Our New Super IV Bag

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We’re so excited about our new Super bag! It’s the Super Nutritive IV Bag and it’s full of so many good things.

Here’s the breakdown:
Vitamin C, Vitamin B complex, B5, B6, B12, Magnesium, Calcium, Molybdenate, Manganese, Potassium, Zinc, Selenium, and Amino Acids.

This is an awesome bag and is my new favourite for really helping you feel better faster.

Who should get this bag?
It’s a great one for Fertility, Low energy, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Crohn’s & Colitis, IBS and generally feeling like crap.

I personally do really well with the amino acids and they make me feel like a million bucks.

Who wouldn’t want to feel like a million bucks?!?

I’ll be hanging out in the IV Lounge this Thursday afternoon and evenings so come and get a bag with me!

Not sure? Come in for your IV Prep visit and we will chat about the options, do a health check and book you in for your IV if that feels right for you. Click here to book your free IV Prep Visit.

We’re here to help.

The Rooted Team

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Fertility Festive Funk

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Infertility Sucks

It sucks even more when you’re surrounded by pregnancy announcements, adorable baby-dressed-as-elf photos, and merriment. You may end up in a “Fertility Festive Funk” because sometimes you just don’t feel like being festive.

A Holiday Miscarriage

One of my close friends miscarried right before Christmas a few years ago. Before it happened, she was excited to tell all the family at Christmas that they were expecting their first baby. But the rug was pulled out from under her. The future that she had imagined as soon as she got that positive test, was ripped away from her.

It was unfair. It’s always unfair.

Around the holidays can be even worse.

We were Christmas shopping together and she bumped into an old friend. There was the first few minutes of the conversation, how are you?! How are you? Then it turned real… “actually I just had a miscarriage…” Her friend responded “me too!” Hearing about loss is not something you usually get excited about but if you can share your grief with someone who get’s it, you’re excited to meet someone who’s walked in your shoes. Suddenly, my friend didn’t feel alone anymore.

Here are 3 things you can do to help survive the Fertility Festive Funk:

  1. Collect – Collect responses to those nosey questions from innocent family members. The ones who ask you, “so when are you starting a family?” or “are you having any more children?” You don’t have to answer them, or you can be blunt, or you can be evasive. It’s totally up to you. Before it happens, get prepared. Take your journal or a piece of paper and write out 5-10 responses you could say back to someone. Sometimes you’ll feel like telling the truth, sometimes you won’t. If you practice these responses to your partner or in the mirror, it will be easier when it happens. Also Collect ideas of how to take care of yourself during this time – counselling, massages, acupuncture with your favourite naturopaths at Rooted, meditation, or guided imagery for fertility. Make a list of things you can do to take care of yourself during this potentially stressful time. Look back at both lists every few days to remind yourself of what to say and what you can do.
  2. Correct – Correct people who feel it’s their business to know when you’re planning on procreating. It actually isn’t any of their business. Cut of conversations if you want to. Correct the thoughts in your head that say your family isn’t good enough without a baby. You can host the holiday dinner, you can go on a sleigh ride, you can sit on Santa’s knee if you want to. Choose gentle thoughts about yourself, your body and your situation. If you need help, come talk to us or your counsellor.
  3. Connect – Connect with yourself first. What do you truly want over the holidays? A big gathering? A small gathering? To hold all the babies? To not hold any of the babies? It’s totally up to you. First get quiet with yourself, grab your journal and really ask yourself how do you want to handle the holidays this season? How can you bring joy to your holidays for you while you’re still waiting to grow your family? How can you make this holiday season special despite this hole? Your family is still whole just as it is right now. Connect with friends and family who make you feel good. Who listen to you, who make you feel more positive than negative.

We’re here for you. Whatever you choose to do this holiday, know that you are ok, you will be ok, you’ve got this. If you’re new to Rooted, come on in for a free fertility introduction. We can chat about where you are, what you’ve done and how to support you on your baby journey especially during the holidays.

Talk soon,

Dr. Whitney Young, ND

 

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IV Therapy for Infertility

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There’s this lovely couple I’ve been working with and they swear that IVs helped them get pregnant. They’d been doing so much to help their fertility. Had an unsuccessful round of IVF and were feeling hopeless.

They focused on their diets, did acupuncture and IV nutrient therapy to help rebuilt their health from the inside out.

We are so pleased with their results.

IV Therapy for Infertility

How about adding IV therapy into your preconception regime? The quality of your eggs and sperm determines the quality of your embryo and future baby. IV nutrients help on a cellular level to replenish and rejuvenate.

Check out our site for more info https://drwhitneyyoung.com/intravenous-vitamin-therapy

We’d be happy to help and answer any questions you have.

Talk soon,
Whitney

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Infertility & Alcohol Intake

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I’ve had a few questions this week from men and women asking about when it’s ok to  drink while you’re trying to get pregnant. And how much can you drink?

So here’s some facts for us to consider when thinking about guidelines around infertility and drinking alcohol:

Male Infertility & Alcohol 

  • Alcohol is linked with testicular atrophy, decreased libido and decreased sperm count
  • Alcohol decreases semen volume, poor sperm morphology and motility
  • More alcohol in his system means more oxidative damage to his sperm
  • 10 or more drinks a week is associated with 2-5 times more miscarriages

Female Infertility & Alcohol

  • Women who get hangovers are more likely to be infertile than women who don’t
  • The amount that women can drink in a week isn’t clear
  • One drink a week to 5 units a day can have various effects including increasing the time to pregnancy, decreasing probability of conception rate by over 50% and decreasing implantation rate, increasing both the risk of spontaneous abortion and of fetal death and causing anovulation, luteal phase dysfunction and abnormal blastocyst development
  • 10+ drinks a week associated with 2-3 times greater risk of miscarriage
  • Alcohol consumption in the week prior to conception is associated with an increased rate of miscarriage
  • There is no amount of alcohol that’s considered safe during pregnancy

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is characterized by physical defects, brain and central nervous system problems, & social and behavioural issues

Alcohol:

  • Enters your bloodstream and reaches your developing fetus by crossing the placenta
  • Causes higher blood alcohol concentrations in your developing baby than in your body because a fetus metabolizes alcohol slower than an adult does
  • Interferes with the delivery of oxygen and optimal nutrition to your baby’s developing tissues and organs, including the brain

After conception – when does Implantation happen?

Implantation occurs from 6-12 days after ovulation. Some sources say the most likely day is Day 9.

So when can a woman actually “safely” drink while she’s trying?

  1. Theoretically you could drink from start of period to 6 days after ovulation. So that still gives you about 3 weeks a month you could drink
  2. Definitely stick to less than 10 drinks a week. A glass of wine some nights might help to calm nerves and get you “in the mood.
  3. He should stick to less than 10 drinks a week as well.
  4. Ask him to cut back around time of ovulation so his sperm swims straight
  5. If both of you can cut back without impacting your mental health, then that’s good. But remember, our motto is “have a baby without the crazy.” And if you’re on this journey a long time, that’s a long time to go without alcohol if that’s part of your social life. I get it.

Dr. Whitney Young, Naturopathic Doctor – Fertility Doc at Rooted

Book your Free Fertility Assessment with me to discuss your fertility and get your questions answered.

Links:

Mayo Clinic – Fetal Alchohol Syndrome

 

 

 

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Infertility – You Hate Moms Like I Hate Dads

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Infertility

Ok, hate is a strong word. But that’s how we feel in the moment.

When all you want to do is see a positive pregnancy test and have your own pregnant belly, seeing other women get pregnant so easily infuriates you.

  • Your co-worker keeps talking about her new pregnancy – you hate her
  • Your sister-in-law “accidentally” gets pregnant – you hate her
  • That young woman walks down the street with a big pregnant belly – you hate her

I get it. My anger is different but similar in a lot of ways.

After my husband died suddenly of a heart attack in September 2015 I couldn’t stand to be around dads.

  • The smiling dad in a family photo on Facebook – I hated him
  • The dad pushing his daughter on the swing at the park – I hated him
  • The dad picking his kids up from daycare – I hated him

But did I really hate him? Was his happiness or his existence really about me and my pain? No. I can’t begrudge other dads for simply being dads and being there. It’s just a reminder of what I don’t have, what my girls don’t have and what Steve’s missing.

Is it ok to miss him? Yes. Is it ok for you to be sad for not having your own baby yet? Yes. It’s ok, your feelings are completely normal. But projecting hate onto others can keep us stuck and unhappy.

So here’s what we can do:

  1. Stop

There are 2 ways you can do this Stop Step.

Firstly you can use the thought-stopping technique – literally say stop in your head. To stop the thought from occurring, then skip to the “Reframe” step below.

Second, try stopping the activity. I had to go off of Facebook for awhile because it was upsetting me to see different photos. I hear this a lot from my fertility patients – that all they see on Facebook is that someone else is pregnant or just had their new baby. You can go off of social media completely for awhile or limit your exposure by not going to your News Feed but instead go to Notifications and only look at what you want to look at.

  1. Reframe

Who is it you’re really angry at? What do you really want to happen? Do you want that particular baby? Do I want that guy to be the dad to my kids? No, I don’t. Likely you want your own baby and are angry it’s not happening for you yet.

So just reframing what you’re really mad about and then using a coping strategy to move out of that moment.

  1. Change

Make some sort of action step, change something up.

I was really nervous about having my daughter’s birthday party after Steve died and having the other dads there. One of my friends asked, why didn’t I just have the kids and moms – a no dads birthday party. The thought hadn’t occurred to me.

If there is an event, a situation, that isn’t working for you, can you think of a creative way of changing it?

For example, could you have an honest conversation with your co-worker about how happy you are for her but that it’s too hard for you to talk about her pregnancy all the time?

If this step is hard, try talking to your partner, counsellor, or naturopath about other ways to take action to dial down the hate.

So, do I really hate all those dads?

No, but I acknowledge my feelings then try to move forward. Life is tough but my hatred doesn’t make it any easier. I love the dads in my life and my girls need other men around them.

I hope you can find some sort of peace with what’s happening in your life. If that sounds like a tall order, I get it. But just move step by step, moment to moment. You’ve got this.

Whitney

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Exercise and Fertility

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smashed scale

Overweight and obese women are often told to lose weight in order to improve their fertility. They are told to eat less and exercise more with the focus on losing 10% of their body weight.

They leave doctor’s offices feeling ashamed, frustrated and angry. Do these doctor’s believe that they’ve never tried that before?

We want to let these women know that they can stop focusing on the weight loss part and just focus on the exercise part.

A study published in Reprod Biomed Online, July 2014 found that obese women who exercised regularly before IVF and ICSI had not only higher pregnancy rates but also higher live birth rates.

What’s key here is that it wasn’t that these women exercised and lost weight, because they didn’t. They had a stable BMI – their weight didn’t change!!

This is so empowering for these women – they can stop weighing themselves and just move their bodies. If they move, they are successful. Nice.

Please share this with anyone you know who needs to hear this. Give these women hope and action.

Yours in health,

Dr. Kerri Fullerton ND & Dr. Whitney Young ND

 

 

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