Eighteen days past ovulation and Carine’s temperature was still up.. I did not want her to get her hopes up, especially after several losses including an ectopic pregnancy. But if she was pregnant, we would need to change the treatment immediately to support that vulnerable stage. So I decided to write her to take a test just in case… she replied “I already meant to write you… I tested this morning, and it is positive!!”
Update February 2018: Carine has given birth to a healthy baby boy who is thriving. Their daughter is a great big sister to him.
With a history of three miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy, Carine was ever so grateful for her toddler. However, she and her husband George so much wanted a sibling for their daughter, and so they came to me on a recommendation of a friend of theirs.
A year before she came to me, Carine had lost one of her Fallopian tubes because of the ectopic pregnancy, and she never managed to conceive since. (Read Lisa’s pregnancy story after her ectopic)
Her cycles had become quite irregular too with some cycles being 24 days and some 30 (average should be around 28) and with her 43 years of age I was concerned the ectopic pregnancy surgery might have kick started peri-menopause.
The good news was that the surgeon managed to save her ovary.
Even if a woman has 1 Fallopian tube left, it can still catch an egg from both ovaries because everything is a lot closer than anatomy pictures suggest.
To restore Carine’s hormone balance and reduce the chances of another ectopic, I prescribed her the remedy Phosphorus and ovarian support. She also started to chart her cycles so I could help her and George find her fertile window every month.
I sometimes call my Phosphorus patients my champagne patients: very bubbly and up for parties, but the bubbles die down quick!
In daily life, the substance Phosphorus is used in matches and fireworks. The homeopathic picture of a Phosphorus patient is quite similar; they can ignite quickly and shine brightly and enthuse others. That is why they are often artists, musicians and teachers. They however burn out quickly too. I sometimes call them my champagne patients: very bubbly and up for parties, but the bubbles die down quick!
Phosphorus patients also have:
- Sugar issues – sweet tooth, spiking sugar, and hypoglycemia. They can even can wake up at night with hunger, trembling and sweats.
- Easy bleeding – recurring nosebleeds, bright red periods, bleeding in pregnancy, bleeding gums, etc.
- Fears – they can fear everything and anything, but they feel much better from company and is easily reassured.
Shortly after starting on Phosphorus, Carine got flu symptoms and even threw a nice fever (see cycle day 9 on her chart below).
In homeopathy a fever is about the holy grail of healing as it means the immune system is firing up.
In Carine’s case it was especially a good sign as she was getting symptoms from when she had the ectopic pregnancy. Homeopathy can often bring back old symptoms as the body goes back in time to heal.
The flu remedy Gelsemium helped her recover quickly and so she still ovulated that month (day 15). Although baby making was timed well, her temperatures dropped quickly suggesting her progesterone was just not high enough to sustain a possible pregnancy. A luteal phase (from ovulation till menstruation) needs to be at least 10 days for a fertilized egg to implant properly, and hers was only 9 this month.
The second chart started much better with less up-and-down temperatures showing much better balanced hormones. Luckily because Carine had been learning to chart, she recognized her fertile symptoms in time so she and George made sure to make love before the little bit early ovulation on day 12.
Her temperature went up well after ovulation, so her progesterone level too was a lot better than the month before.
I monitor all my patients charts, and so one day I noticed that Carine’s temperatures were still up 16 days past ovulation.
At 13 days past ovulation, with raised temperatures a pregnancy test will likely be positive, and at 18 days you can pretty much be sure there is a pregnancy.
So I knew this chart was looking very good for this couple!
When I wrote her to suggest testing, she excitedly replied that she already took a test and it was positive! After that, she continued to take tests for almost 3 weeks, just because she could barely believe it was true!
She continued to take pregnancy tests for almost 3 weeks, just because she could barely believe it was true!
A couple of weeks into the pregnancy she had a bleeding scare which is typical for a Phosphorus pregnancy. I prescribed a repeat Phosphorus and some Arnica. Since then she has been doing really well apart from backache and fatigue which we have been treating successfully as well.
Carine is now at 38 weeks and she and George are anxiously awaiting their second baby’s arrival this month.
Do you want to learn how to chart? Sign up for my free charting series or connect with me in the Becoming Vital & Fertile group if you would like some help identifying your fertile window and hormone imbalances.