Acupuncture to treat infertility

Acupuncture to treat infertility

Check out my article at the Austin Infertility and Miscarriage Examiner page!

Infertility Myth Busted: "Slow down, you have plenty of time to have kids!"

Although infertility has no age boundary, the older a couple gets, the higher the incidence of miscarriages or difficulty in conceiving. According to RESOLVE among the risk factors to conception:

A woman's age can affect her fertility. By age 40, a woman's chance of pregnancy has decreased from 90 percent to 67 percent. By age 45, the chance of becoming pregnant declines to 15 percent. Infertility in older women may be due to a higher risk of chromosomal abnormalities that occur in the eggs as they age. Older women are also more likely to have health problems that may interfere with fertility. The risk of miscarriage also is much greater for older women. 

I don't know how many times  when sharing my fertility hopes and despair that a well-meaning friend or co-worker would pipe up with "You're young, you have plenty of time!" Such a comment stings in several ways.

• It instantly invalidates your struggles and fears. A comment like this says "You have no right to worry and your pain is unimportant."
• It also sends the message that the speaker is somehow bored or impatient with you and hasn't the time to comfort you about your concerns.

• One of the most frustrating aspects of this comment is it's complete ignorance to actual risk factors to fertility. 

The truth is, for most couples over the age of 35 the risk of infertility is heightened. Also, the actual likelihood of achieving conception from intercourse during the fertile period (3-5 days around ovulation) is only around 20-25% for healthy couples.

A couple ages 29-33 with a normal functioning reproductive system has only a 20-25% chance of conceiving in any given month (National Women’s Health Resource Center). After six months of trying, 60% of couples will conceive without medical assistance. (Infertility As A Covered Benefit, William M. Mercer, 1997) 

 So, it's incredibly frustrating and demoralizing when someone waves off your infertility concerns with a "You're young, this will pass!" It makes me want to scream and tear out my hair. I know the proverbial "biological clock" is over-used, but it has basis in fact! I say this not to be hopeless, but realistic, that each woman's fertility dwindles with each cycle. That's one less egg, one less opportunity to achieve pregnancy and one more step towards overall potential medical conditions that can affect your chances.

I guess the type of support I want from a friend when I am despairing over my last BFN and whether or not I'll EVER achieve a BFP is "I know it's so tough, but you'll get there!" I think that support is more welcome than advice, especially poor advice.

To get the low-down on Infertility, visit RESOLVE's Infertility 101 Check out RESOLVE for more information on National Infertility Awareness Week® (NIAW) and how you can get involved in your community!

Infertility Myth Busted: Having an infertility diagnosis means I must see a specialist

Infertility Myth: "Having an infertility diagnosis means I must see a specialist."

Many infertility diagnoses can be simply treated by the couple's OB/GYN (obstetrician/gynecologist). Most couples go to their OB/GYN to get assistance in diagnosing the obstacles to successful conception. He or she may also be able to treat the issue by assisting the couple with tracking the woman's ovulation and/or prescribing medications or other treatments to combat the particular issue. Depending on the doctor, he or she may be able to do further treatments. If further specialist intervention is needed, the OB/GYN will refer the couple to an RE (reproductive endocrinologist) for further treatment.

I myself was diagnosed with hyperprolactinemia for my anovulation. Upon reviewing my medications, my OB/GYN identified one of them as a possible culprit. Two weeks after stopping that med, I had my first crosshairs on my fertility chart!!! So far I haven't sought additional help, but am thinking of looking into another round of tests to see if there is something else occurring that might be causing my spotting around 9DPO (or full AF at that date). 

For an Infertility 101 go to RESOLVE.org to learn more about infertility. For more on how to participate in National Infertility Awareness Week.

BFN--Now waiting to TTC after move to Texas.

Soooo....after NUMEROUS BFNs--Big FAT Negatives on all of my HPTs....now we're in a holding pattern. I can't move until I get a job. DH is already down there starting his business. God-willing, either I get a job or his business takes off like a rocket and I can move down anyway.

I had quite  rotten week. Tuesday I was walking with a co-worker to get lunch and had a misstep on the pavement and twisted my ankle.  I had to hobble back to the office. Then he offered to drive us there and at the place my phone fell out of my pocket...I heard it and was so distracted by my ankle I said I'd get it back at the office. Got back and NO PHONE. He searched, I searched. Nothing. So I even went back in my car to see if it fell out of the car and there was nothing.

Got a new phone that evening, and then of course, my co-worker found it in the BACK of his car with a lot of other stuff. Since then been ibuprofen, elevating and icing. Thursday I got my period and was a royal, moody terror. I called in sick because I didn't want to inflict myself on others.

Ah well, I guess my TTC efforts will be focused on weight loss and getting to Texas!

Pics of Nephew Will from my visit!

 Hmm...I'll have to think about that.

So cute!

Yes, I know.

Argh, get me my booty (booby)

 Ah, relaxin with Mimi

 Just a little, Mom, please?

 Look who is shy!

 Just so precious!!!

To BFP or not to BFP?

Well, let's just say AF is playing games with me again. I try to ignore the possible pregnancy symptoms (yeah right). I was able to hold off testing until 9DPO. I had a super duper chart, my last 8-9 temps were all within a tenth of 98.6!

Then of course, I start to spot, slowly. And a very different kind of spotting. Dark red or brown, not light pink or bright red like usual. The last few days it seemed to only get heavier when I exercised. Then it would be almost absent.

Today my temperature took a nose-dive. I knew it would only be a matter of time. And I keep getting BFNs (though one or two evaps!!)

Well, today I had a rough day. Sprained my ankle, lost my cell phone....but I bounced back. After it now seems my spotting has receded after increasing. WTF?!

Maybe, just maybe, praying that this is a HUGE implantation dip and not the beginning of AF? Pretty please?

For those who see pregnant women EVERYWHERE

We all know how it seems the moment we start TTCing that suddenly pregnant women seem to pop out of the woodwork. And when you're infertile or have miscarried, it makes simple trips to the grocery store horrible.

One of my fellow TMPers pointed out this blog, Life, Loss and other things She posts an article calling this the "Infertility and Miscarriage Phenomenon" She really captures this phenomenon and how it feels to the infertile woman. She also has a great way to make the pain a little less.

Santa Baby?

BD'd today, so got genuine BD on O-3 and O. DTD on O-1, but the only possibility would be pre-ejaculate, and even if there were some (and I doubt it) there would have been so little that the KY may have killed it off. 

But,  it's enough. My BFP cycle we only DTD twice, on O-1 and O, so this is similar. I think the thing is that I wonder if this is what a normal girl's "fertile cycle" is like.

It's been so different for me. I usually have a bit of sticky CM, then sticky/creamy, then creamy/watery or creamy/EWCM. And it is usually scant. I don't want picture perfect CM but I just would like something that doesn't look like I'm producing two different kinds at once!

Also, I usually only get bb pain, increased sense of smell, and backache starting no more than the day before O and leading up to AF gradually increasing bb and back pain, others tend to fall away. Plus a few days after O is when the breakouts occur. But THIS time, it coincided with my picture perfect EWCM (that I made without EPO or Mucinex!!). It just seems like my body's been out of sync and now everything is working the way it ought to be.

So even if I don't get a Santa baby, I'm hopeful that this is a positive change that will eventually lead to my BFP. Hey, maybe Cheri22 will be right and I'll get a June BFP! But I wouldn't mind if she was off by a few months.