Beautiful cervix website

Few months ago I ask someone in a forum how did she check her cervix for changes and she told me to look online for more detailed information and I stumbled with the Beautiful cervix website.

I have to admit I felt a little grossed out at first when I saw the pictures. However it is very educative and now I can only think I wish I could take a look at mine everyday as well! :)

Hope you guys like it:
http://www.beautifulcervix.com/cervix-photo-galleries/photos-of-cervix/

Trying to keep positive

Here is a picture of my nightstand, and this is only the stuff I am using all the time, if you open the first drawer you will find three times more... Am I the only crazy one that obsesses about my infertility and endometriosis? Hope not.

From this month I decided that I won’t be going to acupuncture anymore. My acupuncturist had “promised” me that he would help me to get pregnant until spring. No need to say, I am still childless. 

I understand that it was a promise he made in order to give me hope and keep me positive. I wish it had become true and every month I was sure that I was indeed pregnant. Fooling myself with symptoms. Ladies, spotting is spotting! Let’s stop going crazy with what does it mean if it is pink red or brownish or just a little or early… I do not test anymore. I have a rule, 5 days late and I go to the nurse office to ask for a blood test. It is hard to wait but I believe it is better to get a definite result than testing and getting false hopes. Which doesn't mean that by day 28 of my cycle I am not typing into my google search all the symptoms I have (mostly in my head).

Also, I was expecting him to make his research about my condition and really give me an individual treatment. Suggest me herbs, make a calendar planning of when to take what… I don’t know, a real alternative treatment designed specifically for me. That’s why I paid 80 dollars per visit. But I wasn’t getting it, and for a general treatment that is used on any other person, I can get a doctor's appointment covered by my insurance. In fact, I would tell him what I read and what I am taking and he would write it down to read about it later and maybe suggest other patients the same. I wanted to say sometimes “Bryon, I am not paying you so you can take lessons from me”. Anyway, it is not his fault I am not pregnant, I just lost my faith on him, and this is more than enough to not go anymore.

I am still taking the evening primrose oil and I took aspirins during this whole cycle, still taking it. My midwife’s neighbor told her to keep taking it although she is already pregnant. According to her, in the future, all women will take baby aspirins when trying to conceive or seeking for fertility enhancement.  

This month I know I am out. I am on day 22 of my cycle but we didn’t have a chance to baby dance as much as I would have liked. We were both busy during fertile days and just did it twice. I barely saw my husband that week and the following. So, I don’t believe that was enough juice to get me preggos :) I did read about a lot of other alternative methods to get pregnant but they were all really weird and decided not to post. There is a limit to everything. My suggestion for today is just to try to keep positive, and keep your mind in the target. Every night when I am almost asleep I picture myself carrying my baby in my arms and I know that when this day gets here I will think it was all worth it!

Feeling a little discouraged

On the 31^st. of this Month I will be 27 years old. I prayed so much to be blessed with a BFP this week, but instead I got my period yesterday.  This cycle’s been so painful. It first started with spotting on CD11. Then I had cramps every other day, nothing major, but noticeable. From yesterday I feel like my whole abdomen is very sensitive. Everything hurts. The cramps are awful. I lost count of how many Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Fish oil and Red Raspberry capsules I took already. Nothing seems to work. Today I don’t have so much pain but I feel very uncomfortable, my back hurts and I am passing lots of clots.

I really don’t understand. I thought that with changes in my diet, all the supplements I am taking, exercising regularly and acupuncture, my body would be healing faster. Today I feel like giving up on all of this. What is the point?

Fertility recipe from eastern europe countryside

I have a very dear friend and God know how I value her patience as I am always complaining to her about my fertility issues. As a good friend that understands what I am going through (she also had fertility issues for almost 2 years before her dear daughter was born) she is always passing along information that might help with infertility. 

This time someone told her that if you are having fertility issues you should take 2 aspirins around and apply a bandage in your lower back with crushed mustard seeds after intercourse when ovulating. According to my friend, the aspirin would “open” the blood vessels increasing blood flow. Applying the mustard seeds in your lower back would help to increase the temperature in this area, helping to increase the blood flow, now in your ovaries and tubes.

When I told my husband about this recipe he wasn’t really convinced but I was intrigued and decided to look up for some information or search someone else that had tried it. I couldn’t find anything in the forums and Google search, but from what I read this recipe might make sense.
The mustard seeds are known for penetrating deep into your skin and having a warm effect in the area you apply it. 

The aspirin don’t really open the blood vessels but if taken in a long term basis it might increase blood flow to the uterus (helping implantation and even releasing more than one egg per cycle) and prevent blood clotting that might block the flow of things. From what I’ve read many doctors prescribe a daily dose of baby aspirin when patients need help with fertility.

So, based on the facts I would change the recipe for taking one Baby aspirin every day (which is a lower doses of aspirin, it contains about 81 mg or less of aspirin) and apply the mustard seeds to the lower back after intercourse during fertile week. You can crush the mustard seed and mix with a little flour and olive oil to make it sticky, so it stays where it is supposed to.

However, aspirin has its adverse effects. The most common I’ve read it is the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. As always, you get a medicine to help one thing and it damages another.

If this cycle doesn’t work I think I might start taking baby aspirin for a while as well. My bed side is getting crowded with medicine bottles…

Evening Primrose Oil

Last week I consulted a RE back in Europe and he mentioned that he recommends for patients with Endometriosis Evening Primrose Oil. He said it would be ideal for me start taking it for 60 days before we start the induction. 

Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a plant with yellow flowers that bloom in the evening. The mature seeds of this plant contain vitamin E and approximately 7-10% gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is a fatty acid and it is mostly used as a dietary supplement for treating problems with inflammation and auto-immune diseases. GLA is also used in the body to produce prostaglandins. 

Prostaglandin prevents inflammation, stops cells from multiplying and prevents blood clots (all problems that we need to treat when diagnosed with endometriosis). It also, lowers cholesterol, reduces blood pressure, fixes defective T-lymphocyte immune cells (important for cancer, allergies, and infections), and maintains salt and water balance, nerve conduction, and gastrointestinal function.

Evening Primrose Oil has been called the most sensational preventive discovery since vitamin C. It is currently being studied all over the world as a treatment for aging problems, alcoholism, acne, heart disease, hyperactivity in children, symptoms of menopause, multiple sclerosis, weight control, obesity, PMS and schizophrenia. It has so many preventive and therapeutic qualities that it has become a standard part of recommendations of many herbalists for maintaining youth and preventing disease.

Evening Primrose oil and fertility

Evening primrose oil may increase the quality of cervical mucus, making it a more fertile medium for sperm. Fertile cervical fluid helps sperm remain alive and mobile for several five days inside the uterus and fallopian tube, enabling conception to take place, even if ovulation occurs days after intercourse. The lubricant Pre-Seed also offers a sperm-friendly transport medium that mimics natural body secretions and cervical fluids.

How to use

It should only be taken from menstruation to ovulation. The dosage taken should be 1500mg to 3000mg per day.

Side Effects

The reported side effects that occur with evening primrose oil use include:

• nausea, headache, indigestion, stomach pain, soft stools, stomach discomfort and loose stools may be indications that the dosage is too high. If any of the side effects persist or worsen, contact your health care provider immediately.

I started taking it from Sunday. I am not sure if I should keep taking Fish oil as well. I just hope I don’t get extra Lb with all this oil I am taking. From the beginning of this year I already gained 4 pounds. I am very skinny though, and both doctor and acupuncturist expressed concern about it.

Prolactin and IVF

After lots of convincing, fighting, tears and endless talks, my hubby and I decided to go ahead and contact some infertility clinics for the possibility of doing IVF.

I contacted two here in the area. One of them was the New Hope Center. I heard and add in the Radio and decided to call. Before I could say much, they told me they didn’t accept my insurance and the costs reach a minimum of 10.000 excluding drugs. I was expecting high costs already, but it still hurts to hear. 

The other one I contacted and booked an appointment was The Jones Institute. I have heard many good things about them through other friends that have been in the same situation. The person that contacted me after the email I sent was very delicate and informative. They have a risk share program that if you qualify to participate, you could receive a refund in case you don’t get pregnant.

I don’t know if I would qualify, but I’d like to think I am a good candidate since nobody has really found anything wrong with me.  I did book an appointment but as usual my first visit is almost 2 months away.

Since we did not have anything to do but wait, we decided to contact two other clinics in my husband’s country back in Europe just to compare and know what all our options are. First doctor I did not like at all. For some reason I couldn’t trust what he was saying. The second clinic has been amazing though. Today the doctor sent us a two pages email explaining the whole thing after revising my medical files. What surprised me was that after explaining the IVF procedure and all the things we would have to do and when to be there, he said that my prolactin was way too high for my age. Interestingly enough I had pointed out the same to my RE here in the US right before the four IUI cycles I had last year. She actually repeated the test, but stopped looked into it since the second test was in the range (although it was in the high end). 

The doctor explained in his email that with his experience and with my files he could bet that was the problem. He also said prolactin is the hormone of stress. My husband looked at me with a smirk in his face as he translated this part of the email. I do have to agree with him, I have been very touchy and anxious about everything.  He prescribed a pill that should control the prolactin and suggested I had primrose evening oil for the next weeks. He actually said if we are not in a hurry for the IVF we should try on our own for the next 2-3 months to see if controlling this hormone would help. 

What kind of doctor will give you an option that doesn’t involve thousands of dollars? I just have a really good feeling about this one.

Progesterone 101

For the last year I have read pretty much everything available on line about infertility and endometriosis. One thing that keeps repeating in every web site is the effect of estrogen and progesterone in fertility issues. So I decided to investigate a little more. Here are some of my findings about progesterone*:

Progesterone is a steroid hormone involved in the female cycle and pregnancy. It is produced in the ovaries (by the corpus luteum), the adrenal glands and in the placenta (during pregnancy). Progesterone levels are relatively low during the preovulatory phase, rise after ovulation and are elevated during the luteal phase. If pregnancy occurs, HCG is released maintaining the corpus luteum allowing it to maintain levels of progesterone. If pregnancy does not occur, progesterone levels decreases, leading to menstruation.

Progesterone has several roles:

-          Converts the endometrium to its secretory stage to prepare the uterus for implantation.

-          During implantation and gestation, progesterone appears to decrease immune response to allow for the acceptance of the pregnancy. (I guess that’s why so many women say they get sick in the first stage of pregnancy)

-          It reduces spasm and relaxes uterine smooth muscle.

-          It acts as an antiinflammatory agent and regulates the immune response.

-          It normalizes blood clotting and vascular tone, zinc and copper levels, cell oxygen levels, and use of fat stores for energy.

Progesterone therapy is used to treat:

-          abnormal uterine bleeding associated with hormonal imbalance

-          severe PMS (premenstrual syndrome)

-          menopausal symptoms

-          induce menstrual periods (you take it during the cycle and stops right before when period is expected, almost like BC pills).

Progesterone and endometriosis

Most sources of medical information say that estrogen promotes cell growth, and that "too much" estrogen promotes "too much" cell growth. The hormone progesterone controls the actions of estrogen, therefore improving endometriosis symptoms.

Progesterone cream and infertility

Progesterone levels is pretty much one of the first hormones that doctors check when you want to check your fertility. Since it is involved in helping the uterus prepares to receive a fertilized egg.

Alternative practitioners usually recommend progesterone cream, but I read that there is no scientific prove that progesterone cream can be absorb by your body and increase progesterone levels. I would say that this is like every other alternative treatment, it might help and be good for you or it might not make a difference. Try is the only way to know it.

An advantage of using progesterone cream instead of taking progesterone orally is that it’s cheaper and it doesn’t get destroyed as it passes through the gut and the liver. 

How to use progesterone cream

You should apply the cream ONLY after ovulation, because if applied before it might prevent ovulation. If you don’t know for sure when you ovulate (my case), just start on day 16 until day 26.

The cream is best applied twice a day, to keep levels up.

Apply 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon once or twice a day (or the dosage directed in the cream). Spread it over one area of your body such as belly, thigh, chest, face, arm, etc.). Change the place you apply everyday to avoid irritation.
Menstruation should start within a day or two of stopping the cream. 

Progesterone cream side effects
The progesterone prescription products that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safe for most people when used with the advice and care of a healthcare professional. However, progesterone can cause many side effects including stomach upset, changes in appetite, weight gain, fluid retention and swelling (edema), fatigue, acne, drowsiness or insomnia, allergic skin rashes, hives, fever, headache, depression, breast discomfort or enlargement, PMS-like syndrome, altered menstrual cycles, irregular bleeding, and other side effects.

* All the information provided are from websites such as Wikipedia, National Library of Medicine, WebMD and others. Also, I selected the information only for those who suffer of endometriosis or infertility.

Guests: Share your experience with natural progesterone cream!