Using TF to address specific fertility issues?

[Sihaya]

We're going to be TTC this spring and are currently not trying, but not avoiding either. Since both of our previous pregnancies were unexpected, I don't anticipate we'll actually make it to the TTC stage.

Since my 2yo DS was born and my cycles returned, my luteal phase has been short and irregular, my ovulation has been late in my cycles (around CD20-25), and I sometimes have 4-7 days of spotting before AF comes. I used maca to try to correct the late O and LP issues and it worked right away! We got pg that very first cycle, despite the fact that we were avoiding

Because of the spotting and short LP, I suspected a progesterone deficiency so I started applying an OTC progesterone cream soon after the BFP. When I started spotting at 7wks, my mw suggested I take the cream vaginally. When the spotting continued, I weaned my son since nursing can cause progesterone issues leading to m/c in some women.

In the end, it turns out baby had stopped growing around 5 weeks (possibly a blighted ovum) and I miscarried at 10 weeks. I am afraid that maca "made" my body conceive before it was ready and the progesterone prolonged the pregnancy after it had ended. I don't want to use these fertility enhancers again, even though they are "natural."

I am now starting my third cycle since the m/c and want to find ways to lengthen my luteal phase, move my O sooner, and increase my progesterone through food and supplements that nourish my body's functions. I want to eat things that will help my progesterone increase on its own, instead of just taking progesterone cream.

My current supplements:

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamins daily
• 4 tbsp Lewis Labs Brewer's Yeast daily
• 1/2 tsp Blue Ice HVCLO (old kind) & 1/2 tsp butter oil daily (considering doubling CLO dose)
• 1-2 tsp frozen raw liver capsules daily (just starting this today)
• 100-150g protein daily (just starting this today)

I'm also going off of sugar starting yesterday (including honey, maple syrup, rapadura, etc but not including fruit, orange juice, or some carbs) and restarting T-Tapp tomorrow, which I really felt helped regulate my cycle when I was doing it in the past.

I am just wondering if any of you know of some foods/superfoods that might nourish my body in a way that would correct/support the specific fertility issues I am dealing with. I am open to considering food-based supplements, but am wary of them after my experience with maca. Website or book recommendations would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

[TonyaW]

I was going to recommend a good b complex which helped with some of my issues. I think you particularly need B6 for progesterone issues, however I don't know how much Brewer's yeast contains. Just switching over to a more TF diet corrected most of my hormone issues over time. I use to have spotting too about 6-7 years ago and I wasn't eating TF yet. At the time I just started eating whole foods and good B complex which corrected my spotting issues.

Now, I have had 2 miscarriages in a row, reasons unknown. However, I used progesterone suppositories which did prevent me from miscarrying right away and prolonged the inevitable. SO I am in the same boat as you, wanting to avoid that route if possible. After some hormone testing which cost $150 for a saliva test, everything looked good including progesterone. I started taking Vitex right before I had the test. VItex is not a fertility enhancer however it is suppose to normalize hormone levels and was recommended to me by my chiropractor. It is particularly useful to those with a progesterone deficiency and somehow works with the pituitary gland to normalize hormones, it doesn't directly affect hormones.

Also some of the issues causing progesterone deficiencies can be linked to environmental exposure. Since you already eat TF, you are probably already aware of this but just in case, using plastics especially when food is involved causes problems. I don't know how to explain it exactly, but the plastics put too many fake estrogen in your body.

I am not sure that Maca would cause you to conceive even though you were TTA. Since you O late then, I would guess that maybe you O'd late and that can mean you had a short luteal phase which would prevent either a good implantation or a shedding of the uterus to cause the miscarriage. Maca takes time to correct hormonal issues.

If you take a progesterone supplement, I think it has to be done before the BFP to ensure healthy implantation if a progesterone deficiency or LP is the problem.

Also, I was always skeptical of New Chapter Prenatals because of the soy which can also affect you hormonally.

I am sorry for you loss and hope you figure things out.

[Sihaya]

TonyaW, Thanks so much for your responses! I'm sorry for your losses as well

Originally Posted by TonyaW

I was going to recommend a good b complex which helped with some of my issues. I think you particularly need B6 for progesterone issues, however I don't know how much Brewer's yeast contains.

At the dose I'm taking, I'm getting 2.4mg or 120% RDA of B6 from the Brewer's Yeast. The recommended therapeutic doses I've seen in the TTC forum are 100-200mg (5,000%-10,000%), so I'm nowhere near that. I'm looking into a B complex or separate B6 and B12 supplements, but don't know where to start brand-wise to find something natural vs. synthetic, so recommendations would be appreciated!

Originally Posted by TonyaW

I started taking Vitex right before I had the test. VItex is not a fertility enhancer however it is suppose to normalize hormone levels and was recommended to me by my chiropractor. It is particularly useful to those with a progesterone deficiency and somehow works with the pituitary gland to normalize hormones, it doesn't directly affect hormones.

I'm very interested in using vitex, but DH and I are both wary since it is supposed to work much like maca. You can tell DH that maca didn't get us pg until the cows come home, but he will still believe that was the reason until the day he dies.

Originally Posted by TonyaW

I am not sure that Maca would cause you to conceive even though you were TTA. Since you O late then, I would guess that maybe you O'd late and that can mean you had a short luteal phase which would prevent either a good implantation or a shedding of the uterus to cause the miscarriage. Maca takes time to correct hormonal issues.

The cycle I got pg and subsequently miscarried, my ovulation moved up by 6 days. We dtd in my safe, not fertile time, but when ovulation moved, it ended up being 5 days before o and we got pg. The maca was the only difference I could think of, but if that didn't cause it, I'd really like to know what did so I can do it again!

Originally Posted by TonyaW

Also, I was always skeptical of New Chapter Prenatals because of the soy which can also affect you hormonally.

Since all of the soy is cultured, I don't worry about it. Uncultured/unfermented soy gives me a rash. I've been taking this prenatal for 3 years with no ill effects and actually reversed my hypothyroidism since starting it (as a result of changing to a TF diet), so I'm not at all concerned.

[TonyaW]

Yeah, all my fertility books recommend 150mgs of b6, though I don't have a particular supplement to recommend. My chiropractor recommended Pure Encapsulations B complex. I take that along with Dr Ron's Multi.

I have heard Maca can move up your O date. Although it is suppose to take some time to have an impact, though I am sure it affects everyone differently. I think VItex is a great option for progesterone deficiencies. MY chiro recommended that I take it through my first trimester when I get preggo. She is an ND and nutritionist too. Perhaps this could be a last resort if the nutrition stuff doesn't work by the time you want TTC, but it supposedly takes a cycle of two to build up enough to have an effect. I can certainly understand your wariness though!

Starting with a good B complex seems natural enough. Since it is water soluble you don't have to worry about overdosing.

[Sihaya]

Originally Posted by TonyaW

I think VItex is a great option for progesterone deficiencies. MY chiro recommended that I take it through my first trimester when I get preggo. She is an ND and nutritionist too. Perhaps this could be a last resort if the nutrition stuff doesn't work by the time you want TTC, but it supposedly takes a cycle of two to build up enough to have an effect.

This is where it gets hard to decide. I would like to start taking vitex now if I'm going to take it, so it would be working by the time we'll be TTC in earnest. But, that's why I started taking maca so early when we weren't TTC. I wanted to give it plenty of time to start working and even time to try something else if it didn't work for me. Also, I have tons of maca left, so it seems silly to me to buy vitex when I could just go back on the maca again (which DH is vehemently against, and I don't blame him).

Originally Posted by TonyaW

Starting with a good B complex seems natural enough. Since it is water soluble you don't have to worry about overdosing.

I think this is the route I'm leaning toward. Today is CD1 so I won't be able to start from the beginning this cycle, but I should be able to get some B-vits and start taking them in the next week or so. Back while I was pg, I read about a study that showed that moms who took megadoses of b6 while pg and who had a family history of febrile seizures were more likely to have babies who had febrile seizures. DS had a febrile seizure about a year ago, so I've been reluctant to try the high doses of B6.

[samihenter]

fertility

look at these products
http://www.iherb.com/Chaste-Berry-Vitex
these are extracts but you can probably find chaste berry fruits at spice shops.
i heard women use this berry (they eat about 2-3 grams of fruit per day) in order to increase their chance of having children. It is supposed to be extremely good for all women.

[Sihaya]

samihenter - Thanks for the suggestion, but have you read all the posts in this thread? TonyaW and I have been discussing vitex already. I am wary of it and my DH recently told me he absolutely does not want me to take any.

As an update, I am going wait to try a B-complex until next cycle (if we don't get pg this cycle) because I'd like to see if the changes I'm making (exercise, liver, protein, CLO, sugar-free, etc.) do anything positive for my LP.

[cristeen]

I have a different set of fertility problems than you do, but I'll say that making some serious dietary and lifestyle changes are what got me my little guy. Sugar free is a great place to start. I also had to go grain-free (which includes grain-fed animal products). We went 100% organic, cut out all the plastics in the kitchen, got rid of the microwave, increased my veggie intake, started weekly acupuncture, and had to do some serious de-stressing. All of those changes were over time (2 years), and the last 2 changes I made before getting pregnant were adding the acupuncture and removing the stress.

Personally, I tried Vitex and I didn't notice any difference, but I think by the time I tried it I had already made so many changes that the Vitex didn't make much of an impact. Just don't underestimate the power of dietary and lifestyle changes - my doctors were amazed at how much I had managed to alter my body with these otherwise seemingly small changes.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

We're going to be TTC this spring and are currently not trying, but not avoiding either. Since both of our previous pregnancies were unexpected, I don't anticipate we'll actually make it to the TTC stage.

Since my 2yo DS was born and my cycles returned, my luteal phase has been short and irregular, my ovulation has been late in my cycles (around CD20-25), and I sometimes have 4-7 days of spotting before AF comes. I used maca to try to correct the late O and LP issues and it worked right away! We got pg that very first cycle, despite the fact that we were avoiding

Because of the spotting and short LP, I suspected a progesterone deficiency so I started applying an OTC progesterone cream soon after the BFP. When I started spotting at 7wks, my mw suggested I take the cream vaginally. When the spotting continued, I weaned my son since nursing can cause progesterone issues leading to m/c in some women.

In the end, it turns out baby had stopped growing around 5 weeks (possibly a blighted ovum) and I miscarried at 10 weeks. I am afraid that maca "made" my body conceive before it was ready and the progesterone prolonged the pregnancy after it had ended. I don't want to use these fertility enhancers again, even though they are "natural."

I am now starting my third cycle since the m/c and want to find ways to lengthen my luteal phase, move my O sooner, and increase my progesterone through food and supplements that nourish my body's functions. I want to eat things that will help my progesterone increase on its own, instead of just taking progesterone cream.

My current supplements:

• New Chapter Perfect Prenatal Vitamins daily
• 4 tbsp Lewis Labs Brewer's Yeast daily
• 1/2 tsp Blue Ice HVCLO (old kind) & 1/2 tsp butter oil daily (considering doubling CLO dose)
• 1-2 tsp frozen raw liver capsules daily (just starting this today)
• 100-150g protein daily (just starting this today)

I'm also going off of sugar starting yesterday (including honey, maple syrup, rapadura, etc but not including fruit, orange juice, or some carbs) and restarting T-Tapp tomorrow, which I really felt helped regulate my cycle when I was doing it in the past.

I am just wondering if any of you know of some foods/superfoods that might nourish my body in a way that would correct/support the specific fertility issues I am dealing with. I am open to considering food-based supplements, but am wary of them after my experience with maca. Website or book recommendations would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

vitex is a wonderful herb!!!!! That was what helped me get pregnant with DD. I had very irregular cycles. I believe vitex really helps to regulate your progesterone too!! DD is almost 19 months and my ND is trying to regulate my hormones now. My estrogen and progesterone are low. To help my body make more progesterone I've been taking Wild yam,Vitex and dandelion wh.


I plan on doing a cleanse before TTC again. Waiting for the warm weather to do that tho. Google the fertility diet. It's not totally TF but emphasizes eating more fats and organic. Have you read healing our children by Ramiel Nagel?

[Sihaya]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I have a different set of fertility problems than you do, but I'll say that making some serious dietary and lifestyle changes are what got me my little guy. Sugar free is a great place to start. I also had to go grain-free (which includes grain-fed animal products). We went 100% organic, cut out all the plastics in the kitchen, got rid of the microwave, increased my veggie intake, started weekly acupuncture, and had to do some serious de-stressing. All of those changes were over time (2 years), and the last 2 changes I made before getting pregnant were adding the acupuncture and removing the stress.

Personally, I tried Vitex and I didn't notice any difference, but I think by the time I tried it I had already made so many changes that the Vitex didn't make much of an impact. Just don't underestimate the power of dietary and lifestyle changes - my doctors were amazed at how much I had managed to alter my body with these otherwise seemingly small changes.

Thanks, cristeen. I made a lot of changes before we got pg with DS, so I was really flabbergasted when I had a m/c. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Originally Posted by mom61508

vitex is a wonderful herb!!!!! That was what helped me get pregnant with DD. I had very irregular cycles. I believe vitex really helps to regulate your progesterone too!! DD is almost 19 months and my ND is trying to regulate my hormones now. My estrogen and progesterone are low. To help my body make more progesterone I've been taking Wild yam,Vitex and dandelion wh.

I plan on doing a cleanse before TTC again. Waiting for the warm weather to do that tho. Google the fertility diet. It's not totally TF but emphasizes eating more fats and organic. Have you read healing our children by Ramiel Nagel?

DH has put his foot down about vitex, so it's out of the running. Thanks for sharing your experience, though. Since we are not avoiding, I'm not comfortable doing a cleanse. I have heard of the book, but haven't read it. I'm not really looking for a comprehensive method, but more of specific things to take/do to affect the specific issues I'm having. Thanks for your input!

[Sihaya]

Bumping up my own thread because I just got The Fertility Diet out of the library and wanted to share my opinion on it for the sake of people who might be in a similar place to me and happen upon this thread in the future. mom61508, please don't think I'm attacking you, I just don't want anyone reading this thread in the future thinking that this book is at all compatible with TF eating.

First, the book does not in any way address how to prevent miscarriage, other than the obvious warnings about alcohol, caffeine, obesity, and age. If your issue has to do with ovulation, especially PCOS, the book might be slightly helpful, but I still don't really recommend it.

Secondly, the book isn't only "not totally TF" but is full of modern mainstream diet recommendations. They praise the "new" food pyramid and corn/soy/canola oils and demonize red meat. They say refined carbs should be avoided or limited and then recommend pg women have a serving of ice cream every day (hello, sugar!). These aren't just tips they give in passing, the diet is the foundation of all of the advice they give.

Of the 10 suggestions the book is made up of, half were really obvious to anyone who's been TTC or researching it for any amount of time and the other half were completely opposite of TF wisdom and knowledge.

The obvious:

• Avoid trans fats
• Take a multivitamin with folic acid and other B vitamins
• Drink lots of water; drink coffee, tea, and alcohol in moderation; avoid sugary sodas
• If you are overweight, losing weight can improve fertility
• If you don't exercise, start. If you do exercise, do it more, unless you are too lean already
• Oh, and don't smoke (this isn't one of the ten, but they tack it on at the end as the 11th recommendation which doesn't have it's own chapter since it's so blatantly obvious)

The ones that aren't TF:

• Use more unsaturated oils like olive oil, canola oil, corn oil, and soy oil. Avoid coconut oil and butter
• Eat more animal protein, like beans and nuts, and less animal protein
• Choose whole grains instead of highly refined carbs (This one has it's heart in the right place, but without soaking/sprouting them, the carbs are still going to cause issues. I have no clue, though, whether those issues affect fertility, but it definitely doesn't jive with the way I eat.)
• Get one serving of full-fat dairy every day, like milk, yogurt, or ice cream. (This is another good idea, but they stress how this change should be temporary while TTC and only applies to dairy. They still encourage you to avoid butter and more than one serving of dairy because of the "bad" fats).
• Get plenty of iron from fruits, vegetables, beans, and supplements, but not from red meat

This book didn't tell me a single thing I didn't already know and was completely contrary to much of the TTC and TF wisdom I have gained over the last four years. It also didn't address my issue, which is low progesterone leading to miscarriage, at all. It focuses on improving the odds of conception, which I've had no issues with so far as every time I've had unprotected sex during my fertile time (or, you know, 5 days before ovulation), I've gotten pg.

If you're reading this thread because you're having fertility issues and want to heal them with TF foods, please read Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. It doesn't address my specific issue, but it's far far better than The Fertility Diet and gives some good places to start.

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

Bumping up my own thread because I just got The Fertility Diet out of the library and wanted to share my opinion on it for the sake of people who might be in a similar place to me and happen upon this thread in the future. mom61508, please don't think I'm attacking you, I just don't want anyone reading this thread in the future thinking that this book is at all compatible with TF eating.

First, the book does not in any way address how to prevent miscarriage, other than the obvious warnings about alcohol, caffeine, obesity, and age. If your issue has to do with ovulation, especially PCOS, the book might be slightly helpful, but I still don't really recommend it.

Secondly, the book isn't only "not totally TF" but is full of modern mainstream diet recommendations. They praise the "new" food pyramid and corn/soy/canola oils and demonize red meat. They say refined carbs should be avoided or limited and then recommend pg women have a serving of ice cream every day (hello, sugar!). These aren't just tips they give in passing, the diet is the foundation of all of the advice they give.

Of the 10 suggestions the book is made up of, half were really obvious to anyone who's been TTC or researching it for any amount of time and the other half were completely opposite of TF wisdom and knowledge.

The obvious:

• Avoid trans fats
• Take a multivitamin with folic acid and other B vitamins
• Drink lots of water; drink coffee, tea, and alcohol in moderation; avoid sugary sodas
• If you are overweight, losing weight can improve fertility
• If you don't exercise, start. If you do exercise, do it more, unless you are too lean already
• Oh, and don't smoke (this isn't one of the ten, but they tack it on at the end as the 11th recommendation which doesn't have it's own chapter since it's so blatantly obvious)

The ones that aren't TF:

• Use more unsaturated oils like olive oil, canola oil, corn oil, and soy oil. Avoid coconut oil and butter
• Eat more animal protein, like beans and nuts, and less animal protein
• Choose whole grains instead of highly refined carbs (This one has it's heart in the right place, but without soaking/sprouting them, the carbs are still going to cause issues. I have no clue, though, whether those issues affect fertility, but it definitely doesn't jive with the way I eat.)
• Get one serving of full-fat dairy every day, like milk, yogurt, or ice cream. (This is another good idea, but they stress how this change should be temporary while TTC and only applies to dairy. They still encourage you to avoid butter and more than one serving of dairy because of the "bad" fats).
• Get plenty of iron from fruits, vegetables, beans, and supplements, but not from red meat

This book didn't tell me a single thing I didn't already know and was completely contrary to much of the TTC and TF wisdom I have gained over the last four years. It also didn't address my issue, which is low progesterone leading to miscarriage, at all. It focuses on improving the odds of conception, which I've had no issues with so far as every time I've had unprotected sex during my fertile time (or, you know, 5 days before ovulation), I've gotten pg.

If you're reading this thread because you're having fertility issues and want to heal them with TF foods, please read Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. It doesn't address my specific issue, but it's far far better than The Fertility Diet and gives some good places to start.

The Fertility Diet I'm talking about isn't a book. This is what I'm talking about. Should have given you the web site.

http://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-diet
which states NO SOY unless fermented, sprouted grains preferably, organic grass fed meats and dairy. Of course it doesn't talk about eating kefir, fermented foods, or organ meats but it's still pretty good guidelines. I'm very TF so I would never suggest canola oil,soy etc. Also states no fruit juice and no sugar unless fresh squeezed juice, honey or maple syrup.

http://natural-fertility-info.com/pr...ertility-guide

Other than that don't what other info is available. Healing our children also addresses many health problems including miscarriage and is very TF. That's why I recommended it.

[Sihaya]

Thank you so much for clarifying. That book sucked and it was all I came up with on a preliminary google search. The website looks much better. I will look for Healing Our Children, but from the title alone I had no clue it addressed miscarriage because you didn't say so. Thanks again!

[Attached Mama]

Garden of Fertility by Kate Singer is extremely informative and written from a TF perspective. Highly recommend it!

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by Attached Mama

Garden of Fertility by Kate Singer is extremely informative and written from a TF perspective. Highly recommend it!

That book sounds good!!!

[Sihaya]

Originally Posted by Attached Mama

Garden of Fertility by Kate Singer is extremely informative and written from a TF perspective. Highly recommend it!

I have this one and also highly recommend it. Unfortunately for me, it only has two tiny sections on miscarriage and doesn't provide the answer I'm looking for, which is a diet-based approach to increasing progesterone.

mom61508 - I took a closer look at the Natural Fertility Diet website and it's pretty great. I had run across it in the past, but I guess I didn't realize how much information was there. Not much I didn't already know, but still a great resource to pass on to others. Thank you!

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by Sihaya

I have this one and also highly recommend it. Unfortunately for me, it only has two tiny sections on miscarriage and doesn't provide the answer I'm looking for, which is a diet-based approach to increasing progesterone.

mom61508 - I took a closer look at the Natural Fertility Diet website and it's pretty great. I had run across it in the past, but I guess I didn't realize how much information was there. Not much I didn't already know, but still a great resource to pass on to others. Thank you!

agreed! Hope you figure things out!