Fertility Acupuncture Update

It's been 10 days since I started my strange new diet. So far, I've stuck to it; my only two cheats being a small bite of one of the cupcakes I made for Jamie's birthday and a small sip of a homemade whisky sour that Jamie made the other night.

Vanilla bean cupcakes with dark chocolate ganache and giant cookie numbers!
(Cupcakes from scratch, cookies from Pillsbury.)

Aside from those two very small things, I've done really well. The only thing  haven't worked out is the percentage of what to eat. He wants me to eat 40% raw veggies, 30% carbs, 20% protein, and only 10% fruit. I'm pretty sure I've been eating 75% fruit.

In an attempt to get more raw veggies in, I made a broccoli salad. It was pretty good. I still just want to eat fruit though.

Carbs are pretty easy, at least where bread is involved. I eat my Dave's Killer Bread like it's going out of style and brown rice is my jam, but Dr. Lee really wants me to eat yams. I don't really have a problem with that because I love yams, but it's the whole cooking yams thing that is kind of a bummer.

D'oh.

So now that I've got the restrictions down, I need to start focusing on the percentages. I'm not really sure how to figure that out, but maybe it will come to me.

As for the acupuncture, I had my second appointment on Monday. Dr. Lee said that because my inflammation was almost all gone, he didn't have to put any needles in my arms or head. This made the treatment much easier for my fidgety self, especially since I didn't have Jamie there this time to scratch that killer itch on my forehead.

[Detailed-ish lady-stuffs talk below.]

My second acupuncture appointment was on the second day of my period ending my previous cycle at a very normal 28 days. In the last year, my cycle lengths have been fairly consistent, hovering between 26 and 29 days with the exception of a couple rogue 34 day cycles. (In past years, my cycles have been as few as 21 days and as many as 37 days, so 26-29 days is welcomed.) Acupuncture aims to create even more consistency in my cycles, so hopefully from now on we'll have no more crazy-long cycles where I'm pulling my hair out waiting for my period.

Acupuncture also serves to create a "normal", "healthy" period. I put these in quotes because what Traditional Chinese Medicine deems an abnormal and unhealthy period is nothing that Western medicine usually even considers and from years of girl-talk is very common. What we have always seen as normal (spotting, dark-colored blood, clots, cramping and body aches) is seen as abnormal to those who practice TCM. Without getting into all of the details, TCM views these common symptoms as signs of imbalance and stagnation within the body that can be eradicated with diet, herbs, and acupuncture.

Is it working for me? It's hard to say for certain just yet, but I believe so. For example, I usually spot anywhere from a few hours to a few days before my period but I had absolutely no spotting before this cycle. That was after only one acupuncture treatment and 7 days on the new diet. In the grand scheme of things, it's not much. But if it means I'm one step closer to finally getting pregnant, then after over four years, any step forward is a big step.

A Fitness Anniversary

Hey guys, remember when I finally got sick of feeling sorry for myself and started working out and taking care of my body? It was a year ago today!

Remember this?

So. Awkward.

I took what I had hoped would become my "before" pictures one week after I started working out at the pilates/spin studio. In that week, I had lost 2.5 pounds and 3.5 inches leaving me feeling very motivated to continue. By August 9th, I had lost 10.5 pounds and 12.5 inches. I plateaued a bit, then only lost one more pound by October 4th. In that post, I mentioned that I had somewhat fallen off the healthy-eating train and even mentioned that I needed to keep myself on track during the upcoming holiday season.

That didn't happen.

October 4th had been my last fitness post of 2012. Three months later on January 4th, it was time to get back on track. I posted new photos and set a new base for my measurements; I was no longer comparing myself to my starting weight and size from June. I was up 2.5 pounds and 2.75 inches and really motivated to break into the 140s.

I did really well the first week losing 2 pounds and 2 inches, then another pound and another inch the following week, putting myself ahead of where I was before I went to town on my mother-in-law's two tubs of Christmas cookies that she had mailed us. But then my mom's surgery happened and I spent 2 weeks in Ohio taking care of her with no real way of getting my fitness in.

I fluctuated through February but in March, I first hit my 5 pound mark for 2013 followed by the 15 pound mark since starting my journey last June. It was a good month! March was also the month that I started going to CUT Fitness, eventually transitioning from going to both CUT and Studio 5 in March and April to letting my pilates contract expire and attending classes only at CUT.

April was rough for fitness being that my family was out visiting for a week, then our house flooded, then Jamie and I were gone on our New York trip! I didn't get back to regular fitnessizing til a week into May. Since then, I've somewhat been struggling with getting back on my weight loss track, but I'm happy to say that last week was the day that I finally was back at my 15 pounds lost mark.

That wordily brings us to today, my one year anniversary. Wanna see some side by sides?

Left: 6/14/2012; Center: 1/4/2013; Right: Today!

Left: 6/14/2012; Center: 1/4/2013; Right: Today!

(I decided to throw on those awful booty shorts just to offer a more accurate comparison to my "before" photos.)

June 7, 2012 (gained since 5/2010)

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Calf - 14.25"
• Knee - 16.5"
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2")
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25")
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Waist - 34" (+4")
• Bust - 40"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75")

January 4th, 2013 (lost since 6/7/13)

• Weight - 154 (-9)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.75)
• Thigh - 24.25" (-1.25)
• Hips/Butt - 41.75" (-1.75)
• Belly - 39.5" (-1)
• Waist - 31.5" (-2.5)
• Bust - 38" (-2)
• Arms - 12.25" (-0.75)

June 7th, 2013 (lost since 6/7/13)

• Weight - 147 (-16)
• Calf - 13.5" (-0.75)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.75)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-1.75)
• Hips/Butt - 40.75" (-2.75)
• Belly - 38.5" (-2)
• Waist - 30" (-4)
• Bust - 36" (-4)
• Arms - 11.5" (-1.5)

Since January I've lost 7 pounds and 7 inches. In the last year I've lost 16 pounds and 17.5 inches. While in this world of get-thin-quick schemes, 16 pounds in a year doesn't seem like much or even all that impressive. Sure, I could have been really strict and probably lose 20 pounds in a few months, but I know from experience that that doesn't work for me in the long run. I'd rather lose the weight slowly and effectively keep it off. I've found it much easier to maintain the general loss give or take a few pounds over this time where even the periods in January and April where I wasn't working out much and wasn't eating carefully didn't set me back more than a couple pounds. 

I'm happy with my results so far. I'm a little bit leaner, I'm stronger, and I'm more fit. I no longer get winded walking up the stairs. I often find myself bounding up the stairs of our three story condo. I see muscle definition and feel more comfortable waving my arms in a tank top. Wearing shorts is still another hurdle... but if I may get cheesy for a moment, fitness is a journey not a destination. I'm not finished and I intend to keep going. Let's see what happens next. 

Strange New Diet - Day Two

On Sunday, I made an abundance of delicious pasta containing a slight abundance of cheese and minced garlic. Yesterday I mentioned my new diet restrictions to help treat my infertility with Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. Guess what two of those restrictions were? Dairy and garlic.

D'oh.

I have a lot of leftovers, and Jamie hasn't eaten any of it. Determined to not let it go to waste, I've been eating it for lunch, sacrificing the no-garlic restriction and picking out the hunks of fresh mozzarella. (Everything else is safe for me as I used Italian spiced chicken sausage.)

As for the rest of my new diet, I've been doing okay. My only cheat has been whatever garlic I've ingested via leftovers; everything else has gone smoothly. That's not to say that it isn't difficult, though. Let's start with what I can and cannot drink.

I am not allowed to drink:

• Coffee (not even decaf)
• Tea (not even decaf)
• Alcohol*
• Anything cold

I am allowed to drink:

• Anything warm that isn't coffee or tea (of which nothing comes to mind)
• Warm water 

*I am allowed alcohol around ovulation, but that seems to be restricted to red wine being that I cannot drink anything cold.

Luckily, I've never really had a problem with drinking warm things. (My mom used to get grossed out that I'd drink warm soda.) So, one day in and I'm okay with microwaving my water per Dr. Lee's suggestion. What I'm struggling with is how badly I want my Iced Grande Decaf Americano with Room and Two Pumps Sugar-Free Vanilla... ahem... though likely more-so because I am not allowed it.

I have yet to come face-to-face with an alcohol temptation, so no word on that at the moment. I predict rough seas in the near future, especially with Jamie's birthday celebration being this Saturday at a restaurant serving notable beers and delicious hand-crafted, hipster cocktails.

Of course, tonight Jamie reminded me of some long-standing dinner plans with friends that I had forgotten about at a Korean BBQ restaurant. If you haven't experienced Korean BBQ, then just look here:

Basically, you order meat and veggies that you cook at your table, which is equipped with a grill and jam packed with tasty side dishes. Upon menu investigation, it seems that I have a few options, not many, but enough. We'll see how it goes!

One thing that I am kind of enjoying is being somewhat forced into buying and eating more fruits and veggies. Today I chopped up some pineapple and watermelon that should last me a few days worth of snacks and meal supplements.

This is definitely a huge life change. While it might not always be fun, if it helps me achieve my goal of being a mother, it will have been 100% worth it.

Treating Infertility with Acupuncture

I made Jamie take a picture of me and my needles.

Remember when Jamie and I consulted with a new fertility specialist and were really excited to start treatments with him? And then remember when the months of April and May were jam packed with travel, family visits, and home restoration after our flood? It was looking like June was going to be our month to get our testing done for the new RE so that hopefully we could get back to doing insemination in July.

But then, a week and a half ago, my good friend and neighbor Clare sent me an email. In it was a link to a book and an anecdote about a friend of a friend having followed its guide and fell pregnant after having been unable to for a few years.

The book was The Infertility Cure by Randine Lewis. I read the reviews and the preview pages. Less than a half hour later, I had the book downloaded on my iPad and I started reading. By page 60, I was sold.

It's all about using acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat infertility. I'm going to tell you straight up that I've never been one for holistic medicine, and though I'd never given it much thought or attention, it always felt hokey and hippy-dippy to me. But this book! This book straightened it out for me, at least when it comes to acupuncture and TCM for infertility. In the basic of basic explanations, TCM and acupuncture serve to balance your reproductive system and create the best possible environment for conception.

I could try to explain it all here, but it'd be wordy and probably not well thought out, so I'll tell you my situation and what the doc planned out for me.

First, we went over the details about my cycle. While I haven't been diagnosed by my OB/GYN or RE with this, he believes I have mild endometriosis based on my signs and symptoms during my period. This means that I have endometrial tissue outside of the uterus causing my immune system to fight hard against something that isn't supposed to be there. Unfortunately, my immune system knows that it wants to eradicate endometrial cells, but it doesn't know that it only needs to fight off the ones outside the uterus so it also attacks the endometrium making it unwelcome for our baby-to-be.

He also looked at my past Basal Body Temperature (BBT) charts to help assess the situation (also something that my RE did not do.) From my chart he can see that my overall body temperature is too low. After ovulation (where the vertical red line is) my temperature should be in the 98 degree range, but mine is always still in the 97 range. (He also pointed out that my spikes in temperature could also be a sign of my immune system battling the endometriosis.) He also noted that my luteal phase, the time between ovulation and my next period, is too short.

One of my own charts.

An example of a good chart.

From there he decided that the main goal for me at home right now is to basically warm up. I need to keep my feet warm and not drink anything cold. He even recommends drinking my water closer to body temperature rather than even room temperature. He's put me on a restrictive diet of no coffee or tea (not even decaf), no alcohol (except during ovulation, but hey, I've been meaning to cut back!), no dairy, and no beef or lamb. He also gave me plenty of suggestions as to what I can and should eat and in what amounts.

Oh, and herbs.

The diet, the warming up, the herbs, and the acupuncture will all serve to balance my body and my reproductive system. It should regulate my periods and work to create the optimal environment for conception.

It's recommended to give it 3-6 months, but I've read a lot of success stories (and I mean a lot because I can't stop Googling it) of women in my same situation, with years of negative pregnancy tests and even some failed inseminations and IVF procedures who start acupuncture and get pregnant naturally within a month or two. While that definitely gives me hope and makes me feel like we're finally going to get what we've been working so hard for for so long, we also have a longer-term plan. We plan to try acupuncture and TCM alone for about 6 months, then from there we will likely pair it with fertility treatments.

IUI (insemination) has about a 20% success rate when used with fertility drugs. My acupuncture doc has a 38% success rate with women using acupuncture and herbs alone. His overall success rate with women using  either IUI, IVF, or acupuncture and herbs alone is 65%. Based on these numbers, I'm feeling really optimistic.

I feel like acupuncture and TCM work to naturally change your body to make it more ready and receptive to conception whereas the treatments with my RE felt really invasive and forceful with synthetic hormones trying to replicate a fertile womb. I'm definitely not against using IUI and IVF with fertility drugs; we will go back to that if we have to. But I'm happy to try something natural with side effects that are positive that seeks to fix the problem rather than try to MacGyver the hell out of it.