A Plan, Stan

I'm happy that our IVF calendar has started.  Yeah for progress!!!

I'm on cycle day 5 right now.  The plan is that I'm going to continue to take DHEA, CoQ10 and estrogen until cycle day 16, at which time I'll add in Endometrin.  On my next cycle, I will start my stim meds.  I'm glad things are progressing!

We have also made tentative plans to go to CCRM for the laparoscopy (and possible tubal ligation) in April.  I was really hoping that it was going to be in March.  However, Dr. Schoolie says that they can't do it right after stimming because my ovaries will be too enlarged.

I thought about having the surgery this month, however I don't want to waste the time I've spent taking DHEA and CoQ10.  A couple doctors have told me that the effectiveness of DHEA is when it is taken for 2-3 months, but not longer.  My naturopath cautioned not to take it for too long.  And, I don't want to piss off my body with a surgery right before I try to make some eggs.

Apparently, 2-4 weeks after the laparoscopy I can do a FET.  I've asked them for clarification on this, I mean which is it? And how do they know? It will mean the difference of one cycle.

Typing this makes me realize that this may not be the step to rush through.  I want  my body to heal and for the best possible circumstances.  If this means patiently waiting for my body to heal for a few more weeks then so be it.

It's disturbing to me that we likely won't be doing a FET until JUNE!?!  Another six months slipping away ?!?! Gah.

In March we will have our CCS report back.  If it isn't good then I will spend the time finalizing an egg donor.  I guess I better start looking into that more soon.

Visit with the Naturopathic Doctor

This afternoon I had my first acupuncture session with the naturopathic doctor. It was good.  And uneventful which is what I like.  :) I appreciate the doctor because she is very relaxed and a good listener.  I feel like she asks really good questions.  And she doesn't push the sales of any of her supplements or other procedures.

She did a lot of research on some of the supplements I was taking and also some new ones since our last visit.

Some of the things she shared with me:

• The active form of CoQ10 (which she pronounces as co-Q-ten) is called Ubiquinol.  She recommended this over the regular CoQ10 supplements.  She said that research actually shows CoQ10 it can positively affect the fertility of men as well.   It is expensive and about double the cost of regular CoQ10, and I just paid about $51 for a bottle of 60 x 100mg pills.  
• Regarding my vitamin D3 deficiency, she suggested to increase my dosage to 2000 IU per day because 2000 IU is what is recommended for pregnant women anyways.   
• She reminded me that gel capsules are easier for the body to absorb than hard pill form.   She said that if the hard pills are small enough (as they are with the D3), then the body can probably absorb them alright.   She also said if I am taking a supplement three times a day, I may not need to worry about getting time released supplements. 
• The recommendation for DHA for pregnant women is 200 mg.  She suggested that getting this in the form of a fish oil (with EPA as well), is a better way to supplement.  She said that the DHA is for baby's brain development and EPA is for my health.  She said if there is one general supplement she would recommend to everyone it would be fish oil.  
• She told me the prenatal vitamins I had chosen were ok, but did not have any iron in them.  She thought this was fine, as long as I switched to one with iron if I were to become pregnant.  She said that iron can be hard to digest and cause constipation.   My family doctor told me that I was slightly iron deficient in the spring.  She said that iron deficiency takes a long time to correct, and that iron is hard to get out of diet alone.   Because of this, I think I'm still deficient.  I decided to take her brand of prenatal multivitamin because it has iron in it, and is not in hard pill form so it should be easier for my body to absorb. 
• DHEA has been taken in studies with cancer patients in dosages of up to 1600mg.  The research also said that in general it should not be taken for more than 6 months at a dosage of 50mg.  I'm going to continue with my dosage of 75mg per day. 
• She said the research doesn't show much support for L-Argenine and so she suggested I skip it. 
• I asked her to look up any other supplements that could help.  She said the other naturopathic remedies and supplements seek to alter hormone levels.  She didn't think it was a good idea to do them in combination with fertility treatments I plan to undergo and I agree. 

I told her that taking a handful of pills with every meal makes me feel old.  She didn't have a suggestion for that.