Hopefully Helpful | Jasmine Mayfair | Reviews

The Painful Truth Behind Migraines, Hormones and Women

It is not widely known that women are more inclined to suffer from headaches than men. Science judges that women may have more excruciating headaches than men, as well.

Of course, there are a number of factors that come into consideration when mulling over an individual's chances of experiencing migraine headaches, and the incidence of such problems. Maturing, genetics, and family history can all play a factor, but for women, there are several other dynamics to be contemplated on.

Hormone levels and birth control pills (which tinker with existing levels or introduce man-made hormones to the body) are both prospective aspects in the headache equation.

As affirmed, there are a lot of factors that can play a part in someone's chances of getting headaches. For example, getting older looks to be a big aspect. The older one gets, notionally, the more prone one is to be subjected to headaches.

People with a family history of being vulnerable to the illness are also at heightened risk, though whether or not there is a tangible genetic relation is still doubtful. However, women have come to note that variation in hormones can usually be be tied in with headaches. This can include things like particular phases of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and any other times or situation that alter a woman's usual hormone levels.

This includes the use (or overuse) of birth control pills and patches, which bring in man-made hormones. The simple basis for this would be progesterone and estrogen, every so often recognized as the main hormones of the female physiology. The two of them may have a bearing on other chemicals in the body, along with an assortment of chemical receptors.

Among the many prospective physiological compounds that can be disturbed by the two discussed above are the ones that influence and organize headaches in the brain. This commonly occurs due to some form of “correspondence” with other elements in the brain.

For example, excessive levels of estrogen and not enough levels of serotonin have been acknowledged to cause headaches in some patients, with the intensity shifting from the mild to the severe. As can be foreseen, there are times when the man-made hormones of birth control drugs can also have similar end results.

Of course, just because hormone levels are a natural part of the body and can't be discarded completely doesn't mean the average woman is defenceless against them. Modern medicine has ways of helping treat (or prevent, as the case may be) the headaches.

Most available pain relievers are magnificent ways of reducing headaches that come in the course of the commencement of menstruation, which is naturally complemented by an unexpected decline in estrogen levels. Good diet and exercise, which are basically thought to be good for pretty much anything, can also help diminish the intensity of hormone-related migraine headaches when they come. Sufficient time and good quality of sleep is also very important.

What about those who use birth control pills? The remedy for the hormone-related migraine headaches is different for women who use the pill and for those who don't. Taking an agenda that has more or less placebo effect can be useful in helping combat the likely upsurge in hormonal headaches. There are also prescriptions and patches that do not use estrogen or progesterone, and thus there is no amplified risk of headaches.

With the speed at which we do things in this day and age, having a baby over 40 is another area where women want to do stuff swiftly, as time is clearly not on their side. So women discover that the shortest route to getting pregnant is assisted reproduction. These same women comprehend that fertility treatments oftentimes lead to heartbreak, and other medical interventions that they weren't prepared to go through, and that no woman really should go through.

Now more and more women are discovering the rewards of employing biological methods of conceiving. What probably is the most attractive feature of the all-natural route is the fact that it is not costly and it can be carried out in the privacy of their own homes. A encouraging outlook towards natural conception is a good place to start. Understanding has educated us that our bodies react to the dictates of our minds. There is some stock in all the new age meditation and visualization concept of realizing our goals, and there is no reason why this should not work for women who would like to conceive at a much later age. From the belief that it can be done, women should start visualizing the plan of getting pregnant over 40, carrying a child to full term and giving birth.

But that does not end there. If we are able to meditate and see in your mind's eye the desire to getting pregnant, it would be so much easier to do things that support this belief and this vision. The route to getting pregnant over 40 starts to look hopeful. We become more sensitive to the notion of keeping a more healthy outlook in life. Eating right, exercising, relieving the stress that have accumulated from trying too hard to have a baby and pretty much allowing nature to do its work. Little by little we start to exchange mutton with salads and fruit bowls. We begin to count the calories to ultimately balance our body mass and lose unwanted weight. We start taking short trips on foot and seriously think about the gym or the morning run or whatever physical activity that we can commit to.

As our bodies get going to keep up with this healthy changes, we also begin to see delicate differences in our bodily functions. We feel in the main lighter, our bowels moving on a regular basis, our menstrual cycle is more even. If we are in the main living a beneficial life, in that case how hard is it having a baby over 40?

Exercises for Women Getting Pregnant Over 40

Getting pregnant over 40 requires optimum health conditions. The would-be mothers would need to coordinate closely with their doctors to ensure that both mother and baby are safe and healthy. Exercise is vital and beneficial for older pregnant women because health, body strength and overall vitality generally decreases with age.

An exercise regime reduces the aches and pains associated with pregnancy, it boosts mood and morale, and improves sleeping habits. More importantly, exercise helps the body prepare for childbirth through stronger muscles and greater endurance. If a pregnant woman exercises religiously, she is also preparing the body to get back to its old shape and condition after childbirth.

It is always prudent to consult a doctor before embarking on a regular exercise regimen for women getting pregnant over 40. The recommended exercises are generally safe but they may not be advisable to do in the last trimester of pregnancy.

Most women getting pregnant at the age of 40 are career women. They keep to very tight schedules and so most doctors will recommend low-impact aerobics in the gym. There are regular daily classes at predetermined times, which makes it easier for would be mothers to incorporate exercise in their daily routines. An aerobics class for pregnant women will allow women to interact with other pregnant women and to gain insights on how to care for themselves and the babies they’re carrying.

Both doctors and fitness experts agree that swimming is a sound exercise option for women getting pregnant over 40. Swimming tones the arms and legs, while offering cardiovascular benefits. It also gives pregnant women the feeling of weightlessness despite the added weight.

The easiest form of exercise is walking. This is also the best physical activity for the older pregnant woman. Walking keeps a pregnant women fit without unnecessarily straining the knees and ankles. It can be done anytime, anywhere without any equipment other than a good pair of walking shoes. In addition, it is safe to be done all throughout the pregnancy.

All form of physical activity as long as its done moderately can be beneficial. If you are a party animal, you might want to go dancing at home to your favorite tunes just to be able to move around. You have to avoid routines that require twirls, jumps and leaps, though. Through all these possible exercise routines and regimens, it is wise not to push your body beyond limits. Getting pregnant over 40 may not be a walk in the park but there’s no reason why it can’t be fun and fulfilling.

Fertile at Forty! Tips on getting pregnant over 40

Getting pregnant over 40 has a lot of rewards. A woman in her 40s is more likely to be emotionally mature and financially stable. She is at the prime of her life. She is prepared to take on the responsibilities and enjoy the rewards of motherhood.

Women in their 40s are more likely to be in stable, loving relationships. They have overcome the emotional turmoil of their adolescence and early adulthood. They are more capable of nurturing a child in a warm and caring environment.

Women in their 40s have usually delayed pregnancy to seek career goals and enjoy financial stability. These women hold stable jobs, ensuring a future which is financially secure for their child.

However, there are trade-offs. Getting pregnant over 40 is not so easy to do. Several studies done on populations which do not practice contraception showed that there is a sharp decline in pregnancy rates once you reach the age of 35. Although age is just a number, this is not true when we are talking about reproductive function.

What about all those celebrities who have successfully conceived in their 40s? Fertility doctors are cautioning us to look beyond the glitter of these celebrity mothers. Some of these women have undergone assisted reproduction. Fertility doctors wish that women who underwent such technology be more forthcoming about it to debunk the myth that women can delay getting pregnant till they are over 40 without any significant risks.

For mothers-to-be, here are some tips for getting pregnant over 40:

1. Keep your body healthy. A healthy body ensures that your hormone levels are at normal. Maintaining the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone at optimum levels at each stage of your menstrual cycle ensures ovulation.

2. As a caveat to tip number 1, maintain your ideal body weight. Body weight per height, or body mass index, of 22 to 25 is optimal to getting pregnant. Being over- or undernourished wreaks havoc on your hormones. Some women who are too fat or too thin have irregular monthly cycles. Some stopped having menses entirely, a condition called amenorrhea. Irregular or absent menstrual periods are presumptive signs that you are not ovulating. This is definitely not a good sign.

3. Supplement with vitamins and minerals. If you are planning to get pregnant, stack up on folic acid at least 3 months prior to getting pregnant. You then continue taking this micronutrient for the first 3 months of your pregnancy. Taking at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily before and during pregnancy reduces the risks for neural tube defects.

4. Stop smoking. Cigarette smoke damages your tubes, preventing fertilization. Smoking also has a detrimental effect on your ovaries, accelerating ovarian reserve loss. You need to take care of your remaining reserves, not lose them.

5. Stop drinking coffee and alcoholic beverages. Data are conflicting on how much of these drinks constitute too much. Some say 2 cups of coffee causes damage, others would say 6 cups. The same goes for alcohol. Some studies show that even a glass of wine weekly can adversely affect fertility. To be safe, abstain from these drinks totally, if you can.

6. Time your intercourse. There is no accurate way of predicting when ovulation occurs. However, you may use a combination of these methods to increase your chances of being right: monitoring of basal body temperature, checking your cervical mucus, and counting days based on the length of your menstrual period.

An increase in basal body temperature suggests ovulation. The presence of clear, sticky mucus similar to egg white is also suggestive of ovulation. Counting day 14 from the onset of menses in women with a 28-day cycle is also suggestive of ovulation. Combining these 3 methods increases your chances of accurately predicting ovulation.

You may try all these advice to optimize your chances of getting pregnant over 40.

Getting Pregnant Over 40: The All-Natural Route

With the speed at which we do things nowadays, getting pregnant over 40 is another area where women want to do things quickly, as time is clearly not on their side. So women discover that the shortest route to getting pregnant is assisted reproduction. These same women realize that fertility treatments oftentimes lead to heartbreak, and other medical interventions that they weren’t prepared to go through, and that no woman really should go through.

Now more and more women are discovering the benefits of employing natural methods of conceiving. What probably is the most attractive feature of the all-natural route is the fact that it is not costly and it can be carried out in the privacy of their own homes. A positive attitude towards natural conception is a good place to start.

Experience has taught us that our bodies respond to the dictates of our minds. There is some stock in all the new age meditation and visualization concept of realizing our goals, and there is no reason why this should not work for women who would like to conceive at a much later age. From the belief that it can be done, women should start visualizing the idea getting pregnant over 40, carrying a child to full term and giving birth.

But that does not end there. If we are able to meditate and visualize the desire to get pregnant, it would be so much easier to do things that support this belief and this vision. The route to getting pregnant over 40 starts to look promising. We become more receptive to the idea of keeping a more healthy outlook in life.

Still fertile, or over the hill: getting pregnant over 40


Take the case of actress Nicole Kidman. Kidman was previously married to Tom Cruise, a union which lasted for 10 years but failed to produce children. And not for want of trying, either. She had an ectopic pregnancy and an early miscarriage when she was in her 20s and 30s. The thrilling news of Kidman’s pregnancy is an inspiring story for 40-something women contemplating pregnancy. But is getting pregnant over 40 really easy to do?

Kidman attributes her surprise pregnancy to swimming in the fertility waters of the Kununurra falls in Australia. Before hopeful mothers-to-be rush to these waters, here are some facts to consider before attempting getting pregnant over 40.

Pregnancy is a result of three crucial steps: ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. Ovulation is the release of viable egg in the middle of a menstrual cycle. Most women who experience monthly menses are presumed to ovulate midcycle, or approximately on the 14th day after the start of their period. In women with irregular monthly periods, the occurrence of ovulation is more difficult to predict.

Some women in their 40s may not be ovulating as regularly as women in their 20s and 30s. More and more cycles of these women would be anovulatory. This means that they do not produce an egg.

Indeed, decreased fertility and fecundability (or the probability of pregnancy in a given time) in women over 40s is mainly due to a decrease in their ovarian reserve. A decline in ovarian reserve results in less eggs being produced.

What can be done to improve ovulation? Although we cannot increase a person’s ovarian reserve, there are some drugs and herbs which can induce ovulation. If you want to try natural remedies, you might consider taking Ginkgo biloba, Siberian ginseng, and/or chastetree berry. These herbs are believed to improve blood circulation to the reproductive organs, including the ovaries. They also have antioxidant properties. Chastetree berry have the added benefit of being able to induce ovulation by optimizing hormone levels conducive to ovulation.

Fertilization, the next step, is the union of the egg and sperm. After ovulation, the egg is ready for fertilization for approximately 24 hours. This means that sexual intercourse must happen at around this time. Timing is very important. Couples are usually advised to have sex every other day during a woman’s fertile period. Luckily for women in their 40s, age does not decrease sexual fervor.

If you have been attempting pregnancy and is unsuccessful, you might have to be evaluated for tubal problems. Women in their 40s have a higher incidence of tubal diseases or conditions which hinder fertilization. These tubal conditions may be the result of chronic smoking and drinking of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages in their youth. Or it may be the result of diseases such as endometriosis, which worsen over time.

Lastly, a fertilized egg must successfully implant in the uterus. Luckily for us, uterine health does not significantly decline with age. Uterine pathologies such as polyps and fibroids do not significantly affect chances of a successful implantation.

It might not be that simple, but getting pregnant over 40 is possible. And holding that baby in your arms is worth all the effort.

When we are born, we have over 4 million egg cells.

Once we reach puberty, our supply has dwindled drastically to a few hundred thousands. And more of these eggs are dwindling away every day. By the time we are in our 40s, our egg supply may have gone down to only a few thousands.

Once a month, we release one of these eggs, a process called ovulation. But even with regular monthly periods, ovulation is not guaranteed. As we grow older, ovulation becomes more erratic. Indeed, getting pregnant naturally becomes more difficult as we reach the age of 35.

Aside from ovulation, we have to make sure that our eggs get fertilized. Once released, the egg would be ready for fertilization for approximately 24 to 36 hours. So for women trying to conceive, timing is very important. Sexual intercourse must occur within 24 hours of our ovulation. This is simpler said than done.

There is no reliable method to say that ovulation has occurred. The most commonly used method to detect ovulation is through the use of ultrasound. Your doctor would monitor your follicles as they mature, and tell you if an egg has been released. During this time, you might be advised to have sexual intercourse every other day.

You might also use other methods like monitoring your body temperature and using an ovulation kit (similar to a pregnancy kit), but these are not as accurate as the ultrasound.

To boost your chances of getting pregnant over 40, a major lifestyle overhaul may be in order. No more caffeinated drinks or alcoholic beverages for you. The same goes for cigarettes. Cigarettes, caffeine and alcohol have deleterious effects on the quality of your eggs. They may also wreak havoc on your menstrual cycle, thus interfering with ovulation. Caffeine and alcohol are also believed to cause other conditions which may impair your fertility like endometriosis and tubal diseases. Furthermore, if you do get pregnant, these compounds may result in spontaneous abortions. Now, have I given you enough reasons to turn your back on these three?

You will also boost your chances of getting pregnant naturally if you take up an exercise program, yoga, or meditation. Fertility is negatively affected by stress and excess weight. Being a few pounds overweight interferes with your menstrual cycle and ovulation. Regular exercise and yoga releases endorphins, natural hormones which relaxes you. These activities also help you maintain your ideal weight.

Despite all these concerns, why do women delay getting pregnant till they are in their 40s? Women getting pregnant over 40 are more emotionally and financially secure, and are more likely to be in a committed, loving relationship. For these women, motherhood is the final step to complete their womanhood.

As recent as a few years back, getting pregnant over 40 is considered obstetrically risky.

But with Hollywood celebrities like Madonna, Brooke Shields, Halley Berry, Marcia Cross, and Courtney Cox Arquette getting their stork visit in their 40s, people see this as a trend nowadays. More and more women are getting pregnant over 40.

But is age just a number? Is 40 the new 30? Not when it comes to matters of fertility.

Getting pregnant over 40 without the use of fertility-enhancing drugs or assisted reproduction techniques is possible. It may be more difficult than when you were in your 20s or early 30s, but it is not beyond your reach. It would entail some effort on your part. But if it means holding a baby in your arms at the end of 9 months, then everything is worth the sacrifice, right?

Getting back to the basics, for pregnancy to occur, a viable egg must meet a sperm and be fertilized. This is the reason why most fertility experts agree that trying to get pregnant for the first time at the age of 40 is difficult. Our bodies are just not as young as they used to be. For one, the quality of our eggs has declined considerably. And secondly, there is no guarantee that we are even ovulating, or releasing these eggs, every cycle.

It all really started at the start of 2009.

I have so many interests and groups and most important to me. And we all have experience in so many of life's quests, and answers to questions that often get asked when those around us start of something unfamiliar.

I had to start putting something into a place that I could easily share.

Before I used to have files, books and boxes of Hopefully helpful information filling the bedroom, now everything I want to use, refer to or share can be found in one place.

I have had my fair share of ups and downs and seem to have an answer just around the corner if need be. Hopefully Helpful is just sharing thoughts ideas, my reviews, and of course my ownlife experiences in Health, Work and Play.

I hope you find what your looking for.

Jaz

When I was advised to get pregnant fertility help for the first time, I was perplexed.
After all, I have had a successful pregnancy 4 years prior. I married late, purposely delaying marriage so I can focus on climbing the corporate ladder. I was 34 years old when I decided to tie the knot, not merely to heed the call of my biological clock, but because I know I have found the One. I immediately got pregnant within the first 3 months of my marriage, and delivered a healthy baby girl by Cesarean section. During the C-section, my obstetrician noted a small endometriotic cyst on my right ovary, which she removed.

All was well, until my husband and I again felt the stirrings of parenthood. This time, getting pregnant was as easy as before. After almost a year of trying, a friend told me I need to get pregnant fertility help.

It seems that I have a condition called secondary infertility. Secondary infertility is the diagnosis made when a couple who has successfully conceived previously now find themselves unable to do so again. This was something new for me. I thought that it would be easy to get pregnant again. It strikes me as faintly ironic, since I have been using oral contraceptives for almost 2 years after my first baby was born to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Now, it seems I shouldn’t even have bothered. I even have to get pregnant fertility help just to conceive.

As my doctor explained to me, there are many reasons to explain secondary infertility. The most obvious would be age. Even among healthy women, fertility rates decline once we are past the age of 35. Although there are a lot of stories of women over 35, some are even in their mid 40s, who have conceived naturally, they seem to be more of the exception rather than the rule.

Serial ultrasound done during certain days of my menstrual cycle showed that I was still capable of ovulating naturally. The next step would be to ensure that the egg and sperm meet.

Another possible explanation for my secondary infertility would be that my endometriosis might have worsened. Endometriosis is a progressive disease. It affects the reproductive organs, including the fallopian tubes. My endometriosis could have progressed to a stage where it blocked my fallopian tubes.

One of the work-ups recommended by my doctor is a hysterosalpingogram. A catheter was introduced through my cervix and into the uterus. Then, a radioopaque dye was injected. Despite pain medications given, this is still an extremely uncomfortable experience for me. I am so glad that my husband was there with me throughout the procedure. Although he could do nothing more than hold my hand and stroke my forehead, his mere presence was enough reassurance for me.

X-rays taken of my pelvic organs showed that my left fallopian tube was blocked. But my doctor told me that it would still be possible for me to get pregnant naturally because my right fallopian tube was patent.

I am glad I decided to get pregnant fertility help. It allowed me to understand what is going on in my body. Knowing what is wrong is the first step to finding the answers.