Supplements

Though food, real wholesome organic food, is our best medicine, supplements have done a lot to help women on their road to fertility.  There are many different causes of POF, but most women with POF need to take their nutrition to a new level.
Read in the POF forums online and women describe how adding a different supplement or two aided in tipping their fertility chances.


Remember, I'm no doctor, so do what feels right for you. Everything you put in your body has an effect, so consider carefully before you do.


Co-Enzyme Q10 - helps oxygen utilization on a cellular level. Improves egg quality and fertilization. Ubiquinol is a more potent form, said to be 40% more effective, though more expensive.


Omega 3 - too many benefits to mention. for healthy cervical mucus. acts as an anti-inflammatory which is very important if you have an autoimmune disease.


Wheatgrass -cleansing, highly alkalizing, high in minerals


Chlorella - very nutritional, helps in cellular repair, binds and helps remove heavy metals


Probiotic - supports digestion so you absorb more nutrition from your food. 


Vitamin D - most of us are low in this. Works directly on the ovaries, regulating how estrogen is used to help egg follicles mature and grow. May also help uterine lining.


L-arginine - an amino acid that helps increase blood flow to the uterus. It's a common one doctor's recommend for a more successful IVF.


Also, I've been reading about Inositol improving egg quality. I don't really know too much about this one and encourage you do some research if interested.
There are a few academic articles on it, mostly related with PCOS. Here is one:
http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/6/1591.full


Let me know if you have anything else you thoroughly recommend!
Best
Mary

A workshop with Julia Indichova, author of "Inconceivable"

A couple of years ago I stumbled across the book "Inconceivable". I'm sure a lot of you high FSHer's have read it or know of it, it's been mentioned on so many forums, a real high FSH story of hope. I remember ordering it on Amazon, waiting for it in the mail, then devouring every page. Here was living proof that a 42 year woman with an FSH of 42 could actually conceive a healthy baby. She was told by five top fertility doctors in New York City to forget about it, move on to donor eggs. It really got me thinking about how the food we eat and how treat our body can really alter the chemistry within us. I then bought "The Fertile Female" her second book, which focuses more on her workshop teaching methods and exercises.  But honestly I didn't get it at the time, I wanted quick fix stuff, science stuff. I didn't want to go into the thinking about my dreams, or my fears, I didn't want to do visualizations! But hey, I've tried changing my diet, doing yoga, wheatgrass, I do all that, but it hasn't got me pregnant, so what am I missing from her teachings?
I have always been a fan of Indichova, even if she is a new-agey hokey pokey, you can't deny it, along with herself, she has helped hundreds and hundreds of so called "infertile" women conceive healthy beautiful babies. Her successful booked out workshops, have been running for about 18 years now, she's still going strong.
I was checking out her website the Fertile Heart, which I do from time to time, and saw she had a workshop on in San Francisco! She normally runs the workshops in her hometown in Woodstock, NY. I emailed and booked my place. One of the amazing things about Indichova is, that unlike many other fertility type workshops, her prices are very reasonable.
So, I finally got to meet my guru in person. There she was, shorter than me, 60 years old, and looking amazingly youthful. She's an absolute charismatic natural, full of endless energy and compassion. The workshop went for 7 hours and I could have stayed in there for days. The first thing she asked us was what we were thinking, and she demands an honest answer, so I said "I'm wishing on this sunny day that wasn't at this workshop and I was home with my child, I'm thinking why me, why when all my girlfriends are home with their babies, I'm at a workshop!"
The women in the group (and some of the husbands who came too) were amazing people, and I'm not someone who gets chummy easily. It was so comforting to share struggles, and bond with women who are in similar situations, and really understand where you're coming from. There were lots of tears and heart-breaking stories, but a whole new way to see and approach this journey of fertility we're on. It's hard to explain what happened in the workshop but she talks about how thoughts, beliefs, imagery can be our medicine, about how our thoughts and feelings are stored within our body's tissue and we need to work through this to clear way for conception. My explanation is not doing it justice, but I know I need to now go back and re-read the "Fertile Female" and practice all it says and really give it a whole-hearted go, I have nothing to lose.
There was a local San Fran woman in our workshop, assisting Indichova.  She was diagnosed with high FSH, low ovarian reserve, has had 5 miscarriages, and all the doctors told her she would never deliver a healthy baby. After following Indichova's exercises for several months she conceived and delivered a beautiful baby girl! This woman was sitting right next to me, I couldn't stop staring with delight and asking questions. These women you hear about with high FSH and babies, you think they're urban myths, but they're so real!
Anyhow, as ongoing support, Indichova is offering to do continuing workshops with our group in her "phone circle" meetings. I'm so glad that I'll have future contact and support with Indichova and all the inspiring women I met.
For anyone who is curious, I really recommend the Fertile Heart workshops. If this isn't possible, she also runs phone circles, but read her books first so you have an understanding of her approach.
While I will continue with my diet, supplements, and research for anything new out there, here's to a new approach.