Feeling Overwhelmed

[LA_Girl]

Hi! 👋🏼

I'm new here and wanted to introduce myself and ask lots of questions!

I've conceived four boys (two here and two in Heaven). I'm 40 now so this is my last chance to try for a girl.

For my first three, I was a carnivore, very healthy, and for my last I was (and still am) strictly vegan.

I was a 100% Shettles believer. I'd read books on it and knew someone who had conceived three boys and then a girl following it. It took me three precious years trying to conceive my last (four days before ov) and I thought I was home and dry for a girl from what I'd read. We'd also DTD every other day until 4 days before ov, which I thought would help....

I know the impact diet has on the body. This is why I became vegan in the first place, but I was to be convinced that Shettles didn't work and that diet would. I started to read Atomic's essays and the studies backing up the theories.... and here I am!

A lot of things I was doing (unknowingly) swayed blue. I'd have a smoothie with an avocado in every day, and my aim was to maximise the nutrients in my diet so I'd add chia seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, a banana and coconut water. I would also have two green juices a day with spinach, kale, celery, cucumber, coriander and lemon.

I've stopped my smoothies and juices, and I'm just having two meals a day of brown rice with beans/lentils or a large salad with some humus, plus one glass of coconut water in the morning. I'll start exercising every day for five days a week for an hour at a time - probably walk for some of it and run for some of it as I build up my fitness again.

My questions are - is this enough? I want to give this my best shot.

Also, even with me doing everything possible, what are my chances?

I have PCOS and I don't eat gluten.

My mum had PCOS too, and I keep telling myself that she managed to have me, so it must be possible. I'm really scared of doing everything and still conceiving another boy.

I adore my boys and I know they'd make great big brothers, but I wouldn't add to our family if I knew it would be another boy. I know I'd love another boy as much as the two I have, but I know I'd mourn the loss of the daughter I'd never have.

Any advice/stories of success or failure would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[atomic sagebrush]

Hi and welcome! I got my girl after 4 boys at 42 so I know it is possible.

Are you tracking your nutrient intake at all? That does not sound like it is very much food and a very important part of the LE Diet is making sure you are getting enough to get and stay pregnant.

With PCOS and at age 40, I am actually hesitant for you to remain vegan. The reason for this is that vegan diets can be quite carby and too many carbs can raise testosterone (possibly swaying blue), can make your cycle go bonkers (at 40, we want to be in with lots of attempts and thus do not want O to go missing for months at a time), and can make your egg quality terrible and we need to be very cautious not to lower your egg quality. I have a different version of diet here in this thread, 5 from the top, called "atomic fertility diet" and it will be better for you both in terms of conceiving and also your sway. https://genderdreaming.com/forum/gen...rt-3-pcos.html you can do this version of LE Diet gluten free and we have had great results with that.

Do absolutely get back into the exercise again, that is one of the best things you can do!

Is there any way you could get Femara?? It really helps both with the PCOS and also the sway.

[LA_Girl]

Hi Atomic!

Thanks for your reply.

Maybe I should elaborate more on my journey so far....

I've found that being vegan has dramatically improved my PCOS. I hadn't had any symptoms since being vegan and believed that I no longer suffered from it, not realising that I will always suffer from IR if I'm not careful with my diet.

There were two reasons it took me so long to conceive my fourth (despite eating high calories and high nutrients), one was because we were trying to conceive so far away from ovulation (because I was a Shettles believer), the second I only discovered after being close enough to conceive and not falling. It was so frustrating as everything I was reading was telling me to eat lots of fruit and veg (which I was), not to drink or smoke (which I've never done) etc, etc... I only discovered the problem when I read about women with PCOS being IR. I was eating too much fruit. When I strictly cut this down to one piece of fruit a day, I fell pregnant the next month. I also had two miscarriages during this three year period and I'm sure that was down to my sugar intake and IR.

I'm not keen on taking any drug, and prefer the natural approach if possible. I'm not keen on Clomid for this reason, although I know it's a strong pink swayer.

My diet was quite low in carbs as I don't eat pasta, bread or white potatoes and didn't eat rice prior to starting this diet. Breakfast used to be a smoothie (with protein powder), lunch and dinner would be salad/veg with lentils/beans, and I'd have two green juices a day too.

With this diet, I've been focusing on making sure I'm getting sufficient protein through lentils and beans and topping up at the end of the day with a little buckwheat or a few nuts to make sure I get sufficient fat too. I'm going to drop the brown rice as I'm finding it's adding too many carbs. I'd sooner fill up on veg/salad. I've also been having a glass of unfortified almond milk a day, and a glass of coconut water a day (for potassium) and using a little salt for the iodine.

I've been exercising an hour a day - just walking, but I'm burning over 500 in that time.

I always used to have breakfast late (around 10.30am) before and had lunches/dinners of lentils/beans with salad/veg, and I'm doing the same now and I was worried in case this wasn't enough of a change. I've cut out the smoothies, juices and snacking (as I would graze regularly), and I've started exercising (which I didn't do before). I used to take Vitex before too, but I've added SP now too. Is this enough?

I don't feel like I can go back to eating animal protein again as I feel my PCOS would flare up again.

BTW my hubby is vegan too.

I want to do everything I possibly can, and I don't want to go backwards with my PCOS as I feel I've come a long way, but I know you're the expert here....

Thanks for your time.

[LA_Girl]

I've never tracked my diet before. Occasionally I would roughly tot up what I eat to make sure I was getting enough calcium or iron or something, but never really looked as a whole. I thought I'd put a typical day's diet (pre LE PCOS diet) into MFP and although my fat and protein intake was higher than on this diet, my carbs are higher - and that's without any rice/pasta/bread! Help!!!! Can I do this and still be vegan????

[atomic sagebrush]

If it's working for you, then carry on! Many of the people I have on this site know very little about their PCO and carbs, etc so I have to give a blanket prescription for everyone but if you have found a vegan diet that is helping your PCO then by all means keep doing tthat.

There is nothing magical about rice, so if you think that is too carby, leave it out.

I hesitate for you to add in vitex and saw palmetto. We saw very low conception rates with moms over 35 using them and they honestly haven't helped with sways very much, but at the same time, they may help with the PCO (but I think diet is the best way to control for PCOS) Use your judgment. I did conceive at 41 using vitex, but it was in the month that I dropped it after having not conceived for 6 months while using it.