*coffee and alcohol*

[vkj73]

just wanted to get a general pulse on how many women 35+ (i'm 39), have stopped c&a all together for ttc?

do you stop only in the 2ww?

i'm assuming it's recommended to stop all together, throughout the cycle.

thanks mamas and soon-to-be mamas!

 

[vkj73]

bump...

 

[bexxc]

hey- i'm not 35+ and i'm no longer ttc, but i just wanted to put in my two cents here. i seriously cut down my drinking and went down to once cup of joe a day, but it was my husband who made the difference. after two years of trying and being told we needed icsi because of his low motility and morphology, i was pregnant two months after HE quit drinking. it definitely takes both people making changes to make things work. best wishes!

 

[gustav72]

I quit both, also cutting out gluten, refined sugar and watching my dairy (these were recs by my acupuncturist). I am 39, two months until I'm 40.
Best,
Gustav

 

[gustav72]

to piggy back on what bexxc said, my husband is following the same, although still has small amounts of caffeine.

 

[vkj73]

thanks ladies. with my first, i was extremely disciplined, not only with a&c, but exercise. it's harder now with a little one to be quite so disciplined, especially with the caffeine and exercise.

i do however, cut out alcohol during the 2ww, and although i'm not completely caffeine free, i add about a teaspoon-full of regular coffee to my decaf pot each morning. i did a little research and a tablespoon is roughly 100 mg of caffeine (same as one shot of espresso).

"Does caffeine affect fertility?
Moderate amounts of caffeine probably don’t reduce a woman’s chances of getting pregnant. Most studies have found no effect on fertility when women consume less than 300 mg of caffeine a day. However, some studies have found an association between high levels of caffeine (about 500 mg or greater) and decreases in fertility" -march of dimes

 

[viccat]

I have cut down both caffeine and alcohol, but not given them up completely. I am drinking more caffeine free drinks so am more hydrated. This has definitely helped with EWCM.

So .... my daily cup of coffee is sometimes decaf. I still have a couple of cups of tea each morning.

Alcohol has reduced from a glass or two most nights, to one glass some nights. Occasionally I go up to a week or so teetotal. I fell off the wagon a bit this week, and have noticed a massive reduction in my energy levels!

 

[TMM]

I didn't cut back or eliminate either during my first pregnancy and haven't done it while TTC.

Normally I'll drink a mug of caffeinated coffee per day and have a glass of wine or shot once every few weeks.

 

[2have4kids]

My naturopath doctor said to cut out coffee alcohol and any inflammatory foods ie citrus, tomatoes, glutan breads, white rice etc. So far i'm off all the food and coffee but I had a beer today in the afternoon sun while building a shed and last night at the philharmonic orchestra. Very difficult to be a perfect angel.

 

[Lady H]

I did initially totally cut both out, however this month I had one cup of coffee every two to three days and did have a drink after ovulation... And got my BFP!

 

[Briss]

I quit alcohol and seriously cut down coffee to only one cup a day on weekends - huge sacrifice! my hubby is now trying to quite beer which should increase his testosterone level and hopefully sperm count. He has been off beer for over 4 weeks now but had a slit yesterday and had 3 pints

 

[Foxy37]

Hi im new ttc but i cut out alcahol and cafeine , im drinking lots of water and just generally trying to eat better
However when my af arrived an i knew i was not pregnant i have had a drink but im back to being good as of tomorow . Sadly as we are a little older i think anythink will help increase our chances xx

 

[Juniperjules]

I'm Using Chinese medicine, & the woman I'm seeing has a phenomenal success rate with women TTC naturally & with IVF (including my friend). She is happy for me to have one coffee & one cup of tea per day (I was having 2-3 cups of tea a day). She's ok with with an occasional glass of wine (which for me is only really once a fortnite maybe). However I have to drink much more water than I was drinking, & absolutely NO cola (which I only ever used as a mixer with alcohol so no great loss). She also wants OH to avoid cola. She told my friend that cola is like poison to TTC & you should NEVER drink it.

Most days now I have either a normal or a decaf coffee in the AM, & then I don't even bother with the tea.. Had my first tea in about 5 days the other nite. Amazing how quickly u can change ur habits.

 

[AwesomePossum]

Hi Ladies,

I'll be 35 in a few months, but have been doing a ton of research on TTC and trying to figure out what is science and what is opinion. Here are a couple of studies I found:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC28642/ even women who were drinking moderately took longer to conceive.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110523121142.htm "Caffeine reduces muscle activity in the fallopian tubes that carry eggs from the ovaries to the womb". It's an animal study, but worth noting.

I'm sure both of these things probably effect women a little differently and for some women it doesn't affect fertility that much, but since there isn't a way to tell which way it will go for you why risk it? Especially as we get older we are already at a disadvantage from the fertility aspect so my choice is not to further stack things against me.

I LOVE coffee and have had a hard time adjusting to not drinking it. I also really enjoy a glass of wine, but I don't want either of those things as much as I want a baby. I figure I have the rest of my life to drink coffee and alcohol, it can wait.

Not trying to be preachy, just wanting you all to have the scientific data to make the right choice for you

 

[Briss]

Awesome, thank you very much for the information very interesting! I agree that cutting down on bad stuff is important. Although it is much easier when you are TTC for a few months, when months turn into years it becomes more difficult as it seems like your entire life is on hold and you cant even enjoy some of your favourite things. I do not drink cola ever so was not hard to cut it out, alcohol is slightly more tricky as I am required to attend numerous corporate social functions where you are expected to mingle with a glass of something - still possible. Coffee - was so hard for me! I think I achieved a good balance by just having it on weekends. Although every single weekday (particularly morning) I find it so hard to think of anything else but a nice cup of coffee. It's been 1.5 months now and it's not getting easier to live without coffee

 

[Bonnie1990]

Coffee is my problem. I was doing good and had myself down to a cup and half a day. Even my gyn said 1-2 a day was ok. Really off the wagon at the moment with af arriving and Starbucks pumpkin lattes back and starting a second job overnight! Lol. But will definitely cut back come TWW. I have also read the study about slowed egg desent in the tubes.

Alcohol is a non issue. I rarely drink. Maybe a wine cooler on occasion but only after af and not TWW.

DB rarely drinks like myself but he has never had a cup of coffee in his life

 

[Hortensia]

Have cut back on coffee - have the odd cup still but rarely. I still drink tea.

I have cut back significantly on alcohol, I used to drink wine regularly and worked in a fairly hard-drinking environment. The kind where if you don't join in you're seen as letting the side down I don't drink at all during the TWW and have the odd glass with dinner at other times, but not above twice a week. I don't miss it at all.

 

[vkj73]

Awesome, thank you very much for the information very interesting! I agree that cutting down on bad stuff is important. Although it is much easier when you are TTC for a few months, when months turn into years it becomes more difficult as it seems like your entire life is on hold and you cant even enjoy some of your favourite things. I do not drink cola ever so was not hard to cut it out, alcohol is slightly more tricky as I am required to attend numerous corporate social functions where you are expected to mingle with a glass of something - still possible. Coffee - was so hard for me! I think I achieved a good balance by just having it on weekends. Although every single weekday (particularly morning) I find it so hard to think of anything else but a nice cup of coffee. It's been 1.5 months now and it's not getting easier to live without coffee

well said. thank you again ladies for replying.

 

[bexxc]

Awesome, thank you very much for the information very interesting! I agree that cutting down on bad stuff is important. Although it is much easier when you are TTC for a few months, when months turn into years it becomes more difficult as it seems like your entire life is on hold and you cant even enjoy some of your favourite things. I do not drink cola ever so was not hard to cut it out, alcohol is slightly more tricky as I am required to attend numerous corporate social functions where you are expected to mingle with a glass of something - still possible. Coffee - was so hard for me! I think I achieved a good balance by just having it on weekends. Although every single weekday (particularly morning) I find it so hard to think of anything else but a nice cup of coffee. It's been 1.5 months now and it's not getting easier to live without coffee

well said. thank you again ladies for replying.

just remember that much of this will have to be eliminated or greatly reduced in your diet once pregnant anyway. if you plan on breastfeeding, much of that will continue.

 

[vkj73]

indeed. as i mentioned earlier, i have greatly reduced my caffeine and alcohol intake. when it is the tww, i have a trace amount of caffeine and zero alcohol. with my last pregnancy (and i would again) completely cut out all.