F.A.I.T.H. (Forsaking all, I trust Him)

[Darkest]

Ok i have a question for you guys,( sorry if TMI) and it is not one i would post any other place. When we were at the FS they asked about a sperm sample, BUT here is my issue. How did you handle getting the sample without putting your beliefs on the back shelf. I mean she offered like movies and such, but we are NOT believers in that, she also said we can get a sample while at home and bring it in BUT we live 45 minutes from the FS and they said they have to have it to them within an hour, that is just cutting it really close. What did you guys do, if you dont mind me asking?

Does the place you need to take it to have rooms/cubicles? You could do it there then.
My DH is hopefully getting his pot from the Dr next Tues. No idea where we have to take it tho.

 

[Dahlia]

rubygirl -
ummm, well, I will go a little farther tmi. dh has "dirty" pics of me that he used for that purpose and also whenever we are not able to have sex and need to do the "turkey baster method"...they are on his laptop...but if you have a home printer you could always print them out at home.
tmi tmi tmi - sorry I know.

 

[HappyAuntie]

Ok i have a question for you guys,( sorry if TMI) and it is not one i would post any other place. When we were at the FS they asked about a sperm sample, BUT here is my issue. How did you handle getting the sample without putting your beliefs on the back shelf. I mean she offered like movies and such, but we are NOT believers in that, she also said we can get a sample while at home and bring it in BUT we live 45 minutes from the FS and they said they have to have it to them within an hour, that is just cutting it really close. What did you guys do, if you dont mind me asking?

Be upfront at your clinic about your beliefs and ask them what your options are. My DH didn't have to give a sample (he was so relieved - he's such a big baby!), but my clinic offered a couple of other solutions. The one that might work for you is a special sample collection condom - that way you can use one of their private sample collection rooms and just do what comes naturally.

As for the HSG, don't let what you read in forums scare you. Mine was really no big deal. There was minor pinching-type pain involved for less than 5 minutes, and that was literally all. It's not completely painless or fun or comfortable, but it's honestly not as bad as you expect it to be. (My best advice is to completely ignore any posts about HSGs and just follow your dr's orders, ask him questions, and you'll be fine. )

 

[mrskcbrown]

Ok i have a question for you guys,( sorry if TMI) and it is not one i would post any other place. When we were at the FS they asked about a sperm sample, BUT here is my issue. How did you handle getting the sample without putting your beliefs on the back shelf. I mean she offered like movies and such, but we are NOT believers in that, she also said we can get a sample while at home and bring it in BUT we live 45 minutes from the FS and they said they have to have it to them within an hour, that is just cutting it really close. What did you guys do, if you dont mind me asking?

I am a believer as well and we dont watch movies usually but DH did for that one time. He said he mainly closed his eyes and thought about me but hey we had to get that "out" of him and so this worked. Maybe you and DH can get a hotel room close by and get the sample and take it in or DH can just fantisize in his mind and get what he needs done that way!

BTW, my HSG didnt hurt at all. I took Motrin prior to and some type of antibiotic the DR said I had to take and I was fine. It was over before I knew it!

GL!

 

[Deb111]

WOW MrsKC - nearly 2nd trimester!!!! It's flying by!

 

[Rdy2BaMom]

Hello all!

I can't thank each of you enough for all of the support and concern that you have shown. We were hit with some more bad news yesterday. I really felt like I needed to talk to the Dr again about my DH's last SA results, so I did. Well, what was "there is only 5% healthy sperm swimming forward" turned into "there is NO sperm swimming forward." We were misinformed the first time. Not good, but again, I know God is bigger.

After a few messages with Emily (Dahlia) today, I think she has brought something to my attention that may be the primary cause of my DH's sperm issues. His mom is gluten intolerant and more than likely he is too! Needless to say, this was such an eye opener and also such a relief! Thanks Emily!!! So, we are going gluten free from now on to see if that helps. There isn't really an easy way to test for it, so we are just going to take this as God's way of letting us know what the problem is, and go from there.

rubygirl-to answer your "tmi" question, I "helped" my DH manually for one of his tests, and the others he just did on his own. We don't watch those movies or have any of that kind of material in our home either. Oh, and as far as HSG, I agree with Mrskc, take some ibuprofen before your appointment. Mine was somewhat painful, but not that bad. Good luck dear!

dahlia- I have to confess. . . I like your idea about giving my DH "dirty" pics of me, especially since I know he will have to have several more tests. Thanks for the idea

 

[Dahlia]

haha - yea! I'm glad you liked it...I felt sort of silly and stupid doing them but he loves them and since men are so "visual" it sort of fills that need I guess.

I'm so glad that the gluten info could help you. I really believe it could be a major cause for all the infertility in our nation today...we simply DIDN'T consume such high-gluten, over-processed food back in the day...and fertility issues were not rampant as they are now. Also, I do believe our medical industry "overlooks" it as the cure is so simple (and for soooo many different ailments)...just stop eating gluten. Although I am not pregnant yet, I do have hope that this is going to be at least part of the answer. And even if not, I feel so incredible that I'll never go back.

I owe it all to this group and Someday, of course. and look, it can be all cyclical how we help each other.

my dh is mostly GF too as he feels better without it in his diet and it helps me to have someone with me not eating bread or desserts @ restaurants. It can be VERY intimidating and overwhelming @ first, but there are amazing resources out there for recipes and what not. most baking and other recipes I just substitute brown rice flour for white flour. and we use brown rice pasta which is amazing. If dh likes beer, there's a good mainstream beer out there called RedBridge which is gluten free. Outback Steakhouse offers a GF menu which we really like. Wendy's is your best bet for fastfood in a pinch. Betty Crocker makes a fab boxed brownie mix (available at Walmart's).

I won't lie, the first month was sort of torture - since I do love my traditional processed food. But after a month of rice/veggies/chicken eating, my palate really started to transform and again, the good feeling accompanying it really outweighed my desire for apple pie.

anyway, praying for you and really hope this may be the ticket.

 

[somedaymama]

Rdy2, I'm so glad Dahlia's info could help you! She's right, the first month or so will be tough, but the results are so worth it. If you or DH feel like you just HAVE to have some bread/carbs/gluten...that is actually a normal bodily response because we have kind of an "addiction" to gluten. You'll have kind of a withdrawl period.

I'm sure Dahlia has learned a ton that will help you, and feel free to ask me any questions you have...my sister's son has a severe gluten intolerance (Celiac's Disease), so I have picked up a little on the way.

I'm so sorry about the bad news you got today, but I hope that this can turn into something good for you, and that the GF diet helps!!

 

[Rdy2BaMom]

Oh, I am sure I will have tons of questions about all of this GF stuff. It is nice that his mom has already gone through all of this and has bookoos of info on it. She also has a pantry full of GF food that she wants to give us. I will definitely have to get rid of most of our food that we have right now and find some good recipes. One quick question. . .all fruits, vegetables, and meats (non-processed) are okay. . . right?? Thanks so much ladies!!!

 

[somedaymama]

Unprocessed meat and fresh produce should be fine. A few tips--

-some spices are contaminated with wheat. (My nephew had a reaction to Walmart brand paprika.) McCormicks spices are all GF unless they specifically say otherwise on the container.

-Walmart brand canned foods might have gluten in them. For awhile they had canned tomatoes that said "naturally gluten free" on one part of the can and "may contain traces of wheat" on another part. Most name brand kinds are fine, just double check their websites.

-Busch's baked beans are pretty much all GF unless they say otherwise. I don't think all of the grillin' beans are, but the regular ones are.

-If you eat cereal, buying regular name brand cereals that happen to be GF is way cheaper than buying special gluten free cereals. Chex cereals (other than wheat chex) are gluten free--it says it on the front of the box. Several other kinds are as well, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

-M&Ms (except the new pretzel kind) and Reeses are both gluten free, as are some other "mainstream" candy.

Basically, you shouldn't need to buy a lot of special gluten free foods as long as you are willing to check websites and sometimes call a company to see if their products are GF.

I just remembered that you said his mom is gluten intolerant, so maybe you already knew all of this...sorry for rambling.

 

[Dahlia]

yes, Reese's are my go-to!

Kinnickkinnick (spelling?!) is my favorite bread...they have the best english muffins too. I get that in the health food section of Kroger. in fact, most of my shopping I don't have to go to specialty stores for b/c I try to eat "whole" real foods and any of the processed boxed stuff is available in most mainstream places now. oats are a tricky one. I buy certified gluten free oats which are not processed in a facility with other grains. granola is also a tricky one - only buy gluten free if you have to have it. other than that it's pretty easy - the more natural the food the better. Chipotle is all gluten free except for their flour tortillas...actually, dbl check that b/c possibly the meats are coated in flour? I don't know though b/c I always get the vegetarian there.

ask me anything you need to know and I will try to help. Someday has the best info, though!

 

[somedaymama]

You are right about Chipolte! My sister and her family eat there. The only thing with gluten in it is the tortillas.

I forgot about the oats, but Dahlia's right--something about how oats are grown or processed contaminates them with gluten, so if they are not certified gluten free, they do have gluten in them.

We have done a ton of research because of my nephew's allergies (he is incredibly allergic, if he gets one little crumb of bread in his mouth, he is sick for days). So yeah...I have lots of info! I don't have to eat GF myself though (although my sister thinks I should...but that's a whole 'nother story. ), so for real support I bet Dahlia is the best!

Did we talk about flour? My sister makes hers out of sweet rice flour, potato flour, and one other flour that I can't think of right now...maybe tapioca? Also zantham gum, that is an important ingredient for GF baking. She doesn't buy the mixes for pancakes, bread, cookies, or anything like that because she uses this homemade flour. It's pretty easy, and cheaper than buying mixes. She does love the Betty Crocker GF cake mixes though, and they aren't terribly expensive! Sometimes she puts a packet of pudding mix in with the cake mix to make it better.

Sorry for inundating you with information!!

 

[Rdy2BaMom]

Thank you thank you thank you! Please keep inundating me with info. . . I need all the help I can get. We have HEB's here as our grocery store, and the one close by has a lot of all natural whole foods, so hopefully I will be able to find plenty of stuff there. I guess I will have to be cooking more than usual. . . . I usually cook during the week, but I hate to cook weekends. Oh well!! It will be all worth it to get us our little one.

Do you ladies know of any specific fast food place that cater to GF? Obviously salads and hopefully grilled chicken fingers are GF. . .what else? And what about regular restaurants?? Geez. . . I have a lot of questions, but I will try to keep it minimal for now.

 

[somedaymama]

I think Dahlia mentioned Wendy's...their grilled chicken (w/o bun) is GF, and I think the frostys are too. Maybe she'll have some other ideas on fast food places?

Grilled chicken is GF at most fast food places, but you might want to double check before you go because some places inject their meat with wheat as a filler...I think McDonalds does this.

It'll take some trial and error, but you'll be a GF expert before long. If you plan meals with whole, unprocessed food, it's not too difficult. My sister loves that they have to eat healthier, simply because it's the easiest and cheapest way to eat GF!

 

[Dahlia]

a lot of places season grilled chicken w/ a flour mixture so you do have to be careful. I usually try to only go to chains where I can research ahead of time (no olive garden). usually i will put it in a search engine like tgifridays gluten free and read what other people have already found out you can have. if it is more of a mom and pop type place I will just ask them to check ingredients and stuff or make sure they don't season anything. it was a bit traumatic for me to eat out (still is a little) so I don't very often. - I just wanna relax when we go out and I didn't like to worry about what I might be eating. most salads are ok but you have to check dressings...or just use oil and vinegar. although most dressings are fine.

i've only been GF for 90 days so it's still new to me but you do learn fast.

as far as fast food - Wendy's taco salad is great - no tortilla strips on top I think. their chili is GF and their burgers without buns...baked potatoes too.

 

[beanni #1]

Amen to that, Beanni . How are you doing, hun? 21 weeks already!!!!! How time flies!! Do you know what you're having yet? Or is it a secret

Hey Isi, i'm all good thanks. Seem to be growing more than i think i should be (not that its stopping me eating though )

Not finding out baby's gender so nothing to tell i'm afraid. From when i was young i wanted the whole congratulations is a ....... from the doc /mw, and I made the mistake of telling my DH, who believes in sticking to a decision once made (clearly doesn't understand the female pyschie (sic!))

 

[beanni #1]

Ryd so glad you have a new avenue to pursue. I will be praying going GF will aid in your DH's sperm mobility / motility (forget which is the forward movement)

Keep holding on to the LORD he will ensure when 1 window closes a door flings wide open elsewhere

 

[HappyAuntie]

Yay team yellow!

I love the thought of not knowing what you're having. I think it's one of the last great surprises left in life! Both of my sisters chose not to find out, and both of my SILs found out... in my experience as the auntie, it's SO much more exciting not knowing! When you know what it is, you get the call and someone tells you, yeah, so'n'so had her baby and it was what they said it was and they named it what they said they would... but when it's a surprise, I'm dying of anticipation waiting for that phone call to tell me if I have a new niece or a nephew!

I know I may feel differently when it's finally my turn, but I definitely fall on team yellow.

 

[willbamom1day]

OMG, willb, already 10 weeks! Where is all this time going for you all!?
When is your first scan?

Thanks for asking I go to the midwife on monday to hear heartbeat and the following week for scan - will keep you all updated

 

[willbamom1day]

I was just reading back through and I must say you guys are a great bunch to be a part of. God is definetly smiling down happy on this group with the way everyone is so helpful and prayerful for each other.

I read an article from a church magazine that said our GPS should be scripture and scripture puts it like this God People Self
and this sure is shown with this group.

God is good!