On vitamin D

I came across two things which I beleive I should share. The first was a news report about a finding presented at a fertility conference. This group at Yale tested blood levels of Vitamin D in 67 'infertile' women. 93% of women had levels that were low or clinically deficient. That is pretty amazing, IMO.

The second is this recently published study, where they basically found that higher the vitamin D levels in your follicular fluid, the higher your chances were of achieving pregnancy in IVF.

My advice to everybody struggling to get or stay pregnant- do a blood test for this vitamin. Its not the most expensive thing and seems like a reasonable thing to check out.  Testing your levels before taking vitamin D supplementation would be prudent because you would have to tailor your dosage to your blood level.  I was clinically deficient. Granted I had taken my last vitamin D supplement 2 weeks before this blood test, but while I was pregnant, I was consuming around 1500 IU/day, which is about 6 times the daily recommended dosage, and my levels 2 weeks later were still abysmal.

Switching gears now.  In my last post I had said none of my theories have been right.  I just realized that was not true, I have been proven right in the most horrible way. As my second IUI rolled around, I had become really scared as I had looked at my cycle and realized that it was one with fewest days of peak estrogen ever and I was nervous that egg quality might be compromised. (Prophetic blogpost here) 

I went ahead with the insemination because on ultrasound, everything looked decent and nobody knows what parameter really determines egg quality. I did conceive but it was my worst fear realized- a genetically abnormal egg. Its been only a month since that horrible ultrasound, that awful day.  I'm doing very well though, all things considered. I guess I should thank god for small mercies.