21/05/2009 by admin.

Thought this might be a useful round up of common shorthand terms used online in fertility forums & fertility groups. If you have any more please post in comments

Lets start with some easy ones:

TTC=Trying To Conceive

LMP= Last Menstrual Period

BBT= Basal body temperature

AF =Aunt Flo (your period)

PG= Pregnant

2WW= 2 week wait (ie the time from ovulation to when your period is due)

POAS= Peeing On A Stick (commonly used in fertility groups )

BFN= Big fat negative

BFP= Big fat positive

SA= Sperm analysis

Now for some more medical fertility abbrevaitions:

IVF = In Vitro Fertilisation

AI =Artificial insemination

AIH Artificial insemination with husbands sperm

AID Artificial insemination with donor sperm

AR=Assisted Reproduction

ART=Assisted Reproduction Technology

U/S=Ultra Sound scan

HCG= Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (the pregnancy hormone that pregnancy tests detect)

LH= Luteinising Hormone (the LH surge occurs just before ovulation and is the hormone trigger to release the egg-this is the hormone that urine ovulation tests detect)

FSH=Follicle Stimulating Hormone (hormone that causes the egg follicle to develop)

CM= Cervical mucus

EWCM= Eggwhite cervical mucus  (fertile mucus) 

PCOS=PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome

PGD=Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (this means they take the eggs and test them for genetic disorders and only implant the healthly ones through IVF)

CVS Chorionic villae sampling

CVS= Chorionic Villus Sampling

ENDO= Endometriosis

If you know any more please post them in comments

Posted in fertility Abreviations, Fertility Forums | Print | 2 Comments »

01/04/2009 by admin.

So you are trying to conceive and it is taking longer than you had hoped.

You want to talk to someone about it but all your friends are either pregnant or have kids already, or you feel a little shy talking to them about it.

If you have read the great ‘mars and venus books’ by John Gray, you will know how important it is for us venusians to be able to talk about our problems, and to feel heard. If you have not read the books I highly reccomend them-they are excellent, quite amusing and have helped me understand my man and myself so much better. They are available on itunes as a audio book and I love them-listen to them all the time especially when my dh goes in his cave (you know what I mean girls)

Anyway I digress

Q Where do you go for friendship and support ?

A The fertility forums

What is a fertility forum you may be asking yourself ?  Well an online forum is an online community of like minded people with a shared mission, interest, hobby or passion.

In the case of a fertility forum they are all trying to conceive and are nearly always women. I am not sure I have ever seen a man on a fertility forum although there must be some out there. If you go into a car owners forum or a computer techie forum they are nearly all men with one or two women. There are forums for just about anything you can think of-even housework, but that is the subject of a whole other blog.

 Lets get back to fertility forums:
There are lots of fertility forums out there and it is just a question of picking the ones that fits you best.

What to look for in a fertility forum (or any forum to be honest):

• plenty of active members (there is nothing worse than being the only one in there-it feels really lonely and sad-I speak from experience here)
• plenty of posts (I personally like chatty forums-I guess thats why I love to blog-lol)
• good listeners in the forum (every forum needs its share of good listeners)
• plenty of problem solvers in your chosen forum is always good (sometimes you just need advice or help-I use a technical support forum for my pc and the guys in there are amazing-they know so much more than me. I have also used a forum a for particular make of car and they diagnosed the problem with my car without me even having to visit a garage and I fixed it myself !! A very proud moment for this dizzy blond)
• it should feel good in there-like a warm cosy blanket-you should feel good after you have been on and feel empathy for the other members

I’m sure there are lots of other things to look for in your chosen forum but these are just the things I look for.

See my blogroll at the side of this blog for links to the UK fertility forums

Posted in Fertility Forums | Print | 1 Comment »

27/03/2009 by admin.

There are times in life when we really need the support of our friends and family. But does the quality of this support make a difference. Simple answer is yes-hugely so. When you are going through a stressful or difficult time in your life for whatever reason you need friends who will support you, listen to you and be there for you.

Are your friends drains or radiators ?

A friend of mine recently apologised for being a drain and not a radiator. At least she had incite !

The company of some friends makes you feel great, while others leave you feeling drained or even angry or sad. Of course we all have our off days, and no one can be a radiator of joy all the time but some friends are just plain exhausting.

What kind of friend are you ?

Characteristics of radiators;

• Their positive upbeat attitude pulls you up even when you are feeling down.
• they are good listeners
• they do not hog the conversation (conversation should be a two way thing)
• they are not totally self absorbed
• they like people
• they see the good in most situations
• they are up more than down
• you feel great after you have been with them
• you enjoy their company

Characteristics of drains:

• they have a negative attitude to lots of things
• you feel exhausted, angry or sad in their company
• they hog the conversation
• they are totally self absorbed
• they put other people down frequently (if they do that to others they probably do it about you)
• they do not really like people
• they see lots of negatives in a given situation

Try and make sure that you have plenty of radiators around you, and that you do your best to be a radiator to others.

Trying to conceive for some can be a very stressful time if things seem to take longer than you had hoped, and often it is difficult to talk to family or friends about the stresses that you are under. Where can you go for support and friendship then ?

A lot of women find the support and friendship they crave in the fertility forums. Here you can talk anonymously to others who are going through a similar situation to yourself and share in their highs and lows. Seeing others succeed can be very encouraging and also you can pick up lots of useful tips from others trying to conceive.

See the links at the side of this blog for links to the UK fertility forums

Posted in Friendship & support, Fertility Forums | Print | 1 Comment »