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Hello my name is Shannon and I went through Second Infertility for 10 years. Second infertility is the inability to conceive or carry a baby to term after previously giving birth to a baby. My husband went through primary infertility, meaning that he has never had kids before and was unable to produce. Whether you and your partner are going through primary infertility or second infertility this blog is for you. We all have something in common: we want to have a child.
People will never understand what you are going through until they have walked in your shoes. So I am sure you may have tried everything under the sun depending on how long you have been trying to conceive. I am sure you have googled everything you can think of that can help you find that one miracle solution. Trust me I have been there and done that. I have found a lot of good supplements that helped me throughout my journey. I wanted to create this blog to compile all of the things that I encountered during my journey along with the supplements that I took.
My husband and I infertility was unexplained infertility. Unexplained infertility is when you have tried to have a child for a year or more and your doctor has not found any problems. First thing first if you do not already have one, find a good Fertility Doctor. If you feel like you cannot afford to go to a fertility doctor, you can still take the basic fertility tests that you need to take to rule out any fertility issues that may be causing you not to conceive. Your insurance may cover some of the tests. My insurance I had at the time covered for my basic fertility tests and blood work. After we went through all of the fertility tests we were advised to try IUI. IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, and it is a fertility treatment that involves placing sperm inside a woman’s uterus for fertilization. My husband’s sperm count was ok at the time but it wasn’t as high as they wanted it to be. So we did some research to look for some natural supplements he can use to get his sperm count up. We found a great supplement called Fertilaid for Men. After my husband took the Fertilaid his sperm count went up tremendously.
We did IUI a numerous times and it did not work for us. We were still considered as unexplained fertility at this point. I was later advised to get a laparoscopy. A laparoscopy is a surgical procedure that uses a camera inserted through minor incisions near the belly. This procedure is done to examine the pelvic reproductive organs in the pelvic cavity. My fertility doctor found scar tissue in my pelvic area. During the procedure the scar tissue was removed. After that I had to recover and tried to conceive again and was still unable to conceive. After that I was advised to move on to IVF. We did not move on to IVF right away but I sure do wish we would have. I think my journey would have not been so long if I did not take breaks in between my IUIs and Fertility Treatments. I was so overwhelmed with stress that I took a break between each unsuccessful IUI. When I did finally move on to IVF I had a total of 4 miscarriages throughout my journey and 3 of them were after a successful IVF transfer. I conceived but was unable to stay pregnant. I also took time off for at least a year after each miscarriage. I wish there was a way that I could stay focused because it was like I was on an emotional rollercoaster.
Now that I have given you a little background about my fertility journey. I would love to share with you supplements and books that helped me along the way. I did a lot of research and reading. I really wanted to have a baby and avoid having to do IVF. Please be advised that for some people natural remedies may work and for some it may not. But there is nothing wrong with trying. Before you take anything, always do your research first. Our bodies function differently so what worked for someone else may not work for you. If you take something that does not agree with your system, stop taking it.
Please note: A multivitamin can be taken before you start your fertility treatments and during your fertility treatments. I took Rainbow Light as my multivitamin when I was trying to conceive, and I also used it as my prenatal vitamin. Herbal medication cannot be taken when you are going through your fertility treatments. You cannot mix herbal products with prescription drugs. Please consult with your doctor before taking any medications that are not prescribed.
As I stated before in this blog my husband took Fertilaid for men to help boost his sperm count. I also took Fertilaid for women to help boost my system as well.
I needed something to replace my morning coffee so I also tried the Fertilitea. I personally think the Fertilitea works great to regulate a woman’s cycle and her hormonal balance. I also incorporated Myo-Folate, Myo-Folate is an unflavored powder that helps support ovarian health and egg quality. This is a great supplement for those of us that are over 35 years of age. Our egg quality gets lower as we get older.
To pinpoint my ovulation I started using an ovulation test. There are many different brands to choose from, because I like visuals. I went with the digital ovulation test. Every month I tracked my ovulation and I did this by using the Clearblue Advanced Digital Ovulation test. The reason I like the Advanced ovulation test over all of the other ovulation tests, is because of being able to see when your ovulation is at its peak and when it is high.
There has been a lot of talk about Geritol. They said there was a baby in every bottle. They have both the liquid and the tablets. I have tried both but I prefer the liquid because of its potency and the energy support. I am still using Geritol as my everyday vitamin because it gives me a lot of energy.
Whenever my hormones were out of balance and my period was delayed I would immediately start taking Maca Root. Each time I used Maca Root it helped to regulate my periods. There are so many benefits with taking Maca Root. A lot of people have been able to conceive by taking Maca Root. I did not conceive while taking it but it worked wonders to regulate my menstrual cycles. Sometimes our menstrual cycles can be suppressed because of stress. Maca root is an adaptogen, which means it can help your body to “adapt” to stress. Please do your research on Maca Root before you buy it. It has a lot of benefits and there are alot of Successful TTC stories.
If you love to read and you love to do research, I have some good books to recommend to you. These books helped me tremendously and I was able to take something away from all of these books. Prayers and Promises for the Supernatural Childbirth is a book with a lot of prayers for before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and delivery with lots of testimonies. Yes You Can Get Pregnant is a complete guide to getting pregnant and improving fertility naturally. This book focuses on natural ways to improve your fertility now and into your 40s. This book was great for me because once I reached 40 I was really starting to get even more discouraged. I also read The Fertility Diet and this book is another great resource with research revealing natural ways to boost ovulation and improve your chances of getting pregnant.
Later on in my journey I did have some issues with polyps growing in my uterus lining. I had them removed twice. I will also be writing a blog about polyps and what I did to overcome them and how I successfully got pregnant with them.
So at the end of it all when I did have a successful pregnancy my doctor had me on progesterone and baby aspirin in my first trimester. Progesterone is a hormone released by the ovaries. Progesterone also helps to regulate your cycle. But its main job is to get your uterus ready for pregnancy. Who knows that may have always been the reason why I had an early pregnancy loss. Maybe I had low progesterone and didn’t know it. That part still remains a mystery and that’s what makes unexplained infertility such a hard thing to go through. You can buy progesterone cream and baby aspirin over the counter. Low dose aspirin 81 mg per day is recommended for women who are considered to be high risk. This completes my list of supplements and if you are having issues with polyps I will be posting a blog about my experience with polyps as well. Thank you so much for taking interest in this blog, and pray that you will be holding your bundle of joy very soon.
