I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried that in the next three-month-wait my fertility might fall off the cliff.
In October I will be 37, officially beyond the plus/minus one standard deviation from 35. The short end of the fertility baton will be handed off to me and I'm going to make the best run I can with it. There is absolutely no reason to believe anything is wrong, but there is no real reason to believe that this will be a "slam dunk" either.
That said, I am prepared, in consultation with Speedy, to pull out all the stops when I return from Ghana and do what we have to do to make this baby-makin' thing actually happen for real. No more delays.
In preparation for this full-on-get-a-baby attack plan, I have questions:
-vitamins: which ones, how much, how often (and do they ALL make you crazy constipated, or is that just me?)
-accupuncture: yes? no? why, why not? I'm inclined to believe that, like yoga and meditation, it can't hurt, but I don't really actually believe that it could help much, either.
-caffeine. Give it to me straight here. I hate life without coffee. Hate it. Hate it even more on decaf... I'd rather drink paint. But you know, when should I schedule the last day worth living before giving it up?
-things to get done now. Like dental work. What else?
-MOST IMPORTANT: I am doing injectibles (don't know which ones). I know some of the side effects, but hit me with it-- what have you found? How many of you have done injectibles? How many cycles did you do them? What happened? I have searched blogs high and low for stats with some success, but I am trying to get a real sense of how long people do them, what are the worst side effects? What do I have to watch out for?
Thanks for your thoughts. Sorry I've been a boring/slacker blogger lately.
Vitamins_ yes,they are important and some RE's give a script during the consult. If too pricey I recommend Expectra OTC prenates.
ReplyDeleteAcupuncture_Great idea! helps with the stress of TTC and EVERYDAY living,which has to help the body function properly and on schedule. Plus if he/she is already familiar with TTC technique they'll pin you for what's needed at that particular juncture in the process. There is a queer chick in the Slope that was recommended to me with the added bonus that she is "intuitive" as well. *My therapist is also and it helps tremendously.
Caffine_ and the ADD/ADHT child is all I can imagine.
I took Rainbow Light prenatal Ones until my morning sicnkess made it impossible for me to swallow pills. Got them at Tar-jay for about $10 a bottle for 50 pills. They had probiotics and stuff in them to help with any digestive upset. They are a bit on the large size but that wasn't an issue for me.
ReplyDeleteAfter the morning sickness got me I had more success with a chewable or gummy multivitamin and an extra folic acid tablet.
No advice on injectables or accupuncture, but yes, get your dental work done now.
And remember, 37 year olds get pregnant all the time.
1. i cheat and take a flintstone chewable! :) the smell of the grown-up ones make me gag!
ReplyDelete2. my doc said its a good idea, but he didnt push the issue. i never did it because of the additional cost and additional needles.
3. caffeine! (how i miss thee!) i never stopped drinking it until the day of insem/ET. giving it up for the 2ww/9mo is bad enough, no need to torture yourself in advance. i never found any info that said it was necessary to quit during the first half of your cycle, so i didnt. (and i always enjoyed a good caffeine binge after getting a bfn)
4. dental work is a good idea. and lots of caffeine (see answer to 3 above!)
5. my RE recommended only 2, or 3 at the most, cycles with injectibles. i think my partner and i both found the side effects from the injectibles less annoying than those from clomid.
good luck!
I hate the age stuff - like anything will actually happen as soon as you turn X age. But, of course, it's always the fear. I hate that!
ReplyDeleteI don't have much advice for you except to say that we lovvvvve acupuncture. I don't think it's a silver bullet, by any means. But one major benefit is that it's very relaxing which can be a major plus when you're ttc. I do think it helps with fertility too, even though we're bad examples since we're not pregnant yet.
We gave up coffee before starting and have since gone back to part time drinkers. Fern tries to avoid it leading up to ovulation and in the TWW (which I guess is kind of a lot of the time). Caffeine restricts blood flow which your uterus needs to do its baby thing. That said, I'm definitely over feeling like an occasional cup of coffee is going to ruin everything.
I'm excited for your post-trip get-baby attack!!
Ok...on the age thing, I can't imagine that 3 months will make a huge difference. You'll probably have a great time on your vacation, it will give you a chance to truly unwind, and you'll be in a much better place to start TTC.
ReplyDeleteAcupuncture is nice, I tried it for a while. But after about 3 cycles with acupuncture and no pregnancy I have officially put it on the can't hurt, might help list. If you can afford it and you can find a place you like, why not give it a shot.
Coffee...god I miss coffee. I slowly phased it out in the weeks leading up to my first IUI. It was hard. I was tired and cranky. I cut it out entirely because I've heard that it can decrease your chances of conception. But then again, I haven't gotten pregnant yet, so I don't know if cutting the coffee out has really helped. I'm not letting myself go back to coffee because it was too hard to stop the first time. I know I don't want to drink it while I'm pregnant because I've also heard it can increas your risk for m/c.
Side effects...I'm very lucky in this category. I have no problems with the store brand prenatal vitamins. The only side effect I had with the injectables is that my cycles were short when I took a higher dose.
And I second what Nutella said- 37 year olds get pregnant all the time.
I've had tremendous luck with the T.rader J.oe's vitamins - I really can't say enough good things about them. I've heard that they're manufactured by the same company that makes the Rainbow Light ones (which I think is correct, because the ingredient list is suspiciously the same). The first few days I was on them, the ol' digestive tract wasn't too happy, but I stuck with it and things eventually evened out. I also take fish oil, which besides having omega 3s, is also supposed to help get things moving in there. I don't think M and I can spring for acupuncture, but I think the main pro acupuncture has going for it scientifically is that it's good for relaxation. Probably anything you can do that helps relieve stress is a good thing, whether it's acupuncture, meditation, long walks, etc. I feel you on the caffeine issue, and I don't think there's any reason to quit until you actually start your IUIs. I know you hate decaf, but is there any way that GF can start subbing in part decaf and wean you off slowly? I think you went cold turkey to decaf before, which was probably pretty shocking. If she can wean you off slowly without you knowing, it might be a lot easier this time around. Can't comment on 4 (other than I got a crown recently - I'm a princess now!) or 5. You're going to do this thing, K - let's plan to be knocked up together.
ReplyDeleteCB- HA! GF tried to sneaky partial decaf solution, but I found her out and got VERY cranky about it (maybe because of the caffeine withdrawal, now that I think about it.)
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to have to go cold turkey and bite the bullet, really just jump in with both feet and stick to my guns (oh tortured cliches, how I love thee, all bundled up together like a dandelion bouquet.)
I forgot to mention that we go to a community acupuncture clinic which means that you receive treatment in a community room with others but it's a HELL of a lot cheaper than traditional (and every bit as good, our acupuncturist even specializes in fertility). We pay on a sliding scale from $25-40 depending on what you can afford.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where you are but you might want to see if there's one in your area. This lists some of them (though not all bc our clinic isn't on there):
http://www.communityacupuncturenetwork.org/clinics
Here's my two cents - and all the wisdom in the previous posts I would agree with too
ReplyDelete1. Age - it got me ( i.e. expired eggs) but that doesn't mean it's going to get you! Have you had tests like FSH and estradiol on day three ( sorry if I am being redundant). The best way to look at egg quality is to do IVF but you aren't there yet. Monitored cycles at least you can see what is going on in there ( to some degree)
2. Vitamins:
I take the cheapest store brand ( Equaline) and they are kind of big but don't smell bad. I take them after breakfast and have not had constipation. I just got buy one get one free (2 x 180 for $15.99 so I scored!) I also take a vegetarian DHA by Spectrum - it does not give you the fishy burps like the regular stuff does.
3. accupuncture: I did it, but I quit because it hurt and the woman left the needles in way too long. I didn't get preggers but hey my eggs are old. If it's relaxing do it, if not do something else relaxing. I think the only science on it is that it says it increases your chances with IVF and of course relaxes you.
4. caffeine. I have been drinking really good decaf ( Peets and Starbucks) for a few years now and I like it. I have been drinking caffeinated espresso drinks like lattes over the last year with regular coffee but I find that the buzz does not last long and it's a good thing because the buzz makes me crazy. I really relaxed on all the crazy making healthy stuff when I found out my eggs were scr@w#d. I am still drinking coffee and gearing up for a donor egg cycle. I have not decided what to do about coffee except to wait till much nearer the transfer and figure it out then. One of my co-workers says her two daughters are super conservative with their pregnancy indulging and they have one cup per day. I think that I might try that. I hope that I go off coffee when I am preggers because it costs me a fortune that habit! Esp the lattes!
5. Re -injectibles - I think it really depends how sensitive you are to hormones. I took mega doses of follistim and menopur and felt nothing but the clomid gave me hot flashes and BCPs make me nuts! I think it's best not to do injectibles endlessly - there is some link with cancer - figures as you are pumping your body full of hormones. Some people get horrible headaches on Lupron but I have taken such small doses that I have not had that problem. I don't know the stats on how many you should do but if it's not working and there is no good reason I would think about moving to IVF after a while.
Just my two cents and I am not an expert - but I know my own story and have been around this community for about two years. Good luck and have a great time in Ghana -and don't get malaria!!!