Mexican infertility remedies

I have a lot Mexican and Central American clients, whom I love dearly. Most of them come from very poor indigenous backgrounds with little exposure to Western Medicine. Many of them offer me folk remedies for various ailments. When they find out I'm infertile, they like to offer solutions to my infertility. It's often just the usual "have relations 10-14 days after menstruation and stand on your head!" advice. Today I was chatting with a client who asked if I have kids (as they often do). I explained that I haven't been able to have a child and she told me that she had the same problem. She said that she had a "vientre frio" (cold uterus) and that I should drink "te de ajo" (garlic tea) every night. I asked how you make it and she said you peel a head of garlic and boil it in a liter of water, then drink it nightly. Yuck! It's amazing how similar this hot/cold advice is to Traditional Chinese Medicine, which also talks about a cold uterus and ways to heat up the body. It makes me think that maybe there's something to it.

The Ovidrel arrived today and AF should be making her appearance on Sunday. So I should be starting the Clomid sometime next week. Looking forward to a beautiful weekend so we can get some housework done and refinish our deck!

Gearing up for IUI #3...

I'm getting ready for IUI #3 this coming cycle, which will start around May 24. That would make the IUI around the 4th of June. This will most likely be my last IUI on Clomid. If this one fails, I'm pretty sure the doc will put me on injectables or something else. I haven't met with the RE since our first meeting - they wanted to do the 3 IUI's and then go from there. We have been taking a total break from TTC the last two months. I wanted to have an IUI this month, but we were out of town on Day 12-14. So much for that!

I found a clinic in this area that has a very interesting IVF program. If you have extra eggs during the IVF process, you can donate them and the clinic will "comp" your IVF procedure! This could be a good option for us, since we have no fertility insurance coverage.

The months of June and July will be somewhat stressful due to some work issues, so hopefully that won't affect the IUI's.

Spring has sprung!

Well, Spring has definitely sprung here in NJ. The trees are blooming, flowers everywhere, it's really gorgeous. We took a nice trip to Florida (though the weather wasn't so great) and had some nice quality time with my hubby. I have taken a total break from dealing with my infertility. (I mean TOTAL - I suspended my fertility friend account, no OPK's, no charting, and I don't honestly know what cycle day I am on). Though I still think about it every day, it's not an all-consuming obsession like it has been the last few months. I ran a 5K last Saturday and have been spending time with family. We may not do the 3rd IUI in May - some family activities are interfering with the scheduling of it and we would be out of town on CD12 and 14. So, it may be June or July. No biggie, this break has been great!

Moving on...

Still here, hanging in there. I honestly didn't have my hopes up last cycle, but for some reason this IUI failure broke me. I was inconsolable for 2 days. I just wanted this to work so badly. I really, really don't want to have to move on to injectables or IVF, though I will if I have to. This month we're taking a break. I've put my fertility friend account on hold and won't even log in. I'm not keeping track of this cycle at all this month - I just need a total break. We're going to Florida for a much-needed long weekend away this weekend. We'll do IUI #3 with Clomid in May, then go from there. I have thought about taking a few months off completely from TTC, but I feel the months and years ticking by. I turned 32 yesterday and my husband will be 39 this year. I know I'm on the younger end of the infertility spectrum, but it's already taken us over 2 years to get to this point and I don't think we can wait anymore. I haven't been back to acupuncture and am concentrating right now on my physical fitness. I'm sick and tired of this whole infertility thing!

IUI #2 - FAIL

Well, back to the drawing board. AF arrived today, CD 28, as expected. This was our 25th month trying to conceive. I have NEVER had a positive pregnancy test, not once. I had 4 follicles this time, 3 last time, good sperm counts, and still negative. I'm really starting to lose hope that we will ever conceive a child. On paper, everything looks normal. But, there must be some reason that we're not getting pregnant. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

CD 27 / 12 DP IUI - losing hope...

Things aren't looking too good. Another BFN this morning and my temp is dropping (it's gone from 98.5 to 98.2 over the last few days). Also, having my usual pre-period cramps. It looks like another one bites the dust. Pretty bummed out. I now need to decide whether we'll have another IUI this coming month or hold it off. I kind of want to get this one out of the way so we can decide what to do next.

CD 26 - 11DP IUI

I tested this morning at 11DPO with a First Response - negatory. I'd been "testing out" the HCG trigger and still had a faint positive 2 days ago, but today it was stark white. I'm having some symptoms but nothing I haven't felt before. I've had cramping on and off the last few days. It ain't over till "flo" shows up, though. After the last post, my temperature did go up. It just took a few extra days for some reason. We'll see how it goes over the weekend. If I'm not pregnant, I expect Aunt Flo on Sunday. If not, I'll have a beta on Monday morning. I'll check back in one way or the other!