TTC 35+ thread 10

[Marvellouslymadmum]

We ran out of thread!! Will go back and try to tag everyone in here 🤦🏼‍♀️

@thislittlebird so glad you are finally receiving the help you need. This will relax you so much that with a bit of luck you may even conceive naturally.
Wish I went private years ago but I’m so stubborn that I battled the nhs knowing full well it was destroying me.
Try and online exercise class? Or set a daily step limit and go for walks xx

@thislittlebird have you tried intermittent fasting before? Worked nicely with DH and me. It's very easy to follow and it helped me with my low blood pressure and DH with his slightly too high blood pressure.

@thislittlebird that sounds like a really good investment and what a relief finally to be given a proper answer. Makes me rather sceptical of the consultation I had earlier in the week. In terms of weight loss, I did weight watchers after my daughter was born and lost loads v quickly. It's an app so no humiliating weigh ins and I like the fact it's not restrictive in terms of food types so you can still eat biscuits as long as it balances out. It naturally funnels you towards a healthy diet by having 0 points for fruit and veg and eggs/protein etc.

That said, both my acupuncturist and consultant earlier this week said no sugar! My acupuncturist went a step further this eve snd said even limit fruit to two portions a day and stick to low sugar fruit like berries snd no sweetener (no more diet hot choc for me - my only luxury!!). She's also cautioned me on too much dairy (love cheese and milk) and said eve dropping a kilo or two will bring forward ovulation (I ovulate late in my cycle). I'm afraid it's going to be a fairly paleo life for me for a while 😬
When you are preparing for ivf, it's worth considering acupuncture if you are open to it and can. There's lots of sound scientific evidence on how it supports ivf. I would highly recommend my acupuncturist and she practices in London too xx

Oh noooo @ElsieG3m, I have 4 pieces of fruit a day and am always munching on a few chocolates after dinner! And I eat Greek yoghurt and cheese daily too. Erk, maybe this is where I’ve been going wrong all this time!! Did they say why? Is it for inflammatory reasons?

I’ve been thinking about doing acupuncture twice a month (yet more expense!), whereabouts in London is your acupuncturist?

@thislittlebird yeah or they get bigger! Fingers crossed for both eh!
So glad your appointment went well! Mr Ramsey is the best out there for male factor so I'm glad he lived it up to his reputation!

@Misty84 I know - horrendous! I would say, I ate loads of sugar before conceiving my daughter and right through pregnancy but yes, they said it causes inflammation (phlegm in Chinese medicine). Acupuncturist said two pieces a day is fine. I've always been really sceptical about cutting fruit as it has other nutrients that are supportive of fertility so I thought they cancel each other out. Good quality dark choc is an antioxidant which is good for conception but I like the sugary milky rubbish 😂
Apparently I need to get on board with plant based milk and chia seeds which I feel may be a step too far but hey if it works...?! I love dairy and consume loads but I do always think it can't be ideal consuming a bunch of hormones meant for a baby cow....but then I've seen studies that say at least one portion of full fat milk a day is good for baby making...urgh it's a minefield!

I think her clinic is still on Harley st lovely. Would you like me to check?

She also said btw I can run in the first half of my cycle but should do something less intensive second half when an embryo might be trying to snuggle in...which actually supports a scientific study I shared earlier on the chat.

Finally, she always says, cold feet, cold womb -no good for fertility. So slippers on and socks in bed if it means they stay warm!! Honestly, no idea how I feel about it all but I do think there are many things science cannot explain and my neurologist at the National hospital for neurosurgery extolled the benefits of acupuncture to me (for migraine relief) so it must have some sound evidential basis. Mainly I think it just chills you out.

She is encouraging me to do yoga but I draw the line there - it's just beyond boring to me!! Xx

@Misty84 ps she does say there's a lot of prep that goes into preparing the body for pregnancy. It's not like western medicine which typically treats symptoms not causes -Chinese medicine is the whole body so she looks at lifestyle factors too but also never says acupuncture replaces western medicine -just complements it. For anyone going for ivf (not sure if this is something you're considering), she says she gets a lot of calls from women wanting treatment the day before egg collection or transfer and will never treat them as it requires a period of time to prepare the body - not a quick fix. I do know I had two miscarriages before seeing her and conceived my daughter two months after starting. Coincidence maybe but def chilled me out abs made me feel I was doing good things for my body. Where are you in your investigations/journey? Xx

@ElsieG3m who is your acupuncturist in London? I'm seeing one in London, only had four or five sessions so far, and I'm not sure I've noticed too much difference. Had a bad heavy first period with a lot of brown blood after starting, and limited pmt this month - normally have very sore boobs, back ache, bloating etc by now and haven't noticed much.

What did you notice/have you noticed with doing it now?

@ElsieG3m thanks loads for all the information❤️, I have snuggly thick socks on as I type!
Im starting IVF in August and utterly dreading it (paying privately as not eligible for NHS funding). Harley St is too far for me but thank you for the recommendation, I will research an acupuncturist a bit closer to home. Might as well throw everything at this! Time to cut down on all the fruit too! Yes I love milk chocolate, I’ve been munching on Maltesers tonight haha! So many sacrifices we have to make and yet like you said, no problem when you had your daughter! 🤦‍♀️

I’m starting to exercise more now that my gym has reopened; 2 body conditioning classes a week and tennis once a week with my other half. Still trying to do lots of walking. Hoping it all helps!!

Also, I have plant based milk (coconut or almond, yum!) but I have cheese every day I reckon. I'm veggie and it just adds a salty creamy texture to dishes. Obviously all organic, but did she say how much to cut down to? Mine asked me about dairy, but when I said all organic, she didn't really elaborate or tell me to stop

@Misty84 @A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 I told a lie - thought she was in Harley st but she's at the light centre in belgravia. Her name is Kerstin Lehr. If you call her Misty, she may be able to recommend someone to you closer to where you are. She's very well respected and does a lot of teaching so knows the network.

She didn't say how much on dairy but she doesn't push a plant based agenda or anything so I don't think she'd advocate cutting completely. I'll email her to ask. She is keen for me to add fish oil to improve EWCM next cycle and then has a bunch of recommendations for warming the womb during my next period to prep it for implantation. In terms of changes so far, I react quite strongly to it so I can feel weird waves towards the needles when they go in (trust me, I'm a massive cynic on pretty much everything so this is not psycho-somatic). This eve, I mentioned I've had a really stuffy nose and she cleared it with four needles - quite something given I have a deviated septum so can't ever clear one side!
This cycle was weird since starting again. I normally ovulate between day 17-19 of a 28 day cycle with heavy EWCM on day 16/18. This month I didn't chart or track but got the EWCM on day 10-11 so I may have actually ovulated at a more "normal" time - I'm suspicious of short lp. Other than that, the main benefit I see is in how I relax, during the session and afterwards. I work in a pretty stressful city job and I'm a naturally stressy/anxious person. I do not relax easily. Well last week I woke myself up snoring on her couch 😂 if nothing else I reckon that cortisol reduction a few times a month has to be worth something!! That said I am not expecting to see any results for three months. It's not a quick fix so I don't ever think I'll come out of a session cured of whatever I went in for. Sadly it never worked for me for my migraines but I know for many it does. But then same with many western drugs that work for some ppl but not me. Sorry another mega long answer!!

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 I don't eat organic! Should I be??!! And there's nothing I don't add cheese to either - except my morning fruit! What do you eat as good protein sources as a veggie? I was veggie all my life but do now eat fish and occasional chicken. I love quorn but it's SO processed xx

Pps @Misty84 so sorry you are having to face ivf but many reasons to be optimistic and great you have that plan ahead. Will keep everything crossed for you xx

@ElsieG3m great info! I'm in London so gonna look her up. I'm mid way through my ivf cycle so too late this time but if it doesn't work I'll see if I can get sessions in for the next go. Have always wanted to try acupuncture so it's great to get a recommendation!

@ElsieG3m thanks for the answer! I think I need to give it a good go. Last session was the first one I relaxed for.

For dairy or meat, very important for all organic. For veg I buy some organic but honestly I can't do it all, so I'm picking and choosing the advice 😆

I eat beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas, whole grains, eggs, kefir, and cheese. Love mozzarella! I can't eat quorn it makes me sick. But I'll very occasionally have Cauldron veggie sausages or Beyond Meat burgers - but I think they're as bad for you as eating a burger or a sausage in terms of salt or fat but they're yummy!

I work in the City also, right next to Monument

@notyetamumbuttrying sorry to hear they’re not ready yet 😔 Is that you carrying on injections until the next scan?

@birdbybird I think I’m 11/12dpo and I’m turning 38 next month. I’m so, so lucky as I have a few health conditions, suboptimal thyroid based on the It Starts with the Egg book, polyps, cysts and fibroids. We had the all clear from gynae to TTC and this was our first month back on it since January. Obviously super aware that at our age there are still lots of hurdles. Really sorry to hear about your losses - got my fingers crossed for you for a BFP this cycle 💐 Are you taking the Starts with the Egg recommended supplements?

@katree this is exactly the problem. I usually get more active when the weather improves but it just refuses to improve.

@got2be yeah, it's horrible how destructive it can be. I wish I was better at sticking to targets. I'm not good at it, as soon as the weather is wet I don't want to go out.

@Bundaberg84 I have not, what pattern did you follow? I'm concerned fasting might make my moods awful.

@ElsieG3m what did your consultant say? Maybe I'll check out WW!
I hear them regarding sugar but I don't think I could do none whatsoever. I'm a snacker and fruit is my go-to to stop myself eating crisps or whatever. I'm aiming to lose 1lb per week (at least 6 weeks), more would be great but that would get me back into my healthy bmi. I do love and eat dairy often but I'm on a cheese ban right now. Well, not a ban, just not keeping it in the house.

I'm a little careful with plant milks because lots of them contain soya, but I like the almond and coconut milk one of the brands do. Innocent do nice ones but they're not cheap. I think veggie sausages have them in too (we're a semi-veggie house) but M&S do some nice ones that don't have soya in from what I can see.

On the acupuncture front I've been going since February now, I'm going again tomorrow. This is the second time this month. My colleague who had IVF twins had acupuncture before and after embryo transfer and it worked...who knows if it helped but worth a shot. It definitely chills me out, but not much else tbh.

@thislittlebird omg 😂 that made me laugh that he said he had a very good pair! If the varicocele is causing an obstruction and can be sorted that could be great news for you! My oh does not have plenty of hair 🤔 o really do think you should've been put on progesterone, it doesn't make sense to me that it's one of the first things they check or get they then don't correct it! Sounds like it was definitely worth the money. That's what I'm hoping with my oh, he's trying so hard now, joined the gym, healthy eating he's even been doing some dr Googling research!
😂 love that we all have our google phd in fertility, we could do run our own clinic between us! In fact if I ever won the euro lottery I think I'd open a clinic with subsidised ivf costs for those that can't afford private etc. (I would of course employ proper doctors though, just have a mn panel lol) I really do hope this all works out for you, so glad you've got some decent help.

I'm hoping the gym helps me lose some weight, it includes swimming and loads of classes too so I'm planning on going to the gym and doing classes in fp then gentle classes and swimming in Lp 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

@notyetamumbuttrying that's so exciting! Keeping everything crossed for you for a healthy, successful transfer!! How long until transfer? Definitely look her up but fingers crossed you won't need to 😊🤞🏻

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 I didn't know about organic - I try to buy what I can but my husband is a massive cynic (comes from farming family and loves a chemical) and his diet is the worst - mainly just white bread, ham, crisis, pasta etc - no fruit and kinky the veg I give him. It really gets me down and we actually had a massive row about it at the weekend but because his SA was normal he doesn't think it's a problem.

@thislittlebird - on my consultant do you mean about weight loss, diet or my results? Results were all good so far but I've asked for hycosy, day 21 progesterone, Prolactin and SA with dna frag for him.

On diet and ex she actually said not to lose weight in my case though I'm the upper end of healthy bmi. She just said no sugar, generally healthy diet, no alcohol, coffee (didn't ask if coffee generally or just caffeinated), and regular exercise.

My husband is completely bald - is that bad for fertility? I guess as we have our daughter it can't have been too much of a factor but I always wonder about those 2 mcs -was it him, was it me 😬 for a long time I just thought it was the stroke/flu & finding out my father had terminal cancer at time of second.

Xx

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 *only the veg. Nothing kinky in our house at the mo - we're both so stressed sex is really just a chore! I'm near St. Paul's

@ElsieG3m 😂 from your first message, was thinking you def have more fun with the veg than me! For the dairy it's mostly just avoiding the hormones, plus I get it anyway for higher welfare (Duchy or farm shop) I'm not precious about the veg and it gets hard to buy all organic and expensive.

If his SA is good maybe he's lucky. Will he take vitamins? My partner is taking all of those, but he got in at 5am from a work event absolutely drunk and it's his semen analysis this morning 😤 leaving it up to him to try to cancel, or to go and face terrible dead sperm prognosis and have to pay for another one.

@notyetamumbuttrying good luck for your next scan. How are you finding it, is it painful or making you feel bad?

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 he does take vitamins (as of last week!), doesn't drink caffeine or alcohol or smoke (never smoked but alcohol and caffeine because of TTC). So in that sense he's very good. He gave those up after the miscarriages. It's just his diet, stress and working with his laptop on his lap every night that worries me. Age too - he'll be 44 in June.

If I were you I'd send him in and let him deal with the consequences. Maybe he needs a bad result to help him focus! Although it might be fine as alcohol - it's his sperm 60 days from now that are more likely to suffer if they do 😬 good luck with SA anyway! Are you having any tests today? Xx

Anyone else at the same stage in their cycle as me? Period due Sunday but already know I'm out as can feel it coming on. Doubted myself yesterday as had a few evaps on cheapie pregnancy tests (anyone else squint; change the light, wiggle it in desperation?!) but all clearly negative this morning. Feeling thoroughly miserable! xx

@GuessHowMuch yeah that's right. I've been chatting to others now and seems it's quite normal for them to be ready after 14 days of it. It was only 9 yesterday, I just wish the nurse told me that rather than leaving me feeling like I was abnormal lol!
When will you test?
@ElsieG3m thank you 😊 not sure yet, still need egg collection and for them to get fertilised so I'm a couple weeks off transfer I reckon.
I need to lose weight, I lose a few lbs then have a nice weekend eating out or something and bam, the weights back on. Even when I choose sensible options! I need to sort my exercising out tbf, though the nurse said not to do anything high impact whilst stimming. I just need to at least get my step count up. I'm just sick to death of walking around by where we live, having done it all pandemic.
Sorry for the bfn hun, I stopped early testing long ago as just couldn't hack them anymore!
@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 thank you 😊 it's ok, one of the injections is a bugger as the needle is thicker. I get nausea and a full feeling, like a how a frog must feel before it spawns 😂 but ok otherwise!
Oh how irritating of him to get steaming drunk before an SA 🤦🏾‍♀️ has he decided what he's doing yet?

@ElsieG3m sounds like he is doing a lot of the good stuff! Maybe a laptop tray just to keep the heat off the area, but it sounds like he's making an effort.

Well it wasn't just booze and looking at him now I'm not sure he could 'perform' in less than two hours 😬😂 Honestly I get it that lockdowns over etc but still a little self control wouldn't have gone amiss. No tests for me yet, I'll sort something next month. Works busy and I'm on holiday soon, plus sneaking off for acupuncture every week atm.

Ah Elsie I'm really sorry, it is a horrible feeling. You're still testing so early, so don't read anything into it. I'm due a couple days after you I think, and yes I wiggle the tests about under the bathroom light!