A few questions from a newbie

[NinjaKitty]

Hello,

Apologies if some of this is going over old ground, however I could do with some input.

I'm new to TTC and I am at the end of my first official TTC cycle and AF kicked in yesterday (and I've got a cold booooo). I have done a lot of reading over the past couple of months and have taken folic acid for the past month etc, improved my diet and generally tried to start getting myself ready. However I still have a few questions which I couldn't find advice on.

I came off depo-provera last June (after being on it for well over a decade) and had my first cycle in November. Luckily my cycle kicked sraight back in on a regular 28 day cycle.

Last cycle when we were NTNP I had an odd experience during my LP about 8-9 days before AF was due. I was extremely hormonal and maternal (bearing in mind I've never ever felt broody ever), BBs were tingley and sore, and I had all sorts of tingley sensations in the womb area. I just knew that I was pregnant. This went on for about a week or so.However three days before I expected AF the sensations suddenly stopped and AF appeared that afternoon. Since them I am convinced that I conceived that month but for whatever reason it just didn't stick. This next month I am back to my regular 28 day cycle and had no similar sensations in between. I guess I'm wanting know if it was all in my head or is it likely that something did happen that month? Unfortunately I didn't have any EPT's so couldn't check.

That experience however made me realise that I was ready to start a family (took a while I am 37 and been with DH since over 20 years) so we are offcially now TTC. On that note I am going to crack open the OPK now I know I am into a good regular cycle. Having never used one of these before I wondered if any of you have found these effective? I've got the Persona kit.

I've bought myself a nice stash of EPT's from t'internet and also picked up some Preseed. I just wondered if anyone else has tried Preseed and seen any results etc? Also any tips on using it and timings etc greatly appreciated.

Ok now I am looking for reassurance on this one. Every article I have read about fertility and age says that the chances of a woman getting pregnant fall significantly from the age of 35 upwards. At 37 this is starting to make me feel over the hill. However my family appears to be insanely fertile and my cycle has kicked right back in so for the meantime I am assuming that I am in working order. Pur-lease can someone comfort me and give me success stories for the older lady.

Yes I am overweight. Reading articles online it says that this can inhibit fertility. However from what I can gather they mean that it can cause irregular cycles, i.e. stop you from OV. I'm pretty sure I don't have that problem. Are there other issues which I have missed relating to conceiving and being overweight?

Lastly can anyone recommend some good male vitamin/fertility suppliments to force feed my DH to help out his little ?

Thanks for bearing with me and loving this forum.
Kitty

 

[twilly]

Hi Ninjakittie,

Just read your post. Although I don't have loads of advice, I wanted to say hi and give some support.
I am ttc my 1st at 34.
On our first and 2nd attempt, I had a similar experience to you, where I thought I was pregnant but then AF came a few days late and lasted much longer than usual. Evrything seemed different, so I think it is possible that you could have been pregnant but it didn't stick.
I had a definite mc on the 4th attempt.
Don't know anything about preseed so maybe you could fill me in?!
I am taking folic acid though.
I bought a clear blue digital ovulation predictor, but it didn't seem to work for me.
I haven't really bothered with anything else.
My plan is to bd every couple of days throughout the month and see if that works for us.
I just don't know enough about charting and temperatures etc finding it overwhelming, but may resort to it if this dosen't work!
Sound like you won't have any problems anyway.
Hope you have a BFP very soon
xxx

 

[MissJuly10]

Hiya hun, welcome to PF!

Sounds like you're well prepared - the Persona monitor is supposed to be very good however I haven't heard as much about this one as I have the ClearBlue Fertility monitor which is supposed to be similar.

Preseed is also supposed to be a good aid, I think people tend to use it before and during ovulation but as I've not used it, I can't really say for certain but there are members on here who have used it/are using it who I'm sure can help more than I can.

As for hubby, I think they can take Zinc to help on their side and I'm sure there's a few others, I'll have a bit of a research for you and see what I can find.

Hope this helps, slightly! x x

 

[p1nk11]

welcome to PF,

I get my OH to take wellman vits, this was adviced to us by fertility clinnic. xx

 

[LouiseB]

Hello Kitty (i had a cat called that once - she was lovely )

I get the feeling that you are much more clued up then you are giving yourself credit for

Ok, so regarding your first ttc cycle - i personally think that you were not pregnant.

You will soon come to realise that ttc is a head f**k and can affect you in ways that you wouldn't think possible.

You become more aware of your feelings and your body and are pretty likely to pick up on things that normally happen and read into them as being something when you simply didn't notice them before.

Plus you want something to happen soooooo badly that you see anything new in an overly positive light instead of rationally.

It's just the way it is

There are girls that have been on here that have been utterly convinced that they are pregnant and sadly it isn't so. Even when i thought i was just about over stupid sympom spotting and "mummy intuition" i also found myself convinced i was... i wasn't.

I couldn't have been.

Some might even try telling you that if you were that convinced you were pregnant that chemical pregnancies are so common that maybe you was!

It just isn't healthy to start thinking that way - unless you are getting consistant positives.

As for your fertility - i know very very obese ladies that got pregnant and i know late 30, early 40 ladies that got pregnant.

I also know a 30 year old that was "too old" to conceive naturally.

To be honest though, if it was me in your situation i would invest in a follicle count. I had one recently as part of having IVF and it cost £90. It will just reassure you that you aren't drying up.

If you are, it just gives you the opportunity to get some eggs frozen for the worst case scenario and then you can continue trying naturally

 

[Princess81]

Hi Kitty

Not a lot to add to what the other girls have said really. It's a good sign that your cycles were normal straight away after long term contraceptioin. Weight I suppose can be an issue for some people however, I know some very obese people that have conceived naturally and had healthy pregnancies.
As for age, my nan had her last at 48!
You will find all of the information you need on this site, without doubt I hear that zinc is good for men to take re fertility.
Good luck and look forward to seeing more of you in TTC (but not for too long )

 

[Cazza]

Well hellooooo from another old (40) and tubby one TTC No. 1!!

Whilst I am classed as 'obese' I am very fit and healthy (apart from a major medical conndition ) and all of the doctors I've seen have said that as long as your cycles are regular it shouldn't be a problem.

Wishing you lots of luck!!!

 

[NinjaKitty]

Thanks for all of the replies, much appreciated.

 

[NinjaKitty]

Ok new question. AF is out to mess with head apparently. When I had my weird experience last month and AF turned up 3 days early she was also longer than normal (7 days ok last 2 of those days were regular spotting). This month AF turned up right on time but appears to be over after 3 days. My normal AF lasts about 4-5 days. I am confused as to whether I should be concerned or not?