Has anyone under 40 taken/is taking DHEA?

[Moominmiss]

Hi,

So im on cycle 16 of ttc number 4.
I have 3 dc from a previous relationship.
This would be my partners 1st baby.

I have unfortunately suffered 4 mc since January 2020.

It seems getting pregnant isn’t so much of an issue as having them stick. Of course this is quite possibly just due to my age and quality of eggs declining (I am 38, oh 30).

After the 3rd loss we were referred by my gp to a fertility consultant. We had blood tests done, as well as a scan for me and semen analysis for my oh.

All results good. All blood results within normal healthy ranges. Semen analysis good, and scan shown a good Antral follicle count.

I was not tested for my AMH levels though. This was an optional extra and the consultant told me it was pretty irrelevant unless we were looking to go down the IVF route, which we are not.

Anyway, a few months after the checks I fell pregnant again but unfortunately mc again.

I currently take a high dose of folic acid, high dose of vit d, and 200mg of ubiquinol daily. I have been taking all of this since the start of ttc.

I track temps through using an OvuSense monitor, and use opk’s along with it so I know I ovulate regularly.

I have a luteal phase of 13 days, and generally things are good with my cycles. I do tend to ovulate quite late (around cd22), so I have used soy isoflavones to help bring forward my ovulation a little earlier, which seems to work as I can ovulate as early as cd14 when I take them.

Anyway, I have read a lot on DHEA and it’s ability to help improve egg quality in older women. But most of what I read says women over 40 for egg quality, or under 40 if they suffer from diminishing ovarian reserves.

I don’t know for sure that I don’t have DOR but my fertility consultant wasn’t worried about that because of how easily I seem to be able to get pregnant, and thought the likelihood was it was more due to egg quality.

I have read about how to take it, and many seem to take 25mg 2-3 times a day.

But I have also read about lots suffering side effects, some of them say it’s affected their cycles in a negative way, sending AF awol.

I know there’s a risk with taking anything that it may have a negative impact rather than positive, BUT I’m just wondering if there is anyone here who is in a similar position as myself who has taken, or is currently taking it to aid natural conception (not IVF).

Positive and negative stories welcome!

Hi @Moominmiss Sorry for your losses. I know I'm not quite who you were hoping to hear from as I'm 43 and an IVFer.

I do take DHEA but I was tested first for testosterone levels. It's really important to get tested first as it's only helpful if you have low testosterone (they test for 2 specific types, I could look it up if that was useful for you). It can mess things up if you take it and don't need it.

We also recently had my partner's Sperm DNA Fragmentation checked. It turned out he had significant issues. I don't think they check men thoroughly often enough because high fragmentation can lead to miscarriage. Your partner is relatively young so possibly not an issue but although age is a factor, there are other issues that are relatively easily fixed and can cause issues. Anyway, it's probably irrelevant for you but just thought I'd mention it.

Best of luck with TTC

Xxx

Hi @Janefx40 thank you for taking the time to reply. While you might be in a slightly different situation, it’s still helpful to hear experiences of DHEA.

So when I had my blood tests done with the fertility specialist testosterone levels were one of the ones tested.

All my blood results were as follows:

Day 2 - serum prolactin - 144miu/L
- serum testosterone 0.7nmol/L
- serum TSH - 0.9miu/L
- serum LH - 2iu/L
- serum FSH - 5iu/L

Day 21 - serum progesterone - 67nmol/L

I was told those results were all ‘normal’. I’ve never looked into numbers and figures, I just took what I was told.

Thank you for the information about sperm DNA. As far as I’m aware, it was just basic testing they did with his semen si this is definitely something we could look into more!

@Moominmiss I haven't taken dhea but thought I'd link to the faq on it from "it starts with the egg". I've been looking into it myself but it looks like you're supposed to get tested for dhea-s first to determine whether dhea is even required and if so in what dose. 75mg/day is often too much to take and needs to be monitored so I'm not sure it's advisable to take it without medical supervision?

itstartswiththeegg.com/faq/dhea-and-egg-health/

Per the link your testosterone levels are good BTW!

@Moominmiss I can't find my results but I think they tested free testosterone and DHEA. As we're not sure what testosterone you had tested, it's hard to compare your results but if you saw a fertility consultant then they should know! GPS are useless at interpreting results. With my testosterone and DHEA both my results were in the normal range but right at the bottom of it and the aim was to increase it nearer to the top.

I get confused about units but if it's the same as I got measured in then your FSh Is really good.

Best of luck with it all. X

Unless you have confirmed low testosterone levels don't take DHEA - it's a hormone that can actually reduce your fertility as well as give a whole host of other unpleasant side effects if you take it when you don't need it

There is a reason why it's not licensed for use in the U.K.

I would try a prenatal specifically designed for older women like Proceive Max for women