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I guess this leads me to a FF question. My BBT tends to be pretty low. I suspect that I am borderline hypothyroid (last test showed I was, but MD didn't want to start meds) and my BBT goes lower than the FF chart creates automatically. Will it adjust or is there a setting I need to change so the chart displays lower than 97.6?
does your doc know you are TTC? They often want to start TTC women on meds prior to pregnancy to get the levels right.
I don't know about the FF setting - since I can't get good temps, I never chart. I'll start a new thread and ask.
I haven't told my doctor anything yet. I guess I'm in denial that I'm TTC still since we're still acting like I'm TTA. :D I haven an appointment at the end of this month so maybe I will pick her brain.
I have two days of temperatures so far. I guess that's progress?
I was trying to find where I read that steam can cause false + OPKs, but cannot find it. It was on a message board similar to Baby Center, I think, so it could be wrong, but I will keep looking. I remember seeing that right after I started this thread, but didn't think anything of it until recently.
No more gas pain. I'm almost 100% positive it was the DCI now. Atomic, I think you may be right that I have an allergy to it. Darn.
TTCadaughter, have you had any positive OPKs yet? I had one yesterday.
Atomic, I just realized I never answered one of your questions. I don't know if my temperatures are messed up if I don't sleep well, but I can tell when my body temperature is above 98 F. My body temperature actually tends to feel lower with naps or little sleep. I have narcolepsy so I'm not sure if this affects BBT either.
Got it! I would prob. temp anyway and just know that they're not reliable. Interesting about the narcolepsy - that does seem like it could make temps lower than they would be otherwise.
I have a lot of fertile signs today although the cervix isn't super soft, it is low and open with watery and EWCM.
TMI and just FYI:
We DTD last night and this morning. Female orgasm and J & D. I used a repHresh last night right away. My pH seemed to stay around 5.5.
This morning, we DTD again, no female orgasm, and J & D. We used Sylk this time. My pH immediately following everything was about 5.0. An hour later it was close to 7. :worry: I used another full applicator of repHresh right away and will retest my pH soon.
I know I keep saying we're TTA, but this month, we haven't exactly been TTA this cycle, but not intentionally.
My husband is totally on board to sway, including changing diet, caffeine intake, supplements, lifestyle, frequent releasing, etc so we've tried to use the past two cycles (and hopefully this cycle) to chart the important stuff like pH, ovulation, especially because the PCOS messes so many thing up for swaying for a girl. Plus, his pH is really high. The last 3 times we tested his pH, it averaged 8.0 .
The last two months we DTD close to ovulation and did not use protection and I haven't conceived so I'm hoping it is the same for this cycle. I'm supposed to be going to back to school this fall so I don't know if this is a great time to get pregnant anyway.
Fresas, I hope that whatever is best, comes to pass. I don't think that's a bad sway at all...by the time you tested, the sperm was gone from the VJ anyway.
If I get pregnant from this cycle, I will definitely post an in-depth accidental sway. I'm on so many medications, negative ions, fans, weird eating times, dieting, exercise, etc. I will keep using OPK strips, too.
Oh I just wanted to let you know - if you do get pg this cycle, you can still go back to school. My sister got pg when she was in school (college, that is ;)), had a baby at the start of spring break and both she and DH were in class on the first day of spring quarter!
I don't know that breastfeeding or pumping would work well (bad), but you are right, school could still work (good).
I'm nervous though. This definitely wouldn't be proper sway how we would want it. I hope I can convince my body this was just a practice run. :D
I can't remember what day I had a positive OPK this cycle. I think it was on day 9 or 10? I'm on CD 14 today. I ran out of the strips super unintentionally though so I haven't continued testing which is not good for tracking weird or false positive OPKs. :(
Anyway, kind of off topic, but I have been talking about the LE diet with DH and I cannot do that diet with my PCOS. I gain weight, I get bad acne, my cycles get weirder and more painful than they already are, and I have more cyst pain. I don't know what to do. Unfortunately, a low carb diet + lots of green vegetables tends to work out well and that is so boy friendly.
I am also already pretty severely calorie restricted, too.
I don't know how to do this diet with my PCOS. I wonder if there is any way to keep my general pH lower without the LE diet. Maybe with a lot of Splenda and Crystal Light and lots of repHresh? I don't know. :( Any ideas?
I take metformin so this might help with the low blood sugar aspect of girl swaying?
This past week and a half I have been really naughty and eating a lot of sugar and cereal, but I'm paying for it with acne, sore breasts (could be due to ovulation, too), and a lot of bloating/cyst pain.
More diet thoughts!
If the more boy friendly PCOS diet actually seems to help keep my testosterone in better check than the LE diet, I wonder if it would be better to stay on the PCOS diet because it helps keep testosterone levels lower. It may not be like this for the woman without PCOS, though.
PCOS diet does result in a higher natural pH, though. That's why I was wondering if downing the artificial sugars and making repHresh my BFF would work well? Maybe not?
Ideas?
Your diet looks very healthy and very PCOS friendly, but with the aspartame, keeping calories low, etc, probably good for girl swaying.
PCOS diet is very boy friendly, but is also much more low carb than boy diets. Any carbs you do eat should be whole wheat. Eating frequently is a good idea with PCOS. Basically, because of the risk of insulin resistance, we have to eat like diabetics in order to keep the insulin resistance away and keep the testosterone levels lower.
The PCOS diet is not the most girl-friendly at first glance. That's why I'm having these questions because on this board, diet seems to be a major factor for swaying, but for girls swaying who have PCOS, we can't necessarily do the LE diet because it can have the opposite affect as a woman without PCOS. But, I wonder if staying on a more boy-friendly diet is what PCOS girls need to do because it helps keep blood sugar levels more stable (no spikes) and helps keep testosterone lower?
I think a PCOS diet can raise pH, but it doesn't for me, at least not vaginally. One of my main struggles with girl swaying is that I know if I do a LE diet, I think it actually elevates my testosterone and doesn't do much for the pH since my pH is naturally at 4.5 most of the time.
I don't think the LE diet elevates testosterone with ladies who do not have PCOS.
However, in girls with PCOS, because of the way our bodies tend to go towards insulin resistance or are insulin resistant, eating simple carbohydrates and avoiding overall general healthy eating probably tends to cause more insulin resistance, which in turn elevates testosterone because the insulin binds to the wrong type of testosterone which allows unhealthy testosterone to dominate. This is already a major problem for PCOS girls. :(
I don't know for sure, though. I am not a doctor. I'm just hypothesizing based on my own experience when I deviate from PCOS diet friendly stuff. I'm also hypothesizing based on how insulin resistance or early insulin resistance is a sign of high levels of bad testosterone. That's why a lot of girls (including myself) are on metformin. It helps keep the weight gain down, helps with regular periods, acne, cyst bursts, etc.
:think: I don't know if there are many girls on the board who have swayed girl with PCOS. I would love to hear about it.
+ OPKs: I ordered more OPK strips so hopefully they will be here by next week.
I was diagnosed based on symptoms and a blood test. I have (usually) regular periods now, but am still hirsute, cannot lose weight no matter what, prone to fast weight gain, acne, and have hair loss. I'm taking:
metformin 1000mg
SP 320mg
Vitex 200mg (?)
DIM whatever the maximum per day dose is
MVI
and stopped taking calcium a while ago. These past two weeks my diet has been garbage (too many refined carbs, not enough vegetables) and I am paying for it now. Oops!
My FF chart has me ovulation 3 days ago, but my CP and CM did not seem fertile at all. It seemed fertile CD 11-ish. I'm so confused!
http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3b1972
Hi, I've heard that female orgasm is a BIG No No when swaying for pink. Shettles said it first. and I believe there is truth to it. multiple orgasms got me my two sons. So avoid them entirely if you can.Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
I follow you.
What is weird is that without orgasm, my pH was higher than with one.
Both of these experiences were with repHresh used about 12 hours apart.
I have to avoid Sylk. I don't think it helps with my pH at all. I used Sylk and repHresh with the no orgasm experience and my pH was 7.
I will avoid orgasms, but strangely, I think the Sylk has been behind an unusually high pH both times I have used it so far. My pH is high even after using repHresh when I use Sylk so I don't think I can use Sylk at all.
Plus, when it comes to pH, I'm not sure I can do the LE diet. I'm trying to figure out other ways I can keep my pH low, although it is typically pretty low vaginally.
I'm still reading about it, but it looks less and less like I can the LE diet because while it may decrease my pH, it is going to increase my testosterone because I have PCOS and PCOS does not respond well with refined carbs, low nutrient foods. These increase bad testosterone and cause insulin issues which also cause an increase in bad testosterone.
It is not a good situation for swaying girl for me. :( I'm kind of lost right now.
fresas perhaps you can put the emphasis on being more vegetarian and weight loss?
I totally understand and just hope that whatever is best, is coming down the road for you! (PS - Sis was not able to BF because of being in school so you are totally right on that!)Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
Green vegetables are FINE on LE diet. You don't have to eat grains and sugar, that's just what some people do...many people are scared to eat vegetables because IG says they're "alkalininzing" but who even knows if that is true in any way?? I mean calcium tablets are "alkalinizing" and they certainly aren't avoiding those!!
Above all else, you ahve to do what is best for you and your body. What if you focused mostly on green vegetables and then upped your protein to 50-70 g? Even a little animal protein would be ok for you in that circumstance, because you wouldn't be getting high levels of protein from pasta and breads like some pink swayers choose to do.
I think if you use antihistamine to dry up some CM and use RepHresh (or whatever works for you) then that is all you need do to for pH.
Metformin is great for lowering blood sugar and it does tend to sway pink. :agree:
I think that the rules HAVE to be different for those with PCOS (or anyone who has problems with blood sugar) because your body doesn't metabolize carbs the same way. I can't truly say wihtout having a side by side study or two what the results would be, but if (as seems to be the case) testosterone and blood sugar are what is doing the swaying, then it just makes the most sense that for YOU, lowering testosterone and blood sugar, can only help.Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
Whole grains are FINE on the LE Diet. 100% fine. Just think for all those millions of years, we didn't even have refined grains and yet the human race kept having 50-50 boys and girls.Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
Eating too much sugar and carbs (without fiber) DOES cause blood sugar and testosterone to rise in those with PCOS. Metformin will help with that somewhat but you are right, you need to do what is right for your body above all else.
If the PCOS diet does not raise your vaginal pH, that is all that matters. The idea that your blood itself becomes more acidic or alkaline is totally debunked - - if your blood pH changes, you DIE.
Fresas, I think you should feel good about increasing green veg and slightly increasing protein intake. If you can lose a bit of weight even better. I think you're on the right track!!!
I know I've posted this before but maybe you haven't seen it??Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
http://genderdreaming.com/forum/ttc-...ar-issues.html
You don't HAVE to eat refined carbs and empty calories on the LE diet. That's just what some people CHOOSE to do or need to do if they lose too much weight too quickly, and I think that for the average person it is the best sway simply because it cuts back on nutrients just a hair more. It is NOT make or break in any way tho. All you have to do is 1500-1800 cals, 40-50 g protein (for you, that would be 50-60), 20-30% cals from fat, while skipping breakfast, not snacking, and losing a bit of weight. That's ALL.
The low nutrients come not from forcefeeding yourself empty calories, but from not taking vitamins and cutting back on calories all together. After that, you can pretty much have leeway. I mention grains as a backbone of the diet, but your backbone is like this tiny fraction of your body. If you ate a couple RyKrisp with lunch and a 1/2 c of brown rice with dinner, that's fine, that's all you need to do and you don't even need to do that if you don't want to. I WANT people to eat vegetables and lately it seems like I am writing a long diatribe about it every hour the last couple days LOL. ;) That is why when I make diets, I come up short on protein while everyone else is getting too much, because I focus on vegetables and other people are scared of them - but you don't have to fear the veggies.
Veggies are lower nutrient than grain foods, dairy, and meat! Veggies ARE the quintessential low nutrient food. Low nutrient does not mean NO nutrient. Green vegetables are MUCH lower in nutrients than breads and pastas which are packed with calories, protein, and vitamin fortified!!!! Green vegetables are awesome and they are extra awesome if you have PCOS or other blood sugar issues because they don't make your BS go thru the roof.
I have noticed that I often dry up before I ovulate. Some months I have nothing for a couple days before I O.Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
If that was true, there would be no failed blue sways becasue they all try to have at least one and usually more than one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Butterfly Spirit
It is highly unlikely that all the 3.5 billion women on the face of the planet were all conceived without female O and then all the 3.5 billion men were conceived with them. We've done polls on this and there are girls conceived with orgasm, boys conceived without orgasm. There is a mild tendency that women who have regular Os have more sons but it is so far from 100% that it may as well be "ions".
I know for a fact I did not O with DS1 - not sure about the rest. Sometimes I had them, sometimes I didn't. What I did do was eat a boy-friendly diet and have a boy-friendly personality and have a lot of CM, and my DH has a very high sex drive and prob a lot of T himself. We also BD every couple days in perfect boy frequency for max sperm numbers.
None of these little "window dressing" things like BD in a certain position or having a female O, can possibly be make or break - if diet sways for real, biological reasons (as in, boys need more calories from the moment of conception on throughout pg and life so when you ahve a lot of calories, you're more likely to conceive a boy because that's the circumstance a boy will best survive in) then it doesn't make any sense that God/Mother Nature would toss that out the window on the basis of something as arbitrary as whether you had an orgasm or not. If a boy did not have enough calories to survive, it would be silly for our bodies to suddenly up and conceive them based on presence or absence of female O.
Way way more likely is that women who have regular O's have higher T levels to begin with, naturally or as a result of diet or both, and it's the higher T levels that then sway. Coincidence.
Thanks so much for your input, ladies.
I am probably just going to increase major aspertame and Splenda where I can and try to do vegetarian proteins instead of animal proteins. I tend to skip breakfast already or if I have breakfast, I usually have an egg with beans (so boy-ish!), but that's the PCOS way unfortunately. :(
I also tend to stay around 1300 calories a day, plus lots of cardio and Pilates. I have a really hard time losing weight. I'm not overweight, but could definitely lose about 10 lbs. The testosterone just loves to keep the weight on and the way it affects insulin/blood sugar just loves to make it difficult to lose weight. My BMI is 20.
I'm going to do some serious thinking and planning. I'm not stressed, surprisingly, just a little bit disappointed that my diet is probably not going to help as much as I want it to.
My temperature was super high this morning (99 F or 37.2 C). Crazy. I got my OPKs today and just tested. It was negative which I expected. It would be crazy if I ovulated when my chart says I did because my CP was not in its normal fertile state at that point, but anything is possible, especially with PCOS. :)
I will keep you ladies updated! Thanks again for all of your support. It helps to talk about the ideas and strategies.
I have had multiple O's with every one of my girls....I can't help myself lol
LOL! I love it!
I just got a + HPT.
I'm freaking out.
This was not an official sway at all. DH didn't take any girl friendly supplements. At all. Plus, I have continued to take my PCOS herbs and potions this whole time.
Oh my gosh. What do I do?!
I'm going to write this all down even though I'm still a week away from expected AF.
Just some quick background. I have PCOS and have had 2 high risk pregnancies. This pregnancy will be interesting. I'm hoping first for a healthy baby, of course, but we also would like a girl. This was not an intentional sway. DH was going to stop drinking green tea and taking fish oil plus add licorice root, but this didn't happen since we weren't officially swaying. We were just practicing.
USERNAME: fresas
AGE: 28
DH'S AGE: 29
CHILDREN: 2 Boys
NO. MONTHS TTC: 0
DH pH: 7.5-8.5
Me: 4.5 most of the time
DIET:
Not the best for a girl sway from either of us. I eat a PCOS friendly diet which is boy friendly. DH also did not adjust his eating patterns. The only hope I have is that around the time of ovulation, my diet was really bad, full of sugar and skipped meals.
CAFFEINE:
DH: was supposed to stop when we did sway, but was having a cup of green tea daily.
Me: never have caffeine, but DH convinced me to drink some green tea with him around the time of ovulation so I had caffeine unfortunately.
EXERCISE:
DH: soccer/football twice weekly + aerobic exercise 3 times a week
Me: aerobic exercise 4 times a week, Pilates 3-4 times a week, and some bellydancing
None
POTIONS & PILLS:
Metformin 1000mg
SP 320mg
Vitex
DIM
MVI (not good for girl sway)
POTIONS & PILLS FOR YOUR MAN:
MVI
Calcium + D
Garlic
Fish Oil :/
LOWERING SPERM COUNT/TIMING:
Not how we wanted to do this, but:
DH hadn't released for close to 3 weeks. Day 10 was the first time we had had sex in weeks. Day 11 was sex 12 hours later. This probably isn't girl friendly at all.
Jump and dump: Yes, both times
EWCM present/how much?: hard to tell. Day 10 was watery, but not too much. I used one tube of repHresh immediately after Day 10. Day 11, I was pretty dry because of the repHresh. More on this below.
DH undies type – tighty whities
DH hot bath/shower - no
OWT - anything under bed? – no
THINGS IN YOUR VG:
repHresh both days following each attempt. My pH was okay Day 10, but Day 11 was a 7, probably thanks to the Sylk.
OVULATION:
It is not always predictable, but this cycle seemed to ovulate Day 11. My FF chart says day 14, but I don't think so. My OPK strips weren't always reliable because of the PCOS.
Did you track your pH, if so, what was it before the attempt(s):
Day 10: 4.5 before attempt, 5.5 after attempt + orgasm + repHresh
Day 11: unknown before attempt, 7 after attempt + Sylk + repHresh after pH test, but did not check pH later because I was too scared and sore from touching my cervix so much. :(
IONS
Air purifier with HEPA filter and negative ions mode and a fan right next to where I sleep.
I don't know the moon phase. I can check.
My Chinese calendar based on my lunar age says I conceived a boy. :(
ANYTHING ELSE?
No. We would have done a lot more different had this been an official sway. My husband was really dedicated to the idea of swaying, actually, so totally committed to taking supplements and doing frequent release. Of course we didn't get to do these things, but it helps that he was going to be supportive.
We have prayed for a girl other times, but haven't lately.
We both want a healthy baby, but both also want a girl so much. I guess we will see! The PCOS definitely made this challenging. Thanks for helping me so much, ladies!
Oh my goodness! I just read through this entire thread and saw that you got a BFP today! Congratulations!!! Hope you conceived your little girl!!
:cheer: :cheer: :cheer:
Oh my gosh is right!!! Congrats tho! I hope your pg is a very easy one this time!!! :) Remember, people can and do conceive baby girls doing nothing any different than they had every day of their lives!!Quote:
Originally Posted by fresas
Fresas, I don't think that is a bad sway at all. In some ways, I think a "stealth" sway can actually help some of us who have higher than average T because we don't get quite as worked up as we would otherwise. Best wishes and good luck!!
Thank you so much, ladies. I have been pouting about the sway missing so many things, but I am definitely leaving the pity party and focusing on a healthy baby and pregnancy.
I will be around to keep you ladies updated. Thanks again for all of your help in this thread and answering my trillions of questions. :)