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It is always strange to announce to the world, “I struggle with infertility!”  Yet if I don’t talk about it, I know many women are going to continue to feel alone and not have the information they need.  If you are dealing with infertility, you need me to talk about the fertility options that I have tried.  You need other women who are TTC (trying to conceive) to talk about what they are doing.  Why?  Because you don’t have to make the same mistakes and you might find that one of these options helps you skip some of the stress that we’ve endured.

You could try one of these fertility options and have it work for you in the next three months.  I would LOVE for you to find fertility options that would work for you and change your fertility journey from a long arduous journey to a quickly solved situation.

Below you will see my timeline of what fertility options I have tried throughout my seven year journey with infertility –>

Options for Infertility

Fertility Options – My Seven Year Journey TTC

Year 1

Cycle Length – 35-45 days
Weight – 155

OBGYN #1 – Said that we would need to have been trying for a year before getting checked out for infertility (we hadn’t been preventing pregnancy for over a year); I had one positive pregnancy test and then negative tests and they decided to tell me I had never been pregnant

Year 2

Cycle Length – 35-45 days
Weight – 155

General Practitioner – told us to just “do it” every day; finally referred me to the OBGYN

Weston A. Price Wise Traditions Diet – began to make bone broth, eat coconut oil, and cook traditionally; lost 15 pounds of baby weight that I had been carrying for three years

OBGYN #2 – suggested Clomid before running any tests; gave a list of tests to schedule; we did not choose to take Clomid

HSG – painful procedure and immense pain afterward; ended with a trip to the ER possibly due to reaction to the dye

Ultrasound – no clear cause found; possible cyst outside of ovary, but was told this was not significant

Basic Hormone Panel – no information; considered “normal”

Year 3

Cycle Length – 35-45 days
Weight – 140

“Acupuncturist” (doctor who called himself an acupuncturist after a one week class) – scared the crap out of me and made my toe twitch; had no idea what he was doing and marked in my chart that I had an aversion to doctors . . .

OBGYN #3 – suggested I use the Clomid so that I would “feel” better by just getting pregnant though he had no idea what was wrong with me; I stopped going to this doctor due to his confusion over his role as a MEDICAL advisor rather than a counselor

Charting – was told by OBGYN #3 that charting didn’t matter and that BBT meant nothing

Progessence Plus – I started infrequently using Progessence Plus.  I’ve been scared of using progesterone supplements without the advice of a trained practitioner, so I discontinued use at that time.*

Fertility Options

Year 4

Cycle Length – 35-45 days (changed to 31 days for 3 months in the Spring during regular acupuncture visits and the use of Chinese herbs)
Weight – 140 (lowered to 130 during Whole 30)

Modern Style Chiropractor – felt better in spine; no reproductive effect noticed

Pilates – strengthened body and core; learned how to carry myself and to use control while exercising to protect muscles and ligaments

Acupuncturist trained in Chinese Medicine – noticed first cycle changes; went from 38 days to 31; found out that no brown blood or spotting is okay; a period should ideally start red and end red

Whole 30 – Tried first –> Whole 30; realized modern wheat and processed dairy are pretty much evil and cause inflammation; lost 10 more pounds

Maca – tried –> Maca in gelatinized version; definitely felt a positive energy change and a positive libido change; discontinued due to not enough information about how Maca works

MTHFR – learned about the genetic mutation MTHFR and its role in miscarriages; also learned about methylfolate

Heavy Metal Detox – found out that heavy metals accumulate in our bodies causing havoc; learned how to detox from them naturally and felt a huge boost in energy, a new ability to complete tasks without fatigue, and it solved minor depression issues

Year 5

Cycle Length – 35-45 days
Weight – 135

Became a –> Doula – was able to heal emotionally from my past cesarean and redeem my birth; am now able to help support other women in their birth and help others dealing with infertility

Herbalist – Vitex Blend Tincture and –> Red Clover Tea; no huge effect, but I know that tinctures and herbs are gentle and can take over three months to help our bodies; I still use Red Clover Tea from time to time

OBGYN #4 – Ran new hormone panel; possibly tested Free T3 and Free T4?  New ultrasound; ended in referral to Reproductive Endocrinologist

Reproductive Endocrinologist (aka prideful jerk) – Did tell me that I was right not to have taken Clomid without knowing what was wrong with my body; then was told that MTHFR does not cause miscarriages and that people with MTHFR can take folic acid (I believe he is sorely mistaken); while he could have helped me find out whether or not I was ovulating, he was so opposed to anything natural I discontinued using him as a resource.  He did not believe in the human body and was all about IVF.

Year 6

Cycle Length – 35 days (two months of 28 day cycles)
Weight – 135

Natural Minded Chiropractor – Suggested –> Fennel Oil and DDR Prime with Cypress Oil on abdomen; I get nervous taking EOs internally for weeks, so I didn’t continue her suggestions; I have considered trying again since it was successful for my chiropractor

Taking Charge of Your Fertility – Read half of TCYF; stressed out and stopped reading, but considered charting again

Local Health Counselor – Suggested –> DIM to help body process excess estrogen

Natural Fertility Breakthrough Program – Noticed a huge change in my cycle when using DIM and doing the NFB program; had my first two consecutive 28 day cycles EVER

Off Coffee – noticed a lot more stress and anxiety while on caffeine and coffee; also coffee increases risk of miscarriage; went off of coffee while on NFB

Off Alcohol – alcohol decreases fertility; had no wine while on NFB

Year 7

Cycle Length – 35 days (decreased to 30 day cycles upon starting the Root Cause Protocol)
Weight – 135

Discontinued NFB – dealt with food issues and eating disorder type mentality; needed to back off of such a restrictive diet so that I didn’t envision certain food types as “evil”; cycle returned to 35 days (the program isn’t bad; I just needed to have a different mentality toward it and I hope to try it again in the future.)

Root Cause Protocol – Started the –> Root Cause Protocol and immediately had a change in cycles; each month has been a 30 day cycle since beginning the full protocol (3 months so far)


Fertility Options for the Future

Creighton Practitioner – Teaches you to chart your cycles and helps you to interpret your charts to see if you need any extra assistance

Napro Doctor – actually looks at your charts and helps you to find out what is wrong with your body by looking at what your body is actually doing cyclically; uses modern medicine and natural progesterone to help women to get pregnant by aiding their own body to work correctly

Natural Fertility Breakthrough Consultations – along with doing their basic program, they do fertility consulting.  Many women have been helped by their basic program and by their experts that do consultations.

DNA Testing – I’d like to find out if I or my spouse have MTHFR.

HSG with Saline Solution – Can help solve any blockages without having to deal with the dye in the normal HSG.

Progessence Plus* – While I discontinued using –> Progessence Plus early in the game, I fully believe that I have low progesterone and am considering using Progessence daily to aid in fertility.  Once pregnancy occurs, it should be continued until a practitioner either prescribes progesterone or until a practitioner says your progesterone levels are high enough to discontinue use.

Charting – I want to spend three months charting my BBT and CM in order to see what is really going on in my body.  While I should have done this years ago, I accepted the discouragement of the OBGYN and let my own stress to hold me back.

 

My Journey

So as you can see . . . this has been my journey through infertility and fertility options.  While I wish I could say that I have been able to find that one magical fertility option, I personally haven’t.  However, I have found a LOT of fertility options that could work for someone else.  I hope that by reading through my journey you can find options that you had not yet considered.  I hope that you won’t feel alone in this and I hope that you will realize that others have walked before you and have a lot of information to share.

It would greatly encourage me to hear if this information is a blessing in your life.  Feel free to leave a message below in the comments or send me an e-mail.  I love hearing from my readers!

 

Brooke Shambley

THE Boholistic Mom

 

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