Conception FAQ

Review: Natural Factors Whey Protein

Natural Factors 100% Whey Protein Mix

by Krystal (Kndkane)

I had been TTC since Jan 2007. I moved to medical assistance in Sept 2008. After four unsuccessful rounds of Clomid (three with IUI) we decided to move to Gonal-F with back to back IUIs in February 2009. Because I was paying for everything out of pocket (and possibly moving to IVF if this didn’t work) I wanted to do everything I could to get the most “bang for my buck”.

I did some research and found an “IVF To Do” list on Fertility Friend. One of the recommended items was to drink protein shakes to help boost ovary quality. Joy recommended a whey protein shake made by Natural Factors. She said she had tried the strawberry flavor and it tasted like strawberry Quik…I was sold! So, I ran out to Central Market and found it in chocolate and vanilla {no strawberry }. The chocolate is so YUMMY, though! The Central Market employee that helped me find it said it was by far her favorite brand.

I had one shake a day and followed the recipe suggested by another wise Fertility Friend member:
In a blender, blend one scoop of the protein powder, one banana, one cup of milk and lots of ice.
Super easy and delicious!

(Comment from Joy - CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BFP!!)

Be sure to see the other posts about protein!

IVF Protocol for Poor Responders

"Stop Lupron Protocol"

This is an excerpt from an article in the online Oxford Medical Journals I read recently.  This is only a portion - there is more good information about poor response and ICSI, poor response and the likelyhood of ovarian failure, etc.
A rational approach to the management of low responders in in-vitro fertilization: Opinion

We prospectively evaluated the `stop-Lupron' protocol (Faber et al., 1998) at our Center (Karande et al., 1997b) Improved pregnancy rate in poor responder patients with cessation of GnRHa down-regulation prior to stimulation with high dosages of gonadotrophins. The study population included 82 consecutive low responders who underwent IVF–embryo transfer between January 1996 and October 1996. Low responders were defined as patients with either a history of a cancelled cycle or low response with standard protocol [peak oestradiol <500 pg/ml (1835.5 pmol/l), or <= 4 mature oocytes retrieved (n = 56)]. However, we also included patients with suspected abnormal ovarian reserve because we prospectively anticipated a low response in such patients. These included patients with an elevated day 3 FSH [>7 but <12 mIU/ml (7 pmol/l), n = 33] and/or elevated day 3 oestradiol concentration [>75 pg/ml (275.3 pmol/l), n = 8] in a non-treatment cycle (Smotrich et al., 1995) and patients' age >= 40 years (n = 24). Some patients had more than one abnormality. Patients with a day 3 FSH >12 mIU/ml [equivalent to a concentration of 25 mIU/ml using the Leeco assay (Scott et al., 1991)] were excluded from the study as, historically, we have not had a single live-birth in this group of patients. Twenty-six cycles (31.6%) were cancelled due to poor ovarian response. Fifty-one low responders reached retrieval and 48 had an embryo transfer. None of the patients had a premature LH surge. Based on a presumed low oocyte quality we were liberal with the number of embryos transferred in the low responder group (4.1 ± 2) and none therefore had any excess embryos for cryopreservation. The clinical pregnancy rate per started cycle was 19.5% (16/82) and per retrieval 31.4% (16/51). Surprisingly, we had a very high incidence of multiple pregnancies (43.8%). Of the 16 pregnancies, seven were singleton, five were twin, two were triplet, and there were two quadruplet pregnancies. This is in contrast to a similar group of patients, which were stimulated with a `flare' protocol where we had a dismal success rate (Karande et al., 1997a). Increasing the number of embryos transferred in low responder patients, therefore, does not seem to be a good strategy. We are currently investigating the role of blastocyst transfer in low responder patients (Gardner et al., 1998).

The mechanism by which the `stop-Lupron' protocol apparently improves ovarian responsiveness is unknown. It is possible that Lupron has a direct inhibitory effect on the ovaries and that, by reducing the dose or stopping it altogether, it removes this suppression and increases ovarian response (Parinaud et al., 1992; Kowalik et al., 1998). The mechanism of continued suppression (despite 11.1 ± 1.5 days of stimulation) of premature LH surges under this protocol is presently also still unknown and needs to be further investigated. Continuous suppression of LH after stopping leuprolide acetate has been reported (Sungurtekin and Jansen, 1995): a brief, 5 day course of GnRHa appeared to suppress endogenous GnRH activity for at least 1 week afterwards. In 19 patients, after stopping leuprolide acetate, LH was often undetectable within 48 h and remained so for at least 7 days.

Smoothie Recipe!

Smoothie Recipe

By Amy (Practice Makes Perfect)

I SWEAR by my smoothie recipe.  M (husband) and I started drinking them close to daily back in August.  Since then, my cholesterol has gone down to rock star levels, and his triglycerides went from over 500 to below 200.  And I swear its because of the shakes.  I have only had 2 or 3 cycles of TTC since I started these shakes so I can’t swear there, but I am confident they will help!

 

It is a nice alternative to doing plain Whey Protien shakes, plus it counts as a serving of dairy and 2 servings of fruit.

 

This recipe is for TWO 32 oz shakes
2.5 cups of water 
1 cup of ice cubes 
2 scoops JAY ROBB Vanilla Whey Protein Powder 
2 scoops Samabazon Acai Powder
1 tablespoon Ground Flax seed
2 tablespoons organic creamy Peanut Butter
5 heaping tablespoons organic vanilla yogurt
2 large bananas
handful blueberries (fresh or frozen)
8 whole strawberries (fresh or frozen)

Put it in the blender and mix!  Everything can be purchased at Whole Foods or online.  Word of warning – It is absolutely a meal replacement shake calorie wise. 

 

Jay Robb Whey Protein Powder is awesome stuff too.  It is about $45 for 24 ounces - so NOT cheap - but it is seriously yummy and organic. 

Be sure to see the other posts about protein!

Protein for Egg Quality

Preparing for IVF and IUI

Better Egg Quality - Protein

If you are like me (in the AMA category), or are worried about high FSH, you might be looking for ways to improve your egg quality. 

I have read many times, and heard from many women that adding extra protein to your diet while preparing for IVF or IUI helps improve egg quality. 

But how to easily increase protein?

You can always add meat to your diet (unless you don't eat meat).  But I wonder how much protein I'm getting with meat, or peanut butter, etc. 

Protein Powders

Protein shakes made from whey (a milk product) was suggested and I was quick to jump on that bandwagon.  It is easy to control and I like the taste!   Also, if you are a lacto-vegetarian, this will fit your diet.

I wish my brand was available for me to sell - it is so good - I'm working on that!  The brand I use is "Natural Factors" and strawberry is my favorite flavor.  I like the chocolate, too, but the strawberry tastes just like strawberry Quik!

A friend of mine (thanks N) lists her favorites as Unjury for thick, traditional shakes (it comes in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and unflavored), and Syntrax Nectar for thinner, more juice-like fruit flavors. Check out all the flavors!

I went to my local crunchy organic health food and supplement store and the Natural Factors brand was recommended by an employee.

And I have to tell you - I love my Blender Bottle!  I bought mine at the health food store, but should've bought mine here as it is less expensive!  (I'll be getting a second one and I've learned my lesson!)  It mixes up my powder really well.  I think it will be great for scrambling eggs, too!

What Not to Get

Make sure your protein powder doesn't contain soy as a main ingredient (or not at all) because soy acts like estrogen in your body - and you don't want anything "messing" with your estrogen when you are working so hard to control all your hormones through medication.

Also, I did not like many of the powders I saw at GNC or Walmart because they generally contained "extra stuff" as they were aimed at body builders and people trying to lose weight.  I wanted "pure" whey protein.  Just read labes - you may find something you like!

Cost

The cost - well, in the scheme of things - its cheaper than Gonal-F!  But what isn't?  Mine costs around $45 for the 2 pound jar.  The Syntrax Nectar is much less!  I will be trying that next!

When to Start

When to drink these shakes is a common question. The general wisdom is to start a month or two before your IVF or IUI cycle. 

And how much to use - I just follow the recommendations on my canister!  (Two yummy scoops of powder in 12 ounces of milk or water.)

You can also add the powder to your own smoothies - just throw ice, milk or yogurt, fruit (bananas are yummy), and your powder into a blender for a great breakfast shake!  Many brands make "unflavored" powders that would be perfect in a smoothie.

If you have a favorite brand, please write a review and send it to me!  I'll post it!

Be sure to see the other posts about protein!

What about Green Tea?

According to the American Journal of Public Health, women who drink one and a half cups of green tea a day approximately DOUBLE their chances of conception.

Green tea is an easy thing to add to your "get pregnant" menu.  It tastes good, it has many general health benefits, and its low in caffeine (and you can get it caffeine free)!

There are varying results in research - some research suggests that ingredients (hypoxanthine and polyphenols) in green tea may make eggs more fertile, help with maturing of eggs, and may increase the percentage of viable embryos.  It is generally accepted that polyphenols are antioxidants - good for overall health.

There are even some who advocate green tea helps male fertility - possibly helping low sperm count and motility.

Of course, too much of anything is usually not a good thing.

Recent research by the John Innes Centre in Norwich and the University of Murcia (Spain), as published in the Journal of Cancer Research, confirmed that green tea could reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. However, their study also found that drinking high levels of green tea at the time of conception and during early pregnancy could increase the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly (a neural tube defect).

Green tea has been found to contain an active ingredient called EGCG, a naturally occurring polyphenol. It contains up to five times as much EGCG as black tea. This ingredient acts as an anti-folate. It reduces the activity of the enzyme that uses folic acid, thereby counteracting the beneficial effects of taking folic acid supplements. Evidence of this could be seen even at relatively low levels of consumption such as two or three cups of green tea per day.

Many of us are taking folic acid as part of our prenatals and some of us are taking folic acid above and beyond the prenatals.  It seems counter-productive to drink green tea, then, if it acts as an anti-folate.

This is one of those topics that you have to do your own research, talk to your doctor, and decide for yourself which side you want to err on.  Maybe moderation is key here - like with most other things in life!