LURKER WARNING Caffeine and Alcohol???

teridanielle · October 2012

Hey ladies!! I"m over from the infertility forum, but was wondering when did you stop consuming Caffeine and Alcohol when preparing for your IVF cycle?? I love my daily cup of joe and my nightly glass of one, but I've read often that one should give it up to best prepare for the cycle. My RE said I don't need to do that, but I of course I want this to work more than ANYTHING. I'll do whatever needs to be done to increase the chances of this working.

A little info on me: I'm on a long lupron based protocol. I'm on bcp till Nov. 27. At that point if everything looks good I'll start the lupron injections. When would be a good time to stop the caffeine/alcohol. or should I have already???

kmc84 · October 2012

I stopped when I started stim injections. A lot of people will also recommend cutting out artificial sweeteners. Good luck!!

Crispity · October 2012

I gave up both when I started my stims. I did have a few diet cokes in the 5 days between retrieval and transfer, since I figured the caffeine and artificial sweetener couldn't possibly hurt embryos that were in a lab 30 miles away :-).

Good luck to you!

amd1982 · October 2012

I did not do IVF, so some other ladies on this board might be able to provide better advice or support as to how it interacts with Lupron. However, strictly from a medicated cycle standpoint: I got my bfp on my third medicated cycle. First and second, I barely drank coffee or alcohol, took all the "things" I was supposed to (pomegranate pills, aspirin, did acupuncture). My third cycle I was a little fed up. I did what I wanted within reason - I have 1 cup of coffee every morning, drank alcohol in moderation, and didn't kill myself with taking all sorts of pills (whether natural or not). I drank martinis and wine the weekend before I found out I was pregnant - so I truly do not believe that having alcohol or caffeine causes you not to become pregnant. Anyway, I'm not really sure I answered your question (because I'm sure it is more geared towards the medication itself) but my RE sounds a lot like yours. She told me cutting out those things doesn't help, and you can enjoy coffee and wine in moderation during your cycle treatments. Good luck!! I hope to see you here in the near future...

jmorta04 · October 2012

As the other ladies have said, I also stopped when I started stims. I didn't really drink while I was on Lupron either, but I did have some caffeine (Diet Coke) during that time.

Good luck!

racheyt0227 · October 2012

I stopped drinking alcohol when I started stims. I dont think I limited my caffeine, but then again, I don't drink a lot of it anyways.

notquiteblushing · October 2012

I stopped both the night before trigger I believe. Good luck!

Ccjones85 · October 2012

My RE had my stop alcohol when I started lupron and limit caffeine to 1 cup a day. I eventually just stopped caffeine and artificial sweetener when I had a feeling my cycle worked. GL!!

crt0323 · October 2012

I gave up caffeine a couple of months before. I had tried to give it up some time before then but I had horrible headaches and just felt bad. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get it out of my system so I wouldn't have to deal witht the side effects of no caffeine and the injections. I gave up alcohol a couple of weeks before I started injections.

tdoyen · October 2012

I didn't give up any of that stuff until the embryo transfer. Then, I cut those out plus deli meats, undercooked eggs/meat, etc. I tried to stop caffeine when I was on stims and ended up just cutting down my intake to one cup of diet soda a day. The caffeine withdrawal headaches plus the stims were too much for me to bear!

candyreesecup · October 2012

I loved both coffee and a nightly glass of wine, too so I thought it would be really hard, but it actually wasn't.

As for coffee, I started phasing into mixing decaf/regular coffee a couple of months before IVF and went decaf completely eventually.

I quite alcohol completely when I started stim.

Good luck with your cycle!!!!

jillychris · October 2012

I gave up both a few months before my cycle. RE said I didn't have to until I started stims and even then limited caffeine was okay, but I chose to eliminate. Also switched to hormone free meats.

teridanielle · October 2012

Thanks ladies! So good to hear from so many of you! I don't think the wine is gonna be as hard as the caffeine. I dealing with a monster headache as we speak due to the lack of caffeine. I only typically drink one cup so maybe ill try just half cup. Thanks again! I hope I'm here with you all come January!!!!

BeccaLandes · October 2012

my RE didn't tell me to cut out caffeine or alcohol until i was pregnant. i am not much of a drinker, so that was no big deal. i continued to drink a cup of coffee a day even after i was pregnant, then the taste of coffee just turned me off and i stopped cold turkey.

i should say i didn't do any lupron.

for me, the key to feeling like i was doing the right stuff for my cycle was to just feel relaxed and keep enjoying my life- which included a little coffee or glass of wine here and there.

lola0915 · October 2012

I didn't stop drinking coffee until my ET. I didn't start drinking it again until close to the end of my first trimester. It's been decaf but was too hard to give up completely.

Oh and good luck!!

Pnut30 · October 2012

I think you'll get a wide variety of answers on this.... My clinic was also pretty relaxed on restrictions. I also did the long lupron protocol but without BCP. I switched to half caf coffee but that was probably overkill. I probably would have been comfortable having one real cup per day. I don't think I drank much at all in the month before my cycle, maybe a few beers but that was it. Once I started the lupron I was sooooo tired I didn't even want to. I don't think I would have had alcohol after I started the lupron even if I didn't have that side effect.

I wish you lots of luck and hope to see you here soon!

jillychris · October 2012

teridanielle:
Thanks ladies!nbsp; So good to hear from so many of you!nbsp; I don't think the wine is gonna be as hard as the caffeine.nbsp; I dealing with a monster headache as we speak due to the lack of caffeine.nbsp; I only typically drink one cup so maybe ill try just half cup.nbsp; Thanks again!nbsp; I hope I'm here with you all come January!!!!nbsp;

I used to get awful headaches from lack if caffeine. I switched first to half reg half decaf, and from there VERY slowly lessened the amount of reg and increased my decaf. Good luck!

Dstevens429 · October 2012

I stopped drinking a few days before ET and coffee I still have one cup of joe every morning. I don't think I would have been able to make it if I didn't have that cup every morning lol

Killer Tomato · October 2012

I was on an EPP, no BCP protocol. I stopped alcohol with stims, though I had fully intended to have a half a glass or so every once in a while up to ET. I just didn't want it. I don't drink coffee, but am used to a glass of diet coke and a cup of tea most days. I gave up green tea and had either the diet coke or a cup of tea a day. I believe both have less caffeine than coffee.

For me, I think not getting too uptight about absolute restrictions helped keep me relaxed, and I think that helped a lot. I think my RE said to limit both, and probably said to cut out alcohol completely at some point...can't quite remember, since I didn't feel like drinking anyway.

GL on your cycle!

Gregermis · October 2012

I gave up caffeine at the beginning of 2010 before we started TTC. I had a short stint where I went back on, but it was too hard to go on and off so I've been mostly caffeine free for the last 2.5 years.

I didn't give up alcohol until my transfer (But I'm a 1 a month to 1 a week kind of girl)

eponine7682 · October 2012

For my first IVF I stopped both when I started stimming. That was a BFN. When I did my FET I stopped both when I went in for my ET. That was a BFP. I am not saying that had anything to do with getting my BFP but I think anything in moderation is okay (at least until the embie is in you). I gave up alcohol all together and I did start drinking some caffeine again but not until my 2nd trimester.

purpleyes1081 · October 2012

I stopped alcohol and coffee 2 weeks before stims. Coffee was the hardest to stop, but it was all worth it Big Smile

Mrs.AmyDylan · October 2012

I stopped both my fist day of stims. I did both while on lupron

come on...IVF is stressful, I needed some fun!

ThereBeDragons · October 2012

I knew that even if IVF#2 didn't work that I'd probably have frosties enough for at least 1 FET given my response during IVF #1 so I abstained from alcohol starting with BCP and caffeine from the start of stims knowing that anything that might affect embryo quality would linger for more than one cycle.

That was correct- IVF#2 didn't work but I had strong healthy embies for the next FET (which resulted in this pregnancy) and I coasted through the FET drinking caffeine in moderation (I still drink it in moderation) and even having a margarita once in the estrogen prep period.

I abstained similarly for IVF#1 (I was actually even more aggressive and skipped all sorts of things that might hurt and ate all sorts of things that might help) but none of the 5 embryos we transferred from that cycle took- so I doubt it had any real impact on our success rates.

I give more credit to higher quality embryos and the metformin I was on for this successful FET.

angela2004 · October 2012

I drank one cup of coffee every morning and drank a couple glasses every weekend. I switched to half cafe for about 2 weeks after the BFP. I've been drinking decafe since.

IMO: Women go out to a bar get drunk sleep with men and get pregnant ALL OF THE TIME. A couple of glasses are not going to hurt anything. I just wouldn't be getting smashed every night while TTC.

Jbromberg1985 · October 2012

I actually stopped when we made our decision to do IVF. It had nothing to do with any recommendation from our RE, it was a personal decision just to get myself in e mindset and habit preparing for pregnancy. I wanted to be as positive as I could during our cycle, and I thought that if I cut that out early on, then it was 1 less thing I'd have to worry about if/when we became pregnant. I'm lucky we got pregnant with our first FET (never did a fresh cycle due to OHSS) and I don't think it's related, but it made it easier to cope with the changes and sickness I dealt with early on.

GL with everything and hope to see you over here soon!

Bean1979 · November 2012

I stopped when I started Lupron.

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