BFP - Part I
It's official. As of right now, I am pregnant. My RE's office let me come in for blood work, and my beta is at 67.9 (they like to see over 50). Right now, I am in shock. I think that there was a part of me that didn't think I would ever get pregnant, and there was definitely a huge part of me that thought my only option was IVF.
Although I was diagnosed with PCOS, I really don't have many of the classic symptoms other than my FSH/LH ratio and the fact that I'm annovulatory. For that reason, none of the "traditional" PCOS "tricks" (metformin, weight loss - I am thin, diet, oral meds) worked to regulate my cycles. I'm not sure what actually made my body work right this cycle, but I listed all of the things that I changed over the past 8 months, leading up to this cycle, in hopes that a similar combination might work for other people.
1000 mg Meformin ER
75 units of gonal-f from CDs 9 - 14
5 mg femara/letrozole CD 3-7
Ovidrel trigger CD 14
Was on estrogen patch to thicken lining Progesterone suppositories beginning 4 days post IUI
IUI at CD 16
Vitamins: Fish Oil, Prenatal with DHA, Super B complex (with folic acid and vitamin B 5), L-lysine, beta carotene)
I teaspoon-full Royal Jelly (suspended in honey) in the morning and a Royal Jelly capsule each night, since December 2012
One low dose aspirin every night
Gluten free (beginning one week before IUI). I don't know if this was what actually led to my BFP after over a year of trying, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who feels that they have hit a dead end. This is the one major change from all of my previous cycles. If it doesn't help after a few cycles, you can always go back. I probably will as soon as I figure out how to do it safely.
Light alcohol (no more than 4 drinks a week and only 1 or 2 drinks total during 2ww) for 4 months
Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day
Cut out all fat-free and low fat milk products, including yogurts and cheeses, and consumed only full-fat products
Cut out caffeine
Drank one cup of decaf green tea each morning with 1/4 lemon squeezed in
Put 1 teaspoon of chia seeds into my breakfast food each morning
Ate 1-4 squares of dark chocolate a day
Ate a lot of almonds
Stopped drinking sodas and using artificial sweeteners in August
Ate 1/5 pineapple (including core) a day beginning the day after the IUI (supposed to help with implantation)
Light exercise almost every day during 2ww, making sure my heartbeat stayed below 150 bpm (including walking on the treadmill, walking my dogs, riding a stationary bike, and the eliptical machine, light weights, yoga)
Heavier exercise leading up to 2ww - running, cycling, weights, eliptical, hot yoga
Fertility yoga exercises every morning
Acupuncture once a week for 3 months before BFP
Positive affirmations when I was feeling down (“I have a good life. I will have a better life.”)
Visualization exercises during times of stress and when doing goddess and mountain yoga poses.
Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night
Lost 6 pounds when I started metformin and had gained 8 (net gain of 2 lbs) by the time of the second IUI
I will post sometime later this week or next about how I felt leading up to the positive test.