Chinese Accupuncture

[kits]

I totally forgot about pineapple core this cycle! I was so busy feeling sorry for myself that I forgot to eat some

Kicking myself for forgetting. I quickly ran to co-op when I remembered today because everything else is shut but I think it's too late. And it was mainly the meat too..

I'm going to get some tomorrow just in case but I seriously can't believe I forgot!

 

[Breaking Dawn]

Hi ladies
I've been following along...

Kits I'm so excited for you and your new career journey. That is great and exciting thing to do.

Blythe - i love love that you cut your hair. I hope one day I have the guts to do that. I've done a bob...and I cried after. lol

Briss...i get so addicted to TV series when I'm watching them.

I love...walking dead...downton abbey..true blood...game of thrones.

 

[alison29]

My mom suggested downtown abby to me. She knows I like the british shows like Doc Martin. I watched all 37 shows. I am going to watch downtown abby tonight. I am thru Bates Motel already.

Blythe and Breaking:I cut mine to a short bob where the top was like 3 inches long it was BAD! My dh was horrified. Surprise! My hair turned out in all these funki ways because it was too short to lay flat. My sister inlaw rocks the short hair cut just goes to show every hair type is so different.

My dh started the clomid last night. I am sure his drive is going to go thru the roof soon. hopefully i can keep up with it

 

[Briss]

I love downton abbey and Doc Martin. Mr Selfridge is also a good one. I got drawn to house md, I seem to really like obsessed and miserable people … Bates Motel is next on my list.

I completely ruined my sugar free week days, just cant do it and obviously weight is going up and my tummy looks so pregnant! apparently I got some serious bruising on my left zegong from the needles last week and I did not even notice cos it was on the side of my tummy which I cant really see!!! how horrible is this? I can only see it in the mirror and so DH pointed out to the bruising.

I had a dream last night that I was stuffing myself with delicious pastries and was getting noticeably fatter with every piece and still could not stop myself…

I am under a lot of stress at work and do not really sleep that well…

 

[alison29]

I hate myself for it i have been allowing myself treats too. I gained weight doing low carb.

 

[Irish_eyes]

Blythe - thanks for your thoughts on determining CD1. I would spot then red flow with BM and then back to spotting and that's the confusing thing. But after speaking to some close friends they said exactly what you said. So with that I think I am a couple of days ahead with this cycle.

BBbliss - so sorry to hear of your loss.

Briss - hope you're feeling better x

Kits - I think you should do what feels best for you. My sister worked as a personal secretary most of her working days and just recently left work and has just finished her first year in nursing course. She always wanted to do it but she raised her kids first and she's 44. So it's never too late to change career.

At the moment I am just taking Folic acid as I don't have any Pregnacare left.

I've been catching up with TV series on Netflix particularly the ones DH doesn't want to watch. I am currently watching Grimm....oh my David Giuntoli is gorgeous! Anyway, other shows I watch are The Vampire Dairies, True Blood, The Originals, Ravenswood, Pretty Little Liars, American Horror Story, Walking Dead, Di Vinci's Demons etc. Gosh I am such a geek!

I had such a thing for Colin Firth back when Bridget Jones first came out. I just love Mr Darcy! I heard that there is the third book but Mark Darcy is dead! Sure he makes the books!! That is so silly!

So tonight I had my 4th acu session and I am getting more and more relaxed during them. I was nearly sleeping tonight. I think DH is slowly accepting I am doing this twice a week whether he likes it or not so the friction isn't has bad as last week.

I never really have a big conversation with my acu Dr. He basically takes me in and starts treatment, I come out, pay and go. But I hear other drs recommending what to eat, looking at their charts etc and I am thinking am I missing out on something.

So much for diet anyway. I have been so bad this week, eating too much rubbish. I have heard a gluten free diet is good. Have any of you tried that? It's so hard!

What other supplements beside prenatals do you all take?

 

[Briss]

Irish_eyes, chinese docs usually start by looking at your tongue and checking your pulse and then proceed to treatment. my current doc is English so we can have a conversation and he answers my numerous questions. chinese docs were not really giving me much info cos English was an issue.

My current list:
Pregnacare Conception
600 COQ10 /300 Ubiquinol (egg quality)
2,000 Fish oils
1,000 Vitamin C (after O to improve progesterone levels)
200 Vitamin E (egg quality)
10,000 Vitamin D (once a week)
100 Vitamin B complex (help with pre AF spotting)
2,000 Myo-inositol (egg quality, balance insulin) - not talking this cycle
25 Zinc (4-5 days before AF)
50 selenium (4-5 days before AF)
2,000 EPO (before O) (delay O, increase EWCM) - not taking this cycle
liquid iron supps (iron deficiency)

 

[Irish_eyes]

Briss he did all that at my consultation at my first appt but have to admit I found it hard to understand him. I'll see how I go because I suppose at the end if the day he really knows what he is doing and if it helps...great.

Wow that is a lot of supplements. I have been looking into co10q for a while but like everything else it's expensive for the recommended dose. Do you alternate between the co10q and ubiquionol? I know they are the same thing but something to do with absorption.

 

[Briss]

Irish_eyes, I think they usually check tongue/pulse every time they see you cos it's changing (hopefully because the treatment is working). Although my tongue is consistently red – sign of heat.

coq10 seems to be the most important one for our age group so if you think of taking only one other supp it has to be coq10. I personally do not think there is a lot of difference between co10q and ubiquionol, it's just that you need higher dose of coq10 to achieve the same thing. ubiquionol is supposed to be absorbed easier but I read that if you take coq10 with vitamin E you will achieve the same result. I've been sticking to coq10 but most recently switched to ubiquionol after reading a book on egg quality. also I found a brand that's the same price as for coq10 but at the moment I use both cos I still have some coq10 left.

My current brands:

ubiquionol - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jarrow-For...=1401869368&sr=8-14-spell&keywords=ubiquionol 40 days supply costs about 34 pounds

coq10 - https://www.naturesbest.co.uk/co-q10-200mg-p730/

 

[Blythe]

Briss - your chart certainly looks very good and hopefully that means the acu/herbs are doing their thing. Nice steady temps.

 

[Briss]

Blythe, I agree! I think this is the best chart temp wise I've had so far. I am obviously adjusting a bit cos I do not wake up at the same time every day but not a lot really so I do think Dr E is onto something with his treatment. Obviously one good cycle is not enough to make conclusions but so far so good. I am so hoping it's also doing something to reduce my FSH levels

 

[alison29]

I am doing gluten free. It is hard at first. I found gluten free breads and stuff delicious BUT then i realized they all of soy which is also an allergen so should not eat..Basically most things in a package are out. I have been eating salted rice cakes and some nuts for snacks. I almost starved to death at family party my BIL even put gluten in the hamburgers in the form of ranch dressing packet! I mean the buns were a no brainer but you had to F up the burgers with MSG gluten flavoring ugh.. ITs hard to eat with others or out at restaurants.

 

[alison29]

When is your IVF Blythe?

 

[Irish_eyes]

Briss - thanks for the info and those links. I think I will look into the Ubiquinol one as you don't have to take so many. I sort of gag when I am trying to take all my supplements. What book is that you read on egg quality?

I do think that egg quality could be my issue even though I have never been told that but after my poor response to IVF I think it may be just that. I only got two eggs, both fertilised but were only 4 cell at 3dpt. I was told that one was mature and would never have achieved a pregnancy. I also read somewhere that the quality of the embryo has to do the with egg and not sperm. Could be wrong but it sort of stuck in my head though. I have Vit C melt down tablets...I also turn on drinking that, its rotten but I might use it after O if it helps with progesterone levels. Again, I have never been told I have problems there but I heard if you spot then its something to do with your progesterone. No harm in trying anyway.

Pineapple core? I ate this after my IVF but am I right in saying that you can't take the pineapple juice? I was going to make a smoothie with the whole pineapple (well split into fifths).

 

[Irish_eyes]

I am not sure how quickly acupuncture and herbs kick in but I have already noticed something different to my cycle this month.

I have been using my CBFM this month and normally I would get a run of highs before getting a peak. I have on occasions not seen a peak either. But I got a few lows this month then two highs. I thought I would have had more highs but the next day I got a peak. So quite shocked at that but it could have been just the monitor rather than the acu.

 

[Irish_eyes]

Irish_eyes

ubiquionol - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jarrow-For...=1401869368&sr=8-14-spell&keywords=ubiquionol 40 days supply costs about 34 pounds

Have you noticed this has been reduced to £30?

 

[Jazzbird]

Hi Gals

Still reading your updates and really thinking the acu is working! I think lots of cbfm highs aren't necessarily a good thing ... And I'm encouraged by your chart change Briss.

Strictly speaking I think you have to give acu/ herbs a good few months for it to work but it is very effective for menstrual probs (provided you have right diagnosis and good quality treatment) - so I think changes should be apparent sooner than a few months. When I started with acu for fertility my temps were generally low, long follicular phase, very slow to rise in luteal phase and generally long. Within 2 months my ovulation date had moved from cd21 to around cd14/15. My charts were clearly biphasic and temp rise was much more marked over 1 or 2 days.

Obviously my cycles varied before I had acu so can't claim 100% that it was all down to chinese medicine. But I really believe in it and think it is the best option for male and female infertility - even if it just gets your foot in the door of the ivf clinic.

Dr E sounds fantastic Briss - he has great credentials and I like the way he is treating you - cost effective and only doing what is necessary. I think if you are being asked to spend loads of money - it's not right. This is not how acupuncturists are trained in uk. We are trained to get best results with minimal intervention.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you lovely ladies. You deserve it. Xxx

 

[Briss]

alison, I agree soy is not the best thing for TTC. Eating with others can be a nightmare when you are trying to be careful about what you eat and yet not to offend anyone or be difficult. no easy solution I am afraid. I noticed that even though I am back to eating sugars, I eat much less of this stuff and do not feel like I cant live without it. I do rely heavily on nuts/dried fruit though. My weight is more or less stable but I have about 3 extra kg. I can live with that

Irish_eyes, you do not need to take 300 of Ubiquinol , you can start with lower dose just to see how your body responds (I think a few people reported some side effects although I did not feel any different). The book was called it starts with an egg. she does explain about supps and diet, most of it we know already but there were a few interesting things like royal jelly is apparently useless and arginine is plain harmful. I think egg quality is an issue for most 35+. The quality of the embryo is to do with both egg and sperm. In our case it was most likely sperm issue that's why we want to do IMSi rather than just ICSI next time. I've been trying to figure out the reason for pre AF spotting for some time but it's tricky. My progesterone was quite high so it could not be progesterone issue. It could be down to thyroid or vit b deficiency or something totally different. Really hard to say. Pineapple core is better than meat or juice cos it has more of an enzyme called bromelain which is supposed to help implantation.

Jazzbird, nice to hear from you. How are you doing? I am very happy with my chart this cycle. very steady temps so far + later O.

kits, did you get a positive OPK? it sounds very promising, good luck with testing!

Blythe, how are you doing?

 

[Blythe]

Briss - I'm ok and have been stalking your chart. It looks so healthy and i feel your time will be coming very very soon

i am bursting with things to tell you. I have been keeping a diary of this IVF and will post when it is finished - each day brings something new to stress about and i fear if i articulate them all i will not be able to move forward. I am just keeping my head down and cracking on with it.

 

[Briss]

Blythe, I think this is a very good strategy. I usually apply it for work matters but somehow completely unable to do that in TTC. Diary – great idea! I should do that as well. I sometimes write very long posts cos I need to get this stuff out but then never post it. This process is so tough but I feel very positive about your chances. Are you still sticking with regular acu? I trust Dr E more and more and consider having acu with him during IVF.