Corner of Hope & Mane

In February of this year, I started on Pregnitude; before buying it I did some quick research and it seemed to be a supplement that could really help with PCOS. I started it a few days into my cycle in hopes that, if anything, it would help my cycles to regulate to help prepare my body during the trying to conceive process (and, of course, I wouldn’t mind being one of the countless Pregnitude success stories!). I dutifully took it morning and night mixed into my spearmint tea — it’s completely tasteless, so unlike other supplements it wasn’t a chore to take. If I could be a Pregnitude success story without a disgusting taste in my mouth, all the better.

I am a late ovulator to being with (thank you, PCOS) on even my best cycles; I can’t remember a time where I ovulated before day 20. My previous cycle, that’s exactly what I did, so I was hoping to keep it around day 20 with the help of Pregnitude. If you read my last update on Pregnitude, you know by now that I ended up ovulating on day 21.

You all know I believe that the absolute best OPKs out there are the super-cheap Wondfo ones, so I ordered not too long ago the Wondfo combination of 50 ovulation AND 20 pregnancy tests. Guess the price? An insane $22. I love Amazon. And I loved being able to use the tests willy-nilly.

The Testing Begins. Fingers Crossed for a Pregnitude Success Story

I decided to try testing about 7dpo (days past ovulation). I tested at night (dumb, I know) and got a negative…this was WAY too early to discover if I was a Pregnitude success story, and I kicked myself for doing it. The next morning at 8dpo, I tested again, thinking it would also be too early:

Pregnancy Test, 8dpo, Wondfo Test Strip

My heart dropped as I could’ve sworn I saw a very faint line. I had two extra First Response Early Response (FRER) tests so I took one of those, too:

Pregnancy Test, 8dpo, FRER

This one was harder to tell. I would’ve thought it would’ve been clearer since FRER is supposedly the leader in early tests. What I should’ve done that day was invert the photo, which would’ve looked like this:

Pregnancy Test, 8dpo, FRER, Inverted

See it? Holy crap. Just in case you’re not convinced, here’s another positive FRER at 10dpo:

Pregnancy Test, FRER, 10dpo

So, does this count as one of the many Pregnitude success stories? I don’t know. I was fully expecting conceiving to take several months, at least…especially considering how wacky PCOS has made my cycles, but maybe, just maybe with the help of Pregnitude I was able to get pregnant much more quickly than if I had gone it alone. No matter if I am a Pregnitude success story or someone that has just gotten lucky, I’ll take it!

If you’re contemplating starting Pregnitude, I’ll ask you this? What do you have to lose (ok, aside form $35-$40)? If you’re wondering where to buy Pregnitude, I’ve found the best deals for Pregnitude on Amazon and for Pregnitude on Drugstore.com.

Being a “Pregnitude success story” does have one downfall — the hair. I’ll go into more detail soon about my experience with hair loss during my last pregnancy and about my anxiety with this pregnancy (and after). I can promise you one thing: it’s going to be a roller-coaster!

One final pic. I’m now 14 weeks, but here’s me around 11 weeks:

Belly Bump, 11 weeks, 2nd child

For those of you also experimenting with Pregnitude, you may recall that I started Pregnitude not too long ago. I figured as a tasteless powder added to my drink of choice (in my case, I was adding it to my spearmint tea [which, by the way, I consider to help with hirsutism and maybe even acne]) there really was no harm in giving it a whirl, right? There are tons of stories out there of women who have gotten pregnant by using Pregnitude (even PCOS women), so I thought it was worth a shot.

Hope #1: Pregnitude Would Allow Me To Ovulate More Regularly, And On Time

My main draw for using it was that I was hoping I’d ovulate more like clockwork (many women have reported that this happens). My cycles–especially since having my son in early 2011–were all over the board. Some months I would ovulate on day 25, some on day 42, and some not at all. I’ve had a few cycles that topped close to 70 days, which is not fun. My period was always pretty crazy prior to getting pregnant with my son, but my pregnancy is really what made my PCOS go haywire.

I had done one cycle (in which I ovulated on day 20) prior to starting Pregnitude–this was Cycle 1 off of birth control. Usually, when I come off birth control, I have one semi-normal cycle and then the subsequent cycles are all out of whack. Since I ovulated on day 20 for my first cycle, I was fully expecting to ovulate no earlier than day 27 or so, and then later and later as the months went on. So, I was really hoping Pregnitude would help me ovulate closer to day 14, or, at the very least, not get any later than day 20.

Hope #2: Pregnitude Would Lengthen my Luteal Cycle

I wasn’t entirely sure if I had a problem with my luteal cycle, and since I only had one period prior to trying Pregnitude, I was hoping it would help me hedge my bets. Through temping and taking OPKs, I found out that my luteal phase was a full 11 days. Supposedly, anything less than 10 (or is it 10 or less?) can be a problem, however, I’ve also read that anything less than 12 can be borderline. So, I was kind of nervous that on top of all my other PCOS-symptoms, this would be another to add to the list. There’s way too much conflicting info out there! Regardless of the info, if Pregnitude could help to standardize my luteal phase, I’d be happy. Supposedly a standard LP is around 14 days, which gives any egg that may be implanted the best chance of hanging on.

Pregnitude Results — Did it Improve Ovulation?

Take a look! This is what I saw on day 21.

Ovulation Results on Day 21, on Pregnitude

Needless to say, I was happy!! Yes, it was one day past where I was last month, however, I was fully expecting it to be much later in the cycle that I’d see that little Smiley Face (if at all). The test on the bottom is, in trying-to-conceive terms, an IC (internet cheapy). I swear up and down that the Wondfo One Step Ovulation Test Strips are THE BEST out there. You get 50 of them for about $20 — if you are serious about testing because you are trying to get pregnant, you want alot of these because you could be testing two or even three times/day to ensure you don’t miss your “LH surge”. Once that surge is detected (and this surge may sometimes last only a few hours, which is why it’s important to test often), the test line will get darker than the control line. I’ve always found that the left, outermost portion of the test line gets really, REALLY dark, and that’s how I know I’m about to ovulate. I really don’t need to, but I confirm it with using the Clear Blue Easy tests — the ones with the Smiley Face. I just happened to have some left over, so I used them; I wouldn’t buy them again as they are way too expensive (anywhere from $15-$20 for 7 tests, if I recall).

My Get-Pregnant Tool Kit

The below are from Amazon — I’m a Prime member so you really can’t beat free 2-day shipping. You can find Pregnitude on Drugstore.com for a few bucks cheaper (although you may sacrifice a few days shipping for it).

 Wondfo Ovulation Test Strips (50) Pregnitude (1 Month Supply)

So, Can Pregnitude Improve Ovulation?

Maybe! My results for my first month on it are promising. I’ve had zero side effects from using it and it’s very simple to use, so it’s worth continuing. Stay tuned for more Pregnitude updates!

UPDATE: See my update after one full cycle on Pregnitude!

A big thank you to Kim, who alerted me to a product called Pregnitude, a supplement that’s supposed to help “support ovulatory function, menstrual cyclicity and quality of eggs for women”. It piqued my curiosity immediately and I began to wonder if Pregnitude could help with my PCOS.

Can Pregnitude help PCOS?

Of course, I immediately took to the internet to read up on it. Pregnitude contains 200 mcg of folic acid, which, as we all know, is vital while trying to conceive (TTC) as well as while pregnant. It also contains is a substance called Myo-inositol. This is supposed to work similarly to Metformin, in that it can improve insulin resistance. So, some women have reported a decrease in symptoms related to that, such as acne. Some women have also reported having more-normal cycles since taking it.

My acne hasn’t really flared that much yet since coming off of Spiro. I did have a breakout around my mouth area right around my period this last cycle, but nothing huge around the jaw which is where I really used to get it pre-Spiro. So far, so good. Of course, I’ve also been attempting to follow Paleo (as close as I can), so that is probably helpful. I’ve also been taking Spearmint tea to help with acne. So far, so good.

I was very excited to hear that Pregnitude could help to regulate my periods, which is super-important since I’m TTC (and even more important since I have PCOS). My last cycle was my first one since coming off b.c. and Spiro, and I ovulated on day 20. I can live with that. But, I’m afraid my body is going to slowly slip back to its old ways, where I’d have one anovulatory cycle, followed by a cycle in which I *did* ovulate, however, it was on CD50 or beyond. I’d much prefer not to have 60-70 day cycles, particularly while TTC. So, it will be fantastic if Pregnitude can help with that annoying PCOS symptom.

I bought Pregnitude from Drugstore.com since it was in the mid-$30s. Even my beloved Amazon had Pregnitude at a higher price, which rarely happens. I was happy that I received my Pregnitude from Drugstore.com 3 days after ordering it, so I was able to start fairly early during this cycle! I took my first dose on CD7, so maybe I will see some effect this cycle–who knows! I’ll let y’all know, of course.

Pregnitude is a powder, which is great for me because I can’t swallow pills (I know, I can’t believe it, either).  It’s tasteless and you simply dissolve it in a glass of water in the morning and at night. I’ve been taking it in my spearmint tea, which I also take 2x/day. I’m loving the two birds, one stone thing.

I will keep you posted! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

UPDATE: See my Pregnitude update or jump to my results after one cycle on Pregnitude!

Nature didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.”
–Scott Westerfield

Yes, you read that right. As much as I love Spiro, I’m going off of it. The husband and I decided it’s time to expand the family (eek!) so off the Spiro I go; Spiro can supposedly cause birth defects in male babies (although, opinions are all over the board on this. I say better safe than sorry!). It gets out of your system fairly quickly, but you definitely want it long gone before your fetus starts developing its sex organs.

I’ve been off Spiro for a few weeks now. My first concern, as always, was my hair. I have little sproutlets all over! Again, it could be because of the dread shed regrowth, but I’m happy to see that they are all over my head. My second main concern was my hormonal acne returning. My acne went almost all away during my time on Spiro. I used to get acne mainly all over my jawline and even down my neck some. Those were the cystic kind; I would get some “normal” breakouts elsewhere but at least those weren’t cystic. No matter what type of breakout I had, though, it would *always* leave a mark. So much so that my face always looked a ton worse than it actually was. Even having mostly-clear skin for the past five months on Spiro didn’t make up for the fact that I still had scars on my face. Of course, I looked tons better in makeup with no bumps (and less oil!) on the Spiro.

So, what changes have I seen in my PCOS symptoms since going off Spiro about 3 1/2 weeks ago? Nothing too much, yet. I’m still following a gluten-free/Paleo diet (I hate to call it full-on Paleo since I haven’t been 100% “good” on it) with a few splurges. I’ve also got a few other tricks up my sleeve that I think appear to be helping (watch out for those in future posts). I used to get longish hairs under my chin and on my jaw with a few dark ones in between. I haven’t seen too much of that reappear, thank goodness. My skin is definitely oilier but I haven’t had any major breakouts or anything. My hair is getting oilier, too, but I can still shampoo every second day (although, I think I will change that to every other day starting this week).

There you have it–a big change in my life! I AM happy to report, too, that I have a normal cycle this month (woohoo!). I ovulated on day 20. I’ve been temping and using OPKs so I’m sure of it. I’m 11DPO, so right in the middle of the “two week wait.” We’ll see what happens. I’m not holding my breath or anything but I was really, REALLY happy to have a normal cycle coming off both birth control and the Spiro. I’ve heard that you can either have a textbook-type cycle, or your cycle will be out-of-whack for awhile coming off of those things; I’m glad I fall into the former option! I know next month can be totally different (I’ve had cycles of 70 days with no ovulation before!), but I’m grateful for this normal one!

Rare is the union of beauty and purity.”
–Juvenal