Did anyone do anything special with their diet or workouts in the month or so prior to starting IVF? I'm thinking of, obviously, eating healthy and clean. But is there anything else specific anyone did that you felt good about?
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Eh, not really. Dealing with IF, I was still in denial that IF treatments would work and so I ate what I wanted. I tried every TTC trick before then and nothing got me pregnant. I did gain weight but it might have been my eating habits (late night snacks, 1-2 meals a day instead of small meals, fast food, desserts) and maybe the fertility meds.
Oh, my BMI has been fairly normal (I was actually underweight for a long time). The only thing my Dr would probably suggest was that I should have gone to the gym to exercise.
But you should definitely do what makes you feel better, if that is eating healthier and working out. I just didn't have time to workout with all of my IF appts and work on top.
Granted, I know I'm fortunate to not have any past weight issues. I apologize if my response is taken the wrong way.
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My doctor had me cut carbs and sugar. It was either that or I go on metformin. She has all her patients do one or the other depending on their overall health. I lost 3-5 pounds each time because of the diet change.
I continued working out normally in the month prior, but during stims she had me stop. Once your ovaries get large it's easier to hurt them.
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@Mrs. Pickle: oh, yeah. I was on Metformin (for lean PCOS) since April and it made me hungry. But giving up carbs and sugar would be hard for me. I hated taking the pills because it would make me gag.
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@bluestriped bee: it was really hard. I hated doing it!
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My RE has all of his patient go gluten and dairy free before IVF. His philosophy is that these foods are inflammatory foods. He doesn't want anything inflaming the body at all. Gluten and dairy free sucks! I just started for my FET and am already having a hard time with it.
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@bluestriped bee: Thank you for your response. It's really nice to hear you did not do anything in particular and still had a great IVF result.
@Mrs. Pickle: Was there a specific reason your doctor had you cut out carbs and sugar, like an underlying medical issue? Or was it just a good preparation for IVF? I think that would be hard to do, but worth a try if its good for IVF. I haven't actually asked my own doctor these questions yet since I didn't think of them at the time I met with him last week.
@justdarling: Gluten and dairy free is an interesting option. How long before your egg retrieval did your doctor have you do that diet? Gluten free sounds so tough. But at least I know an aisle in my grocery store where I can get gluten free stuff!
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@agold: it was just for IVF. I personally don't have any fertility issues, everything is male factor, so I was surprised she still made me do it.
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@Mrs. Pickle: Very interesting. Thank you so much for sharing. How far in advance of your egg retrieval did you start the diet?
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I'm starting the IVF process now. The only thing my Dr recommended for better egg quality was eating organic foods (or avoiding the dirty dozen at least). Also to limit alcohol (which I've been doing anyway). Truthfully, I think the whole dairy free/gluten free thing I'd kind of a waste, because if you aren't sensitive to those foods you wouldn't be having any inflammation.
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@agold: I went on the diet at the beginning of July and had my egg retrieval in the middle of August. He wanted me to go on the diet sooner but I had a trip to Italy and there was no way that I was missing out on that pasta! For the FET, I just went gluten free yesterday - but he wanted me to do it 2 weeks ago - and my transfer will be in the middle of September.
The gluten free part isn't that hard, but it's the dairy free that sucks!
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@MrsKRB: Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Doing organic should be easy (although not too cheap) and cutting out alcohol should also be easy enough. I'm also thinking about maybe doing a three or five day juice cleanse sometime before my IVF. But I will ask my doctor and also look into it online a bit. Good luck with your IVF! Are you going to be doing a fresh embryo transfer or hold out for a frozen embryo transfer?
@justdarling: I definately wouldn't want to be on any sort of dietary restrictions in Italy! That's so nice you were able to take a vacation there before your IVF. And your timing sounds about right to my timing for starting to think about my diet since I'm looking at a September egg retreival if all goes as planned. I could see how I could look into gluten free options. But giving up cheeses.... that might just be asking too much.
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@agold: the plan is for fresh as long as my body cooperates
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Hey all, definitely interested in this subject. I start stimming for my very first IVF cycle in about 2 weeks. Apologies in advance for my super long post but I think about this daily!
My acupuncturist told me it's important for me to "eat clean" to prepare for pregnancy, but I'm not sure if this helps to actually get you pregnant, or just creates the best possible start for a developing embryo and baby.
Either way, I have been eating only organic fruits and veggies, and organic meat, eggs and full-fat dairy from grass-fed cows and cage-free chickens.
I'm not sure how I feel about the gluten and dairy free thing. There is a Harvard study/book about fertility diet, and it recommends whole fat milk to help with healthy hormone production. It even says have a small dish of ice cream a day (I'm in!) http://www.amazon.com/The-Fertility-Diet-Groundbreaking-Ovulation/dp/0071627103
Lastly, as my username suggests I'm a yoga fanatic. I no longer run, which makes me sad, but the marathon training took a toll, and I've been told to stick with low-impact activity and not to overdo it so my body can focus its energy on reproduction. Yoga has been amazing... great for circulation and relaxation, all good things for making babies!
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@MrsPickle: I'm very impressed that you have an RE that recommended diet change. I feel like my doctor is too scattered and overbooked to consider these things. If I'd known that diet was important to IVF I would've started long before my stimming. I didn't do a ton of research myself because I know myself and feared obsessing,but now I regret it, because at least I could've been doing some things to help the egg cultivating process along.
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@MrsMed: I believe that a good diet impacts every part of our health (which is why I'm a dietitian
)I also forgot to mention to avoid conventional canned tomatoes. The lining of the can contains bpa which is leached out by the acid in the tomatoes. Bpa has been shown to decrease/impair egg quality. You can buy bpa-free cans or glass jars instead.
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@YogiRunner: Thank you for your great input. I'm going to look into the fertility diet book you suggested. I've also been generally interested in eating clean the last few months. I bought a book by Amelia Freer, although I haven't read it yet. I think I will start to buy as much organic as possible. Its hard for me to spend that much money, but I'm going to do it since I've spent so much so far. I'm pretty convinced now that I will do a few three or five day juice organic juice cleanses (also not cheap) gearing up for and prior to my IVF/egg retrieval. And thank you for suggesting yoga. I've always been interested in it, but haven't ever taken any classes. I will take some at my regular gym, but I also signed up for ClassPass, which allows me to go to some specialty yoga studios.
@MrsMed: My doctor didn't recommend diet change either. I'm hoping he will say something once I am fully started on my IVF cycle. (Right now I'm waiting for 1.5 more AFs to pass before I start.)
@MrsKRB: I bet being a dietitian is a fascinating job! Do you work for yourself or with a hospital or something like that? And please clarify what you mean by "conventional" canned tomatoes. I use Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes. Do you think that has the bad lining?
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@agold: I love my job, but it's difficult when you have a lot of patients who don't care about their diet
I work in a hospital. By conventional tomatoes I mean the standard generic ones, or non-organic ones. Muir Glen is a great brand, they don't use bpa in their cans.
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"It Starts With the Egg" is a book by Rebecca Fett that has an entire chapter dedicated dietary changes you should make to improve egg quality. Obviously, it includes the big ones like no alcohol, avoiding BPA, etc. but it also talks about doing a low sugar / low refined carb / anti-inflammatory diet. Apparently spikes in insulin can impair egg quality. I haven't been able to fully adopt all of her suggestions but I'm making small changes (and have already lost 10 lbs in a few months time). It might be worth a read if you are looking for ways to improve egg quality through diet.
I would think that with any dietary changes you make, you would want to get started roughly 3 months out before IVF because that is how long it takes for the eggs to develop and your dietary changes to affect your egg quality.
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@Shantuck: Thanks for your response. Wow, 10 pounds. I certainly wouldn't mind losing the same amount. I'm now only about 2 months out from my IVF (I think/hope) so I'm hoping 2 months is enough. I wasn't actually thinking about egg quality, but more about helping implantation and supporting a pregnancy. But I know egg quality is important too.
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@agold: All I have to say is this better work! I really want a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread!
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@Shantuck: Oh my gosh, you and me both! Do you have an IVF coming up soon?
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@agold: I met with an RE in early June after TTC for 5 months (I'm 35 so I'm not going to waste any time) and then got a BFP the next day. I ended up miscarrying at 7 weeks a few weeks ago so I'm just starting back with the RE. Because I have low AMH and elevated FSH, my RE mentioned that I would likely need to go straight to injectibles and IVF. I plan to switch insurance plans for one that covers IVF beginning on 1/1 so right now I'm trying to make sure I'm as ready as possible to get started on IVF (and working on egg quality, etc. in case I can have a natural BFP in the interim).
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