What kind of 'over-the-counter' type IF treatments have you tried? i.e. pre-seed, herbal, diet changes, etc. :confused:

I was just wondering, my mom keeps trying to get me to buy herbal stuff, but I really don't want to waste money on something that does not work. We tried Pre-seed for 2 months and actually got PG the 2nd month (early m/c) but we have not tried it since...Do you think it helped?

Well I am just up late and a little bored...DH had to work tonight sooooo here I sit at the computer... :)


Anyway so tell me what not to try (or what to try) so that I am not on here is a few months saying "I wish someone had told me not to spend so much money on....(magic beans)"

ashcas, I am interested in the answer to your question, too. I am so hesitant to spend money on something that may harm our chances, rather than help them.

I can tell you that I tried Rubitussin (sp?) for many months, but it was not helpful for me. I bought Pre-seed this month, but we didn't use it since we ended up taking the month off. I guess we'll see next month.

Familyof2 - I guess a lot of people are interested in the answer (40views) but no one seems to know the answer. LOL

thanks for the comment....let me know if the pre-seed helps....we were going to try it again this month but I keep forgetting til after ;)

Hello, I have a question for any of you. What is Pre-seed? Is it herbs for a tea? Where would one go out and buy it?

Ashcas, you say you got pregnant on your second month while taking pre-seed. Was it your first time getting pregnant? I am curious to know if you attribute it to the preseed? I am sorry to hear about the m/c, but if you got pregnant once on it don't you think it will get you pregnant again and maybe produce a full term pregnancy.

cally, Pre-seed is a sperm friendly lubricant. I got it online, I don't remember where.

Yes it was our first time getting PG. I really don't know why we haven't used it again. I guess I have just not been emotionally ready and on top of that I keep forgetting.
I don't know if it helped or not. I guess that is another reason that we have not used it, What If we use it and don't get PG??

Thanks for the info, I just ordered some online :) I have never gotten pregnant before and I need all the help I can get.

cally123, I hear ya, girl! We have never conceived either so we'd be willing to stand on our heads if we thought it would work!

ashcas, I'm afraid that I will probably forget to use the Pre-seed, too. I had to store it with my OPTs so that I won't forget next month!

Hi girls,

Like many of you, I'm on line reading about my favorite topic...HAVING A BABY!

I've been on the Laparoscopy boards for the past few weeks. I had my surgery 9 days ago and my dr. lasered off the endo he found on one of my ovaries. Yeah.

My husband and I have been trying 11 months now and I'm 36 this month. We have had Pre Seed since December when we learned that lubrication was hurting our opportunities to get pregnant.

If you google the words Pre Seed and coupon, you'll find one site that sells it at a great price and includes a few pregnancy tests along with it! Much less than the price we spent when we ordered directly at the Pre Seed site.

I did try baby aspirin around the time of ovulation for a month or two and it didn't help.

Any other ideas ladies?

Take care,

Heather
North Carolina

heather, I think that is the same site I got mine, the early pg tests site. I like anything with free shipping :)

If it is did you see the packs they have that come with opk and hpts? I thought about getting them but I don't know how well they would work (not a name brand?). as little as they costs I thought I might give it a shot with my next order of pre-seed.

ashcas, I got the free hpts with the Pre-seed from early pt tests. I think they are weird. You have to pee in a cup and then stick the test in the cup.

Ok, after reading this I decided to buy som e Mucinex today. I will take two pills a day starting the day after I finish my Clomid cycle. I'll let you know if I have any luck with it! I think I might get the Pre-Seed too, but mainly because DH will have to do another SA if we don't get pg in the next two Clomid cycles to see if the supplements he is taking helped him at all. His main complaint about doing the SA was they didn't give him any lube...poor guy...he just can't do -that- without something! He was hurting afterwards! So I thought he should be able to use that if it's safe :)

What's mucinex?

My DH hated the SA. He was mostly angry because they just stuck him in a sterile room with no "visual stimulators". Poor baby, he had to use his imagination!

It's a pill form of the same ingredient that is in Robitussin. I figure, can't hurt, might help.

DH told me it was very uncomfortable for him. He said he was the only man in the office and the room that they put him in was not very soundproof so he could hear all these people coming and going in the hallway. He got a little TV with an adult DVD in there for him though, with headphones, so I guess he was luckier! I'll have to tell him that if he complains about having to go back!

I was just reading aloing and saw this thread...the things we'll try :D

I've tried the Mucinex/Robitussin and honestly I couldn't tell you if it helped or not.

The only other natural thing I tried, well I flew to Korea and saw a "village doctor." My aunt lives in Inchon South Korea (near Seoul) and she and my mom both had problems getting pregnant until they went to a village doctor who gave them some herbal stuff. So anyway on my 29th b-day my mom and I flew to see my aunt and went to a doctor. He checked my urine and blood and then took my pulse form a bunch of different points; I sat in this thing that looked like an electric chair--it was so weird. Anyhow he gave me this black liquid to drink every morning, a meal replacement "shake", and this powder stuff I took twice a week. He also put me on a very strict diet--no sugar, oil/fat, fruit, meat. Basically I drank this "shake" 3 times a day and could only eat vegetables. The "shake" consisted of ground rice, corn , and black beans. It looked like the silt at the bottom of a river :tongue:

I did this for 3 months, lost 45 pounds, and immediately became pregnant on the fourth month. It was my best pregnancy yet but I lost the baby at 12 weeks. So I've had five pregnancies but all five ended in miscarriage.

I'm seeing a new RE now, but if things don't happen by fall I'm going to call the doctor and order more stuff and try all over again.

You should see the list of vitamins DH takes every night. Every vitamin that I have read can have even the slightest impact on the swimmers, he takes. We could have bought a fertility blend multi, but it was actually cheaper to buy them all separately, for the price of one month of a blend he can buy 3 months supply of them all separately. Poor guy has a lot of pills to swallw though...hehe

Hi friends,

From my readings on line and conversations with friends, this is my recipe for my next cycle.

**1 baby aspirin a day - it brings blood to the area, I'll take it every day of the month

**Mucinex - only comes in 600mg tablets. I'm going to start 1/2 a pill 5 days before my ovulation and also on ovulation day and the day after.

**Prenatal Vitamin - of course one every day

**Vitamin E - one every day, not sure why, maybe some of you know if it helps?

Any other tips? I need all the help I can get.

Baby wishes to all of us,

Heather
North Carolina

hi ladies...
i think sharing what we've all tried is great! Lord knows we're all tring to avoid IVF if possible. this is what dh and i have been trying while on "break" before another IVF cycle:

*dh has been taking Fertility Blend along with L-Aginine supplements
*both have been seeing an acupuncturist
*both have been drinking chinese herbs (from our acupunctrst)
*take my temp daily & chart my cycle of course
*always lay with pillow beneath my hips after sex for at least 30 min...very romantic :rolleyes: LOL

It's hilarious the things we will do - but if they work, then it will all be worth it!

I am starting Mucinex tomorrow, CD 10, and will take it until 2 dpo, just to be safe. I am also considering progesterone cream, since my progesterone is borderline. That I would start after O, so I have a week yet to go get it if I decide to try it.

DH is taking: (and I do not know if I am remembering everything here!)
Selenium
B12
CoEnzyme Q10
L-Carnitine
L-Arginine
Zinc
Fish Oil
Flaxseed oil
C
E

...all of those every day, and I am sure I forgot at least one in that list!

We will be waking up early for the morning sex since I read that a man is most fertile in the am. I am so not into the morning thing either, but if it works, I will be a fan of morning sex forevermore! LOL

We tried different fertility treatments for several years, bunches of different stuff. I started a vitamin that is designed to help lower your risk of macular degeneration (biosyntrix macula complete) and after four miscarriages am 16 weeks pregnant and everything is going great. Don't know if they had anything to do with it but it is the only thing I did differently. :smileyh:

DH is taking: (and I do not know if I am remembering everything here!)
Selenium
B12
CoEnzyme Q10
L-Carnitine
L-Arginine
Zinc
Fish Oil
Flaxseed oil
C
E



I'm taking the following:
Fertilaid for men 3 caps/day
Costco Multi-vit which covers Selenium & Zinc & B-complex
Vitamin C
fish oil 1000mg * 3
CoQ-10 100*2
Tribulus (GNC) 1 cap/day (testorterone booster)
L-Carnitine 2 * 500mg
L-Arginine 2*500mg
Pycnogenol 2*100mg (cheap off eBay, not sure how pure it is)
Ashwagandha (Ayurvedic from Whole foods) 400 mg
... thats about 15 pills/day.

Wife taking:
Fertilaid for women recommended dose
Iron 18 mg/day (haemoglobin & platelets slightly below normal)
Baby aspirin

Diagnosis MF morphology. 5 IUI & 1 IVF (3 4-cell embies, day 2 transfer) failed. Saving up for next IVf cycle.

LeslieK, I'm curious to hear how the mucinex is working. I had some robitussin left over from a prior cycle so I decided to try it a littler earlier this time. Previously, I started it on cd 10, but this month I started on cd5 just to see what happens. In the past, I haven't noticed any positive effects of robitussin. It seems to be working this month, though. That's very positive as I typically only have cm for about a day. I'd love to hear how the mucinex works, though, because I truly hate the taste of robitussin!

I started taking it on CD10 and I am day 13 now. I do think it is helping, I have noticed a difference, especially today. I am taking one pill in the morning and one in the evening, so 600 mg every 12 hours. Expecting to O on Monday...here's hoping!

Cool. I'll remember that for next month. Geez, how pessimistic am I? I'm already anticipating the BFN for this cycle!

Hi Leslie,

I see that you and I are ovulating on the same day. Did you ovulate on Monday? I had a positive result on Sunday and Monday of this week.

Just thought it might be nice to do our two week wait together.

Best wishes,

Heather
North Carolina

Hi Heather, I actually ovulated a week ago Sunday - less than a week to go before I can test! I was feeling hopeful about this cycle, but today, not as much.

Good luck to you, I hope you get that BFP!!

Hey ladies,

Here's our TTC recipe.

I'm taking/doing:
- PNV
- Vit E
- Evening Primrose Oil (EPO)
- Will start Mucinex on CD 10
- baby Aspirin
- decaf red rasberry tea daily
- considering acupuncture
- consistent exercise
- PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER

DH:
- Vit E
- Fatty acid compound (fish oil, flax seed oil and something else???)
- daily multi vitamin

As a couple:
- preSeed
- evaluating adoption agencies for an International Adoption (China)
- PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER

I'm very hopeful that our recipe can help us avoid IVF. Good luck to everyone!

Allison

Wife taking:

Iron 18 mg/day (haemoglobin & platelets slightly below normal)




Just butting in here to say that if your wife is still having issues with hemoglobin and platelet counts, you might want to ask your doc about her trying something called Gevratonic. It's an OTC vitamin/mineral supplement. I had fought Iron Def. Anemia for a very long time, and my iron count was actually around a 7.0 when we started using this. I found out that I do not absorb iron like most people from vitamins or even food - it has to be a liquid form. After being on the Gevratonic for about three months, my iron level was up to a 15.0 last week. As I said, it's an OTC medicine (it needs to be mixed with OJ or something to help w/taste), but your wife might want to ask the doc, just in case....

Okay.. butting out now!

Susan S

Hi,
Im new to this site. So i guess it would be appropriate to introduce myself and my condition.Im 26yrs old and have beeen trying to fall pregnant for about 5 years now. I have PCOS and a right Hydro, my left tube is bound down by adhensions and my husband has a low count. On my first cycle of IVF I fell pregnant and m/c at 7 wks, 2nd frozen had a bi chemical pregnancy and 2 other unsucessful attempts.
Im currently now at a stage where im looking into alternative therapies prior to starting a new cycle hoping that it would increase my chances of falling pregnant and i thought that some of what ive discovered may be useful.

www.fertility.com.au
Ive purchased two of the books listed on this site; The Natural Way to Better Babies, and Natural Fertility which i have found extremly useful, the lady who wrote these books has a centre in Sydney and she's got a pretty high success rate of helping people fall pregnant.

www.pinnacleproducts.com.au
I went to see this guy who's an Iridologist. He picked up on the damage on my right tube and my PCOS just by looking into my eyes. He recommended I use the Tonic and the Vitex & Wild Yam. He recommended my husband use the Avena Sativa Plus which he thinks will help increase his count.
I noticed the difference almost immediately. For the first time in 6 years ive had a regular cycle and no UTI's.
I know a couple that had unexplained infertility and had been trying to conceive for 10years and fell pregnant a few months after using his products.

Going on the net and typing in 'Herbs for Infertility' may also be useful, I would also advise you to consult your health care professional prior to using any of the products.

I hope this is all useful. Goodluck

My friend just got a BFP by going to acupuncture, taking red rasberry leaf (in tablet form), linseed and flaxeed. She maintains that getting her head right is what made all the difference - they all say that after it worked for them.

I'm looking into the acu, red rasberry leaf, linseed and flaxeed - who can relax at a time like this????

Yeah, Herbsie, there is no way for them to know that that actually was what "worked" for them. I'll be willing to bet that my RE would say that the BFP would probably have come regardless. I have heard good things about accupuncture, etc., but I bet there are lots of women out there who have tried those tx and haven't gotten a BFP.

I'm with you Familyof2. At the end of the day we just don't know what's going to "work" and what not. BUT, being in this rollercoaster for 3 years now, I know I'm willing to try anything.

I hear ya. It's that dreaded question of, "What if". What if this works.

Hm. Fertility blend for men doesn't include L-arginine. Should I be looking into that? I'm not taking the fertility blend for women because I'm going to be starting on injectables soon.

Thanks everyone for sharing their TTC recepies... I was wondering if the fertility blend for men is a prescription or over the counter. If I'm on Clomid, should I also be taking a fertility vitamin?? Where to get that?? Thanks for your help!
Kristi

Vitamins certainly can't hurt. Fertiltiy Blend is available online, I haven't seen it in any stores.

OK - I am new here and loving this site!
I have tried clomid - I have tried one month with clomid (3 a day x 5 days) and also a few shots. This month did 11 days (2 gonal F shots a day) followed by the "big" shot. Also have been taking metformin and prenatal vitamins the entire time. Even with just the clomid I had the follicles - but my progesterone and estradiol just wouldn't get up at the numbers we needed! I am praying that this month will be better! Finally got estradiol at what my dr wanted - do the progesterone tomorrow! I wonder if I need to ask my dr about taking progesterone like I have read about? The highest my progesterone has been so far was 15.8 (Dr wanted it to be at least 15!). Can't wait to find out tomorrow (well-probably Thursday) what my level is! I am sure it is my imagination but I have had a few symptoms - mainly extremely sore nipples! Anyone have any ideas or me? I would appreciate any help from people! THANKS!

hi ladies,
its been a while since my last post here. i remember looking into so much for our "on break" period and really did appreciate all the info i got.

we just got our first BFP ever and are so grateful to this site! not only has it helped me emotionally, but it has made me feel active throughout this battle.

we were just about to proceed with IVF in september, but got our positive in august. all with BMS! :smilies-b believe me ....we were very surprised.

our dx was primarily low sperm count.

since my last post (in april) we changed our recipe:

*we stopped with the accupuncture and teas (not that i think stopping helped, but we didnt have increased numbers after 6 months of giving it a shot...so we decided it wasnt for us)
*we continued with the fertility blend for dh (i found it at GNC stores)
*we continued with the L-arginine (also at GNC)
*also dh was taking a male multivitamin
*dh began to exercise a bit more
*dh switched to a much LESS stressfull job
*we both incorporated meat into our diets (after 10yrs of being vegetarians....very hard decision for me....but at that point i was willing to try anything)
*and still put a pillow under my hips after every sexual encounter

Now...it could have been one of those, all of those, or absolutely none of those. Not knowing is definitely the downside to all of this. Regardless, I needed to feel like i was "doing" something to fight IF with all my might. Even if it just meant getting as much information as i could. All i know is it doesnt hurt to try. i am all for us sharing whatever we think helps. of course i know the same thing doesnt work for all of us, but by picking and chosing our own methods of "trying" something to help, it helps us all feel more in control of such a difficult struggle....at least for me it has helped. I much rather be looking through posts, collecting info, and drowning myself with knowledge...than waiting around for AF. i tried that route and it was too depressing.

Its still too early in the game to say ive beat IF, but if all goes well....then i did beat IF!

And if it can happen to me, it can happen to any of us! We all have to stand strong and fight this battle together!

Lots of luck to all of us!

Congrats, Belle! Wishing you an uneventful 9 months!