Archives for August 2009

A Positive Thing About IVF

August 31, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

One delicious thing I like about IVF, is that it actually gives me a break from trying to work out when I am ovulating. Seriously! I mean the good thing is that the clinic does all checking and I don’t have to monitor anything. I just have to turn up and follow instructions. Given I am a naturally lazy person, this suits me down to the ground.

It also suits me because I work in a job where I am always monitoring everything – from managing and tracking how a project is running to reviewing and analysing sales data. For me, not monitoring anything is like a dream come true! Hand holding at work is not something I enjoy.

Unfortunately when I am not doing IVF, I am back to monitoring and tracking my menstrual cycle. For some reason, I still have some glimmer of hope that I will conceive naturally even though I know that in our case it is highly unlikely. So with this in mind, I now find myself painstakingly recording the results of urine tests and fertility microscopes. The problem is that I’ve been monitoring my cycle for a number of days and it is now day 19 and I still haven’t ovulated. Although this is not uncommon following IVF treatment, I am impatient for my cycle to get back on track.

In any case, my plan of attack has been to ambush my husband and coerce him into having sex with me more frequently. Such a task I know!! He hasn’t complained yet but I suspect that he has not really appreciated the fact that he has had less sleep. Such is the joy of trying to conceive.

IVF Preconception Care

August 29, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

After several attempts at trying to get pregnant, you sometimes question yourself if there is anything you are or aren’t doing right that is hampering your ability to conceive. Sometimes in doing that, you cause yourself unnecessary pain. It’s called beating oneself up with negative thoughts about what you should or shouldn’t have done. Thoughts like:

– Maybe if I drank a bit less alcohol
– Maybe if I quit smoking earlier than what I did
– Maybe if my diet was better
– Maybe I should have tried reflexology
– Maybe I shouldn’t have drunk all those Coke Zero’s
– Maybe I should drink less coffee or hot chocolate
– Maybe I am just too fat
– Maybe, I should try reflexology.

Although it’s perfectly normal, all these maybes do your head in. I think I have already come a long way from where I was. For a start, I drink a lot less wine these days, I don’t smoke anymore, I take folate, CoQ10, Vitamin C and fish oil tablets. I drink a lot more water these days and I rarely drink any soft drinks – diet or otherwise. I’ve also been exercising regularly for at least the past year or two. Seems to me that a lot of the things I used to enjoy I no longer do anymore.

The one thing I haven’t changed is my diet. Actually I tell a lie – it has gotten worse. Since starting IVF, I have been getting progressively fatter and fatter – in fact my BMI has moved from the overweight category and just edged into the obese category!!! Whilst I don’t think the hormone treatments have helped my cause, I’ve noticed that my food portion sizes have increased since I got married. My coffee intake has also increased significantly.

Given that the human body is a complex and finely tuned machine, I have decided to take up the challenge to improve my diet. I will continue to maintain the positive changes I have made in regards to quitting smoking and exercising regularly, but as of today no coffee, only herbal teas and healthy good food choices. I’ve been reading up on the topic and I think there is a lot of merit in alternative therapies and I think these can be highly successful for some people. Acupuncture is back on the agenda and I might even have a go at reflexology. Now I am not expecting change overnight. I know good preconception care starts about 3-4 months before trying to conceive but if I don’t get pregnant within the next year, at least I’ll know I have done everything in my power to get pregnant. And that my friends is the only thing that I can do.

IVF at 40

August 27, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

Call me ignorant but after months of worrying about not being about to get pregnant before the age of 40, I am not worried anymore.

A sure sign of this is that after months of procastinating with the Police Record Check forms so I can start IVF, I have finally sent my form in complete with cheque. Somehow I don’t think I will be getting it back in time for the 1st September deadline when the new laws take effect.

Apart from the fact that my husband’s form has not been sent in yet, I imagine there will be a backlog of applications from the late rush of couples who have also submitted their forms. Obviously, holding off like me in the hope that they won’t have to do another round of IVF. In any case, I guess it means we might start the next round a little later.

It’s strange but I am less perturbed by the later start this time. In the past, I have pushed my body so hard, doing IVF with only a month break in between cycles. Once, I did a cycle back to back with no break. Now that was hard. All of my attempts, of course, have been done in my futile attempt to racie against my biological clock.

But the truth is, I will be turning 40 at the end of September. I am already in the statistically significant, lower end of the IVF success bracket. A delay of one month is hardly going to make a big difference. I think my body also needs a break to get back to its natural rhythm. The scary thing is that I’ve been doing this so frequently that I don’t even know what my natural rhythm is.

Apart, from that IVF is hard – I am in no rush to start again only to get another negative result. I need emotional space to come to terms with the last seven failed attempts. Maybe my birthday this year will not be about trying to conceive – maybe it will be about relaxing and enjoying myself. Now that would be a nice change.

New Discriminatory IVF Laws

August 25, 2009 By Carol 1 Comment

From September 2009, any couple wishing to undergo IVF treatment in Victoria Australia will now need to obtain a Police Record Check and a Child Protection Certificate.

As I sit here contemplating when I will be doing my next round of treatment, I am suddenly faced with the possibility that I need to apply for these various certificates before I can undergo treatment. Given I would like to start treatment again soon, I’ve decided I’d better get my butt into gear even if I disagree with this repulsive law.

What freaks me out the most however, is that legally, we now have to prove that we are going to be suitable parents. Amazing! I hope that careless driving charge I got when I had a car accident a few years ago ain’t going to be held against me.

Actually, I think the aim of the law is stop potential pedophiles from having children. But seriously, putting preventative measures in place for the small minority of couples who undergo IVF ain’t really going to solve the problem. Seriously, does anyone truly think that people who spend thousands of dollars on IVF and who experience the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with IVF are pedophiles.

Imagine the public uproar if laws throughout the world were changed so that all couples contemplating parenthood would have to prove that they were going to be suitable parents. Surely, this goes against natural human nature and civil liberty. I for one am opposed to these ridiculous laws that target a small minority of people rather than tackle the actual problem.

Tips To Improve Male Infertility

August 23, 2009 By Carol Leave a Comment

At a recent human reproduction and embryology conference in Europe (http://www.eshre.com), some interesting findings on Male Factor Infertility were uncovered.

One of the studies titled “Keep the River Flowing” was an exploratory study investigating the effect of daily ejaculation for 7 days and sperm DNA damage. Anyway, the study uncovered that 3 days of abstinence followed by 7 days consecutive days of ejaculation, resulted in reduced sperm DNA fragmentation (down from 33% to 21.8%), increased motility and improved morphology.

It was concluded that sex / ejaculation for 7 days leading up to and including ovulation during a normal female reproductive cycle may then increase chances of conception. The implication being that if the same thing was applied leading up to a sperm collection for IVF/IUI/ICSI then the chances of conception may also be improved. There is the usual caveat that more studies are needed to look at this further but I don’t need any convincing. We’ve tried many things – might as well give this a go and keep the river flowing as well. My poor husband is going to be exhausted (he works full time and studies part-time)!