have some loveliness to look forward to-thinking of you.

Leeze, thanks for taking the time out of mummaville to update.Your labour sounds stressful-amazing work for getting through it all and sounding so calm and content afterwards!How's the bf-ing going?Excellent that you are managing to feed-hope it's all going well for you.Your daughter really is gorgeous!

Hi to Starricilious too!

All ok here.Am massive and also a few minor spanners in the works re labour at the moment.Just focusing on keeping me and bubs healthy and safe and getting him here by whatever means neccesary though.All feeling a little surreal!

 

[SophieBee]

Hello!

Sorry to hear you've been feeling low as well mk8
Hope whatever that is getting you down passes very soon.

Lovely to hear from you too Clanger - can't believe you're so close now! Hope that the labour spanners get sorted and it all goes well for you. Keep us posted on any updates

Star, how are things going with you?

I've perked up a bit now the injections are in sight. I've spent the weekend reading and re-reading all the info from the clinic and scouring the interwebs for stuffs on what to expect and all that, so feel like I am as prepared as I can be. Equal parts dreading and looking forward to it - well, probably more looking forward I suppose because this is it! Yes, it's probably going to make me feel shitty for a while and obviously there's a good chance of it not working, but there is also a chance that it will work and that in around 6-8 weeks I'll have a BFP of my own!

Will let you all know how the injections go and how I'm feeling as soon as I get started. Wish me luck!!

 

[Leeze]

Hi everyone

again, a quick hello really - just wanted to see how everyone's doing. Am loving mummyhood but it is very full on - 24/7 - so not much time to get on here or do much other than take care of Kia (that includes not having much time to look after myself or the cat unfortunately too!!! Lots of days I end up not changing out of my pyjamas - and the cat has started to get used to his mealtimes being pretty inconsistent these days!!)

MK8 - sorry to hear you've been feeling teary, hon. TTC really takes it out of you, doesn't it - and if you've got other stuff going on too it can make it really difficult. I hope you're getting lots of TLC from Mr MK8 right now - and making time to do things that make you feel good or be around people who care. Big hugs to you, and fingers crossed that clomid works its magic for you soon. A Xmas or New Year BFP would be lovely xx

Soph - only 6-8 weeks until that possible BFP! No wonder you're feeling excited and also a bit anxious. Have they said to you how many embryos they would plan to implant? You could even end up with twins!!! Good idea to try to find a way to make taking the injections as straightforward as possible, I think I'd be tempted to go for the early morning routine so you can relax in the evening - otherwise if you did it in the evening could you set an alarm to remind you? Fingers crossed for you too xx

Star - how's it all going with you, hope you're doing ok xx

Clanger - not long at all to go now!!! Woo-hoo!! Sorry to hear there's a few spanners in the works re labour. If you end up having a c-section like I did then one really positive thing I would say about it is that I got a lot of support from the midwives and Doctors during the 3 days I was in hospital - this has massively helped me with breastfeeding and generally being able to look after Kia more confidently. Just get someone to bring some nice food in for you regularly as hospital food really is pretty rank!!! My other top tips would be that if you're planning to breastfeed then invest in some breastfeeding/nursing pjyamas, bras and vests - makes it so much easier - and cook a few hearty meals over the next week or so to put in the freezer for the first couple of weeks of new parenthood - I make a big lasagna and a big pot of soup and froze them in portion sizes - it made a massive difference in the first couple of weeks. How are you feeling about being a mum so very soon? Big hugs, hon

Oh, I got to go, Kia just started screaming the place down xxx

 

[SophieBee]

Hello! I start my injections tomorrow

I have definitely decided on morning injections - in fact I have been asked to attend a work function that will mean I'll be back late tomorrow night, so it is just as well I had settled on the 7am jabs! Add to this the work xmas party and a gig in a couple of weeks and it was a no brainer really.

7am is a bit early for weekends, but I reckon if I'm still feeling really tired I'll just do the jab and crawl back to bed!

Anyway - am going to be out tomorrow night and I'm spending Thursday evening cooking in preparation for a little dinner I'm throwing for my friend's birthday at the weekend, so I don't know when I'll get a chance to come on and let you know how it went. Wish me luck!!

 

[SophieBee]

Leeze - sorry, I forgot to answer your questions. They will transfer a maximum of 2 embryos and they try to avoid multiple births if they can so will probably try to counsel us to just have the one transferred. I'll make up my mind on that when we know what the quality of the embryos is - we may of course only have one (or none), which would answer that question. Twins is a distinct possibility, but we'll jump off that bridge if we come to it I think!

We can also freeze any high quality embryos for future use. Our PCT will pay for 2 years storage and will cover the costs of frozen embryo transfer (FET) from this cycle if we are unsuccessful with a fresh one. If we are successful and decide we want to use one of our frosties in the future we can pay for a FET, which is MUCH cheaper than doing the whole thing (£650 instead of £3300). There is a lower chance of success with an FET, but there is a woman on a thread I follow on the assisted conception forum that has just had a successful FET so it can happen!

Sorry, went on for a bit there - there is LOTS to think about and I'm really happy to talk about it or answer any questions so please anyone don't feel you can't ask! x

 

[mk8]

Very quick hello! Xx

 

[Clanger]

Hey ladies,

Stoopid site been stopping me from posting, "stamps fat swollen foot"!

Mk8- how are you chicken?We've all been worried-sounds like you're having a
tough time.Hope things are ok with you?

Leeze, lovely to hear from you-Mummyhood sounds like a rollercoaster but so glad you are getting your babymoon and relaxing in your pjs with your girl.How's the mister doing?Thanks for all your advice and thoughtfulness-it's amazing that you are still able to be so thoughtful in sharing things with us with your sleep deprived Mummybrain.Great that your hospital stay helped you feel much more confident with Kia-you sound very in control and in love.Also so glad that you are managing with the feeding, am
imaging it is very demanding so hope you are feeling proud of yourself.

Sophiebee-that's brilliant about the FET.Here's hoping you and Mr Bee produce lots of super healthy embryos.How's the injecting going?Do you do it yourself or does Mr Bee help out?So....this may be a stupid question but how do they know when you ovulate and when to collect all those eggs?It's an amazing process isn't it....and will be even more amazing when they get the eggs and use them to make some little Bee embryos!Are you enjoying your Christmas party season anyway?

Hi to Starrilicious too!

As for moi.....as it's you girls and I can be honest with you...am
certainly not one of those ladies who is approaching her due date and feeling pure excitement.Of course I am stupidly excited and cannot wait to meet my babster, but I am
terrified!Terrified of the unknown and of something going
wrong-am so close to the finish line and just want our baby here safely now.
worrying about labour, about the baby being ok etc.Feel a bit freak like as all other pregnant women I am around at the moment just seem
to be excited.Not letting it take over though as realise how unhelpful
it is....lots of cake and x factor escapism in order!

 

[Leeze]

hi lovelies - vv quick check-in

Soph - good luck with injections, hope it's going ok - is Mr Bee doing them for you or are you doing them yourself?

MK8 - big hugs, hope things are improving for you

Clanger - totally understandable to be feeling worried - I bet lots of others feel the same but don't want to admit it. I was feeling terrified at about your stage too, it was mainly because I was overdue that I got to the point where I felt really uncomfortable and just wanted her out. My advice would be to trust yourself that when the time comes you'll be able to do what you need to do - I felt much calmer than I could ever have imagined when it actually all started happening - and hope that you get some good medical staff around you who make you feel more confident. Keep us posted

Star - hope all ok with you, been quiet from you recently

we're all ok, suffering a bit with lack of sleep but to be expected really!! x

hugs to all

xxx

 

[SophieBee]

Hi all

How is everyone? I'm having a lovely lazy day after a bit of a hectic weekend. We had our work xmas do on Friday which started at lunchtime and went on until closing - madness! I was going to try to lay off the alcohol completely, but I decided to chill out and have a couple of beers in the evening as it was getting tricky avoiding the questions! I reckon it will be more important to be booze free when I'm stimming anyway - I thought that a little drink whilst I'm being switched off isn't going to hurt too much at this stage in the game.

mk8 - how are you doing? Hope all is OK with you

Star - Hope everything is going well with you as well

Leeze - so lovely to hear from you and all your updates! Hoping that will be me in 10 months or so

Clanger - I think I'd be a bit terrified as well, and I bet everyone is. I don't have any words of wisdom, except to echo what Leeze said. I'm sure it will all go well and that you'll be a brilliant mum

You both asked a similar question about the injecting - I'm doing it all myself, I think I might find it harder if Mr Bee was getting involved to be honest. All still fine, though it stung a bit more than usual going in this morning. Still no real side effects to speak of - at least I don't think so anyway. A couple of headaches, but hard to say if they have anything to do with this or not. AF arrived yesterday, which is good, except I think it's probably going to be a fairly tedious long and heavy one as I'm essentially being cleared out (mmm, nice). Still, I'm glad it is happening nice and early into the down-regging as it means there is more chance of me being switched off by the time I have my baseline scan on 20 December.

Clanger, you asked about how they know when to collect eggs - it's all about the scans. I'll have quite a few scans once I start the stimulating drugs - they'll use these to check the ovaries and the size and number of follicles. As soon as they are happy, they give me a date and time to take the final injection, which is a trigger shot of HSG. This is taken 36 hours before they go in and collect the eggs - we won't know the final number of eggs or the quality until after they've collected them but that is about the size of it.

It's all very technical, but I expect they know what they're doing! Feel free to quiz me on any other aspect - I'm slowly becoming more of an expert the further down the road I go!

Catch up with you all soon xx

 

[mk8]

HELLO LADIES!

Hope you are all doing well. Thank you all so much for your kind thoughts and concerns - you are all such wonderful people! I am doing much better thanks, just a few family issues that have now kinda settled so I have decided to close that chapter and move on.

Clanger- you crack me up with your "fatfingers" comment. Haha. As for being terrified- I think that is perfectly normal. Just shows how much you care for the little one. I hope that everything goes swimmingly well with the birth. I cannot wait for your big announcement to us!

As for my BD sessions with Mr MK. I think you have a good point about spacing out the BD sessions a bit more. I think we go a bit overboard before the fertile period and perhaps we should calm ourselves down a bit!

Leeze- great to hear that mummyhood is going well. I dont doubt that you are one fabulous mummy! Christmas is just around the corner - your first family Christmas! Awe. Tell us more about your experience.

Sophie- my goodness, havent you been a busy lady with all the injections. Heh heh. I am feeling very positive for you my dear. I have also been stalking your journal updates and I love them.

Star- I hope you are doing well and the wedding plans are going OK.

Speak soon girlies. x

 

[mk8]

Hey girls, sorry but a bit down today so need to have a rant.

Cycle 13, 1st cycle on 50mg clomid, cd 25, 10 dpo... Boobs saw for past couple of days, temps dropped this morning, increased cm today- signs af is on her way in.

I don't want to be sad though, I want to be positive and right now, the only way I know how is to be proactive. Doc refuses to do hsg until next jun, but did ask to see me again after 2-3 months of clomid. I will see him in feb and intend to push for an hsg then if no bfp. Paying for it myself If necessary. In the meantime, I need to destress.

Leeze, I recall you like acupuncture and mentioned zits west clinic, is that right? Wondering if you recommend it? Did you need a consultation first? Was it just you or you and hubby? Pricey? I'm considering it with next clomid cycle (if there is a next cycle!)

 

[Clanger]

Hey ladies,

Mk8 am really pleased to hear you have been able to move on from the family issues which were upsetting you.But, sad to hear you're feeling low and like witchface is on on her way.Totally understandable to feel this way as it is your first clomid cycle and it must feel like a massive let down.Thinking of you and am really hoping that you are wrong and slagbag doesnt show.I know that my temp didn't do anything impressive with my bfps and I got all the same signs as usual even my usual 3 day pre af spotting. Anyway, in terms of being proactive-my take on your situation is that you could really do with a referral to a specialist to talk over your results so far and have your qs and concerns answered.While your gp sounds supportive, as have said before I wonder how much he really knows on a specialist level about all this stuff.It sounds to me like he is opting for the cheap option (clomid rather than hsg or a referral) tonsave money and is hoping that you get a bfp in the meantime (which-let's not forget is the most likely outcome here!) which is totally understandable for him, but is no help for someone

 

[Clanger]

....like you when this is so important to you.Cannyou go back, see another gp?Or read up on
Nice guidance for fertility testing and wave that in his face of there are any points that haven't been actioned and should have been?Otherwise....Inthink the idea of stress relief and being proactive is great...acupuncture sounds good...do
You have any good Chrimbo/ny plans to distract you?Thinking of you.

Sophiebee-work do
Sounded fun and agree completely, enjoy booze while you can!So....have you told many rl peeps about the ivf?Sounds time intensive and guess you will have to take time off work for apps?Really hoping you respond perfectly....when do scans start?All very exciting!Will you be doing any baking/cooking
For Chrimbo?

Leeze, how's your little
Lady?Hope you managed a bit more sleep?How are you recovering from
Your section-you've been through the mill so
Hope you are finding time to take care of yourself too.

 

[mk8]

Hello my lovely London ladies!

I am working from home today and to be honest, not doing any working right now as I have started to spot Cycle day 26, 11DPO, clomid cycle and I am spotting earlier than normal (usually spot 12DPO on CD27) and my temps started to fall dramatically 3 days ago. I am confused and upset. Confused because I thought that clomid was meant to give me a stronger ovulation and therefore a strong corpus luteum, which should lengthen my LP/cycle and keep my temps high for longer (because the corpus luteum produces good progeterone). Very confused. I feel like I have been given fake clomid pills!

Anyway, I am where I am. No Christmas BFP from the look of things and I guess on to cycle 2 of clomid. I did do some research by calling my PCT and the Zita West clinic.

My PCT doesnt allow for any IVF treatment but they were not clear on the funding for diagnostic tests and told me to ask my GP! Useless. The Zita West clinic sent me their pricelist (£££££!) and their questionnaire. It was interesting to read it. To be honest, I do not want to pay for all the diagnostic tests as I think I am entitled to them via the NHS. I will pay for treatment costs if necessary but to pay a few hundred quid for a blood test - in my opinion, it's unfair. My doc did some blood tests but they were not done on CD3 as requested by the fertility clinics, I wonder whether that makes a difference. Hmm... Anyway, I am considering doing acupuncture whilst I take the next tw rounds of clomid. Leeze- would be interested to hear your views in terms of how you found it and how frequent you went. If no BFP by Feb, I am back to the docs to insist on a referral.

Clanger- how are you getting on? Not long now! Super exciting!

Leeze- hope you arent too tired!

Sophie- enjoying the xmas festivities? I cant wait for your next update.

Star- thinking of you too my dear.

x

 

[SophieBee]

Hello all!

Just a quick one from me as I am completely exhausted - side effects from the down-regging hormones have been pretty unpleasant this week and I had to cancel all plans for this weekend to try to recover. At least I only have 2.5 days of work next week, then I'm off until 3rd Jan (unless I go in for my egg collection that week!!)

Wondering if there is any news from Clanger? Any twinges yet? Or is he here already? Keep us posted when you can...

mk8 - do you have any idea how long clomid normally takes to bed-in? I'm just wondering if it needs a couple of cycles before it is fully effective or if it is meant to kick-in straight away? I don't know much about it to be honest, so can't offer any words of wisdom, but I know that some drugs sometimes take a little time to get into the system.

I agree with clanger about trying to get referred to a fertility specialist - I would definitely make that my next step. I'm sure you can see an NHS one without paying for a referral. Such crappy news about not getting funding from your PCT - I thought they all funded at least one cycle. What PCT are you?

Star - I watched your latest vlog today. Love the invitations!! Hope you're doing OK

I have a scan on Tuesday to check how things are looking. If my womb lining is thin and the ovaries look like they've shut down then I'll get to start my stimming injections next week! That should help to balance out the side effects from down-regging so hoping that I'll start to feel better. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I'll be good to go on Tuesday

 

[Leeze]

hi honies

need to be quick again - never have any spare time at moment!!!

MK8 - I agree re Zita West and not paying them for tests/investigations etc that you can get on NHS. actually when we went there they were great at recommending we didn't pay them for tests as we could get for free on NHS. we had a joint initial consulation with Zita (I think about £120 which is pretty expensive but she was really thorough and also gave me an acupuncture treatment as part of the initial consultation because I was just about to ovulate. I think the acu was about £80 a time, or you get one free if you buy 6 or so in a block - my OH paid half so it felt like £40 a time. It is pretty expensive but I thought it was worth it - I also found it handy because the clinic is really near to my work - and I liked the fact they were fertility specialists. you could otherwise look on BAA website (british acupuncture association) and find an acupuncturist near you who specialises in fertility. they recommend a weekly treatment, although I went twice a month to save on costs - I went just before O and just after. good luck hon

Soph - sorry to hear you're tired, hopefully this is a sign of things working!! Keep us posted and hope things progress as they need to

Clanger - thinking of you - let us know as soon as you can xxx

 

[Clanger]

Ladies...he's here....and he's a little beauty!In awe and very sleep deprived....had a tough time getting him out.He's on my lap having a wriggle at the moment!

Thanks so much for all your support ladies-will get you the details asap.

xxx.

 

[mk8]

Congrats clanger! I'm so happy for you! I still remember our bnb chats about your worries during your early pregnancy, but look, he's here now! Yay! Well done new momma!

Leeze- thanks for taking the time to write when you need to look after the little one! So sweet of you. I've decided against Acupuncture for now as the zita west clinic offers it on Monday mornings only- doesn't work for me. I have booked myself in for reflexology and a shoulder massage though- reflexology supposedly helps with fertility and I've tried it before and found it relaxing. So even if it doesn't balance my hormones, at least it can chill me out ��

Sophie, hope your energy levels are back and you're enjoying a drink or two before you get your bfp! I will happen! Grrrr