Conceiving and working out?

gidget1978

gidget1978

Cathlete
HI Gals,

I have a question for you and its just a matter of opinion.I can give you the long version but I will break it down for you.And if I posted something regarding this before, forgive me, although I don't think I did.

DH and I have not been using any kind of birthcontrol for 4 yrs now.And we thought maybe something was up with one of us, although I already have a child from a previous relationship.
About 2 yrs after no birthcontrol, we took a trip to the doctor.And also at this time,I was not counting days and all that jazz.Just going with the flow...if it happened it happened.We were both young and newly married so there wasn't any rush.
Sooooo, they didn't check me out at all.They just checked him out and it was confirmed that he does have a low sprem count and although it was possible for us to get pregnate, it could take a while.Right from the start my doctor didn't think my working out was the problem b/c I was at a good body weight,my periods were regular and I had been pregnate before.

Now DH and I are into our 4th year with no birth control.Neither one of us has put alot of thinking into getting pregnate b/c we were afraid of the heart break and disappointment that would follow.
But we are really starting to want this now.Both of us.I would like nothing more then to add to our family and I know he feels the same.
DH thinks my working out is 1/2 of our problem and he as said this numerous times.And although I have done some pretty crazy rotations , my normal workout schedule is pretty normal.50 min to 90 min.Nothing to crazy.

And as much as I don't want to think it, but could he be right? Should I stop working out? Should I stop working out when I know I am ovulating? It wouldn't bother me if I stopped working out for a while if I knew I would get pregnate but what about if I stop and still do not get anywhere?
I am going to make an appointment with the dr soon,just to see if I may have a blockage or something.
Whats you thoughts on this?
Lori:)
 
I think going to the doctor is your best bet. He or she can tell you if your level of fitness would have any adverse affect on getting pregnant. Once you find out then you or your DH can take steps to improve the chance of pregnancy. I wish you the best during this journey. I, too tried to get pregnant with child # 2 and went through the frustration month after month when TOM would arrive. Dh & I finally decided we would no longer worry about it. If it happened great, if not we still had one beautiful child to love. We did not do any testing which sometimes I regret, but since we do have the one child together we have accepted the fact that it isn't going to happen (DD is now 18 so now I really hope it doesn't happen or I'll end up with a child and a grandchild that are the same age. LOL). Since the two of you would like a child together, addtional testing may work for you. Conception vibes being sent your way.
Jean
 
>I think going to the doctor is your best bet. He or she can
>tell you if your level of fitness would have any adverse
>affect on getting pregnant.

I agree...I just wanted to wish you the best of luck on your journey as well.

Robin
 
I have only ever heard of exercise affecting conception in that if you exercise excessively I believe it can mess up your periods and you can start missing months. If that is not happening to you I wouldn't think the exercise would be an issue and even if it was happening, all you would need to do is cut back a bit.

I would go see a doc and ask him though, just to be sure but that's what I think...

I did not changed my work outs at all while trying to get pregnant. I didn't have a problem but everyone is different too.

HTH!:)
 
Runner's world did an article on this a few years ago. The author compared endurance training to the nomadic periods when we were "hunter/gatherers". The theory was the reproductive cycle slowed down during the heightened physical activity so that conception wouldn't occur during the trek.

No advice is as good as your MD's.

Dave
 
I highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. A lot of women have had great success getting pregnant after reading this book. I got pregnant the first month after reading it, and I had been off my birth control pill 6 months prior to reading the book and DH and I had no luck conceiving.

I agree with Wendy about exercising not affecting your chances of getting pregnant unless you are overdoing it and your body is not having regular cycles, but I'm not a doctor. When it doubt get checked out. Best of luck!!
 
Hi anne,

A friend of mine mentioned this to me the other day but I had never heard of it before.I may end up trying it...ya never know!
I know its not the stress b/c we have been just going with the flow for 4 yrs now.So I know that is not my problem.
Lori
:)
 
Im gonna have to get this book, I have heard of it before.
When we first starting trying I would count the days...yada..yada...yada...but when we found out it was going to be hard for us we thought that we wouldn't put to much pressure on ourselves so I never bothered to buy the book after.
The day we went to see the doc and he told us it could take a while, he then brought out a file of another mans,showing us how thick it was.It was the same kind of problem for this couple as well and the guy had been through so many test.I didn't think I wanted to put DH through that.It was about a inch and 1/2 thick! Poor guy!
Lori:)
 
Lori,

I wish you all the best in your efforts to conceive. I think that you are going to have to pursue the matter a little futher because as you mentioned your husband is convinced that your working out is the cause of the problem.

You do like to workout and I know you want to continue doing so...I think it would be wise to have a doctor rule this out so that this doesn't become a source of contention between you and your husband.

You are thinking about him and not putting him through this and that, but it will take the 2 of you to conceive...If you want to have a child together, this is what you will have to do...I'm sure your husband will do whatever it takes if he wants to have a child as much as you indicate that he does.

Again...good luck!


~Marietta
FITXME
http://www.picturetrail.com/fitxme
 
Lori,

I have no real wise words or anything, but I did have a crazy thought that is probably nothing, but...maybe your DH is feeling badly about having a low sperm count (I wonder if it might be hard for him knowing he's having a tough time impregnating his wife - a woman who another man had no problem getting pregnant) and so he'd like it if it wasn't 100% him being the cause of the problem. I know it sounds wacky, but you just never know. He probably just wants it all to work out so badly that he wants you to try EVERYTHING, including quitting your workouts.

As everyone else said, I would consult with your doctor about the exercising, as they usually encourage it unless it's excessive - which yours doesn't sound to be. Of course you ARE asking a bunch of Catheites who regularly do what the general public would consider excessive workouts. :)

Susan

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

http://www.picturetrail.com/dogs2birds
 
Marietta,

I think Dh would do whatever I wanted him to for us to conceive.When we had him checked out a couple of years ago, he was ready to do whatever but he also said that he didn't want us to get to caught up in this and to get upset if we couldn't have any.After that we sort of went with the flow.He also had a very stressful job at this time and we thought that was 1/2 of his problem but its been 6 monthes since his new job and still nothing.
I think we are getting to the point, that we know "going with the flow" isn't going to work for us.I think we are going to need help with this matter.But like my Dr. said...he doesn't think I am the problem but DH's Dr thinks I should stop working out.I think thats a terrible idea! hahaha:)
Lori:)
 
Susan,
Thats not a crazy thought.I have thought that myself but never said anything to him.I think it kinda hits men hard when they think they aren't capable of doing something.And he doesn't want to admit that he is 100% the problem.I am not saying that he is but as it stands now, its the only problem that is stopping us taht I can see.Im sure if I mentioned this to him he would deny it and you really can't blame him.

True, I never thought about that.Cathe workouts aren't that normal are they?:) If my periods were irregular or I was skin over bones, then I would ease back or whatever, but this is not the case.
Lori:)
 
Lori -- I struggled with infertility for years and have two thoughts in response to your question. The first is that if you have been trying for four years, although admittedly perhaps not full tilt, it is time to see a specialist. I would go to a reproductive endocrinologist ASAP rather than just a regular OB. The current recommendation is that if you have been trying for more than a year without success (and 6 months if you are over 35) you should go to a specialist. I wasted a lot of time with my OB! The second is that while working out should not have an impact, there is some research out there suggesting that women with extremely low body fat can have a harder time getting pregnant. Most important, I wish you all the best as you and DH work your way through this -- this is such a difficult and trying issue, and I wish you very quick success!
 
It seems to me that a problem has already been diagnosed so I'm not sure why your DH thinks you working out is the problem. If it were me, I'd probably go have a full check-up to make sure there weren't any other problems since it looks like only he was checked out.

Colleen
 
Although I am at a normal weight 129 and 5'4" my BF is only 13.9% so that could be a problem.Thats the only reason why I may concern myself as being part of the problem.
Lori:)
 
As others have said, I would see an infertility specialist, and it might interest you to know that I conceived when I was extremely thin and running 50 miles a week. I was also over 30, and I know other bone thin runners who have four children; I don't know how anybody manages that many children unless she has the help of her spouse.

Sometimes, a low sperm count has been treated with IVF, and a specialist would be able to help you. A support group can also offer information and so on, and Resolve is a wonderful group.

Resolve, Inc
1310 Broadway
Somerville, MA 02144-1731. USA.
www.resolve.org

www.resolve.org
 
Hi Lori!

I wish you and your hubby the best of luck. You've already gotten some wonderful advice from the other women here --
I just wanted to chime in and recommend the site:

www.fertilityfriend.com

This site may be too much for you if you don't want to look into the scheduling part of the whole process (I personally lived for that.. it's the engineer in me!), so I wouldn't want it to stress you out - but it has a lot of great advice and guidence, and there are a lot of people there in the forums that are going through the similiar things.

Good luck!!!
 
>Lori -- I struggled with infertility for years and have two
>thoughts in response to your question. The first is that if
>you have been trying for four years, although admittedly
>perhaps not full tilt, it is time to see a specialist. I
>would go to a reproductive endocrinologist ASAP rather than
>just a regular OB. The current recommendation is that if you
>have been trying for more than a year without success (and 6
>months if you are over 35) you should go to a specialist. I
>wasted a lot of time with my OB! The second is that while
>working out should not have an impact, there is some research
>out there suggesting that women with extremely low body fat
>can have a harder time getting pregnant. Most important, I
>wish you all the best as you and DH work your way through this
>-- this is such a difficult and trying issue, and I wish you
>very quick success!

I have to agree here.

I can tell you from personal experience that a lot of doctors are not experts when it comes to exercise so you may receive some bad advice there. I would suggest you seek a consultation at a fertility clinic in your area. Here is a link to the fertility clinics in Canada http://www.familyhelper.net/iy/iyclin.html

4 years seems like a longtime and I too would be wondering if it is just a low sperm count that is holding you back. Have there been any fertility issues in either your family or your DH’s family? At this point something has to change because 4 years of what you have been doing already has not given you what you want. Would you continue to use the same training routine if it yielded no results?
 
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