soy isoflavones or agnus castnus?

[Vap0]

Hi

Can anyone tell me more?

I am waiting to be prescribed clomid by my doctor. I had a HyCoSy a couple of weeks ago and he felt I would ovulate this month but have tested every day and nothing, so now to wait for my next cycle. I have an appointment booked in to see the doctor again in about june (he said I would be prescribed clomid at that appointment) but being very impatient and knowing I'm not ovulating I need something to help me during the 3 more fertile months following a HyCoSy.

So, I bought myself some soy isoflavones online which will arrive soon which I have read a lot about and understand can help you ovulate.
Yesterday my SIL gave me a pack of agnus castus saying a friend of hers who had ovulation problems (after depo like me) and this made her ovulate and she is now pregnant.
I'm in a quandary now.
Which do I take?
Will they mess me up more?
Should I just wait for the clomid?
Is it ok to come straight off one of these and immediately use clomid or will I have to wait?
I understand you take soy for only a few days but take agnus castus every day, is this correct?
With the difference in days you take then it makes me think the soy will be more effective as you take less, so in theory it must be stronger, is this a plausible suggestion?
Just don't know what to do now....
Help

hi folks I have been following this thread and found it quite interesting.

would you only use soy after several months of TTC ? or can you use it at the beginning to increase your chances ?

Welcome Lelly

Hopefully kitty will be along with more info as she seems to know all of the ins and outs.

From my understanding the soy helps you ovulate. I think it could also help you ovulate earlier in the cycle too.

Have you done any opk's?

I have read negative comments about the use of soy but having such a long wait to get back in to see the doc I decided to do something as I'm sick of waiting. If I had normal cycles and did ovulate I don't think I would take it just in case it messes up a normal cycle. Make sure you read negatives before taking it and weigh up the pro's and con's for you and your situation.

How long have you been ttc?

I'll update later on in the month about whether I ovulate or not....

Thanks vap0 :)

I'm not TTC just yet - hopefully within the next 6 months or so:)

just trying to get my body prepped up lol. Off the pill since december to try make sure my cycles r OK but they still a little over the place slightly. also on BP tablets but people on here have advised me that the medication I'm on rnt gd when pregnant so gona see about that being changed.

saw the thread about soy and found it interesting hopefully my cycles OK by when I'm TTC . Also trying to lose weight - basically doing everything I can to improve my chances lol xxx

Please help!
Soy update!
It appears to have done something
New type of opk
Is this ovulation or still negative?
Darkest line I've ever had
Was very dehydrated when I took the test though.
No cm at all, don't seem to get cm any more, probably didn't help being dehydrated.
Just dtd just in case
Tell me what you think?

I'd say you're pretty close to a surge! It is almost equally dark so I should think over the next 12 hours you'll hit your true surge. It means tha you will ovulate between 12-48 hrs after the peak surge, likely between 18-36 hours. Test twice a day and once it fades you'll know the surge is over. I'd also say DTD from now onwards for the next three days. Looks very good, am very pleased for you! I Don't have a positive yet. Cd 17 or 18 usually ov late around cd 25, so still waiting. Have had lots of ewcm yestersay and today though so am also hoping that maybe I have jumped forward with my ov a week! will see what the OPKs say today.

Thanks aux!
I'm really hoping it stays dark and gets darker.

Fingers crossed you ovulate this month

Hi Vap!!

You are close to a good LH surge (or one has gone-so tricky to tell sometimes!!) there so DTD!! My OPK line was so dark it looked almost black/aubergine coloured, that cycle)

Test again this afternoon and tomorrow etc until it disappears, just to be on the safe side. DTD every day until that happens (esp. if you are following SMEP). Keeping my fingers crossed for you and aux!!!

lellygreen - Soy Isoflavones aren't a magic pill to help you conceive-all they do is help women who struggle to ovulate or ovulate very late in a cycle to ovulate earlier, by tricking your body into producing more oestrogen. If you have a regular cycle, ovulate within the 'normal' timeframe, then you don't need them. When you do start to TTC, see how it goes for a few cycles. If you are worried something is wrong, start charting your BBT temp to get a good picture if and when you are ovulating and what your hormones are doing. Only then, would I do some research on Soy Isoflavones.

Good luck when you start TTC-hopefully all will go plain sailing anyway

Hi Kitty

Thanks for the positive words.

I have been testing 2-3 times a day since the app on my phone told me I was in my fertile window and this is the darkest line so hopefully it hasn't already been and gone. Will be dtd as much as we can from now on , bought some ky jelly in tesco today to help with the lack of the cm. The Durex play one said it could slow down the swimmers so didn't get that one and they didn't sell anything more specialist like pre seed. This may slow the swimmers down also but didn't say so on the box. I this a good idea or can it hinder things?

I didn't buy pre seed in time as was giving up hope. If no luck this cycle will ensure I have that ready...

Fingers crossed

Disappointed
I think the dark line I saw was as good as it was going to get. Limited my fluid intake today so I could test just as I arrived home and the line is only half as dark, bottom one is the new one and the top one is from this morning which has faded a bit.
Any thoughts?

Firstly Vap put away the KY Jelly-it will kill the sperm!!!!!! Instead, go to Boots and get some Balance Activ fertility gel or Conceive Plus on Amazon (much cheaper and easier than pre-seed)

Every woman is different with LH surges and some can last a while, some only a few hours. Without charting your temps with a BBT thermometer or taking bloods with your GP, no one knows if we actually ovulate on OPKs-just that you get an LH surge. Therefore it is difficult to guess what has happened-your full surge might have been overnight or might be still to come. Still DTD (without KY Jelly)and keep testing OPKs (your ones are so cheap anyway) and keep fingers crossed. Xx

Thanks kitty, yet again....
I'll buy some conceive plus before next month.
I would be rubbish at temperature testing as i stay away from home 2-3 nights a week (do my best to be at home when it matters) and so would not be able to do it in a constant environment. Hotel rooms can be freezing or boiling. I think it would stress me out too. I know when I'm away and forget my opk's I'm so stressed (no matter he time of the month) until I can get home. Blood tests don't tend to work for me either as my cycle decides to do what it likes when it likes.
The positives are

• this is the darkest line I've ever had (it is a different type of test though so hoping this isn't the reason)

• if the soy has had an effect to make me nearly ovulate then this is a mega step forward after blank after blank
• next cycle maybe I'll be lucky
• hopefully if the soy has had a small effect then maybe next month will be better
• and if not maybe clomid the month after will work....

Feeling pretty deflated

The main positive I forgot to mention is that I'm sat here with a bottle of prosecco by mu side which is consoling me....
Diet starts again on Monday

One last question
How bad is spit for sperm?
DP does it all the time now as no cm seems to be there and something is needed.
Is this better or worse than ky jelly?
I'll be sticking with spit until I hear any more as DP "gets soft" TMI sorry at the thought of gels etc

Aww Vap TTC is very stressful but don't beat yourself up over things-it is just to let you know that there is no way to know for sure if you have ovulated or not! Actually, having that Prosecco is good if it means you can unwind!

There is scientific evidence that saliva isn't brilliant for sperm and can kill it but then you would need large quantities I'm sure! If you can avoid it as a lubricant, do. Otherwise it is better to DTD with it than not DTD at all!!

I hope his is it for you and if not, do keep trying with SI for at least two more cycles. For some on Mumnset, it was the second or third cycle that did it for them!

Enjoy your Prosecco!!!

Thank you again Kitty.
I just tested again and i think it's my 1st positive...
Best birthday present ever ??

Hi Vap,
I used pre-seed to conceive my first. It is exactly like KY Jelly, in fact felt much nicer! It won't put your DH off, comes in a tube like KY Jelly, and has the same texture/look etc.
You really have to use sperm friendly lubricants!
Hope you get your BFP very soon.

Get shagging Vap!! That's a great positive and Happy Birthday

Positive opk yesterday four days early! Temp spike today which might (I hope) indicate ov happened last night which would make ov six days earlier (presuming I ov-ed before). Hoooo-ooping that means an extended lp from five days to nine or maybe even eleven! Will keep you updated!

Excellent Aux
When will you be taking a pregnancy test? If I can be patient enough it will be Thursday 7th may as that is when af should be turning up.
So pleased soy has had the desired effects for both of us
Fingers crossed for us both

kitty I wonder if you can answer a question about soy?
For the last few months (excluding this one) I have had sore boobs, exhaustion and other mild symptoms throughout the month. This month I have not had this at all which is kind of unusual. Do you think this could be the soy regulating my hormones or just a coincidence?

I think with this lack of noticeable things happening with my body could mean I'm out this month. I can't wait for my appointment on 11th may. It really can't come quick enough...

aux any revelations?

Interesting Vap - the sore boobs, exhaustion etc could well be hormone related re: oestrogen and progesterone imbalances so maybe sorting that out has helped (I don't really know!)
Keeping fingers crossed this is a BFP month for you!

Hi aux
Any news from you? Must be about time for you to test?
I did one this morning and had an evap line...
Still only 10dpo here - depending on if I ovulated when I had a positive test...?

Hi vap
Unfortunately af got me at 8dpo. So the soy appeared to bring my opk and ff-confirmed ov forward by six days. That's really good. But I'm not sure I actually ovulated as my temps post "ov" were still erratic although I'd like to think so. Didn't really do much for my lp as I only added two days to it so it could have been just normal evolution of my cycle. Am sure however that it brought my positive opk forward! Was very down about af arriving but am now on cd4 and started my second soy cycle on cd2 so we will see what that brings.
Have you been tempted to do a hpt yet?

aux sorry to hear AF turned up so early. Good luck with your 2nd month of soy!
Did you have any side effects from the soy? I didn't, but did take it at night so that may well have helped.
Are you in the process of going to doctors for clomid or any other treatment?
How many months are you Ttc?
Sorry for all the questions

I am totally addicted to these tests! 11dpo today and negative today. Yesterday I did a test but didn't check for a couple of hours (fell asleep) and had an evap line.
I will be testing every morning until AF arrives. I can't help myself.
The app on my phone says AF should arrive on Thursday 7th although I think it's not correct. Last month AF arrived early (26 day cycle) and so it has predicted that this month will be the same with a 26 day cycle but the 3 months before that were 30 day cycles.
So I'm expecting AF to arrive somewhere between Thursday and Sunday.
I'm going to hold off on the soy this month though as I have my doc appointment for clomid on Monday 11th and am hoping to start that. I have read you can start that anywhere from day 2-5 like you can with the soy and so am hoping that even if AF does arrive on Thursday then I should stil be able to take the clomid. If the doc advises otherwise I may go with soy again. Will just have to see what happens and what he advises.
I'm expecting this month to be a bfn as we didn't dtd at the right time due to birthday celebrations and having loads of friends around.

Good luck to you! Hope your lp is extended by more this month

Hi vap
Sixth cycle ttc. No clomid or anything. I had a bit of a headache but it was probably AF related and not soy related. A bit of nausea first day but none thereafter. None this time. Also taking them at night!
I think the doctors will prescribe the clomid for cd5-9 and not earlier as they really want to avoid multiple eggs being released. So be prepared for that. Makes sense to not take it this month though just in case they don't want to give you anything until your system is "clean" of other things which might mess up your hormones.
I sympathize with all the testing!