For all of you that have got your BFP's on IVF cycles did you change your lifestyle and diet? Any suggestions?
Did any of you take extra supplements while on BCP? I'm currently taking Prenatals, and COQ10. Someone mentioned Royal Jelly for egg quality. Anything else??
Did you get off caffeine? No alchohol after stims??
Thanks for all the help
Hey baby.wish-- I got pretty serious with diet and health during my stims! I felt I wanted to do everything in my power to make IVF work and that way if it was a BFN I couldn't blame myself. ( this is a pretty long post but I had a lot of details to share and always appreciated info like this when I was going through IVF )
I don't actually know how much of this ACTUALLY helped me but I felt like I was controlling what I could control at least! When I asked my nurse about drinking/ caffeine etc they were pretty laid back about the whole thing so what I did was based on research and my own knowledge of health/wellness.
During BCP I cut to half decaf/ half reg coffee. I used to drink 2-3 cups of reg coffee per day, but during BCP I did 1-2 cups of half caf. It slowly weaned me off coffee as I knew I was going to totally cut it out during stims. During stims, no coffee at ALL! My nurse said a cup or two was okay but I had read conflicting reports that caffeine can cut down on chances of implantation so I QUIT!
Also during BCP I weaned down a LOT on alcohol ( specifically wine! ). I allowed myself a glass here or there ( weekends ONLY ) and specifically remember my last HURRAH the final day of BCP where I had three glasses of wine.
All during stims I had no alcohol AT ALL. I then had egg retrieval on a Monday and went out to dinner with DH that Thursday ( two nights before my transfer! ) and had two glasses of wine! I was so stressed and we both figured--there weren't anymore eggs actually "in" there so go for it. I actually think it relaxed me!! Plus I hadnt had wine in a while so it was a nice treat before transfer. AND, I got my BFP so I guess it worked for us!
During BCP and throughout stims I made super healthy fruit smoothies every morning....they were packed with yogurt, fresh berries, oatmeal, and flax seed and delivered all the nutrients I read that you should eat during that time. Once I totally cut out coffee during stims I drank these smoothies in their place and honestly didn't miss it too much. These smoothies made me feel really, really good!
I also ate super balanced meals and tried to up my protein intake( from BCP through the 2ww ). I ate a healthy, vitamin packed salad almost everyday with spinach, tons of veggies, and two hardboiled eggs. I heard eggs help increase egg quality--not sure if it was true but ALL mine retrieved were viable! I also tried to limit sugar ( no real basis for that, just thought it was healthier ) and drank at least one glass of milk every day.
AND when I woke up every morning I gulped 2 huge glasses of room temp water and then kept my h20 intake very high throughout the day. I read a lot of research that advocated for high volumes of water and read a few things for water first thing in the morning. I will never know if all of this was what helped me get my BCP but it gave my something to focus on through the process and to be honest I felt SUPER fit and healthy.
Also, after each stim shot every night I went into the would-be-baby room and did some light yoga and meditation for about 15 minutes. It was very calming and the stretching made me feel good as you have to cut down on cardio when going through stims.
If you have any other questions please let me know!!! I will never put money on the fact that this all helped me get my BFP but it certainly didn't hurt and it got me ready to begin my pregnancy in a healthy way because I was already eating how I should!
I actually don't know yet how many I had, the nurse didn't give me a # but from the screen it appeared to be 3-4 on each side (to my untrained eyes!). They were all 6mm or under. I will keep you posted and appreciate the feedback. From what I've seen by searching online, this US is pretty early and a lot can change in a week.
, but chances are its still the hcg shot. I'm 9dp5dt but I took a 2500iu Novarel shot 2dp5dt (last Wed) and my 5000iu trigger shot was Monday, July 8. So I'm not getting my hopes up yet.
) I did see several reviews about false positives with that test, though, which makes me nervous. It sounds like their lines were fairly thin though, and mine seems a little thicker. I'm so hopeful that this is my real bfp!
