Ttc #2

[ambertwogood]

Hi everyone. I was thinking of getting some vitex to help get AF back since still nothing nearly 5 weeks after nexplanon removal. Have any of you used it? Thanks 😊

Using it LOVE IT! I also did Black Cohosh to help with hormone regulation, egg health and increase odd's of conception with it. You do the BC CD's 1-13 only, and the vitex your entire cycle. I would recommend these to regulate your cycle and get healthy fertility wise:

Multi- Cheap Version:

(For cheap one's listed in order from best to worst

https://www.amazon.com/Centrum-Mult...16619&sr=1-6&keywords=centrum+silver+women+50

https://www.amazon.com/21st-Century...sr=1-22&keywords=centrum+silver+women+50&th=1


Multi that is the best:

https://shop.rainbowlight.com/Advanced-Nutritional-System/p/RBLT-102839&c=RainbowLight@ByName

And this is Really Important: https://shop.rainbowlight.com/Prenatal-DHA-Smart-Essentials/p/RBLT-113323&c=RainbowLight@Women@Heart

This is the Vitex that I suggest:

I take this:https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-...=UTF8&qid=1476317302&sr=8-1&keywords=femaprin

But I've heard really good things about this one: https://www.amazon.com/Gaia-Herbs-V...=UTF8&qid=1476317302&sr=8-4&keywords=femaprin

And the Black Cohosh is Easy:

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Boun...8&qid=1476317386&sr=1-9&keywords=Black+Cohosh

Wow thanks! I'm in the UK and struggling to find any? I may have to widen my search? I'm glad you are seeing results. I can't wait to try 😀

Amber, I only had two mornings of temps lower than 97, and they were both mornings when I was waking up unusually early and was traveling (low on sleep, kind of stressed out, etc.). I marked them as questionable -- every other temp this cycle has been 97 to 97.4, which seems a bit more expected. Thanks for mentioning thyroid issues. I worry that does run in my family, but the last test I had showed normal TSH levels, so hopefully I'm OK for now. It's a good thing to keep an eye on though. And I stopped taking B6/B12 right after AF ended because I was worried it would delay ovulation, but I'll start again soon.

Second day in a row of a positive OPK! Last cycle, I had a fairly strong positive one day and then it was back to negative the next. This time, I've seen two REALLY strong ones in a row. I have no clue whether this is good or bad. My temps are still pretty low and I'm seeing EWCM, so I guess I'll wait and see if I have a temp rise tomorrow!

cw1990: Please PM me, I think that I can help you out.

Second.time- Okay, that sounds right then about the temps, I didnt read that it was only a few temps and not all of them. But from personal exp. from one HR thyroid problems/cancer to another when they do your blood work MAKE SURE that they are running a FULL THYROID PANEL/CASCADE, most dr.'s order the equivalent of the a generic thyroid test, and it is not the same, esp when you are in the HR group. I have seen many ladies in my family and some friends go for yr having problems but heir bloods come back great every time, only to find out that they weren't fully being tested and things were so f'd up, like off the charts btt their doc did do a full cascade that it was a horrible, horrible exp once being treated, one of them was so bad (with "great bloods" previous to full cascade) that once they did the FC she actually had to go through radiation treatment that was so intense that she literally glew in the dark and could not be around her children of anyone else for 3 weeks while they did the treatments and then waited for it wear off, bc she would of given her kids radiation poisoning or other people. It was absolutely INSANE.

On another note, though I normally get two +'s as well with LH strips and the same as you, it's just a really good O for you, so it definitely is a good thing!

Anyone on here in the UK? I REALLY want to buy some of the SuperDrug's midstream 10miu's and PT strips, but they refuse to ship to me from boots and I can't find them on ebay. Would anyone want to help me get my little hands on some of those tests pretty please, with icing and a cherry on top! Seriously though, I NEED some of those tests! lol

 

[AnneBurg]

Sorry amber! Don't know how you can get those...

What time of day should I be using opk's? Am I not supposed to use with fmu?

 

[ambertwogood]

Sorry amber! Don't know how you can get those...

What time of day should I be using opk's? Am I not supposed to use with fmu?

SMU is best, so testing between 11-4 normally. If I get up really early I pee, then drink my coffee and eat breakfast, answer emails and such, and use the urine from the second time I pee to test LH with. You don't need to worry about hold time either, just not FMU. When my strips start to get darker, I up my testing to 3-4 times a day, SMU being 1st, then until about 8pm.

 

[AnneBurg]

Thank you!!
Will start tomorrow.

 

[Mom15]

Amber - great tutorial on how to use opk's. When I'm back I'm going to try my ic, that I forgot to bring on vaca with me.

 

[ambertwogood]

Amber - great tutorial on how to use opk's. When I'm back I'm going to try my ic, that I forgot to bring on vaca with me.

Are you talking about what I wrote or one of my video's on my Youtube channel? Just curious

 

[Mom15]

What you wrote about, but now I'm curious about your you tube channel will check it out sometime. Don't know how I missed that in your sigi

 

[fxmummyduck]

That looks a lot like my ib with my first!! All sounding promising symptoms too!!

Pretty sure af is arriving for me I'm so down and stressed that we're getting good bding in, very pos opks great timing etc and it's just not playing ball. I don't know what else to try!! I'm not used to 'trying' so I'm feeling very frustrated. And also panicking about why my average 33 day cycles are down to 26 days. Maybe I should go to the gp???

I'm so sorry. It's frustrating, but even couples who do everything perfectly and are 100% healthy and fertile can take a while. It's just statistics, sadly. I think you should see your GP if it would give you peace of mind. At the very least you can have some basic blood work done and know that everything is OK, or maybe there's a very simple thing you can do to improve your odds. But my guess would be that you'll get a BFP very soon. I know how hard it is to wait.

Thank you for your kind words second this ttc business is not easy!! And now I'm having a weird af too. It had my hopes up again yesterday when all I had was the tiniest amount of brown spotting now it's back but SO light, I've no idea what to think anymore. Just have to write it off as a weird one

 

[second.time]

Well, I'm not sure what's going with me. According to the OPKs and EWCM, I'd assume I O'ed a day or two ago, but my temps have been low these past two mornings ... around 96.8. I'm really hoping I see a temp spike within the next few days to let me know ovulation actually happened. Otherwise maybe an anovulatory cycle?

 

[ambertwogood]

Well, I'm not sure what's going with me. According to the OPKs and EWCM, I'd assume I O'ed a day or two ago, but my temps have been low these past two mornings ... around 96.8. I'm really hoping I see a temp spike within the next few days to let me know ovulation actually happened. Otherwise maybe an anovulatory cycle?

Will you add your chart in your sig? So I can look at it please. Also what kind of OPK/LH strips or kit are you using? Some of them are set very low for a surge to come up and some a very high. Wondfo's are 25mIU, the FR one's are 100mIU (which is insane bc only like 35% of women actually ever have a surge that high, but that's a whole rant for another day, lol) Anyways, my point behind asking is that if your personal surge level is say like a 50/60mIU and you are using a kit that peaks are 25, it would tell you were surging day's before you were actually going to O. I've had this happen to me personally. Have you continued with the OPK's since your positive? Have they gotten lighter, stayed the same, etc? if you haven't since you + do another one, bc they are capable of the test going darker then the control line, which would indicate your personal surge level is higher then the preset surge for the kit. But if you would feel better, if you have "normal range" cycles 28-36 day ranges, then a monitor might do you a world of wonder. I actually like the old CBFM better then the touch screen and just as accurate and you can get them on ebay all day long for little to nothing with sticks most of the time, and then your opk would personal to YOU and not a preset level.

 

[ambertwogood]

https://www.fertilityfriend.com/cg/index.php?c=search&sub=search

https://www.fertilityfriend.com/cg/index.php?c=search&sub=search

AS for me- check out the pregnancy charts above I found on FF today, that are very similar to what my chart is turning out to look like.... I'm getting a little excited..... I normally would only be able to find like 1 chart like mine, and most of the time NONE, so to have so many come up, bc I clicked same BD pattern, pre/post O temps, and something else, can't remember and all those came up!! Exciting stuff!

 

[Mom15]

Amber - I have EX for you!! Hope this is a sticky bean in the making

 

[AnneBurg]

Yes! Good luck Amber!

 

[second.time]

Amber, that's amazing! Seems like such a good sign. Fingers crossed!

I had two OPKs in a row with the test line darker than the control line. The last one I took, on Friday, had the two lines exactly the same strength, so it was getting lighter.

My temp bumped up today (96.8 to 97.4). When I took my temp later in the morning, it was closer to 97.8. I'd still love to consistently get those high 97s, but I'll take it! I'm using Kindara to track ... I'm not sure how to post it, but I could share a screenshot later?

 

[ambertwogood]

Amber, that's amazing! Seems like such a good sign. Fingers crossed!

I had two OPKs in a row with the test line darker than the control line. The last one I took, on Friday, had the two lines exactly the same strength, so it was getting lighter.

My temp bumped up today (96.8 to 97.4). When I took my temp later in the morning, it was closer to 97.8. I'd still love to consistently get those high 97s, but I'll take it! I'm using Kindara to track ... I'm not sure how to post it, but I could share a screenshot later?

That would work. And Kindara is normally really quick with getting back to you with questions, so I"m sure if you asked how you could add you chart into a signature on a community forum that they would tell you how to do it, that way we can all see what's happening with each other's charts daily updated. That's what i really like about the FF in the siggi, is that it updates when I change anything.

 

[AnneBurg]

Today have loads of cm (like usual at cd 11 of 28 day cycle) but only the faintest whiff of a line on the opk. Wondering if the same thing will happen as what happened when I was ttc#1- only ever got super faint lines, never positives. We shall see!

 

[ambertwogood]

Today have loads of cm (like usual at cd 11 of 28 day cycle) but only the faintest whiff of a line on the opk. Wondering if the same thing will happen as what happened when I was ttc#1- only ever got super faint lines, never positives. We shall see!

what urine are your testing with? what brand opk? the time of day? hold time? sustained from beverages?

Also, have you considered a CBFM? I have one Im selling that I would let go of for a good price....The reason I ask is bc the monitors, unlike opks/lh strip do not have "pre-set" mIU level to trigger a change in reading/surge, the very first test you take (most important not to miss the first time it asks) actually personally calibrates the monitor to your own personal hormone levels and are WAY more accurate then opk/lh strips.

 

[AnneBurg]

Amber: that's very interesting about the CBFM; I might consider it if we get to month 6 and beyond of TTC this time. But hopefully you can find someone who needs yours!!
Currently using a cheap Internet opk (Easy@home) so I don't know the sensitivity. Using it twice a day in mid morning and mid afternoon.

 

[ambertwogood]

Amber: that's very interesting about the CBFM; I might consider it if we get to month 6 and beyond of TTC this time. But hopefully you can find someone who needs yours!!
Currently using a cheap Internet opk (Easy@home) so I don't know the sensitivity. Using it twice a day in mid morning and mid afternoon.

This is why I'm concerned with what you're using to check with. I've found alot of success with wondfo brand ovulation strips, I almost never have no line on them, so they detect very small amts, when you are not surging, and I literally watch my progression go from CD1 darker all the way to blazing + right pre O and then a degression in lines as my cycle winds down to AF coming. Every month like clock work. They are fabulous, esp, if you have a low surge level. The things is that you can't trust what the company say's is the mIU level on the package/website nor can you trust advertising like "99.99% accurate for most women"- that's a whole rant on things companie are allowed to claim that while "somewhat tecnically true, they in reality are not really" but the normal surge level between women and this the "normal" range, so there are also women who fall off both sides of this spectrum is a surge level at 22mIU-100mIU. Wondfo is supposed to be 25MIU I think, and they work very well for a lot of women. I can't say the same for their PTs but their LH strips are highly accurate (for me at least, and I know a lot of other ladies on here,that those are all they will use) But here's the kicker, you would think that a company like First Response's would have a highly accurate OPK kit, but they are actually one of the companies that scored the worst in independant testing, as their surge preset is 100mIU! only like 30% of women have a surge that high, but they claim on their box they are 99.99% accurate for most women, 30% of women does not = most to me, does it to you? But it's completely legal for them to advertise that bc of handpicked clinical research testing were they made sure that the women who participated had surge levels that would register a positive before preceeding with testing them, instead of like they should have done and completely randomized the test. But what company is wants to advertise "Only accurate for 30% of women, the rest of you are F*cked, lol"??? Do you see where I'm getting with this? So, those specific test have very mixed reviews on amazon and other sites, which is expected bc every woman's personal surge is a different amt. So the test that you are testing with is VERY IMPORTANT. Their is a company that makes different levels of MIU's for OPK's, I can't recall their name at this time, but that may be something you want to check into, so for a cycle you can start with their lowest mIU, then once it surges, move to the next MIU, and so on and so, until you can't get another peak level, and that would give you an idea of what you working with as far as a surge level for yourself, and then, you can just buy the two level's that were last one's you got peaks on to use each month so you have fair warning of your impending O. I'll find the company, but in the meantime here is some food for thought, I think you will find these articles/research results very shocking and interesting to read. My "gift" to you my darling fellow TTCer :

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/462194_2

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-best-pregnancy-tests/ This one talks about OPK's in the second half of the article

https://www.pregprep.com/best-ovulation-predictor-kits/

You may want to try this cheaper version of the advanced CBFM to see if it helps these are on ebay all the time with tons of sticks for really cheap.
https://www.clearblueeasy.com/advanced-digital-ovulation-test.php

The UK Version of this Kit is ACTUALLY the better and more sensitive one, so you can find the one's that are made over there on ebay as well: this is what I would recommend you trying:
https://uk.clearblue.com/clearblue-ovulation-test-range/clearblue-digital-ovulation-test-with-dual-hormone-indicator

Here are some Listings for it:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/20-x-Clear...713861?hash=item5425294285:g:YBcAAOSwNgxWDkFX

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-CLEARBLUE-EASY-ADVANCED-DIGITAL-Fertility-Monitor-Ovulation-Predictor-Test-/152277704663?hash=item2374755fd7:g:-JwAAOSwiLdWBEBM

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clearblue-Advanced-Digital-Ovulation-10-Test-Kit-with-Dual-Hormone-LH-Indicator-/172365736884?hash=item2821cc6bb4:glcAAOSwCGVX9geN

And the Actual Monitors:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clearblue-Fertility-Monitor-Used-/182312955123?hash=item2a72b2ecf3:g:fXsAAOSwLF1X~8tO

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clear-Blue...273649?hash=item3f6d096bf1:g:BHwAAOSwzaJX5t-I

This is a really good deal with both the Advanced monitor and the OPKs for a BIN- I bet you could email them and offer them less, like 60 and they would take it!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Clearblue-...569816?hash=item4655d28198:g:hnEAAOSwLnBX6XeU


And this is just an added bonus one on PT's:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4119102/


Okay...I'm done. Sorry for the long post, I just really want to help you figure this out.

 

[second.time]

I attached a screenshot of my current chart below -- as you can see, my temps shot up even more today. I'm guessing I ovulated around CD14, so I'm going to go ahead and count myself as 2 DPO now. All the signs point to me being done with ovulation, so I went ahead and started taking Prometrium today. My BD dates aren't really great since I was traveling a LOT this month. I'm just happy we had those dates free. So here's hoping.

AnneBurg, Amber did a great job explaining it to you, and I've heard of a lot of women who never see blazing positives on OPKs and still get pregnant. But I know it's useful to see a positive, so I hope you find a method that works for you!