Sometimes God has a different path in store for us. After being diagnosed with POF, I set out on a journey to "repair" my body and get pregnant naturally. Somewhere along the line, although pristine health and self care is my goal, the necessity to "prove" the doctors wrong became less important and we sought the perfect solution to grow our family. We decided on Embryo Donation / Adoption. Read about our journey. Blessings!
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diet. Show all posts

Perhaps the big "O"

Dec. 13, 2014

Still in limbo here, but that shouldn't be shocking ;)

My chart is actually pretty interesting. I had a temp hike which came down for seven days (the open circle, I temped late) and shot back up. The first hike was during a cold, which is what I am attributing it to. Right now, no cold, so perhaps I did ovulate. Take a peek.


I was back to acupuncture today. My TCM seemed pleased with my progress. I did talk to them a bit about my treatment in regards to financials. Like so many others, we're hurting. Without going into boring detail, every where we turn, it's hitting us hard. Realistically, I cannot continue treatment the same way and put food on the table. 

On the flip side, I feel it's important that I do take care of myself physically. Yes, it costs money, but left untreated, this disease could potentially kill me either directly or indirectly. I feel like I've healed so much and come so far, and I do not feel like this is permanent. I think it was a reflection of my life at that time. Stress, toxins, exhaustion. All no bueno! I do feel like if I can get things operational again, I'll run like a well oiled machine ;)

I asked them if we could cut my herbs in half so I could trim my bill. After a long discussion in Chinese that left me looking from one to the other and back again, they told me they think the best course of action is to take a full dose, but do it every other day. They think it will be most potent in full, but dispersed like that, it should still be effective. They said what is most important is that I continue the acupuncture which has served me greatest. My pulse is always dramatically better after. Her words were "better and better."

My session today was fine. It strikes me as funny what points are sensitive some days and others I barely feel at all. The needles near my hair line and on my feet today were sensitive. Going in, the needles on my reproductive organs weren't all that painful, but within minutes I started getting shooting cramps. I asked her if that was ok. "Cramps, yes. Pain, no." Since they were just cramps, I think it was the blood flow moving and energy shifting. All good.

I was a bit nervous going in because I didn't sleep well. My poor son came down with another cold and woke up several times last night. He always put himself back to sleep within minutes, but typically mommy that I am, I slept like crap listening to every cough, sniffle and movement from his direction. I'm praying my husband and I don't get this one. The last one was pretty nasty and with us traveling for Christmas, we want us all healthy.

I did read an interesting article that someone posted in a POF support group. As I turned to Google, I see it's being done more and more, but here you go...


It talks about how a women's ovary was grafted into her arm. They put it near the muscle to get adequate blood flow, and this ovary cycles every month growing follicles. They remove the eggs for future IVF. Isn't it fascinating that given the correct blood flow these ovaries are working? In her arm?? It really made me think how much good acupuncture does for our reproductive organs. Acupuncture stimulates blood flow. 

For people that don't have that service readily available, there are things like Castor Oil Packs, fertility yoga, fertility massage, etc that can also get your blood flow moving to your reproductive organs. Ensuring you have a healthy diet is important because the junk we eat makes our system sluggish, and regularly exercising (stimulating blood flow) also help. If an ovary can work in your arm, or abdomen (as they are also doing) it can certainly work where God placed it given the right environment.

Monday, I'm back to the chiropractor. I had rescheduled my monthly appointment to six weeks so I'm hoping my body responds well to the session. Then, I've that tough talk with his as well regarding what I can afford. I want to try to push it to every 6-8 weeks. Cutting that expense in half will be easier to swallow, but still keep my body on track.

On a very sad note, a woman that I'm "friends" with in a Facebook support group lost her baby today at 41 weeks. I cannot even fathom that kind of devastation. To make it all through a pregnancy, be expecting to come home with your child any day, and have them find no heart beat at a scheduled appointment. It makes my stomach drop. And, to have to go through the labor and delivery... If you can spare some prayers for her and her family, I'd be most appreciative. 

Well, I should turn in for the night. We'll see how my temps look over the next week. I'm cautiously optimistic. As always, God Bless!



The Changes


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.