Hello! What do I need to do?

[Belfa]

Hi there

I am new to the forum but have been reading threads for a while now. I see alot of you have alot of routines you follow each month and I wondered if I could get a step by step guide as I'm not sure that I have picked up on all the abreviations yet!

Just to give you some background on me, I have PCOS and have been on microgynon for 8years. I cam off it briefly last year when I got engaged and for the first few months had AF appear every month for 2-3 days, very light and red coloured. Then my body went back to pre-microgynon of 1 period every other week for a whole week (this was always red). I went back on the pill as my skin got bad etc again to see me through our wedding and I did not re-start my last packet.

We have been TTC (see, i have picked up some of the abreviations) since the beginning of May 2013. I had AF last week for a full week and it was light and almost black in colour which was odd as I was expecting my body to do something similar to last time I stopped the pill.

Anyway, now that I have had my first proper AF I was wondering:

• Is an OPK thing that I see on here a ph test that you pee on to check when you're ovulating? Where do I get these from? How to I read them? At how many days apart do you use them?
• I have been taking folic acid since May, is there anything I should take that's recommended for PCOS ladies? I'm pretty sure I do ovualte as I used to get CM stuff before I started the pill and when I was off it last year but I guess I don't know for certain!
• Does anyone not bother with ovulation tests and if not, how many times should you try a week -

Many thanks!!

 

[minniemaker]

Hi Belfa! Im new too but a few things I do know and have noticed from reading threads one things is to buy the cheapy tests from ebay/amazon, just search OPK tests, use each day from day 7 onwards I think they recommend (but im sure someone else on here will have a better idea) x

 

[Belfa]

That's a help already! I have no idea how many days I have in a cycle as I think I will have a short window of "normal" cycles until my body remembers to go back to it's state of constant AF!

 

[minniemaker]

I've noticed a lot of ladies on here do chart tracking and also taking temp in morning to see when OV occurs?
I've got PCOS and found that agnus castus (i take 500mg) has really helped with symptoms x

 

[Vickilou25]

Hiya

Im not one for doing OPKs or temping i just BD (Have sex) as much as possible or every other day over fertile period (just before ovulation) Not much help to you i know but thats what i do xx

 

[scn]

Can't give any advice re PCOS but this is what I do when TTC
Use ovulation predictor kits (OPK) from cd7/8. I use the cheapie ones from eBay or amazon. I use one per day around 2pm and when it starts to show a faint line I change to testing twice a day 2pm and 7/8pm until the lines go faint again. The test line needs to be as dark as or darker than the control line to be positive ( a faint line is negative).
I use fertility friend to chart my basal body temperature (BBT). You need to check your temp at the same time every day as soon as you wake up, before getting out of bed or doing anything at all. The first half of a cycle is oestrogen dominant and the temps are low, the temps start to rise after ovulation when progesterone is dominant. Charting your temperature doesn't help with predicting when you will ovulate but confirms after and whether you have ovulated so is good to get to know your 'usual' cycle and after a good few months, you know your own cycle and then can help you to predict when your 'usual' ovulation day is and what your luteal phase is (luteal phase is the time between ovulation and period arriving).
I take pregnacare vitamins and vitamin D daily and take evening primrose oil 2000mg from first day of period until ovulation. You have to stop EPO at ovulation because it can cause uterine contractions which wouldn't be good if you fell pregnant! The EPO helps to increase egg white cervical mucus (ewcm) which is the most fertile cm and the sperm need it to survive and get to where they need to be.

I think that's about it for now, any more questions just ask and best of luck to you xxx

 

[T84]

Hi Belfa, it's up to you but what I did the first couple of months was track cycles on a free phone app called fertility friend. Also dtd (did the deed) at least every couple of days. I got a bfp 4 cycles in but sadly miscarried. Now I'm 8 months down the line I have started opk's and so far so good. Basically my advice would be to get app and dtd at least every 2/3 days. I don't have pcos tho so some girls who have may know better x x

 

[T84]

Haha you said it much better Karen x x

 

[minniemaker]

Just a quick question from me on the OPK things even though Ive got the CBA Ive ordered some cheapies too is it them that you cant use with FMU? x

 

[scn]

That's right, you can't use them with fmu. The clear blue advanced are the only ones you use fmu with.

 

[minniemaker]

Thank you!

 

[mrs nel]

Hi Belfa,

Welcome to the boards! The ladies on here are all very lovely and supportive and understand what each other is going through - no matter which cycle day it is!

I'm Lynne and my hubby and I have been ttc since May 2012 so we are now on our 15 monthly cycle. I used opk tests by Clearblue and Boots' own brand for the best part of a year and it took me 10 months to catch a positive ovulation result. I've had a break from using any sort of peeing on sticks but i'm returning to them this month. I've bought Clearblue Digital advanced ovulation sticks for this month to catch my 4 most fertile days!
The best bit of advice I can give you,as it was given to me when I first started posting on here is to have sex and lots of it! Make it fun and enjoyable and not just "baby sex" although, I must admit that's what I've fallen into.

All the best,
xxx

 

[AJay]

Hi Belfa and Minnimaker and welcome to the forum.

Belfa- The detail that the girls have given you on opks, charting etc is so good I can't really add to that. What I can offer is some help with the pcos side of your post. I had pcos, with cysts on both ovaries. My FSH levels were very low. My symptoms were very irregular periods and acne. When I was diagnosed with pcos I was not trying for a baby so my consultant put me on a brand new (at the time) pill called Yasmin. It was meant to help women with pcos. Now you really don't want any of that as you are ttc. I read a lot about pcos and believed I could help myself through diet and gentle exercise. I had a fantastic book, which I will post the title of and author later, as I am travelling home from work right now. The key things I did, that suited me, were to cut down on non organic dairy( lots of hormones disrupters in normal), reduced intake of processed meats and minimised ready meals in plastic containers, I also stopped cooking in any plastic containers. Pthalates and bpa, which may leach into food at high temps, may also be hormone disruptors. In the book there is a recipie for mixing your own fertility boosting and hormone regulating muesli. I managed to clear all my cysts and for the first time in my life, when I came off the pill to tcc , my periods were regular. I became pregnant in four months and my ds was born 9 months later. I am now struggling to have a second child. I have had two silent miscarriages in the last 18 months.

In terms of the gentle exercise I mentioned- Pilates really helped to tone my core muscles and got me I great shape for carrying my son. It was also good for relaxation. I stopped going when I found out I was pregnant with my second baby???? And after miscarrying, have not practised. Wrong decision, it is just that After mc I became a bit reclusive and the habit of not attending kicked in. I have, in the last few weeks, pulled my 'pcos and your fertility' book off the bookshelf and joined a health club that has Pilates and yoga lessons. I need to get my mind and body into a better balance. I no longer have pcos there is just a lot of good advice in the book when tcc. Sorry this reply is so long and hope it offers some food for thought. The key thing is that pcos can be another hurdle but there are things you can do to help- evening Primrose oil, that scn talks about is also meant to be very good for pcos.

These are just my suggestions and things that worked for me. Wishing you lots of luck and showering you with baby dust xxx

 

[Belfa]

Thank you all so much for your replies! AJay, that's fascinating that you have managed to control your PCOS. I was 18 when I was diagnosed and was a competitive show jumper and hockey player as well as doing yoga and callanetics every week with a BMI of 21 so I couldn't be any fitter or healthier.

Granted my BMI is now 28 so I do need to loose weight and get fitter so maybe that will kick-start an improvement. I had a scan 6 months ago and was told that my ovaries were healthy but did have small cysts on them.

scn - what is fmu?

Thanks again everyone! You're much friendlier than the horse forums I go on!!

 

[AJay]

I don't think I helped my hormones around the age of 18 when I was obsessed with extreme dieting and exercise and seriously underweight. I got it under control in my 30s when pcos was diagnosed. I was at a good weight and swam regularly but still had lots of cysts. It is a hormonal imbalance that causes it. If you do use opks be aware that when you have pcos test results can sometimes be confusing. Sometimes because of the pcos your levels of LH have to be higher for an egg to ripen and release. This can make it look like a positive when you are not yet ovulating. You may be better to just Bd every 2-3 days from cd8. There is a free kindle download called when sperm meets egg. This has some advice on conceiving through regular bd and use if opks. xx

 

[scn]

Thank you all so much for your replies! AJay, that's fascinating that you have managed to control your PCOS. I was 18 when I was diagnosed and was a competitive show jumper and hockey player as well as doing yoga and callanetics every week with a BMI of 21 so I couldn't be any fitter or healthier.

Granted my BMI is now 28 so I do need to loose weight and get fitter so maybe that will kick-start an improvement. I had a scan 6 months ago and was told that my ovaries were healthy but did have small cysts on them.

scn - what is fmu?

Thanks again everyone! You're much friendlier than the horse forums I go on!!

Fmu = first morning urine

 

[Blueflower]

I would agree with Mrs Nel about keeping the sex lighthearted and not just functional! If you do it regularly then only you will know if its a fertile time or not, so won't put your OH off!

Yes get lots of cheapy tests and a few more expensive ones & when you get a dark line on a cheap one, follow up with an expensive one to get a smilie face to confirm ovulation. Its quite exciting when that happens!

I find temping too confusing and time consuming. I've also got a saliva monitor but haven't had any luck with it yet!

Good luck!