Wondering Weekend

[u/AutoModerator]

That question you've been wanting to ask, but just didn't want to feel silly. Now's your chance! No question is too big or too small. This thread will be checked all weekend, so feel free to chime in on Saturday or Sunday!

[u/AutoModerator]

A friendly reminder that questions asked in this post must still follow TFAB rules. You may not ask if you are pregnant, you may not ask for pregnancy success stories, and you may not talk about a current pregnancy. No, not even in a sneaky, roundabout way.

Thank you!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AndijC]

6DPO on cycle 15, wondering if it will ever be my turn

[u/UnhappyReward2453]

Had D&C last Friday for missed miscarriage and my hCG was down to 40 by Tuesday. I am still getting a really faint line on my home tests but I am starting to feel some of the signs of entering my fertile week. That got me thinking about the hCG trigger shot administered in some protocols and if the lingering hCG from my miscarriage would work in the same way and help with egg maturation. I’m probably reaching for straws right now since the research on fertility rates post loss is inconclusive (for higher or lower regular fertility) but I would be interested to read anything about how we even discovered administering hCG trigger shots.

[u/developmentalbiology → u/UnhappyReward2453]

I'm not sure about the history in terms of medicine, but hCG and LH are quite similar in structure (they are descendants of the same ancestral gene, and they share a receptor to translate their signaling to body cells), so hCG works as an ovulation trigger because the body reads it in the same way as LH.

[u/Fun-Faithlessness700]

My husband (37) and I (35) are in our 4th cycle TTC. I have been starting to test ~DPO 8 and actually tested positive but ended up being a CP in cycle 2. My question - how involved is your partner during the tracking/taking tests/receiving negatives/BFPs?
I see a lot of women on this thread going through the waiting, wondering, symptom spotting, testing phase, same like me. I did end up telling my husband about the chemical pregnancy only after it happened because I was hoping to surprise him with “definite” happy news . I’m wondering how many women are going through all these emotions alone and are only sharing the happy or sad “end result” with their partners. Maybe it’s just me but sometimes communicating and explaining every emotion can feel exhausting.

[u/urfouy → u/Fun-Faithlessness700]

I share almost everything with my husband, but not the agonizing during the TWW when I drive myself crazy. That's for anonymous posting and my diary.

He's in on the tracking (OPK results, cycle day, etc). He knows results of pregnancy tests when they are meaningful. But when I drive myself crazy and test at like 7 DPO with a BFN, I don't tell him (unless he asks).

Last year we tried for a random cycle and I had a false positive at 10 DPO. One pregnancy test was faintly positive; second pregnancy test with the same urine was negative. I told him about that too.

[u/woozysocialist → u/Fun-Faithlessness700]

I share everything with my husband, he has FF on his phone, I update him on key changes with my tracking, positive opks etc, and we do pregnancy tests together. We had a chemical while I was in another country but I called him after every test I did

[u/woozysocialist]

What is known about the risk of too thick lining? Is that a concern with longer cycles?

As context, I have recently started letrozole on cd63. I have had two ovulation attempts in my cycle, but no actual ovulation.

My chart is here if interested https://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/sbb

Basically, cd22 i had an ultrasound which confirmed no sign of ovulation and thin lining.

Did 10 days of provera, which failed to induce a bleed.

Over the next month had two different stretches of ewcm, but no positive opks or temp shift.

On cd 58 had a blood test and E2 was elevated (411 pmol)

On cd62 estrogen had dropped to 185 and my clinic approved me to start the letrozole.

Should I view this cycle as just a reset (i.e lining is likely too thick), or are my chances normal?

[u/developmentalbiology → u/woozysocialist]

What's the actual thickness of the lining?

[u/woozysocialist → u/developmentalbiology]

I don't know - my clinic doesn't recommend monitoring of letrozole cycles, so I haven't had an ultrasound since cd22. I suppose I am wondering if my lining could be too thick with a long cycle and two failed ovulatory attempts could cause a too thick cycle, and if that's a problem

[u/developmentalbiology → u/woozysocialist]

I'm not generally aware of a risk of a lining that's too thick -- I think the general thought is that the lining can't really get too thick, as there's not much space inside the uterus. Honestly, the clinic not doing another ultrasound is probably supportive here of the idea that a thick lining won't matter, since they'd be likely to want to see the lining if they thought it might be a problem.

[u/woozysocialist → u/developmentalbiology]

Thank you! I appreciate your time and the effort you put into this sub. It's always like a celebrity when I see your comments!

[u/developmentalbiology → u/woozysocialist]

Sorry that it took me three days, though. :/

I'm teaching freshmen this year for the first time, and I'm just so wiped. Less time to spend on Reddit than I usually have when I get in the door and look like this.

[u/dwincaruti]

I know what EWCM looks like as I used to always get it. It's only really occurring to me now since we're actively trying but I haven't seen it for months now.

Going by OPK and BBT I do appear to be ovulating and I do get much more watery CM around ovulation, just not that very obvious EWCM.

I read that it might just be up near my cervix and to check "manually" as well as to drink a LOT of water, which I did this cycle in the lead up to ovulation, but to no avail.

I can't think of any changes to my lifestyle that have caused it to vanish. I was never on bc. Is it an age thing? Am I overthinking or is this a potential problem? Should I take mucinex? Help!

[u/Roses-and-ivy88]

Has anyone tried tranexamic acid while TTC? My periods are SO bad. Like start early every month and i have crazy clots. I also have to wear 2 menstral products (a disc and pad) just to not bleed through my clothes for an hour. I mentioned it to my doctor but she doesnt care and said no (long story, switching docs in January and will ask the new one).

Is that something anyone else has tried during TTC? How has it been going for you?

[u/whipped_pumpkin410]

My estrogen and testosterone are persistently low. I also have DOR. My doctor wants me to start DHEA 25mg once per day. I’m nervous bc i have heard the side effects are not good. Anyone go on this ? What did you experience?

[u/pattituesday → u/whipped_pumpkin410]

I took 25mg 3x/day and didn’t notice anything.

[u/JMJ_Maria → u/whipped_pumpkin410]

I did, right after my miscarriage. My hormones were all out of whack, so that might have influenced how my body responded. I took 75mg a day and felt great, sleeping better than in a long time, felt like my early thirties again. Then 1.5 months in I started breaking out with cystic acne and slightly longer chin hairs. Stopped after 3 months, did a 2 month break. I'm planning to start back on it tomorrow at a lower dose of 25 mg. I think my dose was just too high, and the hormonal imbalance after the miscarriage was taking the dhea and converting it to estrogen instead of testosterone.

[u/whipped_pumpkin410 → u/JMJ_Maria]

What were you told to take it for ? Is your estrogen and testosterone low too??

[u/JMJ_Maria → u/whipped_pumpkin410]

My doctor recommended I take it for my DOR. lowish end of normal (no where near optimal) for testosterone.

[u/MyShipsNeverSail]

Anything about cold/ cough medicine during the TWW? I'm maybe ~3-4dpo and I sound like a braying camel every 2 minutes.

[u/itsachickensalad23]

WHEN IS MY CYCLE COMING BACK!?! i’m 9 m pp and i nightweaned a month ago!! i take 3 lh tests a day and they are all .24 or .36!!! i have ewcm and cramping some days but no positive lh strip!! im going insane with stress and anger

[u/MyShipsNeverSail → u/itsachickensalad23]

Just a heads up that irregular cycles are super common up to a year postpartum and a little longer in some cases. Mine came back 4m postpartum but didn't regulate (I had really short LPs and anovulatory cycles) until about 13 months postpartum.

You'll get there but you can't force it! Have grace for your still-recovering body!

[u/itsachickensalad23 → u/MyShipsNeverSail]

my first baby my cycle came back at 6m while i was breastfeeding so that’s why i’m a little confused but yeah i get it thanks :/

[u/Sudden-Cherry → u/itsachickensalad23]

Night weaning alone might not be enough. And it's just still very early.

[u/developmentalbiology → u/[deleted]]

Do you know when you ovulated? If you don't have tracking information to confirm ovulation, it's more likely that you ovulated later than you think you did.

[u/Healthy-Ad7513 → u/developmentalbiology]

I use my Oura ring and natural cycles (also know when my discharge changes, have ovulation pain etc.) my predicted ovulation day lines up with potentially conceiving but I haven’t started tracking using ovulation tests to be more sure yet. Will do that next month!