I'm back! Second round of IVF..and diet?

pascorra · January 2016

Hi ladies!

Took a bit of a break after our last round of IVF. We got pregnant with our one embryo, but it turned out to be a chemical pregnancy. I was devastated.

We met with our doctor and talked about what would need to be different in order for us to consider a second round. He said for a woman my age (I'm 40) retrieving 17 eggs is rare and that I was most likely over stimulated. So we will use less meds this time and I am currently on the pill to allow my eggs to mature.

We will most likely do the egg retrival in early Feb and then a transfer in March. Pending that IVF works and I have suitable embryos. Although, we got so may eggs the first time after testing and PGD we just were left with one, I have many immature eggs that simply did not survive.

So, here I am again, trying to not get to rapped up in the details, and just doing my part. Eating well, resting and trying not to stress. Also no drinking or caffeine.

During the holidays we decided to make our diet vegetarian- but consuming eggs and cheese. My question is has anyone done this? Do you see an issue with it? And can it affect my eggs?

Thanks,
Patty

2015dee · January 2016

Patty- I'm sorry about how difficult your last IVF was. It's such a hard place to be in. I have not done a vegetarian diet (nor do I care too haha!), but I don't see that it could have an adverse effect on your egg quality, as long as you are eating plenty of protein. You're a strong lady to be able to make such big changes in your diet....for me, I'm doing "good" if I am just cooking at home instead of getting take-out. I'll be doing a retrieval in early March too, so we might be on a similar timeline. Best wishes for your next cycle!

oxinfree · January 2016

I'm so sorry about your chemical @pascorra - I recently started going vegetarian (moral reasons more than anything) but my acupuncturist advised against it so I'm reverting back (in small quantities) to make sure I get the proper nutrients to sustain a pregnancy. I'm sure its fine for you (I have so many other allergies that I really need the meat and calories), but might be worth talking to a professional (whether naturopath, RE, family doc, nutritionist etc) to get their thoughts. Good luck!

2legbaby · January 2016

Welcome back @pascorra, I am so sorry for your loss and wish you all the best on your second cycle. I can't comment personally about the vegetarian diet and agree with @oxinfree to consult a dr/RE/nutritionist. I know that while lots of people think eating vegetarian/vegan is healthier, that there are a lot of nutrients you have to work hard to make up for when not eating meat and this might be very important during pregnancy?
Good luck!

knklein10 · January 2016

@pascorra I am sorry to hear about your chemical... I've been there, a couple of times. It's the biggest dip in emotions. I am totally on board with your health initiative, though. I've cut caffeine and alcohol, and I am trying to eat clean. Also, I am incorporating mild yoga poses into my nightly routine. I actually just blogged about this exact topic earlier today and would love feedback from ANYONE with ANY insight on this topic. Please leave your wisdom in a comment here: https://www.threelittlebeans.com/sweet-potato-carrot-juice-is-not-coffee/ I need it!

Sending positive vibes your way!
Kelly

pascorra · January 2016

Thank you ladies! I really appreciate your kind words. It was very difficult, but I am moving forward, isn't that what life is about? This second time around I am more relaxed and not so anxious about everything. I just know I have to take good care and go with the flow. I am letting the universe take care of the details!

thejessicanicol · January 2016

@knklein10 For some reason I couldn't comment on your blog post so here goes:

Avocados are very high in fat, a good type of fat, but still a fat. IVF meds can cause weight gain as it is so it's super important to watch how you eat. I gained about 15 pounds from our first round of IVF Now I have to lose it before our FET in March! If you're looking for an energy boost try eating an apple! Apples will also help to keep you regular (IVF meds mess that up too). Or for something to drink try carrot, apple, and ginger juice. Ginger will help fight the queasies too. I got lucky, my sister is Mrs. Personal Trainer/ Health Guru. Can't wait to see how your first round goes I have a lot of IVF medication related posts at my blog https://thejessicanicol.com/

@pascorra I am so sorry for what you are going through. I recently had a loss and can't seem to pull myself out of it so I know how you feel. Just like @oxinfree I was advised against going vegetarian/vegan. Before IVF my activity level was so high that I had to be eating lots of protein. During IVF round 1 I just ate as healthy as I could. Now I need to lose some weight before our FET so I'm going to attempt to stick with a paleo diet. I'm told it is a more balanced way of eating but we'll see how it goes. Good luck to you!

2015dee · January 2016

@thejessicanicol ugh, that's so frustrating about the 15 pounds! Do you think it was just swelling/water weight? Good luck with the weight loss (and sorry it happened to begin with)!

thejessicanicol · January 2016

@2015dee I think part of it was water weight so I'm going to do a teatox to take care of that. A big part of it though was that I felt like I was starving ALL the time. I've been pregnant without IVF and didn't experience that so I'm thinking it's one of the lovely side effects of the medications!

knklein10 · January 2016

@thejessicanicol I have to abandon the carrot juice-- I just can't do it, but I will take your other suggestions! Thank you

ecb3588 · January 2016

Hi ladies! First of all I applaud all of you for making the effort to stay on, or get on, a healthy lifestyle during all the craziness of this infertility journey. I agree with what many have said, I am trying to eat as healthy and clean as possible. Avoiding anything that didn't come from a whole, real food. I don't necessarily eat meat every single day, but lean meats are a part of my regimen. I think one of the mistakes I made during my fresh cycle was having the mindset of I'm going through all this stressful stuff, I get to eat what I want. That was a mistake and was actually pretty dumb. Now I have the thought of, maybe if I had nourished my body more, I would have been successful. Or even worse, if I had been successful, that would have been a gross environment for my baby to be in! I think a diet high in protein and fiber is best (providing no one has any kidney issues and needs to avoid high protein), with less carbs (as much as I hate it cause I love the glutens). Whatever path you choose, I wish you each the best of luck.

TheLabyrinth · January 2016

As a vegetarian for over a decade, there is no problem being vegetarian and dealing with fertility, especially if you're taking prenatals anyway. A huge swath of India is vegetarian and they have no problems getting pregnant. The only nutrient that is potentially an issue if you were not eating meat, eggs, or dairy would be B12. It's just important to eat a variety of foods. If your idea of vegetarianism is frozen boca burgers and potatoes, then you're going to have problems. You can be a junk-food vegetarian (Oreos are vegan!). I've recently been hitting up budgetbytes.com vegetarian section (super fast and tasty) and I like minimalistbaker.com as well for recipe ideas.

I'll also note that as a vegetarian my cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, etc. have always been phenomenal and all the bloodwork I've had done during my infertility journey has never shown any sort of deficiency.

My clinic actually advises a vegetarian-heavy diet, however they did note that a bigger influencer of fertility is stress. Doing something very different than before can be a bigger stressor on your body than any one diet. For example, if I went from vegetarian to eating meat again, you could argue that's a large stress on my body. Likewise if you're someone who drinks 5 cups of coffee a day and decide to go cold turkey, that is a stress on your body. It's better to be more gradual about it.

A big positive of eating a lot of vegetables is that the stim meds can cause you to get "backed up" due to how large your ovaries get. If you end up taking pain meds after ER, this can be further exacerbated. Drinking a ton of water and eating veg food can help a lot with that without needing any over the counter help.

Good luck!

oxinfree · January 2016

I agree with @TheLabyrinth and if you have time and dedication to doing it right it can be a very healthy lifestyle choice. For me, now isn't the time to learn how to be a good vegan (I'm allergic to dairy/eggs so meatless=vegan for me). It's a commitment and I just think that if you know how to do it right, there's zero issue, but at this moment in time isn't going to help my cause and stress levels to figure it out and make sure I have all the nutrients etc. I'd end up being as she put it, the junk food veggie. haha. so true.
I think most important of all is doing what you feel is best for you! So if it means a lot to you, and you want to do it, go for it. Just make sure you have all the information and are ensuring a balanced diet.

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