CD2 of Cycle 16 - New Year, New Attitude

Number 13 didn’t turn out to be lucky for me after all, and after that cycle I kind of lost hope for a while. I didn’t take my supplements, I didn’t temp, I didn’t join in the chit chat with my forum friends. In a way it did me good as it was Christmas and there was one less thing to worry about.

www.sporadic-mind.com

In January I decided to pick myself up, dust myself down and start all over again. New year, new attitude. Something like that anyway. 

At the end of December I had day 21 bloods done which check progesterone levels. That came back as normal. I’m not fussy enough (yet) to want to ask to see the numbers; “normal” is fine for me. I also had my first hospital appointment this month. Mr Sian came with me and we had a lengthy chat with the doctor who went through both of our histories. The conclusion at this stage was that there is no reason why we’re not falling pregnant. She thinks it may be down to stress. The consultant said we should go on holiday. Can I get one of those on the NHS?

The hospital will see me again in four months and in the meantime I will be having a couple of tests done. I have a form for day 2 bloods again and a form for an HSG. The witch got me yesterday so I’ll be off to get day 2 bloods done tomorrow. I need to ring the radiology department and see if I can get an appointment for the HSG. It has to be done before ovulation, so quite a short window of opportunity. I might not even manage to get it done this cycle. Fingers crossed though.

So you may be wondering what an HSG actually is. It’s short for HysteroSalpingoGram and it’s an X-ray of the womb and fallopian tubes. From what I know, they’ll put some dye “down there” and X-ray to see if it moves through my tubes. I’ve read that it can be painful, so I’ll pop a couple of painkillers beforehand. I’ve also read of countless women who have conceived the month or two months following their HSGs, so that’s got me a little excited. I do hope there are no blockages.

Oh, the other thing I learnt at the hospital is that if we need IVF we won’t be eligible on the NHS due to Mr Sian already having children. I have some money which I was saving for a house deposit but now I might earmark it as possible baby making money.

So fingers crossed that my blood test and HSG turn out okay, and here’s hoping that 2012 is finally my year.

CD4 of Cycle 13 – lucky for some?!

 

I’m back at the start of another cycle – cycle 13, who would have thought it. I never dreamed it would take this long, how naive am I! I really got my hopes up last month as my LP seemed to be going on and on, I even tested a couple of times, but it was just mother nature playing a cruel trick on me. At least my LP is getting longer, I suppose I have to be happy about that!

I’m feeling quite indifferent this month – I don’t feel positive yet I don’t feel negative either. I feel... nothing.

I’m still taking my supplements: evening primrose oil and agnus cactus until ovulation and vitamin b6 and Fertilcare throughout my cycle.

Fertilcare is a new supplement that I started from cycle 12. It’s a mixture of pre-conception vitamins and minerals including folic acid. I also got Fertilman for Mr.Sian but I have noticed that they have exactly the same concoction as the Fertilcare. I find it a little bit odd, I would have thought that men and women need slightly different things.

I spotted  Pregnacare his & her conception tablets in the supermarket the other day. They are quite a bit more expensive that the Fertilcare/Fertilman tablets but the formulation seems a bit more gender-specific so we are going to switch to those next cycle.

I’m starting to think about going back to the doctor’s. I’ve had CD3 tests already, which were fine, and an ultrasound, which was also fine, but I’d like to have a CD21 blood test done. I think if I do have a problem, it’s going to be in the second part of my cycle, seeing as my LP has been so low. I’m going to see if I can make an appointment in the next few weeks. That way if there is an issue, I can start dealing with it in the new year.....

CD4 of Cycle 12: Selenite crystal

CD 4 of Cycle 12

It’s been quiet on the Western front as I am a melon who let my OCD get the better of me and convinced myself that if I don’t go on any BE or go on my blog then I would get my BFP. Obviously, it didn’t work and all I gained was a feeling of sadness as I was missing chatting to the other ladies on the BE forum!

So here I am back at the start of another cycle. Cycle 12, but only month 10. How does that work, you might be wondering. Well, I have very short cycles, 23 days this time round so I get disappointed roughly every 3.2 weeks instead of every 4... I suppose it means I get more chances per year than the average woman.

The worrying this about this last cycle was that my LP was only 9 days. I had been taking vitamin B6 to lengthen my LP and I took it religiously but it seems to have done the opposite! Hopefully I’m just having a funny odd month.

Source: metastudies.com

The bowl of water under my bed didn’t work last time so I’m not bothering what that again. But I do have another slightly weird thing for this month. I was in the shop earlier to get some incense sticks (I’m not a hippy, I just love the smell) and I noticed a shelf of crystals.  My eyes were drawn to selenite and on reading the small description it turns out that it’s meant to help with fertility. Me being me I have taken that as a sign and bought one! I don’t actually know what I am meant to do with it though. I know you are supposed to clean a new crystal under running water but after that, what do I do!? I’m just going to carry it around with me and maybe give it a little rub in the morning.

Fingers crossed for a new month = new chance! 

CD9 of Cycle 11 – Semen Analysis Results and the bowl of water

We’re doing pretty well so far in sticking to our 9 point action plan – well, it’s now been reduced to an 8 point plan as I have decided to skip the OPKs and just BD every day from today until next week – using the Conceive Plus ;)

I’ve taken all the supplements without fail and have started temping again. I had a bit of a high temp yesterday though, possibly due to a migraine, so my chart’s a bit skewed, but I know my cycle well enough to know to ignore that one.  On the caffeine front, I have whittled it down to one cup of coffee in the morning (give me a break, it’s not THAT easy!) with decaf for the rest of the day.

Slight hiccup on the matter of alcohol and meat – I went for dinner with my friend on Tuesday and I didn’t like anything on the menu so I had a 10oz steak and a glass of *cough* pinot noir *cough*. Don’t even ask about Wednesday, me and Mr.Sian went to a gig so of course I had to have a pint or four of cider and he had quite a few beers.  Slap on the wrist, we’re back on track now.

Mr.Sian had his semen analysis done on Tuesday and got his results this afternoon. Apparently his sperm count is 33 million, he has 61% mobility and “good swimmers” according to the doc. Back in the 70s, the doc said that a sperm count less than 50 million was a bit dodge, but not these days; less than 15 million is low.. I thought 61% mobility sounded a bit naff, but doc said that 80% is the highest so actually his is pretty good. So it’s good news, there is no issue with his swimmers. Just a bit frustrating that if there is no issue with me, and no issue with him, then WHY AREN’T WE PREGNANT!?

I have a new tactic for this month as well as the 8 point plan.... I have put a bowl of water under the bed. No, I haven’t lost my marbles. I read it somewhere online as being some sort of Chinese fertility remedy. Put a bowl of water under the bed from last day of AF to first day of next. Who knows if it will work but I’ve nothing to lose so watch this space....

CD2 of Cycle 11 - Time for a new POA

Time for a new TTC action plan. Here it is.

1.       Start temping again

2.       Use OPKs and semi-follow SMEP

3.       Use Conceive Plus

4.       Take folic acid

5.       Take Starflower Oil (or as currently Evening Primrose Oil as I picked up the wrong tub in a rush) religiously from AF to OV

6.       Take vitamin B6 religiously every day

7.       Cut out alcohol

8.       Cut out caffeine

9.       Cut out meat (not that I think it makes a difference but it’s all part of the detox)

I think that’s it.

Really, most of it is stuff I did/do already, but now I am on a mission.

Last cycle I took a break from actively trying and just tried to relax a little, so there was no temping, testing or lubing. I’ll start all that again.

The vitamins and supplements I took anyway, but I do sometimes forget. Last cycle I was away for 2 weekends in a row and didn’t want to cart them all with me. So this cycle I am going to take them every day without fail.

Mr.Sian and I are now on a detox. No alcohol - except tomorrow as it’s my friend’s wedding – would be rude not to toast the bride & groom! No caffeine – we have stocked up on caffeine-free Diet Coke at home and I have made sure there is decaf coffee at work. No meat – not that I think this makes any difference when TTC but we’re just trying to be a little healthier all round.

I hope that this makes some sort of difference, as I never thought I’d be on cycle 11 and no baby, so I’m losing more than just my patience right now! Oh yeah, Mr.Sian has his appointment for his semen analysis on Tuesday, I wonder if that’s going to show anything.

Have a nice weekend!

CD23 of Cycle 10 – 10DPO, in limbo land

Usually by 10DPO I would have given in a done a sneak HPT (even though I know full well that it’s too early to test), so I am very proud of myself for not giving in so far. It’s possibly got more to do with the fact that I have ZERO confidence in getting a BFP this month than my willpower though.  Even so, being 10DPO means I am on the home straight to the witch making an appearance.

I’m actually surprised she hasn’t arrived yet. I used to have a 10 day luteal phase, and was taking 100mg of vitamin B6 every day in order to lengthen it. This worked - I managed to get to 13 days on the first month and 11 days on the second month. This month though I was away for 2 weekends in a row and didn’t really fancy carting bottles of strange tablets around with me so I haven’t been taking the tablets as religiously as in previous months, so have my suspicions that my luteal phase is going to be short again.

It does make me think, us girls with shorter luteal phases are kind of stuck in a limbo at this point in the month. On one hand, if the witch hasn’t arrived by 11DPO then she is already classed as late. But it’s probably still far too early to take most HPTs until about 14DPO. Even the super duper early ones that say you can test 6 days early only work for a small percentage of women.

So I am just going to wait it out this month. Absolutely, categorically not going to test. Unless by some miracle the witch hasn’t arrived by Saturday – then I will test. I really doubt that though....