Fit for Future Families - February 2011

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  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    OK ladies... I really need to get back to it. I am so sore and cranky from sleeping too much and not moving enough this weekend.

    Goals for this week:

    Pilates and/or elliptical at least 5 times.
    Water, water, water!
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
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    I test in the mornings. Might have missed it? Interesting. Should I test more than once a day? Thanks for the info.
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    I know a lot of people test twice a day (for instance at 10 am and 2 pm). I either have a very short surge or a very light surge (and potentially no good O) because I've only gotten a positive twice in four months and I'm getting a temp shift showing that I do in fact O. One of those was at 7 pm (negative at 10 am and negative again the next morning) and the other was at 10 am.
  • Better_Balance_2011
    Better_Balance_2011 Posts: 3,711 Member
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    Thanks for the info. Perhaps I will start testing twice a day.
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    My OPK instructions said to definitely wait until after work to test since most times the LH surge happens during the day. If you're testing in the morning only, you might miss it.

    I'm trying to load up on the water today. Agree with you, Erica, definitely haven't been doing enough of it lately.

    Think I'm going to have a bottle of wine with dinner tonight (I mean share a bottle of wine...LOL). Based on my temping, looks like I might have O'd on Saturday (I'll know tomorrow whether it's 3 days for sure, but I've felt different since then) which means we missed the window because I was miserable and sick on Saturday and the days leading up to it. FF gave me a free 5 days of the upgraded software and I have 2 days left. It said I typically O on CD 26, Saturday would have been CD27. I'm going to the clinic prior to when I'll be expecting my period (it should happen a few days later). But I'm really excited to be able to tell her, I'm pretty sure I O'd two cycles in a row......she might try just the Clomid for a few months and to be honest, I'm not terribly put off by that (although, the side effect do sound uber yucky). Going to keep doing what I'm doing and see if it really helps. She said she didn't want to try the "natural" assistance (i.e. oral hormones, etc.) even if DH's count does go up because there was no proof that I would ovulate as expected so this could be a major break through !!!!
  • andreamichelle82
    andreamichelle82 Posts: 324 Member
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    Hi Pam-

    Out of curiosity, how did you get your dh's count up?
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    I can tell you the things that didn't work....LOL Sunflower seeds worked to a point (Zinc is also known as the babymaking vitamin and sunflower seeds are high in zinc). The increased his count significantly, but the quality of the little guys just wasn't high. Last year, my OBGYN referred him to a urologist who found that he had varicoceles, which required surgery (Sept) to fix. I feel really dumb for not looking into this when we were just starting TTC in 2002, even though we knew the count was low then (his average test has been about 4M - that's over 5 tests spread out over 9 years) we figured that since his folks had trouble conceiving that it was genetic. All the genetic testing he's done has come back normal. The urologist is confident that his results will show that he has increased his count to ~75M (we know for sure on Friday), which is about half of "normal" but way over the baseline for infertility (20M). We still shouldn't "deplete" the reserves by BDing every day around conception, but it should be enough that if we can get past my PCOS and anovulatory cycles, we should be able to conceive naturally. If not, we can go through IUI instead of IVF with ICSI which is significantly cheaper. He did his retest after 90days in January and I'm dying to know the results. Then next Tuesday we meet again with the fertility specialist to deliver the results from the urologist and his recommendation for proceeding with DH's issues....excited, but scared.....it's like we're starting out again, but with all this dang knowledge in my head so that it's not so...uh....spontaneous....LOL I know where, where and how it needs to happen.....
  • andreamichelle82
    andreamichelle82 Posts: 324 Member
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    You have a really great attitude... Thank you for sharing. I have no idea if my dh will have that trouble, but I'm trying to gather all info possible! :)
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    The only issue with OPK testing in the afternoon is diluted urine. You're supposed to not go or drink anything for 4 hours. Nearly impossible for me.

    I hope you get good news at the appointment, Pam!
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    Erica - I agree with the diluted thing. It totally killed my water intake for the day, since the 4 hours before I leave work, I usually drink 6 glasses (3 with lunch and 3 through the afternoon and drive home). Without having those 4 hours to drink in, my water intake was usually only about 6 per day. Thanks for the well wishes....I'm really hoping that even if he gets 50% of what the doctor hopes that we are in better shape.

    AndreaMichelle - Definitely wait until you get more information from test results. 30% of cases are related to Male Factor Infertility - and usually they are not as extreme as my husband. It certainly doesn't hurt though to get him checked if they are looking into things like Clomid or if you've been trying for more than 8 months. The one thing I heard that helps a lot of couples is Fertilaid. It's a supplement you can get from GNC (only in the US though....GRRRR). The male version has all the different supplements that can help with getting the little guys mobile, healthy and plentiful. The female version has all the different supplements that can help with getting you ovulating regularly. I'm not a doctor though, so talking to them is definitely something you should do. Neither of us ever took them beause we're not in the US and I was always terrified to bring them back across the border. How long have you been trying?

    On another note, some of the longer term members of the board may remember that in early Dec, I found out a young lady I know was given only a few more months to live. She was 28 and a single mother to a 10 year old boy. Early this morning she lost the battle with ovarian cancer. :cry: She was a lovely lady and her little boy is the sweetest little guy. When I met them, she had just been diagnosed (May) and she hadn't told him yet. It's a very sad story but the last few months were rough for both of them - with her living in a hospice and him living with his guardians already
  • heathercrist1
    heathercrist1 Posts: 810 Member
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    kcurtis sometimes life happens and gets us off track a little bit. You've had a whole lot going on in your life. You have recognized the situation and now it is up to you to not let that 2.8lbs become 20! It is a very small set back so just slowly reintegrate your healthy goals and before you know it they will be habit again and you will be back to your happy weight! :)

    Pam that is so sad. My heart goes out to the little boy. :( I hope you do get good news at your appt! It is about time for some good news right?! And Erica and Pam I TOTALLY agree how the OPK kills the water intake (especially in the crucial time of drinking more water for better CM...so counterproductive). I do test between 1-2pm and hold my water for at least 3 hours. Since doing this I've not had a problem getting a positive (when I ovulate of course). I just chug water first thing when I wake up and then after 2 it is a race to get as much water in as possible. I also read somewhere (I think it was from Dr. Oz but now I can't remember) that you should never drink cold water after a meal because it congeals all the fats in the meal and makes your food sludge. I'm not even sure if this is true, but it sure it making my water drinking somewhat of a planned out affair! lol!

    Erica glad to see you are feeling better and are back and active again! Your appt is next week right? I'm sure you are very anxious to get some answers.

    kah how is it going with your Clomid journey?

    So staying busy is making me feel half way normal (except for the waking up throughout the night with wicked hot flashes) which is good. I'm trying out that new hip hop dance class today. I hope it is a like cardio dance party (where basically we just dance around and have fun) and not an actual technique class. I just wanna shake it to some good music and burn some calories! lol! After the dance class I talked my sister into going to Pilates with me (she has as much coordination as an elephant on ice skates). I'm excited cause not only do I love spending time with my little sister, we are doing something healthy together! I also made an appt with my family practitioner on Thurs to talk about taking progesterone after I ovulate for my own sanity. I can't help but remember how low my progesterone was the day before I had miscarried and although low progesterone is not proven, it is also not dismissed as being an issue with miscarriage. I think I will also talk to her about the mycoplasma as well (thanks erica for the info).

    Well I hope you ladies are having a great week so far!
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    Oh, Pam, that's just heartbreaking for everyone. I hope the little boy gets some counseling. It's never easy to lose a parent and it's much worse when you're that young.

    Heather, I'm glad you're going in to talk to your doctor. I hope that information gets you on the right track, or at the very least that the progesterone makes all the difference.

    Yes, my appointment is next Tuesday. I've been to busy trying to figure out where my egg has gone that I haven't really thought about it. It looks like I'm Oing a couple of days late this cycle (which will work out well for getting my progesterone drawn, but we're already exhausted).

    I did my short pilates workout yesterday. I was shaking by the end. Crazy how easy it is for your muscles to revert back!
  • kcurtis05
    kcurtis05 Posts: 530 Member
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    Good Afternoon
    Heather~ Thank you SO much for the encouraging words! I was having a pretty rough day. I WILL get back on track and I WILL get rid of these last 5-10 lbs! :tongue: Hope your doc can help. That dance class sounds fun! Have fun Hip Hopping tonight!

    Pam~ That is so sad. My heart goes out to the family and her son. That has got to be hard. She was so young. :frown:

    Erica~ I'm so glad you are feeling better. I know the feeling of shaking muscles. I have been So busy this month that I haven't been able to do anything. Then I taught 3 hours of intense ballet and my calves are still hurting from last Thursday. LOL :laugh: I hope your appointment goes well.

    All this O talk is making me more and more curious if I have even Oed yet. So I started temping again this morning (too bad I forgot I got up to go to the bathroom at like 4 in the morning, but oh well). I have been using the fertility monitor and nothing yet, but like you ladies were saying, I only test in the morning so I don't know if I can really rely completely on that. I took a PG test today just out of curiosity and BFN. TMI-My nipples have been extremely sensitive for the past 3-4 days. So I just wanted to make sure...:wink: My phone app said that I was expected to O this past Saturday, so do you think this would have caused the sensitivity? I really new to this stuff, can you tell? Also, if I did O this weekend, we missed our chance. We were extremely busy and tired... :ohwell:
    I am doing very well on my water and was only over by 85 net cals last night. I bought the Zumba game for the wii so I have no excuse not to move when I can't make it to class. I tried it last night and burned 340cal in 52 minutes according to my HRM. That's less than an actual class, but it is better than nothing! Off to a good start...now I just have to keep going!
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    kcurtis, if you're using a Clearblue Easy Fertility monitor, it is designed in such a way that you are supposed to use FMU to test, so I wouldn't worry about that (though I have yet to get a peak after 4 months, even while getting a +opk a few hours after testing with the monitor). You can read the sticks if you really want to. The line closest to the "handle" (the test strip/cap) is the LH line. When that gets darker, you're having an LH surge. The line closest to the end that goes into the monitor is the estrogen line. The more estrogen you have, the lighter the line gets. To get a peak on the monitor, the estrogen line needs to fade way out and the LH line needs to be dark. It can take awhile for the monitor to learn your cycle and give you a peak. Once it goes to "high" it won't go back to "low" until you get a "peak" or you've fed the machine 20 sticks. Once you get one "peak" you can stop feeding sticks because it will go peak, peak, high, low automatically.

    My nipples always get sensitive after O. It's due to the increased progesterone (also what causes pregnancy symptoms). That could definitely be the cause.
  • kcurtis05
    kcurtis05 Posts: 530 Member
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    THANK YOU SO MUCH ERICA! That helps a lot.
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    Here's a visual. http://www.peeonastick.com/opkfaq.html#14

    Happy to help! :smile:
  • kcurtis05
    kcurtis05 Posts: 530 Member
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    Here's a visual. http://www.peeonastick.com/opkfaq.html#14

    Happy to help! :smile:

    WOW that person has a lot of time on their hands! (and a lot of pee...lol) but VERY helpful! Thank you!
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    WOW that person has a lot of time on their hands! (and a lot of pee...lol) but VERY helpful! Thank you!

    :laugh:
  • fitterpam
    fitterpam Posts: 3,086 Member
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    LMAO - only here can I come home from a rotten day and smile like an idiot....

    I got my first crosshairs ever......when I temped the last time, I never got crosshairs unless I manipulated the data....LOL. That is such such such good news!!!! I'm hoping everything is hunky dory and that when I go see her next week, I can tell her I had two ovulatory cycles in a row :D Kcurtis - since Sunday, I've had very sensitized nipples (so if I ovulated on Sunday, I guess I can say that I have them after ovulation).

    Crummy day at work. I apparently yelled at a few people (didn't realize it) now just have a massive headache. Going to take a nap before logging back online and working some more.....DH is in hiding I think......poor guy.
  • humblemonkey
    humblemonkey Posts: 576 Member
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    Sorry I havent responded to this!! I have been reading a lot of your posts, but I have been insanely busy with work and classes...started p90x!! much luck and baby dust to those of you who are trying! oh and im weighing in the morning because i forgot to when i woke up at 0415 the past 2 days!!!!!

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