Taking back control!

BornReady

Hi Ladies! So, I am feeling my lack of control in this whole TTC process and I imagine this feeling is mutual with many of you. After perusing the natural medicine store today for some ear drops for my ear infection and seeing the fertility/women's health section, it got me thinking of what sorts of things everyone was doing to feel more in control in the face of the uncontrolled environment of TTCAL. 

For me, I've gotten rid of my plastic tupperware and have gone all glass. I've been pretty good avoiding BPA for a long time, but was always to cheap to upgrade my food storage containers. I'm taking COQ10 at the suggestion of my doctor while dealing with infertility in 2012 and a prenatal daily. Also, doing acupuncture weekly to get my body in a good place. 

What are you all doing to feel more in control of creating a healthy environment to grow a baby?

WinchesterGirl

Hmmm... I definitely feel you on the lack of control.

I haven't done a ton so far at this point, as we do have a generally clean lifestyle... But I have switched back to my whole food prenatals and bought an additional B6 supplement as to hopefully reduce morning sickness with any future pregnancies.

I'm also considering switching shampoo/conditioner to a more natural brand. All my other body products are natural or homemade, but I have never managed to find a natural shampoo I could stand.

chloe97

I'm definitely the same way! I just started on COQ10 this week, I just got rid of my plastic water tumblers that say BPA-FREE b/c after water sits in them, there's some sort of chemically smell and that just can't be good. I'm doing acupuncture and Chinese herbs and trying to meditate.

BornReady

You bring up a good point with the body products. While I was TTCing # 1 I found that a lot of the products I was using contained some pretty nasty chemicals/parabens/hormone disrupters. I switched to BeautyCounter products which are the safest I've found. 

I used this App that lets you look up certain products and see their safety rating, I think it was "skin deep"... pretty fascinating/eye opening.

PeggyOlsonFTW

I'd love to try acupuncture but it seems like quite an expense to keep up over time. I just found out we need a new roof and DS starts preschool in the fall, so I don't think I'll be starting any new expensive regimes. 

chloe97

Good point @PeggyOlsonFTW! Not to hijack this thread, but I'm wondering how much people are paying for acupuncture? I'm going to the boutique place near where I live that specializes in acupuncture and each treatment is $90 and that doesn't include the herbs they want me to take. I'm able to use FSA before tax dollars, but I'm wondering if it's worth it. I've only been once. Any ideas where to get treatments from people who are trained in fertility acupuncture, but for cheaper?

GoldenTMama

I have started acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I feel much more in control with them, as my temp chart has been much more consistent and predictable, and so it makes me feel like i'm really working towards a healthier me. I am also trying to eat better and exercise more. Same here with the plastic, our house now uses glass containers and they are much better overall (less staining and retention of food smells). 

All we can do is our best. Every step we take is better for us in the long run. 

dpjennifer

I'm definitely trying to eat more and more healthy.  We bought our house a little over a year ago and I was able to have a garden this past summer!  So we've been eating up homemade tomato sauce we canned... and tons of potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, etc. that I grew.  Hoping to expand the garden more this year to continue our healthier eating.  
I've done acupuncture in the past, but not for fertility.  We'll see how the next several months go and if we decide to try that route or not.  Like you've all said, it seems beneficial but is expensive.  
I use a variety of plastic and glass at my house.  Unfortunately I'm a walking disaster so I end up shattering glass on a regular basis, despite my best efforts.  (You don't want to know the number of canning jars I've smashed in the past 6 months)
Also, I'm definitely trying to be more active and exercise even more than I did before.  Despite my efforts, I'm still overweight and would love to drop some of it before a baby comes, but I also realize I can only try my best as well.

BornReady

@chloe97 I am paying $80 a session. I have been using my HSA, but I do need to discuss with them what the long term plan is. I see the same people there every week... It's amazing to me that people are willing to pay so much in the long term.  I feel like it has been helpful in a variety of ways, but it is hard to justify at times for me. 

PeggyOlsonFTW

Community acupuncture is available close to where I live. I think it ranges from $20-$45 a session. But that still seems a lot for something that you probably need to do often and something that might not actually work.

catiecatp

I'm doing a few things under the direction of my naturopath to improve my gut health in the hopes that I can further decrease my antidepressants.

I like the idea of glass containers - I'm gluten free (not by choice) and so I have a lot of different flours that could be stored in glass without increased breakage risk - and leftovers could go in glass pretty easily too. I don't think I could switch the lunch containers - I'd break them so fast - but maybe some metal ones? I'll have to look into it.

I'm also trying to get back to eating healthy - I've gained weight over the past year - still healthy in terms of BMI, but I'd like to get it lower if I can. What are some of y'all's favorite low calorie healthy snacks? The newest on my list is low fat cottage cheese.

When we run out of household cleaners I'm thinking of switching to less toxic ones - same with shampoo and conditioner. I have a shampoo brand that I like that is paraben free but I can't remember the name of it at the moment.

AL_TwinCities

I pay $80/session for acupuncture, and I use my HSA for it. We were TTC for 15 months after my first loss. I started acupuncture on month 15, and got a BFP. I am continuing for the foreseeable future. If I didn't have a good amount saved up in my HSA I might feel differently, but I definitely saw results so it is worth it for me!

penelope4612

I want to stop drinking coffee everyday and also want to wean off my benzoyl peroxide cream but my face *just* started to clear after breaking out incessantly since August so I'm not super excited about it.

WinchesterGirl

I've seen a lot of people mention acupuncture, but I am curious what is it for, fertility-wise? The only person I know who has done it, did so for weight loss.

@catiecatp I would love to hear what shampoo you found! Also I have a recipe for really easy, awesome scrubby cleaner, if anyone is interested. I use it on the tub, sinks, and my glass top stove.

catiecatp

@winchestergirl - I'd love a recipe for cleaners - I've had a book on natural cleaning for years but to be honest I haven't cracked it open and I'd rather personal recommendations of what works. The only natural cleaning I do is that I clean the kitty litter with baking soda and vinegar (when not pregnant of course - though the cats have always been indoors so the risk of a new toxoplasmosis infection is very low). 

Edit: Next time I'm in the natural foods store I'll write down the name and take a picture of a bottle or two - there are different formulas for different hair care needs (e.g., dry, oily...).

BornReady

@WinchesterGirl I started acupuncture after my miscarriage to help me regulate hormonally and to deal with some issues I'd been dealing with since the birth of DS. Acupuncturists have a different way of looking at the body and how it works which they apply to their work/you. My person has really helped me look at my body and fertility in a very different way in terms of what I was experiencing and how I can help my body better prepare for a pregnancy. It's also super relaxing... I often feel like I'm on a sort of high after I leave.

GoldenTMama

@WinchesterGirl I started acupuncture after my 2nd miscarriage and after some blood work done by my OBGYN showed there were no major issues with me. I wanted to see what the acupuncturist had to say about why I might be having MCs. I wanted to try to see if there was anything I could do more naturally before I decide if I want to see a RE. I see my acupuncturist almost weekly and she has me on a Chinese herbal regimen. She has also given me the most information about MCs and my cycle, she goes over my temp chart every time I see her and we discuss how I am feeling and she decides were i need the acupuncture. Don't get me wrong, I love my OBGYN and I know it is the job of the RE to get into details about this kind of stuff, but I love having my acupuncturist (who is certified by my state in fertility acupuncture) and she has helped my anxiety by giving me steps to take (herbs and sessions) that make me feel more in control (but she doesn't make lofty promises) and she has helped regularize my temp chart, so it is nice to see a physical representation of her work.

My acupuncturist gives me different herbs and pressure points for each phase of my cycle because (as i'm sure you know) each phase is important for different reasons and has different functions. I can't swear by anything yet (and every body is different), but I feel really happy with my treatments. 

However, it can be very pricey. I go weekly and it is around $75 to $100 each session. 

NamelessAria

I've been meaning to switch out all the plastic tupperware for glass but haven't done it yet. I really should.

I also have some water tumblers with the same problem you're talking about @chloe97 They're BPA free supposedly but after having water in there for a few hours the water tastes weird and smells.... off. It's probably time to switch those out. I also need to find a way to stop DH from drinking water exclusively from plastic water bottles. Even around the house he only drinks water out of a water bottle. He seems to think the water from the bottle has less impurities than the water from our filter. I'm assuming the only way to fix that problem is to invest in a filter he'd feel good about. I'm not sure what that would be though. Probably some super expensive reserve osmosis filter that removes like...everything.

I switched over to shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, lotion, facial moisturizing, deodorant, etc that is natural. This was really less for TTC and more because I started not being able to tolerate a lot of the normal not-natural ingredients.

I take a whole foods prenatal and cleaned up my diet. I'm eating almost no processed foods anymore and DH and I now rarely do fast food. By rarely I mean we'll do a dunkin' doughnuts eggwhite flatbread or something while we're stuck on the road doing the 15 hour drive to visit my family for holidays and that's about it. I definitely feel better, in general, now that my diet is less junk food, processed food and fast food. All the fresh fruits and veggies with home cooked meals has been good for my overall health. It doesn't seem to have made a difference for TTC but that's okay.

I stopped drinking alcohol completely and I've cut coffee to half a cup every every couple of days.

I switched most of my home products to natural versions. I got an ultrasonic diffuser and essential oils to replace air freshers/room sprays. I started making my own general purpose sanitizing surface cleaner (for the kitchen counter and such) out of water, vodka and essential oils. And I stopped using laundry softener and dryer sheets. I traded dryer sheets for wool dryer balls.

I finally got DH to start taking a multivitamin and now I'm working on getting him to cut down on his coffee consumption. The research I've seen doesn't really look great for men who drink somewhere around 5 cups of coffee a day. lol

valleric

I've been going to an acupuncturist since August. I go 1-2 times a week. Luckily for me it is free through my husbands work- he works in I.T. For our sheriffs department, so they have a deal with employees there. Otherwise I believe it would be $30 a session.

chloe97

@NamelessAria I hadn't heard about coffee affecting speed quality. My husband has been known to drink 5 cups a day. Does it raise the risk of mc?

strickland8052

I'm going to take a different approach here, but I'm trying to become more comfortable with NOT being in control. I'm taking an improv class to help me learn how to be more present and not over plan things. Surprisingly, it is also a lot of fun so it keeps my mind off things too!

In addition to that, I'm also doing everything in my control to provide a healthy baby environment. Moderate exercise, healthy food, juicing, vitamins, less stress, etc. If we have another loss or have trouble getting a second BFP, I may try acupuncture too.

NamelessAria

chloe97 said:

@NamelessAria I hadn't heard about coffee affecting speed quality. My husband has been known to drink 5 cups a day. Does it raise the risk of mc?

Well, to be fair, most of the studies done used couples doing IVF. I'm just assuming that the results would carry over to couples TTC without assistance fairly well.

Here is a link to an article I found on it.

Here is another page I found when I was researching it. Although they weren't the best at citing their sources so take it with a grain of salt.

PeggyOlsonFTW

Welp. I talked about with DH and I'm going to try acupuncture. We found a community place where I can pay $20/session. I'm hoping it will help relieve stress and improve my fertility.

MrsGargoyle

I feel like acupuncture fits under the heading if 'might help, couldn't hurt'. I had a few sessions before a successful embryo transfer, but I am not sure that was a contributing factor at all. I went for an unrelated reason and in the pre-treatment assessment it came out I was gearing up to cycle and the practitioner specialized in fertility issues. So, she made some adjustments to her plan to suit both issues. I vote do it if you can afford it and it makes you feel good, but don't feel bad if you can't.

As for the BPA-free comments. That's important. I read some interesting articles that manufactures that market cups as BPA-free are hitting some hot water, as they pretty much just substituted other chemicals that kind do the exact same things. Here is one example article:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bpa-free-plastic-containers-may-be-just-as-hazardous/

I read a separate article that I can't locate at the moment, which reported the results of testing on several BPA-free bottle specifically marketed for children that contained endocrine-disruptors worse that BPA. Personally, I'm a big fan of glass. All my 'tupperwear' is glass. The lids are plastic with a silicon liner, but I never load food in high enough to reach the lid. I can't avoid all plastic, obviously, but I do try to reduce exposure where feasible.

For me, I also try and eat the perimeter of the grocery store, and stay away from manufactured foods. Cook from scratch, and if I have to buy something in a can, box, or jar, read the ingredients and be mindful to stick to those with few ingredients of foods I would typically by anyhow. A great example is a 'short cut' I have. I like a good whisky sour, I don't always like the effort. I buy a premade sour mix that contains: water, sugar, lemon juice, maple syrup, and bitters. The things I would add myself.

I think food is one of the biggest culprits to declining overall health of our population, manufactured food is too easy and contains too many ingredients that we can eat, but aren't fostering good health overall.

WinchesterGirl

Thanks @BornReady & @GoldenTMama for the accupuncture info! I may try it! I agree it can't hurt.

@Catiecatp I'll try to remember to take a picture of my recipe card tonight or tomorrow!

@MrsGargoyle I've heard one of the biggies is now BPB. Just as serious a problem, but not widely known yet. Basically plastic is not ideal, if you can avoid it.

@NamelessAria you guys sound very similar to how we do things. Also I love our wool dryer balls.

Boots&Co

Needles make me anxious, but I have been seeing a chiropractor regularly since my first mc and I think that helped.

knklein10

@MrsGargoyle and @BornReady I tried acupuncture for the first time today-- I'd love whatever insight you might have about your experiences. I blogged about my thoughts here: https://www.threelittlebeans.com/twas-the-night-before-egg-retrieval-and-i-got-acupuncture/. 

@Boots&Co The needles are like slivers of grass-- I was anxious too, but then I felt silly about it when he actually put the first one in. It was nothing. I'd like to try a chiropractor, though.  

BornReady

@knklein10 Loved reading your blog post! I had a similar experience the first time, like what am I doing here? My experience after going to a bunch of weekly appointments at this time was that it doesn't seem to be "hurting" anything, so I'll keep doing it. I have noticed some regulation in my cycle in terms of CM matching where I am at (and more of it) and an improvement in a cyclical yeast problem I had been having since the birth of my son. My anxiety is also greatly improved and having some time to focus on just me has been a big benefit.

My overall experience was that it took a while to build up to a great session/feel like it was "working". I would say maybe my 3rd or 4th time my mind was blown. I walked away from that time thinking, "this is why people do this", almost like an addictive experience. My provider actually told me that there is a cumulative effect, so that you really do have to go frequently to get the most benefits. Coming from a science background it took a bit of an adjustment for me to get into the whole way of thinking associated with a non-western medicine approach, but what my lady said did make sense, it just took some different perspective taking.

Good luck! 

FiancB

My local community center offers group acupuncture for $25/session. I tried it once pre-TTC and keep meaning to go back, but it's hard to get an appointment. If I fail to O again this month, maybe I'll go in hopes it will help me re-regulate after my loss. In this area, acupuncture is getting to be very common even in the hospital, so I'm intending to keep an open mind on it. We talked about it a lot my first semester of nursing school, hence why I wanted to try it. I do see a lot of Groupon deals for it, too. 

I'm hesitant about various supplements because there just comes a point where I wonder if it's too much or things start to interact against each other. In particular, since my issues are more with loss than fertility, I wonder about pushing nature to hang onto something that could be faulty. But I'm planning on reading Making Babies, doing some more research, and going from there. I did pick up some raspberry leaf tea because why not, I drink tea anyway, might as well pick something that is supposed to help. 

catiecatp

@WinchesterGirl - made it to the natural foods store and took a photo of the shampoos - there are several different formulas. The brand is called Prairie Naturals - I've used the Wild Rose formula, conditioner and shampoo

Sorry for the huge photo - still learning how to insert photos and html stuff 

WinchesterGirl

@catiecatp, I finally took a picture of my recipe card but stupid mobile bump won't let me attach it. So this lady's recipe is very similar to what I do:

https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/09/make-your-own-antibacterial-soft-scrub-cleanser.html

I sub out castile soap for my preferred dish soap, and instead of tea tree oil I add lemon and Thieves. But really you could use whatever you want or leave it out if you are not into EOs.

catiecatp

@WinchesterGirl - thanks - I'll pick up some tea tree oil or thieves the next time I'm out - as well as some Castille soap.

Please remind me, what do you use this to clean? Looks like it would be good for the bathtub among other things