So...what will I be doing for the next month as I wait to start stims?
I'm adding the following recommended supplements, as per doctor's orders (apparently part of Denver's brand new protocol - as of last week - for poor responders/PCO...which isn't really me, but I can use all the good eggs I can get.) You need bloodwork before starting these to make sure your liver functioning is normal.
- Myo Inositol 2gm twice a day
- Melatonin 3mg at night
- Co Enzyme q10 200mg twice a day
Dr. Schl's office recommended acupuncture too, so I'm strongly considering it (but haven't scheduled anything yet). Anybody have a Manhattan-based acupuncturist you swear by?
In addition, I'm ramping up the nutrient density of my food. Planning on massive quantities of green leafy vegetables, salads, non green vegetables, fruit, and small quantities of nuts...and cutting way back on sugar, trans fat, alcohol. Been needing to do this anyway, so this is as good a reason as any.
Will and I kicked off the new start with Barefoot's asparagus soup recipe last night. And it was delicious. We invested in a Vitamix blender several months ago and while it was an expensive purchase, it makes pulverizing two bunches of asparagus and a whole onion a complete breeze. We only lightly cooked the onion and asparagus, and then popped them in. We left off the veggie broth and used Fage nonfat yogurt in place of the half and half. Five minutes later - wonderfully yummy pureed asparagus soup dinner! Incredible what a two-horsepower blender motor will do for you. Definitely a product we're happy to own.
This morning, Will and I had homemade breakfast shakes made out of baby spinach, an apple, an orange, and a few nuts. Pretty tasty despite the bright green hue.
And today's lunch? A romaine salad with mango, pumpkin seeds, a little goat cheese, and tomatoes. Plus, a small ham sandwich. A woman (or THIS woman, at least) can't live on salad alone.
I feel healthier already. Ovaries, I hope you're feeling it, too.
Mo
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sounds like a fantastic plan! I also did the silly higher protein/omegas for a month before and during cycle (nuts/seads/avacado).
ReplyDeleteToo funny--I just posted last night about (ahem) my own healthy eating plan. I think yours might be healthier...
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to buy one of those, now might have to. Your listing of foods sounds great and has inspired me to re-evaluate before our next IUI especially since we experienced a miscarriage last cycle. Thanks again for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI have high hopes that acupuncture/chinese medicine will do wonders for you! It has a wonderful track record with women who have been trying for years. And make sure to eat some warm foods (like the soup) in there with all the cold, raw foods and salads. I used to eat salads every day, and now I've cut back on them and added more cooked veggies, and it's amazing how much steadier my BBTs are already. Good luck, and I'm happy you guys made a decision that you seem to feel good about!
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful idea! I would love it if you would share some recipes! Eating healthier is something we really need to start too!
ReplyDeleteYou sound good, girl! Making the decision is so much better than limbo. This plan sounds good. Glad you're going to your graduation. You damn well deserve it!
ReplyDeleteDo you have an acupuncturist? Mine's on W. 86th and is also an MD. Very caring.
Would love to see you. Miss you!
My dad has a Vitamix and I want it! He makes the best fruity snacks for me instead of ice cream. :) Enjoy!
ReplyDeletethat salad sounds amazing. i make a spinach smoothie daily. sometimes i add greek yogurt. :) to your health!
ReplyDeleteps- my acupuncturist used to tell me that in order to have good eggs, eat eggs. so, i would eat an organic egg or two every day when i was trying. have you heard that before?
ReplyDeleteSince you have a cool-o-rama blender, I'll share this recipe from the Eating Well: Comfort Foods Made Healthy cookbook (which I HIGHLY recommend):
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/creamy_tomato_bisque_with_mozzarella_crostini.html
You can sub brown rice AND, to give it texture, add the cooked rice AFTER you puree (or don't, if that's how you roll).
I really like my current acupuncturist in NYC and liked my former one as well, but it was hard to get to from my job.
ReplyDeleteCurrent: Anne Brun at YinOva Center
Former: Active Acupuncture
Note, however, despite assiduously going I am not pregnant. So take my recs for what they are worth.
I want to come to your house and have you feed me.
ReplyDeleteI'm just sayin'.
That all sounds so darned YUMMY.
xoxo
happy cleansing. Your bowels may go into shock here for a bit, so be warned.
love,
Kate
Jill Blakeway! Have you seen or read the book by her and Dr. Sami David?? Anyways, I've heard nothing but amazing things about her, and she has also been on Good Morning America(?) I think that was the show. Definitely worth a call!
ReplyDeleteP.S. -- I have been slacking in the eating properly department. I try so hard and do so well, but then just fall off and lose my motivation.
Liz Carlson, formerly of YinOva (owned by Jill Blakeway), now out on her own at 23rd and 6th. I love this woman so much that I am getting up well before dawn tomorrow to see her (because of my schedule, not hers.). I'll give you her info on Wednesday if you want.
ReplyDeleteI swear the only reason that we got a good egg finally was because I changed my diet completely for two months. Similar to what you are doing now I eliminated alcohol, cut way back on sugar and upped my veggies, fruits, and whole wheat products.
ReplyDeleteYou are going to be amazed at how good you feel in a week or two!
-peachy
Interesting, this new protocol. Especially the melatonin - what do you understand to be the rationale for that?
ReplyDeleteI think the diet stuff will really help you - at least mentally. I always feel better when i eat well. I hope you have that too!
It'll be interesting to see the effects of all these changes. You're certainly making me hungry!!
ReplyDeletei feel healthier now after just reading about it! I
ReplyDeleteInspiring. I am starting to feel the urge to kick the non-stop chocolate and comfort food wallowing i've been doing the last 2 weeks. Thanks for giving me ideas. Hope you start feeling really well and revitalized soon xx
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm glad the soup worked for you. Maybe next time I'll try yogurt...sounds good.
ReplyDeleteMo -- Those certainly DO sound like some Colorado cocktails you are blending up. Having grown up in the Rocky Mountains, I remember lunchboxes filled with whole-grain pitas and sprouts. Of course, I rebelled. All I wanted was the lunchable belonging to a fellow 3rd grader sitting across from me!
ReplyDeleteJust thought I would pass along that I did accupuncture 2X per week for 5 weeks prior to this last FET (suggested by CCRM because of restricted bloodflow), and although it isn't my favorite activity (although I know many women who love it), it did indeed increase my blood flow to my uterus from restricted range back to the normal range, as seen by a doppler ultrasound. That made me a bit of a believer. It also cured a few Lupron-induced headaches along the way :)
Give it all you've got, because if you don't, you'll always be wondering, "what if...?"
ReplyDeleteCan I be firm with you on one thing? You really need to listen to Dr. Schoolie about the acupuncture. If you don't believe the #1 fertility clinic in the nation, who are you going to believe? Make that appointment with the acupuncturist! Go once a week, then up it to twice a week 6 weeks before retrieval.
I also went to (and really liked) YinOva, but the volume of patients is pretty absurd so it feels less personal.
ReplyDeleteLiz Carlson (Clarity Point Health) worked for many years with Jill and just went out on her own. She's lovely and has fewer patients (thus more focus I think). She's located at 23rd and 6th Ave right off the F line:
www.claritypointhealthcare.com/
She's really been the bright spot in my IF journey and the one thing that DH and I decided we would continue no matter what. That said, no baby for me.
I also read Jill Blakeway's book - and thought it made very good sense, but again, can't claim to be a success story...yet (oh, I hope, I hope, I hope).
Good luck!
I also went to (and really liked) YinOva, but the volume of patients is pretty absurd so it feels less personal.
ReplyDeleteLiz Carlson (Clarity Point Health) worked for many years with Jill and just went out on her own. She's lovely and has fewer patients (thus more focus I think). She's located at 23rd and 6th Ave right off the F line:
www.claritypointhealthcare.com/
She's really been the bright spot in my IF journey and the one thing that DH and I decided we would continue no matter what. That said, no baby for me.
I also read Jill Blakeway's book - and thought it made very good sense, but again, can't claim to be a success story...yet (oh, I hope, I hope, I hope).
Good luck!
I don't know any Manhattan accupucturists (I'm in CA)...but I do highly reccommend you find one....usually you can do an internet search and they will pop up....just make sure you get one that specializes in fertility. Sometimes the fertility clinics can refer you to someone. I am lucky that my accupuncturist recently became a member of my RE's staff. He has been great through all my IVF's...our pregnancy two years ago and now our adopted embryo pregnancy. It is money I don't regret spending for an INSTANT!
ReplyDeleteYay for the healthy living....it can't hurt. I'm very excited for your cycle next month. I think you are getting closer and closer to your baby.
hugs.
kd
MMMmmm... changin the diet to healthier choices is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI have an AMAZING acupuncturist - here is her website: http://www.erinhessel.com/
Her office is at the Berkley Center for Reproductive health and wellness. She is SO wonderful and her practice is well-rounded. She is also a doula and a trained in yoga. Her prices are reasonable. I have been doing acupuncture for 20+ years and she is a very good practitioner.
Go Mo, Go! You are so inspiring!!
Oh and here are two books I have come across that are good references for healthier choices and preparing the body for IVF AND CONCEPTION....
ReplyDelete"The Fertility Diet", by Jorge Cavarro, Walter Willet and Patrick Skerrett and I second those that posted about Jill Blakeway and Dr. Sami David's book, "Making Babies"... good info!
I'm a big fan of acupuncture. Think of it this way, you are going to spend a lot of money on the western medicine part of this, might as well shell out just a little more for this (which has clinical studies showing it can help).
ReplyDeleteHi Mo - Not sure how I stumbled on your blog. I don't know you at all and I am totally rooting for you and your husband. Had to leave a comment on the acupuncturist. I did one round of IVF which was converted to IUI at Cornell. When I asked them what I could do on a break they recommended acupuncture and gave me two names -- one of them was Dr. Yan Wu who is at 29th and 5th. Phone is 212 685 7067. I did two months of intensive acupuncture with him and got pregnant the second month without any fertility drugs at all. I was 41 at that time and a poor responder to the medications. I am 42 now, sitting here with my week old son. I am a true believer. Dr. Wu is the real deal -- I wish you the best of luck! Kathryn
ReplyDeleteOK, so I'm NOT crazy (totally)...you ARE taking the Denver clinic supplements...
ReplyDeleteI am thinking of taking the melatonin during my 2ww to try to get some much needed rest, but do you think it's safe to do these after transfer?
mo, just found your blog, so grateful, i am at a similar place in my journey (finally did microarray cgh for ivf6 after 7 failed transfers, shocked and happy to find 2 euploid, considering next steps).
ReplyDeletelinda, i had a bad reaction to melatonin when i took it for jet lag, and later read it is one of the nutritional supplements with the highest incidence of adverse reactions. otc does not equal safer than rx! i would say always ask your doctor AND search pubmed.
Jill Blakeway is the reason I have 2 children. She's an amazing acupuncturist. I don't find the volume of patients in her practice "absurd" as one of the previous commenters mentioned. She's busy because she's good and the office is busy because there are 8 acupuncturists there but they run it very efficiently and in 5 years of seeing Jill she's never run even 5 minutes late for my appointment. I can't say that about my doctor. I can't even say that about my husband! The fact that they are a large group means that there is someone on duty all day every day from early in the morning until late at night. I think this makes them more efficient not less.
ReplyDeleteAs for the idea that a less busy practitioner has more focus - that hasn't been my experience. Jill always spends plenty of time with me and is always available by email. Once when I was worried I was miscarrying she called me at home on a Sunday and spent an hour on the phone with me. Her success is well deserved and she is very down to earth about. It certainly hasn't effected her commitment to her job or her focus and I say that as someone who has watched her practice grow over many years.
I really can recommend her and her group (Amanda, Kim and Anne are particularly good if you can't get in with Jill) wholeheartedly.