The good news is that my trusty Doc is back from his travels to India. The bad news is that I’m still rather cranky. The even worse news is that my trusty Doc has no idea where I am in my cycle which means I’m having to go for blood tests every second day until he can determine to a greater or lesser degree what my hormones are doing. In case you were wondering, it isn’t helping my grumpy state at all. Sigh … I can’t believe I’m actually about to say this, but it would be so much easier if I still had periods.
So during the week I read an article about ‘good mood food’. The article goes on to say that:
Vitamin B1 – improves poor concentration (doesn’t say whether that includes hormonally induced poor concentration or not.
Vitamin B3 – alleviates depression, stress
Vitamin B5 – improves poor memory
Vitamin B6 – alleviates depression, poor memory, irritability, stress
Vitamin B12 – alleviates poor memory, confusion
Folic acid – relieves anxiety, depression
Magnesium – relieves anxiety, depression, irritability, stress, insomnia
Vitamin C – alleviates depression
Selenium – alleviates depression, irritability
Zinc – relieves depression, confusion, blank mind, loss of appetite, lack of motivation
Omega 3 – alleviates depression, poor memory
Tryptophan – alleviates depression
So for the sake of LH and all those around me, I’ve taken all of this information and am applying it to my daily diet … well trying to. The Vit B6 and Folic Acid I’m already taking in pill form – have been for over a year now on instructions from the doc. Has it made a difference? Urmmm … not that I or LH have noticed. There are still times when I get the urge to stick a fork in his throat for the slightest little thing, but then thankfully forget a few moments later. All other vitamin supplements are off limits – but a healthy balanced diet is required. So whilst I’ve been eating lots of fruits and vegetables and have stayed away from processed foods or anything artificial, I’ve made a mental note to also:
1. Eat a whole load more brown rice for the B1, B3, B5, B6, Selenium. I always find brown rice chewy as all hell, but will have to persevere!
2. Add porridge oats to my diet for the B1, B3, B5, B6, Selenium. Maybe this is a better option than the chewy rice. I wonder if the instant packet one will be as effective?
3. Add sunflower seeds to all my salads and perhaps even to the oats in the morning, for the magnesium, omega 3, zinc and selenium.
4. Continue to enjoy strawberries and oranges for the Vit C as well as chicken and natural yoghurts for Vit B12 and lastly olive oil for the omega 3.
Here’s hoping that my more specific diet plan for this week will lift my mood, not pack on any kilos to my already bloated body and make the never ending needles, poking and prodding that’s involved in this process more bareable and somewhat less annoying!
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Although we’ve had yet another disappointment, on the eve of our egg donor’s second egg retrieval, we’re still evaluating our options. Weighing up how we’re going to move forward. Running through the various scenarios and possibilities. Do I do another final 10th IVF round before embryo transfer with our surrogate in June? It took us 8 rounds of IVF to achieve 1 viable embryo. What are the chances of getting another one in just one more round, but then again, just as we were giving up all hope … voila! … a viable embryo! 
. 2012 is going to be our year … I’m determined it’s going to be!
