Did you have diet drinks while TTC and conceive successfully?

[alakeowjriesmsgsi]

I’m really sorry if I come across stupid here

I’m quite young (under 25 but just over 20) and trying for my first ever child - never been pregnant before

We’re on month 5 of TTC which has upset me mainly as many people my age I know got pregnant either accidentally or quite quickly

This has led to me analysing what I’m doing and wondering if I’m doing something that’s hindering us

The only things I could pick at was that I was 2lbs in the overweight range - I lost them and now I am in a ‘healthy’ weight range and I drink 1x can of Pepsi max a day

I didn’t think it was an issue but reading online I’ve seen articles of people saying it can affect eggs etc and I’m really worried that this may be the problem I’ve caused?

I plan on cutting it out fully but for some reassurance so I don’t beat myself up and keep feeling guilty - did you drink diet drinks while TTC and everything went okay witb conceiving?

Sorry. I just keep beating myself up and feel so disappointed that I may have caused this problem for us

I only ever drink diet drinks and have done before, during and after pregnancy. I have 2 children.

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet!

Five months is not very long, I don’t think your diet pepsi is the issue.
Diet drinks are terrible things though, and I say this as someone who eats far too many sweets ! Have a can of normal pop occasionally, and stop drinking diet drinks.
2lb overweight is also not an issue. Try and not worry about conceiving and take the pressure off, you are very, very young, there is no urgency. You have plenty of time. If no joy after a year then is the time to have a chat with your GP.
Good luck !

Honestly doctor google can turn pretty much anything into a scare story! To reassure you, I drank at least 2-3 glasses of diet soft drinks when ttc and had no problems. Once you’re actually pregnant you need to be a bit careful about caffeine levels but 1 can a day should be fine. I also found that in the first trimester I couldn’t stomach any artificial sweeteners so ditched the fizzy pop anyway.

I expect if diet drinks do affect fertility it’s if you’re drinking a lot, I can’t imagine a can a day would make any difference really. Good luck with ttc - remember it can take up to a year for couples with no fertility issues to conceive. Are you tracking cycles etc?

Yes

Thank you for the messages so far! I think I do need to relax more. Just with my age and all friends my age telling me they conceived first/second try it’s made me put more pressure on myself and question why I’m this young and not conceiving first or second time

Thank you for the reassurance too. I’ve been beating myself up about this.

@Aozora13 yes I am! I know my cycle quite well at the moment. First 2 cycles I had badly irregular periods (2 weeks late) but the past 3 months they seem to have regulated with peak days occurring on the same cycle day and periods right on time

Thank you again. I don’t mean to whine as I know some people take longer and it may be a case of it takes us up to a year. Just hard when it’s something you want so much

5 months is not very long at all and you are young. Try to relax (I know that’s easier said than done.)
I personally did cut out everything that I knew was suspected of causing infertility, such as fluoride toothpaste and artificial additives. Also some fats such as the ones in Pringles which the body can’t break down. Natural fats and sugars are ok in moderation. I am overweight and my midwives haven’t had any issue with that at all, in fact they said they see more underweight related infertility issues. Eat healthy and give it time. Good luck OP.

OP, I’m a Diet Coke addict and currently pregnant with no3.
Feel free to PM me if you’d like my TTC tips 😊

I was drinking coke everyday and a couple of gins at the weekends.

It’s not good for your body, but it wouldn’t make such a serious impact on your fertility.

Try to remember the healthiest of fertile couples can take up to a year to conceive, & that’s it’s completely normal, hence why doctors don’t even think of sending you for any tests until after then.

Ttc sucks, & there was no part of it my partner and I found fun.

Big hugs

Surely there was part of it you found fun? @Sansa87 ? I was ttc for 10 years. It sucks. There were tears and heartache... but keep love and fun at the centre. Don’t let it become a chore op.

I was TTC for about a year and a half. I drank diet drinks and the month I actually conceived quite a bit of wine, whoops! The best thing you can do is to make sure you are having regular sex on the lead up to and past your fertile window. We would try to have sex every other day as you don’t know exactly when you’ll ovulate. It’s easy to say and impossible to do but try not to obsess over every detail. It was the month we didn’t really think about it due to other distractions that I actually fell out pregnant, hence the wine! Good luck OP!

@LittleTiger007 nope, hated it 😂 we made the mistake of OPKs and being almost militant with timing. We fell pregnant both times straight away (first ended in mmc) but it wasn’t enjoyable sex, it was a chore.

Absolutely recommend to everyone to remember sex is fun and not be like us 😅

People often like to brag that they conceive quickly, but for an awful lot of people it takes longer. I conceived on month 24, sometimes it just takes longer. See your GP if you haven't conceived after 12 months.

Bless you @Sansa87! 😂

OP not to be patronising but you're very, very young.

Is everything in your situation as you would want it to be? Are you and your partner living together, are you both working? I think stress can be one of the biggest issues with ttc - a lot of the time that stress is to do with conceiving, but I think if you're just over twenty its unusual to be established enough to want to have a child so there may be more external stressors you can control.

You have loads of time - I think there will be women on here literally twice your age trying and succeeding in having a baby - and if you're still not successful after a year, your GP can refer you and your partner for tests and know that you should still have enough time to have all the children you would want. But for now, I wouldn't obsess so much about thinks like Diet Coke with v tenuous links to fertility but I'd focus on what you can do to make sure you feel mentally ready and to try and ensure you're as relaxed and happy as you can be. Its really hard at the moment as its not really possible to plan holidays etc but finding something to focus on outside ttc is good for wellbeing and can actually help.

Also: I'd really recommend a book called Taking charge of your fertility and temping for getting a handle on what's going on with your body. I found both much more useful that all the ovulation sticks etc.

If I drink pop it's usually diet/sugar free. Tbh nothing in my diet or carrying extra fat has ever impacted on conception.
It's common to take a while to conceive, you are not even close to length of time to have a concern really. Be patient and enjoy ttc.
If you search the web enough you'll find advise against pretty much everything and it's just codswallop so pay less attention.

@namechangemarch21 hi, thank you for your concern! We’re very prepared for TTC and a baby. We know it might add stress, we’ve been together a long time and know eachother very well and know we get through this together and communication is key

We have our own home (mortgage) and both have great secure jobs at our age. We’re very lucky. When we were in our teens we didn’t think we’d have kids until we were mid/late 20s but now is a time we’ve felt secure and we didn’t expect to be in the great position we’re in now

Thank you thought. I do reassure myself I’m very young and have time I think because I can’t wait to be a mum and I want a big family that I worry if there is issues that’d stop that.

I drink tons if diet coke. First child took just one month to conceive, second child took ten months.

That's great, and congratulations: getting a mortgage so young is a huge achievement.

I think for some people conceiving can just take a bit longer. It took us six months (sadly miscarriage) nine months (wonderful toddler) and six months (currently 4 weeks pregnant). Nothing wrong, did everything 'right' - I was probably ten years older than you when we first started ttc but I think the information about age can be misleading. A lot of people think its like a declining scale and if you start trying at 20 you'll get pregnant in one month, in 30 it might take two, once you're 35 it'll take a year or you'll have left it too late.

In reality, there are either issues or there aren't. If you're younger, there's less chance of there being issues, but even if everything is working perfectly and you try and the right time its still only a 25% chance each cycle. I'd really recommend temping, and yoga (to relax you mostly) and trying to not obsess about it but its quite hypocritical because I know its hard. But I wouldn't be removing simple pleasures like Diet Coke from your life at the point you're at now, I'd be focusing on bringing more pleasures in to distract me and enjoy. life as much as you can while you're waiting.

There is absolutely no way being 2 lbs overweight will make the slightest difference to fertility, or really your moderate intake of diet drinks either.

You likely don’t have a problem, it is just a numbers game and will happen any day now. If it doesn’t, in time you can ask for investigations, but remember if it does come to that it could just as well be your partner that has an issue.

Thank you for all of your responses

I think after reading the responses I feel slightly better and less guilty but also realised I maybe need to chill the f**k out.

It’s out of my control which is scary but I just need to have faith it will happen for us. And maybe stop nit picking tiny things like the 1x can of Pepsi max a day (the only other drink I have is water)

Thank you everyone again