Any other ladies LC and TTC?
Options
auntstephie321
Posts: 3,586 Member
Just a shot in the dark here. I'm on some TTC boards but I've literally found 0 people to discuss how LC can affect the process. Just kinda hoping to find others to discuss it with. Some of you wonderful ladies have already messaged me privately about it with some truly helpful tips. Thank you for that.
I know LC can be hugely helpful for those with PCOS ttc, I don't have PCOS but do have IR and am hoping it will be helpful for me in that regard. I have found that in December primarily and the end of last year (October on) I had gone off LC and noticed some pretty big changes in my cycle and bbt. I've been back LC since the beginning of the year and things seem to be getting back to normal. Its promising for me
I would love any advice or info any of you may have learned from your experiences.
(I don't normally like to get so personal on these things online, but I feel very comfortable here with you all and am grateful that I found this group when I did)
I know LC can be hugely helpful for those with PCOS ttc, I don't have PCOS but do have IR and am hoping it will be helpful for me in that regard. I have found that in December primarily and the end of last year (October on) I had gone off LC and noticed some pretty big changes in my cycle and bbt. I've been back LC since the beginning of the year and things seem to be getting back to normal. Its promising for me
I would love any advice or info any of you may have learned from your experiences.
(I don't normally like to get so personal on these things online, but I feel very comfortable here with you all and am grateful that I found this group when I did)
0
Replies
-
I am. We've been trying for over a year now. I didn't have problems before, as I've had 4 children, but this time I haven't had any luck. I do not have PCOS, though my doctor suspected it. She had a panel run and I am not insulin resistant and everything was normal as far as hormone levels, etc. Hubby is older than me (45) and even went in to get a sperm count - it's definitely not him but he figured it was.
Now for the TMI part. I was on Ortho Evra, and it was pretty miserable..."shark week" lasted 3 weeks out of the month, even with the patches on. They also itched horribly. My doctor said stick it out that should go away within 6 months, but it never did. I had a Mirena before and had similar issues with that as well.
I've had ovarian cysts before but never anything worrisome. Since I went off the patch from hell, it took more than 6 months for things to become a bit more regular, as I didn't have a period for those whole 6 months. By the 1 year mark of not using it, I'm still having issues with it being late but not pregnant, and then super heavy for 3 out of the 5 days. I even skipped in December completely. I have been off BC since October 2014. I'm at the point that I'm almost 31, and don't want to mess with the increased birth defect risk.
I'm hoping that losing some weight will help this issue out. As much as I hate it, I'd rather shark week came back and could be counted on again rather than surprise!0 -
Me too! We have been trying for about 18 months and I have 2 miscarriages under my belt. I have an appt. on February 3rd to discuss getting more aggressive with fertility treatments. I have PCOS, but fairly regular cycles. I was previously IR, but have that under control now. However, I am still considered morbidly obese. But, with my age (32 this year) and having no children, I am starting to get concerned.
I have previously had testing done (after my last mc) and checked for all of the thyroid, clotting and auto-immune issues. Nothing came up except there is concern I may have a luteal phase defect. So, now I take prometrium suppositories from ovulation until my period.
My goal at my appt. in february is to discuss starting metformin and clomid. I have read other PCOS stories and literature that seems to point to this being the next logical step for me. After that, I have no idea. It has been a long hard road for my husband and I.
I am really beating myself up for not taking my weight more seriously when I was younger and I fear that is a big part of my problems, so that would be my advice. To just do everything you can now to get your body ready for a pregnancy. Don't waste any more time and be prepared for anything to happen.0 -
@ashleyC1023 my goodness that sounds awful. I've heard a lot of people having problems with mirena as well. I started temping to know when I was ovulating and when af would start, it helped me a lot. but I have fairly regular cycles, for Oct, Nov and Dec I was eating higher carb and I don't know if its related but my cycles started getting shorter and I was ovulating really early then spotting before af. I'm back at low carb and I've already ovulated 2 days later than I had which would give me a more normal cycle length of 28-29 days rather than 25-26. I would think for sure weight loss would help and I think I've seen that lc can help level out hormones. don't be surprised on low carb if your cycle is a little weird at first, when doing keto the first time I had a longer cycle than usual but then regular after that. maybe since yours is not regular now it will be on low carb.
@emily3907 I'm so sorry for your losses
I'm glad to hear your IR is under control, mine is too on lc. we started trying 2 years ago but couldn't get our timing to work and then my SO got really sick, he has crohns disease and all of last year and half of 2014 he was dealing with flairs that lead to sepsis, lung, heart, and liver infections and blood clots. after he got out of the hospital last year I was diagnosed with suspected IR and recommended lc. so I used most of last year to get healthy, lost weight got my bg under control and now we are seriously trying and charting to make sure we hit our most fertile times. I'm 35 and he just turned 39, we also have no children, I try not to worry about that being a bigger problem, my drs have done the regular exams and don't see any areas of concern. my plan is to stay lc and get our timing down and if it still doesn't happen in a few cycles to have further testing done 0 -
ME ME ME!!! I have "undiagnosed" PCOS. My doctor admits that I probably have it but doesn't want me to get any testing for it (it's like she is projecting on me or something. I have no problem with it, but every time it gets brought up she just says, I'll save you the inconvenience" so I don't ever get an official diagnosis.) Anyway, We are just starting to TTC our third child. With our first it took 14 months. I firmly believe that I ovulated only that once in all those 14 months. Between charting BBT and other fertility signs, all signs pointed to no, and I needed to end on 90-some odd day cycle with provera.
With our second we started trying when our son was about 6 months. After about two weeks of eating low-carb and taking metformin (that was not prescribed to me, but was given to me by a friend who'd had all the same things go on with her. Bad me) I ovulated, we BD'd, then I went out of town for a week and a half or so. Came back and got my BFP.
I'm giving this cycle a go with just lower carb, but I have an appointment with my doctor for February and I'm going to push for a metformin prescription, if I don't get get KU this cycle.0 -
hsmith0930 wrote: »ME ME ME!!! I have "undiagnosed" PCOS. My doctor admits that I probably have it but doesn't want me to get any testing for it (it's like she is projecting on me or something. I have no problem with it, but every time it gets brought up she just says, I'll save you the inconvenience" so I don't ever get an official diagnosis.) Anyway, We are just starting to TTC our third child. With our first it took 14 months. I firmly believe that I ovulated only that once in all those 14 months. Between charting BBT and other fertility signs, all signs pointed to no, and I needed to end on 90-some odd day cycle with provera.
With our second we started trying when our son was about 6 months. After about two weeks of eating low-carb and taking metformin (that was not prescribed to me, but was given to me by a friend who'd had all the same things go on with her. Bad me) I ovulated, we BD'd, then I went out of town for a week and a half or so. Came back and got my BFP.
I'm giving this cycle a go with just lower carb, but I have an appointment with my doctor for February and I'm going to push for a metformin prescription, if I don't get get KU this cycle.
Wow that's awesome on your last one, quick and easy hopefully this one will be the same and no need for metformin. So weird your Dr doesn't want to test for that. 0 -
[quote="auntstephie321;35138525"
Wow that's awesome on your last one, quick and easy hopefully this one will be the same and no need for metformin. So weird your Dr doesn't want to test for that.[/quote]
Yeah, I think she's just a bit of a weirdo, but I really like her. She listens to me, and is proactive of my health. And has no problems recommending lifestyle choices that line up with living with PCOS, just doesn't care to do the actual diagnosing.
I should clarify, because I skipped a sentence I meant to say, LOL, that it took 5 months before I did the low carb and metformin. So my son was 11 months when I got pregnant!
But for having PCOS that still isn't that long!0 -
Oh lol hey as long as she listens and is helpful I guess the testing is more of a formality.
Well yeah 5 months isn't bad at all even for someone that doesn't have pcos.
I'm hoping the lc helps us too. I was way out of wack end of last year, especially December. So far for January my chart is looking really good, though we didn't have any luck with timing this cycle and SO is having some E.D. issues likely from stress, medications, and improper nutrition. I got him some vitamins he is deficient in so hoping that helps for next cycle.0 -
How long have you been TTC? Sometimes just that knowledge that sex is only for a "purpose" can be tough and cause issues for a guy. We had more than a couple of those issues when we were first trying for our son. 14 months is a long time to be BDing on a schedule! I found that more regular romps and some "extracurricular" activities that could not result in a child helped him out! LOL0
-
We first started in spring of 14, but we didn't really try ya know just kinda like if it happens it happens. Then he got sick in summer of 14 we still kinda tried but things were pretty rough with him being sick off and on. Then December 14 he got really sick for months off and on, his Dr just thought he kept picking up different viruses, in February 15 he ended up in the hospital and spent 27 days there. They finally figured out what it was and treated him then he was on eight weeks iv antibiotics at home, it was a big mess and incredibly stressful. So in March 15 I figured I should get healthy too since I was overweight and my endocrinologist suspected I have IR due to a high fasting bg. That brought me hear, I got healthy lost 30+ lbs stabilized my bg too. So fall of last year we really started trying.
Lol I bet when you asked how long we'd been trying you didn't expect such a lengthy response.
I started temping in October and learned I ovulate much sooner than my app had been telling me I was. I also ovulate the day after I get a +opk as well, when I was thinking I had three days after that before I ovulated. We really had no idea what we were doing lol. So now I think we have everything figured out, except now he's having issues. So we're working on that, I'm thinking I won't tell him when I'm ovulating so he doesn't feel the pressure, and see if that helps.0 -
TTC here, too. At first I found the lower carb eating did lengthen my cycle. Now my cycle is still longer than it was before I started eating this way, but it is like clockwork. My endocrinologist was worried that metformin would cause problems with irregularity but so far, so good.
My husband and I started TTC in September so it hasn't been long by IF standards but I'm also not convinced I'm ovulating at all. I had 2 miscarriages in my first marriage (we weren't trying but we weren't not trying so to speak) and all any doctor could say was "this happens sometimes."
Not once in the almost 20 years since I was diagnosed with PCOS and IR did any doctor or nutritionist suggest to me that I should eat a diet lower in carbohydrates. The medical advice I've been handed for years is to eat a low-fat, CICO diet, and take birth control pills. The personal advice I get is "relax and it'll happen," and "don't people have babies anymore without taking their temperature and making all these charts?!" Really frustrating, on both counts.0 -
TTC here, too. At first I found the lower carb eating did lengthen my cycle. Now my cycle is still longer than it was before I started eating this way, but it is like clockwork. My endocrinologist was worried that metformin would cause problems with irregularity but so far, so good.
My husband and I started TTC in September so it hasn't been long by IF standards but I'm also not convinced I'm ovulating at all. I had 2 miscarriages in my first marriage (we weren't trying but we weren't not trying so to speak) and all any doctor could say was "this happens sometimes."
Not once in the almost 20 years since I was diagnosed with PCOS and IR did any doctor or nutritionist suggest to me that I should eat a diet lower in carbohydrates. The medical advice I've been handed for years is to eat a low-fat, CICO diet, and take birth control pills. The personal advice I get is "relax and it'll happen," and "don't people have babies anymore without taking their temperature and making all these charts?!" Really frustrating, on both counts.
I'm glad you're here, I hope low carb helps you get your bfp. I agree some of the things people say can be so insensitive when you're dealing with infertility. I sometimes wonder, though I have no real knowledge on it, how much the years of bc and low fat dieting messed up reproductive system. It's purely speculation but really makes me wonder.0 -
I've never struggled with fertility (4 kids, only one was "planned"), so I'm not sure how helpful I can be. I will say that my first three pregnancies were during my food pyramid phase of life, and my last pregnancy was low carb. There were some notable differences - first I was far and away more comfortable during the pregnancy (less back and joint pain despite gaining the same amount of weight, less nausea, no insomnia), my blood pressure was phenomenal the whole time (110/60 all through the pregnancy, with my others it was more like 130/80), passed my glucose screenings despite being 9 years older than with my first baby (was 34 turning 35 this time), and the biggest difference, and I don't know if it's low carb related, but it could be, was that my fourth baby was born on her due date, while her older sisters were all two weeks late (yes, WEEKS). And this time the weight has come off so much faster (baby is five months old and I only have ten left to lose; with my others it took 12-18 months to get back to prepregnancy weight). And my mood has been much improved post partum this time around (never had PPD, but definitely have noticed a difference).
I remember reading not too long ago about how fertility specialists are starting to recommend low carb as it does seem to improve fertility, and not just because of weight loss- getting good fats and enough cholesterol, while keeping insulin low, helps balance hormones, which makes more favorable conditions for conceiving. I'm sure you could find the studies easily enough.
I do have to wonder if my old high carb diet left me ovulating later in my cycle (short luteal phase?) and that's why my older girls were fashionably late. I didn't notice much difference in my cycles after starting LC, but that would explain why my most recent pregnancy ended in a timelier fashion.0 -
auntstephie321 wrote: »
I'm glad you're here, I hope low carb helps you get your bfp. I agree some of the things people say can be so insensitive when you're dealing with infertility. I sometimes wonder, though I have no real knowledge on it, how much the years of bc and low fat dieting messed up reproductive system. It's purely speculation but really makes me wonder.
Thanks! I wonder the same thing. Science is always showing us new things so I realize we might "know now what we didn't know then" in a lot of respects. Years of masking my symptoms with bc and a very calorie-restricted diet could not have been doing me any favors. I'm glad I'm not alone in my speculation, or in navigating the LC/ fertility journey.
0 -
auntstephie321 wrote: »
I'm glad you're here, I hope low carb helps you get your bfp. I agree some of the things people say can be so insensitive when you're dealing with infertility. I sometimes wonder, though I have no real knowledge on it, how much the years of bc and low fat dieting messed up reproductive system. It's purely speculation but really makes me wonder.
Thanks! I wonder the same thing. Science is always showing us new things so I realize we might "know now what we didn't know then" in a lot of respects. Years of masking my symptoms with bc and a very calorie-restricted diet could not have been doing me any favors. I'm glad I'm not alone in my speculation, or in navigating the LC/ fertility journey.
I know I think of all the women I knew when younger that were put on bc to regulate their cycles, and treat acne, I bet if they had been advised to eat more dietary fat and fewer carbs it would've regulated itself and cleared up their skin. Whoever it was that started the low fat diet craze really didn't help anyone.0 -
tlflag1620 wrote: »I've never struggled with fertility (4 kids, only one was "planned"), so I'm not sure how helpful I can be. I will say that my first three pregnancies were during my food pyramid phase of life, and my last pregnancy was low carb. There were some notable differences - first I was far and away more comfortable during the pregnancy (less back and joint pain despite gaining the same amount of weight, less nausea, no insomnia), my blood pressure was phenomenal the whole time (110/60 all through the pregnancy, with my others it was more like 130/80), passed my glucose screenings despite being 9 years older than with my first baby (was 34 turning 35 this time), and the biggest difference, and I don't know if it's low carb related, but it could be, was that my fourth baby was born on her due date, while her older sisters were all two weeks late (yes, WEEKS). And this time the weight has come off so much faster (baby is five months old and I only have ten left to lose; with my others it took 12-18 months to get back to prepregnancy weight). And my mood has been much improved post partum this time around (never had PPD, but definitely have noticed a difference).
I remember reading not too long ago about how fertility specialists are starting to recommend low carb as it does seem to improve fertility, and not just because of weight loss- getting good fats and enough cholesterol, while keeping insulin low, helps balance hormones, which makes more favorable conditions for conceiving. I'm sure you could find the studies easily enough.
I do have to wonder if my old high carb diet left me ovulating later in my cycle (short luteal phase?) and that's why my older girls were fashionably late. I didn't notice much difference in my cycles after starting LC, but that would explain why my most recent pregnancy ended in a timelier fashion.
That's really encouraging hopefully if we do conceive we'll have a nice smooth pregnancy too. I get nervous because I'm 35 now, will be 36 in March, I'm hoping/praying I didn't miss my window of opportunity. Though my cycles are good and I ovulate no problem so that's a good sign. 0 -
Not ttc here but I did want to say good luck!
The book, Taking Charge of Your Fertility helped me pinpoint ovulation to within hours when we were still growing our family. If you haven't read it yet, I recommend it. It was extremely helpful to us because I did not have regular cycles (24-38 days usually) but we were usually able to get pregnant quickly (a couple of first tries, four months and six month) considering i was in my late twenties and thirties we were very lucky and fast.
0 -
No luck for is this cycle. But my temps are so much better and I didn't start spotting as early as I have in the past so I think that's a good sign that my hormones are balancing out. Excited for next cycle, hoping to catch it this time
December chart:
January chart:
0 -
Sorry @auntstephie321!
I am in the TWW at the moment. I didn't temp this cycle, frankly because I needed a temping break. I did do OPK's though and according to that and CM, I ovulated on Saturday. So, I have a while to go before I will know how this month went. Me and DH would be insanely happy if things worked out this month because that would mean an October baby, and that is our absolute favorite month of the year. We are obsessed with autumn in my house, so an October baby would be too perfect......trying to not get too hopeful. But, remaining cautiously optimistic.
Here's my chart (Pay no attention to all the meds. I take them everyday. I am just not too good about tracking them):
0 -
@emily3907 looks like the timing is great, I hope you get the positive this time. The tww is the worst, I knew I had no chance this cycle so it was ok when my cycle started, hoping to have all the kinks worked out this cycle. Try to keep busy with other stuff so the time goes faster 0
-
Thanks! We are hoping. We have had similar months to this with no luck, so I really feel like it is a crapshoot at this point. I go to the OBGYN on 2/3 for my annual and plan on getting aggressive about further treatments and/or a referral to a fertility specialist. It would be great though if this month worked and we didn't have to deal with moving on to new treatments.0
