Can't Get Pregnant: Female Fertility/Infertility

[MQM]

I appreciate all your comments, ladies.  I don't know too many people who even understand my sentiments on the pasteurized milk and processed foods, etc.  It is such a blessing to discuss this with you w/o having to start at "square one".  Thanks for taking the time to think this over with me.

I am sure the studies that were done showing the positive effects of milk on fertility were done with pasteurized milk. I think it would be worth a try for a few months at least. You could also buy some stonyfield yogurt, their cream top one is not homogenized.

The studies I read showed skim milk having a negative impact on fertility. I'm trying to remember where I read them. I think they were in a book about fertility and diet.

Thanks for the stonyfield info.  I didn't realize they had a product that wasn't from homogenized milk.

As far as going back to pasteurized milk, I would consider it if I felt like it wasn't damaging my digestive system in any way.  As I mentioned before, it very noticeably affected me during my allergy season, causing my eyes to itch and swell up terribly.  So I'm pretty certain my body has trouble dealing with it. Also, my daughter has eczema issues with processed foods and milk, and I haven't pinpointed it exactly, but I think milk gives my son a tummy ache. I'm just nervous about going back down that road.

OH MY GOODNESSS!!!!

I left my post temporarily to google a health food store that my friend told me about which is supposed to have raw milk. I just got off the phone with them and THEY DO HAVE RAW MILK!!!

However, since it costs $10 per gallon and expires on the 10th, my husband won't let me drive over 35 miles (with these gas prices) to get it this weekend. But at least I know where to find it now! Praise the Lord!

Well, at least I can get yogurt for now anyway!  Thanks again for your help, ladies! I may never be pregnant again, but at least we have raw milk.  

[SC]

For those who are trying to kick-start or balance their cycles, wanting to balance hormones, correct painful cycles, etc. here is a no-cost way to help things along. I know of one woman that hadn't cycled for a year and thought she had gone through menopause that resumed her cycle after trying this:
Honoring Our Cycles, page 50 (Katie Singer, 2006, ISBN: 0-9670897-6-X)

To be healthy, we need sunlight during the day and darkness at night. Some women who do not ovulate regularly or who have difficulty getting pregnant and keeping pregnant have found that night lighting affects their cycles.

Usually, a woman needs to sleep in complete darkness -- except around the days she ovulates. Sleeping in complete darkness means that 15 minutes after you turn offyour bedroom light, you can not see your hand in front of your face. Getting your room totally dark takes time and attention. You might cover your window one night and the crack under the door the next. While it may take several months, healthier cycles often result.

. . . If you need light in the middle of the night (in the bathroom or while nursing), use dim light. You can buy a red bulb (like those used in a photographer's darkroom) from a camera store. . . .

To support healthy cycles, sleep in complete darkness. Then:

• After you have two days of wetness, [Edit note: refers to v*ginal sensation when checked after urination] on the night of the second day, sleep with a light on in your foom for three nights. Or, keep a light on in a nearby room and keep its door open. After three nights with light, go back to sleeping in darkness for the rest of your cycle.
• If you are not ovulating and have not bled for a month or longer, first sleep in completee darkness for 12 days. Then sleep with a light on for the next three nights. Then go back to sleeping in darkness for two weeks. Continue with this pattern to encourage healthy, ovulatory cycles.
• Once you are pregnant, sleeping in complete darkness can help you keep a healthy pregnancy. After your baby is born, sleep in complete darkness until you are ready to ovulate again.

Here are a couple of additional web sites with articles on fertility/ovulation and the affect of light at night:
http://fertility.amuchbetterway.com/lunar-fertility-boost-your-fertility/
http://www.shanspirations.org/?p=87

[skelliott2]

This is in the Wise Woman herbal for the Childbearing year as well.  It's one of the treatments she suggests for regulating ovulation, and therefore, helping with conception issues. 

[InEverything]

Here is an article on red clover and it's effects on fertility.  It comes from www.susunweed.com.  I am not real familiar with her site but she seems to have a lot of info on the hormonal effects of herbs.

Feeling Frisky? Herbs for Fertility
c. 1999 by Susun S. Weed

For thousands of years knowledge of the herbs and wild plants that could increase fertility were the secrets of the village wise women. But after the holocaust against European Wise Women (the "burning times") and the virtual extermination of Native American medicine women, this knowledge virtually disappeared. In fact, many people erroneously believe that "primitive people" had no means of controlling the likelihood of pregnancy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Many common plants can be used to influence fertility, including red clover, partridge berry, liferoot, wild carrot, and wild yam. Some of these grow wild, others are easy to cultivate, and, with the exception of wild carrot, all are also readily available at health food stores.

One of the most cherished of the fertility-increasing plants is red clover (Trifolium pratense). Common in fields and along roadsides, it has bright pink (not really red) blossoms from mid-summer into the chilly days of fall. A favorite flower of the honeybees, the tops (blossoms and appending leaves) are harvested on bright sunny days and eaten as is, or dried for medicinal use. The raw blossoms are delicious in salads and nutritious when cooked with grains such as rice or millet.

To make a fertility-enhancing infusion, I take one ounce by weight of the dried blossoms (fresh won't work for this application) and put them in a quart size canning jar. I fill the jar with boiling water, screw on a tight lid, and let it steep at room temperature overnight (or for at least four hours). Dozens of women have told me that they had successful pregnancies after drinking a cup or more (up to four cups) a day of red clover infusion.

[civilwarwidow]

Hi everyone,

I haven't used any birthcontrol of any kind since October 2007.  I had kind of a hard time having my 3 year old dd.  I charted for three months before I got pregnant.  I had 1 miscarriage before her and 1 after her, both very early on.  I have been diagonsed with Pcos but have 5 day period every months,my cycle range from 24-29 days long.  My day 21 progesterone is 11, my doc says that is normal.  I am going to start charting this month to see what is going on?  I am walking daily.  Any ideas to help..... 

Thanks,
Heather

[prolifeguyswife]

Hi everyone,

I haven't used any birthcontrol of any kind since October 2007.  I had kind of a hard time having my 3 year old dd.  I charted for three months before I got pregnant.  I had 1 miscarriage before her and 1 after her, both very early on.  I have been diagonsed with Pcos but have 5 day period every months,my cycle range from 24-29 days long.  My day 21 progesterone is 11, my doc says that is normal.  I am going to start charting this month to see what is going on?  I am walking daily.  Any ideas to help..... 

Thanks,
Heather

Hi Heather. I had a similar problem conceiving my two daughters - 2 years for the first and 2 years for the second, while I've never used any birth control of any kind.

I also have PCOS, and a Candida diet + herbs (from a place called the Green Herb, which does free evaluations and recommendations over the phone), actually made my cysts go away. My doctor was amazed! After the cysts were gone and my body was healthy, it still took awhile to get pregnant with my first two, but the herbs definitely helped.

I'm pregnant again with #3, and this time I got on an alkalizing diet (I believe an acidic environment kills sperm), started acupuncture, and got pregnant on the first try. My husband and I were stunned!

The main thing for me is to use ovulation prediction kits every time I want to get pregnant, do the temperatures to confirm ovulation, and be as healthy as possible. This time, I'm truly convinced that the combo of herbs + acupuncture gave me great results.

[Helpmeetmom]

Second on the ovulation kits.  I have some close friends who couldn't conceive for 6 years.  THey married young too.  She finally bought an ovulation kit and conceived right away.  Also they had two more children after that right away. HTH

[Mama Sita]

Hi everyone,

I haven't used any birthcontrol of any kind since October 2007.  I had kind of a hard time having my 3 year old dd.  I charted for three months before I got pregnant.  I had 1 miscarriage before her and 1 after her, both very early on.  I have been diagonsed with Pcos but have 5 day period every months,my cycle range from 24-29 days long.  My day 21 progesterone is 11, my doc says that is normal.  I am going to start charting this month to see what is going on?  I am walking daily.  Any ideas to help..... 

Thanks,
Heather

Heather,
You have been on my mind a lot. I remember you as Eviesmom, right? Anyway, I have just learned some very amazing information that may help you. I just found out thru a seminar that the root cause of PCOS is actually Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Pre-Diabetes, etc. It's a condition that's known by all those names.

I'd like to send you some more info for your own personal study time. I'll PM you.

~MS

[floydian]

There is a chiropractor in our area who is well known for helping infertle couples conceive.

Apparantly after having two or three adjustmens, many ladies have been able to conceive even if they had been trying for years.

[MQM]

...I'm pregnant again with #3, and this time I got on an alkalizing diet (I believe an acidic environment kills sperm), started acupuncture, and got pregnant on the first try. My husband and I were stunned!

The main thing for me is to use ovulation prediction kits every time I want to get pregnant, do the temperatures to confirm ovulation, and be as healthy as possible...

Prolifeguyswife, I'm intrigued by this alkalizing diet since I have borrowed books from the library about weightloss & diabetes cured by correcting the ph balance. Can you tell me if you discussed this anywhere else on WTM? I searched one day and came across a thread on PH balance, but haven't yet looked it over. I would be interested in hearing more about your experience regarding this.

Also, any others who'd like to chime in... It's been awhile since reading this entire thread... how do they diagnose PCOS? I know it is treated similarly like diabetes because of the insulin, but do they do blood tests and check your insulin level & do you have to have exam as well? I'm not real familiar with it (and I know it's not diabetes) but from what I read about insulin here -- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/14/insulin-part-one.aspx -- it makes me think that your sugar/carbs intake affects the overproduction of insulin, even though your body is still able to control your blood sugar. So what I'm getting at is, can controlling your carbs/sugar intake keep your insulin levels down and in turn reversing affects of PCOS? Just thinking here... 

[MQM]

Second on the ovulation kits.  I have some close friends who couldn't conceive for 6 years.  THey married young too.  She finally bought an ovulation kit and conceived right away.  Also they had two more children after that right away. HTH

If I had absolutely NO problems conceiving my first two--never paid attention to my NFS--do you all still recommend an ovulation kit, and can PCOS be ruled out? I have regular cycles every month ranging from 28-30 days (7 days menstruating) and have not conceived for almost 4 years. (18 mos after dd was born we prevented but w/o birth control) Nothing has changed for me since then, except my nutrition is better and I'm older. I could use a cleanse, just because I'm 32 and haven't always eaten the way we eat now. (Planning a Master Cleanse after holidays.) Now, dh's health fluctuates--weight gains/losses--and his stress level at work has risen in those 4 years, but neither of these are too terribly different from before.

Any thoughts? Most of the time, I just resolve that I'm barren, that's God's plan for me now--as it was for Hannah, Sarah, Elizabeth, Rebekah...at points in their lives--and that's all there is too it. Ain't no fixing it unless/until God is ready! ;-)

[MQM]

...I'm pregnant again with #3, and this time I got on an alkalizing diet (I believe an acidic environment kills sperm), started acupuncture, and got pregnant on the first try. My husband and I were stunned!

The main thing for me is to use ovulation prediction kits every time I want to get pregnant, do the temperatures to confirm ovulation, and be as healthy as possible...

Prolifeguyswife, I'm intrigued by this alkalizing diet since I have borrowed books from the library about weightloss & diabetes cured by correcting the ph balance. Can you tell me if you discussed this anywhere else on WTM? I searched one day and came across a thread on PH balance, but haven't yet looked it over. I would be interested in hearing more about your experience regarding this.

Also, any others who'd like to chime in... It's been awhile since reading this entire thread... how do they diagnose PCOS? I know it is treated similarly like diabetes because of the insulin, but do they do blood tests and check your insulin level & do you have to have exam as well? I'm not real familiar with it (and I know it's not diabetes) but from what I read about insulin here -- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/14/insulin-part-one.aspx -- it makes me think that your sugar/carbs intake affects the overproduction of insulin, even though your body is still able to control your blood sugar. So what I'm getting at is, can controlling your carbs/sugar intake keep your insulin levels down and in turn reversing affects of PCOS? Just thinking here... 

BUMP!

[all4him]

 i did not read this whole thread, just skimmed over some ~~ we've never had a problem concieving b/4, we actually had 5 children in 7 yrs! we've not used BC (except for abstinece), since our 2nd child. we eat mostly healthy foods, and my cycle has been 26-28 days most times. I really dont understand why I am not getting prego's!!??? I never ever had a problem getting prego b4! and I realize now - more then ever b4 that God is in total control of these things! after my last baby (she'll be 2 yrs in Feb) was born, I was a bit overwelmed, and was hoping for a little break! Well, now I have my break, and I'm not really enjoying it that much~~ I am not totally miserable about this, but I wud so luv to have a baby (or babies ) to cuddle! It seems when the month rolls around, and I again get my period, I wonder if I will ever have another baby!? I will be 36 soon, and we wud so luv to have more children! There was a few months where I had a flu , or we were traveling over the time I was oveulating, and just this last time I had a bad sore throat, so I wasn't to surprised when I got my period! any thing y'all wud recomend me taking?? We are praying about it, and the children thot we might have a baby for their christmas present, but then the oldest one informed them that mommy is not even prego!!   Oh, and I only quit nursing my little one in Sept, but had been getting my period since Feb- March. Do you think I may not have been ovulating even tho I was getting my period, during the time I was nursing?

[WithLoveAndJoy]

i did not read this whole thread, just skimmed over some ~~ we've never had a problem concieving b/4, we actually had 5 children in 7 yrs! we've not used BC (except for abstinece), since our 2nd child. we eat mostly healthy foods, and my cycle has been 26-28 days most times. I really dont understand why I am not getting prego's!!??? I never ever had a problem getting prego b4! and I realize now - more then ever b4 that God is in total control of these things! after my last baby (she'll be 2 yrs in Feb) was born, I was a bit overwelmed, and was hoping for a little break! Well, now I have my break, and I'm not really enjoying it that much~~ I am not totally miserable about this, but I wud so luv to have a baby (or babies ) to cuddle! It seems when the month rolls around, and I again get my period, I wonder if I will ever have another baby!? I will be 36 soon, and we wud so luv to have more children! There was a few months where I had a flu , or we were traveling over the time I was oveulating, and just this last time I had a bad sore throat, so I wasn't to surprised when I got my period! any thing y'all wud recomend me taking?? We are praying about it, and the children thot we might have a baby for their christmas present, but then the oldest one informed them that mommy is not even prego!!   Oh, and I only quit nursing my little one in Sept, but had been getting my period since Feb- March. Do you think I may not have been ovulating even tho I was getting my period, during the time I was nursing?

I don't have a lot of experience, but from what I have read it can be more difficult to become pregnant after 35 years of age.  That being said, it still can be done.

My thoughts would be the basics, make sure that you are eating a well balanced diet, include plenty of healthy fats (low fat diets can impair fertility), take a quality prenatal vitamin, such as SuperMom with an additional Folic Acid supplement.  Get some moderate exercise and completely cut out caffeine. 

Those are some of the things that I have tried to do when I am attempting pregnancy.  But just don't get discouraged, sometimes it can take a year to get pregnant and there is nothing wrong

[doddsgirl]

i have read thru this thread several times over the past two years. i have struggled with infertility for years. we have been married five and a half years and have never used b/c. finally had tesing done last year and supposedly, we are both "normal". last year i started having mid-cycle spotting with ovulation that became a monthy occurence. i finally went to the dr. and he said it was a hormone issue but blood work showed no imbalance. ?
 i started drinking red-raspberry leaf tea in december and it cleared up the mid monthy spotting immedietaly. i was hopeful that the tea would also help lengthen my cycle- i have a regular but short cycle 24 or 25 days. the first month drinking the tea i went 26 days, the second month 28 days. i thought i was cured. then i had a 25 day cycle and i just had a 21 day cycle. i am so discouraged.
i also took clomid in feb and march. the dr said that i would have a normal (28 day) cycle when on it. nope. 25 and then 21. i am not taking anything this cycle. giving it a rest but also don't think it's working. i had ultrasounds before starting and when on the clomid. i have eggs but they are not releasing or the egg gets too big before it releases.
what is up with that?
i am checking into the other advice mentioned on this thread but does anybody have any insight into my particular situation?
we want a baby so badly.
tia

[rejoicing]

Other than the short cycles, it sounds like pcos, or thyroid issues.

Have you read the thread on sleeping in complete darkness? It worked after only 2 weeks for me?

[WellTellMommy]

I just found out thru a seminar that the root cause of PCOS is actually Insulin Resistance, Syndrome X, Pre-Diabetes, etc. It's a condition that's known by all those names.
~MS

I've been reading info about these in GAPS book I'm curious if the GAPS diet/protocol would heal all of the above mentioned and fix fertility problems?

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

Many common plants can be used to influence fertility, including red clover, partridge berry, liferoot, wild carrot, and wild yam. Some of these grow wild, others are easy to cultivate, and, with the exception of wild carrot, all are also readily available at health food stores.

In my recent research of wild carrot AKA queen anns lace it is not safe to use during pregnancy. I read in several places that it was used in the old days as means of aborting a baby. From the way I understand it is does NOT prevent conception but instead it makes it to where the fertilized egg(baby) can not implant his or herself into the lining of the uterus and thus the baby dies. 

[YoopreMama]

Has red clover been mentioned?

"The herb most effective in establishing pregnancy is red clover." Susun Weed

Scroll down here for more:
http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/pregnancy/herbalallies.htm

...

I drink it as a nourishing herbal infusion...about 1/2 c. in a qt. of water steeped overnight... 

[YoopreMama]

http://www.wisewomantradition.com/childbearingyear/nourishing_herbal_infusions/

[hi_itsgwen]

ii am checking into the other advice mentioned on this thread but does anybody have any insight into my particular situation?
we want a baby so badly.
tia

It sounds like the red raspberry leaf tea is a great start for you, and is moving you in the right direction.  I have a couple of other thoughts that you can combine with the rrl tea to get those hormones back into balance. It doesn't surprise me that the testing didn't show any imbalances.  The tests look at averages, and what may be average may not fit you at all.  Hormones are not 'one size fits all'.  They are unique to each person.  Stores don't sell just one average size of shoe and bra.  It is puzzling to me that doctors will rely on tests and hormonal medications that are based on averages.

If you feel that the problem is with hormone imbalance, then I would first recommend doing some research and seriously evaluationg your estrogen intake from phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens.  An elevated estrogen level will throw off the delicate balance of hormones that is necessary for ovulation.  In other words, having higher estrogen even in a small amount will require your body to 'need' more progesterone to trigger a normal cycle.  This mimics and may (even cause) PCOS and other symptoms of hormone imbalance like low progesterone.  

Once you've considered and remedied ingested/environmental hormones, if you're still having issues, I would suggest researching Vitex/chasteberry.  It is a berry that has been used since ancient times to regulate a woman's hormone balances.  It is not a hormone, but it affects the pituitary gland which controls the hormone production, and stimulates it to bring your hormones back into balance naturally. If your imbalance is due to ongoing exposure to environmental estrogens you definitely want to take care of that first.

Between these two things, my sister was able to go from only having medically induced cycles to having the first normal cycle that she can ever remember.

HTH!
Gwen

[robertsonre08]

Unless you know that you have low estrogen levels, I would not take chasteberry. It is a plant source of phytoestrogens and can exacerbate hormonal imbalance if you have high estrogen levels. Alone, it will not cause estrogen dominance, but in concert with other factors, it can contribute to the problem -- delaying conception.

Click here for a more details. Chasteberry is addressed in the 10th paragraph down.

I have PCOS and I am currently taking Femaprin vitex extract and are you saying that I shouldn't be taking this because I am estrogen dominant?

[blessed2bamama]

I have looked all over these threads for something I read once about alternating vitex and evening primrose oil for different weeks of your cycle to regulate hormones/increase fertility, etc. please tell me where to get this info again or tell me what week I should be starting what. I used this info a few years ago and got pregnant right away.
Thank you!!!!!!

[healthybratt]

An article which might add something to the pot.

http://bulkherbstore.blogspot.com/2010/01/hormone-imbalace-checklist.html

[evie]

What's some suggestions on infertility? We have been trying for 14 months. We've had 2 boys already. And we had absolutely NO problems getting pg with them.

[IowaDove]

First I would try to figure out what you think the problem may be. Hormonal imbalance? Age? Do you have any cysts or fibroids?
I got the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility and it is excellent and we got pregnant the first cycle we tried. Tracking your cycle through temperature for a few cycles will give you an idea of what might be going on-maybe you're not ovulating, or your luteal phase is too short, or you may be ovulating sooner or later than you think.
I was also taking a chasteberry tincture which is supposed to enhance fertility, but you should research it before deciding if that's what you need or not. Drinking Red Raspberry Leaf is also great for any female issue.
I posted some ideas on things you can do to conceive here: http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,27991.0.html
I hope that helps and wasn't just a repeat of everything you've already tried! 

[evie]

Thanks for the tips! I am 24, so age is not an issue. I've charted, and am pretty sure everything is normal. I've tried progesterone for an apothacary, but maybe not long enough. I've thought about trying red raspberry. I'll do that. I also wondered if problems with sperm count or whatever with sperm, is heretitary? Cause I know my Dad in law had problems with that. Who or where do you go for tests?

[IowaDove]

From what I've read, the majority say it isn't hereditary. I guess you could try a fertility specialist, but unless you can afford it, that could get very expensive. These articles may be helpful:
http://www.early-pregnancy-tests.com/increasesperm.html
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fertility/MC00023
I don't know if you have it, but the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility has a section on how to conceive if your husband has low sperm count.
Another thought I had is you and your husband if he's willing could try the Master Cleanse. My husband's cousin had tons of issues conceiving (I think they tried for 3 years) so she went on the Master Cleanse and got pregnant immediately after she finished it. I've heard that a lot of women do. So it's worth a try. It would be good to do even if it didn't help you conceive.
Saw Palmetto is good for both male and female reproduction and Red Raspberry leaf is also good for male fertility.
Also chasteberry has a progesterone effect. For whatever reason, I don't do well on progesterone cream (it makes me angry!  ), but noticed a big difference (happier mood, feeling balanced) immediately after taking the chasteberry.  HTH!  

[evie]

Thanks I look into that!