Trying to conceive

[Bee123]

I'm currently trying to conceive for the past few months and have had a hard time trying to pin point my ovulation. I have never had a regular period so its really hard to tell when I am ovulating. I am trying to conceive, God willing, before the year ends, is there anyone here that has been in the same situation and has some advise?

Thanks again.

[Lulubell]

Re: Trying to conceive

Hi Bee-

Do you have PCOS? Irregular periods and annovulatory cycles are a pretty good indicator. This WOE is the best thing for you. Good job on that. How long have you been on Atkins? For me, my cycles straightened out by month #2 and now I am as regular as clockwork.

I've been TTC for 2 years now, and I've tried everything. I'm currently starting the regimen for IVF since everything else has failed, and quite frankly, I think it's my age plus PCOS that kept us from conceiving naturally. Oh well. Anyway, there are 2 big things you can do to track ovulation:

1) take your basal body temp every morning. as in, as soon as your alarm goes off, stick the thermometer in your mouth. Record results. You can enter the data at Fertilityfriend.com or just chart it yourself. Right around the middle of your cycle, you should have a temp spike for 2-3 days. And you will feel hotter anyway dueing ovulation.

2) purchase an ovulation test kit. "Answer" brand makes the best one, IMO. You test your first urine of the morning by dipping a strip in a little cup. If 2 lines appear, that means that you have LH present, which means that you will ovulate within the next 1-2 days.

And, right before ovulation, you should have alot of cervical mucus (the stuff that is sticky like egg whites).

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[Bee123]

Re: Trying to conceive

Thank you so much Lulubell. I'm going to start taking my temperature. I have purchased the ovulation predictor tests and I have tested for like two weeks and nothing. I don't even get a line. Its weird because I have my period every month.

Thanks again

[hrgillespie]

Re: Trying to conceive

This maybe TMI for some

Bee it's possible to have your period and not be effectively ovulating ........ the strips are a wonderful tool as well as cervical checks and alos monitoring your cervical Mucous changes ........ if you do all of these things combined you will allmost sutely be able to predict ovulation ........ a few "tricks also are:
Hubby and you can begin taking a tablespoon of Robitussin (store brand is fine and no letters after just the plain stuff) everyday ....... Just like it is intended to loosen andthin chest congestion it thins cervical mucous and also thins semen which makes the journey for the sperm easier .......

Also abstain from intercourse when your not close to ovulation saving up those swimmers for the right time.

If none of these things seems to halep you find success you might want to talk with your doc and have a test called a HSG (Hysterosalpingogram) it is used to see if there is any blockage stopping the sperm and egg from meeting but a wonderful side effect of having the test is that a lot of people get pg in the cycle right after the test because it clears everything out and makes conception prime!

WEB MD has a lot of awesome information about it all if you are one who likes to research and read up on things ....... there is also a website called babycenter that has chat rooms filled with people TTC( trying to conceive) and special ones for those having a little more challenge at it and they are filled with tons of ideas. I chatted with a grop of ladies through my fertility issues and straight through my IVF we have stayed in touch for 6 years now and are all still friends ........ it's a great support board and information resource.

I hope some of this helps

Heidi

[Sashie]

Re: Trying to conceive

I had a hard time conceiving, it took me 5 years to have our first, I did Atkins lost about 30/40 lbs and got pregnant with my second (3 year difference). When he turned 1 and I stopped breast feeding, I did Atkins again, lost the weight again LOL my periods returned normally (usually only once or twice a year for me since I was a kid) and just had my third. I was told I had a hormonal imbalance, but every time I did atkins and lost the weight my periods returned to normal and I became extremely fertile. I think it is odd that 30/40 lbs stood in the way of me conceiving.. how weird is that?

The temp thing works great, as long as you chart it and don't leave the bed before charting. I started doing all of that when we were trying to have our first/second child.

[lowcarbing4ever]

Re: Trying to conceive

I agree with the temping and charting but you have to know that it is a slow process of learning when you exactly ovluate. You will have to have big patience and chart for at least 2-3 months to find out what is going on. Don't just use the ovulating sticks to predict your fertility, temping is the best way because the sticks can and often are fooled. i really think that you should get a full check up while you are at it. it really sounds to me like you are suffering from PCOS. You should have your dr. check your homone levels and tell him of your not having complete cycles and when you exactly have them and how long they last. All the info you can give will help him a lot. There are many symptoms of PCOS and they really run the gamut--from irreg. periods and sudden large weight gain to excessice hair growth and infertility. I followed Atkins for 5 months and lost 45 lbs, went of but kept it off for another 8 months; then I went back on and lost another 30 lbs. but my health was not so great so I opted for doing bypss surgery. Before I could even get approved, I found out I was pregnant. So this WOL does work wonders for many TTCing. You need to first find out what is exactly out of synch with you before you can get the big picture on how to deal with it, so to speak. First, contact and talk with your doctor and then go tfrom there.

[Lady_Hawke]

Re: Trying to conceive

When you do get your period count that as day one......count out to day 10 and make love days 10 through 14 Good luck.

[Flab To Go]

Re: Trying to conceive

I am been experiencing the exact same problem! I had a miscarriage a year ago and have not been able to get pregnant although I have been trying. It's difficult to track my ovaluation because this past month I had a 50 day cycle and the one before was 46 days. No online ovulation calendar goes past 40 days. I've been so frustrated and have turned my thoughts on losing weight instead. I hoping to become pregnant but I'm trying not to "plan" for it.

[artgirl7]

Re: Trying to conceive

Howdy!

Yes, I am in the same situation and can certainly relate. My husband and I have a little boy who is 10 months old and we have been trying for six months.

For the last three months, I thought I was ovulating during day 11-14 as most literature says but this month, I bought an ovulation test and realized I had my LH surge on days 16-18 and am probably ovulating as I type. It was the first time I bought an ovulation test and it seemed to work pretty good. We will really see if "everything" worked in a few weeks.

I would recommend buying one of the ovulations tests with 20 strips, that way you can test for more days than the standard 7 days. I bought the brand "Answer" at Rite Aid as well as a Basal Therm. I am tracking my temperature every morning and testing the ovulations strips in the afternoon. The strips had a faint or no line for me for awhile too, but then when the surge hit- the lines were darker then the control line.

Good luck and keep posting about your progress.

[Momma2threegirls]

Re: Trying to conceive

I fyou are going to temp. Then I highly reccomend the book: Taking Charge of Your Fertility.

She is AWESOME and helps bring so much clarity as to what is really going on with your body. You will temp and chart body symptoms as well (She has the charts in the book). Part of the chart helps form a graph and you begin to see patterns and know when your body is getting ready and then if your estrogen peaks enough to ovulate and if not know what is going on. Her approach is called Fertilty Awareness Method and she talk in the book about how many patients who are at the point of intervention (or have done interventions without success) use her information and concieve spontaneous. Both my pregnancies were "one timers" b/c of this method. it's also been great at avoiding pregnancy in between and seeing what my body is trying to do while nursing.

Typical information delt out by the medical community is junk - b/c it holds the view point that all women are on a 28day cycle and ovulating on day 11-14 and that is just not reality! This will teach you to ead YOUR body.

Good luck!

Erika