Last year we were doing fertility treatment when I came across pre-Conceive and decided to check it out. This had escaped me until that point, then I learned it wasn’t actually that long on the market … a sigh of relief as I thought I’d missed one!
As it happens I have tried EVERY alternative treatment for pregnancy since embarking on this journey 13 years ago. If doing handstands down the M50 would’ve helped and brought me closer to my goal I would’ve tried it. I kid you not, I’ve done everything from chinese herbs you boil that smells like death they are so rancid, all in the hope that something would eventually work.
Lots of acupuncture, reflexology, therapies and alot of money later nothing worked. At this stage I could’ve paid a nice chunk off the mortgage and had IVF treatment but because I was in my early 30’s I thought the alternative route was better as I had gone from being treated for PCOS, not ovulating to unexplained infertility to my frustration. Now they couldn’t pinpoint why I wasn’t getting pregnant after “fixing” some parts of my reproductive cycle….how frustrating is that? All I wanted was an answer so we could deal with it and see if we could fix it, but when you have none where do you even begin to start?
As it happens once I left doing alternative treatments, left my job, went out to work for myself, took another holiday, new wardrobe … you name it I found myself pregnant. That wasn’t overnight it was a year or two later. Over the moon isn’t how I would describe it as I couldn’t put into words the relief to be finally pregnant, sadly the joy was short-lived and we miscarried just before the eighth week. I got all the usual statistics when you go to the hospital one in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage and part of me was so relieved to be finally pregnant that I couldn’t wait to try again as soon as I could. This didn’t come as quickly as I would’ve like but none the less a year later we were pregnant again and again sadly lost the baby at ten and half weeks.
So now I was gone from finally getting pregnant to miscarrying and was finding it even more frustrating and soul destroying and felt so incredibly sad ALL the time. So we weren’t waiting to conceive ourselves and another year passing we decided to seek out a clinic, two IUI’s later we were pregnant again. I found out on the day of my birthday and it was the best present ever, I was bursting to announce it but wanted to wait as we hadn’t told other people about our previous miscarriages just immediate family.
On the eighth week we got an early pregnancy scan and saw the little heartbeat, this was confirmation we were well on the road this time and I couldn’t stop looking at the little scan every chance I got every day. We were booked in for our 12 week scan and as it was getting closer to the date I was so excited to announce our news, a couple of days before the scan was due I started getting cramps, thinking they were early pregnancy cramps I didn’t fuss much (inside I was dying but kept it together), after all we were after seeing the heartbeat and I was probably just anxious. What are the chances of having a third miscarriage…this is how I tried to keep myself calm.
Cramps soon followed by bleeding was confirmation things weren’t good and when I arrived at A&E a scan showed no heartbeat. I just remember the doctor being so cold announcing the news like she was calling out a shopping list. Not made any easier by the fact she hurried us up to get to the next patient as she needed the room. She didn’t answer any questions just told us to return when the pain and bleeding got worse. We just drove home in silence and I can’t even tell you what the next few days were like as I was miscarrying, I was just numb and crying what felt like ALL day every day. When the time came to head back into hospital it was a flying visit as I couldn’t wait to get in and out and get back home.
This time around the sadness was different and before I knew it I was I was in an awful cycle of depression, anger and guilt. It was like it wouldn’t lift, the heartache brought on anxiety to add to my already anxious self. Trying to conceive didn’t bring on anxiety it just multiplied it HUGELY. I’ve always had anxiety and remember my very first bad episode if you like, it was my first Holy Communion and my beloved grandad had a stroke the evening before and I thought he was going to die. I was so distraught I didn’t want to go to church and couldn’t wait to get over to the hospital to see him. I can remember having a sick stomach and not being able to eat…not even sweets (a first for me!). I felt this incredible heaviness like someone was sitting on my chest and couldn’t breath. Anyway I got through the day and ever since I’ve had anxiety sometimes for good cause and other times for nothing at all, no reason, it just creeps in and it’s there! You just have to wait for it to pass. A day can feel like a year when these episodes happen and all you can do is give it time. Sounds so simple right, if only I could think like that when it’s happening. I have known nothing else only waking up every day with a sick feeling in my stomach, and I can’t tell you why?
So back to pre-Conceive, I researched pre-Conceive and read their case studies and decided I’d give this a try, one last blast at alternatives before my IVF treatment. I had first come across it in my fertility coaches office, Helena Tubridy, her clients were taking it and getting pregnant on this without any invasive fertility treatment!
So to prepare my body I started these supplements just before my treatment started and had planned on taking them into the pregnancy for the recommended period. My first cycle was cancelled as I didn’t produce enough eggs, the second couldn’t go ahead as my treatment was adjusted to produce more eggs which in turn lead to cysts so I had to wait until they dissolved. Third time lucky as they say and we were good to go. In this time I had been taking the pre-Conceive and felt great. The biggest change was my energy and mood, aside from the sickness of being pumped with drugs I felt really good. Everyone was asking about the dreaded hormones and rages but I had none of this, I was just so excited to be having treatment and getting a step closer to my goal. This time nothing was going to go wrong.
I led a healthy lifestyle, didn’t drink, ate really well, cut back on my work hours as much as you can when you work for yourself and was now on a supplement that was getting other women pregnant who had never conceived so I was well on the way. We had 2 embryos implanted and 2 weeks later a positive result, after a shaky start we were on the way finally! But sadly again I started cramping and bleeding after seven and half weeks, the clinic gave me drugs to help me hold onto it and for the next 7 days I took to the bed only moving when I had to use the bathroom so I could hold onto it but it wasn’t to be and sadly we lost that pregnancy too.
My biggest fear while going through those few weeks before and after the miscarriage was the thoughts of depression and the spiralling loss, sadness and not being able to climb back out of it. It took 3 years the last time and I was petrified of getting depression again. But through the week I was in bed I was remarkably calm and the weeks that followed the miscarriage I was back on my feet in no time and everything felt different. I noticed I had no anxiety. This was so strange, because I’d always had it, I would start my day with it, it either passed or got worse but I woke everyday with it. It was just my personality! I was questioning how I was so remarkably calm because I’ve always went from zero to 190 in seconds with it. It felt strange that I wasn’t in a complete mess like the previous times and the calmness was a new revelation. I had time to process it now so I researched more on the supplements, these were the only things I had done differently and continued taking them as I had planned on going back months ago for more treatment so didn’t want to come off them.
This is what I learned aside from pre-Conceive being a supplement that provides the body with nutritional support and although, the supplement is specifically targeted to providing nutrients for those trying to conceive, the benefits of pre-Conceive do not stop there. The adrenal glands and the HPA axis – Hypothalamus, Pituitary and Adrenal glands, help the body regulate our stress response. The adrenals release adrenaline, noradrenalin and cortisol to combat our stress response. When the HPA axis is out of balance, even in formative years, this can cause an over excitement of the glands, leading to anxiety. The nutrients in pre-Conceive were selected to support the endocrine system, incorporating the HPA axis. The formulation is designed to supply the relevant nutrients that can help the HPA axis and the endocrine system function as it was designed – reducing anxiety.
This is my silver lining … no anxiety! Of course I wish things were so different but after having anxiety for over 30 years I am so glad something really, really good has come out of this. I have discovered with the right nutrients I have gotten rid of my anxiety. If you are reading this and have never had anxiety it will be hard to understand but everything is so different for me. I no longer wake up every day with a knot and sick feeling in my stomach, I couldn’t explain why I would have it or even know myself, but now I do. I was lacking in so many important nutrients to balance my body and nervous system. It’s not the most pleasant of drinks but its benefits are incredible.
Most nutrients will perform hundreds of roles in the body, pre-Conceive was designed to support the reproductive system in all facets. Magnesium is a mineral that we need for good health. It is involved in over 300 biochemical processes. As we are generally considered to be deficient in magnesium, supplementing this one nutrient will help the body in a lot of different ways. Magnesium is found in our bone, it helps transmit signals in our nervous systems, it helps detoxification, it supports hormonal function, is involved in cell division and so on. The endocrine system in many respects, controls the way our body functions. It contains several organs and glands. It releases hormones into the system that coordinates the body. Reproduction, metabolism, energy, bone and muscle development and homeostasis.
Magnesium, B complex, NAC, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin C and other minerals like Zinc & Selenium are all important in bringing balance back to the system. Dietary and lifestyle protocols also go hand in hand with supplementation. Balancing blood sugars, exercise, mindfullness, reducing stimulants like tea and coffee, proper sleeping patterns will all help to re-balance the HPA scales. This supplement will help any illness associated with HPA axis hyperactivity … Chronic stress, Melancholic depression, Anorexia nervosa, Obsessive-compulsive disorder, Panic disorder, Chronic active alcoholism, Diabetes mellitus, Central obesity (metabolic syndrome), Hyperthyroidism.
Another factor of taking this is the clarity I have, all to do with the proper nutrients obviously. I had difficulty concentrating, was always so forgetful and restless, felt constantly tired and had digestive problems which I no longer have. Who knew a supplement to help with conception would rid me of these dreaded symptoms. We are ready to go back and have an embryo that was frozen from our last cycle transferred and I feel the best I’ve ever felt in all my years. A new chapter awaits us.
If you would like to learn more about nutrition before pregnancy, Mark Whitney from Pillar Healthcare blogs here weekly, imparting his nutritional expertise to help couples conceive and other individuals lead a healthy balanced lifestyle. You can check out his blogs HERE
