Get help and advice on fertility, infertility, and trying to conceive.

If you’re a US resident and you file an annual tax return, did you know that part of your costs related to infertility treatments may very well be tax deductible? It’s true! You can include in medical expenses the cost of procedures done to overcome your inability to have children, including but not limited to in vitro fertilization (including temporary storage of eggs or sperm) and surgery, such as an operation to reverse prior surgery that prevented you from having children.

How Much of the Expenses Can You Deduct? You can deduct only the amount of your medical expenses that is more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (Form 1040, line 38.) You do this calculation on Form 1040 Schedule A in computing the amount deductible.

Click here for the official “Tax Topic” pamphlet from the IRS for further information.

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Fish are a crucial part of a healthy diet to control weight to better manage the symptoms of PCOS. But while fish are high in heart and brain-boosting omega 3 fatty acids, many fatty fish also contain high levels of mercury. So you have to be careful about which fish to eat as part of your PCOS regime.

Fish caught in their natural coldwater habitat are generally better for you than than farmed fish. Here’s a guide to which fish to eat and how often and which to avoid:

Eat often – anchovies, herring, wild Pacific salmon, sardines and freshwater trout.
Enjoy occasionally – bluefish, halibut and tuna (abi, albacore, bluefin, canned light varieties).
Avoid - swordfish, shark, tilefish, king mackerel, warm water fish like orange roughy and shellfish like clams and oysters.

For more information on balancing the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids versus the risks of mercury, click here.

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For those who have been reading regularly, you know that I was expecting a baby at the end of July. Well, this post is to officially announce that our little girl arrived, safe and sound, on Monday August 2 weighing in at 7 pounds 4 ounces, 19.5 inches at 11:39PM! She is the cutest thing we’ve ever laid our eyes on, of course!  For privacy reasons, I won’t be posting any pics right now or giving out too much personal info about her – she’s just a little thing and she doesn’t even know what the internet is…..yet – but just wanted to let my readers know about our good news.

So, one big take-away in all of this: there is hope out there for those of you with PCOS who are having a hard time conceiving.  Despite my PCOS and chronic anovulatory cycles, I’m now sitting here typing this post as I feed my little girl. Don’t give up hope, keep doing what you can, and keep learning what’s out there to help you overcome the awful “I” word (infertility.)

OK, enough about us.  Keep reading here for more infertility related news and commentary. I was offline for some time not posting as regularly after the baby was born, but will try to be on more often in the coming days now that we are settling into some semblance of a routine with our little one.

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Strength training with weights can change the muscle composition of women to boost better management of their PCOS symptoms. But some females are put off this form of exercise because they fear bulking up. However, women who take up strength training, also known as resistance training, lose an equivalent amount of bulk in the form of fat because they are effectively trading fat for muscle.

Extra muscle mass helps women to burn extra fat, so it can be a great aid to better weight management, which improves their PCOS. Women also typically use lighter weights than men when doing strength training, and that alone will not lead to bulking up. Weight training can also lead to attractively toned arms and legs. But always consult a doctor before starting a new exercise regime.

Click here to read commentary on the importance of muscle-building from the PCOS Diva.

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Our calorie needs may drop as we get older but it doesn’t mean our protein requirements follow suit, especially in light of the need for women to maintain strength to exercise regularly to better manage their PCOS symptoms.

While the official Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is the same for all healthy adults, there’s considerable evidence that older individuals need more. As people get older, they tend to eat less food, putting them at risk for under-consuming protein.

When the body has too little protein, it breaks down muscle to get the protein it needs for other vital body functions, leading to reduced strength. Insufficient protein has also been linked to an increased risk of hip fracture.

The current RDA for protein is based on body weight: adults need 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight each day, with people who work out regularly having higher requirements.

To help preserve muscle, most experts advise older adults to aim for 1 gram of protein per kilogram. For a 150-pound person, that’s 68 grams of protein a day, an amount that can be found, for example, in seven ounces of chicken or 2 1/2 cups of milk or soy beverage.

Click here for more information about PCOS and the importance of a healthy diet to control symptoms.

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