What made you look into Alternative Remedies?

chefamy1122 · 06-15-2009, 09:51 PM

Hi ladies hope you don't mind me posting, but I am curious as to what made you decide to look into alternative remedies for PCOS instead of the "traditional" route.... I hope this is okay in here, if not mods please move my thread.....
Last year at this time (Exactly a year ago yesterday to be exact) I had an unsuccesful IUI, after injections of Follistim to make me ovulate. My ovaries got hyperstimulated, and I was on bed rest for 4 days in severe pain. My DH hated seeing me in so much pain, and it scared me b/c it really felt like someone was ripping my ovaries out of my body. I decided then to take a break from TTC for a while and start doing research on other methods to heal my body. The more I found out about homeopathy, herbs, accupunture, etc, the more I liked what I read, and decided that this was the route I wanted to take. I figure it is worth a try, right?
Anyway, I guess this is just the nosy part of me wanting to know why everyone else is looking into alternative remedies...

kittykisses · 06-16-2009, 01:19 AM

Two words...NO INSURANCE.

Mishee · 06-16-2009, 03:43 AM

I decided to go down the alternative remedy route because when I got treatment for my prolactinemia the medications made me violently ill and my doctor wouldn't recommend any other treatment. I also got ill from taking synthyroid when my doctor thought I had hypothyroidism, so I decided that I didn't want to just keep taking pills that my doctor would prescribe that made me sick. I also started at massage school around the same time, so I got interested in herbs and alternative treatments. It's been working out really well for me, so I want to learn more.

chefamy1122 · 06-16-2009, 08:31 AM

Thanks for answering you guys!!
The insurance thing was a big part of it for me too. I have insurance, but it does not cover infertility. It paid for part of my Clomid when I was on that, but none of the Follistim, trigger shot, IUI, etc.... It adds up quick!

joobilee · 06-17-2009, 11:04 PM

The thing that got me looking into alternative remedies was when I was first married our family physician didn't know what to do to help me figure out why af never visited me (I had actually seen him when I was 16 because I had only had one af in my entire life which was very strange because I was an early developer, started wearing a bra at 10 yrs old he told me don't worry about it until I'm 20 then I should worry) He sent me to an OBGYN, that dr had me take provera to cause af and see if that would kick start my body...nope. Then put me on the pill for a month to see if that would kick start anything...nope. Then after the pill neither provera or prometrium would cause af. He sent me to a Reproductive Endo. After a year with him running tests he told me I had PCOS and the only thing I could do was do injections. My insurance doesn't cover infertily. That's when I decided to see and iridologist. I thought it was a bunch of crap someone reading my iris and telling me what to take to fix it. But it was cheaper than injections. But after a couple weeks taking the herbs she told me to...AF showed up!!! that is when I began to believe in holistic healing.
It's a long boring story as to why I quit actively ttc between then and now. In Jan after a blood panel was ran by a new dr and new information given to me new avenues opened up and I felt like it was time to cure my PCOS. So I started researching what caused all the symptoms and voila here I am with my insulin way down and symptoms disappearing a little more everyday it seems. And it's all thanks to natural stuff...no chemicals. Hopefully soon my cycles will regulate and I will finally be able to be a mommy.
I hope that wasn't entirely too long. I get a little wordy when I talk about infertility...lots of emotions tied to it...but most on here know all about that. Lol

jeminijad · 06-20-2009, 11:43 PM

I am interested in "alternative" remedies- sometimes the old ways, sometimes newer stuff- because I feel that we have gotten much too far from the barnyard, from the land, from our history.

Medicine threw the baby out with the bathwater in the beginning of the 20th century- as they began having breakthroughs and developing modern drugs/procedures, they forgot everything else.

I try to assess whether any given condition can be addressed naturally, homeopathically or dietarily first. Some things need allopathic medicine- e.g. burns, sepsis, really dramatic stuff. Other things where our bodies are out of "balance," like PCOS, I've had better success self treating herbally and eating a traditional (pre industrial) diet.

Good luck in your journey!

BeckyS727 · 06-22-2009, 02:17 PM

I think my biggest reason for switching to natural alternatives was because I had already gone through 5 rounds of Clomid with no "success" - I o'ed every month, but couldn't get pg. It was frustrating me. I mean, I have a body that is ovulating, my husband is producing good, quality sperm, how hard is it for my egg to meet up with his sperm??

I did a ton of research and finally decided, after being told by my OB that we would have to do Clomid + IUI as our next step, that I wasn't going to put any more hormones in my body. I told my DH that we were going to try herbs for 6 months before re-evaluating. After 3 months (2 cycles), we got pg.

I felt a million times better doing the herbs instead of the hormones. I didn't have any s/e's from the herbs, but with Clomid, I had every s/e in the book - endless headaches for 5 days, flashes of light, hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue.

DCBailey · 06-25-2009, 12:38 AM

I just loved the idea of it. If there was something natural i could do to fix my body or get pregnant i was more for that than anything! Natural definately worked for me but i didnt get a BFP from it. Hopefully Clomid or some type of fertility treatment will work for me so i can get back to them. I felt alot better.

rancidrock08 · 07-11-2009, 11:59 AM

Natural is the route I always take.
The worst thing I put in my body is baby aspirin, which I have to for my heart.

herbsgirl · 07-11-2009, 12:04 PM

Because I usually try natural before I turn to drugs and medicine. I am very scared of what Medication like Metformin could do to my body long term, scince we are not TTC, we have 4 children. I want to treat my body with gentle Natural therapies that I feel are safe long term, and lifestyle changes, exercise, and hopefully dieting soon.

ttara123 · 07-11-2009, 04:09 PM

I'm definitely not an all-natural girl - I take my fair share of medications and I put stock in modern medicine. But if there's a more natural way to do something, I want to try that first. It seems gentler on the body to me.

Honestly, 5 years ago I thought people who put a lot of faith in vitamin supplements, etc. were full of *hit. But when I got desperate with a couple medical problems and turned to alternative methods just to have more options, I realized that a lot of them were actually helping me much more than "regular" medicines and cures. So I became a believer.

1momwannabe · 07-11-2009, 04:28 PM

Can some talk a little more about Soy Isoflavones ?

Heidi's Mom · 08-09-2009, 02:50 PM

My perninatologist suggested birth control to control my symptoms, which I hate taking - it is so altering. My midwife suggested metformin, but I really don't like what medications have done to me in the past. My midwife is sympathetic, but not overly knowledgeable about alternative medicine, so I find much of my info comes from the internet and specifically, this website. I'm trying some new things and hopeful for the future!