Preparing For IVF-Physically, Mentally and Emotionally

Like many women  I have been researching what types of vitamins, supplements, foods and beverages are healthy and crucial before diving into pregnancy or in our case IVF.  I get asked what types of things I have taken and what I recommend...so here goes!

I highly recommend a prenatal vitamin every day with food.  Along with my prenatal vitamin I take a 400mg pill of Folic Acid.  Last time I had my levels checked they said I had a superb amount to conceive and carry a baby, so that is why I am so keen on Folic Acid.  Folic Acid is also extremely important for the babies growth and development and something so simple can prevent issues such as Spinabifida.

Royal Jelly is my new friend in a jar.  Pictured below Royal Jelly is basically what the queen bee eats and uses to create thousands of healthy eggs every day.  It is a superfood complex and in my research seems to be beneficial in the pre stages of IVF and or conception.  I take one teaspoon every day followed by a big glass of water( it tastes awful to me).
                                                                                   

Drinking plenty of water is critical for anyone on any given day.  Drinking water is a natural cleanser and  also very important during the stimming stage and beyond with IVF.  You should drink at least half your body weight in ounces every day.  While I was going through our first IVF I would by the gallons of water so that I could monitor how much I was drinking.  Sometimes it seems excessive, but it is very important :)

I drink a green smoothie almost every day.  I make them simple and tasty.  Here is my recipe:

1 Cup Fresh Spinach
1 Whole sliced Green Apple
1 Whole Pear
1 handful green grapes
about half a cup of water

*Adding ice could be good, but I like them cool not icy. 

I blend and drink right away :)

Sleeping is always a great healthy way to rejuvenate and regroup mentally, physically and emotionally.  I am still working on getting enough sleep every night!

Have a great day :)

New Beginnings

                                                                        

     


Sometimes we have to get up, dust ourselves off and try again. In our case we have had to maybe 5 or 6 times. I mean it has to work at some point right? We will be able to have our own miracle and put this some what behind us.  At this point I know that the hurt and sadness may lessen but I don't believe it will ever just disappear when we do finally have our babies. The devastation and emptiness that we and I'm sure other infertile couples feel is something that I believe becomes a part of us, part of our story in life.

I literally could not even open up my blog for months after our last disappointment.  I wrote the post about it failing and then hid under my comforter for awhile.  Not only is the IVF failure so upsetting but it is also embarrassing.   I am sure I am not alone in saying that as a women you ask yourself " what the heck is wrong with my body? why did this not work?  how am I supposed to keep trying?"  Among several other questions.

As a I think back and reflect I have felt several emotions, anger at myself and the doctor( I will get into that later), sadness of course, confusion, exhaustion, fear and like comfort eating for at least a month( which I did- chocolate cake galore).

Anger at the doctor stemmed from the fact that I ovulated several of my lovely eggs prior to retrieval.  How could I be in that less than 1% of women who ovulate when they are on several powerful drugs to prevent such an occurrence?  Seriously?  I told the nurse that I had a feeling I was ovulating and that I should trigger 2 days prior to when I ended up triggering.  I know my body and I knew what I was feeling...but I digress.  He kept putting it off so I not only ovulated but also he only retrieved 14 eggs.  To some 14 is an outstanding number and I get that completely.  In my case I had over 30 follicles and I needed just as many eggs because of the issue and genetic testing that would weed all but 1 embryo out.  Yes, only 1 embryo out of the 10 biopsied came back normal.  How disheartening is that?  One sweet little girl, our little fighter made it, but then some how the whole thing failed in the end.

I know that like many women dealing with infertility the biggest question we ask is "why?".  Though we may never get the answer we continue to ask it regularly.

I believe that I am able to write this post and open up about all of this because just yesterday I had a surge of hope and excitement about our situation.  Rogers insurance goes into affect next week and we will have 6 IVF's covered completely!  I called a new doctor and had a phone consult about the process and what we needed to do to prepare etc.  My new doctor will be Dr. Randy Morris, apparently he is top 10 in the nation.   Thank God for such good news.  I will most likely be starting a cycle late December!!!!

I have started taking Royal Jelly which is supposed to be great for egg quality and quantity along with taking my folic acid, prenatals and eating lots and lots of spinach!  If nothing else I feel healthy and vibrant from all of the vitamins!

Keep reading for updates and follow me on my second journey through IVF and PGD.