HI Ladies, please help, Ph levels, lime, Rephresh, Aci

[Babystars]

Hey ladies, A big HI to you all, Im new to this site :)
I would dearly love to ask for your opinions.
I know a number of things come into swaying but I have a few questions regarding ph levels & jels etc. I recently got a Hanna tester (at least now I know were my Ph is lol unlike the silly strips that seem to change shades every few seconds) My Ph sits between 4.55- 5.75 please tell me is this considered within the Acidic range???
My dh is around 7.60-7.96 at present (under a lot of stress at work recently & on cranberry for past few weeks) Is this considered girl zone :pinksperm: ?? Since getting the Hannah weve been busy testing :rofl: :oops: We did a sample dh was 7.64 we added some lime douche to the sample & it went down to 6.14 within a couple of minutes. Another time we tried Aci jel 4.07ph, dh was 7.86, added some aci (out of interest)combined the ph came down to 5.65. However Ive also tried 1/2 applicator of Aci, my ph prior was 5.01. One hour after my ph shot to 5.69 :worry: another hour later 5.92 :worry: 1 1/2 hours later 6.28 :nails: then 3 hours after that it went down to 5.89. The following morning it was 5.25. A few days later I tried lime douche, my ph was 5.56 ( lime was 3.85) 1 hour later I was 4.46, 2 hours later I was 5.02 but for the next couple of days I stayed within a range of 4.75-4.95ph. Ive tried rephresh as i know it has the buffers to help keep the ph low but I dont think it has the acids?? it only seems to last 2 days & my ph stays within 4.75-5ph. Can you mix up together both Rephresh & Aci Jel & use it instead of using 1 then adding the other later on??? Please if you ladies can answer these questions that would be awesome.We are ready to try next month. We dont know whether to use Rephresh & Aci as Aci is meant to have the Vinegar type Acids & if your ph spikes like mine with it, does that really matter to much because it has the acids in there. Or is it best to go with Lime?? I like rephresh for keeping things low but I worry that it hasnt got the acids. Then again is my ph within a good enough girlzone range. Thanks so much :bighug:

[fresas]

repHresh is supposed to help keep vaginal pH at 4.5 . I think you are still considered in girl territory if you stay around 5. In general, not in swaying terms, anything below 7 on the pH scale is considered acidic, but I think the lower the better (generally) for girl swaying. It should probably be well below 7 for sways.

The lower the better for DH, but DH pH changes more easily than DW pH, I think. We have never been able to get my DH sperm below 7.5, but we haven't used supplements or mixed it with anything either.

I think it is good you are testing your lubricants now to see how they react with your body pH. Sylk makes my pH go up and I have never tried aci-jel. Sylk makes my pH go up even with repHresh (or so it seemed) so I know I can't use Sylk at all unless I want my pH to be 6 or higher. If your lubricants are making your pH go higher, you may not want to use them.

You can mix your repHresh and aci-jel in ways that work best for your body. A lot of women here use repHresh a couple of days before a sway then follow a sway with a small amount of repHresh. I used two full tubes 12 hours apart and conceived, though it wasn't an official sway. I also miscarried, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't related to the repHresh. :)

[Babystars]

Thanks so much Fresas for taking the time to reply, I'm really sorry to hear about your miscarriage I sure understand how painful that can be.I hope your next pregnancy goes really well :)
Thanks for your answers maybe its mother nature's way of making sure conception can occur by keeping mens ph at 7.5 or over. I read some Dh's are a 9ph :suprise:
Thats great to hear you used Rephresh twice at 12 hour gaps and still managed to conceive. do you know of anyone that has mixed aci and rephresh together then added it, I wonder if that is safe ?or if you need to use them separately (a few hours apart) I just wondered if you could use them together perhaps the buffers in Rephresh would stop Aci spiking but at the same time you get the acids from Aci which I don't think Rephresh has.

[zanacal]

You can use Rephresh and Aci-jel together (I did!). Use the Rephresh every 2 to 3 days after AF (I would do it in the morning if your attempt it going to be in the evening) then use a small amount of Aci-jel an hour or so before you BD.

Once you've checked that this scenario works for you pH wise I would encourage you to stop with the testing and relax so you don't risk raising your testosterone. pH is just one aspect of your sway and it's very likely that other aspects are far more important anyway (like diet and lowering sperm count through frequent or abstain) so there's no need to get hung up on it. You can also take baby aspirin to help lower your pH from the inside out!

[atomic sagebrush]

hi and welcome Babystars! :)

pH of 4.5-5.5 is perfect and ideal for pink. I would not stress over pH in the high 5's either. Your husband's pH is also just right. We don't even KNOW what the right pH is for TTC a girl or if pH even matters! People have gotten opposites with "perfect" pH.

There is NO reliable scientific evidence that the vinegar acids (acetic acids) present in Acijel really make any difference whatsoever to gender ratio anyway. We've seen opposites with Acijel, it's no magic bullet by any means. I much prefer the RepHresh because it's designed to combine with stuff and actually chemically react to bring pH down, whereas with Acijel it just sort of mixes together and the pH is an average of the two. Do not use lime juice with RepHresh tho. Acijel and RepHresh, we tested and they work ok together for most people but like fresas points out, everyone's body is unique so you might want to test tehm together just to see how they work with your body chemistry.

I just want to point out that this is why I do not love the Hanna. You are stressing and obsessing about your pH too much! It is totally natural for there to be some fluctuation in pH and there is NO benefit to checking your pH for hours and days after DTD. The sperm is GONE up inside where jellies can't even reach within 15 minutes (vaginal pH DOES NOT diffuse up into the uterus and Fallopian tubes!) You are raising your testosterone thru the roof by getting so obsessed about these tiny and meaningless fluctuations in pH (and BTW testosterone has a lot better science from a lot more reliable sources than pH does - you are trading something that really matters for conceiving a girl, your testosterone levels, for something that may not even make any difference and is actually fine anyway, your pH!) There is NO difference between pH of 5.6, 5.8. 5.9, it's all pretty much the same neck of the pH woods, KWIM?? It would be freaking bizarre if your pH stayed exactly the same all the time and it's SOOO not how the body operates.

The fact is, ALL sperm, both X and Y, thrive in a pH that's in the 7's. That's WHY semen pH is naturally IN the 7's and so is CM at ovulation. Most people NEVER do any of this stuff and conceive both boys and girls. There is no proof whatsoever that X sperm "love" low pH and Y sperm "love" high pH - all sperm love neutral pH and that's where they thrive! X and Y sperm are equally hardy and live the same amount of time please read http://genderdreaming.com/forum/science-behind-gender-swaying/1562-what-real-differences-between-x-sperm-y-sperm.html The so-called "science" that this pH stuff is based on was nothing more than a gigantic mistake by Dr. Shettles that has since been debunked. For more about Dr. Shettles BIG mistake, read http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-discussion/7691-trouble-timing.html

My advice is to test the RepHresh and Acijel together and see how they work for you alone and also with DH semen in the mix. You also might want to test JUST RepHresh and JUST Acijel. (at maximum, test a couple hours after your attempt, not DAYS afterwards!!). If they seem to work well for you, then put your Hanna up for sale on eBay and just trust that the combo is going to do what it's designed to do and put pH out of your mind all together. Seriously, "swaycession" is the number one reason why good sways fail and you don't want to wreck your sway worrying over something that may not even matter whatsoever!!!

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks so much Fresas for taking the time to reply, I'm really sorry to hear about your miscarriage I sure understand how painful that can be.I hope your next pregnancy goes really well :)
Thanks for your answers maybe its mother nature's way of making sure conception can occur by keeping mens ph at 7.5 or over. I read some Dh's are a 9ph :suprise:
Thats great to hear you used Rephresh twice at 12 hour gaps and still managed to conceive. do you know of anyone that has mixed aci and rephresh together then added it, I wonder if that is safe ?or if you need to use them separately (a few hours apart) I just wondered if you could use them together perhaps the buffers in Rephresh would stop Aci spiking but at the same time you get the acids from Aci which I don't think Rephresh has.

We tested acijel and RepHresh and it did not seem to cause a pH spike. I know people have used both together, hope one of them will chime in.

Do not use RepHresh with lime juice tho, because RepHresh is designed to keep pH at 4.5-5 so it will actually raise pH of lime juice to that range - there's no point.

[Babystars]

Hi ladies, a HUGE thank you for your replies. Zanacal and Atomic thank you for this wonderful information. I had been looking on IG hence getting the Hanna & testing Ph levels etc. The only reason I have done the testing is because we only just got the Hanna a month ago & wanted to get an idea on levels before ttcing, no obsession just gaining info before we try next month- Id be quite happy to throw in Rephresh & not test. I dont agree with some things on Ig & by luck I found this awesome forum. Atomic I have read so many of your posts & couldnt agree more with your thoughts. This will be our last baby due to high risk issues before. We would dearly love to finish off with another dd but in saying that whatever we are given will be accepted with all our love :) We'd just like to tip the scales if we can so all your thoughts are very welcomed. I understand diet etc is part of it. But I'm happy with doing a loose sway, I don't want to obsess over foods & I'm a vegetarian (yes I ate piles of dairy, cheese,chocolate, potatoes & conceived girls with this) When I changed my diet-cut out most dairy,chocolate & potatoes to rid my eczema & it did disappear, I fell pregnant (a little earlier than we planned lol & got our darling boy but I've never tried swaying before. I also wondered if you ladies could answer another question I have regarding temps & ovulation. I'm sorry if this has been covered before on here, being new,I'm still finding my way around here lol. I read on IG that low temps can tend to sway blue. My temps are sitting mainly around 96.9 but the odd day at 97.3 before ovulation then 97.8. I have O pains for a couple of days & my temp drops then a couple of days later I have more O pains & my temp drops again (this is around day 12 then day 15) my cycles are around 31-33 days. Many thanks again for your thoughts & time :bighug:

[atomic sagebrush]

I understand that the pH testing is totally an IG thing! I just wanted you to understand why it's not the best idea to take it to such extremes!!

:agree: with being a vegetarian!

The whole temps theory is a totally unproven theory based on another totally unproven theory that the IG gals have taken to places the original researcher never intended and probably would not even agree with anyway. ~IF~ having higher levels of progesterone sways pink, then it ~might~ tend to be reflected in a person's temps during some parts of the cycle, but there are TONS of other things that can also affect temps (weight loss or gain being chief among them.) I would much rather you guys focus on controlling the controllable with your sway and not stress/obsess over any numbers, pH, temps, or whatnot.

[Babystars]

Thanks so much Atomic, I did wonder if that might of been the case. There are articles out there that older woman are meant to have a higher chance of conceiving girls but aren't many older woman lower in progesterone
Another question I have, so sorry for all the questions, this is such a great site I feel I can ask away on here. Its reported that woman under stress also may possibly have a higher chance of conceiving girls due to cortisol levels but then if your under stress maybe testosterone levels could rise as well?
We are planning to do a cut off but Im not sure when to cut off as mentioned I have 2 drops with pains around day 11 & day 15 ( my cycles are 31-33 days) any advice you can give would be much appreciated, thank you so much :happy:

[atomic sagebrush]

EXACTLY and great point on that. Not only that, but anorexics who often have super low prog have more girls and younger women who tend to have good prog levels, have more boys. Plus we have women on this site and others who have super short LP and have both boys and girls. The prog = girls just doesn't add up.

The whole ball of wax involving testosterone, stress, and gender ratio is like a Gordian knot that we don't have enough data to untangle. I personally believe that there are different kinds of stress and the type of stress, coupled with your physical condition and personality/mindset in terms of how you view and respond to that stress, can affect your body in different ways. I am 1000% convinced that the people who get super carried away with swaying, stress over every detail and cannot let anything go or leave anything to chance, that those people tend to have more boys even when they do a "perfect" pink sway. I've seen it happen too many times and the ONLY logical explanation is testosterone.

Re cutoff, if you have a 31-33 day cycle you are almost certainly Oing on CD 15 or even 16 or 17. Your luteal phase only very rarely goes far beyond 14 days and if you were Oing on CD 11, that would be a super long LP and that just doesn't happen much if ever. Have you ever done OPK? They might be a way to get a better handle on when exactly you O and if you simply BD on a pos OPK, that can be a stress-free way to have a small cutoff while still having a good shot at pg.

[Babystars]

A huge thanks again Atomic for your time & answers that's awesome. I've been thinking about my PH (4.55-5.75) being at a good range for a dd & wondering if I really need to worry about using rephresh ?? but perhaps my dh's ph (7.60-7.96) would really spike together, any thoughts on this would be great..?? Its interesting what you say & again I totally agree, when we had our dds I had irregular cycles ( 6-10 weeks or more & tests showed I was low in 1 hormone & higher in another when it should of been the opposite) then weeks after going on the blood diet for my skin-my cycles become 4 -5 weeks & I feel pregnant with our ds. I think my Progesterone must of been at a good level. Thanks again for the advice on cut off dates. I used OPKs for the past 2 months & Im getting pink lines appearing 1 day before first o pain & a temp dip then neg tests then a faint pink line along with o pains 2 days before day 15. Hubby wondered if im bringing 2 eggs down lol there's a lot of twins in my family or perhaps its just my hormones are slightly out of balance again

[atomic sagebrush]

I would still advise the RepHresh to help mitigate the pH of any semen and also any CM that may show up around O.

You can actually get O pains before, during, and after O and unfortunately they are not a reliable way to pinpoint O. You can actually get positive OPK when you aren't ovulating so it is totally possible to get a set of pos OPK, not ovulate, and then get another set of pos OPK a few days later when you actually do ovulate. OPK only measure LH in your urine, and sometimes your body has some LH even if an egg doesn't emerge from the ovary. You can also get a pos OPK AFTER ovulation if your body releases a little LH for whatever reason.

A faint line is negative, so if you get a faint line then that's still a negative and should be disregarded.

If you do release 2 eggs, it will be within 24 hours of each other.

[Babystars]

Thanks so much again Atomic for all that, your a fantastic lady giving all this time to us on here. I hope you know how much its appreciated, its really great to hear your thoughts and they make so much sense.
I have one other thing Id really like your expertise on if you don't mind (a little embarrassing) I often get slight thrush around Ovulation time & after. Many websites say its due to being too alkaline yet I've heard others saying its due to being acidic & thrush has acidic secretions? With my ph levels being 4.55- 5.75 then surely it cant be an alkaline issue for me or else Id have a higher ph? Perhaps Thrush is caused by both.. either too alkaline or too acidic conditions? Its seems confusing and if it has acidic secretions would Rephresh in any way counteract such for a sway? Thanks again soo much Atomic :)

[atomic sagebrush]

Thrush (aka yeast infections) is caused by changes in environment that allows yeast to gain an advantage over the healthy microorganisms and overgrow. So you can get thrush when you are more acidic OR more alkaline than normal. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-discussion/465-complete-guide-swaying-yeast-infections.html

RepHresh does help with YI because it keeps pH balanced in a 4.5-5 range and avoids the fluctuations that allow the yeast to overgrow and take over. You shoudl def. add probiotics too, to keep your VJ populated with healthy microorganisms as well.

[Babystars]

I've had slight YI's on & off for years, Ive checked out that link, great info thanks Atomic :) Will get some probiotics ( although I do have quite bit of yoghurt that has some) I'm just wondering if I should use Zyrtec as well when ttcing with using Rephresh.

[atomic sagebrush]

I would use Zyrtec as well. Zyrtec will dry up CM up inside, while RepHresh works in the VJ itself. They sway in two different ways.

[purplepoet20]

The best time to test your ph is about 30mins before dtd. No other time is needed.

I to felt a thrush coming on when my ph was changing fast. One cycle it happened about 2 days before O. I used rephresh and was fine.

Also if you make a douche with either lime or vin check the ph. I found that if the ph was under 4 it would cause a thick layer of skin to peel off. It was very painful, annoying, and I didn't want to dtd. When it was about 4.5 I had no problems. I did use a vin douche the day AF ended and rephresh 3 days later and continued it as directed. I didn't not get preg those cycles but I was also doing J&D.

For short time I tried repleans 1hr before rephresh and it did keep my ph at 6.5. When I used them at the sametime it would stay at 6.0. When I use repleans in the am and rephresh 1hr before bed (not dtd then) my ph would stay at 4.5, I was only using 1/3 of the applicator and cutting the rephresh open. I stopped with the repleans because it was just to much for me to remember everyday and I was stressing.

[atomic sagebrush]

Yikes Purple! That sounds terrible. :(

[purplepoet20]

Yikes Purple! That sounds terrible. :(

It should be a warning for anyone making a douche!

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, I worry that it might dry up too much then there wouldnt be enough to help carry the swimmers along to the egg. Just how important is it to get rid of the cm, I understand many factors come into swaying but is having little cm a relatively big one thanks heaps :)

[Babystars]

Hey Purplepoet, thank you so much for taking the time & the info,its great to hear all this. Wow, what a horrible experience you had with the lime, its great that you warn others. Do many still use Vinegar, Ive read online, quite a few ladies couldn't get pregnant using lime (maybe too strong a mix) DH & I combined with lime were 7.67ph. I was hoping to use lime ( being a natural product & acidic) but after seeing our combined ph we tried a Rephresh & aci mix which resulted in a 5.81ph :) I sure think atomic is right about the buffers in Rephresh, I haven't tried Replens as quite a few ladies say they found it spiked which I experienced with Aci by itself. I wonder if thrush suffers tend to have more girls or boys or whether its much of a muchness. Do you have all boys Purple? Thanks again :)

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks Atomic, I worry that it might dry up too much then there wouldnt be enough to help carry the swimmers along to the egg. Just how important is it to get rid of the cm, I understand many factors come into swaying but is having little cm a relatively big one thanks heaps :)

I think it's pretty important and I would actually MUCH rather see you use an antihistamine and forget about pH all together.

[atomic sagebrush]

Hey Purplepoet, thank you so much for taking the time & the info,its great to hear all this. Wow, what a horrible experience you had with the lime, its great that you warn others. Do many still use Vinegar, Ive read online, quite a few ladies couldn't get pregnant using lime (maybe too strong a mix) DH & I combined with lime were 7.67ph. I was hoping to use lime ( being a natural product & acidic) but after seeing our combined ph we tried a Rephresh & aci mix which resulted in a 5.81ph :) I sure think atomic is right about the buffers in Rephresh, I haven't tried Replens as quite a few ladies say they found it spiked which I experienced with Aci by itself. I wonder if thrush suffers tend to have more girls or boys or whether its much of a muchness. Do you have all boys Purple? Thanks again :)

People have a very hard time getting pg with BOTH vinegar and lime because it is highly acidic and kills sperm. Both X and Y sperm thrive in pH of 7 (regardless of what you read on any other site). The reason why low pH sways is not because X sperm "love" low pH, but because low pH kills sperm and fewer sperm = more girls conceived.

[Babystars]

Since finding this site Atomic, I no longer read IG, this site is just wonderful & full of info that does make so much sense & great support that is much appreciated :) please ladies feel free to let me know your thoughts on this... I thought of either using one of the following... lime & take zyrtech. Or instead... use a small amount of aci & rephresh mixed & take zyrtec ( I think your so right about the buffers Atomic & not having to worry about testing so you dont raise those T levels.The lime acidic thing I guess is ingrained after the time reading IG stuff, however I think there have been plenty on failed sways with lime ? Interesting, I just thought of something, my 1st dd was unplanned & Id been on sinutab for sinus ( this was many years ago I wonder if there was anything in it that dried up my cm?)
I'm not sure whether to use baby aspirin as well. I worry about using meds when conceiving. Thanks again ladies :)

[atomic sagebrush]

I think you are on the right track, either do lime and Z or else to Acijel/RepHresh and Z.

There have been TONS of failed IG sways with lime, but of course swaying can never be 100% for any of us unfortunately.

[Babystars]

A BIG congrats on your wonderful news today Atomic :DD: I wrote a comment on your thread. I hope your taking time to relax & things have got better for you & the family. Im sorry to hear what you've been through, it sure sounds like youve had many factors going on that have naturally helped sway towards getting your little :princess: What wonderful news all round for your family.

Weve had a very stressful year as well thankfully things have somewhat improved over the past month. I sure hope it helps our sway. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions with everything going on. Hearing about so many failed lime sways reassures me that we are making a good choice with rephresh & aci. I think its 1 tablet per day with Zyrtec? I notice many are taking baby aspirin does this have the same effect as zyrtec? I feel taking rephresh & aci will lower sperm with the buffers & acids but our combined ph with Aci & rephresh was 5.81 would this be too low Atomic? Is there any recommended time to use the gels, like 1 hour prior or 12 hours prior & should I use half a tube of rephresh with a small glob of aci, I dont want to overdo it, I notice each & everyone has different times & doses, some each day. I also read the article on Calcium. I take a calcium complete supplement, 2 tablets per day which provides 540mg Calcium, 500mg Magnesium & 800ug Boron, perhaps I should drop this & just stay on my folic acid till preggy.Sorry for all the questions, there just so much info Im trying to get my head around it all and make a choice :think:

[atomic sagebrush]

Thank you!! :)

1 a day with Z and make sure it's 6 hours minimum before your sway. Zyrtec takes some time to work.

Baby aspirin is for acidity and also may help a baby to implant in your uterus.

We honestly don't know what is best with jellies, so people try all different manner of things trying to figure out what works best for them. My usual suggestion is to use RepHresh the day before or no sooner than 12 hours before an attempt and then some people like to use a fingertip or dime-size Acijel/Sylk 1-2 hours before attempt.

I would have you drop the calcium supp, but that is of course your call to make. Regardless, 500 mg magnesium is way, WAY too much and you are going to make yourself sick taking that amount. No more than 200-300 mg magnesium at most.

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, it says on my Calcium container 1-4 per day, I thought by having 2, I was going easy lol.
Iv'e stopped taking them as of last nite, is it ok to take 1 fizzy Berocca B group vitamin per day, it has Aspartame in it. How often should I take baby aspirin, does it take long to Acidify your system. I got some Zyrtec today :) Wow its all feeling very real and close to ttcing now :think:

[atomic sagebrush]

If you like, you can always get a separate cal supp (I'm assuming your cal and mag are together in one pill!) Take one of the cal-mag, then an additional cal.

I personally do not advise B vites when swaying pink simply because of the idea that more nutrients = boys.

Start by taking the aspirin 2 or 3 days a week and see if you tolerate it well (no bleeding/bruising) and then you can gradually increase. It should start to help immediately.

Good luck!!!

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, yes my Calcium & magnesium are together in 1 pill, A Naturopath put me on them years back & said to always take Calcium with Magnesium so the calcium will be absorbed. Perhaps I will only take one & a plain calcium tablet with it (good idea thanks :) I got low dose aspirin today (75mg) & took 1, will take another in 2 days :) I'm still getting my head around everything lol I still have this nagging thought that if I have acidic ph & an ever so slight yeast infection that comes and goes around ovulation onwards... will drying my cm up lessen my chances of conceiving a girl? when I already had acidic cm that may help sway.We have mostly girls in my family & all woman in my family complain about an acidity issue, I guess that's where I get this thought ph is a high factor & what I read weeks ago on IG ( shame I hadn't found this site 1st so I hadn't had this lime & ph thing re-emphasized so much) Many thanks again :)

[atomic sagebrush]

The whole "you must have mag to have cal" has been debunked. Your body stores PLENTY of mag and just uses it whenever it needs to. In fact, the University of Maryland (they do tons of excellent research into vitamin and mineral supplements) studied it and found that when you take cal and mag together, your body uses the same process to absorb them both and mag gets absorbed more quickly, so it actually interferes in the absorption of the calcium. Peopel who take them together may end up with lower cal absorption than those who take them separately.

Drying up CM seems to RAISE odds of conceiving a girl but lowers odds of conceiving at all.

Why do the women in yoru family complain about acidity??

the pH of all heathy human vaginas is around 4.5 except during AF and at ovulation when you make a lot of CM. CM is alkaline by its nature becasue sperm needs alkalinity to survive. It's also much more alkaline up inside than it is once it enters the low pH vagina.

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, that is extremely interesting, I guess 10 odd years ago this was the thought but technology with more in-depth research now tells us otherwise just like Shettles compared to what researchers are finding today.
I got low dose aspirin & have tried it twice but had some odd side effects with only those 2 doses so I've dropped it :(
My family have severe eczema & skin allergy issues that they say is too much acidity in their systems.My great grandma used to complain about hot skin that felt like it was burning, she'd get a red rash & say it was too much acid in her system. Some other ladies in our family find purfume's smell weird on them because of the high acidity in their body.I get eczema to the point were my skin is raw. Many times it can feel like Ive got severe sunburn with acid poured on it, it burns & itches,swells & splits open with raw patches. Its a horrible thing to suffer believe me. I've been on Steroids, creams you name it, most of my life. We seem to produce mainly girls in my family & are high dairy consumers ( as mentioned before I'm also a vegetarian) Quite a few sets of twin girls & a set of triplet girls are in our family (all naturally conceived) My great,great Grandma apparently had 13 children, 11 were girls. ( I would love to hear what your thoughts are on that one Atomic :) with all your knowledge :) Surely that cant just be the luck of the draw lol. A few years ago I changed my diet as my eczema was out of control. My naturopath had been advising me too. I'm happy to right it up & message it to you if it could be of any interest to you, I think there's some very interesting things involved in it & I fell pregnant with a ds while on it ( Ive never swayed & only did the diet to rid my eczema)But interesting... I've started eating dairy, tomatoes & potatoes again recently after a few years (with little eczema in that time) & Ive got eczema coming back so it certainly seems to be something there with diet. Here's hoping another dd will come from this. I'm going to start the Zyrtec in 2 days which also will be a good thing for my eczema as my specialist put me on Antihistamines years back with my other eczema meds.
I have used rephresh over the last 2 days. Is it normal for our combined ph to rise to 7.38 with Rephresh in there 20 mins after dtd, I thought with the buffers it would be under that. It seems closer to Dh's ph than our combined ph like we tested before.The next morning I was 5.72ph. Many thanks once again Atomic for your time & knowledge, its much appreciated :)

[Babystars]

Sorry Atomic, I will reword that last part,as it sounds like we used rephresh 20 minutes after dtd. We used rephresh earlier but tested ph 20 minutes after dtd. Hope this now makes sense lol

[atomic sagebrush]

Some people do not tolerate the aspirin well and if you're one of them, it's best to drop it. Use aspartame instead or even nothing but diet.

The idea that some people are "acid" has also been debunked and you can read a good explanation here. Acid/Alkaline Theory of Disease Is Nonsense (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html) Naturopaths still promote the idea but biologically it is not true.

It's much more likely that your relaties have sensititivites to certain foods (perhaps dairy?) and this is causing eczema. Eczema is an autoimmune disease where your body's immune system is going out of control due to being constantly exposed to allergens in your environment. I also have severe eczema and skin allergies. Nightshade plants like tomatoes and potatoes have also been linked to eczema and so I suspect that if the naturopath had you go off certain foods, it allowed your immune system to relax and the eczema cleared up. Perfume smells different on different people and has nothing to do with acidity.

The steroids have not been very helpful for me, the number one thing that helps me is using a plain lotion like Cetaphil and avoiding certain soaps and lotions (my allergies are less foods and more soaps/lotions but everyone is different.) Antihistamines can help with eczema because it reduces your body's allergic response.

Did you use anything else besides the RepHresh?? Lime juice?? pH does weird stuff sometimes and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. If your body "doesn't like" or isn't used to the RepHresh, it might make extra CM to try and wash it away (and this may be esp. true in people with allergies/sensitivities) You may get used to it over time and that reaction will go away. If you're worried about it, try an attempt without the RepHresh and see what happens.

Does it lower pH before those 20 mintues are up? Most sperm have left the vagina within 20 min. so if the pH rise only happens after 20 minutes, I would not worry about it.

[Babystars]

I'm sorry to hear your an eczema sufferer as well atomic, you'd sure understand. An autoimmune disease I'd certainly agree with, the acidity thing, that's definitely food for thought. My hormones seem to play a part- My eczema plays up more so a week before my Period & its much better during pregnancy. I had all the allergy tests done & they didn't find anything. When I went on the blood diet, within 7 weeks I felt like a new person, energy wise, my eczema disappeared & the weight from steroids just fell off me. Can I ask Atomic, your thoughts on the blood type diet, if your blood type A like me with suffering eczema. As so many eczema/allergy suffers I've met seem to be type A's & O's. My hubby was on Antihistamines for allergies, he went to our naturopath & was told to give up wheat, the following day he did & the allergies disappeared (O type like him are meant to avoid wheat) Sometimes when we eat out, he starts sneezing (especially some Chinese restaurants)
The repHresh I used with nothing else, I read your post not to use lime with it. I've waited 3 days so the RepHresh would of finished working & thought we'd try a lime douche ( we'd done a practice run last month in safe time with 1) so last nite the lime douche was ph 2.25) & 2 mls after dtd. 15 minutes after dtd combined ph was 4.87 oh I must say I felt so stingy :worry: maybe too strong. I worried that it may of killed off everything or damaged them. Then decided we'd dtd again without anything & didnt test ph. This morning my ph was 5.56 & I noticed a tiny blob of repHresh on testing (sorry tmi) so its seems a bit of the repHresh is still in there & keeping my Ph around 5.5. I'm nearing O :worry: We don't know if we should do a cut off or go right through Atomic & try RepHresh again, I don't think we want to do lime again with the stingyness I got last nite ( still a bit sensitive today). Would love your thoughts. Thanks so much again :)

[atomic sagebrush]

My eczema gets loads better when I am pregnant too.

I am blood type O. I don't discount the blood type diet at all because depending on our ethnic heritage we evolved eating whatever foods were available in the areas where we lived for generations and we may be more able to tolerate those (or less able, depending on what theory you follow, since some allergists believe that exposure to foods may make it more likely you are allergic to them.) There is some conflicting info that I have read regarding the blood type diet tho and so I'm not totally sold on all the specifics of it. I did a very strict allergy diet for two months and never got better, so for me personally I think it's the soaps and lotions that I am sensitive to.

The lime douche can be really uncomfortable for people. You're not alone there!! That's why a lot of people give up on it, it's just too sting-y. My advice is if you feel good about the other aspects of your sway, try again. If you don't and would feel relieved if you don't get pg this month, then leave it where you are and maybe you'll get a BFP, maybe not. Whatever you decide, for best odds of pg, use RepHresh no sooner than 8-12 hours before BD. Good luck!!

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, very interesting. I know a few people who changed laundry powders etc & their allergies disappeared but for me it seems to make no difference, it seems to be more a food issue,hormones & also changes in seasons that trigger it :(
We made up the lime again last nite but a little more diluted (5mls lime, 20mls water) & used 10mls. We didn't check any ph's though. I just don't want to stress or obsess before & after. But checked this morning & I was 5.55 & 5.85 at lunchtime- I hope this is considered a low ph a good 12+ hours after dtd? I just haven't had any ph's under 5.5 since weve been dtding as normally I can get done to just over mid 4's. I just feel like chucking some more repHresh in. I didn't have any issues this time with lime lol maybe it was too weak, but surely it would help anyway? I notice a few people do tbm ( not that we would do this) I wondered how successful it is. Thanks so much for answering Atomic, Im starting to get my head around all this :)

[atomic sagebrush]

I would feel fine about pH in the 5's at any point around ovulation. 12 hours after DTD it doesn't matter what your pH is tho - the sperm are already gone up inside where they can no longer be affected by the pH.

Here is my essay about TBM. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-discussion/2598-how-do-tbm-why-you-probably-shouldnt-do-gender-swaying.html It's hard to know rates of success with TBM. I personally think that DTD with RepHresh and antihistamine is just as effective and without lowering odds of pg as much.

[atomic sagebrush]

I would feel fine about pH in the 5's at any point around ovulation. 12 hours after DTD it doesn't matter what your pH is tho - the sperm are already gone up inside where they can no longer be affected by the pH.

Here is my essay about TBM. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-discussion/2598-how-do-tbm-why-you-probably-shouldnt-do-gender-swaying.html It's hard to know rates of success with TBM. I personally think that DTD with RepHresh and antihistamine is just as effective and without lowering odds of pg as much.

[Babystars]

Thanks for that Atomic, I'm feeling a bit down. I wanted to do a lose sway but it seems its turned out a lot looser than we anticipated... My temps have been all over the place this month ( both dh & I got a bug so not sure if this affected mine) & Ovulation seems to of occurred early (we were toying with the idea of not doing a cut off as when we look back we know we were dtding every day with 1 DD) But decided we would stick with a cut-off after reading so many successful stories. As mentioned earlier its a little difficult to point point ovulation as I get 2 lots of pains, 2 temp dips etc over a few days but I used opks & got only faint lines so we thought we still had more days ( and studying the the pattern on my previous charts) but blow me down my temp dropped the following morning, approx 10 hours after dtd & O pains occurred later that day. Strange my cm is creamy watery yet hardly any ew (sorry for tmi) maybe that's the Zyrtec working & lime? People put so much emphasis on timing, would be great to have another shot at this. DH is of the opinion we probably wont get pregnant this 1st time trying, due to being older, using lime, both having hot showers/baths twice a day & dtd every day and after so much stress recently, well in a couple of weeks we should know.

[atomic sagebrush]

Have you seen the anti-timing essay?? http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gender-swaying-discussion/7691-trouble-timing.html Might help put your mind at ease.

The only reason why there are timing success stories is because people think it's supposed to work, then when they conceive a boy or girl, they're convinced they Oed on a certain day. But as you yourself found out this month, it's really HARD to know when exactly you Oed! People don't necessarily O when they think they did, and even using temping, OPK, and having lots of practice, it can still be tough to know. So a lot of people swear that timing worked for them but without having had an ultrasound to pinpoint ovulation, there is no reliable way to know when you ovulated.

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic what a fantastic essay. I totally agree with so much of what you say. Ive read stories where people really seem to believe they conceived 20 odd hours after Ovulation while some have convinced themselves they dtd as much as up to 10 days prior. I'll let you know what happens here in a couple of weeks. My ph is back down around 4.55-4.75, strangely my temps are also low for the past 2 days, as low as pre o temps, this whole cycle is so messed up compared to the past few Ive charted. maybe its due to this darn bug weve had, of all the months we try this happens :rolleyes:

[atomic sagebrush]

Yes, I just read a post from a woman who was telling everyone on IG that she "knows" she got pg 48 hours after ovulation because she had some pain then, and there were so many people who bought right into it and were seriously going to start TTC 48 hours after ovulation. Same with the people who think they got pg from long cutoffs. If they didn't have an ultrasound, that info is not verified and not helpful.

I do totally understand that it's not that easy to give up on timing tho.

Oh, sickness can def. wreak havoc with your temps and make them colder or warmer than normal. I hope you guys are on the mend now!

Keep us posted on how you do! Good Luck!

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, its amazing how a person can believe in something so much after they read a few similar stories of others (that haven't got it right even though logic tells us otherwise) sadly leading to people trying it & they'll be questioning why they haven't fallen pregnant months down the track & if they're older they could even ruin their chance of ever having a baby.
As you say its so hard to know without an ultrasound verifying exactly when. I'm sure proof of that :( The last 3 days I've had another temp dip & 2 rises (this time my temps are above pre o ones)with o pains again but dtd with protection so I've either O'd days back (early than normal) & had a 1 day cut off or o'd a couple of days ago (later than normal) & wasted this chance :( Its so hard to know for sure I have this problem every month with 2 dips & O pains. Darn I should of just kept using the OPK's instead of stopping them when I got the 1st lot of O pains do you know how long it roughly takes for the egg to reach the tube after it expels from the ovary, I guess it wouldn't take 1-2 days, I'm trying to work out why I have 2 lots of O pains & 2 temp dips every month that are only days apart. Yes its certainly hard to let go of that timing thing with everything I've read, even though we dtd every day right through with 1 dd. Do you think dtd every day or abstaining has a higher success rate for girls. Thanks so much :)

[atomic sagebrush]

I totally agree and when I was back on IG I saw so many people give up diet and cling to the things that didn't sway and were actually preventing pg. :(

It's usually a good idea to keep doing OPK until you're 110% sure you Oed. But that having been said, it is not totally uncommon to have what feels like O pains after O (it's actually the Fallopian tubes cramping to move the egg down the tube and also the reaction of your internal organs to the follicular fluid, which can be painful) and it may very well be that you Oed right when you are hoping you did and had a great attempt.

The egg makes it to the tube quite quickly and then takes some time to make it down the tube. Sometime between 12-24 hours after ovulation, unless fertilized, the egg dies. My thinking with your temp dip pattern is you may have a fake O surge and then the real deal a couple days later. It happens sometimes and it may just be that's your body's way of ovulating.

I think in an ideal situation where 1000 cloned couples were doing everything exactly the same only half were doing FR and half were abstaining, abstaining + 1 attempt ~might~ be slightly more effective. But in real world couples doing tons of things to sway, I think there is NO difference because any advantage that abstain + 1 attempt has, is erased by all the other things people do to sway.

[Babystars]

That makes so much sense about the fake O surge then O taking place a couple of days later. This must be why I get a faint opk around the 1st temp dip & O pains as there would be low levels of LH. I have wondered for a while why this was occurring,Thanks Atomic you solved my mystery :) & if i don't get a BFP this month which were doubting due to messing up the timing :rolleyes: I certainly will be OPK'ing longer next month. Again this is just a fine example of how easy it is to get the timing wrong & really believe you O'd earlier than you actually did. I think about many of the sways I've read & wonder just how many really knew when they O'd. That's great to hear dtding every day or Abstaining is much of a muchness :) Thanks again Atomic will let you know how things go, hope you are keeping well :)

[atomic sagebrush]

Thanks! Good luck to you and thanks also for a great thread!!!

[Babystars]

Hey Atomic, hope you and baby are doing great :)
Just thought Id let you know I got a BFN. Turns out you were right on the mark about a fake O surge, (as I previously mentioned about getting 2 lots of O pains etc over a few days) Our 1st month's attempt we stopped TTCing around O pains & a faint OPK only to have them days later with another temp dip. With stopping when we did we missed the boat as we must of been out by nearly a week from O lol. Back to squeezing limes over the next few days lol. I had spikes using Aci Gel but wondering if you could tell me if there has been many failed sways using it, just out of interest. Thanks Atomic :)

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh boo, I'm sorry to hear that. :(

There have been both successes and failures using Acijel. I am not sure how many exactly, since I tell people to use Rephresh instead, most people have used that. I'm not opposed to Acijel, it's just expensive and doesn't keep working the way the RepHresh does. A lot more people on IG used Acijel and they might have more info. i'll start a thread here and ask for you and we'll get at least some idea.

[Babystars]

Hey Atomic, thanks that would be awesome if you could start a thread on Acijel. I think I'm going to have give up the lime :( Last month it stung the heck out of me :suprise: Then the last couple of days Ive used lime well diluted compared to last month's attempts but I've now got thrush & my ph was near 6 earlier today which is high for me. Now with thrush weve stopped dtding ( so there goes another month failing to sway) :( I've used rephresh a few hours ago to get some relief & within 10 minutes it was working :) That stuff is amazing & my ph has been sitting around 4.85-5 since. I'm thinking I'll use rephresh & Aci gel mixed together next month as Aci has the acid in it and rephresh keeps ph down.

[atomic sagebrush]

I did start one but haven't gotten many hits yet.

I vastly prefer RepHresh with or without Acijel to lime, for that very reason. OW!! I'm glad it's better.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! Very helpful.

[Babystars]

Thanks Atomic, I will check it out, hopefully we will hear from some ladies regarding Aci. And no worries if it helps other ladies I'm happy to share about the lime experience. Rephresh has really helped settle this thrush down :) I'm not sure if this has been mentioned so sorry if it has but Ive noticed you really have to squeeze the pre-filled tube a few times to get all the gel out. As there is only a small amount to begin with (5g) Perhaps ladies should check the tube by holding it up to light to make sure they have used the full tube if they are really relying on a full dose being used :)

[atomic sagebrush]

Thank you!