Trying to conceive/Planned parenthood/Assisted Reproduction Chat thread.

Mink

Congrats Jeeney!!!!!

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi ladies, new to this forum but will probably be dropping in now from time to time.

I came off the pill in august 2008, took two years to get any sort of a period and then started to get some kind of cycle going since June last year but there's no real pattern, could be three weeks, could be six. I hadn't allowed myself to get caught up in the whole TTC thing as I've had three babies and never any problems conceiving. Then in December I really thought it was it but wasn't to be and it was the first time I was really devastated, so I decided to get a little bit serious and I bought some ovulation sticks, so here goes!

Best of luck Whoops. Were your periods irregular before your babies & pill as well? If not, mightn't be a bad idea to go to doc to get it checked out, at least just to rule it out and see if can regulate them to make TTC easier. I know some on here were using Maca root to help regulate their periods a bit.

bubbaloo

Hi everyone, hope you don't mind me butting in here. I've been aware of this thread but never posted here before so here goes (if you don't mind me boring you all to tears)....
Brief history.........
We started ttc in 2002 and got pregnant very quickly but sadly I miscarried at 6 weeks. We tried again and eventually got another BFP in 2004 but once again, I miscarried at 6 weeks. This led me to go to a fertility doctor - he was absolutly useless. He just threw me a prescription for Clomid which sent me off the rails completely! I heard about Napro in 2005 and started charting. They quickly sent me for surgery but the surgeon was another eejit and said I was "normal". I ended up having more surgery a year later with a different (and much more wonderful) surgeon who confirmed that I have very severe endometriosis and I had to have full open surgery to remove all the endo. 6 months after that Napro found the right drug for me, and 5 months after that we got our successful BFP and we now have an amazing little boy who is almost 3!
We are now on the road of ttc a sibling for him and I had full open surgery again in August of last year where the surgeon thought he would have to remove my ovary but thankfully he didn't. I'm back with Napro and back on the drugs and we're now on our 2nd cycle of trying. I'm in the middle of the 2WW and driving myself mad with symptom spotting - I know you all know how that feels! Anyway, I thought I would pop on here for a bit of moral support - it's nice to have people who know how this journey feels!
Best of luck to all of you - looking forward to seeing some inspirational BFPs up here!

Mink

Mink wrote: »

Best of luck Whoops. Were your periods irregular before your babies & pill as well? If not, mightn't be a bad idea to go to doc to get it checked out, at least just to rule it out and see if can regulate them to make TTC easier. I know some on here were using Maca root to help regulate their periods a bit.

Thanks minx!
Yeh they were bang on always got them on the 24th no matter how many days were in the month!!!
I went to a gynae almost two years ago and he told me that everything is as it should be but I'll definitely look into that maca root thanks
Finding it all a bit strange - this having to try malarkey! Got pregnant so easily before. Unfortunately my first two children died eight years ago so my daughter, who is 7, is an only child and it breaks my heart. So I'm doing it for her!! Here's hoping

Lucyfur

I'm due my period on Sunday. Have sore boobs this evening but unfortunately it's only from poking them so often to see if they're sore cos every time I'm pregnant, my boobs kill me. I'd say I'm deffo out this month. I SWORE I wouldn't get hooked up on symptoms this time round

yellow hen

Lucyfur wrote: »

I'm due my period on Sunday. Have sore boobs this evening but unfortunately it's only from poking them so often to see if they're sore cos every time I'm pregnant, my boobs kill me. I'd say I'm deffo out this month. I SWORE I wouldn't get hooked up on symptoms this time round

Ha, I was the exact same last month. It becomes a bit obsessive doesnt it?

My husband started the macca this eve.....jesus, it is really rank. Poor pet didnt even complain, I only dipped my finger in and I nearly puked

It seems like alot of us are synced up this month. Next month, there'll be hypertension here for the 2ww!!!

Lucyfur

We're going cold turkey this month - no maca, no zinc, no nothing. Just folic acid and sex This is our first time trying since the ectopic pregnancy. Before that, I got pregnant really easily (but miscarried). It'll be interesting to see if we'll have a lot of difficulty now, minus one tube.

caprilicious

The very best of luck Lucyfur, I've my fingers & toes crossed for you x

Congrats on your BFP Jeeney

Wishing everyone plenty of babydust this month x

Lucyfur

Cheers chick;) x How's your little bump doing?

caprilicious

I'm doing great thanks

This thread makes me count my blessing daily. Every time I see a post where someone is frustrated at the arrival of AF or counting off milestones such as a year trying or a year from their miss I know how slow time passes when TTC.

I really hope so much for you all that you get your BFP's (and soon!) x

dublinlady

barbiegirl wrote: »

Congrats Jeeney, that's great news.

Yellow Hen and Sarah Bro I'm in the same boat, Af arrived this morning, right on time at 25 days :-( I have to say I was a bit upset as this means I won't be pregnant again by the time my due date on last mis comes around in 2-3 weeks. Still I guess it's on we go, and time to make an appointment with Napro this week.
I never thought I would still be here 3.5 years later.
Time for the fire, cuddles and time with hubbie tonight.

I'm sorry barbiegirl when I past my due date after miscarriage it actually lifted a weight off my shoulders in one weird way - someone said to me that maybe my body needed to go full term with the mis so to speak. I felt like I could finally recover I suppose. Didn't take me long after that , x

Digs

Congrats jeeney!!

Hi girls

Long time no speak hope everyone is well?! Have been a bit quiet for a while. Before Xmas I started to have some pains and a bit of discharge so had to have a pelvic ultrasound and a few tests and put the ttc on hold! After visiting a gynaecologist in the rotunda this morning who was an absolute dote of a man I am pleased to say my ultrasound is completely clear, no evidence of pcos which is fantastic (I'm hoping it means it's disappeared!), my bloods are good and he did a pelvic exam which was all good too! As I'm on cd22 he got me to do a blood test to see if I'm ovulating as suspected and is going to ring me with the results!! So I'm interested to see what they show :-)

From that he is getting me to take metformin which should help things along, he said as we are only ttc 6months we're to give it a few months and then maybe move on to more powerful weapons if nothing happens but I am so hopeful that won't be necessary :P

Am so relieved and feeling very positive! He maintains the pain and bleeding may well be down to the anxiety of ttc, it's amazing what the mind can do to your body!!

Anyway girls I hope you're all feeling well! Here is to loads of 2012 babies :-) an to the mums to be hope you're all feeling good!

jeeney

Thanks digs and minks too. (have been trying to say thanks after individual posts, but it's not letting me. Must be cos I've only posted two posts!)

That sounds so positive for you digs! well done. Im sure you're thrilled to learn the ultrasound came back clear. Big baby dust to you and lets hope you wont need any more intervention and that you're ovulating at the mo too.

barbiegirl

bubbaloo wrote: »

Hi everyone, hope you don't mind me butting in here. I've been aware of this thread but never posted here before so here goes (if you don't mind me boring you all to tears)....
Brief history.........
We started ttc in 2002 and got pregnant very quickly but sadly I miscarried at 6 weeks. We tried again and eventually got another BFP in 2004 but once again, I miscarried at 6 weeks. This led me to go to a fertility doctor - he was absolutly useless. He just threw me a prescription for Clomid which sent me off the rails completely! I heard about Napro in 2005 and started charting. They quickly sent me for surgery but the surgeon was another eejit and said I was "normal". I ended up having more surgery a year later with a different (and much more wonderful) surgeon who confirmed that I have very severe endometriosis and I had to have full open surgery to remove all the endo. 6 months after that Napro found the right drug for me, and 5 months after that we got our successful BFP and we now have an amazing little boy who is almost 3!
We are now on the road of ttc a sibling for him and I had full open surgery again in August of last year where the surgeon thought he would have to remove my ovary but thankfully he didn't. I'm back with Napro and back on the drugs and we're now on our 2nd cycle of trying. I'm in the middle of the 2WW and driving myself mad with symptom spotting - I know you all know how that feels! Anyway, I thought I would pop on here for a bit of moral support - it's nice to have people who know how this journey feels!
Best of luck to all of you - looking forward to seeing some inspirational BFPs up here!

Hi Bubbaloo, could you maybe give us an overview of how Napro works. We have finally made the phone call and are on the waiting list. I know it's not the same as the fertility clinics and he treats every case as individual with an individual solution, but in terms of I suppose what happens in the first meeting, what tests and how often they needed doing, that type of thing.
I would really appreciate it as I am sure some of the others might too.
Thanks
Barbiegirl

iguana

barbiegirl wrote: »

Hi Bubbaloo, could you maybe give us an overview of how Napro works. We have finally made the phone call and are on the waiting list. I know it's not the same as the fertility clinics and he treats every case as individual with an individual solution, but in terms of I suppose what happens in the first meeting, what tests and how often they needed doing, that type of thing.
I would really appreciate it as I am sure some of the others might too.
Thanks
Barbiegirl

When is you apt barbiegirl? I have my first one for the 14th next month.


I've taken a few months off this thread as tbh, I needed a break from it. The last month I was posting here I was having pain on my right side. Well since then it became more and more persistent and I ended up in hospital in the Coombe before Christmas with suspected ruptured cysts. Scans however showed up nothing.

On the 22nd of December I went to see a private gynecologist who I really disliked. He was a really old school; pat you on the head and talk down to you type. He didn't even bother to scan me, he actually decided not to when I was on the scan table waiting, just wanted to book me in for expensive procedures. A few days after New Years the pain came back really badly and my GP sent me straight to the A&E in Tallaght because he was worried about the small chance it was appendicitis. The A&E was an awful experience. As it turned out the A&E's in Vincents and Beaumont were closed due to the winter vomiting bug so I had a 14 hour wait to see a doctor. The nurse gave me 2 oxycontin while I was in the waiting room so I was high for much of the night and was coming down by the time I was admitted. After finally being admitted I got to stay on a trolley in the corridor next to a door to the outside which was opened and shut every 10 minutes, for another 5 hours.

Finally I got transferred to gynecology which was like a different world. The doctor I saw there was fantastic and made the wait all worth it, especially compared to the awful gyne I'd seen 2 weeks before. He talked to me like an equal, explained things like I was someone with a functioning human brain (which I wasn't really at that point after the night in A&E and the oxycontin), I had a scan which again showed up nothing but the woman doing it was great and explained everything that she was seeing. The professor in charge of the department recommended a laparoscopy said she'd fit me in for the next day. The lap showed that I had stage two endometriosis on my right ovary so she lasered that off during the same surgery. (I was so glad of that as the gyne I saw before Christmas planned to do that in two separate procedures.)

I'm not 100% sure that was what was causing the pain. There wasn't a huge amount of endo but apparently there is no correlation between the amount of endo and the pain caused by it, it's more to do with where/how it is and what it could be irritating. Endo also causes hormone changes which can be a major cause of early miscarriages. I'll be going back to see the gynecologist on the 13th of next month so I can get more information about what this means for me then. And then I'll have my first Napro appointment (which is in Galway as otherwise I'd be waiting much longer) the next day, so hopefully this year will turn out to be a good one.

barbiegirl

Iguana we have a three month wait but hopefully it will be worth it. :-) delighted you got some answers after such horrible experiences. I often wonder about endimitriuos as some of my cousins suffer but so far i'm being told I don't have it. Anyway let 2012 be our year :-)

iguana

barbiegirl wrote: »

Iguana we have a three month wait but hopefully it will be worth it. :-) delighted you got some answers after such horrible experiences. I often wonder about endimitriuos as some of my cousins suffer but so far i'm being told I don't have it. Anyway let 2012 be our year :-)

Have you had a laparoscopy? It's often the only way to find endo. All of my scans showed up that my ovaries were perfect but one of them had endo which just couldn't be seen that way. I don't know why I have it, afaik none of my female relatives had it, I didn't get my first period until I was 16 and it's usually a probelm for women who start early not late. I did however learn that being able to feel when and which ovary you are ovulating from is often a sign of endo, so something I was proud of about myself (I thought I was greatly in tune with my body :rolleyes:) was actually a sign of a disease. My sister-in-law also had it and apparently it's statistically very rare to have endo if your close in-laws also have it, it's one of the reasons it's suspected to be genetic rather than environmental.

yellow hen

I didn't know I had endo until I had a Lao either. (the gynae didn't say what stage it was but it wasn't bad I don't think). I also suffer bad cramps and would be VERY aware of of which ovary I ovilate from. The last time I was back with the gynae she said I had a blood cyst in my ovary. Nothing serious but apparently I will always be prone to them and will need monitoring.

Am really interested in napro so would love to hear about your experiences.

Neyite

Best of luck with the NaPro, Iguana and Barbiegirl.

Its a treatment that I dont think many TTC'ers in this forum have had so would be really interesting to hear your experiences.

I have heard good things about the Galway Napro (incidentally a stones throw from where I live!) and I know the same Doc now has a dublin clinic too. I think some places in the US that do Napro have a very Catholic agenda, but I dont think its that way in Ireland, that I have heard of anyway.

barbiegirl

I've not had an endiscopy but have had a dnc with a camera being used. So would they not have spotted it then? I did sign to agree to one but they said I didn't need it.

iguana

barbiegirl wrote: »

I've not had an endiscopy but have had a dnc with a camera being used. So would they not have spotted it then? I did sign to agree to one but they said I didn't need it.

I'm not sure about what a DnC with camera would entail but can it see the outside of the the organs? Endo can grow along the outside as well as the inside and even though it doesn't impact the progress of the egg or the wall of the uterus the hormone change can cause problems. Perhaps the camera from the DnC goes all the way out of the uterus and you have the all clear for endo but if I was you I'd ask them if they are 100% sure, just in case.

bubbaloo

barbiegirl wrote: »

Hi Bubbaloo, could you maybe give us an overview of how Napro works. We have finally made the phone call and are on the waiting list. I know it's not the same as the fertility clinics and he treats every case as individual with an individual solution, but in terms of I suppose what happens in the first meeting, what tests and how often they needed doing, that type of thing.
I would really appreciate it as I am sure some of the others might too.
Thanks
Barbiegirl

Hi All,
I'd be delighted to share my experiences - as long as I'm not breaking any charter rules! Apologies to the mods if I am!
Please bear in mind that my first appointment with Napro was in 2005 so things may have changed since then but I'll tell you how things went for me....
I rang the Napro clinic, got the initial info ans was assigned to a fertility practitioner. Hubby and I met with her and received all our charting materials (chart, stickers, books/manuals on how to chart etc) - and then I started charting, meeting with my practitioner every couple of weeks for about 3 months. The charting is all based on your pattern of bleeding and cm (sorry if that's tmi). Your cm changes around ovulation time and helps you to identify your "peak day" which is the day you ovulate, and to determine your most fertile time - NEWSFLASH people - it's not day 14 for every woman on earth!!
I also got letters to bring to my GP to get day 3 bloods done (for iron and several other things) and day 21 bloods done (for progesterone and oestregen levels after ovulation). After 3 months I had my first appt with Dr B and he looked at all my info - charts, blood results, history etc. This helps him to decide on a course of treatment. He also does follicle tracking - depending on what day of your cycle you are on when you have your appt, you may have to come back for this. If you're around day 14/15 he will scan you to see if you have good size follicles and if you're ovulating well - he may scan you every day for a few days to see how things progress.
My treatments were making no impact on my very poor blood results so he referred me for surgery and that's when I was diagnosed with my endo.
Once my endo was cleared, we spent a few months with Dr B trying different drugs until we got the right blood and follicle results. I had to get my bloods done every month on peak + 7 and once everything on his check list was ticked off he told us to try for 6 months. 5 months later we got our BFP and our little boy came into our lives.

The cost can build up and depending how long you can persevere with the process it can end up costing nearly the same as IVF over a number of years, but it can be easeier because it's more spread out. One thing that Napro will most certainly teach a person is patience and for some people it's not an option, because they wouldn't be able to bear the 3 month wait to meet with him, or the 2WW every month. But I accepted very early on that although this would be a long road, it would give me an answer one way or the other. The only other thing I can say is that the 3 months charting is probably the most important thing you could ever do for your fertility so it's worth the wait. You're also asked to abstain completely from sex for the first month of charting - so that you can learn to differentiate between cm and semen (sorry tmi again!!!) - it was difficult, but in my opinion, there is no point in paying money to someone for their advice and then completely ignoring everything they tell you!

As for me, at the moment, we are ttc # 2 with Napro and I'm in my 2WW. I'm slowly going crazy - imagining everything is a symptom. How accurate are the Early HPTs?

Best of luck ladies - feel free to pm me if you have questions on Napro.

bubbaloo

Neyite wrote: »

Best of luck with the NaPro, Iguana and Barbiegirl.

Its a treatment that I dont think many TTC'ers in this forum have had so would be really interesting to hear your experiences.

I have heard good things about the Galway Napro (incidentally a stones throw from where I live!) and I know the same Doc now has a dublin clinic too. I think some places in the US that do Napro have a very Catholic agenda, but I dont think its that way in Ireland, that I have heard of anyway.

Just one thing on this (sorry) - you do have to be married for Napro to treat you. Yes, there is a catholic ethos but the main reason for asking for a couple to be married is because studies show that statistically, children from married couples do better in life - education. careers etc. Napro are taking some moral responsibility for the children they are helping to come into the world.
Having said that, we were asked at our first appt for the date of our marriage, which we gave - and it was never mentioned since. And we've never had passages from the Bible quoted at us either!!

Custard Cream

2ww:eek:

yellow hen

Custard Cream wrote: »

2ww:eek:

Fingers crossed!

Im only on CD8. Started using the clearblue monitor this month though so it prompted me for stick on CD6. All have been low so far. Sort of expected a high today as my last cycle was only 24days so i hoped I had ovulated on cd10/11. am worried if its later, my lutheal phase will be much too short. Im on the cough syrup too so far no change in cm. Husband is on maca and so far, he doesnt feel any different either.

carolinespring

Since Monday of last week I have been feeling sick and queasy, most of all day every day and have got sick a couple of mornings. Suttles by the evening. The first couple of days I put it down to a tummy bug but then I started thing that maybe another reason. We have being using condoms but one did split over Christmas. Forgot all about it as it was just before my period. Nothing else to suggest I could be, boobs not sore or anything.

Did a test on sunday and that was negitive. Period not due until Saturday so not sure what to think. Could be a bug and it it is I hope the hell it goes as this is driving me mad but at the same time if I am then it takes the stress out of deciding when to try again but I wanted to lose some weight first.

I suppose what will be will be but this is driving me nuts.

Ms2011

Fingers crossed for you carolinespring x

FunkSoulSista

How is everyone doing? Things going slowly for me, had my first period since coming off the pill last week, glad to know where I stand now. Not much action going on with me and hubbie at the mo as we're on different time schedules work wise!

Hope everyone is well anyway.

bubbaloo

Oh ladies, I am in such a tizzy!
I was due my period yesterday and nothing has arrived. I have had cramping (really bad) since Tuesday. I've had no PMS symptoms - (and normally speaking i'd be like a b***h in heat :mad:).
Anyway I did a test yesterday evening and it was a BFN!!!
But silly me is still convinced there is something going on inside my womb and if no period arrives I might still be pregnant!
Am I completely deluded???

barbiegirl

Not deluded, but do a test on your first morning pee, it will be more accurate. Good luck

yellow hen

Hi bubaloo and carolinespring, no joy at the weekend?