Surely it's fate...right?!

[hopper]

Ok, so after finally deciding to just go for it and start our attempts this month (despite not being the most girl friendly but definitely more relaxed than ever!) I got the email this evening that I have to go away for 5 days for work (overnight for 4 nights) right when I am due to O! Now since my AF is generally irregular anyway we said we will just do E4Ds as planned and if we get lucky we get lucky! But on the very possible chance we don't hit the jackpot I would LOVE some help to get ready for next month (hoping that Murphy's Law kicks in and just because I am ready for next month we might get our BFP this month lol!)

So I have been on LE since May 1st. I was eating 1500 cals and keeping within middle limits of fat and possibly low limits for protein. I did have about a total of 3-4 weeks of cheats, although technically not cheats as it was just within the higher limits and some days where I went a little over on fat. I have been completely off diet since August 23rd while on vacation but have been reining myself in since Monday 31st. I plan on sticking with my 1500 cals again once we get home, though I won't be tracking.
I am taking Folic 800mg and Chitosan Fiber. DH is taking a low dose of cranberry (should I change him to OLE?) And if we are non runners for this month I will have LR ready to roll for him for October.
I have been walking (and sweating a LOT!!) while on vacation so I am counting that as a continuation of my cardio. I was doing 60-70 mins 4-5 nights a week on the stationary bike. I plan on taking that back up when we fly home on Tuesday.

So my question is - is there anything I could change or have ready for trying in October? Anything I could have DH do differently now that there is probably time to tweak things? I have a feeling I will O late and we will definitely miss our shot so I am thinking that this training seminar is fate in disguise!! Maybe we were always meant to wait til Ocotber!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Bump this for me

[hopper]

Bump for Atomic, whenever you get a chance! Hope you are enjoying the long weekend x

[atomic sagebrush]

I want you to up folic to 1200-1600

how low is low on protein? still 40 g min right?

I don't think we know which is better between cran and OLE so if he's tolerating the cran I"d continue with that.

Alcohol???

[hopper]

I want you to up folic to 1200-1600

how low is low on protein? still 40 g min right?

I don't think we know which is better between cran and OLE so if he's tolerating the cran I"d continue with that.

Alcohol???

Thanks Atomic! I increased Folic since Monday 7th. And protein is generally 40g, it is rarely higher unless I eat a little too much meat or cheese.

DH doesn't seem too be having side effects on Cranberry. In saying that though he does seem a little highly strung/emotional lately. I am thinking maybe it is cause the holiday was a little stressful at times with the two small kids but said I would mention it to you anyway!

Neither of us have had any alcohol lately! I was having 2-3 glasses of wine weekly before the holiday though. Should I increase that?

We missed our attempt that was due to happen last night. Our flight home was delayed by 8 hours and then our connecting flight was late too so we were all so tired by the time we got home sex was the furthest thing from our minds! We will just attempt later anyway but we will definitely only get this single attempt in this cycle.

[hopper]

Thanks Atomic! Folic has been increased as of Monday 7th. Protein is generally hovering around 40g, have found ways to increase protein without increasing fat which was where I struggled in the beginning of LE!
When you ask if he is tolerating it well can I just ask what do you mean exactly? DH was very easily stressed while on vacation, that's not usually him although perhaps it was down to the fact he had the boys with him 24/7 and he doesn't usually see them for long periods due to work. Just thought I'd mention it in case the stress/emotion factor was a side effect?

We aren't drinking alcohol at the minute but a bottle of pinot grigio is on my shopping list ;)

On a sidenote, I had a check up with my GP today. I asked again about fertility help, I had told him several months ago that we were ttc in an effort to get an rx for Clomid. I mentioned that we were "still" ttc and he said he would bring me in next week for day 21 progesterone bloods and we can take it from there. Now my cycle is a little irregular still so I think the latest I should O would be next Tuesday. Does this matter for the bloods? They are just to show that I am Oing right? He said that he wouldn't be overly comfortable giving me an rx for Clomid as he would be afraid of hyper stimulation as his practice don't monitor treatment to check for it. DH thinks I should just accept defeat unless the blood results show up that I need it. What do you think?

[atomic sagebrush]

Cranbery can give headaches and upset stomach in addition to extended bleeding and bruising. Should not be doing anything to him emotionally.

IT does matter what day you go in for the bloodwork. Many times they will express discomfort and still give you the scrip anyway so I would probably give it a try, it may be that you end up with it anyway.

[hopper]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply Atomic :) Much appreciated! I will update this thread once the results are in and let you know if he gives the RX :) Fingers crossed, I really do believe it would help my sway so much! Even just the added peace of mind that I have added it to my sway would be worth it!! Got to dtd last night and have some mild O cramping today so maybe, just maybe we have a chance at catching the egg this month after all! I weighed myself after our vacation to Disneyworld and have gained....nothing!! It was great to see no change even though I didn't watch what I ate at all - I even ate a frozen banana in your name ;)

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh and just wanted to state clearly because there's been some confusion - 40 g protein is MINIMUM on LE Diet. 40-50 g is the range. DO NOT DROP BELOW 40 and there is no benefit to sticking precisely to 40 g instead of between 40-50. 40-50 g is the lower normal adequate range as determined by scientific study for a woman in childbearing years who could become pregnant at any time. Lower than that is NOT ADEQUATE and not healthy or safe so please do not go below 40 ever and nor do you have to stick to exactly 40.

[hopper]

Oh and just wanted to state clearly because there's been some confusion - 40 g protein is MINIMUM on LE Diet. 40-50 g is the range. DO NOT DROP BELOW 40 and there is no benefit to sticking precisely to 40 g instead of between 40-50. 40-50 g is the lower normal adequate range as determined by scientific study for a woman in childbearing years who could become pregnant at any time. Lower than that is NOT ADEQUATE and not healthy or safe so please do not go below 40 ever and nor do you have to stick to exactly 40.
No problem Atomic :) I definitely don't stick to 40g, I am generally between 40-55 (at the maximum) although yesterday I didn't realise I ate so much dairy and it shot my protein through the roof lol. 65g, most I have had in a long time but boy was it worth it! ;)

[atomic sagebrush]

:agree: that wasn't even directed at you hopper, it's just that the last 2 days I have had a little burst of people who all were eating 30 g protein so just wanted to take the opportunity when it came up for anyone who was reading the thread.

[hopper]

No problem Atomic, I haven't seen those posts but then again I barely get time to check the posts I have commented on lol. I had a hard time keeping protein up and fat down at the start but seem to be having an easier time of it now. It definitely pays off to ease into the diet, I don't track any more cause I just know myself what I should be steering clear of. Plus the tracking makes me obsessive and I am positively sure that obsessing sways blue ;)

[atomic sagebrush]

I think they were all custom sways or PM's. :)

It's always fine to stop tracking once you get the hang of it, I did too! :)

[hopper]

Hi Atomic,rather than start a new thread to ask a related question I'm just gonna post here. DH and I were all set to have our attempt on Saturday night, I took my Zyrtek earlier in the evening and then bam - DS2 wakes up and stays up for HOURS! I seriously cried!! We didn't get time alone on Sunday before I left on my work thing (great news - I got offered a permanent work from home position today!! Been freelancing before now so this is great!) So obviously onto next cycle. I was very upset and crying quite a bit on Sunday as I just felt the timing was really right but trying to put it behind me now.
So with our next cycle - I found LR 420mg and have DH taking it twice daily along with his cranberry twice daily. I have my fibre and folic 1200mg. I have kept Zyrtek to use next cycle - take it 4-6 hours before attempt, right? I did notice it dried my CM up to practically non existent. If this is the case next cycle should I use a lube maybe if I really need to or should I skip the Zyrtek?
I started my 60 mins cardio again tonight in the hotel gym. Did the full 60 on the stationary bike as that's what I will be using at home. Gonna aim to do that 4-5 nights a week. I also bought lavender deodorant, bath wash and handsoap to make myself feel better about missing this cycle.
And so next cycle we will do e4d and hope neither of us are out of town when the egg drops. A July baby is actually my dream month as its mine and my mom's birthdays so a pink July baby would be a dream come true! Sorry for the massive post. Just hoping to get this straight in my head so I can go back to lurking and not obsessing (or being Martha!!)

[hopper]

And one other thing - I had a read of the updated pink stats last night and the % of success for DHs taking OLE compared to cran seems to be quite a bit. If I were to ask DH to change to OLE firstly is that safe to change? And secondly if so what are your thoughts? I'm aware that cran has been used in more sways in the past so we don't have the info just yet regarding OLE but it just seems everyones DHs are taking it. No rush on a reply, still no sign of O this cycle so maybe I won't O til I get home at the weekend (wishful thinking!!) and all of this prep for next cycle is a waste of everyones time ;) I'm nothing if not positive right :P

[atomic sagebrush]

Huge congrats! Good job!

How long has DH been on the LR

If you have no CM, skip Zyrtec.

Most of the results in the stats were people who had issues going on and COULDN'T use OLE. It is not a blind sample and thus I do not YET feel good about recommending OLE vs. cranberry (but that is always up to you guys to decide that.) I am just not yet convinced that the OLE itself is doing anything because for the whole first 2 1/2 years we were using it, it was all or primarily people who had fertility issues and not just the population as a whole. Over time this is changing and if the numbers stay this high for another year I would start to draw the conclusion that yeah it's prob. better but till then I still think cranberry for anyone who can use it, OLE for those who can't. And if YOU WANT to switch, that is of course fine and I do not think it's worse than cran, I"m just not ready to say that it's better.

[hopper]

Thank you Atomic :) Pretty delighted with myself, and as you know I'm sure, its even a bigger blessing to be able to work (mostly!) from home!

I only found LR at the weekend so gave it to DH on Sunday, I think! I know its meant to be from AF-O but I thought I remembered you saying it was ok to have him on it for the full cycle prior to the attempt, so about 6 weeks in total.

That was the first time EVER I have had NO CM. I had a little on Saturday and then took the Zyrtek and have been like the Sahara since (sorry for the indelicacy!) Should I presume that I need at least a little EWCM to insure swimmers can get in there at all?

As for switching DH to OLE, well firstly I can't seem to find it in any health stores/pharmacies (though I have had limited time as I'm only going home from the seminar today) and secondly when I mentioned another supp to DH (who is already shaky about taking anything at all!) he was....less than impressed. So I will leave it as it is, and be grateful he is even attempting to help my sway (cause lets face facts - if I wasn't so set on another child he'd be perfectly happy to leave us as we are)

I am due my blood results back today, am actually waiting on my doctor to ring with them. The nurse who drew them went into way more detail than the doctor did so she said that if my levels are low I am to go back again to my own doctor tomorrow to have another set drawn in case I Oed late (which is funny cause with the lack of EWCM and O pains completely subsiding by Sunday I have come to the conclusion that I Oed earlier than usual! Yet another reason to like the E4D part of my plan!! Based on my reasoning there is a teeny chance we could have caught the egg this month - I think I Oed late Sat night/early Sun morning and we dtd on Wednesday night so it could be O-3/4 which isn't unconceivable - pun completely intended lol!)

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, working from home is a dream come true, it really is (and thank you all you ladies who make it possible. :heart:)

NO NO NO it's not ok for him to take LR 6 weeks straight, we're having some confusion here.

DH takes LR ONLY 2 weeks at a time. CD 1-14. Then he takes the rest of the cycle off (even if O is delayed). You can have him start this 6 weeks in advance of the sway but it would be 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off (or so) then another 2 weeks on - total of 6 weeks but 2 of those weeks he is not taking it.

(it's fine since he's only just started it, and I wouldn't want to rock the boat by making him quit all of a sudden so just have him do it 14 days total and then stop even if it's not O time yet)

You do need some EWCM but a lot of the times you have some even when it's not visible.

Do keep going with the E4D plan though just in case the first one was a faker and the real deal is yet to occur

[hopper]

Ok so he started LR last Sunday so I have him taking it through to next Sunday then a two week break regardless of where I am in my cycle, right?

Great thanks Atomic! The nurse had my "day 21" blood work results. It was 26.6. No idea what it means but I'm fairly confident I either hadn't Oed or I else I wasn't far enough along in my cycle following O. Have spoken to a friend about this and she reckons I should make an appointment and ask him to give an rx for Clomid based on the blood work results. Am contemplating it!!

I am completely messed up this whole cycles. The lack of EWCM has completely thrown me. We had another attempt on Friday evening - no Zyrtek, though I did accidentally had the big O (a week of nothing had me quite frustrated lol!) Lay flat for about 5 minutes then did jump and dump. No lubes or anything. And of course I am having cramps ever since - leaving me to wonder is it the start of AF or did we miraculously catch the egg!! Time will tell!

[atomic sagebrush]

Agree about trying to get Clomid out of this!