New Meetup!

I am so pumped! Me and my friend Stefanie just created the first Fertility Meetup in Kansas City!! I've been wanting to do this for several months now, and tonight we finally created it! Our first meetup we'll discuss "Fertility Diet" and throw around ideas for future meetups, introduce ourselves, and share stories. It's called "The Kansas City Not-So-Fertile Meetup Group." Here's the link if you live in or near KC and want to join: http://www.meetup.com/The-Kansas-City-Not-So-Fertile-Meetup-Group

It's 1:18 am and I need to get to bed! It is well past my bed-time. I'm just so excited about getting this thing started, finally! It is sooo past due! Heck, if I can't get pregnant using all that I have learned, someone else surely will, I just know it. And if just one person improves their reproductive health, or even better, conceives!, this will be so worth it!

I am looking forward to the much-needed sense of belonging and community that this group will create for its members. Going through fertility difficulties, many of us good women feel on the fringe in society, even left out, but this group I hope will produce feelings of inclusion. And most important, this meetup will be a fertility resource hub where we can share books, information, and referrals.

My eyes are like half-open right now. I'm dabbling in the whole idea of "lunaception" or "night-lighting." It's a waning gibbous moon and I'm sleeping now with the shades open to let the light of the moon influence my monthly cycles, aided by a night-light. Hmm...I wonder if this monitor influences my monthly cycles as it does my daily sleep/wake cycles? My next post will be all about night-lighting, I promise, but for now, I need to get some z's.

The improvements

My husband and my health has improved drastically this last year. It's been 14 months since our major lifestyle changes, and man, a lot has changed. On top of reducing his borderline high blood pressure, my husbands sperm count and quality is now in the normal range. We are very glad that we decided not to get the varicocele repair in both testicles. A whole food diet prepared mostly at home, exercise, and a regular sleep schedule has worked measurable wonders. Here's the results of his last semen analysis done this May '10. In parentheses are his old numbers from November of 2008.

Count: 25.8 M/ml (13.8 M/ml)
Total count: 95.4 M/specimen (27.7 M/specimen)
Total motile sperm: 43.6 M/specimen (2 M/specimen)
Total progressive motility: 46% (7%)
Progressively rapid: 30% (4%)
Velocity Distribution
   Rapid: 42% (7%)
   Medium: 4% (1%)
   Slow (twitches): 8% (3%)
   Static: 47% (90%)
Kruger Strict Morphology
   % Normal Forms: 11% (1%)

Impressive huh? Even just 6 months into our lifestyle change his numbers improved drastically, but this just shows the continual improvement that has taken place over a year and a half. If only his sperm quality was like this back when my cycles weren't all out of whack. We'd probably be pregnant, but we're not, so moving on.

I have also seen many improvements in my overall health since changing my lifestyle. Mine are not so easily measurable, but there still there. We changed our lifestyle June 2009 and I did a food intolerance panel April 2010.

• I used to experience lower back aches often after a long day at work cleaning other people's homes or upon waking. Now, I rarely have a back ache and usually a good jog/walk bounces me back into alignment. I prevent them by lifting with my butt and hamstrings, rather then solely relying on my erector muscles, and I sleep on my side.
• I used to experience a chronically numb big left toe and red, hot burning feet when standing for a long time in one place. Not anymore.
• Head-rushes almost every time I stood up. I still experience this sometimes, but so much less.
• I used to crave sweets all the time. Now I only crave around PMS time and periodically here and there. This is a personal battle that I'm sure I'll be dealing with the rest of my life. I think I might be a little glucose intolerant...I don't know.
• I used to have a very hard time getting out of bed in the morning and if I had the chance would sleep in to 11 or 12, and would go to bed around 1 or 2 am or even later on weekends. I thought I was just a night owl. Nope. Not anymore. I decided one day that I would like the mornings and started to appreciate the sun coming in my room and the beauty of the earth waking. Now I wake up without an alarm every morning between 7:30 and 8:30 and go to bed between 11 and 12. And I now have more energy in the morning than any other time of day and wake up with a smile most days.
• I used to be more socially inhibited and distrusting, now am more understanding and take things less personal. However this, I feel, will be a lifelong challenge for me.
• I used to experience a yeasty aftertaste when I drank water sometimes, but never anymore. I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I know what that was, yes, I must have had a little overgrowth of yeast. Never noticed vaginal yeast infection symptoms though.
• My chronically cold hands/feet especially in winter has improved greatly.
• My severe menstrual cramps have improved by 90% so far and am hoping it will continue to improve with time, as each cycle so far has been a little less painful than the one before it. This last cycle was the first cycle where I got by using only one ibuprofen on the first night of my period and no pain meds throughout the rest of it. The cramps were still there, but so much more tolerable and easy to ignore.
• I used to experience swollen, sore breasts during PMS sometimes for a whole two weeks, but now I never have this.
• Within the first month of changing my diet/lifestyle my period flow was fresher and brighter.
• I used to have mucus in my bowel movements but never anymore. 
• I used to be bloated and gassy all the time and uncomfortable. Now I just get a little bloated still, but never uncomfortable. The Food Intolerance Panel has helped out with this a lot. I'll post about my experiences with the Food intolerance panel in the future.
• I used to have holes/ lattices in both of my retinas as I am naturally severely nearsighted. (I had corrective surgery -- totally recommend it!) They have not returned since laser treatment on retinas.
• I used to experience a lot of eye pressure/discomfort after laying on my side, one time it lasted all day. I do not experience this anymore.
• I used to spot 2-3 days before my period actually started, but this has been reduced to a slight pinkish tinge the day before I start or the day of if I start in the evening. Tail-end brown bleeding reduced.
• Chronic yellowish pasty discharge from a chronically inflamed cervix. Real fun. Allergens, infections ruled out. Sadly, this did not improve. I did get it cauterized later, but more on that in a later post.
• I used to get congested every night, but now I never do. Being dairy free has helped with this.
• I used to break out easily and especially premenstrually, but since the food intolerance panel, this has greatly improved.
• I used to have a pale complexion, but now have that golden glow of health even in the winter. It's amazing the difference.
• I used to experience dandruff and brittle nails, but now the dandruff is gone and the nails have strengthened and grow very fast, though they could be stronger. Toenails and fingernails are a healthy white with a pink nail bed.
• Since the food intolerance panel I have not experienced indigestion or acid reflux.

So did I talk you into changing your lifestyle for the better? I hope so!! However, even though I have many improvements in my overall health, some things are taking their sweet time to improve and some things have just gotten worse!