Robitussin, Acupuncture and Pomegranates, Oh My!

Firstly, Cyballs and I want to say thank you for all the emails and FB messages we received after having shared our blog. As scared as I was to put this intimate news out there for the world, I can't begin to tell you how much strength I took from the compassionate and supportive messages you sent us. Just to know you're thinking of us and sending us strength, brings me to tears. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being our cheerleaders.

When faced with the possibility of never having children, one will resort to strange and drastic measures.

It began innocently enough. A website here, a magazine article there. But it progressed and I began to obsess - blogs, forums, Yahoo Answers, you names it, I was reading it and taking it to heart.

Ahem. My list of tried anecdotes:

*L'Arginine
*Fertile Aid (yes I ordered a product from the internet that isn't FDA approved)
*Robitussin
*Lipton Brand green tea
*Molasses
*Radishes
*Hens
*Anything pomegranate
*Isla Mujeres (pure coincidence)
*Acupuncture

In my heart of hearts, I'm pretty sure I know most of that list isn't going to change a damn thing. But if it gives me hope, what's the harm? Truth is, there are some items on that list I've embraced.

Pomegranates: The fruit of fertility.
I've taken to wearing a pomegranate-coloured bracelet on my right wrist (click here to find out why). Since my obsession began, I've received a care package from Amanda with all things pomegranate. Also, Barb left me a plastic pomegranate in my drawer at work which now sits on a makeshift shrine in my living room. There's always pomegranate juice in the fridge, pomegranate hand soap in the bathroom and pomegranate lip balm in my desk at work.

Isla Mujeres
Back in October (when infertility wasn't on the radar), Cyballs bought us a trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico for my 30th birthday. As it turns out, Isla happens to be the Island of Fertility (and not because of the abundance of tequila). The Mayans built a temple on the south point of the island in honour of Ixchel, goddess of fertility and childbirth. Imagine our surprise and delight.

When the time came to pack for our trip, you better believe Amanda's care package and Barb's pomegranate made it into my bag.

On the day we made the trek to the temple, I had the pomegranate and some pomegranate flavoured lip balm securely tucked away in my beach bag (and of course had a pomegranate fruit bar for breakfast). We had a nice chat with Ixchel when we got there, complimented her on the beautiful view her temple has and snapped some pics for future worship. Oh come on, you never know.

Acupuncture
I began acupuncture in November for my chronic jaw pain, but when I received my infertility diagnosis in January, Tammy, my Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DTCM) and acupuncturist starting focusing on fertility.

Tammy and I visit weekly and each week she focuses on different points depending on where I am in my cycle. For example, in my follicular phase (before ovulation), she does a point called "the conception vessel", points over my ovaries to help stimulate them and a point over my uterus to help with blood flow to my reproductive organs. Tammy also does balancing treatments during this phase, as well as a few kidney and spleen points.

In the luteal phase (after ovulation), Tammy focuses on points that boost my kidneys, liver and lately, spleen.

Basically, TCM believes that if there is an imbalance of energy in the body, then the body and its systems can't function properly.

As it turns out, I've had a luteal phase that is only 10 days long; most women don't vary too far from 14 days. Some OBGYNs and REs believe that anything less than 12 days is considered a a part of a luteal phase defect, while others believe anything less than 10 days is a deficiency. Either way, mine was not as long as it should be.

What does that mean and how does it affect fertility? The corpus luteum produces progesterone. Progesterone makes the lining of the uterus thick for implantation and is necessary to sustain a healthy pregnancy. The corpus luteum produces progesterone until the placenta begins to take over progesterone production around ten weeks gestation.

After a woman ovulates, the corpus luteum only lasts for about 12-14 days unless it begins receiving HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) from a developing embryo. If the egg is not fertilized, the corpus luteum dies and progesterone production stops. When progesterone levels drop, the uterus lining stops thickening and is consequently shed during menstruation.

To sum up, if I conceive with a luteal phase defect, I will have an early miscarriage.

Thankful, since seeing Tammy, my luteal phase has gone from 10 days to 13 days! I have no idea if this development will make a difference, but I'll take it.

So if you have an anecdote, send it my way. As you can see, I'll try anything.