# Good news: Thyroid antibodies plummeted! Chinese herbs????



## Ipomée (Oct 30, 2012)

I don't know if this is where I should place this post. I just wanted to share some very interesting, hopeful news!

I've been taking Chinese herbs to help with fertility for about three months. Chinese medecine balances the whole system. Well, I've had Hashimotos since I was at least 17. My antibodies have always been very high, sometimes not even registering in the numbers. I have about one lobe and a half left following surgery for something else.

A little over a year ago, I had the thyroid antibodies tested and the results were : anti-thyroperoxydase: 2164 (N<20)
anti-thyroglobuline: 2055 (N<30). 

I was just tested again by an endocrinologist and my results were: anti-thyroperoxydase: 469 (N<34 (different norms)) and my anti-thyroglobuline: 253 (N<110 (different norms)).   !!! 

This has NEVER happened before. I didn't change anything else except that I'm been taking Ubiquinol 300mg for the past 2 weeks, so I don't think it's that… I called both labs, because I was sure that there was an error. Endocrinologists have always told me that it's a process of eventual destruction, the antibodies don't go away. To add to it, my thyroid doesn't have the two nodules that were present two years ago either. I still have a goiter and Hashimotos, but maybe my immune system is really calming down and things falling into order. 

I did an ovulation monitoring for my December natural cycle and I had three follicles (2 dominant and 1 just behind) and my estrogen was great. I also had lots of EWCM (I failed my post coital test a year ago, for lack of …) 

I had cycled in October and got three empties on a modified (Gonal F) natural IVF cycle. They were expecting two follies, I had Gonal after day 12-18. I'm out of the loop now, just turned 43 and no more insurance coverage in France. I'm not giving up though.

Has anyone else out there had promising things happen while on Chinese herbs? I feel great, I sleep much better, my digestion has improved immensely too. I was very happy with my last cycle. I'm going to continue doing ovulation monitoring and BW and try naturally until I can find another Dr who will accept to do IUI.


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## urbangirl (Jul 28, 2010)

Chinese herbs are particularly good for long-term, chronic conditions. They are used to treat the whole person, not a single or specific group of symptoms in isolation like western drugs so, although they can take a bit of time to work, you should expect to find all sorts of positive changes while taking them.


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## Ipomée (Oct 30, 2012)

Hello Urbangirl,

Thank you for your resonse. I do feel like I'm falling back into my own skin which is very comforting. My digestion feels very in-balance, which is something I haven't felt for a really long time, despite a very healthy diet and careful elimination of specific know food allergens.

The taste of the herbs that I have to boil is pleasant too. My poor DP has herbs that taste horrible He's taking them for to help his sperm mobility, etc. Our Dr has had a lot of success helping people TTC, so I'm hopeful it will help us. 
Ipomée


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## urbangirl (Jul 28, 2010)

They're helped me with all kinds of things so I am confident they have helped me with my fertility problems too. The cost of IVF is prohibitive, it must be really frustrating that you feel so much better now but don't have the funds to have more cycles, but hopefully you have a higher chance with the and IUI's now.  I'm still out there ttc and I'm older than you!


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## Ipomée (Oct 30, 2012)

Yes Urbangirl  

I think the treatment will help with fertility too. It makes so much sense and the Dr I'm seeing is confident in my situation and doesn't doubt that I can become pregnant. I believe in his approach. Oh, one other thing I did that may have helped my last cycle which is my favorite cycle since I don't know when ( also the second one following natural IVF modified try), was a yoga series that I did once a day up to ovulation. I found this series by a woman named Carolyn Cowan on youtube. It’s a Kundalini « instinctual self series. » I had read somewhere that this particular series of kundalini yoga is specifically good for the ovaries and uterus. 

Apparently, one problem we have being over 40 is our ovaries may not get enough circulation, blood to the ovaries… Well, just the breathing (breathe of fire excercises) does a serious number on the ovaries and uterus  ! Before, I kept trying to figure out how to get to them(ovaries) to help with circulation, especially since my left one is behind my uterus. I found some massage info, but hélas… So, I think the series would be good to do up to just before ovulation, but it’s really intense, certainly too intense if there is a little egg trying to implant. 

So, yeah… here I am just turned 43, now out of the loop and have to fund out of the pocket. The first two Drs I saw were a waste of my time and the whole process took 10 months. They wouldn’t work with a recipe to see if I would respond differently to different doses/drugs… Then, I couldn't find someone who would do IUI.  At that last attempt, I did respond  (modified cycle) to the gonal-f, when before all of the Drs said I wouldn’t respond at all. Maybe I would have had a better chance a year ago with a different protocol. Too late now. But, maybe it happened this way for a reason, maybe my body wasn't ready. 

I haven’t lost hope though, despite all of the hurdles, I still can find blessings to count. I kind of feel like a Phoenix bird… I feel like I keep burning, but I still coming back to life through the ashes. 

I do know several women who've become pregnant at 43 + naturally, so I believe we all can, it is possible. My kinesiologist got pregnant at 47 naturally, my neighbor at 44 and another dear friend of my DP at 45, all naturally. They had never been to fertility specialists and they didn’t have some kind of extraordinary fertility for their age. They must have just found the right little egg at the right time. I also saw a radiologist who told me that so many of his pregnancy patients are in the mid-40’s. 

One of my girlfriends, who finally became pregnant after 7 IVFs, cheered me up the other day when she told me that her Dr had told her.  He got a call from one of his patients saying that she was pregnant naturally after her several failed IVFs. He was dumbfounded saying that her results and her parnter's results were the « worst he had ever seen. » He believed it was impossible that they would ever conceive. I sure hope he tells that story to patients who lose hope. It's important to remember such people, such heros and heroines  they are. 

Ipomée


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## urbangirl (Jul 28, 2010)

Hi Ipomee, I believe yoga is really helpful too, though it’s such a struggle fitting it in, at the moment I‘m doing just one really relaxing position in bed before I conk out to sleep… but there is the lazy option of taking baby aspirin too, to increase blood flow by thinning the blood. I ‘ve heard of Kundalini, but I have never done that school of yoga, it does a lot on the chakras, or something,  I think. I'm not surprised it involves the uterus etc because I'm sure I've read that kundalini has a lot to do with awakening the sexual energy.
It’s very difficult to find a doctor who will try new things with you when you’re over 40, they just write your falilures off as bad eggs and don’t bother to try other ways, it’s such a battle and really tiresome.  IuI’s are a great idea, the success rates are only up to about 10% I think but if you multiply that over a number of months it's not so bad. If you can't find anyone to do it in France then try a little further afield, loads of us on these threads travel for tx.  You can use Gonal for that too, to increase your chances by developing more than just one egg, or Chlomid which is only a few euros, but can thin the endometrium so you have to keep an eye on that.  Personally I can't stand Gonal, it's made from genetically modifiied hamster's eggs or something, I prefer to use natural stimms. Lots of women do get success with it though.
I am doing some IUI's as well, though my tubes aren’t in perfect working order so its along shot for me, however, you never know, a really determined sperm might make it through! 

Blimey, your kiniesioligist is lucky, there aren’t many pregnant 47 year olds around, but I‘m very glad to hear of one nonetheless!  The oldest person I personally know who got pregnant late was 45, and she was a borderline alcoholic so there's hope for us all! I'm comng to the conclusion it's totally random, like a throw of the dice..


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