EWCM question...maybe TMI

[I'mAMama!]

I don't get very much EWCM, and at times its...thick, with a more snot-like consistency. I drink a lot of water, but should I be taking Robatussin (guaifenesin) leading up to my fertile period? I have a 16 month old (still nursing...would that affect it?) and suffered a first trimester miscarriage 2 months ago so I can get pregnant. However, I'm hoping to concieve again quickly. I'm out for this cycle, but if I have a next cycle (fingers crossed for a BFP!!) I'd like to do everythig I can to make things welcoming and hospitable for the little spermies!

[Banana731]

I am seriously in your boat here, except that I have an almost 3 year old who nurses once a day, occasionally not at all. My cycles have been "off" for me pretty much since the m/c. My CM is much like you described. But I don't drink enough H20, I think.

I'm planning on drinking much more water this cycle leading up to O, and also green tea to create more CM(recommended on another MDC thread.) I have read about taking robitussin in TCYOF, but it's pretty yucky! Though I would also be interested to hear from mamas who used it due for the specific CM issues I have.

[GaleTX]

I felt like my CM was a bit thick this cycle, so I took guaifenesin (just the regular kind, they say not to take anything with decongestant in because it can dry you up, so nothing with letters after the name, DM, etc.) It definitely thinned my CM out. The recommended time to take it is five days before ovulation through ovulation. I took the pill form, so I took one 400mg pill four times a day. I just can't tell you if it was successful, as I'm only three dpo!

[Sammerson0814]

Can someone fill me in onthe robatussin and the green tea and why we are drinking them? I'm confused.

[GaleTX]

Originally Posted by Sammerson0814

Can someone fill me in onthe robatussin and the green tea and why we are drinking them? I'm confused.

Robitussin (as well as Mucinex, etc.) contains Guaifenesin. Guaifenesin is widely used by women to facilitiate conception by thinning and increasing the amount of cervical mucus.

[littlest birds]

It definitely works to thin the CF, and it does it right away. You should drink even more water if you are taking it though. You can get it in tablet form as well BTW which is not yucky at all but costs a little more. Any brand or generic is fine as long as it contain ONLY Guafenesin. Other active ingredients are usually the kind that dry you up so totally opposite of what you want.

[Sammerson0814]

And the green tea? I love green tea!!!!

[GaleTX]

This is what I found about green tea:

In the past, women having difficulty conceiving might have been advised to limit their caffeine intake. But recent studies suggesting that stimulating drinks, and specifically green tea, might boost fertility. In a study conducted at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California in Oakland, researchers found that women who drank more than one half cup of caffeinated green tea every day doubled their odds of conceiving. No significant association was found for other caffeinated beverages; therefore researchers concluded that a chemical component of tea other than caffeine might have been responsible for the increase in fertility.

[kismetbaby]

Just to note: after coming off the Pill I was having very thick,dry EWC (almost like a rubber band) and was thinking I wouldn't be able to conceive and that I should try the Mucinex. . .but the I got pg. So not that you shouldn't try to thin yours out, but it is possible to still get pg.

[I'mAMama!]

Originally Posted by kismetbaby

Just to note: after coming off the Pill I was having very thick,dry EWC (almost like a rubber band) and was thinking I wouldn't be able to conceive and that I should try the Mucinex. . .but the I got pg. So not that you shouldn't try to thin yours out, but it is possible to still get pg.

Woohooo! That gives me hope. We had good timing even though when I thought I O'd is different than when fertility friend thought I O'd. I just wish my CM was more obvious about what was happening....WTH body?! Help a mama out!

Fingers crossed that this was our cycle. Good luck Bannana, and everyone else. GaleTX, please let us know if the Robatussin did the trick!

[karmab]

grapefruit juice and baby carrots are supposed to help as well. of course, some ladies like evening primrose oil too, cant speak to that myself.

oh, and i have heard excellent things about a supplement called fertileCM.

[karmab]

oh, yes, and i risk the ire of some of the mamas here for saying this- but there is also Pre-Seed, which is sold now at cvs and walgreens- you used to have to order it online. while it is not a substitute for good cm, and you have to keep working on improving cm from the INSIDE, it is a darn good lube, and totally sperm neutral. my theory is that a dry vag is a hostile vag, so if you dont have a lot of cm, or if you dont have a lot of arousal fluid, pre-seed can help. i tried it for the first time this month, and i loooove it. if nothing else, it allowed me to... reach that pleasurable occurance before my dh, which i figured maybe loosens up the cm, AND after dh, which puts the cervix down scooping up dh's contribution, every time we dtd during the fertile window.

which reminds me, too. some ladies dont think they have ewcm, or not enough of it, or whatever, but they do- it's just waaaay up there. if you check (with clean hands) by swishing all around your cervix, and giving it a little squeeze, and do this after a BM (as in poop), this is your best assessment method if it is scant.

good luck, ladies!