Houston, we have a really big problem

Guess what anti-drug, herbal remedy, tree-hugging hippie is about to eat her words? This one. You know, the one who suddenly got fat.

I've been all up in arms lately about how the job that I've had for almost a year now is pretty darn sedentary, so I had gained a pound or two over the course of the past year. But then the previous two months happened and suddenly I'm up another 6-7 lbs! I've always maintained a really consistent weight and if I've felt myself creep up at all, I just watch extra closely and get some exercise and it stops. But not this time. I'm currently 5 lbs over my highest weight ever.

And what really pisses me off? I eat really g-dang healthy. Like nothing but veggies, fruit and raw nuts during the day and then a sensible, meat-free dinner. Now in what cruel world is a person such as this punished by weight gain and an unsightly bulge whilst trying to seduce her husband each evening?

So when I really sit down and think about the only culprits there could be over the past two months, I have to look to my herbal remedy recipe. I don't know which one could have done it (vitex or soy), but let's just say that I'm angry with them over it.

And that's where I turn to you, dear interwebs. What are your experiences? I can't seem to find anything helpful online (I graduated Google Medical and still can't find anything worthwhile), so I need to hear from you.

Until then, I'll be combating this by signing up for body sculpting classes, walking at lunch, etc, but I could really use some help. My gut, my tight pants, and DH thank you in advance.

xoxo,
MSC

Life is what happens to you while you were busy making other plans

So I've mentioned that I'm feeling good now that I've ovulated--and my temps keep going up, so I'm no longer questioning my CH's. Whoohoo!

DH and I had a few nice, long talks over last weekend. On Friday we discussed the options out there for next cycle - try it again naturally, check out acupuncture, or see my RE. I explained to him what each of these options meant.

He expressed some concern about seeing my RE, knowing that he'll just push for clomid, which DH would really, really, like to pursue as a last resort. And I agree with him--we're sorta crunchy like that and since we just started and don't have extreme baby fever, we're willing to give this awhile to work.

We had a wonderful weekend together working on projects, hanging out, etc. By Sunday I'd come up with a nice mental plan that I shared with him and we're both very comfortable with.

We're going to do another cycle naturally--just doing the herbs and teas that I've been doing. Since my cycles have been in this 70 range, that will take us through March and April for sure.

I'm also cracking down on my diet and going vegan (however, I'm saving one meal a week in case I want to have dinner with friends and this can't be accommodated). In all honesty, I'm hoping to drop a few pounds during this time to make myself feel a little bit more comfortable in my own skin. Plus I'm going to try to add some sort of workout regimen.

I'd then like to reward this hard work with a vacation (I don't want to jinx myself with the word "babymoon" but let's just call a spade a spade, mmkay?) in April or May and when we return, pursue acupuncture.

I don't feel a need to make plans beyond that--not because I think that I won't need them, but because who knows how I will feel at that point.

You know how I said I'd been feeling embarassed about TTC and the guilt that I've been having because I don't have baby fever? Well, I'm feeling better about both of those items. I feel really great about the path that we're on. Dare I say that I actually feel excited about this now? I think ovulating has given me the glimmer of hope that I needed.

Thanks for listening, interwebs.
xoxo,
MrsSC

What kind of fertility tea do you drink?

I don't know if you've noticed, but I try to be a bit of a health nut. It's served me well over the past year or so and I definitely feel the difference. Granted, I do fall off of the wagon, but usually it's pretty easy to get back on and I just feel so much better when I'm eating healthy.

So whilst at my local organic food market, I purchased some Women's Liberty Tea from Traditional Medicinals. It's mostly licorice root, wild yam, don quai root, fo-ti ruber (WTF?), angelica root and then a small blend of sweet orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, and clove.

The labeling says that it promotes a healthy hormone balance (whoo hoo!) by combining herbs to suport the production and regulation of hormones and that it's formulated according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM henceforth) to nourish and warm the blood and regular menses.

Dong quai comes up a lot in TCM anovulatory articles, but it seems that it's something that really should be administered by a herbalist, but the teas are pretty light in how much you're actually consuming, so I thought I would add it to the routine. I can't say that I'm in love with the taste, but it's way better than the colon cleanse tea that I tried to choke down last year. ICK!

So what tea do you drink?

Natural Fertility Cocktail, Attempt #1

I know a lot of girls like to compare notes on vitamin brands, supplements, etc so today I thought I'd share with you what I've come up with as a result of my recent research into herbal remedies for anovulation.

First and foremost, I share with you that my vitamin of choice has been the Target brand pretnatal. I've heard a lot about people feeling sick from their prenatals, but I've been on this one for a year now (RE suggested that I start taking them back then just in the event we'd decide to TTC) and I haven't had any issues. They're pretty big pills, which I don't love. Also, I think they smell sorta funny. Someone on the Getting Pregnant message board suggested that I try the Trader Joe's prenatal vitamins and since I'm almost out I think I might switch it up.

I also mentioned that I started taking vitex (chasteberry) last week. I purchased the Solar Ray brand, but my local health food store also carried Nature's Way and one other fertility-boosting blend. I wanted to buy Nature's Way brand (but they were all out) because it seems that their labeling system was more clear and I didn't want to get the blend just yet. So I settled for Solar Ray and I'm taking 1 a day (although the bottle says you can take more) but from what I've read online people don't take huge doses of it.

Lastly, is the Spring Valley soy isoflavones from Wal-Mart. I saw there were recommended very highly on soulcysters.net and other fertility message boards, so I decided to give it a try. As I mentioned before, you're supposed to take them for 4 days early in your cycle to induce ovulation, but I also read about people taking them later in their cycle and having the same results, so I just went for it... because at CD 50+, WTF? Who cares? How much worse can it get? ;-) So I'm on day 4 and wondering if it'll work. I'll be really pumped if it does.

Anyway, I take 80mg of these which is two pills--one in the a.m. and one at night. I've read that if the 80mg doesn't work for you, that you can bump it up to 3/day, but I'm willing to give 2 a shot.

So that's my first attempt at a fertility boosting vitamin cocktail.

Viva la Vitex!

I picked up a bottle of Vitex at my local health food market yesterday and I took my first pill last night. I couldn't find any information online that says you should start it on CD1 or if you can start at anytime, but I figure that my cycle is already on the fritz--Seriously, my chart has officially gone insane! It now resembles a freaking heart monitor! WTF?

So Vitex it is! I've also been reading about soy isoflavones, which apparently acts like clomid and is a natural way to stimulate ovulation. You're supposed to take 50-100 mg a day for 4 days at the beginning of your cycle (CD3-7 and CD5-9 were two suggestions that I saw).

Supposedly it suppresses estrogen, which stimulates the brain to produce more FSH. When your ovaries start to produce follicles and they grow, estrogen production will pick up again. Soy Isoflavones work in much the same way as Clomid but it's a more natural approach. Apparently it doesn't work for everyone (neither does Clomid), but with thin, anovulatory women with elevated estrogen (aka me!) there's a pretty decent success rate. I guess you can buy it at lots of drugstores and even Wal-Mart, so it looks like I'll be spending a little more time in the vitamin aisle.

Also, while I'm on the topic of homeopathy, I thought I'd save this list of estrogen producing foods. I have to say that as a healthy eater, I'm really upset to see a lot of these foods on the list. I'll have to do some digging to see to what extent each of these effects your estrogen (and plant estrogen is different than animal estrogen, so it's effect isn't as great), but seriously? Chick peas, tomatoes, eggplant, carrots, garlic, EVOO, and peppers have a huge presence in my diet!

Foods Containing Natural Estrogens
Alfalfa
Animal flesh - I include this for your information, as I've already cut this out of my diet due to the hormones in it.
Apples
Carrots
Cherries
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) -WHAT? I can't imagine cutting hummus out of my life!
Cucumbers
Dairy Foods
Dates
Eggs
Eggplant
Flaxseeds
Garlic
Oats
Olive oil
Olives
Papaya
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Plums
Pomegranates
Potatoes
Pumpkin
Red beans
Rice (relatively high)
Sesame seeds
Soybean sprouts
Soybeans
Split peas
Sunflower seeds
Tomatoes
Wheat
Yams


Estrogen Inhibiting Foods
If you are suffering from ovarian cysts and other situations that estrogen might exacerbate, the following estrogen inhibiting foods might be of interest to you. I've been shoveling in the Broccoli because I knew that it was good for high estrogen, but it's good to know there are more types on the list.

Berries
Broccoli
Buckwheat
Cabbage
Citrus
Corn
Figs
Fruits (except apples, cherries, dates, pomegranates)
Grapes
Green beans
Melons
Millet
Onions
Pears
Pineapples
Squashes
White rice

Balls to the wall

I bid bon voyage to my dotted CH's this morning. I had a decent temp dip (I woke up 1/2 hour early, but even with adjusting I'm sure I'd still lose them), so I think it's safe to say that the idea of ovulation occuring last week is DOA.

I've been thinking a lot about treatments. For the record, I see absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing treatment and taking fertility drugs. At this point, my RE doesn't seem concerned that my issues are causing permanent damage and my level of baby fever is still pretty mild, so (today) I'm feeling like I can work on a natural plan. And I'm really being honest here, there's still a little part of me that wants to beat this on my own.

So what do they recommend for someone who is anovulatory, elevated estrogen levels (evidence of cysts on ovaries), yet normal FSH/LH levels? Off to Google we go!!

#1 is The Fertility Diet. I actually put a lot of stock into the concept that "you are what you eat" and that what we're putting into our bodies is causing us a lot of problems.

Anyway, the diet focuses on eating lots of fruits and vegetables, smaller, more frequent meals, low animal protein (And hello? Growth hormones!) intake, and sticking with whole grains. Well, for me that's check, check, check, and check! I maintain a pretty darn healthy diet and have for most of the past year. There's little lapses here and there where I eat kinda crappy here and there--but my definition of "crappy" isn't fast food--it's vegetarian frozen meals, pasta, or going out to eat. I used to be a carb-a-holic, but after doing that raw vegan detox last year, I was able to kick the habit.

I learned a method of grocery shopping where I only shop the perimeter of the store (so that's pretty much produce, bakery, dairy case). And I pretty much load up on produce, pick a few whole grain items, and no meat.

Other items on the no-no list in the Avenger household:
High fructose corn syrup
bleached or enriched anything (like flour)
Um... I can't think of the rest of the list at this moment, but I'm a label reader.

Books on the topic that I recommend: Taking Charge of Your Fertility (TCOYF, of course!), PCOS and Your Fertility, and Skinny Bitch. If you want to know more about the Raw Food diet, WATCH THIS or read Ani Phyo's Raw Food Kitchen, Raw: The Uncook Book, or google for Raw Vegan detox blogs.

#2. Exercise. Admittedly, I suck at this. And I need to hop back on it for a few reasons-- First is that estrogen (which I have an excess of) stores itself in fatty tissue. And of course having more muscle ups your metabolism and while I'm not overweight, my muscle tone (and thus metabolism) has been gradually slipping over the years. Add in the fact that I have a herniated disc, which will be a total bitch when PG, so I've gotta get back on the pilates kick.

3rd item that I've heard recommended... Acupuncture. Would anyone like to share their experiences or resources on this one? I'm going to do a little more digging on the topic and look into local treatment facilities.

So if you've stuck with me this long and you're doing a little 1+1+1=3, I feel like I'm coming up with a natural health concoction of doing another raw vegan detox (longer than 30 days), an exercise plan, and some acupuncture.

Now doesn't that sound like a nice little fertility cocktail? Hmm??