TTC or pregnancy on prednisolone or similar part 11

[Buzzybee123]

This is a positive thread for all those diagnosed with High or Very High NK Cells and looking to start TTC or already pregnant on Prednisolone and/or Intralipid treatment.

Newcomers very much welcome!

Yes, I hate to admit it but I had done 5 cycles of superov (with a miscarriage on my first SO cycle) before finding out that AC interferes with Letrozole. What a waste of money, time and valuable eggs :(

Ah, forgot to say sue, if it was ectopic you would know about it by 7 weeks, or so my EPU told me during my recent protracted nightmare. And brown is absolutely spot-on, there are a whole host of tummy bugs going round at the moment, most of the girls in my DD's class (including my DD) have tummy problems right now. Hope it goes soon, last thing you need is a tummy upset!

sue, try not to worry about the diarrhoea, as brownstag says, lots of bugs around - and it could also just be a result of hormonal balance changing in pg (I've had it in several pgs myself as the result just of being pg - with my DS it was continuous for 9 months; my GP got fed up with me phoning in about it.) Are you having a scan soon?

Cripes Arianrhod - never thought about the bee product/ eczema link before. Developed eczema for the first time in my life during my first mmc back in 2008 and it's never gone away completely. Since then it tends to flare up in the second half of my cycle but it has got worse ever since I've been taking the bee products. Into the bin they go!! And thanks for calling me a spring chicken, that's made my day. Best of luck with the DE IVF, how incredibly exciting! Where are you having it done if you don't mind me asking?

That's terrible and fascinating, brownstag. By the way the Ovaboost blurb does warn you not to use the product if you are taking an antidepressant as it's been known to enhance the effects of these meds - leading to serotonin syndrome, presumably!

mel, yes, a bloody minefield! So much seems to be trial and error and down to the way the individual body works.

No probs brownstag. I'm not sure how much melatonin, COQ10, myo-inositol or alpha lip acid there is in Ovaboost as they're very cagey about their ingredient quantities. They declare 100iu of Vitamin E and 200mcg of folic acid, but the other ingredients are all lumped together in a 'proprietary blend' of which the aggregate quantity is 2215mg, so it's anybody's guess!

village Eczema is classic auto-immune reaction - I gauge the current state of my rampant NK cells by my psoriasis and eczema reaction at the time! I wish DE IVF was exciting but in truth all it is is very bl**dy expensive, and with my immune issues, even DE doesn't work, we're now moving onto DD to completely remove the problem of our DQa incompatibility. We're cycling at Serum in Athens, and I have to say they're absolutely fabulous (just my opinion).

By the way, not to scare anyone but watch out for vitamin E supplementation .. it's also known to boost the immune system. It's a feckin minefield out there, I can tell you. It's supposed to help with lining issues, but at the same time if it boosts your immune system then it's a double-edged sword. Mine went firmly but reluctantly in the bin, just using l-arginine for lining booster now.

By the way village Mr S is pretty firmly against DHEA ... I just didn't tell him when I was taking it. But I would recommend you get your blood tested (DHEA and DHEA-S levels) before starting it and keep it monitored while using it, if you are going to, as sue also said. If your levels of testosterone go too high, as can happen if your levels of DHEA are good enough to start with, that can have an adverse effect on ovulation and/or general egg quality/quantity, apparently.

So are you going for it again, Ari? Have you persuaded your OH?

Hopefully brown, if I can find somewhere to get the money from. Well tbh we didn't talk about it, I just told him I was investigating options to get the money "for our next Serum adventure". He didn't comment!

Hi All have been reading the last few pages of comments as have been away with work. Good grief its easy to go bonkers with what to and not to take. Am very interested in the DHEA though and wonder where I could get tested for my levels if Mr S isn't a fan? At the moment I am simply taking Pregnacare plus together with Omega 3. Should I be on more and if so what? There have been so many suggestions on these threads that I'm really confused. Should I just wait until after my appointment with Mr S next week and see what he recommends?

Another question is that I only get a half an hour appointment with Mr S which seems like nothing. How will he get my history, recommend a plan etc in such a short space of time? What has been other people's experience? Was thinking of sending his office an email with details but not sure if that is simply overkill....

Great, Ari!
Luna, a quick reply, but it can't hurt to email your details. I would do so. And I've seen a salivary DHEA test online for about £40. I researched these tests a bit as I was a bit dubious and it seems sex steroids can be tested quite reliably with saliva. Of course you can get blood tests online for a bit more. They send you a kit and you go to the docs and get it taken, and send it off. That's how I got my AMH done.

Thanks for all this valuable info everyone!!

Arianrhod I really appreciate the tip about melatonin potentially messing up cycles and Vit E raising NK cell levels. Have read up on both this evening and 'tis so. Thanks too for the advice re having DHEA testing first, rather than just merrily glugging this supplement. Would you mind telling me what your supplement list was? I've looked back through past threads but my goodness there are thousands of messages out there and I'm getting lost! I'm sure the other ladies on here won't mind if you reprint it, if that's ok with you... Thanks!

Based on the all the fascinating info I've gleaned from all of you just in the last 24 hours I've now decided (a) to bin the bee products, (b) to up COQ10 to 600mg and (b) to switch from Ovaboost (which has high Vit E levels and contains melatonin too) to a plain supplement of 4g myo-inositol per day. Have been reading that 4g of myo-i taken with 400mcg of folic acid is the recommended dose to improve egg quality. Some fertility sites recommend taking it with the melatonin, some without - so can clearly be taken without. Whether it works or not - who knows?

Luna that 30 min appointment on the 8th does seem short, doesn't it? But I figure it's just to get the basic history and that the programme will follow once the test results are in - though in your case of course you have pretty comprehensive results already from earlier testing, so you may be able to get more out of him on the day.

brownstag thanks for the online test info.

And now a confession: tonight DH was late home from work, DS had tons of history homework as usual on a Tuesday night which he couldn't finish on his own, DD was running around like a batlet out of hell, flinging toys and juice around the living room while I tried to answer questions about Henry II and failing to get dinner together and I suddenly thought WHAT AM I DOING TRYING TO HAVE ANOTHER? Am I mad? Felt like cancelling that Shehata appointment and running for the hills! Better go to bed - feel all in and rather down again.

Really am going to bed but one last mad question to all before I do, and that is: should DH also stop taking the bee supplements? He's been guzzling the royal jelly and bee propolis too, bless him, on my instructions. Surely his taking them wouldn't have a negative effect on any resulting pregnancy - or would it? Argh, enough for one night!

Will reply properly tomorrow as I'm on the ipad right now and I'm rubbish at typing on here but just wanted to say village your DH is fine in the bee products, it can't affect your Immunes if it's him that's taking it :).

One quickie to everyone taking resveratrol as I do, something I found out today that I didn't know. Apparently it has a half-life of about 9 hours (I can quote the research articles I found tomorrow if anyone wants to know) which is why it's important to take them twice a day. I have always taken 2x200mg in the morning with all my other supplements, basically because I dislike taking too many in the evening and I already take a few, and wondered why most places say to take twice a day. Well, now I know, so my protocol has to change a bit. Darn.

ON the bee products, not in them!! Unless of course he dives head first into a jar of royal jelly ;)

Tried to go to bed and failed! Meh.

Thanks Ari re bee product answer! Must admit I had a nagging vision of his bee-product-laden sperm wreaking havoc on my now bee-free immune system

One last question to all re COQ10: what form do you take, ubiquinone or ubiquinol? And where do you buy it from? Thanks and waves to everyone!

And while I'm at it, if anyone has taken myo-Inositol, which brand and where from too, please? Millions of bottles out there...

I used to take Healthspan 200mg veggie caps which are ubiquinone. Their products are first-rate but not necessarily the cheapest. They also do ubiquinol but more expensive. Now I've just ordered some Doctor's Best, 600mg, veggie caps as they're much better value. Not ubiquinol but with some extract that makes them more easily absorbed.
I will now also be taking some myo-inositol on recommendation!

Morning all ... village I take Simply Supplements Co-Q10, I was taking 2 x 300mg when I was working on egg quality but now I dropped it back to 1 x 300mg. These are ubiquinone - I know ubiquinol is supposed to be better, but given the cost of these darn things - and the cost of everything else I take! - I had to draw the line somewhere! If you want to see them they're at www.simplysupplements.net/product/504/co-enzyme-q10-300mg/?gclid=CJ7Tm6XS97kCFbMbtAodbUcAEg .

Luna Trust me, Mr S can get through quite a lot in half an hour! :) I emailed through a detailed list of my miscarriage, AF cycle and medical history before I went for my first appt, but to be honest I don't think he read it before the actual appt. I'd still do it anyway, just in case! Also bear in mind that Mr S doesn't seem to believe in supplements outside of his own regime and from what I remember that's basically a pre-conception multivit, baby aspirin, he told me to take Omega 3 but I believe he doesn't tell everyone this, and vit D3. I think that's all it was, but no doubt the other ladies who've been to see him more recently than I will correct me/add to the list if I've missed anything!

village I'll PM you later with my list of supplements if you really want to see it, don't want to bore everyone on here with it all! :)

Ari thanks for the supplement website link - looks like a good site with good prices. Holland & Barrett have made a fortune out of me! Really grateful if you could send me your list (is PM another way of messaging on Mumsnet? I'm a bit new to all this!)

Luna when I booked in with the clinic I asked Louise in advance which basic supplements Dr S would recommend and she said: Pregnacare Plus with the omega capsule, Vit D 25mcg (x2 daily), and 75mg aspirin.

I've sort of realised that Mr S doesn't believe in other supplements, and seems not to feel that the man needs to take anything at all - when I asked Louise if DH should be on the Wellman since she was recommending Pregnacare for me, she was amused!

Yes, that is odd, isn't it, Village? I recently bought my DH some l-arginine and every single time he took it, he was plagued by inconvenient nocturnal tumescence, so it was like Viagra in supplement form. Which just shows how men can respond well to these things, and of course more quickly than the effect on eggs.

Brownstag heheheh, my DH takes l-arginine too (the Marilyn Glenville Fertility Support male formula has a pretty hefty dose at 300mg, Wellman only has 10mg!) but royal jelly has the biggest psychosomatic effect of all on him - has practically convinced him he's superman or maybe superdrone (reminds me of that short story by Roald Dahl ).

I was interested to read a few posts back - I think it was sue who mentioned it - that dairy and wheat should be avoided if you have immune issues. Dairy, dairy, wheat, wheat, meat and more dairy pretty much describes my diet. Can anyone recommend a book on what to eat? I'm picturing a future of boiled rice and avocado but it can't be that bleak?

Hope everyone else is well

Thanks for the recommendations Brownstag Ari and Village. I spoke to Louise today and she gave me a list of the exact info they want be to take.

Village happy to message you the details if you want it for your appointment.
Re vitamins for DH, he is on some Zita West vitamins called Vitamen and Vitamen Boost and they have had an AMAZING result. His sperm count (are we allowed to type the word ) and mobility more than doubled on these vitamins and the tests that he had in August showed that everything from his perspective is all in the normal range when originally everything was very low. On the vitamins we managed to get BFP 3 times last year but then he stopped them unbeknownst to me which probably accounts for our dry spell this year. He started taking them again in May and I had a BFP in August so they definitely work for him. Now we just need to get me sorted out and we might finally have the family we are so desperate for

village I drink almond or rice milk (avoid soya as it can affect the hormones required for pregnancy). I also buy wheat free bread from Sainsburys in the free from section. It actually tastes quite like normal bread so you don't feel like you are depriving yourself. I am not 100% wheat/dairy free but have made those alternatives. I still eat and drink it occasionally if out for lunch etc or choose a salad. I think its more advice to keep an eye on how much you are eating rather than get fanatical!
Thanks for the input about my bad stomach. It has put my mind at ease that's it's not an ectopic. I wonder if the bad tummy is down to me eating lots of wheat and dairy at the weekend as we were in Scotland for a funeral. It has made me feel wiped out today so still not sure if its down to the pregnancy hormones or not.

My friends DH took the zita west tablets for a while and had acupuncture and his sperm count increased - they have twins through ivf now. I have had my DH on wellman for the last 3 years plus he sprinkles omega seeds from holland and barrett on his cereal. Since doing that his hair has got thicker and started to regrow on his receding hairline! Even his friends have noticed so it must be having some good effect. When we tried iui, he was almost congratulated on his sperm, it was quite embarrassing. I am sure its down to the supplements.

I got my coq10 from Costco as it was the cheapest I could find. I buy the high grade fish oils from natures best.

I'm with you on that sue, I'm avoiding wheat/gluten at the moment but don't beat myself if I have the occasional gluten. OH keeps buying my fav chelsea-bun-type-things, even when he knows I'm trying to avoid gluten. He means well, but ... .

sue, a thought - are you taking extra progesterone? It can cause diarrhoea (as well as constipation, go figure!), just wondered if that might be the case for you perhaps.

lol to the l-arginine effect for the fellas - I understand that's quite a common side effect. My acupuncturist told me her DH takes it as something to help his stomach, apparently it does that too.

village I'd recommend the Genius range if you want to try out gluten free. I quite like it. I'm actually going to attempt to make a gluten-free loaf in my breadmaker at the weekend, courtesy of a recipe on the Dove website. I'll report back on how it goes :)

Incidentally Dr Braverman encourages his immune clients to go gluten free (not sure about the dairy free too, but I know it can cause immune issues in some people) and since he is God as far as I'm concerned on the immunes front, he must have a good reason.

On the same lines, I'm just finishing a 3-day juice detox (courtesy of Jason Vale, aka the Juicemaster) as I thought I really need to clean my system out, if I do have gluten intolerance issues as I suspect then I thought a 3-day detox would be a good idea. Oddly enough I haven't really felt hungry until this afternoon, and even that is ok, I can tolerate it.

village PM = private message :) Which will probably be tomorrow now, as I've been at paediatric A&E all afternoon with DD being tested for what I suspected was an immune issue (!!), and it turns out it is. Hope to god I haven't passed my dodgy immune system on to her :(

/waves to everyone

That was DD being tested, not me, since I know already about my feckin' immune system! :)