Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I have PCOS too, and the one thing that regularized my cycle and had me ovulate was Metformin. Could you get an Rx for that and try it? Also Vitex is definitely worth a try - it really helped us in TTC.

We took last month off because I wanted to get my margarita on while on vacation. Back at it!

OK, so I hate the TCOYF book.

Well, I hate it and I don't. I like learning about my cycle and when I'm most fertile, but tonight I got into chapters about pregnancy achievement and recognizing anovulation and now I'm super paraniod that I'm going to have infertility issues and I wanna throw this book out my bedroom window.

I'm also super angry with myself that during this super stressful year I've put on ALL of the 30 pounds I took off last year. I've admitted to myself that I'm fat again and now I'm upset that either a) my weight will impede my efforts to get pregnant; and b) now that I'm working out again the exercise is gonna mess-up my cycles and further impede my efforts to get pregnant. I'm also pissed that if I DO become pregnant I'm gonna be UBERfat for that much longer. And I'm scared that if I put this off until I lose my weight again I'll be gambling with it cuz I'll be that much older if and when it happens.

Really really grumpy and sad right now.

I think I just said "super" like eight times. I suck.

AlwaysHungry, I'm not sure if you have an interest in Chinese medicine at all, but one book that really helped me with stress when trying to conceive was "The Way of the Fertile Soul" by Randine Lewis. It was given to me by my acupuncturist (a women's health/fertility specialist -- yeah I was paranoid!) when I started seeing her, and though it seems new-agey I really appreciated a lot of the content. It's not a how-to book on FAM or anything, it more addresses the anxieties and mental state surrounding fertility and, for those with fertility issues, how to . It is directed to people having infertility issues, which I didn't have, but I did have a lot of hang-ups about my fertility in the first place, after spending my whole life thinking I didn't want children and needing to come to terms with the fact that I had resented my ability to procreate and I was having trouble getting in a good mindset for pregnancy.

I know it's not the same situation at all, but if you are open to it it may help you work through some of your emotions and anxieties... I really feel that the book helped me to chill out a little about conception (even though we were still actively trying and tracking ovulation and all that) and to process a lot of the emotions that were making it a stressful time!

Are you sure your basal thermometer is working or storing temps correctly (if you're using the memory)? I had this same issue, except it was always 97.70. Then I discovered that the supposed memory function wasn't working and 97.70 was just the default! Oops.

I think I need to get a new basal thermometer. Lately I've been only getting about four temperatures from it, and I'm sure it actually varies more than that.

I used to think the memory function wasn't working on mine because it always turned on to the default -- turned out you had to hold down the button for 3 seconds to get the remembered temp back.

Not using the memory function; this is what I get and record every morning. It's strange. I thought for sure my thermometer wasn't working, BUT every few days or so my waking temp reads 96.8, and if I check my temp at other times of day, it'll give me other readings.

It's weird that my basal temp would be so low, though.

after 88 days, I got my period. I'm disappointed that after that long of a cycle I didn't get pregnant, but glad that at least my period eventually came and I can move on to the next cycle. Okay so to be honest, I cried hysterically when my period came, but after that emotional breakdown I moved on to look at the positive. Not sure if my body was making up for the last 3 months with an extra heavy period, or I was just not used to it, but yikes. On the bright side, I was able to drink at the wedding I went to over the weekend.

After three days of the increased temps I stopped charting over Thanksgiving vacation, so I can't be positive I ovulated, but my period came 13 days after that first high temp, so I think I did.

My temp is a pretty consistent 97.7 pre-ovulation and 98.2 post ovulation. My thermometer beeps as it takes my temperature so I know it's working. My challenge is when my husband's schedule changes. He gets up 45 minutes before I do, so I was taking my temperature when his alarm goes off, but some days he works from home so I don't take my temp until my alarm goes off. Last week it seemed to make a big difference in my temps though, whereas in the past it only differed a few tenths of a degree.

Mine is inconsistent due to PCOS, but it's pretty much always between 96.1 and 96.8. Some people just have lower temps!

Thanks for the info! I don't have insurance, or a doctor, or any money right now, but if any of that changes I will see if I can an Rx. It's good to know it helped you <3

Try Vitex in tea form! I took it after ItsBoiling and others found it helped them conceive. I used this http://www.fairhavenhealth.com/fertilitea.html

Wow. That is really low. Have you ever been tested for hypothyroidism?

*hugs* I cried hysterically with my last period too. I'm amidst the 2ww now and not feeling too optimistic. I hope your cycle gets its asparagus in gear this month!!

Sorry, I totally missed this post before... thanks so much for your suggestion, and yes I'm definitely open to alternative medicinal therapies and I'll look for this book.

Another vote for Metformin here. We coupled it with acupuncture and this was the only thing that helped me to ovulate (like, well, ever, in my entire lifetime)

@alwayshungry...don't beat yourself up. I was 30ish lbs overweight when we conceived the bean. You can work on losing the weight at a reasonable pace, and it shouldn't affect your ovulation. However, you might be able to conceive even with the weight. I know I'm not the only one here who was well, chubby, before getting pg.

Thanks. I'm just peeved with myself that I let it happen after all that effort to take it off. Granted it's been the year from hell, so I know I gotta cut myself a little bit of slack.

I've decided that I'm approaching this whole thing the wrong way. I'm in a panic over nothing; I'm a generally healthy person, and there's no obvious reason that DH and I should have trouble conceiving. I'm gonna keep charting so that I can have a good handle on my cycles and Mr.AH and I are gonna keep doin' it sans protection, but I want to focus on getting fit again and enjoying our first winter in this house and finding my "happy place" amongst all the life changes we've had this year. So that's what I'm gonna do.

That, and I'm gonna order some Chinese food for dinner. Cuz that's just how I roll.

So this is kind of whiny and premature as it won't even be an issue for another year or so.. but it's looking like, with the boat they want to send my husband to (provisionally! nothing is ever certain), he'll be deployed when I wanted to start trying for baby #2. We really wanted to aim for about a 2.25-2.5 year separation and it is looking like that might be tricky. I know this is really, really minor, but it still makes me grumpy.

That sucks, annak. Our own problems never feel minor and I totally get where you're coming from.

If there's one thing I've learned in this nascent conception phase of my life, it's that fertility is never in our control, whether it's biology or deployments that are. Even though we've only been trying for one month, the thing that's gotten to me is how out of control I feel! Everything else in my life has felt like the product of a decision - this school, that relationship (obviously circumstances and luck also play a huge role, but within those contexts I mean). I've never felt so at the mercy of random, biological chance. It's humbling!

I hear you! Everything Mr. AH and I have done in our lives up to this point has been on our own terms, in our own time. Now we're only on our first cycle of trying and already I feel completely impotent to the outcome and it's infuriating.

Another month of perfectly timed sex and no pregnancy. I'm frustrated that I now apparently get like 10 days of horrid pregnancy-like PMS (cramps, sore breasts, exhaustion, frequent urination), and also that if something is wrong, no one will entertain that idea for a year. If I don't get pregnant next cycle, I don't know how we'll afford this cause we'll have to be back on my husband's insurance before the baby is born and we'd end up with about $10k in deductables. :|

RC, I just got a book from the library called Making Babies that was recommended to me by someone else. It's pretty good so far I think, well researched, and has good practical tips for troubleshooting problems. You might find some helpful information in there!

I got pregnant the first month we tried then miscarried at 8 wks, so my concern is that there is an issue now that didn't exist before. Or that there is a genetic or some sort of problem that exists which is why I miscarried, but despite them saying they'd test after the d&c, all they tested for was a molar pregnancy, which only tells me I didn't have a molar pregnancy. I was pissed. I am ovulating on time and having a long enough luteal phase for implantation. Everything I've read just tells me everything I already know. I want a doctor to do tests or something to tell me everything is ok, and they won't for a very long time.

It bothers me so much that some doctors don't understand or don't take the time to really listen to their patients' concerns. A friend of mine, 29, has had three miscarriages (between ages 26-28). All the doctors say, "You're young! There's nothing wrong with you!" when she asks them what's going on. She's been to so many doctors, and none of them will run any serious tests on her - they just pat her and her husband on the back and tell them to try again. But at this point it's made her terrified to try again only to go through that pain and disapoint once more. It breaks my heart. I'm sorry for what you're going through, rc.