Low Blood Iron And Infertility

I'm constantly on a search for a reason as to why I can't conceive. I know I have PCOS, I know I have hostile cervical fluid, and until recently, I knew my weight was an issue.

However, I got to thinking about low iron. When I was younger I had an iron deficiency issue and I had to take pills to correct it. I know I don't get anywhere near enough iron out of my diet cuz my calorie app tells me so. I think the highest I've ever gotten in 1 week is 44% out of 100%. Not to mention I have all but maybe 1 of the symptoms of low iron.

That's not so good.

So I thought to myself, I wonder if there is a link between infertility and low iron. Turns out, there is.

This article talks about how low iron can cause you to be anovulatory. And it makes total sense. If you already have low iron, your body doesn't want to make it lower by getting your period. So it stops you from ovulating so you don't get your period regularly. Plus it goes on to say that even if by chance you do ovulate, the pregnancy will be hard to sustain because you don't have the sufficient amount of iron to support it so you end up miscarrying.

It makes me wonder for sure. I'm torn between doing nothing different and having my new RE check my iron levels or starting a my pre-natal vitamin (I know, I know. I should be on it anyway).

I'm leaning towards the vitamin. This way I can build everything up in my system before we do IUI so we have better chances.

But I'll still have her check my iron levels. I really want this IUI to work and I want to make sure I am healthy enough to sustain a pregnancy.

Well So Much For That Idea...

I've been reading up a lot on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). I'm not really into taking medicines and stuff like that (which is funny since I'm on Phentermine, Metformin, and take a generic sleep aid) but with infertility, it's not really something you can avoid. Kind of.

I would love to say "to hell with all these fertility meds" and just go the natural route. However, insurance doesn't cover "natural" and it sure isn't cheap.

I called to see if an acupuncturist in my area does fertility acupuncture. Well, as it turns out, they do.  But, (there's always a but) it will cost me $70 the first session and $50 for every session after that with them wanting to do at least 10 sessions. Which in the end would cost between $520-$570 depending on if they count the first session into the 10 sessions or not. Yeah, I have the money to do it, but that is money we already have set aside for an IUI. Right now, we have enough money to do 2 IUIs so we can do 2 consecutive cycles in a row to help increase our chances (if the first IUI doesn't work). I just don't think I want to sacrifice an IUI for acupuncture. Ok, I really do, but I'm just not sure if I should. 

It's a hard decision.

I Wish Someone Had Warned Me

Many people swear by TCM, but there are also some pretty darn good statistics with IUI too. I'm spending roughly the same amount of money either way but I just don't know if I should chance wasting my money on something that could work vs something that does work (for most that do it).

See my dilemma?

I suppose I could go ahead with the acupuncture and spend the next couple months before we even do our first IUI saving up the money for a second IUI, but it's risky. Whenever you need to save money is when something comes up where you end up needing to spend money you had planned on saving and I just don't want to take that chance.

Although I do have the security deposit coming back from our old place...