did you cut out all caffeine during IVF?

[Anonymous]

Did you cut out all caffeine during IVF or just reduce your intake? If yes, starting when?

I'm in my 4th IVF cycle and have twins from a previous cycle that I'm running after all day long.
In previous cycles I was SO good about cutting out all caffeine, eating incredibly healthy, taking a huge number of vitamins, etc.
Now with this cycle I'm finding I need my daily diet coke or two to survive. The lupron is making me a walking zombie. Am I alone?

[Anonymous]

I drank diet coke and een had coffee from time to time and am now pregnant with twins. I did the same in 2007 and have a toddler as a result.

[Anonymous]

no way! i had a cup of coffee every day and the occasional diet coke too; my RE said that was totally fine -- even in the 2ww a half cup -- 1 cup is fine.

[Anonymous]

I did, but i have a history of miscarriages. So I tried to eliminate every possible thing that could cause problems, even something as insignificant as one drink a day. I know intellectually, caffeine wouldn't cause an issue when consumed in small amounts, but I just wanted to do everything possible to be the perfect patient.
We got pregnant, was it because I changed my diet? Honestly, I don't know, but I felt better.
You need to do what you think is best, based on your doctor's advice and instincts. If you know in your gut that one drink a day won't cause problem, then go for it.

[Anonymous]

No, I don't see any reason to eliminate caffeine. I've never seen a study showing that caffeine interferes with fertility treatments. There are studies showing a slight link between caffeine use and miscarriage, but those all involve pretty heavy uses of caffeine. I think that if you keep your caffeine use to moderate levels (like a small cup of strong coffee or 1-2 sodas a day), and you don't have a history of multiple miscarriages, you'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

I'm at Shady Grove and I know they think that caffiene is the devil...so does my acupuncturist...so at this point (3 years of TTC--two years of that with numerous IUI's and IVF's) I just listen to them. I've been off caffiene (even decaf coffee) for 6 months--but still not pregnant! Who knows?

[Anonymous]

Really? I'm at SG and no one has ever said anything to me about caffeine.

[Anonymous]

I think that's actually my issue with Shady Grove and why I'm "fertility clinic shopping". They don't tell you things unless you ask. When I asked about caffeine, they said avoid it all costs--but never offered that tidbit to me. I have a few things along those lines that have happened with them--

[Anonymous]

Yes yes yes. Cut out the caffeine.

[Anonymous]

Yes I did. I cut out caffeine during pg too. It was soooo hard. Just had to go to bed an extra 1 or 1.5 hours earlier to get through the next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really? I'm at SG and no one has ever said anything to me about caffeine.

Same here! I got to SG and no one mentioned eliminating caffeine either!

[Anonymous]

"Yes yes yes. Cut out the caffeine. "

Why do you say this? Is there any scientific evidence to support it?

[Anonymous]

10:18 here. I decided to answer my own question. According to NIH, moderate caffeine consumption does not affect fertility:

"Numerous studies have examined the effects of caffeine intake on fertility and pregnancy. Most studies found that moderate caffeine intake does not affect fertility or increase the chance of having a miscarriage or a baby with birth defects; some studies did find a relationship between caffeine intake and fertility or miscarriages. However, most of those studies were judged to be inadequate because they did not consider other lifestyle factors that could contribute to infertility or miscarriages. The Organization of Teratology Information Services (OTIS) stated that there is no evidence that caffeine causes birth defects in humans. Groups such as OTIS and Motherisk agree that low caffeine intake (<150 mg/day or 1 1/2½cups of coffee) will not likely increase a woman’s chance of having a miscarriage or a low birth weight baby. Motherisk recommends that caffeine intake by pregnant women not exceed 150 mg/day whereas OTIS stated that moderate caffeine intake of 300 mg/day (equivalent to about 3 cups of coffee) does not seem to reduce fertility in women or increase the chances of having a child with birth defects or other problems."

"Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the effects of caffeine intake on fertility in women. The International Food Information Council (IFIC) has described and made conclusions about the following studies (IFIC August 2002).

One small study in 1988 suggested that caffeine, equivalent to the amount consumed in 1-to 2-cups of coffee daily, might decrease female fertility. However, the researchers acknowledged that delayed conception could be due to other factors they did not consider, such as exercise, stress or other dietary habits. Since then, larger, well-designed studies have failed to support the 1988 findings.

In 1990, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Harvard University examined the association between the length of time to conceive and consumption of caffeinated beverages. The study involved more than 2,800 women who had recently given birth and 1,800 women with the medical diagnosis of primary infertility. Each group was interviewed concerning caffeine consumption, medical history and lifestyle habits. The researchers found that caffeine consumption had little or no effect on the reported time to conceive in those women who had given birth. Caffeine consumption also was not a risk factor for infertility.

Supporting those findings, a 1991 study of 11,000 Danish women examined the relationship among number of months to conceive, cigarette smoking and coffee and tea consumption. Although smokers who consumed eight or more cups of coffee per day experienced delayed conception, nonsmokers did not, regardless of caffeine consumption.

A study of 210 women, published in the American Journal of Public Health in 1998, examined the differences in fertility associated with consumption of different caffeinated beverages. This study, prompted by an inconsistency in previously reported findings, did not find a significant association between total caffeine consumption and reduced fertility. In fact, the researchers found that women who drank more than one-half cup of tea per day had a significant increase in fertility. This was particularly true with caffeine consumption in the early stages of a woman’s attempt at conception. The caffeinated tea and fertility correlation was supported by a 1994 study; however, those women had significantly higher consumption levels.

OTIS (OTIS 2001) reviewed the studies examining caffeine effects on fertility and concluded that, "Low to moderate caffeine consumption (<300 mg/day) does not seem to reduce a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant."

[Anonymous]

Study that came out last year links caffeine use to miscarriage:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121080402.htm

[Anonymous]

I just reduced my intake. 1 coffee a day or a few cups of tea. Successful IVF and healthy baby later, I'm happy to be drinking more coffee again.