Trying To Concieve

chickpea

Hi Lilo - good luck with the IVF. I hope it works - at least if you give it the best shot you can, you've got nothing to beat yourself up over.

Are you doing acupuncture beforehand? If you can, I'd recommend it, even if it's just 1 or 2 sessions. I did just before I got pregnant. Of course, it was probably the Clomid that worked, not the acupuncture - but maybe not? I also took baby aspirin - this isn't something the doctors ever mention, but do a Google search on ''baby aspirin and IVF'' and there are lots of suggestions out there that it helps, by slightly improving the consistency of the womb lining, making implantation easier. I took baby aspirin too, just before I conceived - and as with the acupuncture, I'll never know what did the trick. (But I'd understand why you wouldn't take it - the doctors never mention it, and you're only ever supposed to do what the doctors say.)

That said, I don't think the doctors quite honestly know everything, especially about TTC - for example, the official medical line is to give it a couple of months before TTC after coming off the pill, or suffering a m/c - when in the case of the former, you have a fertility spike immediately after coming off the pill, which plummets soon after - and in the latter - there's just no real reason to, unless you need ttime to mentally recover a bit. The only reason they say to wait in both cases, is so they could time any conception better - but the 12 week scan does that pretty accurately anyway?!

Good luck, whatever happens.

skintchick

Hello! I'm a newbie and I don;t understand half of what you guys talk about!!

I got married in June, we've been TTC (well I understand that one!) since then but so far nothing. Really thought I was PG this month but tested this am and it's negative.

Any tips?

I'm not regular at all - range from 29 to 55 days so I have no idea how to work out when I'm ovulating. I'm 33, hubby is 41, I've never been PG and he did get a girl PG once years ago (she aborted).

I know it's early days but I REALLY want a baby and am worried about our ages.

I don;t want to buy lots of expensive kits etc, so how do I work out when I ovulate? I don;t get why it's counted from the first day of your NEXT period? Surely you should count it from the first day of your last one?

Please help me!

chickpea

Hi there - I'd give it untul Christmas - it may well happen by then, to have been trying since June isn't a long time. If not, then see your doctor. Doctors won't do anything until you've been trying at least 6 months anyway. (Even longer for younger ladies).

What the doctor will do, is run blood tests, to check your hormones and such like are in synch. If they are, they may insist your OH gets tested before they proceed further (his troops could have deteriorated in the meantime). They may not though, I don't know.

If there are no problems, they will probably refer you to a specialist. The first recommendation may well be to try Clomid. If that doesn't work, they may recommend IVF, and you should get at least once cycle paid for. After that, you'd be on your own. It's 3k per hit.

If there are problems, then there are still things that can be done (often the same things) - the doctors will recommend a course of action.

In the meantime, stay chilled. Try to drink less booze/caffeine, don't go crazy with exercise, and do the deed every other day or so, especially during fertile period (roughly fourteen days after the first day of your last period). And a few days beforehand, and a few days afterwards. (I conceived 17 days after the first day of my last period).

If I were you I wouldn't spend money on testing kits YET - wait a few more months. But then I would.

It'll happen - good luck!

ginvzt

Welcome to the new members!

I think easiest (for me) and cheapest way to find out if you OV (ovulate) is to take your temperature first thing in the morning. You should draw a graph and if you ov, you see a jump in temperature. I bought a BBT (Basal body temperature?) diary from Boots, it was about £12.95, I think and have been using since last November.

I did a test this morning... It is only CD20 (cycle day) for me, so I wasn't expecting to see anything else than negative, but I had to do this as I had such urge this morning!!!! I am going to Norway next Sunday (with work...), and my AF is dues when I am in Norway!!!!

Oh, and I joined Tesco diets again this morning.... I need to lose some weight, as if we end up needing to go to doctors in the next few months, the first thing I would expect to hear from them is lose the weight, then we can do tests (I am very blessed on top, and my BMI is 31 - and I am the slimmest in my family!!!!!). So, I am going to do the diet (last time I did there was so much food, I was strugling to eat it all and my OH was saying that I got the wrong number of portions, however - I lost 9kg) and I also got Wii Fit (which is back at Ninetndo's for repair!!!!), so some excersise will be useful to me. Would be happy to lose another 10kg before Christmas, but it is rather optimistic!!!!!

skintchick

chickpea wrote: »

Hi there - I'd give it untul Christmas - it may well happen by then, to have been trying since June isn't a long time. If not, then see your doctor. Doctors won't do anything until you've been trying at least 6 months anyway. (Even longer for younger ladies).

What the doctor will do, is run blood tests, to check your hormones and such like are in synch. If they are, they may insist your OH gets tested before they proceed further (his troops could have deteriorated in the meantime). They may not though, I don't know.

If there are no problems, they will probably refer you to a specialist. The first recommendation may well be to try Clomid. If that doesn't work, they may recommend IVF, and you should get at least once cycle paid for. After that, you'd be on your own. It's 3k per hit.

If there are problems, then there are still things that can be done (often the same things) - the doctors will recommend a course of action.

In the meantime, stay chilled. Try to drink less booze/caffeine, don't go crazy with exercise, and do the deed every other day or so, especially during fertile period (roughly fourteen days after the first day of your last period). And a few days beforehand, and a few days afterwards. (I conceived 17 days after the first day of my last period).

If I were you I wouldn't spend money on testing kits YET - wait a few more months. But then I would.

It'll happen - good luck!

errrr, thanks, but I didn;t want stuff about drugs and blood tests! I just wanted to know about ovulation!

I do drink lots of coffee and probably equivalent of a bottle of wine each weekend, but I'm not sure I want to give them up until I am PG cos it could be months! Plus people get PG on drunk nights out so it can;t be THAT detrimental to have a glass of wine or a cup of coffee surely?

I know it's not been long I just wanted to know how to maximise our chances WITHOUT drugs and taking temperatures etc.

GracieP

Well I think I may be moving back here. Last night I felt kind of odd and decided to take a test to reassure myself that everything was ok. I took one of my ebay tests and only one line showed up. Panicked I took the 2nd digital one and it read "not pregnant." After an almost sleepless night I got up this morning and bought another digi test and came home for my 1st pee of the day to test. Another "not pregnant."

No sign of any bleeding yet. But I'm not feeling nauseous anymore, I feel sick but not in a nauseuos way, iykwim. My breasts are less sore and I have cramps, although I had cramps for the last 9 days, these are different.

I guess I'm about to have a very, very early miscarriage. I'm so sad, I can't stop crying. I was hysterical last night.

jiblets1

Oh Gracie, so sorry to hear that. I'd get yourself to the docs tomorrow if I were you, see what they have to say.

I hope OH is around, but I'll send some big **hugs** anyway.

jiblets1

skintchick wrote: »

Hello! I'm a newbie and I don;t understand half of what you guys talk about!!

I got married in June, we've been TTC (well I understand that one!) since then but so far nothing. Really thought I was PG this month but tested this am and it's negative.

Any tips?

I'm not regular at all - range from 29 to 55 days so I have no idea how to work out when I'm ovulating. I'm 33, hubby is 41, I've never been PG and he did get a girl PG once years ago (she aborted).

I know it's early days but I REALLY want a baby and am worried about our ages.

I don;t want to buy lots of expensive kits etc, so how do I work out when I ovulate? I don;t get why it's counted from the first day of your NEXT period? Surely you should count it from the first day of your last one?

Please help me!

Hi skintchick. If you don't want to start taking your temperature, the only way left to see when you are ovulating is your own body. Some people feel the "pinch" as the egg is released, some people feel a scraping pain on one side due to tiny bleeding caused by ovulation, and lots of people spot EWCM. This is egg white cervical mucas, and it's when your discharge down below becomes really stretchy - like an egg white. Some also feel PMTish around the time of ovulation.

Many people get no symptoms of ovulating at all, so without tracking temperature/using sticks you may end up no wiser I'm afraid.

The reason they measure ovulation from the following period is that the part of your cycle prior to ovulation can vary, but the part of your cycle from ovulation to period should be the same every month. That part is called your luteul phase, and it can be different from person to person. It's normally around 14 days, but your LP should be the same every cycle.

If you were on the pill before then I would say that your irregular periods would suggest that they haven't settled down yet. If you weren't, then I would be tempted to pop into the docs to see if they have anything to suggest.
That ended up being a really long post!

Good luck with it.

scottishchick27

I'm thinking of tracking my temperature this month and I wondered if my daughters digital thermometer would be OK to use? http://www.ciao.co.uk/Calpol_Digital_Ear_Thermometer__Review_5537865

This is it here.

ginvzt

They usually say you should take temperature either down below or in your mouth.

Although, a quick goolge search mentions some study done to compare oral and ear temperatures and there was a correlation between the two. So, I suppose you could try.