Monday 26 July 2010

TTC Au Naturel

My last cycle was the best I ever had in terms of pms symptoms and af. I didn't have any cramps and my pms symptoms were tolerable. Last month my bbs certainly didn't go twice their size in a matter of days to the point where I had to dig up my old bras that I'd abandoned after loosing weight (even right now the darn things are still throbbing and my lower abs are still tingling. STFU already!)

I'm trying to look back on what I did differently to make my PMS symptoms worse than when I was at my heaviest.

For one there was the Metformin, which I started taking in May and stopped about 2 weeks ago. It's supposed to help not worsen symptoms. Then there's EPO which I have been taking regularly for nearly 6 months. I also take Vitex daily and recently started consuming cruciferous juices. Once a day for almost a week then once a week afterwards. It's meant to reduce oestrogen dominance which I believed was the main cause of my pms.

I can't pin point the exact cause of why things went awry this time around. I went from best cycle to worse cycle in the space of just one month! The only thing I can maybe blame is the Met. My energy levels plummeted and I actually piled on more weight because I wasn't exercising as regularly as before and wasn't getting enough calories due to loss of appetite. 

I cannot categorically state that any of these herbs have been particularly useful in combating my pms. I'm even more disappointed with the EPO than anything else. I did see some improvement initially, but now, I don't feel it's effect any more. The only thing I can state with confidence is that I benefited most from regular exercise and the Low GI diet than I ever did from taking herbs and drugs.

I'm taking a break from online ttc and pcos forums. I can't differentiate how many hours I've spent obsessing while 'educating' myself.

I want to be more gentle with my body, not batter it into giving me a baby. I'm thinking of going all natural this month because I'm crazy like that. No herbs, no EPO, no vitex, nothing. Just proper nutrition, zero sugar and refined carbs (Met messed that up for me), good multivitamins with all the essential micro nutrients, regular exercise and lots of sunshine.

I'll decide after af, if she's anything like the monster I'm expecting. The thought of those monstrous blood clots are already making me depressed.

*sigh*

2 comments:

  1. I'm taking a break from the boards too. I find myself getting too defensive and rolling my eyes at people most of the time. Hope all goes with going natural!!!

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  2. I know what you mean! I spend far too much time reading about symptoms and thinking I'm pregnant every month before testing, there just is no definitive symptoms for that and they can mean sooo many other things. I guess the good side about being told I have practically no chance without IVF is that I've stopped obsessing and stressing so much.


    Sending lots of good thoughts and wishes your way!

    Pumpkin

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