exercise - need to but fearful

Hopefully this is relevant enough for this forum :) I am in my third IUI cycle and have gained 25 pounds going through this infertility journey. I regret that since if (when) my pregnancy dreams come to fruition, I already have the pregnancy weight gain to start from! I've been trying to exercise from the beginning of my cycle until the procedures, but after that my abdomen has been sore and crampy for a week following the IUIs and exercising is uncomfortable.

Also - I'm having psychological fears about exercising after procedures. I am putting everything into them working and am scared about the implantation process and perhaps having thinner linings than the regular person because of fertility drugs. Sometimes I even feel like walking on an incline on a treadmill or an elliptical machine could be too jarring. Am I going crazy? Do we have more to worry about or to risk, than the average pregnant woman?

Curious how others feel about this and what ideas you have about exercising? Thanks in advance for any help! :)

[Echo30]

I actually had the same type of questions just today and actually googled "running and late ovulation" and running and harming fertility etc. I began running about 30-45 mins everyday to every other day again along with strength training again, I dropped weight fairly quickly and started getting back to my normal form and what I feel like is right about a healthy weight for me, and wow do I just feel better all the way around, yet now here i am cd24 and still negative opks when normally I've had +ve's anywhere from cd 14-17!!  I can't help but think the new harder routine is delaying things, but I guess the real question is how do you find the happy medium between getting to where you want to be physically and actually harming things? Sometimes it feels like we can never win no matter what we do!  Here I was thinking I was doing the right thing, and now I'm over a week late to ovulate!!!   I don't know if there's an easy answer to this and I think about it a lot, but I would say probably after the procedure its best to just walk or do light workouts. Some people would say there's absolutely nothing wrong with continuing the same routine if you're not increasing what you're used to, but why risk it for now I guess. I decided to skip the gym for today and maybe even tomorrow and see if that actually helps or not and feel so guilty already but know I have to give myself a break and see if it helps!   I completely understand what you mean about psychological fears too because I worry about whether working out will force the sperm "out" so to speak when I'm running and maybe close to O, or if DH works out too hard if he'll overheat his boys lol. Its most likely all in our heads.  In your case after an IUI, although I truly don't believe an incline or eliptical would harm you in any way, for your own sanity sake I would probably just walk at a zero incline until you feel comfortable going back to an incline. Like you say you're putting everything into these procedures working so why not be extra cautious, ESPECIALLY if you're feeling physically uncomfortable afterwards, then definitely don't push it. Does your Dr tell you your lining before the actual procedure? Has he mentioned any concerns about your lining? I know on clomid my lining was HORRIBLE, and then I did a round of menopur and my lining was great, I'm fairly certain that as long as your lining is good, exercise won't harm it in anyway. As far as the starting out at a higher weight thing when you get pregnant, its impossible NOT to think about sometimes but you have to just go with the flow and not put restrictions on yourself (I'm one to talk lol) but all that does is add stress. Keep going to the gym, keep working out to the level YOU feel comfortable! I've had 2 children, I started out 20lbs heavier than I should've been with my first, and probably at the ideal weight when I conceived my second and I wasn't that far off from the exact SAME weight with both when I actually gave birth! and BELIEVE me...the weight drops off fast if you're active and nursing so DON'T stress yourself about that. Give yourself a break about that issue because you're gonna just love that bump 20lbs lighter or 20lbs heavier!!!!  

[candik]

I am in my 2 IUI cycle and I have gained 10 lbs. I was told that it is normal. I love to run too. My RE told me not to because I could get twisted ovaries. Also, she asked what was more important, exercising, or having a baby. So, I quit running to try to keep the weight down. My husband now weighs 10 lbs less than me. I feel so horrible. I'm too fat for my fat jeans.....

[Hopeful_Julie]

Thanks Echo for the detailed response to all my queries :)  I don't think there was concern about my lining (it was 9 the day before my IUI) but I know our bodies are going through crazy things and medicine in our hopes to conceive than the average woman conceiving easily naturally, so all things combined with my many worries, fears and doubts, I've decided to take the "no regets" path.

My DH and I both go to a neighbourhood gym and he has stopped the hot tub, sauna, steam room routine he loved as well. It does have a pool that I thought I could swim laps in instead of cardio machines but I don't even know about doing that. I've decided to go for a half hour a day and do weights for arms/legs.

It's always been more easy for me to gain weight and very difficult to take it off, in comparison to everyone around me. This past month the dr. put me on thyroid medication after 2 "high" readings in 4 months (though there was a lot of blood taken through cycle monitoring in that time.) I was relieved since I've always wondered about a thryoid issue but all the tests taken in my life had come back with a "normal" or "high end of normal" result. So I'm glad to be on this medication but I know it takes awhile to regulate it, and sometimes the dosage needs to change. Sigh. All I know is even eating healthfully, not working out I'm just gaining weight.

Candik, I am squeezing into my 'fat clothes' right now and the clothes that would actually fit well, I gave away awhile back thinking I would never wear them again. Especially with warm weather right around the corner, it is definitely depressing. I am jealous of the women I see pregnant with their limbs still tiny and no weight gain, just their tummies, looking like models in pregnancy photos. (ie all my friends journeys) I guess I knew this would never be me and sigh, the challenges continue more than I expected!

Everything is a mind game in this journey as we all know, it can be hard to make decisions with everything. But in the long run I'm okay putting everything on the back burner to try and make our dreams come true!

[Jennie1211]

I did IVF and while I was a pretty avid exerciser before the procedure, once I had it, I did not do anything very physical other than walking until I was in my second trimester (both because I felt pretty sick and also because I just didn't want to do anything to compromise the pregnancy). I was just too scared and didn't want to take a chance. I'm like you, though...I gain weight REALLY easily and it takes forever to get it off. I even had a minor nervous breakdown in my Gyno's office sometime around week 15 because I had gained something like 15 pounds, which seems silly now, but at the time, all I could think about was the weight gain. Once I was past the first trimester mark, I told my Gyno exactly what I wanted to do (doing the eliptical has really helped keep the weight in check, BTW), and got her permission before I did anything. Try not to fret over it right now...you'll have plenty of time to get back into it. I certainly can relate to the frustration, though.