Any natural fertility advice??

[hifer]

We are waiting for our IVF to start which will probably be Feb / March and I just wondered (in a last ditch attempt and desperation!) whether anyone had any advice about conceiving naturally??!

We've been trying for 2 years and I have only conceived naturally once but lost it in October. I have taken fertility drugs, had regular acupuncture, measured BBT religiously, taken Vit D and prenatal vitamins, used Preseed for a couple of months, had all the scans under the sun with blood tests etc and fiancee's sperm is fine!

I guess I'm asking if there are any vitamins that anyone would recommend / any tests that perhaps we haven't done / any holistic treatments etc that anyone has tried that they might recommend? I realise this is a ridiculously open ended question but just thought I'd throw it out there just in case!!

Thanks for reading

x

[Arya10]

Good question! I am in a similar situation and would also love to hear any suggestions. Sorry it’s not advice I’m giving, but exciting you will be starting your IVF soon (or a natural BFP before it)!)

[hifer in reply to Arya10]

No problem. It's a pretty open ended question but figured it was worth an ask

[Hidden]

Well ubiquinol is always mentioned but I can’t say it works although we did get pregnant pretty quick we’re miscarrying again maybe I needed to take it longer or it doesn’t really work. I also took dhea pqq royal jelly maca vit c, omega 3 fish oil with dha,zinc and a prenatal. Dhea made my hair abit greasy but other than that I felt pretty good. I drank pomegranate juice and loads of water, ate ok tried eating beetroot, salads black kale, avocado, fruits, asparagus etc.

Also I have been pregnant 4 other times without any of that.

[hifer in reply to Hidden]

Thanks a lot for that - really useful. I was taking royal jelly for a bit but gave up! Not sure why - think I got a bit overwhelmed with the amount of supplements I was taking. However since I've got it I may as well take it!! I have in fact just taken one. Fish oil gives me reflux and as I've tried it a number of times over the years, I have in fact just given up! I'm also taking Vit C at the moment as just coming out of the back of a cold but think I'll continue on with that too. I had not heard of DHEA or PPQ so just had to look them up and will give them some thought. I also have mace but stopped taking that too. Can you take too many supplements do you know??

Thanks a lot for your input as always x

[Hidden in reply to hifer]

Ubiquinol and pqq go together Pqq makes new mitochondria which is the battery for cells and ubiquinol protects from free radicals that suck the energy out of cells as we age we produce less. That’s what I read and watched on you tube. Dhea unless u have low egg reserve, low dhea levels or older your not really suppose to take it.

I was taking abit 20 pills a day I forgot to put on folic acid but that’s the usual.

I’m going to start taking what I have left just to use them up then prob not bother as I spent a fortune and had all my hopes pinned on taking these and still miscarried.

[hifer in reply to Hidden]

You sound like you know what you are taking about!! Thanks a lot for that.

Yes that's exactly what I'm going to do I think. Use up what I've got as I also spent a fortune on really good quality stuff and also miscarried. May as well take it since I've got it

[Kiedy84]

Hi have you had TSH, T3,T4 and antibodies tested for your thyroid?

TSH should be ideally below 2.5 for conception. We have been trying for 2 years and I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's, my TSH was above 5 and had antibodies, nobody bothered to the test this for 2 years

Good luck xx

[hifer in reply to Kiedy84]

You poor thing. Yes I have an under active thyroid so am on thyroxine. Sorry should have put that in the main message. I was also tested (and was high) early on but then I had no idea that TSH should be below 2.5. It wasn't until nearly a year later that a doctor thought to put me on thyroxine!! Do you take medication for your Hashimoto's and do you do anything else to manage it if you don't mind me asking? Just trying to get ideas!

Thanks a lot for the message

x

[Kiedy84 in reply to hifer]

I have been taking Levothyroxine since end of October, had TSH tested just before Xmas and the TSH is now 1.8 but I tested positive for antibodies. Was just told to continue with 50 Levothyroxine.

I am hoping this will help us to conceive naturally 🤞🤞

[hifer in reply to Kiedy84]

Fingers crossed for you. My sister in law has Hashimoto's too and manages it through diet. You may, or may not, want to investigate the AIP diet. It's quite restrictive but worth at least having a look at to see if it's for you?? I have had my antibodies tested, yes and so far they are OK. I should also mention that my sister in law is not trying to get pregnant but just thought I'd mention it in case it's of interest. I have to say that she uses it instead of taking medication which obviously I would not recommend for you at this stage given you are trying to conceive.

x

[Pookymama]

Hi hifer,

After ttc for 5+ years, previous ivf attempts and another due to start now, in October we discovered I was pregnant.

I'll list the things I was taking here but I feel the things that most helped were changing my mindset and lightening up on myself.

I'd previously felt a bit of a failure, obsessed about everything I was doing and taking and was hard on myself.

In my mind, I think I'd resigned myself to thinking I was infertile and could only get pregnant through ivf but on returning to my accupuncturist after a long break, she said "there's no reason you can't get pregnant naturally you know", and something clicked, like I allowed myself to believe it.

I'd also started to enjoy life, and being in my own skin again. I reconnected with and accepted myself more instead of seeing my body as a failure or something I disliked that was letting me down.

I did this through yoga, meditation, dance and being intimate with my partner in order to be close, not with conception as the primary focus. Before this switch, I think I felt I couldn't be happy without a baby and my life was an empty waiting room until this event.

Also, I work in domestic abuse support and also often find myself ensconced in supporting friends through prolonged major stress, so I was having little nourishing time and probably had cortisol constantly coursing through my body.

I began to reflect that I was always surrounded by high level trauma and considered that it can absorb into us and we can subconsciously block pregnancy when the world appears doesn't seem safe, so I drew back the 110% I was putting into other people's trauma and stepped back from negative friends which I think has helped immensely.

Previously, I have researched and taken on board every piece of fertility advice out there and tried every potion I could get my hands on, including DHEA from the US, banishing plastics and chemicals from my home etc which I found very restrictive, stressful and expensive.

This time, I casually took general vitamins from Aldi like vitamin c and evening primrose, a DHA fish oil blend and ubiquinol coq10 from amazon and ate a generally healthy and largely natural diet with warmer foods in winter.

As I'm always cold and read that in Chinese medicine a warm womb is hospitapal, I wore a Nuku from Hakamaki - just a piece of fabric round the tum - on cooler days.

I'd started doing holistic things for relaxation in the last 6-9 months like having regular massage and returned to accupuncture very briefly before I became pregnant.

I also bought a hypnotherapy for ivf cd from amazon which we listened to in bex twice or 3 times before falling pregnant. Don't know if the hypnotic suggestions helped change my mindset/any blocks!

I genuinely think it was largely my attitude towards myself and enjoyment towards life that made the biggest difference though but I guess we'll never know!

Sorry that was like War and Peace!😂

Massive luck to you on your journey. Keep believing. Dreams can come true! Xxx 😉

[hifer in reply to Pookymama]

Thank you so so much for your response! I can literally relate to everything you’ve said!! I did/ feel the same on so many levels! I so agree that a positive attitude is so so important. I also threw myself into doing and taking everything last year and it was incredibly stressful. Now I’m taking a more measured view and seeing whether things actually work for me or not for instance getting to my acupuncture appointments at 6.30am before work was way more stressful than the actual benefits of them!

I’ve not heard of a Nuku but am very interested in one. My nutritionist and acupuncturist also told me that I need to keep my womb warm as I’m a very chilly person too. She also told me to eat hot food wherever possible. This was hard in the heatwave we had last summer!! DO you wear it throughout your cycle or just through ovulation?

Thank for the other suggestions too eg CD etc really useful tip.

Really appreciate your sage advice. This has helped me massively

Xx

[Pookymama in reply to hifer]

Aw thank you Hifer, I'm glad my long-winded ramblings were of some use! 😂.

Yeah, we can put so mich pressure on ourselves to attain perfection that it can be counterproductive hey!

Im glad you've found measured ways to support your fertility as I'm sure that helps!

As I was quite casual about everything I just wore my nuku nuku on chillier days, regardless of cycle day.

I really hope everything works out for you and look forward to seeing any updates! Xx 😊

[hannahding]

There are a few things that you can try. Firstly start eating really healthily. Make sure to eat stuff that is high in nutrients. This is something that really matters. Apart from this start exercising. This will really help you as well. These are a few things that do improve things significantly. Also, drink a lot of water and avoid caffeine.

[hifer in reply to hannahding]

Thank you. I have a really good diet and eat well. I exercise every day and drink about 3 litres of water. I mostly gave up caffeine over a year ago too (apart from in some fruit teas). I don’t drink milk or coffee so this was easy and I drink a lot of fruit tea. I’ve just given up alcohol for the hundredth time over the last year!! 😊

[Hidden]

Just reading the comments for a warm womb try caster oil packs it just caster oil on a flannel and a hot water bottle supposed to cleanse and promote fresh blood and it feels nice but only after your period and before ovulation. Or fertility massage there’s vids on you tube. I do agree with self love and care eating good,exercising, positive mind, focus, doing things you enjoy.

[hifer in reply to Hidden]

Amazing! Not heard of castor oil packs either so will give them a try. Definitely need to help blood in that area. My periods are so ridiculously light. When I saw my fertility acupuncturist that was her main focus (as I’m sure it would be for most people).x

[Hidden in reply to hifer]

After miscarriages my second period has both times been super light so reading up and I think maybe someone in here was drinking Pom juice for uterine lining so I started drinking and my next period was really good dark red and med flow I was impressed with myself lol Then did the caster oil pack then got pregnant the next cycle. All coincidence probably, but I’d like to think it all helps. My periods are usually med to light 3 maybe 4days