IVF & Diet

Hi All!
I am @ Cornell starting my first IVF cycle in January. I just came back from the teach class on Wed and my head is spinning! They told me to refrain from exercise, but when? After starting stims? What about refraining from caffiene and alcohol? Should I start that now? For those of you who have done or are doing IVF is there any sort of special diet you follow? I know I should've went over this there, but I was a bit overwhelmed. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

Re: IVF & Diet

You should stop exercising when you start stimming. I would stop the caffeine now. Easier to ween yourself off than to go cold turkey (nasty headache from withdrawal, trust me I was a coffee addict at one time). There's no special diet. Some people like to eat a high protein organic diet. Lots of greens and whole grains. Can't hurt that is for sure. They say to stay off sugar during but who really believes that. But, again can't hurt you. I guess I would lay off the alcohol when you start stimming too. I am such a light weight now that I would probably go right to bed and forget my meds.

Are you in series 81? I will be starting probably mid February but I have to do co-culture first.

Re: IVF & Diet

Add ground flax seed to your cereal, oat meal etc. Also, try to avoid processed foods and skip caffeine all together. My acupuncturist also reco. the vitamin CoQ10 which helps with circulation and he said with implantation. Good luck!

Re: IVF & Diet

I stopped caffeine a while ago, to give myself some time to adjust. I went down to a cup of black tea a day and when I started my IVF cycle, I cut that out. I'm glad I did because it gave me some time to adjust to caffeine withdrawals.

As for diet, I just followed my usual, sensible diet - lots of fish, fruit and veggies, no junk food or processed food. I had been doing that, and am still trying to, for about 8 months leading up to my IVF cycle.