If you’ve been dealing with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss or infertility for a while now, you probably have a long list of supplements that you take every day. I know I do and I hate, HATE taking pills. When I was 19, I almost choked to death taking 3 huge vitamin C tablets at once. I passed out from lack of oxygen and probably wouldn’t be here to tell this story, if it wasn’t for the fast actions of my college roommate who gave me the heimlich maneuver and saved my life. Ever since then, I’ve had trouble taking pills. I have to take each pill individually, regardless of its size. It’s quite a chore to take all of them every day, but this is the first month I actually don’t mind taking them and I wanted to share why!
Fertility supplements aren’t a complete waste of time and money after all! Here’s why:
1. Fertility supplements boost the immune system!
My husband was super sick for a week and half. He could barely move he was so ill. Usually, when he’s sick, I’m sick within a couple days too. I actually thought we would be out for even trying this month because my hubby was feeling so poorly and I figured it was just a matter of time before I had too. So imagine my surprise when I continued to stay healthy. I don’t want to jinx anything by talking about it now, but I can’t help it. I’m truly amazed that I barely even got a sniffle, and the best part is, I was able to nurse my hubby and help him feel better quicker. By CD 10, he was on the mend and ready for some quality sexy time 🙂
2. I discovered Evening Primrose Oil and holy EWCM!
A few weeks ago, a fellow blogger Mommy This Mommy That posted about how she ran into a friend who had been TTC for a long time and then tried Evening Primrose Oil and she became pregnant within a couple cycles of trying it. I was intrigued so I looked it up, and what I found was pretty interesting. It has a high content of the omega-6 essential fatty acids, Linoleic Acid and Gamma Linolenic Acid which are necessary for prostaglandin function. Prostaglandins are necessary for proper hormonal balance. Getting enough omega-6 EFA’s, such as LA and GLA has been shown to support overall hormonal function within the body.
Moreover, and this is what really got my attention, EPO can greatly increase EWCM (egg white cervical mucus), the most fertile quality type of cervical mucas. I have been noticing over the past few years, that I don’t seem to have as much fertile quality CM. Having an abundance EWCM can really improve your chances of becoming pregnant. So I decided to give it a try. I began taking it at the start of this cycle and noticed a lot of EWCM on cycle days 11, 12, and 13 and I believe I ovulated on cycle day 14. So woohoo!! I have no idea if it helped me get pregnant this cycle yet because it’s only CD 16 today, but I’m really stoked that I noticed such great results so soon!
Special note about EPO: It is recommended that you only take EPO from the start of your cycle until ovulation and then stop. EPO can cause uterine contractions so it is not recommend after ovulation in case conception occurs.
For more information about EPO, visit Enhance Overall Fertility with Evening Primrose. This website is a great reference for natural fertility information.
For the complete list of supplements I’m taking, visit my Supplements page.
Also, My Lady Bits wrote a great post recently, I am taking ALL the supplements (aka my pill list), about all the supplements she’s taking that I wanted to share. She noticed huge improvements in her FSH and AMH and follicle count since beginning her supplement regime. The difference in her numbers was amazing and if you haven’t already seen her recent posts, you should check them out!
I have no idea if my supplement regime has improved my numbers that much or if my eggs are seeing a real difference, but I do know all these supplements have given me a super immune system which is also very important when trying to conceive. We’ll see if these and the EPO make a difference this cycle, but at least my body is healthy and that’s definitely something 🙂
Ya I got the same results as far as a ton of ewcm when taking the EPO. It helped with my period as well, I wasn’t nearly as emotional or crabby as I normally would be. I didn’t realize how many supplements you take! As long as they help. I only take the EPO and a prenatal vitamin.
I know it’s crazy how much I’m taking. It was all at the recommendation of my dr and acupuncturist. That’s a great bonus about your period! We’ll see if it helps me too. But hopefully I don’t get my period ? hope it helps us both!
Agreed!!
I really want to try EPO, but I’m afraid it will actually mess up the regularity of my cycle. It doesn’t do that, does it?
Hmm… I don’t know. That’s a good question. I guess if it helps balance your hormones, it could mess up your cycle at first, but I would think it would help it in the long run. I haven’t finished this cycle yet, but so far so good and I’m very consistent too. I’ll keep you posted on how this cycle goes and let you know!
Yep do we ever take a load of pills. My list is huge too, I’ve listed them on one of my pages. EPO was ok for me, I know some people have problems with it. Q-10 I think was a huge help as well. I find it all fascinating! xx
Hi hon. Good to hear from you! It really is so fascinating! I just started taking CoQ10 again. I hope it helps too!
I also hate swallowing pills. In fact, I’m not able to swallow pills without drinking soda. It’s the strangest fear to have. I have a lot of chewable pills 😉 Thanks for the list of supplements – I’ll have to give some of them a try.
It’s totally a fear of mine too! That’s interesting about taking them with soda. I’m going to have to try that!
I did evening primrose oil a while back for a few months and did not see any difference in ewcm (I never get it) but I’m so glad you are! That’s wonderful! I’m hoping and praying especially that this is your time!!
Oh that’s too bad! Have you tried Preseed? I haven’t tried it, but read somewhere that it’s a sperm friendly alternative. Thanks hon. I’m hoping and praying for you too!
I’m on a new supplement regime too and I just wrote a draft post about how much a chore I find taking them!! We are tablet twins. I have NO IDEA why I find it such a burden everyday since it takes me all of about a minute to open the bottles and take the pills.
I’m interested to see how you get on with evening primrose oil… I only ever use it occasionally if I get really, really dry skin. You burst one of the capsules and rub it on your face before bed, put on your normal moisturiser or night cream and in the morning you have peachy skin.
I hope this cycle is a lucky one 🙂 xxx
We are tablet twins! I will def keep you posted in how I do with it. And thanks for the tip! I’m going to try that on my eczema! I’ll be wishing you lots of luck too hon.
I agree – supplements do boost out immune systems. This past cycle I ran out of B complex and Cordyceps (immune and adrenal booster) and foolishly didn’t immediately replace them. I’d missed 3 bugs that had gone through our home but a week or so without those two and I caught the nastiest cold I’ve had in ages. Lesson learned!
I hope your cycle is successful but if not I’m glad that at least your immune system is rocking it!
Thanks hon ❤️
Thanks for the info sweets! I definitely believe in supplements regulating the immune system–in my case I use them to calm the inflammation in my body and keep my autoimmune disorders “quiet” (particularly fish oil and vitamin D are important for me). Praying for you this cycle! XOXO
I used to hate taking pills too, I mean *HATE!* Now I have a pill case and pills I have to take every hour…I’m not on any supplements for fertility, necessarily. I’m on levothyroxine for my thyroid, bromocriptine for my pituitary, a prenatal vitamin, B-12 for a deficiency, additional folic acid for a deficiency, 81mg aspirin to guard against clotting, biotin to help with brittle hair and nails from my thyroid problem, and I’m on Day 3 of Clomid. 🙂 With all of this, I’ve gone from not being able to take more than one pill at a time to just saying “f—k it, down the hatch” and gagging if I have to! 😛 I will be checking out your supplements page though in case this cycle doesn’t produce a sticky rainbow for me…as long as they are all safe to take, what could taking more hurt? 🙂 Thanks for posting!
Wow! That is a lot of pills! I wish I could toss all the pills down at once. My throat closes up with just one. I know it’s psychosomatic, but I can’t help it. Glad my post helped! My Dr approved all my supplements for me, but maybe run it by your Dr. before starting anything else just to make sure nothing interferes with the meds you’re already taking.
Yay for Day 3 of Chlomid 🙂 Fingers crossed for you this cycle!!
🙂 Absolutely! I’d definitely consult my doc about it before taking anything. I’ve come far enough now that I’m not going to risk mucking anything up! 😛 And thanks I need all the finger-crossing I cant get!!!!!!! Hahaha. 😀
🙂 good luck!
tea: horehound and lady’s mantle tea!
Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
Thank you for posting. Very interesting and I will be buying some EPO at the grocery store tomorrow!
🙂 Start off with the lowest dose and see how you respond. A few women on here reported that EPO delayed ovulation and messed with their cycles. Just something to keep in mind and watch out for. So far I’m fine, but I only took the lowest dose my brand recommended (1300mg per day), and I had a lot EWCM and I ovulated on my usual day. So, so far so good 🙂 I hope it works for you too!
I will be posting about this later, but I took a pregnancy test yesterday and it was positive! I’m waiting on the blood test results to confirm but wanted to share this news with you. I don’t know if it was the EPO or just our month, but I think it helped 🙂
Yay!!!! Sending lots of positive thoughts your way =)
Good luck…let us know what happens this cycle!!
I’ve never even thought of this it looked into this! But I will now! Thanks for this important information! This is all in addition to pre-natals- correct?
You’re welcome hon 🙂 And yes, this includes my daily prenatals.
We too take a lot of supplements/vitamins! Glad you are liking them!
I thought I took every supplement possible, but this is the first I am hearing about the evening primrose oil. Another one to add to the arsenal! Thanks for posting this.
I know! I had only just heard about it before this last cycle too. I have no idea if it helped us conceive this time, but I don’t think it hurt 🙂