Raw during IVF.....

[Crystalight]

Well my DH and i are still on our long journey to having a baby. After years of doctor visits/injections/procedures, we finally opted for IVF. We did our retrieval in April, but due to PCOS, i developed severe OHSS (ovarian-hyperstimulation syndrome). So all of my embryos were frozen and i had my first transfer in June, which turned out to be 'negative'!:(

While going thru IVF, my RE strongly advised a high-protein diet. Even an acupuncturist that i called (whom i didnt even see) said to stay away from anything "raw"....which i noticed another thread on here that someone else got the same advice.

Anyways....to make a long story short, i always feel miserable just eating meat. I'm sooooo craving to go back to raw foods but of course we're spending so much money that i dont want to go against our doctors advice.
I basically wanted to know if anyone here has personally gone thru IVF while eating raw!!! I'm suppose to shy away from herbs too, but because i had a 'failed' transfer already, i'm really open to any suggestions anyone could give me.
My DH are planning our next transfer in Sept., and i want to do everything i can to help my chances.

Thankyou for any advice/encouragement!!:)

[Clare]

The protein thing is supposed to help prevent OHSS. Not an issue when dealing with the embryo transfer itself. With transfer, the drugs are doing all the "work" getting your body ready so a good raw diet shouldn't be a probelm.

The only suggestions I have heard for conception are to eat a couple brazil nuts per day (start now) for the selenium, in case you have some anti-thyroid issues. A little sea veg wouldn't hurt too if you're not eating it already. Also, fresh pineapple for the bromelain supposedly helps with implantation. Don't go nuts, though. Just eat a little if you feel like it - these tips I found from alternative books. My RE simply suggested a good multivitamin and a nutritious diet and not to place too much emphasis on it. I was not raw at the time but he would have been fine if I had been, I'm sure. Look, if meat makes you feel sick, it is making you sick, and that's not good for babies. He did strongly recommend prayer and mentioned studies that had shown it to help, even praying with us at transfer, which was very surprising for us.

DH and I adopted frozen embryos last year, after adopting two boys in the previous few years. Dh is infertile and we're Catholic so we won't use artificial insemination or have embryos created. It was a very stressful/nervous time for me. I had a positive and at about 7 weeks it was clearly a blighted ovum due to genetic problems with the embryo. The whole experience was so difficult for me, what with so many embryos dying in transfer, toxic drugs, etc that we decided not to try again. I really feel for your negative and am very sorry you have to go through this. I am finally at peace with not going through a pregnancy but it took a lot of time and grace. Now i see it has it's advantages :-)

I wish you the best with your frozen babies. If it doesn't work out for you (and even if it does!) adoption is beautiful and virtually cost-free after the tax rebate. Many companies also pay adoption benefits, like my husband's did. For our first son, we were able to be at the birth, and our second at six weeks, which was neat because he was ready to sleep through the night a couple weeks later. It is a huge blessing to be a mom and to be there for a birthmom who chose life. We hope to adopt at least 1-2 more to match the race of our younger son once I catch my breath and DH gets promoted.

If you end up with multiples and more children than you imagined and you still have frozen embryos, you can always donate them through the national embryo donation center (NEDC).

[wtng4amiracle]

Not sure if you remember me from last year, but just wanted to say that I am thinking of you--and to send some encouragement your way. My DH and I have been TTC for almost 7 years now. We had an ectopic in November 2002--tried for the next 5 1/2 years with every infertility treatment except IVF. Then I found raw last year. I did raw from June until August----when I found out I conceived naturally. Unfortunately, it ended (blighted ovum) at 9 weeks. We are now in the process of deciding what we should do. I have started raw again---seeing as this may have been how I conceived naturally after doing all infertility treatments for over 5 years with nothing......we are also contemplating IVF.

Anyway, I just wanted to encourage you to have hope. Believe me.....this has been the hardest road ever......just know that I know EXACTLY how you feel and if you ever need to talk, I would be more than happy to listen!!!

Hang in there! Keep us updated!

[Crystalight]

Thank you so much Clare and Cheri for your responses and words of encouragement.
I will start immediatly on brazil nuts and pineapple.....i even have some at home!;)

I know there are alot of people out there who deal w/infertility....its a long hard and expensive journey....and i wish u all the best.
I too believe alot in prayer and truly feel thats the 'only' thing that has got us thru our "negative" results.

I just got the 'tenative' schedule for my sept transfer, so i will focus and stick w/raw foods as much as possible!
I will definatly keep u updated!!

Again thank you for your encouragement and advice....and please let me know too how your cycle is going cheri. IVF is difficult and emotional, but in the end, i know it will be all worth it. Thanks for listening!!

(oh and i love your screen name: (wtng4amiracle)).....me too!!!:D

[wtng4amiracle]

Please keep us posted! I would also love to have an accountability partner for staying raw. I did great last year, but I am having a really hard time getting back into it. I am doing good morning and lunch, but towards the end of the day falling off the wagon. Maybe we could help each other?

[Sternenhimmel]

Hello everybody,

my husband and I will probably try IVF next year to have a baby.
I didn't understand why it should be good to cut out all raw stuff from your diet (???) and eat a lot of meat. I'm simply unable to eat meat everyday. :confused:
Everybody knows that cooked food is lower in nutriments... :confused:
I planned to have a high raw food diet - maybe even 100%. Well, it will be winter, so I will eat a lot of oranges, mangos, carrots, pine apples, nuts... I think I (and perhaps baby) will be ok with this.

[Crystalight]

Yes Cheri....thats a great idea!! I have found it so much easier and motivating to have a friend u could talk to, listen to, to just help u continue and stay on the 'raw' path. Especially for us girls on another path for fertility! I find myself doing so much research on what supplements to take, what type of superfoods would help......and everything always leads me back to "RAW" foods.

I've been off raw foods myself for awhile, since we started our IVF early this year, but maybe that is why it didnt work for us the first time. I'm going shopping today to stock back up on raw/meatless foods and hopefully we'll get a positive in sept.

Yes please keep in touch so we can keep motivating each other!!!

Please keep in touch too, sternenhimmel w/your ivf journey too. Although, who knows, if u are starting your raw food journey now, u may get a 'positive' surprise before u start ivf!!

Good luck to us all!!!!:D

[Sternenhimmel]

Thanks Crystalnight!
But I don't believe in miracles anymore.... :mad: I stopped hoping again every month after 2 years and it's easier for me like that. I am really scared that IVF won't work for me neither and that I'll never have children. I saw different gyns and none of then could find the reason why it doesn't work. They told me that I am a healthy woman. I'm very worried about being an enigma for doctors. ;)
Maybe there is a kind of blockade that raw food could help resolve!

Let's stay in touch to exchange about our experiences! That would be really great!
I did stimulations on being raw and my body was very sensitive. So pay attention!

[Crystalight]

I know exactly how u feel. After 8 years of trying w/many different procedures and then having a failed ivf.....i too feel at times that i'll never make it to being a mother, but we have to stay positive. I know thats hard, but amazingly raw foods helps my mood soooo much, that was the one of the main reasons i wanted to go back. I feel so good and motivated on raw foods that u just cant help but to be positive!

Trust me....its hard, but we just have to have a good frame of mind!

Please keep me informed, would love to hear how u are doing!
And remember to think positive, positive, positive!!! :)

[JoannaG]

Just wanted to reply since I recently went through all this too. I ended up getting my thyroid checked, and was glad I did, turns out I was slightly hypo, which my Dr. said could affect conception. I believe addressing that helped! Also, I think the main thing with food and why they reccomend high protein all the time is that they want you to avoid insulin surges with high glycemic carbs, since some believe that affects egg quality. Raw should help with that! There is a great book called Inconceivable by Julia Indichova, she was 80% raw and conceived. While I wasn't fully raw, I did try to stick with easy to digest foods, figuring that then more body energy would go to fertility.
I also did 1/2 a fresh pineapple per day for 2 weeks to help implantation, lots of visualization, and thinking positive. I know this is a long road and wish you luck!!

[Pookietooth]

It's very confusing, really. Acupuncturists will tell you to eat cooked grains and sweet potatoes, naturopaths will tell you to eat lots of protein, MDs will also tell you to eat lots of protein, then raw foodists will tell you that raw is the way to health. What is interesting to me is that Alissa herself has never gotten pregnant, and I was wondering, is that a choise (child free?) or is she infertile? My naturopath does muscle testing on me, and she told me I should eat more cooked foods just today. And that is what my intuition was telling me. What is yours telling you?

[Sternenhimmel]

My intuition tells me to eat a lot of raw food and tons of nuts. :D
Sometime bread, sometimes cheese, sometimes meat or fish... :eek:
That's what my intuition tells me.

My MD told me that food hasn't any influence (I certainly do not believe this).
I read so many articles and studies about PCOS and endrometriosis... I'm now sure that there is a correlation between hormonal problems / fertility and food.
Did you read the books "What your Dr may not tell you about...." ? They are very interesting.

I precise that I didn't discover my infertility while I was on a raw food diet. So there is no connection.

Read also this (unfortunately there is no explanation why things are like this, but, anyhow, it is informativ) :
$


Can changing your diet help you have a baby in your 40s?

By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 12:06 AM on 28th July 2008

Drastic changes in diet boost a woman's chances of giving birth into her 40s and 50s, it is claimed.
Alterations from cutting out alcohol and sugar to eating more organic foods allow women to hit the 'snooze button' on their biological clocks, maximising their chances of having a baby, says a new book on fertility.
Sarah Dobbyn, a nutritionist and author of The Fertility Diet, said the influence of diet on fertility is often overlooked in an age in which IVF often seems the only answer to pregnancy problems.
A new book claims drastic changes in diet can boost a woman's chances of giving birth into her 40s and 50s
She said: 'Huge amounts of money are being spent on assisted conception techniques by hopeful couples who do not know that alcoholic and caffeinated beverages are liquid contraceptives, sweeteners can prevent ovulation and seemingly innocent foods such as peas, rhubarb and soya all inhibit fertility.'
Aimed at those trying to conceive naturally, as well as those going through IVF, The Fertility Diet sets out a diet and lifestyle plan which should be followed by both partners.The most comprehensive guide of its kind, it advises cutting out smoking, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, caffeine and soya in the first month. Peas and rhubarb are also banned, following studies linking them to infertility.
By month two, couples should have given up all meat and cut out sugar and dairy products.
Come the third month, consumption of eggs and fruit juices should be reduced.
However, it is not all about cutting back, with couples allowed unlimited quantities of beans, pulses, organic herbs, spices and nuts from day one.
Fruit and vegetables should be eaten raw wherever possible to help balance the body's hormones.
Would-be parents are also advised to lose weight if overweight, keep stress to a minimum, and try to get a good night's sleep.
Miss Dobbyn, who spent two-and-a-half years combing research papers and books on fertilty to write The Fertility Diet, believes the advice will help all older couples, bar those who need surgery or other medical treatment, to conceive.
The 43-year-old former barrister who is engaged and plans to start trying for a family soon, said: 'It is a pain to give up caffeine, it is a pain to give up wine, but won't it be worth it when you have your own baby?'
However IVF doctors questioned how effective the meat and dairy-free diet would be.
Professor Bill Ledger, a fertility expert from Sheffield University, said lifestyle did not have a major effect on fertility and he was unaware of any evidence that vegans go through menopause at a different time to other women.
He added: 'We tend to create a lot of guilt in people these days.
'The worry is that some gullible young woman will read this book and start living that life and miss out on a lot of fun and normality.'

[wtng4amiracle]

Crystalight-

Yes, we will definitely keep in touch. It has been encouraging to hear about what other people have to say about this, and that we are not alone.

Keep the advice, etc., coming!

Cheri

[Sternenhimmel]

I am really confused.
I did a lot of research and I found out that IVF kids have a higher cancer risk.
Furthermore chromosome disorders are common and so miscarriage rates higher. A German study showed that from 10 happy puppet babies 9 were conceived by IVF.
Normally nature is creative and always tries to perpetuate. Therefore there is maybe a reason that I can't get pregnant naturally and nature is protecting me.
It is true too that IVF is kind of weird. It isn't a very beautiful beginning of live.
I am really buffled and I don't know what to think.
What do you think? Is IVF irresponsable and selfish?

[lamount03]

Hi Ladies... my name is Laura and I am an IVF success story... after many years of all the "other stuff"... I wasn't raw back then so I can't really speak to that, but I didn't get specific "eat more protein" advice that I remember.

I agree w/ what someone said about raw being better for you. I would think that having your body be LESS ACIDIC during the process would be a good thing... which we all know is the result of a high raw diet... NOT a high meat diet.

I won't give any words of advice, but will give words of encouragement...

regarding IVF being selfish and what not... I feel that if I was not intended to have the beautiful babies that I have it would not have worked for me. I don't know anything about an increased risk of cancer so forth and so on. I do know that I would do it all again in a minute! I started my journey saying that I would not ever do IVF, but when that was the choice I was faced w/... well.

And I wanted to mention that I had/have PCOS as well and this was the main reason we couldn't conceive... my first cycle off the pill was over 200 days. Now I'm like clockwork. It took some time. My babies are over 2 now and my cycles were about 45 days at first ... now they are 30. This took place AFTER I went raw.... who knows if my hormones were reset by the pregnancy or if it has to do w/ the raw. I like to think it's the raw... :)

Best of luck to all of you!!!!

[Sternenhimmel]

Thank you so much for your kind words, lamount.

[Sternenhimmel]

:confused::confused::confused:

Oh, I don't speak chinese. :D