Chinese Accupuncture

[Briss]

Juniperjules, great to have you back! I really hope your TTC journey will be a short one. You know what they say about getting pregnant quicker when you have new relationship and feelings are running high. I so hope this will do the trick for you. I am happy to see that you found your man, you deserved it! although I am sorry to see your long term relationship broke down but your ex was just so unreliable and unsupportive and it turned out there was a reason for this so you are better off without him. I am happy it all worked out for you but you have been through so much you deserve a break!

nobump, i feel for you, I would not be able to be around babies now. it's slightly easier after I had ET and felt hopeful but definitely not now. Theoretically I can give up on DH if it comes to it however much it pains me but I will carry on TTC until I have my healthy beautiful baby

Blythe, your friend sounds horrible, I admire your strength though but I'd stay away from her, she brings too much negativity. you are such a wonderful and caring person with so much wisdom and knowledge to share, she should be lucky to "end up like you"

afm, another BFN with FRER, not a sniff of a line so this is over. sad but hopeful - we had a good egg and went all the way to ET, it would have been better if we could have PICSI but here you are.

2014 - another year of TTC, we tried DH's hormonal treatment - fail; high stim IVF - epic fail; natural ICSI - fail; we travelled a lot this year; my weight has gone up but my career is going down. our relationship with DH are much better than before so here is something positive. I know if you look at my entire TTC history - it's just depressing but somehow I feel fertile and firmly believe in my body. I feel we just need to get lucky with a single healthy sperm and my egg and my body will take care of the rest.

2015 - IMSI, Europe IVF travelling; I will carry on with Munich at least until we have had IMSI all the way to ET and if we are not successful we will probably take a couple of months break so I could lose that IVF weight and go on holiday somewhere exotic and then we carry on with natural IMSI, maybe even at Gennet. I am reading about this Czech clinic and like it actually so we may move on there after Munich. I decided against Dovkav's clinic for the time being cos they do not offer IMSI and I feel this is very important for us. I have to say at the moment I feel tired even thinking about another trip abroad for EC/ET but I will make myself feeling positive and optimistic about it before the end of the day.

as for today, I did not go to work (there were years when I was the last person to leave the office (and we have around 1000 people in the office!) on both Christmas and New Year's eve and was barely managing to get home before midnight but not this year!), I am going to take care of myself - will do my hair, take care of my skin etc etc, will make a few lovely dishes and set a nice table for the evening.

I spent 4 hours in the House of Fraisers last night looking for an evening dress that would fit and make me look slim. I tried every dress and they were horrific, size 10 would not fit, size 12 makes me look even fatter and then I found one at L.K Bennet - so relieved! https://www.lkbennett.com/Clothing/...tted-Dress/p/DRDETROITPOLYESTERMIXBlueSnorkel I know it may not look like much but trust me it's beautiful and it completely re-shapes my figure like I have not put all this weight and still look almost like my old self. It cleverly covers all the nasty bits and I fit into size 8!! I do not know how they make these dresses but these guys are just amazing, it's like wearing shaping underwear only in a form of a dress.

Happy New Year, ladies! 2015 will be the year for us

 

[Blythe]

briss - sorry that this cycle did not work. it is just a matter of time now and you now know what works...ie no drugs and im sure imsi will bring you your baby. like you i wish i had never bothered with ivf in the uk but sometimes we just have to exhaust every possible option to bring us to the place we are.

you are right about my friend...i am going to keep my distance and i cannot bear to hear her grubling about her pregnancy symptoms or how she will manage with 2 small children.

i adore that dress.....so flattering. love the colour and cut aroud the neck. i lost quite a bit of weight before xmas due to illness but it is all back on so i just need to get back into my workouts and eating kale salads!!

happy new year to you lovely ladies.

 

[nobump]

Briss love the dress!

Wishing everyone a fab 2015!

 

[Briss]

ladies, I hope everyone had a fab time on new year's eve.

I need your advice. I stopped my progesterone and am waiting for AF so we can start our next cycle. I am also about to write to the Munich clinic. I can't seem to get over the whole putting on weight situation. I upsets me virtually every minute. it's like I suddenly got a different body and can recognise no part of my old self. I am so tempted to start dieting again but I stop myself. after all it's all vanity and it makes no difference to my fertility actually some fat may even be good for fertility (so I tell myself but I do not really believe it). we will carry on with natural IVF going forward on monthly basis but obviously it's not necessarily every month that they will be able to get my egg or fertilise it so I am thinking more and more strongly that I may want to diet to get my body back in the meantime. but then I think I might be damaging my egg quality by depriving it from important nutrients like fruit and nuts? I will be taking my vitamins and fish oil but I do need to stay within 900-1000 calorie limit otherwise it's no use. I know it seems unreasonable but I just find it so hard to accept how I look after that last stim IVF. it creates a lot of negativity. what shall I do?

 

[nobump]

Had good new years. 2 night break in a hotel. But bathroom had lots of mirrors! Briss I can relate I don't like how much weight I have put on. Need to look at doing more ans eating more sensible. Can you look at doing more exercise and eating maybe 1200/1500 calories? A friend has took up in line skating thinking of doing that. Need to find a local pool to go swimming. We're booking a holiday for end of feb want to be able to feel good in summer clothes.

I think if you keep your vitamins up you should be ok.

Xxxx

 

[Briss]

nobump, thanks! I do not think i have more than 1500 calories a day anyway. I am petite so I do not really need much. I had to go as low as 700 a day to really lose weight, otherwise I am just torturing myself for nothing. I even noticed the pattern: I start with losing weight quickly and then 2-4 days into the diet it stops and it may take 1-2 or even more weeks and my weight just would not move, sometimes it can even start climbing back up again, the important thing is to stick at it and carry on with 700-800 calories cos eventually I break through and start gradually losing weight by little bit every day and from then on it's just a matter of time. the whole thing should take around 2 months. it would make me happy to go back to my weight but I am just so scared this can affect egg quality. going through IVF and not giving it your best seems unreasonable. that's why i just can't make up my mind. I was showing my New Zealand pictures and people thought it was many years ago!! they could not believe that I looked so different only a few months ago

 

[Juniperjules]

Thanks girls for the warm welcome back! Although I know you'd rather not need to be in here for obvious reasons, it's really lovely seeing familiar folk in here!

So I'm now waiting to see wot my body is going to do. I stopped the pill 2 weeks ago, & according to my 'iperiod' app which I've used for years to track periods, my period 'should' be here tomoro.. That's purely based on all the info from before feb 2014 when I started the pill. I've only been taking the pill less than a year so am really really hoping my cycle will bounce right back into it's normal routine. I missed a pill 2 months ago & ended up having my own natural cycle break thru after that (coincidentally it was at a time when I would have had a period had I not been on the pill)... So am hoping that's a good sign that my body will go back to normal quickly.

I feel some slight pangs of panic at the idea that it might not start in the next few days bcos I'm so nervous about being 40 now & the clock ticking away.. But I'll try & remain calm & see wot happens!

Briss, have you tried Dr Michael Moseleys 5:2 way of eating. Basically 2 days a week you 'fast' & only have up to 500 calls on those days. On the other 5 days you can eat normally -obviously trying to eat healthy options but with no real restrictions. When u eat this way you loose approx half a kilogram a week. Slow steady loss. I absolutely love it. When I read the book & watched the doco I was sold, bcos it's not just about weight loss, he explains how it works and why it's so amazing for your body & has so many health benefits...

.......................................
From an article with Dr Moseley:
HOW DOES IT WORK?

"One of the main things that intermittent fasting seems to do is switch on repair genes — genes whose job it is to keep the various bits of your body in good shape. The reason this happens is not fully understood; however, the evolutionary argument goes something like this. As long as we have plenty of food, our bodies remain in constant ‘go-go’ mode; it is like driving a car with your foot constantly on the accelerator.

When you fast, the body’s initial reaction is one of shock. Signals go to the brain reminding you that you are hungry, urging you to find something to eat. But you resist. The body decides there must be a famine, so there is little point wasting energy on growth: instead, it gets cracking on some of the urgent maintenance tasks that it might have been putting off.

As part of this repair process, the body breaks down and recycles old and tired cells (in a process called autophagy or ‘self eat’) getting rid of damaged or ageing parts to keep everything else in good working order.

Fasting, it seems, also sparks the production of new cells. Recently, Professor Valter Longo of the University of Southern California published a study showing, for the first time, that fasting can switch on stem cells and regenerate the immune system."
..............................................

You probably already know about the 5:2. But I'm just such a huge fan for the following reasons:

1. Because it works to lose weight- I lost 3kg just prior to a 7wk European holiday this year& felt great.
2. You can eat normally (but healthy) 5 days a week & not feel like ur on a diet! You can still have a couple of nites where u have a glass of wine or some chocolate. U don't feel deprived.. Let's face it, food is great! It's a huge part of our lives so we should be able to enjoy it!
3. when I fast I feel very empowered and in control. For me it definitely has some psychological benefits. I drink sparkling water all day & keep very well hydrated (& full!), I have a coffee to start the day, maybe some porridge or a banana, then at dinner a salad with some protein (egg, chicken, fish). Mentally I feel like I'm exercising some discipline- which sometimes I feel is a little, (but not a lot) out of control when it comes to food. And physically I feel fantastic after a fast day. I feel clean & light. The first few weeks are the hardest, but after that I've found it gets easier & pretty straightforward
4. I love the idea that by fasting I allow my body to start repairing itself.. I love the idea of all those little macrophages racing around cleaning up all the debris & nasties in my body & cell repair taking place. Particularly now, at 40yrs of age, and TTC, I want as much help as I can get to ensure my body is functioning the way nature intended it to!

So anyway.. Rant over! : ) as u can tell I'm a big fan of the 5:2. It works for me. Sorry for the looooong post!

 

[Briss]

Juniperjules, How I missed your long posts!! thank you for taking the time to set it all out. I will definitely look into the 5:2. it actually may work while TTC. How long did it take you to lose 3 kg? Do you have any calorie limit for the 5 days when you eat normally? I stepped on the scale this morning and was very upset to see my weight climbed to 58.7 so basically it's not just IVF weight here I have put on some more in the last month. I need to lose ideally 9 kg but even 7 would be fantastic progress.

AF is still not here but I think I know what the mystery is - some of my progesterone pills are still inside, sorry TMI we BD and a lot of it was there, why did it not absorb? I put the last one on Thursday, what's it still doing there? these are new progesterone pills I got in Czech republic. I so hate it when medication screws my cycle. I really want to move on.

 

[nobump]

Briss think I need to follow your lead... I am petite as well and carrying to much... have packed all the xmas chocs away... will try to only have some when AF is here. Can usually do without chocs most days... bought some nice food yesterday will try n eat more healthy from now on had lost urge to cook for myself during the week when DH is back shift... may look at 5:2 diet as well... 7 weeks to holiday. .. but will need to fast mid week would be to much to miss out when with DH at weekends.

Think green tea is supposed to help as well may start drinking that again..

I only took the progesterone persaries for a few days so can't really advise.... but think I got AF on time after failed cycle.

JJ look forward to hearing more from you good luck. Your vacation sounds fab 7 weeks!

Xxxx

 

[Briss]

I think I am going to try this 5:2 thing from tomorrow. I calculated that I need to eat not more than 1500 calories on non-fasting day - https://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/ I wonder if 500 on fasting days is accurate for me. he says it should be 1/4 of total calorie intake but this assumes you take 2000 which is too much for me, I only take 1500 so i guess on fasting day I should do around 375 calories?

also still can't figure out if 2 fasting days should be in a row or can have non fasting days in between? I'd rather have monday-tuesday as fasting days and get it over with for the week.

I am going to resume my aerobics for the first week of my cycle except for the heavy AF days.

hating that Czech progesterone, ladies on Reprofit thread explained that it's delaying AF and sometimes takes ages for it to come

 

[Vonn]

Hi everyone! I truly hope that 2015 lands every one of us on !

I took a break from b&b over the last couple weeks, at least from posting. Still had to see how folks fared.

Briss, so disappointed for you that the IVF didn't work. I hope Munich has a little magic for you and DH. Glad you found a diet that allows you to continue TTC. Sometimes for me it feels like the ultimate trade-off--either living life or TTC--like they can't both happen at the same time.

We did our first IUI this month. I hope it is just what we need, but since the problem is not DH's sperm, I'm not 100% convinced it will help. My insurance covers 6 IUI's per confirmed pregnancy, so I figure why not try it, can't hurt to get the spermies closer to egg. We didn't accompany it with any clomid, femara, etc., because the dr I have been seeing wasn't in favor.

I'd prefer to have a reproductive endocrinologist overseeing all of this, so we have an appointment at a new place on January 16. I hope we don't need it, but I'm glad to have it.

Even as recently as a couple months ago, I optimistically believed DH and I would not be a couple in need of IVF or other serious medical intervention. I still believe we'll get a baby somehow, but I am starting to resign myself to the more realistic stance that when we do, it will be one expensive baby.

I also still have a nagging feeling that my thyroid is still not functioning well enough to allow a pregnancy to happen. That is incredibly frustrating and demoralizing. I desparately work to optimize every facet of fertility to compensate for my wacky thyroid. I'm now reading about castor oil compresses, melatonin, and high doses of DHEA. Thoughts on any of those? (Blythe and Briss--I read a b&b thread where some ladies advocated for a high dose of DHEA & if I recall you two were both not in favor, right?)

 

[alison29]

HI Everyone! I have been keeping up but on my phone so it is a pain to post..
I think the fasting sounds great. I think it trains your stomach to shrink so you eat less on those regular days too. Just a theory.
On break at my mom's she told me she started menopause at 40...Hopefully I didn't inherit that trait.
Anyway, just going to catch up more now.

 

[Briss]

alison, try not to think about the big M, think yourself young and your body will follow your mind. I aged terribly in the last two years, I used to look much younger and I think TTC is responsible cos it makes you think about yourself as an older mother, there is a lot "age stuff" that is being thrown at you like egg quality declining with age, TTC over 35 is hard etc so your mind takes it all in and your body follows. I am trying to break through that pattern of thought but it's hard

Vonn, that's exactly how I feel you either devote all your energies and basically the entire life to TTC or just feel that you are not doing enough and reducing your chances. it's OK when it takes you a year to get pregnant but when you are at it for years it gets to you. I had a couple of breaks from TTC when I lost weight and went on holiday and it was fab but there was always that sad feeling deep down, it's just always there. Well done for not wasting any time and doing IUis, I'm hoping this will be enough. I know thyroid may be an issue but there are many women who have babies despite this problem so hopefully you will be lucky

re DHEA, I checked my blood levels and they were fine, I also looked at side effects which can be quite nasty but the most important consideration for me was the fact that it's a hormone that your body is producing naturally so when you start interfering there is a chance you can mess up your system big time. people do not know enough about hormones. besides the benefits have not been proved definitely, it seems to help some but have no effect on others. Your natural levels decline with age so I also thought there is a danger that by taking it you will get your body producing less naturally but much faster than you would otherwise. if you are already taking thyroid hormone you know how it is, your dose keeps getting up as your body produces less and less as a response to the hormone levels in your blood, it's like vicious circle. Having said that I also decided that I revisit DHEA when I am 40 or if my IVF clinic suggest taking it. my previous clinic was against DHEA but they wanted me to take HGH – human growth hormone. unfortunately I had a tumour in the past which meant I could not take it but a friend of mine did take it and she is now pregnant with twins and have 4 blasts in the freezer. of course there is no way of telling if HGH was responsible but people seem to think it works for older ladies.

afm, feeling rather upset with AF not showing up, my brain knows that it's just a matter of time and I need to wait but my heart hopes, it always does whatever the circumstances and even if it's clearly over it still secretly hopes and it drives me mad because it's very hard. so I went out and got more pregnancy tests  I know I am going to see that bfn again and get upset but I need it to shut that hope so I could move on emotionally. cursing the Czech progesterone my AF was supposed to come 4 days ago!!

re 5:2, so I started my fasting day today and almost screwed it immediately, I invited a junior for a leaving lunch sort of thing and completely forgot about fasting; I desperately tried to find something I could eat on the menu and there only thing was smoked salmon salad which turned out to be 340 calories + morning cappuccino = almost 500 calories and it was not even 2 pm  so I cant eat anything else today if I want it to work. evenings at home are the hardest so will see, in the meantime sticking to various herbal teas to help me feel fuller

determined to do aerobics later today but will see how I feel when I actually get home

 

[alison29]

Thanks for the pep talk Briss. You are so right. It is a mental thing. Plus my Mom had no idea what was going on with her self and reproduction anyway. She never paid attention because she didn't care plus no kept track of things like we do now. I know how it is with that voice of hope telling you to test again and then I hate myself for being suckered into spending money on tests (that is a vicious cycle too!) . Usually taking more tests makes me start AF.

 

[Briss]

alison, it's actually possible that your mum's M started much later, these things hard to pinpoint particularly if you are not paying attention. So I would not focus on this. we do not know when my mum had hers cos she had to have her uterus removed in her 40s due to constant bleeding possibly related to thyroid issues. when I asked she could not even recall when that operation took place, she was sure it was in her 30s. i think this generation had children earlier and they just stopped paying attention to this function much earlier then we started thinking about it.

I tested It's so nice to know someone understands, I would not survive this TTC nightmare without your constant support, ladies! bfn of course, 5 pounds down the drain but it gave me freedom to do my aerobics tonight! I only lasted 30 min though dusted my favourite J Fonda dvd, i hope I can make it a regular thing. I am so hungry and my herbal teas just do not cut it, I may have to resort to a bit of honey later on if things get really desperate. Otherwise I'm pretty proud of myself today, really really hungry but proud that's a start.

 

[nobump]

Sorry to hear about your negative test... but way go you briss.... day one of fasting! Hope you survive the evening.

Failed attempt for me... was doing good.... but succumbed to the wine we opened yesterday..... went for a walk though...

 

[Briss]

I survived the evening, did not even have any honey (although still might) but had to move to water half way through the evening cos my raspberry tea started making me feeling sick. sparkling water makes you feel fuller I noticed. was reading a lot on dieting and various approaches but realised the simple truth that it's all down to calories. whatever diet you take as long as you eat less than you use you are going to lose weight. if you diet but do not lose any weight it just means you still eat too much and need to review your calorie intake objectively. I guess when I was eating up to 900 calories a day I was losing weight quicker and it gave me motivation to carry on the suffering. but I will still lose weight if I eat 1200-1300 on the non fasting 5 days it's just going to take much longer and will be less noticeable. I should prepare myself for 5-7 months to lose 9 kg. probably around 300-400 grams a week. but this should work out well for eggies which is the most important thing.

btw have not had any chocolate today!

 

[Blythe]

Hi Ladies - have been very inspired by your talk of losing weight. i lost quite a bit through illness before xmas and felt wonderful....just a few lbs and it made such a huge difference to how i felt about my body and how clothes looked. Through a combination of drinking, feeling ill again and pure laziness all weight now back on so i am too determined to bring in this new year feeling good about my food intake.

Briss - i am sorry to read about that BFN....whilst AF stays away there is always the hope that this may be the one. i actually just tested myself and the darker line could not have been any darker [and the white bit whiter]....just to bring the point home!!

Vonn - around the 18-24 month stage i started looking at DHEA. i purchased the micronised version, the only one you should be getting if TTC. I stopped taking it after a fair amount of hair loss...it was a very worrying time for me as i thought i might actually get bald patches. Some IVF clinics advise women to take it in run up to a cycle and of course there are those magical stories of women falling pregnant naturally with it!! But those same stories are also doing the rounds with soy isoflavines, vit D and spells purchased off ebay etc etc

Might be worth getting DHEA levels taken if you are considering taking this particularly in light of thyroid concerns.

i have everything crossed that this will be your month

AFM - In december i had my bloods drawn again and this is how things have changed in a 12 month period for me at 42 years old:

Dec 13:
FSH 7.2
LH 8
E2 259
AMH 6.4 pmol/L


Dec 14:
FSH 9.4
LH 6.9
E2 196
AMH 7 pmol/L

TSH 0.78 mu/L
T4 15.2 pmol/L


Not great but not really bad, although i have no idea if my thyroid is something to be concerned about.

 

[Blythe]

Briss - i forgot to say that i saw you were spotting on your chart. I really hope that AF starts and you can get focused on this new cycle. It is the worst thing when these things are dragged out when you just want to draw a line under it.

i wonder if the CZ proges' is much stronger than the ones issued here?

 

[Briss]

Blythe, your bloods look really good! are you starting your IVF this cycle? Please let me know what you think about Gennet cos I may have to move to this clinic.

AF is finally here, took 4 days! in case you will also be taking Czech progesterone just something to keep in mind it does seem to be stronger even though I was taking a lower dose compared to cyclogest. it's actually much nicer then cyclogest, I used it vaginaly and had no issues

I woke up feeling terribly hungry and still am. Determined to get through my second fasting day but I am feeling so sick and hungry at the same time. all my muscles are aching today after only 30 min of aerobics – ridiculous how unfit I am! I also take the stairs now, my office is on the 7th floor and this morning I was totally exhausted before I reached the second floor! by the time I got to my office I could not even talk.

was watching a very interesting programme on TV about foods and they investigated metabolic rates. they did an experiment on various people by measuring their oxygen levels. apparently the fatter you are the higher your metabolic rate so all this talk that people are putting on weight because of their slower metabolic rate is nonsense. and again they raised the same point – calories are the key to losing weight, you need to calculate how much you use daily based on your measurements and lifestyle and then just adjust your calorie level accordingly. the most difficult part is to calculate (objectively) how many calories is in what you eat and that's where most people get it wrong and fail to lose weight. another mistake is to think that as long as you eat healthily you will loose weight. healthy food or unhealthy food makes no difference as long as you stay within your calorie limit. that's why I can lose weight on chocolate but fail to lose it on fruit. calorie wise I need to eat less chocolate than fruit to feel fuller. One thing you can do to increase your metabolic rate over time is to take up swimming in cold water.

another thing they talked about was gluten free foods and apparently it's only ever relevant to people with genuine conditions like celiac disease which is rare. there is a lot of bad stuff added to gluten free foods so they are better avoided altogether (same as fat free foods are not really good for you).

my nut milk thing totally failed, DH was not interested and I could not convert. I just prefer normal milk (full fat version) and could not get myself to drink nut milk regularly. it went bad before I managed to finish it and DH ate all the almonds…