I've been trying to get pregnant for almost two years. I've had two miscarriages and the few tests that we've done have been normal. I think that the bulk of my problem is stress. So, for those of you who were stressed about conceiving, what helped you get pregnant? Herbs, meditation, massage therapy?
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I had two miscarriages before getting pregnant with Charlie (one was thru Clomid). I went on antidepressants, did acupuncture, exercised like a demon... what ultimately worked was alcohol. One drunken carefree night.
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@lalayes I'm in a similar place, except we've just been trying for a little over a year for #2. And omg, I am a stress monster. So I would love to hear these responses too. I've been exercising more, doing breathing exercises, and thinking about trying acupuncture, but hmmm, now @Mrs. Bee has me thinking I just need more alcohol
sounds like a plan to me!
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I'm pretty much at the same place as you. About 1.5 years of trying and 2 m/cs. Often when all the tests come back normal, some find answers checking for autoimmune issues. That's where I'm at right now.
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Did they do blood tests for your progesterone levels? I had to use progesterone to keep, and I'm positive I'll use it again in the future based on the similar timing and levels.
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I have never conceived (all BFNs) and I've been at it for 16 months. I don't have any advice but maybe try accupuncture and circle and bloom fertility meditation program.
I wrote about it here with a 15% promo code. http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/15-off-circle-and-bloom-meditation-programs-for-ttc-pregnancy
It really helps you visualize getting pregnant and getting you to relax. There's a session for every day of your cycle.
I just started using the IUI/IVF program and will be starting a IUI cycle. Wish me luck! I'm wishing you luck in finding something that works for you.
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Metformin, and a vacation (relaxation) were key to my successful cycle
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-Acupuncture and nasty Chinese herbs
-Yoga for Fertility (http://www.amazon.com/Restoring-Fertility-Brandon-FABORM-Wendy/dp/B001OVFAA4)
-Getting a dog--helped me relax and find an outlet for some of my pent up mothering energyIt took me a little over two years to conceive my son. I only started using the yoga DVD towards the end, but I noticed a difference right away. Still... it's so hard to know what was different that month!
Hang in there! Infertility is so tough.
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I conceived this (so far!) sticky baby after two losses on the same cycle I had my HSG done. I'm convinced that the "cleaning out of my uterus", so to speak, did quite a lot to help me, because I passed big blood clots for almost two days after the procedure. Sustaining pregnancy is much harder for me, so for this one, I was one 400 mg of Prometrium and baby aspirin. Whether any of that was the difference is hard to say, but I'm 18w2d right now, so I'll take it.
Before we started TTC, I spent a good two years trying to lose weight, get my A1C in control with Metformin, and figuring out my wonky cycles from possible PCOS.
I'm really sorry for your losses
I know that if I had lost this one, the next place we were going was a thrombophylia work-up (which my insurance may or may not have covered) to check for clotting issues. I hope you can get some answers soon.Sending you all manner of hugs and thoughts for a sticky baby for you very soon.
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We tried for three years & after failed fertility treatments got pregnant out of the blue. I lost some weight, was following a yeast free/paleo diet, had biweekly massages & regular chiropractic adjustments and a random night with lots of wine that ended up giving me a positive test & now a healthy 6 month old. I think one of the things that helped me "relax" was deciding to stop worrying about getting pregnant. I felt so unhealthy after 3 years of failed treatment so I decided to take a break to focus on me for a few months. Good luck! Sending lots of hugs your way....it's a tough place to be
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Naturopathic medicine, weight loss and a carb/sugar-free diet are some of the things that got me a BFP after 2 years. I'm so sorry about your losses- I hope you get your sticky baby soon!
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Sperm meets the egg plan!
And acupuncture! Good luck to you! 
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Ultimately, for me it was surgery to clear endometriosis + super-charged HSG to unblock one of my two completely blocked tubes + a long, very boozy, very relaxed weekend at the beach. The trip was supposed to be to take our minds off TTC and just reconnect with each other. I guess it worked!
(That was cycle 13.)This time around, AF and my endo pain returned at 7 weeks PP so I went on a perscription progesterone pill that is the absolute devil (depression, fatigue, mood swings). Just quit the crazy pills and am waiting for my cycle to return. I will get another HSG as soon as it does and hope that we can take advantage of the small window of fertility between an HSG and when my aggressive endo tries to re-block my sad right tube.
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iui with injectables and trigger shot, and trying real hard to focus on all the good in my life and not dwell on the current cycle.
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Thank you everyone for the support and for sharing your experiences,
@shopaholic I haven't had my progesterone tested, but I am thinking I should get some tests done to make sure all of my levels are normal. I haven't had a lot of tests done because my midwife doesn't like to run any tests until we've TTCed for a whole year with out any pregnancies.
@sometimesshesings Thank you for the DVD recommendation, I want to buy that and give it a go.
@bluestriped bee Sending good thoughts your way during your IUI cycle! Good luck!!
I think I will tell my husband that I need a nice beach trip as well, it sounds like that's a key!
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We TTC for 23 months. It was only after we decided to concede to start the process of IVF "help", giving up caffeine, and going on vacation....it did the trick. LOL I did have a relatively careless boozy month tooo, We ended up conceiving on our own and due in January.
Good luck to you on your journey!
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I'm sorry for your losses. When I was trying, it was hard bc my cycles were really long/all over the place after BC so it was really hard to predict ovulation and that situation is stressful in itself. I tried not to worry about it as much as possible, enjoyed my occasional wine/cocktail and what finally did it for us was literally having sex every other day! haha.. it sounds so ridiculous and maybe that's not for everyone but I swear it's the only thing I changed that made a difference.
Good luck! I'm sure good things are coming your way!
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@Mrs. Bee: +1 lol
My answer is margaritas
I had a few miscarriages, and then after 8 months of trying to conceive again I gave up. I had hit rock bottom. I went out for a friends birthday, had a couple (4) margaritas and had amazing, loving sex with the hubby, where instead of laying with my legs over my head for 20 minutes I just went to sleep. BAM! Sticky baby
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I am just describing the sequence of things that happened, totally non-scientific :
I was infertile for 5 years since I stopped the pills. Had 2 operations to remove an endometrial polyp, and still nothing happened. I never had a miscarriage, I just was unable to conceive. At one point I adjusted my mindset to believe that pregnancy will never happen to me.
So we remodeled our master bathroom and moved to the guest bedroom for a few months during construction. I remember back then I watched that J. Lo movie (totally forgot the name) that she held her legs/lower body high for 10(?) minutes after the doctor put sperms in her. I thought maybe I can try this after sex. I did. Next thing you know, I was pregnant. And that was after 5 years of infertility. My friend thinks Feng Shui may have played a part on it also (because we moved to the guest bedroom and I got pregnant there shortly after the remodeling was done). hahaha.
Good luck to you !! I hope it happens for you soon.
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@LalaYes: I know Tidybee got pregnant after a long time trying on vacation, too. So, yes, tell your husband you need to go lie on a beach somewhere!
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I had never actively tried, other than the month my husband and I began TTCing, so I don't really know if it was luck or science on our side.
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Seriously ladies, I know you're just answering the question, but "we just relaxed and took a vacation" is kindof a slap in the face to those of us who are trying everything and getting nothing but heartache. Please try and remember how you felt when you were in the middle of it all too, and be sensitive with your answer...
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@Mrs.Someone: I agree. We never would have gotten pregnant without interventions. Just relaxing wouldn't have/didn't do anything for my lack of cycles.
It took us 2 IUI's and lots of shots (3 weeks each time) for us to get pregnant.
@LalaYes: What tests have you had done? Are you seeing an RE? To me, two years is enough to warrant going to one to try and at least get answers.
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@Mrs.Someone: I totally agree, but I think a lot of these answers have started with the interventions that occurred BEFORE the relaxation - *and* LaLaYes did specifically say that she thought stress was part of her problem.
For example, yes, I got pregnant on vacation (which really *did* help relieve the stresss of TTC), but only after surgical intervention. No number of trips to the beach would have helped unblock my blocked tubes, and no amount of relaxation can get you knocked up if there is a brick wall between sperm and egg.
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@Mrs.Someone: I respect what you are going through, but you must realize that the ladies on this thread that have answered are answering based on what they believe to be the case for them, they are not recommending that YOU should do any of this.
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@Mrs.Someone:
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@septca: @looch: I understand what you're saying, but I'm really just asking people to be more gentle in their responses since this is in the IF boards. Many of the responses are great, even though they end with vacation/relaxing. But there are several that are not and I wanted to point out that it can be hurtful (I don't want to name names though).
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@Mrs.Someone: I remember feeling the same you feel about similar posts. However, I think it's important to remember that the majority of us who are replying, went through very similar things. We are not replying with this information to be insensitive, but because it's what actually happened. I'm on my 7th pregnancy and have one baby walking around to show for it, and one who I'm praying sticks. Truly both of them were conceived when I wasn't trying, stressing, and honestly when I had drinks with the hubs. It's the truth and what the poster asked for.
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@LalaYes: Hang in there! DH and I are secondary unexplained IF veterans. Here's what we did to conceive:
BFP #1: 9 cycles to conceive naturally. Conceived 1st cycle we didn't use lube. Our lube wasn't spermicidal, but it does inhibit the sperm's ability to swim. We just weren't thinking
BFP #2: 1st cycle using Clomid (100mg, CD5-9). Ended in m/c at 7wks.
BFP#3: 2nd IUI, Gonal-F w/HSG trigger. FWIW @Mrs.Someone: I spent the week after the IUI drinking and skiing. Big difference from IUI#1, after which I was a basket case!
That said, @LalaYes: I'm not a doctor but I'd be floored if stress really was your main obstacle to conceiving. All the anecdotes about alcohol aside, women have babies in war zones and poverty. I think after 2yrs of TTC, an appt w/a good RE is long overdue!
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@junebugmama: I know you remember what its like, and you know the pain of m/c more than anyone else. But you can't honestly think that relaxing is what prevented loosing again? It hurts to see that because its almost saying that we caused our own losses with stress. I know you can't possibly mean that though.
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@mrsmate: Please don't tag me with a response that I just asked people to be more gentle about delivering.
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almost 2 years of ttc can be very stressful! i was (and still am) also very stressed and anxious. it hasn't gone away, even though i'm now pregnant. however, i would say that trying to find an answer to my infertility (i.e., going to a RE and getting tested, etc) at least made me feel like i was being productive. although i was ultimately labeled "unexplained infertility," it was still helpful to know that i was trying. hope that makes sense.
as for what we did, the first pregnancy was a natural, after 2 cycles of ttc. i ended up having a d&c. for this pregnancy, we did an IUI with letrozole and a trigger shot, and i'm now 11wks pregnant. I also started acupuncture and herbs in april 2013.hope that helps.
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@Mrs.Someone: I don't know what I said but I'm sorry you were offended.
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@Mrs.Someone: I'm sorry that you're going through all of what you are. I remember starting a thread on WB stating that if one more person told me to relax I was going to punch them in the throat. I think maybe you need to see that no one here is trying to hurt anyone or pass blame for loss or infertility. All we are doing is explaining what changed for us. Essentially relaxing and not trying is what got me my sticky baby
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So many posts in this thread are really thoughtful and careful... it's much appreciated!!
Since this can be such a tricky topic, I thought maybe I'd post a link to an earlier thread with some thoughtful perspectives from some community members wrestling with IF:
http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/posting-to-the-infertility-boards-how-to-be-sensitive
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I haven't had a BFP yet, and I don't ovulate on my own... so it will need medical intervention (hopefully just Clomid, monitoring and timed sex) in order to conceive. Relaxing is never going to fix my PCOS on it's own.
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For us, switching from lubrication to no lubrication brought a BFP. It was shortly after my annual OB checkup too.
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I needed to see an RE in order to get pregnant. I have PCOS and didn't ovulate on my own. I did have one miscarriage/CP, but I blame that on the wrong dosage of medicine making the egg quality very bad.
I agree with @mrsmate: that I would find it really surprising if stress was the only thing keeping you from sustaining a pregnancy. I highly encourage you to seek out an RE if you're just seeing an OB.
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Thank you every one for the responses! I really appreciate you taking your time to share your experiences and give encouragement.
Thank you @MRBEE for the link! I enjoyed reading through that thread as well! @MRS.SOMEONE I am sending hugs your way, I wish you a sticky baby.
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We needed intervention to get pregnant. Injectables plus IUI did the trick, in conjunction with acupuncture and my 5-month old twins are napping as we speak. Good luck, I also agree that after 2 years, I'd be pretty stressed about it. Perhaps it is time to talk to an RE? The process can take a while...
I know that if I had lost this one, the next place we were going was a thrombophylia work-up (which my insurance may or may not have covered) to check for clotting issues. I hope you can get some answers soon.
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