Infertility

[Gwyn]

I . Why no gluten/sugar/dairy/legumes?

On my last visit to the RE, I got something similar (no wheat, no dairy, no eating in plastics (especially microwaving), no parabens (found in many lotions, sunscreens…) no EDTA) This is because all these things add estrogen in your body and cause the abnormal bleeding.
I have abnormal bleeding 15+ days each cycle

OOPS let me intrduce myself…
I have occassionally visited this thread but never posted here.
A little bit of my background. (sorry for the jumble am at work)
12 years ago I found out I had a orange size fibroid since i had very heavy periods was put on the pill as well told there was a chance I may not have kids………( did speak to a priest and was told it is OK since it is for medical reasons)
well a year later got married …… after 2 years on the pill went off due to severe headaches…… well guess what for months after that I did not get periods unless I took progestrone to bring them on… turns out I may have PCOs. Well by this time the fibroid is the size of a grapefruit………we then decided that we wanted to start our family and my OB/GYN decided to do a hysterosalpinogram all was looking good and she said I would ovulate in a couple days …….try…… lo and behold I got pregnant and had a little boy ….however it was a rough pregnancy…….fibroid grew to 11 sonometers was blocking his way out………had a c-section scheduled 2 weeks before due date……OB/GYn said I should remove the fibroid once I stopped breastfeeding……… well I did not want to do it …….so researched UFE (embolization) and 2 years later had one……this resulted in a bit of shrinkage …… after this we start trying for #2………4 years later … still trying ……asked for a HSG hoping again it would help but get sent to fertility clinic… they wanted us to do sperm analysis and then IVF and I said no, knowing it was not in line with the church… after hearing on CAF, I contacted popepaulvi and was told about a Catholic fertility clinic in Toronto, got in to see Dr 6 months later started NFP Creighton model… in the mean time a sonohysterograph showed that the fibroid was preventing pregnancy ( blocking sperm from reaching the tubes) this is April 2006 also found I have PCOs started on metformin….so now have to get abdominal myomectomy (done Nov15 2006)………though after still have abnormal bleedign and not ovulating…started progesterone…have hormone imbalance…refered to a RE (Catholic) have been seeing her since April 2007 have tried a couple things to stop the irregular bleeding and rule out infection, …now I have to do the sonohysterogram to ensure no new fibroids are causing the prob and avoid extra estrogen…
DH and DS really want that we have another. The way I look at it - is God gave me one miracle who is 8 years, if it is HIS WILL, I will have another.

 

[Gwyn]

Oops again, on the above post forgot to mention 3 years ago had a total thyroidectomy because of nodules and enlarged thyroid, so have been on meds since and that is being regulated as well.

Also in the last year and half have lost 40 lbs by watching what I eat and working out. Still 20 lbs to go ( my own target)
When I started seeing the RE she recommended I do weights daily to address my insulin resistance, which is still an issue and makes me have to eat every couple hours. I use 2 500ml water bottles instead as I do not want to go bulky

I guess as Little Deb said it is like peeling an onion one layer at a time.

 

[Gwyn]

I am trying to look on the bright side so now I have decided to call it the corn chip/potato chip diet. Neither contain anything I can’t eat. What luck!

That is a nice way of looking at it.

Though my RE said rice milk and rice. Now I have an excuse to eat chips However I have not started this diet, since I saw the dr last Thursday and we went off camping and then this week has been crazy busy at work and home

**Ouch! I can only handle 15 mins. **

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Crazy… but DH sits near my bottom (knees against my bottom) and my legs on his shoulders for 15 minutes…hard on my back.
But he always says that is how we got DS it will work again.

 

[Gwyn]

**Ouch! I can only handle 15 mins. **

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Crazy… but DH sits near my bottom (knees against my bottom) and my legs on his shoulders for 15 minutes…hard on my back.
But he always says that is how we got DS it will work again.

 

[dkoinzan]

I am slowly getting the hang of the diet. I like fish so that’s a plus. I have been grilling it with Old Bay seasoning and olive oil. I enjoy pecans and honey on berries with a little cinnamon. I am still no further in finding out anything than I was last time I posted. The doc. called to say all cultures were negative. He asked that I do a home pregnancy test. That sent my mind spinning. I would love to have more chidlren, but I am scared to death that I will end up buring more. My heart was torn. I am not pregnant and I am thankful for now. My local Dr. sent all my charting off to Dr. H. at PPVI. I am waiting to here what the next step is. I just keep praying for answers. On the up side, I have lost five pounds this last week. I am walking three rosaries a day and you all got one of them today.

 

[dkoinzan]

Could you send up a little prayer today? Dr. Called this morning and wants to do a quick biopsy. I really don’t mind the biopsy. I guess they want to make sure I am not precancerious and there is no infection in my uterus. I am ok with all that. I am just having a hard time going in by myself. (husband can’t be there.) It feels like going back to the birth of the babies. I could wait a week, but next week is woarse as far as scheduling.

 

[dostoyevsky]

dkoinzan—praying for you----let us know how it goes…

I need to vent. I hate OPKs. They’re really expensive and I never get a positive one. I’m on my third pack of them this cycle. I was supposed to take the HCG shot when I saw a positive one, which means I’m not going to get to take the shot this month. It’s day 24, which would usually be the end of the cycle, and I’ve still not seen an LH surge. My temps haven’t gone up; in fact, today it went down to 96.5.

And then I run through the list of my possible reasons why I can’t get pregnant…the house isn’t organized…I’m not done with school…I need to pray more…I need to go to daily Mass…?

 

[waitngnjyflhope]

You’re not the only one going through the list of possibilities…

I do this same thing. Of course I laugh at myself while I do it, and pray that the Lord transforms my heart and casts out those lies that the Evil one wants us to believe.

For example: Yesterday I attended a bridal shower for a friend, and as she opened her gifts everyone was teasing her about breaking the bows. I asked what that was about and was told that for every bow she broke, that was a child that she would have. So 12 broken bows=12 kids.

I thought to myself, “Wait! I didn’t know that. I didn’t break any bows at my shower!!! Oh my goodness, that’s why…”

Yes, quite silly and superstitious, but I did fall into that for a moment.

So many times do I see myself falling into the mentality of the Old Testament, where infertility is viewed as a curse…you (or your ancestors) must have sinned for you not to have children.

That is complete bunk, but it is a lie that the Evil one uses. This is an “Achilles Heel” for myself. That weak spot where he knows that he can penetrate. So pray for me (thank you for the rosary the other day, D )and I will pray for you all that we will guard each other from these lies. Much love!

 

[SeekerJen]

For example: Yesterday I attended a bridal shower for a friend, and as she opened her gifts everyone was teasing her about breaking the bows. I asked what that was about and was told that for every bow she broke, that was a child that she would have. So 12 broken bows=12 kids.

I thought to myself, “Wait! I didn’t know that. I didn’t break any bows at my shower!!! Oh my goodness, that’s why…”

DH and I broke three bows at our shower, according to our mothers. Since we have one baby in heaven, I figure this means we’re supposed to adopt two. I’m okay with that.

 

[Convert_in_99]

DH and I broke three bows at our shower, according to our mothers. Since we have one baby in heaven, I figure this means we’re supposed to adopt two. I’m okay with that.

**Hmmm …We didn’t have a bridal shower. Heck…we didn’t even have a wedding reception. Um…maybe that’s our problem. **

 

[Catholic_Wife]

Forgive me for not reading the entire thread to find an answer to my question. (forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=2590962#post2590962)

My OB/GYN wants to do some testing to make sure everything is good to go now that my husband and I are actively trying to conceive. He wants to do a sperm analysis, which we don’t have a problem with - IF we can collect it the right way. We want to use this to collect the specimen (with a hole so we are still open to any sperm that can get through), but the lab won’t accept the specimen in the condom. Can we turn the condom inside out and place the contents in the cup and still get a good result?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[Dan_Grelinger]

We want to use this to collect the specimen (with a hole so we are still open to any sperm that can get through), but the lab won’t accept the specimen in the condom. Can we turn the condom inside out and place the contents in the cup and still get a good result?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

My wife and I used this more than 10 years ago. The lab accepted it if the ‘holey’ condom was placed into the specimen cup and the top screwed on. This made it relatively convenient to collect, transport, and deliver. You may want to ask if that would be sufficient, as the sample will technically be in the cup.

By the way, the lab reported that the results were ‘suspect’ because of the collection procedure. They were not accustomed to getting samples in this way. The test could not rule out low sperm count, it only could verify that there were some there. A follow up test was done, where normal intercourse (as normal as can be when it is scheduled in advance) was followed by an immediate trip to the doctor’s office to sample the sperm in its ‘natural’ environment, to see how it was doing. Between these two tests, enough information was collected to steer our doctor toward examining female hormonal problems, which in the end, seemed to be our major problem.

Sincerely,

Dan

 

[ChinaDad]

Newcomers or oldcomers please consider the adoption option.

My wife (and I) went through all the infertility issues for 12 years after having our son. I have to thank God for closing that door and opening the window, otherwise I wouldn’t have my two beautiful daughters.

Thank you Lord.

“Adopted children don’t grow under your heart, they grow “in” your heart.” Unknown

Chinese Poem
An invisible red thread
connects those who are
destined to meet
regardless of time,
place or circumstance.
The thread may
stretch or tangle
but it will never break.

 

[SeekerJen]

Newcomers or oldcomers please consider the adoption option.

My wife (and I) went through all the infertility issues for 12 years after having our son. I have to thank God for closing that door and opening the window, otherwise I wouldn’t have my two beautiful daughters.

Thank you Lord.

“Adopted children don’t grow under your heart, they grow “in” your heart.” Unknown

Chinese Poem
An invisible red thread
connects those who are
destined to meet
regardless of time,
place or circumstance.
The thread may
stretch or tangle
but it will never break.

What a beautiful poem! Thank you for sharing it, and for your successful adoption story. My husband and I agree that we would rather put our money toward adoption instead of fertility tests and treatment. There’s not a thing wrong with medical intervention, but it’s not for us.

Whether we are eventually able to conceive and bear children, or whether we receive our children through adoption, all parents who have struggled through infertility receive two special blessings: we will never take our children for granted, and our children will never wonder if they were wanted.

 

[ChinaDad]

What a beautiful poem! Thank you for sharing it, and for your successful adoption story. My husband and I agree that we would rather put our money toward adoption instead of fertility tests and treatment. There’s not a thing wrong with medical intervention, but it’s not for us.

Whether we are eventually able to conceive and bear children, or whether we receive our children through adoption, all parents who have struggled through infertility receive two special blessings: we will never take our children for granted, and our children will never wonder if they were wanted.

Thank you. You’re welcome. And the poem is so true. God meant for these two girls to be our daughters, I just had to go to China to find them…and would never change that for anything.

Good luck!

 

[Gardening_Mommy]

My older two (both were adopted domestically and are transracial adoptees) pray every day for their baby sister, Lin-lin, to come home soon from China. We don’t have a picture yet, we probably won’t even be matched with an actual baby for at least another month (after more than two years waiting!), but God knows who she is, even if we don’t.

Infertility was (and sometimes still is) painful. But, for us, adoption was God’s “Plan A”. (… it wasn’t MY “Plan A”, but it was His, and, over time, we accepted that… at first, only out of sheer obedience and with gritted teeth!)

If adoption is His plan for you, know that the pain will subside over time. It will not vanish immediately (no matter what the adoption social workers say!) and it may never vanish completely, but the pain that God allows to remain can certainly be offered up for those mothers considering abortion.

Going through infertility and knowing that our children could’ve been just another statistic of abortion has encouraged us to be much more actively pro-life.

 

[ChinaDad]

Praying to Mother Mary that she will be watching over and caring for Lin-Lin until you can find her. Amen.

Chinese Poem
An invisible red thread
connects those who are
destined to meet
regardless of time,
place or circumstance.
The thread may
stretch or tangle
but it will never break.

 

[stadre]

How do you deal with infertility with your other children? DD (9) told me at lunch today that she “did the calculations” and the soonest she could be a big sister is next July. (DH is deployed and we are planning to visit him in October.) It makes me so sad that she would so love siblings (the greatest gift we can give our children), but I haven’t been able to give her any thus far.

 

[Gwyn]

How do you deal with infertility with your other children? DD (9) told me at lunch today that she “did the calculations” and the soonest she could be a big sister is next July. (DH is deployed and we are planning to visit him in October.) It makes me so sad that she would so love siblings (the greatest gift we can give our children), but I haven’t been able to give her any thus far.

So true. My DS is 8 and is aware that we have been trying for a long time and knows that I keep going to the Dr and for tests (just returned from yet another sonohystogram) and is hoping and praying for a sibling. At the same time, he knows he is our miracle baby, since before I got married, I was told I may never have kids. Well, it is in God’s hands.

 

[Teakafrog]

How do you deal with infertility with your other children?

It’s hard. DS was almost 9 when we adopted DD. He was SOOO excited when we told him he was going to be a big brother, when we started the adoption process. He went with us to pick her up. His face was just glowing.
He had told us for years that he wanted a brother. We tried our best to explain that while we wanted one too, God had decided it just wasn’t time yet. I’m not sure he really understood.
But boy was he excited again we told him about his littlest sister! He still put in his order for a brother, but…