GOALS:
1) Financing.
2) Improve AMH
3) Egg Quality
4) Research protocols for DOR
IMPROVING EGG QUALITY
In my situation, and according to Dr. C, my egg quality is not a concern however I have read enough sad stories of ladies with DOR who only got 4 eggs and they were all of poor quality - despite their young age. At 34 I know I am no longer in my baby-making prime, but according to the good doctor I am not quite yet a shriveled old hag, in spite of what my empty ovaries would have you believe. This middle ground is one of the things that concerns me in all of this. If I was 25 they'd say "You're young! They'll be perfect!" If I was 45 they'd say, "You're older and so we're not expecting beautiful eggs." At 34 opinions vary from doctor to doctor. Being the OCD perfectionist that I am, I'm going to take precautionary measures just in case.
Look, as I've previously mentioned we're killing ourselves to come up with money for this one cycle. Dr. C provides unlimited FET, but I do not anticipate having any spares for freezing. Those of us for whom IVF is a luxury well beyond our budget ALL say, "I have this one shot." But those of us on a shoestring budget AND who have DOR really may only have ONE shot. There will be no extra eggs for FET, one single try. You're in, or you're out. (And really... the interwebs, have shown me that I might not even get the one try I am hoping for. If I only get three eggs, and none of them are good, or don't develop properly, that's it. I am out before I even get started.)
But, I digress... egg quality. We want them plump and healthy and ready to get to work. We want them perfect. P-E-R-F-E-C-T! But how? I'll collate all the tips I have learned in one place, but first I want to give the sources a moment in the sun... (Speaking of sun... how are you doing on that Vit D for increasing AMH?)
Ready for some linkage? Here it comes.
One in Ten Million - Blog
So here's (in my opinion) the creme de la creme of resources for those of us with DOR, or POF. Cole Jeanette is one tenacious lady and she has, in 4 short months, taken her body from a 1 in 10 million chance of falling pregnant to pregnant with twins. *Gasp!* I know!!! She lists EVERYTHING she took and alternative therapies she tried on her blog and gives clear, easy-to-follow instructions on anything that you will need to "MacGuyver" at home for yourself. This is my number one recommendation. If you read nothing else I post, definitely go and read just this ONE blog. You'll learn a lot! (and you'll notice how many of her suggestions are in my list below)
Natural Fertility Info
I know, here I go with the "touchy feely" sites again, but despite the name this site is very explanatory. I thought I knew all there was to know about my ovaries and the eggs therein from Bio class in school. Boy was I wrong. Lot's of interesting information here and great clear diagrams. Also some hints and tips on how to naturally improve your egg quality in 90 days.
News Medical
This isn't a pretty, easy to use site and they don't focus on fertility specifically, it's more general medical. But I found this article on the use of Melatonin to improve egg quality to be very interesting and I wanted to include it.
The Magic List
At this point you may wish to grab yourself a cup of coffee and a note pad, oh and a full pen... I am talking brand new, fully stocked with ink. The list is long.
SUPPLEMENTS
I'll start off with the ones I am taking. Note that some of these are dual-purpose and were mentioned in my previous post about increasing AMH.
CoQ10 - 800mg/day
DHEA - 75mg/day
Royal Jelly - 456mg (concentrate) / day. If you have the jelly itself you need 1500mg/day
Fish, Flax, Borage, Omega 3,6,9 - 2 caps/ day
Melatonin - 3mg/day
Prenatal Vitamin - 1/day
L-Arginine - 1 cap 3x/day
Black Cohosh 3 caps/day
Ginseng - 1 cap/day
Thai Ginger- 1 cap/day
Vit D3 - 1000mg / day
Baby Aspirin 1/day
Red Raspberry Tea - 1cup/day
Here's how 1 full day's intake looks (Actually, I have added some stuff since these were taken):
Some others (slightly more difficult to find if you live out in the country like me, but I have ordered them and am waiting on delivery.)
Wheatgrass
Chaste Tree (AKA Vitex)
Maca
Myomin
Pregnitude (easy to find this one, online only, but too pricy for me right now, and I am concerned about taking this WITH my existing prenatal before I speak with Dr. C again)
THERAPIES
Fertility acupuncture
Fertility Yoga
Fertility Massage
Mayan Fertility Massage (Difficult to find a qualified practitioner on this one)
Castor Oil packs
Hello--I've been following along being 28 and diagnosed with POF. In either case, I just wanted to mention one thing. I believe the tea that helps women is Raspberry Leaf Tea. It tastes horrible! So I usually make a cup of tea with the Red Raspberry Tea and the Raspberry Leaf Tea. I don't think they are the same. Just thought I would mention that :) Best of luck to you! I am crossing my fingers that you will have wonderful results! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL.... I replied below... again...
DeleteP.S. I used to live in Buffalo. Enjoying the summer? I am sure that you are!
DeleteBethany, Really? Erg... You know this is going to drive my perfectionist soul crazy, right? I am going to HAVE to look into this some more. May I ask where you purchased the Raspberry Leaf Tea? Thank you SO much for letting me know!
ReplyDelete:) I got it from Wegmans in the Organic Section. But again I'm not positive if there is a difference. :) I am trying to enjoy the summer, except Mother Nature didn't get the memo that spring is over lol its been raining most of May & June haha... anyway what I just tried was getting one of those quart mason jars and using 3 bags of the red raspberry and 3 bags of raspberry leaf tea and did a sun tea. That way I had about 4 servings always in my fridge, I also added 1 tsp of domino organic sugar when I pour myself a glass--it was quite enjoyable :)
DeleteWhy do I never reply a comment properly... :/
DeleteWegmans, I remember Wegmans! Unfortunately we don't have much in the way of Organic sections in grocery stores down here where I am. haha To Amazon then. I've had to find many of my supps online as they were impossible to find out here in the sticks.
ReplyDeleteSun tea is a great idea. I am finding it tough drinking the warm tea on hot summer nights. An iced "sun tea" version would be delicious. Oh, I am clear that you're not totally sure there is a difference, but just in case I'd like to cover both bases. haha Thanks again for the tip!
Hope Buffalo summer comes through soon for you. I remember it being SO pretty in Spring though. (Except the year after the awful snow storm took out all the trees.)
:) Well the brand of tea I have is Traditional Medicinals Organic Raspberry Leaf and says supports the Female System on the front of the box. The iced sun tea is definitely the way to go when the weather is warm :) Hope it works out for you. Oh one thing I wanted to mention that I noticed wasn't on your list of things--charting. I'm not sure how much good it is doing for me in terms of telling me when I'm supposed to ovulate lol, but i found that charting my basal body temp and recording all the vitamins a take, or the days that i do acupuncture & castor oil packs really helps me feel like I'm being pro active about the whole thing. I use fertilityfriend.com for my charting.
Delete:) Thank you this Spring was quite lovely. New growth is starting to fill in where the trees and branches got knocked down. The weather for the remainder of the week looks promising--fingers crossed that I'll be able to get some natural Vitamin D this weekend haha... btw i'm loving your blog--it is definitely something that has helped me remain positive. Strong women like you and Cole Jeanette inspire me! :)
Woohhoo! I remembered to "reply" properly. I actually used to chart way back when I was married before. I never could get the OPKs to work and my temp dip was so minute it was hardly noteworthy and my crosshairs moved around willy nilly throughout the cycle. Adding to the frustration the OPKs never gave me a positive either and I just gave up when I went to the doctor with all my carefully charted information and he barely glanced at it. This time I haven't been charting because we cannot try naturally due to the vasectomy. So I didn't think there was a point, but I guess in terms of having a basic schedule to go by before starting meds wouldn't hurt would it? Hmm... more food for thought! Thanks Bethany. I am so glad to hear that my blog is helping you. Cole Jeanette was SUCH a huge source of information to me and I had to collate it somewhere. I went looking to see if you had a blog too. Please let me know if you start one!
DeleteVery informative! I'm almost 28 and just fuagnosed with POF. I'm searching for anything that could help improve egg quality snd lower my amH:) ill def be subbing!!!!
ReplyDeleteSeroflo 125 Autohaler is a combination of two drugs that opens the airways and makes it easier to relax. It is used in the therapy of asthma persistent obstructive pneumonic issue. Your primary care physician will reveal to you how frequently you need to utilize your inhaler.
ReplyDelete