TTC After D&C/D&E Buddies

For thousands of years midwives of old and chinese herbalists have used herbs with very good results. Most of our allopathic medicines have come from herbs. A safe, commonly used herbal tonic for pregnancy is red raspberry leaf tea.

Brewed as a tea or as an infusion, red raspberry leaf is one of the safest and commonly used tonic herbs for women wanting to get pregnant or for women who are already pregnant. Red Raspberry Leaf (Rubus idaeus) tones the uterus, improves contractions and decreases constipation.

When to use There are two basic stances on the subject. There is agreement among many clinicians that in the 3rd trimester frequent (2- 3 cups per day of tea or 1 - 2 cups per day of infusion) is beneficial to the uterine and pelvic muscles. Red Raspberry Leaf contains many minerals and vitamins, including vitamin C and calcium. It also contains an alkaloid called fragrine, which lends tone to the uterus.

The more radical stance is that drinking one cup of tea per day in the 1st trimester and 2 cups in the 2nd trimester and switching to the infusion in the 3rd trimester ensures a strong uterus, is good for you nutritionally and prevents miscarriage. Some say it is advised to not use it in the first trimester, particularly if you have a history of miscarriage.

The more conservative stance is that red raspberry leaf can cause minor spotting in the beginning of a pregnancy, and some U.K. midwives claim an increase in miscarriage rates. Contact your midwife, herbalist or physician for more information. If you're thinking about using it, to be safe, just wait until you're 36 weeks along.

What does Red Raspberry Leaf Do? Red Raspberry leaf does not start labor or promote contractions.It is NOT an emmenagogue or oxytocic herb. What it does is help strengthen the pelvic and uterine muscles so that once labor does start the muscles will be more efficient.

Tea recipe To make a tea, pour 1 cup boiling water over 2 teaspoons of herb and steep for ten minutes. Strain. During the first two trimesters, drink 1 cup per day. During the final trimester, drink 2-3 cups per day.

You can harvest your own red raspberry leaves or can purchase them dried in bulk from your local health food store or organic grocery. I like to harvest my own. To dry the leaves quickly, I lay them on a cotton sheet in the back of my vehicle on a hot day with the windows closed. I use a wonderfully nourishing recipe that also includes rose hips for Vitamin C and stevia, which is naturally sweet.

(I found this information on this site https://konzababy.tripod.com/RRL.htm)


See what i mean? lol!
 
here's one on vitex if anyone is interested


Vitex is a herbal supplement used to regulate the female hormonal system. It's called by a few names but is one and the same. Vitex, Chasteberry, Agnus Castus.

I've attached information from the "Early Pregnancy Tests.com website on the herb for your info. You can get at a herbal store or pharmacy.

"Chasteberry or vitex (vitex agnus-castus) is a fertility-promoting herb with a long, safe history of human use. As far back as ancient Greece, vitex agnus castus was recognized for its herbal-medicinal properties and was utilized for a number of health complaints.

More recently, science has validated the fertility-enhancing properties of this dynamic herb. Vitex has been shown in several clinical studies to help stimulate and stabilize the reproductive hormones involved in ovulation, cycle balance, and menstrual regularity. These studies also document a statistically-significant increase in fertility among women using vitex, with more pregnancies than in control groups using a placebo.

To understand how vitex works, let's first look at female fertility. In order for conception to take place, a woman must have a regular menstrual cycle and ovulate (release an egg from an ovary). Hormonal balance is key to regular ovulation - particularly the ebb and flow of the reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone, which both prepare the body for ovulation (estrogen) and ensure that a pregnancy, once achieved, is maintained (progesterone). Regularity of both menstrual cycle and ovulatory function, dictated by the complex play of these hormones, are key factors in successfully becoming pregnant. Vitex increases fertility by helping regulate hormonal and menstrual balance. Vitex is a key ingredient in fertility supplement products like FertilAid for Women.

How Does Vitex Promote Cycle Balance?

Vitex or chasteberry is not a hormone; however, vitex works by acting on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which in turn secrete hormones or send signals to other parts of the body to trigger the production of reproductive hormones. Vitex has been shown to help increase the level of luteinizing hormone (or LH) while gently suppressing the secretion of FSH (follicle stimulating hormone). In effect, vitex stimulates the hormones involved in ovulation and assists in restoring overall hormonal balance. More specifically, vitex is effective in regulating pituitary gland function and in normalizing the balance of progesterone to estrogen levels. Vitex is particularly supportive in maintaining progesterone levels during the "luteal phase", or second half, of a woman's cycle.

A large percentage of menstrual problems and infertility issues are related to insufficient progesterone production during the luteal phase, which can result in a shortened luteal phase and may possibly contribute to PCOS. With regard to the former, a "short" luteal phase is often referred to as corpus luteum insufficiency or LPD (luteal phase defect). Luteal phase defect is characterized by low progesterone levels during the second half of your cycle. With regard to PCOS, hormonal imbalance (namely insufficient levels of progesterone) may also contribute to the formation of cysts on your ovaries, or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

As vitex agnus castus has been shown to support progesterone production, vitex may be suggested as a treatment for menstrual cycle imbalances, luteal phase defect, and possibly PCOS (as normalized progesterone levels and cycle regularity may suppress the development of ovarian cysts associated with estrogen dominance)."
 
i want to try to touch base w/ everybody about where you are in the ttc game? like has anyone started :af: does anyone have fertility issues on top of m/cs? if so, are you on meds?

I am 3 weeks post d&c, no af yet, had spotting yesterday and nothing today it's disappeared as soon as it showed up lol. We have been actively :sex: since 10 days post d&c, so we hope to get a BFP instead of AF, but who knows. I have my post dnc apt on the 13th and I am gonna start poas (opks or hpts lol) on the 12th and everryday after until I get AF , if the tests I ordered even get here by then anyways lol. We will see hopefully the :witch: stays faaaarrr away from me!
 
My daughter goes back to school tomorrow and I go back to work tomorow and omg the closer it gets the more I wanna freak out. I am so not ready to be bombarded by questions, I dont even know if my boss has told the other ladies I work with. I just hope I can get throught he day without crying my eyes out, I cried myself to sleep last night at the thought of having to re-tell my loss to anyone, I dont want all the pity and the looks. Ughh I am so scared, I have no idea what to expect, ughh I wish I could just stay home and not work. The only thing I am looking forward to is having something to get my mind off everything, it's gonna be tough but it will be better than obssessing over ttcing 24/7 lol.
 
My daughter goes back to school tomorrow and I go back to work tomorow and omg the closer it gets the more I wanna freak out. I am so not ready to be bombarded by questions, I dont even know if my boss has told the other ladies I work with. I just hope I can get throught he day without crying my eyes out, I cried myself to sleep last night at the thought of having to re-tell my loss to anyone, I dont want all the pity and the looks. Ughh I am so scared, I have no idea what to expect, ughh I wish I could just stay home and not work. The only thing I am looking forward to is having something to get my mind off everything, it's gonna be tough but it will be better than obssessing over ttcing 24/7 lol.

Good Luck tomorrow... I will keep you in my thoughts and hope everything goes smoothly!
 
good luck, jenna! i cried a little on my first day back when certain people wanted to hug me or console me...but it got better and it helped me being involved w/ something other than myself/my sadness. my hubby even sent me flowers on my 1st day back :flower: hope it's a great day for you!

thanks for the info, aunie! i've never heard of vitex. there is so much to consider. i just wish so badly that there was some magic potion that would give us healthy babies! i'd give anything for it!

in other news...i have officially started :af: woo hoo! i've never been so happy to have her back. i feel like at least now i can count my days, start my clomid, and at least feel like i'm getting somewhere. hopefully it's my last before a :bfp: so since my d&c was on aug 4th, af came 4w4d after.
 
Everyone is on the same cycle it seems! Yay! I am currently waiting to ovulate... I feel the mittelshmertz (lol love that word, it's ovarian pain and pressure). It hurts pretty bad, makes it hard to walk and move sometimes... But still a negative opk, I took two today, at different times, but still negative. Oh well, we'll see how the week shapes up.
 
I just got some pre-seed lube, can't wait to try it out tonight ;)
 
Color me confused:

Yesterday all day bad ovarian pain... negative hpt and negative opk.

This morning (fmu) positive opk and temp dip!!! Slight ovarian pain.

At 11am today, after 3 hours of no peeing, negative opk.

Did I really ovulate that fast? I'm so confused!!!

We BD-ed last night just in case and plan on doing it again to night ;-)
 
I just got some pre-seed lube, can't wait to try it out tonight ;)

Have you used it before? I am thinking about buying some... I figure it can't hurt right? I don't really get alot of fertile CM, just the one day before O. Maybe I will look into this too.
 
Color me confused:

Yesterday all day bad ovarian pain... negative hpt and negative opk.

This morning (fmu) positive opk and temp dip!!! Slight ovarian pain.

At 11am today, after 3 hours of no peeing, negative opk.

Did I really ovulate that fast? I'm so confused!!!

We BD-ed last night just in case and plan on doing it again to night ;-)

The only month I used OPKs mine were like that, One positive the a few hours later negative. But we got our BFP anyway that month. I am going to be testing like crazy this next cycle, because I am afraid my surge is so short that I will miss it! I'll keep my FX'd for you!
 
Twinkie, I haven't used it before but I've read a lot of good things about it. I get really dry around my fertile time all the way to af. We've been using regular lube which I found out can harm the sperm.
 
Nostress, the opks are frustrating me too! They will get darker and then lighter again. We are just bd'ing too and hoping we catch an egg
 
Got my tests in the mail today . Yeay I am trying to resist the urge to poas!:haha:
 
Got my tests in the mail today . Yeay I am trying to resist the urge to poas!:haha:

You have more will power than me.:blush: I would have had to poas the minute I got them. That is why I don't buy a bunch at a time! It is too tempting.
 
it think we all like to poas! lol. i ordered some in bulk, but they're not in yet. i just bought over-the-counter last time, but holy moly...that gets expensive!!

the last time we got pg...it took us 2 rounds of clomid (after 1 year of just metformin) but the second round i used preseed and got our bfp! so i'm a believer! we've been using it again. sooo...fingers crossed!

af has returned w/ a vengance! watch out girls! not fun :(
 
Well my temp dropped a bit today and I am feeling kind of crampy and had a tiny bit of spotting this morning... so I think AF will probably show tomorrow. FX'd

I might make a trip into the store to pick up some preseed (I think I saw it at Walgreens?) Mabe I'll pick up some hpt's too (you can never be too prepared!) and a new thermometer. My sister said she bought a bunch of ICs so I figure when I get closer to test time, I'll raid her house and save my expensive tests, for when I know I'll get a BFP. I hate wasting good tests on BFNs :(

I am determined to get my BFP this month!
 
I have a pretty good feeling about our timing... Can't wait to see what my temp looks like tomorrow. I'm hoping we catch the egg! Having more ovarian pains tonight... coupled with the positive opk earlier and the ewcm I noticed yesterday... We'll see. Need to keep up with the :sex: today and tomorrow I think. Then we'll see. Just thought I would post my chart so ya'll could see: https://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3615d5

Twinkie - Hope AF shows up soon! So you can get that BFP!

nursekelly - Love POAS too! LOL, just look at my chart... heehee. Hope AF doesn't last too long.

Aunie - I'm thinking of trying the preseed next month if we don't get our BFP this time around (though I have a good feeling). And extra lubricant can't hurt... lol, I'll try anything for my BFP!
 

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