I just returned from one of my beloved barre classes. I dedicated a whole separate blog to my love for fitness, so you can imagine that the question of whether or not I should or shouldn’t exercise while shooting myself up with Bravelle is an important one (to me and my ovaries at least). I tried to take it easy throughout the class, but if you’ve ever tried Pop Physique you’ll know that it’s hard as hell no matter what you do or don’t do. Sure it’s low impact, but it involves ballet and Pilates type moves with a direct focus on the core. We all know the core well, it’s that place where endometriosis grows, where good and bad eggs dwell, and where embryos should implant and prosper into a million little mini people. With that said, I’m not sure doing various ab strengthening moves is safe right now. What do you think? Did you continue to exercise while using stims? Did you have a successful cycle when doing so? I’m leaning toward long walks until I get a BFN (sorry but I don’t have much hope that this will work) at the end of July.
That leads me to another question, Chinese Medicinal herbs and whether or not to continue using them throughout my first IUI. My Chinese Medicine woman Dr. Jing urged me to continue, claiming it can help the process. After another semi-bearable AF I’m reluctant to stop them completely. The last few months I’ve noticed that my muscles recover more quickly after workouts, I have little to no back pain (something I typically have all the time), and little to no PMS symptoms – all of which I attribute to the herbs and needles. Though I do think it’s a tad weird that all of a sudden my follicles have disappeared and my AMH has plummeted. Could there be a correlation between my more pleasant cycles, the herbs, and less estrogen in my body as a result of said herbs, thereby making my ovaries quiet? That’s what one friend theorizes at least. I’ve ask Dr. Jing if she’s totally sure that I should herb it up in conjunction with injectables and yes, she’s sure. According to her my formula is simply meant to quell inflammation in the body that results from endometriosis. Many women like me do both and have success, she claims. And like my fertility clinic, the Chinese clinic’s walls are lined with photos of smiling happy babies. I do believe they’ve had success getting and keeping people pregnant. Plus I’m deathly afraid that my endo pain will come back which makes potentially parting with the herbs, even for a month, especially difficult.
Of course I’ve asked my RE these questions, but have been given only vague answers. On exercise: “just take it a little easier.” On herbs: “I have to advise against them because I haven’t studied them.”
Yet, I’m needing more concrete advice at this point. Exercise or no exercise? Herbs or no herbs? What did you do for your first injectable cycle of IUI?
PS – After progesterone injections, the Bravelle shots are cake. I find myself weirdly liking needles at this point. I enjoy making the little mixture, and then shooting egg juice into my belly is strangely satisfying. I’m also thinking this is good practice for the IVF cycle that’s sure to follow. Unfortunately, I’m only two shots in and already feel like I’ve lost IUI this battle. Is that lame or what?
