Ok, here’s the deal. After being diagnosed, I googled way
too much. But, amidst my agonizing
horror of how “hopeless” this disease was, I found some great uplifting
stories.
#1 is Cole and her blog. If you haven’t read it. Do. I used
her as a basis for everything I’m doing. She jumped in with determination to
wake up her ovaries and boy did she ever. After three months, she got pregnant,
twice over J
She now has twins…and they said it couldn’t be done. Pshaw.
Here are the changes I made.
1.
Changed my diet. Trying to go as organic as
possible, from the produce, to the grains, to the meat and dairy.
2.
After reading in her blog, and then doing
further research on my own, low fat dairy is a big no-no. I kicked the skim
milk to the curb and drink almond milk now. All the other dairy I eat (cheese,
yogurt, etc) I try to keep organic and whole fat. At the very least I look for
the hormone free label.
3.
No cold drinks. I thought the TCM was crazy at
first, but it actually makes sense. Cold restricts blood flow. So, why would I
put a cold drink next to my reproductive organs? Some strict people won’t even
eat raw fruits and veggies, but I don’t go that far. My TCM did say I could
cheat every once in a while and have ice cream as a treat.
4.
Goodbye coffee and alcohol. I’ve never been a
big drinker, but occasionally would have
a glass or wine or a drink. Since my diagnosis, haven’t touched the
stuff. As for coffee, I’d kicked the regular, and was sticking to decaf, but
never realized how many pesticides were in the stuff. I had Bryce pick me up
some organic decaf, and will allow myself that once lent is over. I gave it up
for the Big Guy ;)
5.
Sadly, as I’ve moaned before, I gave up
breastfeeding. The TCM philosophy is a woman gives her life force to her child
when she nurses. Because I was so depleted, they pretty much told me it was
wean or never have a baby again. All my other doctors, including the chiropractor
had already told me that too. I didn’t take care of myself. Plain as that. Reed
wasn’t sleeping (AT ALL!! – I mean I literally was getting 2-3 hrs a sleep a
night for three straight months!) and I was running myself ragged working every
second he slept for naps and when he went down at night. Next baby (yes, there
will be a next) I plan to nurse until they want to wean, but I need to take
care of myself.
6.
Gain weight. I was too thin. The day I was
diagnosed, they weighed me and I was 97 lbs WITH jeans, tennis shoes and a
sweatshirt on. I’m 5’4”. Way to thin. I normally bounced between 100-103 before
getting pregnant before but gained a little weight that go round thinking it’d
aid my fertility. My goal is to get back
up around 105.
7.
Ditched all the toxic cleaners. We bought a
plant based cleaner that pretty much cleans everything because my hubby likes a
clean scent. I was fine with vinegar and baking soda, but it didn’t feel clean
to him. This one, smells clean and no toxicity. Deal.
8.
Drinking only filtered water. So, it’s a Brita.
Probably not THE best, but better than nothing.
9.
I used to drink water out of a big plastic cup
every day, but I’m not certain it was BPA free, so on to glass.
10. Castor Oil pack – I’ve been doing castor oil
packs. I will admit though that even when I THINK I ovulate I stop. I don’t
want to risk doing that if there is a chance that an egg is floating around in
there.
11.
Epsom Salt baths – not only is it relaxing, but
it helps detoxify and the magnesium absorption aids calcium absorbtion.
12.
Yoga and meditation. So, I think the big
catalyst for my POF is stress. I’m type A, make everyone happy…which means I
let it all bottle up. I’m trying hard to breathe deep, focus, let stressful
situations bypass me.
13. Asking for help. I want to do everything. And,
let’s be real. It’s not possible. I’m guilty of not asking, or even at times
demanding my husband or other people do things to help, then getting resentful.
All that negativity just eats away at me. Now, I’m getting much better at just
asking for help, or letting things slide. If I don’t clean up one night – not
the end of the world.
14.
Acupressure, massage and stretches. My TCM
taught me some acupressure massages that are suppose to “wake up” my lady parts
so I do those daily. I read one in particular is a no-no after ovulation so
I’ve been sipping it. My chiropractor gave me stretches to do every day and
I’ve been doing them religiously.
15.
TON of herbs and supplements. I did a TON of
research. I looked at what people did before that were successful, read about
what each one does, and scrounged for anything that could help. I took that
list to my TCM who told me what I should or should not take. I experimented
with a few they didn’t know enough about, and after three weeks decided to put
my trust in them completely and take only what is recommended.
So, here is my list of what I’m taking now. For a month I
took Vitex, Maca, Royal Jelly, Propolis and Bee pollen in addition, but for
now, my TCM doesn’t want me to do those anymore. They said the bee products are
great, but could influence my hormones too much and although I’d probably be
fine, they don’t want any risks. I also took Shatavari for about a week. That
one was safe while I was breastfeeding so I took a ½ teaspoon. I stopped when I
weaned because I figured the herbs they were giving me would do the same
things. For those of you doing maca, I found a great recipe that completely hid
the horrid taste. Even my husband dug them.
My first pregnancy, I took Royal Jelly and swore by it, so
if we can get things moving, I’ll ask to revisit that one with them. I linked the items I use, but you can find some from your preferred seller or within your price range. I searched for the ones that were least tainted by fillers and tried to buy as organic as possible.
Ubiquinol –
basically a version of CoQ10. After researching it, this one is suppose to be
absorbed more easily. A lot of fertility dosages said to go as high as 200 mg 3
times a day. I’m just doing 100 mg in the morning and 100 mg in the afternoon.
L-Arginine – 100
mg
Wheat Grass – 2
pills, the bottle says 5, and I may amp it up, but for now, 2 seems fine. I
take one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Spirulina - the bottle says 6, I take four. Two in the
morning and two in the afternoon.
Chlorella – the
bottle says 3, I take two. One in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Wild Yam – I just
started this week at my TCM’s suggestion. I’m taking the lowest dose at 425 mg
and perhaps moving up to the full dose of 850 mg. Many sites say a fertility
dose is 2-3 grams, but there is conflicting evidence that too much can be a
contraceptive. Since I don’t know when I ovulated (or if I did) I’m sticking
with the low dose. A lot of people think this is for progesterone, and it can
be, however it also normalizes estrogen production.
Multi – vitamin –
I’m doing a basic multi vitamin. I have hemochromatosis, which means I cannot
have iron, so no prenatals for me.
Folic Acid - 400 mg. Because I can’t take prenatals, I
have to take this separately.
DHA – I take a vegan
source from seaweed. I took it all throughout my pregnancy and breastfeeding
and it’s a great source of Omegas. Not to be confused the DHEA which is often
recommended for POF. I don’t know enough about it and was leery self
prescribing this. If my labs don’t change much with the herbs, I’ll discuss it
with my doctor, but for now, no gracias.
Calcium with VitaminD – Because osteoporosis is a big one with POF, I make sure to take my
calcium daily. I take 600 mg in the morning and 600 mg in the afternoon.
Cranberry – I’m
prone to UTIs, so I take one daily.
Evening Primrose
– I take this up until ovulation. Because I don’t know if I ovulated, I’m not
right now.
Red Raspberry LeafTea – I drink a mug up until ovulation.
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