First time trying soy isoflavones after 2 years of ttc! 😩

[TTCfor9M]

Hi there.
I've read a few posts on different ttc forums about the pros and cons of soy isoflavones. After an agonizing 2 years of ttcing with no success, not even a cp.... I've decided to go ahead with my last option before seeing a fertility specialist. Soy isoflavones.

Not going to go into much details, but the brand I got is GNC soy concentrate. It was the only one readily available in my country and local stores.

PS. I've tried agnus castus for months. Had me ovulating first two months then nothing. My last cycle on it was wackkkk! Gave up on it. I've been temping on and off while not driving myself crazy. Took a break 3 months ago and I'm back. Hoping I'll be part of the 70 odd percent of women that got pregnant on first cycle of SI.

Just posting for any buddies that are trying it out as well? And for anyone stalking these forums to see how it goes here in 2021!

Also forgot to mention that I took it cd3-7. 150, 150, 200,200,250
On cd8 now. Waiting on O to arrive. Feeling a little crampy today. But nothing serious. Maybe it's all on my head. DH is scheduled for a semen analysis on Friday. His blood works was within normal range.

OH and I've never had normal cycles. Sincet teen years, they've ranged from cd35-50. Horrible! really hoping I meet a few buddies in the year 2021 trying these and this becomes a successful thread of happy pregnant moms. Most threads I found are from way back. And you know what they say about zombie threads

Bump!

Updating for anyone who would see this one day

CD 9 and felt quite bloated and crampy. Especially on my lower back. Also feeling a lot 'wetter'

Hey @TTCfor9M

Just wanted to join and say I'm excited to see how you get on! I'm thinking of trying Soy Isoflavones next month. Good luck, I'm hoping it all goes well for you.

Hey @Patienceisnotmyvirtue thanks for your comment.
Just took my temp this morning. Haven't ovulated, but I'm on CD 11. Have bad cramps the whole day yesterday, really wasn't imagining it, they were there.

Can't wait to see how it goes too. And if I'm not part of the first timers, we will be buddies next month

Well CD11 would be quite early to ovulate, the cramps might just be your body getting ready to. Hopefully you'll get a positive ovulation test soon though.

I would make an appointment with a fertility specialist asap and my cycles were not too dissimilar as to how yours are. You are at 2 years of ttc also well beyond the stage of temp charting, OPKs, soy isoflavones and the like. Both temp charting and OPK's (those in particular are not recommended for use by PCOS patients) can be very problematic when it comes to PCOS.

@TTCfor9M I recently got referred via my GP to the fertility specialist, but at the moment the waiting times for first appointments are around 40 weeks where I live due to corona. So you could go to the GP and get your referral started. In the meantime, hopefully the Isoflavones will help! I've got my fingers crossed for you. There may be other issues at play though. It all depends how in a rush you are!

I was really paranoid and made us get private tests early on in the ttc process, so I sort of know what we're dealing with (up to a point anyway, we're not at IVF yet which I know could throw up all kinds of other issues). No way I would have had the patience to try for 2 years before going to the doctor, but that's kind of who I am!

On a side note, can I ask if you've tried Myoinositol? I had long cycles and was diagnosed with PCOS. The Myoinositol seems to have made a real difference for me, I've been taking it for almost 3 months now and it looks like I might finally be ovulating at almost a 'normal' point in my cycle.

Hi @AttilaTheMeerkat I know! It's been frustrating. I had to get on medical insurance since I could not afford to pay for private consultations. Syaye hospitals closed all fertility clinics early last year because of the corona. Sort of concentrating all resources to covid only. So we had decided to wait for them to reopen. Getting an appointment became a roller-coaster ride. So I decided to go for medical aid. However, there's a waiting period before I see a gynae. So while I wait, decided to give it another try 😩😩

@Patienceisnotmyvirtue I truly should have started earlier. But when we got married back in 09/19, I was on my first year Masters. So I thought I wouldn't rush it, but I also wouldn't stand in the way of it happening. We actively started early last year. Wouldn't get a pos opk over weeks and that's when I tried fertilaid for both men and women for DH and I. Quite expensive and did not do much. Thats when I began temping. Tried AC and only worked for 2 months. First month I Oed on cd12. Was excited. Second month, I Oed CD 32. Third month, couldn't make head or tail of my temp. Gave up. Only recently I came across the SI and the overwhelming success stories. So I thought, why not. I have not tried myoinositol though. I'll look it up. Thank you.

Cd11 is early yes. Cd12 today. Only mild cramps. But I'm totally good. Yesterday was awful. Thought I would O yesterday but my temp proved I didn't. So still waiting. 😑

Update on cd12. Pain on my left side. Nothing too much but def noticeable. And twinge here and there on my right side. Temp still showing no O has occurred. But I hope whatever is happening is related to the soy working. Crossing fingers. Too scared to test on opks but I think I'll get a pack today.

Hey there.
Update so this doesn't end up being one of those dead end posts.

FF says I'm 4 dpo today. But in all honesty, I think I'm 2 dpo today. I missed taking my temp 2 days ago, and that would have been cd14. I think I Oed then. FF says 2 days before, so here is to just waiting.

Why the wait? DH was meant to go for a semen analysis so we had to abstain sinxe Friday. Last time we bded was on cd10. If I Oed on cd12, our timing would be perfect. If not, then I think we might have missed my eggie. Either way, I'll have a short cycle and can try again next month if no BFP.

On a side note, can we talk about the O pains? Man they were terrible! Lasted about 4 days leading to O

Hi!! I'm trying soy isoflavones this cycle so I'd love to join/share with you, Although my cycle is just starting (cd2) so I'm beginning my soy either tomorrow or Saturday. Any advice or feedback on the experience? Thanks x

Hey @Lauravsboys. I'm on my first cycle of soy. And for the first time in my life I felt ovulation. I felt it coming from cd8 and Oed cf 14. I had brown spotting on cd14 that only lightly colored my panty liner. Sorry, tmi. But soy def gave me a strong O.

Like my precious posts says, I did cd3-7. Our bd was however not good. Heck I didn't even think soy will do much. Now my temp keep rising but I'm sure I didn't catch the 🥚😔. So if BFN this cycle, I'm def trying it again next cycle because I know it would be due to the soy but our imperfect timing. I would really want to see how it works for you. Crossing my fingers for a first cycle success.

One thing I would like to add though is preseed or any other ttc lubricant. If I don't get caught this month, it will def be part of my package. I barely had any tell tale ewcm signaling O coming. Just terrible cramps and twinges.

So glad to have another buddy 🤗

So many typos😱
It's previous.
And it's 'wouldn't be due to the soy'

Thank you so much for sharing your advice. Can I ask you a question about the dosage you chose; was there a reason you went with different each day? And did you take them all at once or did you spread through the day? (Like morning, noon, night). I've read a couple of articles but nothing gave me that kind of specific information. Thanks in advance x

Hey TTCfor9M, just catching up with this thread. That's great news that the soy seems to have worked for you! A CD14 ovulation would be ideal really, the 'typical' day for ovulation apparently. Sorry if you missed it this month, but great that you had such good results. I hope you get to catch it next month!

Hey @Lauravsboys! I had stalked several soy threads. For both success stories and possible side effects. All the women seem to have started with a low dosage to allow their bodies an adjustment time. Then raised the dosage as their days progressed. I've heard it works like clomid so they up the dose. Some women, mostly those that already O on their own, only used a low dosage throughout in fear of messing things up. This was not the case for me. I knew my body needed all the help it could get. Also there are a few threads that have copied and pasted the effect of start dates for the soy. Not sure you've seen them. But it basically tells you what each start up date entails. eg. 1-5 more eggs, not so strong O as compared to 5-9 single egg, very mature but could delay O. There are even posts that suggest that women took on specific days to sway twins! ☺️🤭

Sorry for the essays, I try to put in as much info as I can.

@Patienceisnotmyvirtue, hey there ! Thanks for checking in. Yes I'm glad it worked out that way. Truly really flag. TMI: checkedg cervix position and it's closed ans high. Proving I O. I'm low key praying one swimmer was strong enough but not holding my breath this cycle. Next cycle, I'm going all in. Totally! 😂 Where are you with your cycle? Have you decided if you're def trying soy?

Okay so I'm freaking out ladies. My temp read 36.4 today. Which is below my coverline. According to me, I'm 5dpo. According to FF, I'm 7dpo. But truly I feel like I'm 5dpo. Why the drop ? It's was 36.7 yesterday so the drop is very noticeable. But ff didn't change a thing. If AF comes tomorrow I'll just cry. 😭 Has this happened to any of you?

Update once again. Lol I feel like this is my personal diary or something 😂. So I've been having terrible cramps for the pas 4 hours or so. Cramps I'm not imagining because I can feel them. Almost like a burning sensation on my lower back. Than it spreads towards both ends. It's terrible 😩. I know the soy did this. I often don't have cramps until AF is due. This is one aspect of the soy I can do without. 😩

Then*😩 please forgive the typos ladies 😣

@TTCfor9M thank you so much for your detailed reply. I hope your cramps have improved and you're not getting AF yet. Please keep me updated, I'm rooting for you x x

Sorry to hear about the cramping, that doesn't sounds nice at all!

Not sure about the temp drop - I know it's really hard but if you can try not to worry too much. If the overall trend is correct and AF isn't here, you're still in the game. A few more days and you'll probably know more about what's going on.

I'm not sure now that I will try the soy. I've been using myo-inositol for the last couple of months and wasn't sure it was working, hence thinking I might add soy. However, this month for the first time in ages I seem to have ovulated around a normal time in my cycle! I'm also 7DPO. So as long as it's not a one off I'll probably just stick with my current supplements.

Hi ladies. Here's an update or something that ressembles one. So my temp rose after O on CD 14. Thereafter from CD 19, a days after high temps, it dropped like I mentioned. I thought maybe it's just a secondary estrogen surge like they call it. But for the past 4 days, it continued to drop to below my pre O temps. FF just removed my crosshairs today saying they can't positively identify O. I thought AF was going to show and I was okay with that. But now I'm just confused and sad. If it's my progesterone that's a problem, that's fine. But why the temp drop doe 4 days and no AF?
Any help or suggestions are welcome. 😭😭

Hey @TTCfor9M, that sounds very weird! I hope you're ok, this sounds pretty stressful.

I don't have any advice to offer I'm afraid but I really feel for you, I know how hard it is when your body decides it's just not going to play ball.

There's no way you can get to see a GP or have a consultation with a fertility specialist where you are?

Hey @Patienceisnotmyvirtue thanks hun! I've booked an appointment with my GP for Friday morning. Hopefully by then things will begin to make sense. Either way, I plan on seeing an Obgyn this month. I just feel super drained. 🤦🏾‍♀️
Anyways, how have you been?