Could exercise do this?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I have been TTC again for over a year after having to terminate a pregnancy. I've been seeing an RE and an acupuncturist. I did a couple of rounds of Bravelle with TI. Before moving on to IVF I decided to do herbs with acupuncture rather than the acupuncture alone. I have a luteal phase defect according to the RE. I've been trying to correct it with acupuncture. My cycles have been around 26 days recently. I started the herbs this cycle. In addition, I've also upped the exercise in the past few weeks. I just got my period today and my cycle was only 22 days this time. This is way early for me.

I just read that exercise could be the culprit. I upped the exercise in an effort to lose a few pounds. I had been doing a boot camp class every day for the past year but in the last few weeks I added about 10 extra miles of running throughout the week for a total of about 15 miles a week. I was a few pounds over where I was when I got pregnant last May and I wanted to get back there. I wanted to be in the best physical shape I could possibly be in for when I started IVF.

Do you think it was the exercise, the herbs or is this just random? I am 41. My last FSH was 7.5, estrogen 36, TSH under 2 and LH 3.4

TIA.

[Anonymous]

I am a marathon runner and my cycles have been very long (like 38 days) due to my excessive running. Running is known to slow down your cycles not speed them up. But.... getting older can also have an impact on having shorter cycles.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm surprised your acupuncturist is ok with you doing so much exercising. I was running around the same weekly amount as you were and when I started acupuncture/herbs, was told to drastically decrease my exercise because according to traditional chinese medicine, intensive exercise (basically anything other than walking and yoga) takes precious blood flow away from your reproductive system because it is needed more by your muscular-skeletal and nervous systems. Westerm medicine doesn't look at exercise and fertility this way but I personally think this makes sense.

Unless you are overweight (which it doesn't seem like you are), I would stick to yoga and taking long walks instead, at least until you conceive. I had short periods (25-26 days) and as soon as I cut back my running, my periods started becoming longer and now I have a normal 28 day cycle.

Your goal right now should be to increase the blood flow to your ovaries in preparation for IVF so your body can respond well to the stimulation and produce good quality eggs. You can accomplish this by nourishing your ovaries as much as possible before your IVF through acupuncture, herbs , de-stressing and diet. I am on a wheat/gluten/dairy/carb free diet (yes, this is tough) where now I only consume warm, whole cooked foods/broths/teas and I stay away from all processed foods, refined sugars and meat that is not organic -- all per my acupuncturist and her diagnosis of my body's spleen and liver imbalances. Basically I am trying to make it easier for my body to digest food so that the blow flow can remain mainly concentrated in my reproductive system and not on my digestive system. Again, it's all about keeping the blood and energy flowing to the reproductive organs as much as possible. (I know this may be hard to understand...Western medicine just views our bodies so differently -- I recommend reading the book "The Infertility Cure" by Randine Lewis for a better understanding of fertility and Eastern Medicine.)

Being a former athlete and a very active person myself, it was super hard to give up the running (I know it is something I can always come back to) but I found that yoga wasn't that bad and I actually got a different kind of workout from it. In three weeks, I lost 8 lbs (probably a lot of water weight) and I have seen good/major changes in my body. Training for a marathon, I never lost a pound.

Of course this is all free advice; I'm not saying that what I'm doing will guarantee me that my IVF will work on the first cycle, but I just wanted to offer up my experience since it seems to be having an overall positive affect on me/my health. Maybe discuss diet and exercise more with your acupuncturist and see what he/she says based on their evaluation of your health. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP -- i don't think it's the exercise -- more likely the acu and herbs, which, incidentally did nothing for me. For me, exercise is way more beneficial but that's just me. Or, your cycle fluctuation is just random. After a year of TTC, IVF termination etc your body has gone through a lot (Im in the same boat) so iI have no idea what's a "normal" cycle for me anymore. I'm 41 too. good luck!!

[Anonymous]

My acu was ok with the extra exercise because right now I am on a break. I'm just "nourishing the ovaries" at this point and not actively TTC, that is I'm just having sex when the mood strikes rather than when the OPK stick says I should. I'm trying to just get back to the weight I was when I conceived the first time. I've been feeling blimpy and I don't recognize myself in any picture I've taken recently. It's only a matter of about 6-7 lbs. My acu also "tweaked" my herbs for this month in response to the added exercise. The weight is coming off and I feel better.

To clarify, I had to terminate a pregnancy conceived the old fashioned way. I did a couple of rounds of Bravelle with TI. I haven't done IVF yet. We won't be doing IVF until January for various reasons.

I was just wondering if others had this experience of a really early period with some extra exercise. Otherwise this period seems to be normal in terms of blood flow. I am feeling a bit crampier than usual. I guess it could be random. I am 41 with a LPD. I ovulated on day 12 this last month (keeping track for the herbs) so it looks like the LP was only 10 days this month.

[Anonymous]

Op again. I asked my acu specifically about the exercise and she said that "yes, intense exercise interferes with fertility but reducing BMI increases fertility." I am reducing now for increased fertility in a couple of months. She said that as little as 5-10 lbs helps. When I got pregnant the last time I was around 127. I've been steady at around 132 for the last 9 months or so, just doing boot camp every morning. By upping the exercise and cutting back a bit on my food for the last couple of weeks I hit 129 this morning. I am hoping to lose a few more pounds, like 2 or 3.

I'm only 4'11" so I really should be closer to 124 to be at the top of the healthy BMI range. I have big bones and I am muscular. At 129 I wear a size 4p, sometimes a size 2p.

Thanks for the input. Keep it coming if anyone else has some insight.

[Anonymous]

I think you should read Alice Domar's book on Infertility. She believes that for some women, vigorous exercise keeps them from conceiving. It seems like you could possibly be in that group. Something to consider. Why are you waiting to ttc?

[Anonymous]

OP here. We're waiting on IVF for insurance and financial reasons unitl January when I can load up the FSA and my work bonus will have been paid.

We're not actually waiting to TTC, I'm not using any birth control right now. I'm taking the herbs as directed by my acupuncturist. I'm just right now taking a break from the meds/TI/OPK craziness. I'm trying to relax and take off a few pounds that's all. I don't plan to keep up the extra running. I love Boot Camp and plan to continue doing that until I do IVF. If I stopped exercising altogether I would feel awful and there is no guarantee that I would get pregnant. Also, I have issues with depression and exercise is what keeps me in check rather than meds.