London TTC buddies chat thread

[Timid]

I know what you mean! Any sort of touch on the subject, my OH gets a bit defensive!

However, a colleague recently got some terrible news (she found out that her fertility is extremely low ) , so I had a look in the LTTTC forum to find out a bit more about what she's going through, and found a few threads with some info that I mentioned to him about chaps having 0 count etc - finally got him to listen!! He was a little bit more receptive about the idea of having a test after hearing that some chaps had 0. (Ie. there's no apparent reason we've not yet been successful, really). Fingers crossed that there's no problems with me

T

 

[SophieBee]

Yes, fingers crossed for you Timid - going to the doc is a positive step and whatever the news it means you'll be able to take charge of things

Do you use OPKs at all? I guess it is a little difficult (not to mention expensive) with long and irregular cycles, but they can be a good indicator of ovulation and some ladies on this forum swear by them. I started using them this month and found it a little bit exciting. I got a decent deal on a Clear Blue thingumywhatsit this week, so I expect I'll switch from the cheapy ones next cycle. My OH is a big gadget fan too, so he was examining it with interest

 

[Leeze]

welcome Timid!

SophieBee - that's great news about the fertility show. Isn't it funny how they can surprise us sometimes, our OHs?! My OH and I went on holiday in August and he drank quite a lot the first couple of nights. Probably only what we would normally drink if we weren't TTC - so a couple of beers or G&Ts by the pool and then half a bottle of wine in the evening. On the third night I kinda flipped out on him especially because I was in the 2WW at the time and being tee-total. He was really lovely and understanding and then practically didn't drink the rest of the holiday (until AF came and we had a drink together!).

Sounds like you took a good "no-pressure" approach to it too! Well done!

Timid - my OH wasn't that keen initially to go to the GP for the sperm analysis and we bought one you use at home. It was such a nightmare to use and took hours then the result suggested his count was 0. This seemed to shock him into going to the GP and luckily everything came back in the normal ranges.

Fingers crossed for those lovely BFPs soon for us all!

 

[Timid]

Men eh!! Silly buggers most of the time!

Finally had confirmation of my new job today which is a relief - start on Monday so I'm thrilled!

Onwards & upwards! yay!

 

[lexus15]

Hi ladies

Can I join the London group?

I live in East London, am ttc #2 & am 36years old been trying for over 2 years now. Could do with support from local ladies

 

[SophieBee]

Hi lexus15 and welcome Nice to have you on board!

Good luck with the new job Timid! I'm really not enjoying mine at the moment, but I've been there a number of years and the mat leave is fantastic, so I'm opting to stay where I am and try not to let it stress me out or make me too miserable! So I'm quite jealous of anyone starting a new job right now

Leeze, out of interest how long did you have to wait until the GP agreed to do the SA on your OH? My PCT has a general rule of 3 years TTC before any referral, although I think they take age into consideration. Just wondering if those tests fall into the same category?

 

[Leeze]

Welcome lexus

Timid and SophieBee - I also sometimes feel like I'd love a new job. Mine can be quite stressful but luckily I've got a supportive manager who has a couple of young children. She also knows about the m/c I had in June because she had to cover for me when I had some time off work. I've had a good chat with her this week and we've come up with a few ideas of how we can make my job a bit less stressful so I hope this works!

SophieBee - my OH got referred straight away for the sperm analysis. His GP didn't even ask him how long we'd been TTC. He's 46 so I'm not sure if that made a difference, but also he's a different PCT from me (Camden). When I asked my GP about me being referred for tests he said in my local PCT (Hackney) that it would be 18months of TTC before I could be referred. My OH and I don't live together at the moment (well, we spend most eves together but we still have our own places) - we're trying to buy somewhere together but not having much luck selling his. I'm thinking about saying I've moved into his and going to see his GP! saying that, we've just booked on the talk at the fertility show next Saturday that is about how to get the best out of your local NHS in terms of treatment. So fingers crossed for some good tips from there xx

 

[Timid]

One of the main reasons why I wanted to get a new job is so that when do get pregnant, I don't have a mega stressful job and can't deal with it when I need to scale back or something!

More money and better hours also helped with the decision!!



Tx

 

[SophieBee]

That does sound like a useful talk Leeze, I might look into that one too. We've agreed that we'll carry on as we are until the new year and if we still have no joy by then we'll look into getting some preliminary tests done. I guess we'll ask our GP first (we're in Lewisham PCT) and if they say no then we might explore getting tests done privately.

I did an early HPT today and got a BFN. Although I was reasonably certain that our chances were low, I managed to convince myself that I was experiencing some early symptoms - gah! AF due on Wednesday and I'm banning myself from early tests from now on! If nothing else, it's too darn expensive! Don't you just love how so many so-called early pregnancy symptoms are the same as PMS ones?

 

[Leeze]

I know! It's a nightmare that the symptoms are so similar!

I bought a lot of cheap pregnancy tests from amazon - you can get a pack of 25 for about £5. Not helped what is starting to become a POAS early test addiction, but does help me to not spend a fortune on ones from the chemist!! xx

 

[SophieBee]

LOL - argh! Don't tell me that! No - I shall stay strong and resist. My November/December cycle resolution is to leave the testing until the day AF is due at the very earliest.

Let's see how long that lasts...

 

[Leeze]

sorry!!! I should make a resolution to not tempt others into what has become my crazy way of testing every day from about 11dpo. Strangely though, I think it's made it less emotionally painful for me when AF came along the last 2 months. There were a couple of months before that when I'd convinced myself I was pregnant and then I tested the morning AF was due and was heart-broken when it was BFN. Somehow I've found more recently that it's been better for me to prepare myself earlier. xx

 

[SophieBee]

That's a good point - if it works for you in that way (and doesn't break the bank) then there's no reason not to test early. I'll see how I go anyway, but can see a future of cheapie sticks and a POAS addiction on the horizon

 

[Timid]

Saw the doc on monday morning... am being sent for bloods.. possible pcos :S

On the positive side, the new job is going well

Tx

 

[SophieBee]

Glad to hear the new job is going well Timid Good luck with the test results - at least if you find out you do have PCOS then there are things you can do to help.

I'm just waiting for AF to show her face. Haven't tested since my BFN on Sunday, but feel like she's on her way. I've invested in a CBFM this month anyway, so I'm quite excited to start using that - kind of just want it to come now so that I can get on with the new cycle (though I wouldn't moan very much if it didn't of course... )

 

[SophieBee]

Well the arrived today, right on schedule. Boooooo....

Anyway, on with the next cycle. CBFM, preseed and softcups (if I can get them in correctly this month ) - plus we'll hopefully pick up lots of useful info at the Fertility Show on Saturday, so plenty of things to be positive about.

 

[Leeze]

Hi

Glad the new job is going well, Timid. I think it's important to minimise stress, I'm trying really hard to do that with my job at the moment. Mainly reminding myself that my job is not as important as TTC! Let us know how you get on with the bloods.

Sorry to hear AF got you, SophieBee. Hopefully this next month will be a more successful one! I've got a CBFM on order too, got it from Amazon. I got a card through the door today so I think it's at the post office and I'll be able to collect it on Friday ready to start testing on Saturday. I'm going to keep testing until it goes negative so I can work out how long the LH surge is, I haven't normally done that and I think maybe I've been focusing too much on the first day I get a surge but actually the next 2 days could be just as important. It feels exciting to try something different anyway. I've been taking evening primrose oil and flaxseed oil this cycle too and have ordered some guaifenesin tablets - all to try and improve the chances of EWCM because I didn't notice any last month!

Fingers crossed for us all for this month!!!

 

[Timid]

AF should have been with me on Monday.. still no sign of her! Having said that my cycles are rather fooked so unsurprising really. I had some mid-cycle spotting (was just brown clotty cm stylee, but not alot) about 2 weeks ago - wondering if that was actually AF.. argh!

Wish I had a regular cycle sometimes

Oh well, at least my job is going good!!

Tx


edit: just noticed my sig counter... 38 is the average, but not the norm, so it's wrong!

 

[Leeze]

Have you tried maca tablets, Timid? I started taking them because a friend said they're good for fertility and also to help reduce stress. But, I've also heard from some of the women on here that they've really helped to regulate their cycles. I'm lucky in that normally my cycle is about 28 days (with the very occasional 4-5 days either side) but I was keen for something to help with my mood and to generally boost fertility. Might be worth trying if you haven't already xx

 

[Timid]

Hmm, no - haven't tried anything yet. Got to have bloods on day 27 to check for pcos... will go from there I think. Not in a huge hurry at the moment cos of my new job, but we've got our wedding in July - although I'd love to get pregnant asap, I'm happy to wait at the moment, till I've got everything sorted really.

Tx