Au Naturel

Yesterday I replenished my drink cabinet with Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, I did 40 minutes of "fertility yoga," and stocked up on all kinds of healthy food.

I considered calling my acupuncturist and scheduling something with her again--although I haven't seen her in nearly a year. And she's expensive. The tea was $3 in the health food section, the yoga was free on Youtube, and the healthy food needed to be bought anyway (our holiday and post-holiday eating has been VERY bad).

Right now, I'm choosing to go natural. I'm not sure I believe the yoga does anything to help my infertility, but I could definitely stand to be more flexible. I don't know if I believe that the tea is anything other than a warm drink--but I like tea. And it's still really cold here.

BUT...I'm not sure I have to believe all these homeopathic remedies for them to work.

I guess I'm in the camp of it's not hurting me, so why not? Nothing I do believe in has worked so far, maybe something natural will.

I saw an acupuncturist last year around this time. It was during the stretch from November 2012 to March 2013 where I didn't get a single period. I saw her 4-5 times from December to February. I liked it. Even then, I'm not sure I believed it was going to work, but it was sort of a panic move after my doctor saw me in November and didn't do anything to help me. I needed to do something. So, I let some lady stick needles in my body while I listened to Enya in a really, really warm room. I treated it more like a massage or a visit to a tanning bed than medicine. It made me relax, take some time for myself, and leave feeling better--rejuvenated--though probably not cured. The sessions were something like $90, and I couldn't justify continuing to go every week. I saw her for nearly three months and my period still hadn't returned. I just quit scheduling sessions and came to the conclusion that acupuncture just didn't work for me.

It was disappointing, but I got busy. During the summer I play community softball on Tuesdays and sand volleyball on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I'm so busy and enjoying the freedom to be outside doing something I love three nights a week, I tend to not dwell on my infertility.

But the winter is the worst. It's my break from coaching. I'm stuck inside many nights, and because of this I let my working out schedule slide. My preferred exercise is running. I don't do well with treadmills, ellipticals, or videos. I like to be on pavement, hair in the wind, sweat running down my face, physically pushing my legs to go farther, faster. No indoor workout has ever felt that way. Since I live in Minnesota, I can't get outside until at least March during the good years, generally closer to April or May if I want to avoid freezing my lungs or slipping on icy sidewalks. Since I'm inside so much, just sitting around snacking and getting fat, I tend to think about infertility ALL THE TIME.

So, it was time for a plan. And somehow that plan ended up being "go natural." I'm trying to eat healthy, lose some of that holiday weight, go herbal, and do yoga. It's not a great plan, but it's something for now while I save money for a real plan.