# Just starting out... holistic plan



## Artemisia1

Hi all, my situation is a little complex but basically I'm 36 and I suddenly got lighter periods so did some home FSH tests and got a reading of >25. I'm waiting for blood tests to confirm and have also booked an initial appointment with a Chinese doctor.

*UPDATE: Blood test results good but still going ahead with this basic health plan as though they weren't!*

In the meantime while I sort everything else out, this has been a wakeup call to me to start treating my overall health more aggressively! This post is holistic in nature so I hope nobody minds that it might not all seem relevant to fertility.

I didn't think I'd been terribly slack over the years (apart from one very silly thing see below) but I have some issues that I've been ignoring e.g. wheat gives me inflammation and even small amounts of alcohol makes me depressed and anxious. I am also very ashamed to say I have been smoking since the xmas/NY party season last year after a break of several years... I have quit permanently using gum for now.  Feeling really stupid about that having read the studies about the effect of smoking on fertility. But forums are for sharing, right?!

*SUPPLEMENTS and TEAS:*
I'm on day 2! I've already added so many new pills to my diet (also £££'s) I have decided not to go with CoQ10 and myo-inositol at the moment. If anyone has any experience of these please let me know.

*Morning:*
1x Tea of ginger root, slice of lemon, 1/2tspn organic honey and pinch of turmeric
1x Aspirin
1x Seven Seas EPO+Starflower+ VitE
1x Seven Seas Trying For A Baby Vitamins 500mg
1x Vivid Health Nutrition High potency Royal Jelly(500mg) & Bee Pollen(1200mg) with Bee Propolis(400mg)
1x Natures Aid PremEeze Agnus Castus 400mg

*During the day:*
High fluids generally, redbush tea or detox tea
1x Royal Jelly and Bee Pollen
Magnesium citrate powder in water if feeling anxious (as before)

*Evening:*
1x Agnus Castus
1x Solgar 5-HTP 50mg (continuing as before)
1x Aloe Vera Colon Cleanse as needed (to deal with the constipation from quitting coffee/smoking)
Chammomile tea/warm milk with pinch of cinnamon

*DIET*
I should note I'm on a tight budget so the food improvements are going to be basic. I'm going to tell you what I'll really be eating so you can see how boring it is! I'm already on a high protein diet using Acti-Shakes once per day to keep up since they are cheap and don't contain much sugar or fat, plus I end up eating half the number of fish and critters! BF also uses them. I hope they aren't doing me/us any harm. Here is the plan I'm working towards although I'm tapering, particularly the sugar and caffeine to avoid side effects:

*Increase:*
Green cabbage (instead of wheatgrass), garlic, green veg generally, fruit (not bananas), seaweed (even though I don't like it)

*Reduce:*
Saturated fat, salt, carbs generally, caffiene to one cup of fine black tea per day max

*Avoid as completely as possible:*
Alcohol, sugar, wheat, soy, trans-fats and any processed foods, pre-prepared foods, things in packets, sunflower oil, sesame, white carbs

*WEIGHT AND EXERCISE*
I recently lost a lot of weight and have been exercising more mainly due to my BF who has a god-like physique. I looked at him and felt like I didn't fit with him somehow because I made very little effort to stay in shape. I'm thinking I may have been a bit harsh in my enthusiasm so now I'm planning to do less, more often. I had been pushing myself with hard runs about twice per week on top of cycling for an average of 30 minutes per day and have maybe lost 1 1/2 stone but I think I need to steady it down to get a better idea of the underlying problems.
I used to do yoga and have started again with the Esther Eckhart videos on YouTube before breakfast.

*OTHER THINGS*
- Planning acupuncture (see above)
- There is a free meditation class at the Buddhist Centre near here. I will be resuming once per week.
- I have 1x 5 minute sunbeds per week in the winter to help with Vitamin D levels. A nurse suggested this to me once for SAD I think it does help, more than the lamps.
- Found loads of relaxation music on YouTube, some have been designed by artists with a fertility focus! My BF uses ambient music to help him sleep, I didn't like it at first but I'm really into it now and have it on a lot to relax.

If you read all of this then thank you so much!! Phew! If anyone has any comments I'd love to hear them.

It's so good to have somewhere to write about what I'm going through.


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## springy8

You never mentioned before what day you took that FSH reading on.  Was it around day 3?

Me, you can see my stats in my signature.  I found the weight had been creeping on slowly over last couple of years and decided to address it at Christmas.  I have chopped fruit with homemade granola and a spoon of natural yoghurt for breakfast.  try and eat as local and natural as possible but that has sort of gone out the window since morning sickness kicked in proper.  

Me, I was taking Natural HEalth products fertility supplement, Vitamin D, CoQ10, Folic acid and DHEA.  If you do find out you have diminished ovarian reserve, Id look into that one for sure.  I think myoinositol is mainly for women with PCOS which doesnt sound like you.

I was also taking chinese herbs (for about a week before I got pregnant)


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## Artemisia1

Cool, thank you! Great to hear from you again. I don't think I have POCS but I'm not yet sure what's going on. I did the FSH test on day 4 sorry I forgot to mention. Very ditzy at the mo.

I'm so glad you're expecting it must have been a really worrying time. I wonder if the Chinese medicine had time to work in a week but still, I've heard lots of good reports.

I'll look into CoQ10 and DHEA, many thanks  I just read that DHEA might help with mild depression too, that could be good!

I just did some work in the garden and sowed some spinach and lettuce.  Now off to eat some cabbage.


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