DHEA or Testosterone messed up my cycle

[Carlos18]

Hello Mumsnet,

I was due to start my first IVF round this month (short protocol). On advice of my clinic I have been applying testosterone cream for the cycle month before starting IVF. I also started taking DHEA (3 x 25mg per day). I know it is recommended to start several months before with DHEA but i didn't cotton on to that. The clinic also nudged me in that direction.

Anyway, as a result of one or the other, my period is 2 weeks late for the first time in 26 years (apart from when i was pregnant before).

I have therefore stopped taking DHEA as worried i've messed everything up and i can't actually start my IVF until my period starts now.

I just wondered if anyone else had a similar experience and if so, how long did it take for your period to start after ceasing to take DHEA?

I'm 39 and have super low.

Thank you mumsnetters

Thanks Jane/ I will track and see. Fingers crossed for transfers..... BTW have you been diagnosed with an infertility problem in particular? Sorry to hear about previous miscarriage.... I know we all have them but does not make them easy....

Hi @Mamalicious44 that’s a positive sign. I’ve always been told to wait for a full, red bleed with continuous flow.

@Janefx40 how are those eggs getting on? X

@Carlos18 so we had 5 collected, 4 were mature and all 4 fertilised but then one day 2 we had 3 still going so they decided to do an early transfer. So I have no idea really! Not feeling particularly hopeful I have to say but I suppose there is no way of knowing

How are you?

Apologies @Janefx40 I had missed a full tab of messages before asking that question and see you had already said about where you are with the process. Did you have all 3 eggs put in?

Oh no need to apologise @Carlos18 it's hard enough keeping up with all the ups and downs of our own lives let alone other people's'!!!

Yes we had 3 embryos put back because at my age there is a low likelihood of any being viable. Of the three only one was top grade (and this was only day 2). Can't honestly say I'm feeling particularly hopeful but we shall see x

@Janefx40 we go back the saying it only takes one egg..... don’t give up hope. @Carlos18 what is happening with you?

@Mamalicious44 I’m just giving myself a break and trying let my body reset. I think I’ll but a testosterone test again and DHEA test to see what they look like now after jo being in it for 6 weeks. Hoping testosterone is back in the normal range.

I’m thinking I’ll have my next round of IVF in June/July time. The consultant said we could try IVSI this time round so need to think what to do about that.

My acupuncturist has also recommended perhaps looking at my husbands spent fragmentation (need to read about that) as although his tests look fine it’s a consideration maybe because the spent and the eggs didn’t seem to communicate or recognise each other this first round hence no fertilisation.

Sorry that was riddled with autocorrect spelling mistakes and I didn’t check it:

• buy a test (not but)
• ICSI (not IVSI)
• sperm fragmentation (not spent)

@Carlos18 good idea to have a rest and get those tests.

So firstly, we also have a sperm/egg communication problem! On our first IVF cycle we got 14 eggs (I was younger!!) so they did 7 IVF and 7 ICSI. Out of the IVF eggs only 1 fertilised but also they said that the ones that didn't fertilise had no sperm stuck to the outside. Apparently normally you would expect sperm to stick to the sides even if they didn't fertilise. We had a normal fertilisation rate with ICSI. I think this is relatively rare. The only study I read about it years ago said it was 5% or so IVF couples. Lucky us!!

Secondly IF you get sperm DNA fragmentation testing (which I think is a very good idea) be very careful where you have it done. The actual analysis is all done in the same place but how they take the sample is very important. My DP had a disastrous fragmentation result and it turned out to be almost certainly an error in the sampling. His next test was fine - healthy (and the urologist was very careful about working out why and was convinced the second test was the correct one).

Also has your other half had Covid? Our urologist thinks that this can have a massive (but thankfully temporary) impact on sperm.

Sorry - a long essay - but if you are London based I can give you a recommendation

X

Ha ha ladies- I caved in last night, let my hair down and had a few glasses of wine..... ok and behold, full flow bright red heavy period today....

@Mamalicious44 !!! Yes!!! It was the booze that did it. Hooray for wine. 🍷🍷🍷

Hi both! Sorry for my lack of response this week, it’s been crazy busy at work. I’ve got this coming week off though so that’s good.

@Mamalicious44 great news on the period!..a little booze goes a long way I think! Ha.

@Janefx40 thank you for the detail on your previous fertilisation experience. Lucky us indeed hey! Yes for us it was like you said with the 2 eggs I had the sperms weren’t sticking to the side of the egg at all. My acupuncturist has sent a supplements list that a clients husband was told to take after a poor fragmentation result which really helped so just going to get him on with those regardless and probably won’t bother having the test itself.

We think we both had Covid actually but right at the beginning of first lockdown a year since so hopefully and Negative effects would have passed by now.

How’s things going with the transferred embryos?

@Carlos18 lovely to hear from you. Glad you have a week off coming up. Hope you have something nice planned.

There are other treatments potentially for sperm fragmentation beyond supplements. It depends on the cause but some men need anti biotics and others need a simple surgical procedure. So possibly worth seeing a urologist. Having said that, we asked our urologist about the sperm/egg communication thing and he said categorically this was nothing to do with the sperm because in 30 odd years of practice he'd never come across it. I'm not totally sure he's right because the only research studies I found, did pinpoint this to be a sperm issue. However that was his (very expert) opinion.

Here is a link to the only research I found on this issue if you are interested. In our case one fertilised so it could not apply to us but might to you:

academic.oup.com/humrep/article/15/3/702/2915463

Official test day is Tuesday (blood test). I am going to test Monday morning so we know what to expect. I don't think I'm pregnant tho - I've been pregnant twice before through IVF and had very similar symptoms both times that I just don't have on this occasion. Also I tested a few days back when it was early but you could possibly expect a faint line and it was negative.

So am not feeling hopeful which means I'm in no hurry to test. My heart just drops when I imagine having to do that test and watching just one line appear.

We always knew this was going to be tough at 44 and we have agreed we will try again but I just feel exhausted by the whole process to be honest.

Sorry for the long essay.

@Mamalicious44 hope all is good with you xxx

@Janefx40 sorry to hear you are not feeling hopeful about it. Every pregnancy is different so don’t be fooled by lack of symptoms...imagine what it would be like to see two lines and feel it.... I am cheering for you :)

@Carlos18 I think you are right to just get hubbie on the supplements and see.

I am day 7 of this new cycle so let’s see where this goes...just want to go back to ovulation before any more meddling. We have a friend and her 5 month old staying this weekend and has made me even more broody of course !!

Hello lovely ladies. Negative pregnancy test for us today I'm afraid. I did expect it but obviously still hoped to be wrong. Am ok at the moment - just feeling really really drained!!

So it looks like we are all back to the drawing board!

Xxx

@Janefx40 so sorry to hear that.... how long have you been trying ? Perhaps a little break is needed? Would you consider adoption or a donor egg or have you not discussed that yet? It is such a personal choice these things. Anyway, sending you lots of sisterly hugs.

Thank you @Mamalicious44 we can't conceive naturally (although we still try) so it's less about how long we've been trying and more about how many rounds of IVF we can cope with. We did a frozen transfer last June/July ending in miscarriage then this fresh IVF cycle has just failed.

Just feeling so tired with it all. The main thing that puts me off donor eggs is the long process involved!! Having to work out how to do it, where to find a donor etc just sounds like a whole heap of decision making and researching I can't cope with. Plus I don't think my DP would ever agree (because he hates IVF and the faff as it is so doubt he'd agree to add yet more complexity. But in theory, in someone posted some healthy eggs through my letterbox, I'd be up for it in a shot!!!

@Janefx40 really sorry to hear about the test results. IVF/trying to conceive can be all consuming mentally and physically, so sorry you are feeling so drained. I want to say something profound but it basically is just rubbish and hope you feel better soon. Hope your partner is ok too. It’s so hard for everyone.

@Mamalicious44 hope you have a lovely weekend with your friend. I held my friends newborn the other day and couldn’t hold in a little sob

@Carlos18 oh I know that feeling of holding a little cherub and it tugging the heart strings. It hurts and then I remind myself that it is just confirming my desires. What are your next movements? Are you going try another cycle soon?

@Janefx40 - no words can express the effect this has on on your life- it somehow ends up in every thought /action and it puts so much strain on the relationship, taking out the joy and fun. My DP felt too overwhelmed and so I I just deal with the details and tell him what we we need to do. I also want it more then him- think he has made his peace with it but wants to see me happy.

We are all on this road for some reason. My colleague at work was crying today because she is accidently pregnant at 45..... kids all grown up and she was looking forward to some freedom... funny how life works out....

Hello ladies- just wanted to share some good news- ovulating again so period hopefully back on track. Have a horrible cold so not sure it’s the best babymaking conditions but we’ll definitely have a go!

Hope you both are feeling better. And if not, then I hope you can just sit with those emotions and let them be. I am a doctor myself and I can definitely confirm western medicine does not have all the answers here. As my journey progresses I am turning further away from it- we might well end up on IVF but the nutrition, mindset, supplements and fitness and spiritual side play such huge roles....happy to share x

@Mamalicious44 good news that you are ovulating. Happy humping. Not the best fun with a cold.

I'm doing ridiculously well. After the initial sadness at the IVF not working, I've been feeling positively jubilant - it's almost a bit bizarre. It just feels great not having to have any injections or appointments. I feel like I should be more upset but I'm not and hey, never complain about being happy eh?!

I tested again today for DHEA In case I should start taking it again. But other than that I am looking forward to a normal life for a bit

How are you @Carlos18 ?

@Janefx40 Amazing! Good for you! Sounds like you need a break from it all and just space to breathe and just be you. Enjoy and forget about this for a wee while. We have to also live our lives :)

@Mamalicious44 great news on the ovulation. I’ve also just ovulated this cycle which is positive bearing in mind why I started this thread in the first place so my system has now reset after the DHEA, Testosterone and IVF. We “had a go” so see how that turns out.

@Janefx40 brilliant that you are feeling so good! I’m with you there at the minute. I stopped taking supplements for a bit and very much enjoyed lots of guilt free alcohol on a couple of occasions. For me, I think when trying to conceive, nobody gets the best of you (husband, friends, yourself) because you are committing so much time to future hope so it’s just nice to live in the present for a bit.

I also retested for DHEA, testosterone and free testosterone. DHEA low as before and Testosterone was bad in the normal range, so I have decided that it was the super high testosterone from applying the cream as recommended which probably messed my cycle up rather than the DHEA. Therefore I’ve decided to start taking the DHEA again and regularly test to monitor levels of everything.

My consultant isn’t really offering any advice or support on any test results but happy for me to take that approach. I figure I’ll do this for 2 or 3 months then do my final round.