TTTC runners

[Deleted]

First time I got pregnant the consultant said to take it easy. I ran gently until 9 weeks. Lost the pregnancy at 3 months.
Second time I got pregnant I didn't run at all, lost it (7 weeks?)
Third time I got pregnant I didn't run at all even two weeks before I conceived, lost it at 3 months again.

So, in my experience it hasn't made a difference either way EXCEPT my family blame 'all that running' for my losses. So much so that I don't ever tell them that I run. Ever. (Easy enough because they live on the other side of the world).

I know it's disappointing and the sense of loss I had from not being able to run was huge. I kept telling myself that it would all be worth it and it never was. I missed out on doing Paris Marathon last year, only to lose the baby a week before the race. By that time I'd lost enough fitness to run, plus you need a doctor's note to run in any french race which I wasn't going to get being 6 days out of hospital.

[thom]

I don't really have true experience to speak from, but I will just say that everyone and each body is different .

Some people can be very active and exercise heavily with no impact on their cycle. (And I fully believe in running and think it's healthy.) However, if you are having TTTC, it does seem reasonable to see if cutting back somewhat on activity may help. Especially if you have a lower body weight to begin with. I don't think it means running is bad or stopping you from conceiving, but I think it's probably an effort to minimize stressors on your body and maximize your chances.

I'm thinking about this myself lately, scaling back my activity some, and taking in a few extra calories to see if it might help me.

I'll be interested to hear the other responses though. I think moderate activity should still be fine, but I do know I get worn out and ask a lot of my body when I'm training hard.

[katietornado]

I don't have experience with this myself.

But, anecdotes...

A close friend was a decent trailrunner, putting in 40 or so miles a week in Colorado. She couldn't conceive for 12 cycles. Saw an RE. Stopped running. Pregnant the next month. Makayla was born this past Feb.

Another friend is a serious marathoner. Tried 13 cycles, during which time she ran 4 marathons (including Boston). We were in grad school, and finals got the best of her, and her running dropped off. And...pregnant that cycle. Julian was born in January.

[thom]

Many hugs {{ @cheshire. }}I hate it that people try to pass judgement on other's activity level and choices. I know several people in my life assume it's unhealthy to run in general, so I suspect I'll be fighting their opinions if we do get pg.

[hannahb]

My OB had me stop running. Said I wasn't ovulating. Then put me on Clomid. Told me to again stop running. None of this worked.
I have always had regular periods. I'm thin. Probably on the lower end of bmi charts. I've also been running for years.
I finally saw a RE. Bloodwork showed I was ovulating fine. Turns out there was another reason for my infertility.
I guess what I'm trying to saw is that yes heavy running can mess with your hormones. However if you've been running awhile, don't go all extreme with your mileage, and your bloodwork is ok, I see no reason why you have to give it up completely

[wambam]

Holy crap @cheshire, I'm so sorry your family is like that.

[runblondie26]

I'm so sorry @cheshire. Your family should be giving support, not judgement.

I'll just chime in that my body is sensitive to exercise, and I walk a fine line when it comes to exercise and weight and TTC. My diagnosis prior to my first 2 pregnancies was hypothalamic amenorrhea, so I had to cut back significantly on activity, gain a little weight, and get the extra push from clomid to get my ovaries going.

I never lost the last bit of weight, and was running less mileage, prior to getting pregnant his time. We were considering pursuing treatment again later this summer, so we were pretty shocked it happened without outside help. A little less mileage and few extra pounds made a big difference.

Your doctor should be on board with swimming, yoga, and other low impact exercises in moderation. I know it sucks to give up an activity you love, but maybe you can get hooked on something else in the mean time.

[runblondie26]

And like other posters already mentioned, it will depend on your diagnosis. For hypothalamic amenorrhea exercise is contraindicated, for "unexplained" cases it probably couldn't hurt to scale back. For other conditions it may not play a role at all. Hugs scm1011, I hope they are able to give you some clearer answers soon.

[awick14]

((@chesire)) my ILs side of the family blames everything I do as the cause of my mcs even though I have a, completely, different medical reason for my losses. I don't plan of telling them about anything else in regards to TTC/early pregnancy again.

OP, I know that running/ training for longer races can cause you not to cycle regularly. When is your marathon?

[melmel48]

May 24, 2015 16:13:10 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

May 24, 2015 16:10:00 GMT -5 awick14 said:

((@chesire)) my ILs side of the family blames everything I do as the cause of my mcs even though I have a, completely, different medical reason for my losses. I don't plan of telling them about anything else in regards to TTC/early pregnancy again.

OP, I know that running/ training for longer races can cause you not to cycle regularly. When is your marathon?

I was aiming for one in October, so I actually hadn't started training yet (just half marathon training the last couple months). I'm sorry you have such insensitive ILs, that sounds really hard, hugs. 

I see what you did here... aiming for one in October! Oh yeah! I was surprised when you told us, but things the other posters have said in this thread make sense. I know the full is a whole different bag of chips, but you can always do the half with me. I really want you to be able to do the full. You would do fabulous. I hope you can get some answers soon.  Your disappointment is completely understandable. I am glad K is supportive with whatever you do. 

As a side note: You kicked butt in both of your halfs only training 18 miles per week?! good lord woman! 

[melmel48]

May 24, 2015 16:10:00 GMT -5 awick14 said:

((@chesire)) my ILs side of the family blames everything I do as the cause of my mcs even though I have a, completely, different medical reason for my losses. I don't plan of telling them about anything else in regards to TTC/early pregnancy again.

OP, I know that running/ training for longer races can cause you not to cycle regularly. When is your marathon?

How insensitive of your ILs! This makes me so angry for you. I wish you lots of luck TTC when the time comes. 

[awick14]

May 24, 2015 16:37:26 GMT -5 melmel48 said:

May 24, 2015 16:10:00 GMT -5 awick14 said:

((@chesire)) my ILs side of the family blames everything I do as the cause of my mcs even though I have a, completely, different medical reason for my losses. I don't plan of telling them about anything else in regards to TTC/early pregnancy again.

OP, I know that running/ training for longer races can cause you not to cycle regularly. When is your marathon?

How insensitive of your ILs! This makes me so angry for you. I wish you lots of luck TTC when the time comes. 

Thanx. We just started clomid this cycle. So hoping that this is going to help us at least get pregnant. You really learn who's there for you after bad stuff happens.

G22- you may have some prospective on this as well.

[melmel48]

May 24, 2015 16:40:20 GMT -5 awick14 said:

May 24, 2015 16:37:26 GMT -5 melmel48 said:

How insensitive of your ILs! This makes me so angry for you. I wish you lots of luck TTC when the time comes. 

Thanx. We just started clomid this cycle. So hoping that this is going to help us at least get pregnant. You really learn who's there for you after bad stuff happens.

G22- you may have some prospective on this as well.

Good Luck! You are correct when you say you know who's really there for you after bad stuff happens. It's sad; but true.

[melmel48]

May 24, 2015 17:05:29 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Thanks, melmel48! You're very sweet And yes, my work schedule means I often have to scrap a planned weekday run or 2, so mileage is never what it should be (I always get in my longs on the weekend though!)

I just read what I wrote. Holy random sentences! Good work on the long runs! They paid off! 

[G22]

Thanks for the tag awick14.

OP, I'm sorry you are faced with seeing a RE and infertility stuff. For me, running isn't what kept me from getting pregnant. We tried for 5+ years to get pregnant and I didn't pick up running until we were 2 years into that.

That said, once I started fertility treatments it was tough to balance them both. My OB/RE were ok with me running through my IUIs, but really only up to half marathon distance. Even then it wasn't a resounding "Sure do it". More like a "well, I guess it's ok.." I did run 3 full marathons during the time I was TTC with my OB/RE, but I planned them during TTC breaks. My doctors were not on board with me training for a full while going through treatments actively. Which when you think of the $$$ you are spending, I found a way to be ok with cutting back or stopping when I needed to.

So what I would do is sign up for my full (like 6-9 months in advance) and then I would lightly train and only do low maintaining mileage until I was about 3 months out from the race while actively doing IUIs. If I got to the point of being that close to the race and not pregnant, I'd take a welcomed break from treatments, train and run the race, and then pick back up with treatments afterwards. I found that way I had a plan A and B, and either way come race time I'd be happy because I'd either be pregnant or ready to run it, if that makes sense.

I will throw out that running long distance never messed with my cycles, if it had I most definitely would had scaled back and not run so much. Our IF issues stemmed from both my H and I, so since running wasn't causing my infertility that's why I continued like I did.

It's so frustrating to go through IF, but it gets hard when you have to give things up for it. You have to find a good balance for yourself. For now I would listen to the RE while you go through the basic testing and see what might be causing your IF stuff. Also I'll just throw out if you move to IVF at some point, you won't be allowed to run at all during the cycle. It sucks, but there are good reasons for it. I know it's frustrating, and I hope you find success soon.

[G22]

May 24, 2015 17:31:39 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Thank you, G22, I really appreciate hearing about your experience (and I'm so thrilled for you that you're currently expecting!!!). I do like the idea of keeping up maintenance training and then making the call to forgo TTC and marathon train 3 months out. 

Since I have been pregnant before (with a prior BF), I have a suspicion the problem lies with DH. I'm looking forward to testing and finding out more information. At the moment, we're both of the mindset that we won't pursue IVF (not because I'm opposed to it, I just think we'll probably accept a childfree life or pursue fost/adopt instead).

Thanks so much for your kind words  

Thank you

I think once you get your testing results back, that will hopefully help you have an idea of the big picture and what may be going on. Then you can decide how to move forward. There is no wrong answer there, only what feels right for you. I do wish you lots of luck no matter what!!

[thom]

May 24, 2015 15:35:46 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

thom, I know, now that I think on it I realize that makes sense. I'm on the slender side, but by no means underweight (5'8, 135lbs). The weird thing is that since I ramped up my running last fall my period has never been more regular (prior my cycles were anywhere from 30-60 days, for the last 9 months they've been consistently between 31-35). 

katietornado, interesting anecdotes!

Yup, you're definitely slender so who knows if that is playing a role or not. Either way, I forgot to add I'm sorry you're dealing with this & facing these decisions. I totally understand wanting to have the goal of a big race to focus on, but unfortunately it might not balance well with your TTC ultimate goal right now. Glad you're getting lots of good support & honest advice here. Hoping for the very best for you. It could totally make sense to take a few months break from treatments you may decide upon if you do really want the marathon & need a break from the stress anyway.

[melmel48]

May 24, 2015 17:31:39 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Thank you, G22, I really appreciate hearing about your experience (and I'm so thrilled for you that you're currently expecting!!!). I do like the idea of keeping up maintenance training and then making the call to forgo TTC and marathon train 3 months out. 

Since I have been pregnant before (with a prior BF), I have a suspicion the problem lies with DH. I'm looking forward to testing and finding out more information. At the moment, we're both of the mindset that we won't pursue IVF (not because I'm opposed to it, I just think we'll probably accept a childfree life or pursue fost/adopt instead).

Thanks so much for your kind words  

I know nothing about this stuff and please forgive me if I say something obnoxious. Do they typically rule out problems with the woman before the man? Do you have to go through all of the testing before they will even look at DH? 

[G22]

May 24, 2015 17:57:00 GMT -5 melmel48 said:

May 24, 2015 17:31:39 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Thank you, G22, I really appreciate hearing about your experience (and I'm so thrilled for you that you're currently expecting!!!). I do like the idea of keeping up maintenance training and then making the call to forgo TTC and marathon train 3 months out. 

Since I have been pregnant before (with a prior BF), I have a suspicion the problem lies with DH. I'm looking forward to testing and finding out more information. At the moment, we're both of the mindset that we won't pursue IVF (not because I'm opposed to it, I just think we'll probably accept a childfree life or pursue fost/adopt instead).

Thanks so much for your kind words  

I know nothing about this stuff and please forgive me if I say something obnoxious. Do they typically rule out problems with the woman before the man? Do you have to go through all of the testing before they will even look at DH? 

While most of the testing is on the female, a standard part of testing is to run a sperm analysis on the guy as well. That will tell so much about what could be going on with the male side. It's good to have both sides of the picture so you know where to begin with treatment.

[melmel48]

May 24, 2015 18:04:06 GMT -5 G22 said:

May 24, 2015 17:57:00 GMT -5 melmel48 said:

I know nothing about this stuff and please forgive me if I say something obnoxious. Do they typically rule out problems with the woman before the man? Do you have to go through all of the testing before they will even look at DH? 

While most of the testing is on the female, a standard part of testing is to run a sperm analysis on the guy as well. That will tell so much about what could be going on with the male side. It's good to have both sides of the picture so you know where to begin with treatment.

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it. This makes perfect sense. 

[hannahb]

best wishes. IF is such an unfair and touchy subject. Stay strong!

[sadlebred]

I only want to say that I'm sending good thoughts your way!

[awick14]

scm1011- I hope the results don't take too long to come in and you have some answers to move forward with. Good luck, giving up something you love like running is hard.

I only started running to help with all the stress of TTC and if I have to stop at some point I will defiantly be sad.

[gt7301b]

We are still in the early stages of TTC, but I wanted to add my anecdotal experiences about marathons and my cycle.  When I kept my marathon mileage relatively low, 30-35 miles, my cycle was normal and like clockwork.  The last marathon cycle I upped my mileage, with a peak of 50 miles per week and my cycle was around 50-60 days.  Would it be possible to still train for a marathon, but keep the mileage at a minimum.

Good luck!

[ilovecandy]

G22 is wise.

For the record my Dr has never said anything about workouts. But I also don't run marathons. I would say if running is impacting your cycle at all then to scale back. we are unexplained currently. H has already told me if I ever get a positive that he doesn't want me to run anymore until at least after the first trimester, probably the whole pregnancy. after 5 years of trying I can humor him even though it doesn't really have an effect most of the time of whether or not you are going to miscarry. also if you end up doing treatments they won't want you to run during ivf due to the stimulus meds or something. G22 knows more about that.

[mfluder]

I have nothing to contribute but I just wanted to say best of luck to all of you. I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

[Mushe]

Wow, that's interesting that the RE was so firm! I've always had super regular cycles, with ovulation confirmed by temping when I bother to do it, so I wasn't worried on that end, but I do get the implantation worry. Now that my marathon is over, I'm going to go back to my normal maintenance mileage, maybe 25ish a week. I figure if I'm paying $500+ for an IUI, I should take it a little easy to give it the best shot!

I'm sending you tons of good thoughts for your testing.

[Deleted]

Very best of luck with the testing. It's a double edged sword - we got tested and DH is fine. So, it's all me. Sometimes I wish I didn't know that.
Thanks for the kind words (everyone). Like someone else posted, I also took up running to give me something else to focus on and that's been a massive success. Giving it up is hard for me and as it has proven (for me) there was no difference in the outcome.

Whether or not you should keep running is up to you and your medical advisor - but whatever you choose, I'm right behind you.

Good luck!

[oreille]

I really hope you don't have to give up running. I'm more of a lurker here and not really in the "TTC" category yet. . .but I only run somewhere between 15-25 miles a week, and just had a chemical pregnancy/super early miscarriage with my first pregnancy this weekend.

I'm mentally signing up for the RW Summer Running Streak because I think running might be the only thing that keeps me sane for these next few weeks.

[Deleted]

May 25, 2015 17:43:12 GMT -5 oreille said:

I really hope you don't have to give up running. I'm more of a lurker here and not really in the "TTC" category yet. . .but I only run somewhere between 15-25 miles a week, and just had a chemical pregnancy/super early miscarriage with my first pregnancy this weekend.

I'm mentally signing up for the RW Summer Running Streak because I think running might be the only thing that keeps me sane for these next few weeks.

I'm really sorry. PM me if you need/want to talk or anything.