Chinese Accupuncture

[Hope3]

Alison--I had the same hair majorly falling out & scalp so, so itchy all year round but esp bad in winter (so dry). I also had a ton of other issues that I kept chalking up to being out of shape, getting older, not drinking enough water. Turns out they are all related and = low thyroid (hypothyroidism).

About a year and a half ago my primary care dr. had referred me to a derm for the hair issue & at same time to FS. Got in to the FS first and she said maybe it was a thyroid problem (something they check for because it can cause infertility). I went home and looked it up and was floored. All.my.issues.explained.

For some, it's an easy fix, for others not so much. Anyway, just had to get that out there as a possible answer for you. If they are willing to check for it with a blood test, make sure they test: TSH, Free T4, Free T3, Thyroid peroxidase antibody, Thyroglobulin antibody. If they only want to test TSH, tell them that's not accurate enough for everyone and you want to be thorough.

Good luck!!

I wish I'd known about the different elements of thyroid testing when I asked for mine to be done. I have Raynaud's phenomenon, scalp issues & brittle nails despite all the vitamins I take. After googling my symptoms I discovered they are linked to thyroid issues.

When my blood test results came back my GP said everything was fine. On the one hand I'm glad it's ok but it just means that my unexplained infertility is still just that.

 

[Briss]

Hope, thank you! I do think the NHS funding system is out of order and so totally unfair. The UK private clinics are charging disproportionately large fees compared to other European clinics - this should not be happening and I could understand if the quality of service was superior but as far I can gather from the ladies who opted to go abroad the quality is often better abroad. Doing IVF abroad is obviously inconvenient but I feel we can save a lot of money and afford more treatments in Czech republic but let's see how I feel when we actually start our treatment.

I've never been to a Fertility Show, please share your experience. I am always scared I may bump into somebody I know at that place and that would be embarrassing because only my very close friends know we TTC.

I agree with Vonn, thyroid test are important and it's very unhelpful when they just say it's all normal because you are looking for tiny changes like TSH on the higher end of normal while T3/T4 on lower end of normal = potentially underactive thyroid even though on the face of it the results are within norm. e.g. fertility clinics like TSH to be below 2 even though anything up to 4 is considered normal. I know how hard it is to get GP to run these tests, I had to go and pay for mine cos they just would not do it and when my TSH came as 3.7 (yes, it's within norm but it's actually super high and may interfere with fertility) they would not even refer me to an endocrinologist so I had to use my work insurance.

afm, I found myself at a sex health clinic this morning surrounded by "wild youth", last time I went there was about 15 years ago when I had an affair with a black man from Sudan I think he was and interestingly I had no issues back then but now being an "older" and well married and respectable sort of "lady" I am back at that clinic but only this time I do have something!! after 13 years of being with the same guy. this is ridiculous! anyway, after searching down there for ages they finally found some tiny little thing which is causing my symptoms but could not say if it was indeed herpes. they took some samples but cos the thing is really tiny they told me it may not reveal anything so I am still at a loss what is it that I have.

 

[Hope3]

With the herpes testing the trick is to get to the clinic as soon as the sores appear as more of the virus is present to be tested. Otherwise you could be given a false negative despite showing symptoms.

 

[alison29]

That sucks For both of us with the thyroid testing Hope3. Have you ever thought of a natural thyroid booster? I am thinking about it.

 

[Hope3]

You can do that? I'll have to look into it.

 

[Briss]

alison, what is a natural thyroid booster? When I asked the endocrinologist if there was anything I could do to help my thyroid cos I am, obviously at a risk of developing underactive thyroid. he just said there is nothing! I asked about iodine and other supplements but he said it's very dangerous particularly when thyroid is fragile and can tip the scale off balance so no iodine or other thyroid supps for me.

 

[Blythe]

When i went to that fertility retreat they spoke about kelp being a great supplement. i said that my TSH levels were ok but they said ignore the scales they use for what is normal.

Both fiona and the other lady will be at the Fertility show. They said last time it was mostly focused on hard sell IVF with few natural alternatives....

 

[Blythe]

ps - i asked her about caffeine and why its a no no and she said she would blog about it......

maybe ask her about thyroid

 

[Blythe]

Briss - how is the itch....has it got worse or gone?

i am still loving my nutribullet and used it today to make a great curry paste although the turmeric has coloured the plastic now and not sure how to get that out.

 

[Briss]

Hope, that's the thing I went to the sex clinic the next morning after I had that itch but it seems like it was already too late. so strange, the nurse said it will be OK to BD in two days and I did feel like it was getting better but this morning I think it's still there. It's hard to explain it's very minor just a bit of discomfort now and then but I do not think it completely disappeared yet.

How was the fertility show?

Blythe, it's really good that they diagnosed and treated chlamydia quickly it can really mess up fertility if left untreated.

That's a really nice car! It's so funny what you say about that guy, guys can talk, cant they. when they want a woman they will say just about anything. I recall falling for a guy who had a huge white Mercedes and inside it just looked like a space ship to me (I was 20!). He took me to various trendy clubs and I was completely smitten but I was a virgin back then so I did not sleep with him in the end (I was very choosy). The guy went through his money very quickly and when we met again in a year or so he did not have the Mercedes and without it he just did not look the part… I did not even realise that I fell for the car not the guy.

I have a few friends who married guys from Nigeria. I used to go to their parties we would dress up in traditional clothing, wonderful colours but unfortunately the hair pieces would not really work for our hair type. you really need proper curls to hold it all in place. looks beautiful though.

I do not think I've ever tried peanut butter actually, I hate peanuts so the very thought of peanuts and butter together just makes me want to puke.

afm, got my peak this morning. a little disappointed to see early O but I guess it is what it is. also slightly annoyed not to have my usual sex drive this cycle. I know I complain a lot about it but it does help to get through the first half of the cycle, it takes my mind off things that depresses me cos it's so overwhelming I literally cant think of anything else for days before O. This cycle I just did not have that. I was waiting but it did not come. there is a little bit of sex drive but not nearly the amount I usually get. Very strange cos I got my HIGH two days before the PEAK – supposed to show high estrogen but where is the sex drive? Cant decide whether to BD or not. I really think we should but that little thing down there worries me.

I run out of CBFM sticks and was going to buy them in boots but the prices are just shocking! I always order mine from amazon and did not realise the difference. Luckily I had time to get my order just before CD6 so I did not need to buy it on high street.

am due to do another presentation this week, so not ready and totally not my subject so I need to learn a lot. Feeing stressed at the moment, hate public speaking!

 

[alison29]

Briss I have a public. Speaking phobia I hate it! I am a scientist to so public speaking is part of the job a lot..good luck!

 

[alison29]

When i went to that fertility retreat they spoke about kelp being a great supplement. i said that my TSH levels were ok but they said ignore the scales they use for what is normal.

Both fiona and the other lady will be at the Fertility show. They said last time it was mostly focused on hard sell IVF with few natural alternatives....

I think I will try kelp and t 3 booster well see wha my tsh is.

 

[Briss]

It looks like I've reached my limit re weight issue. I've been trying so hard to ignore it and focus on something else, I've been avoiding mirrors and telling myself that my look is not important but I've just reached the point where I can no longer accept it. I've never been this fat, I have no idea how 9 days of stims can make me put on 4-5 kg but it happened (in addition to 5 extra kg I already had). With all the blood loss it seemed like not a good idea to think about the weight issue so I just ate everything I wanted and not surprisingly I did not really lose any weight since the IVF. My wardrobe is limited to one suit and two dresses, I have nothing else that I can wear. I have a couple of skirts but no shirts or tops that would fit. btw that "fat suit" that I bought before IVF does not fit me now… I am on the whole different level of fatness. I no longer recognise any part of my body. I've been trying to persuade myself that it does not matter because I am still considered "average" and that I should not do any diet until my next IVf but the truth is I cant do it, I feel I need to take control. now that the blood issue is resolved I think I should go back to calorie counting. I have a couple of business trips next week so dieting will be problematic but I can try and stick to 800-900 a day for the next 10 days – 2 weeks before I start IVf I may lose 1-2 kg and that would at least be something. I know the main issue is that I cannot sustain my diet unless half of it comes from chocolate but I still think I should go for it. I will try and replace chocolate with raisings as much as I can. I will also be trying to limit coffee to weekends only.

You can tell that I am prepared to do just about anything other than prepare for the presentation… I hate it so much, I can actually deal with public speaking cos I noticed when I know what I want to say I am OK with it and even enjoy it sometimes. The problem is that I have to speak on the topic I know nothing about, so I have to learn it first which I just hate doing, I do not want to do anything unless it brings me closer to pregnancy and wasting time on learning something new about legal matters is just unbearable.

 

[alison29]

I am jealous you can enjoy it sometimes, not me! I would just go for the chocolate. I think raisens have a ton of sugar still and you will still feel deprived whereas with the chocolate you will have something to look forward too. I think I did pretty good this weekend considering I was visiting and at carnival. I ate a ittle bit of dh bloomin onion but picked off the coating. I had only one tea bag each day. Today i am back to splitting it. We rode a some rides and we all got sick (dh didn't ride any). He had a good chuckle about his sensitive family. We were under an umbrella to avoid sun, I was plugging my ears the music was so loud which was makign me sickerat this one ride, and my son was laying down in dh's lap on the ground he was so sick. Fun times!

 

[Blythe]

the fertility meds do take their toll. my body really has taken a battering this year and I'm only just starting to feel strong again and in better control of my eating. The results are starting to show and that feels good. i start my day with Bragg's ACV and fresh lemon juice and will try and up that to 2 x per day. I have also brought some ankle weights and i am wearing them around the house...every little helps!

Briss - you have found something that works for you in order to loose weight so just stick with it. It might not be the recommended way but it works and carrying excess weight causes more stress on the body than [half] living on chocolate for a few weeks. When are you looking at starting the IVF cycle?

i have to say this cycle is good for me...i got a strong positive on OPK along with [some] EWCM and huge increase in sex drive all at the same time. My sex drive is never this strong and i have been thoroughly enjoying it...reminiscing about things i shouldn't be reminiscing about and feeling quite naughty


Alison - i also hate public speaking....it simply terrifies me. Completely irrational but something i really struggle to change despite having worked on it over the years.

 

[Briss]

alison, sounds like you had good time, it's great to let go sometimes. It was my DH's birthday as well and we had quite a bit of wine so I was out of it the entire weekend, that's when I feel old when it takes days to recover from alcohol even if you only had half bottle of good quality red wine. Hating my presentation and feel stressed about it. last time I tried reading my notes but it was a disaster because you need to be flexible during the presentation and I could not cos I was relying on my notes too much and it showed (the only good outcome of this disaster was the fact I was not invited to do any more presentations for about a year). so this time I am trying to learn this stuff but it takes so much effort and I have to keep forcing myself because I have zero interest, my only motivation is the fear of looking stupid tomorrow and embarrassing myself.

Blythe, I am so glad you are noticing positive changes. Great news on your cycle I am so hoping it will finally work for you. It does make it all better when you have your sex drive, isn't it? I had almost none this cycle and interestingly last year it was quite similar the second cycle after my failed IVF I did not have much sex drive either. Not sure what's it all about. I did not know you start your day with vinegar and lemon juice – quite aggressive on the stomach? I also have some ankle weights at home, should really be wearing them as well. I may start doing some exercise now, I do not feel as fragile.

I started my calorie counting yesterday and did my first weigh in today – truly depressing 58.3 kg! I was 59 on EC and below 55 before I started IVF. I need to be 50-51 to be back at my normal weight and feel happy about my body. A very long way to go. I am doing OK during the day but evenings are hard, I just keep thinking about food all the time. got myself tonnes of celery sticks and cucumbers to get me through the evenings.

 

[alison29]

I have read to drink lemon water first thing in the morning too it alkalizes the body and is best on empty stomach. Also that ACV has great benefits a friend of mine at work was mixing hers with a bit apple juice and said it didn't taste that bad.
Blythe did you ditch the caffeine yet? I am feeling pretty sluggish this morning but it may just be psychosomatic I am down to one third tea bag. I mix one third a cup into a decaf cup. I know about decaf's down falls maybe some day I will make something totally healthy but one thing at a time.

 

[Briss]

alison, I know that lemon water is super healthy but I think it also depends on your stomach. I have gastritis so cannot even imagine the pain I will get if I drink lemon water on an empty stomach leaving alone vinegar. but if your stomach can take it it's great. I am sticking to mate, nettles and other herbal drinks for alkalinisation. Could not make it without coffee this morning, will try again tomorrow.

 

[scarlettw]

Hi, is anyone doing the chinese acupunture? I tried it and the man told me my womb was too cold. Don't know what that means but afterward I felt great. And this was 2 days before I ovulated. currently 6 dpo. I'm hoping something worked!!

 

[alison29]

I am not doing accupuncture right now but it has worked for me in the past.

Briss: that is funny that coffee tears me up gives me reflux but I can drink dilute vinegar and lemon water. Whatever works. Since you body does not reject coffee maybe it is not that bad for you. I think it just matters that you alkalize.