Soy Isoflavones - advice pls

[JS5]

Could anyone with experience using soy isoflavones help please.

Want to give this a go as my cycles vary 35 to 40days. Currently waiting for AF to arrive anytime today or tomorrow.

Natures Best have some but dose seem a little confusing, they've "chosen to isolate isoflavones from soya", so isoflavones only 50mg. But then under the Formula it says 50,000 soya bean extract.
https://www.naturesbest.co.uk/herbs-spices/soya-isoflavones-50mg/

Please can someone advice if this would be the right one to buy. Equally any other places to buy from that are trustworthy

Thank you

I'm starting soy this cycle! I got mine off amazon and they were 40mg so i've had to mess with the dose a bit to get the right amount - the ones you've sent look good as they're 50mg already which I think is the correct dosage - so you can just take 2 / 100mg daily :)

you always go with the isoflavones content for the dosage (not the bigger number, think that's the total soy content)

Hello

I've tried soya isoflavones a few months with mixed success.
I have these ones from Amazon
SOYA Isoflavones 80% Extract 120 Capsules, 3rd Party Lab Tested, High Strength Supplement https://amzn.eu/d/4HU60Wl

My cycles were completely irregular between 25-39 days with the main issue being the shortish luteal phase however I wanted to ovulate before day 26 to give myself more chances throughout the year.

I was usually ovulating around day 19 I think and twice brought it forward to day 15, one month no difference made. I was talking them say 3-7.
I took 1, 1, 2, 2 then 3 then stopped.
One month I'm convinced they made me ill with D&V to the extent I was convinced I must have a soy allergy and haven't taken them since.

My luteal phase has increased to approx 13 days with minimal spotting before my period. I also take pregnacare conception, 1000mg of vitamin c, 100mg of vit b complex + added coq10 600mg this month. This has been the most successful combination for me.
I also take Angus Castus 40mg twice per day in the luteal phase and has helped massively with PMS.

However! Having seen a private Gynaecologist who suggested clomiphene on days 1-5 I'm going to try the isoflavones again as he won't start me on them til I've had a transvaginal ultrasound+follow up appointment which will take a couple of weeks to happen.

I'm on day 1 of my cycle and also started an anti depressant today clitalopram of which the side effects included nausea and vomiting so just gonna chuck the isoflavones in to....might lose that stone the Gynaecologist suggested!😬

@itsLKtoday thanks for sharing your experience - those ones look really high strength - maybe that's what made you sick? I saw somewhere that you're supposed to take 100mg so if you had 160mg and 240mg maybe it's a lot?

Great to hear that it helped you ovulate sooner though!

With the AC, I've seen people say you can't take it alongside soy isoflavones, but I'm not sure why - what does the4 AC do?

I some research before about dosage and I found the recommendations vary so much.
I've had a wee Google again as had a little panic there that I'd been overdosing 😅
https://www.babycenter.com/getting-pregnant/how-to-get-pregnant/can-soy-isoflavones-help-me-get-pregnant_10364266
Several sources say to take up to 200mg a day. Sure I read a thread on here too.

The capsules I've got actually contain 64mg so
Day 1 & 2 = 64mg
Day 3 & 4 = 128mg
Day 5 = 192mg

I've got another thing going on at the moment too which might be the issue with the soy but it's v. complicated and just would like a successful pregnancy before moving on to dealing with it when I need to.

Let us know how you get on!

I’m currently on my second cycle taking them. I took 120, 120, 160, 160, 200 CD 3-7. I usually have around a 24-28 day cycle with a Luteal phase of 10 days but was unclear whether I was actually Oing or not due to fluctuating pregesterone levels, last month (first cycle on soy) I ovulated day 20 (pos opk CD19) and then had a 33 day cycle (down side was I thought I was late and wasn’t pregnant)
I also took another pregosterone test which would have been 6dpo and it was 28.5 which is higher at least than my previous ones. I’ll see what happens this month - currently CD 10

@TTCbaby1soph thanks for sharing your experience - your cycle sounds quite similar to mine. good luck with this cycle, let us know how it goes!
I'm on day 4 today, I'm taking them days 3-7 and I'm doing 80, 80, 120, 120, 120

I'll report back on the thread how it goes. from last night the only effect I noticed was a very deep sleep (plus!) and a little bit of an ache on one side today - the left side, which is the one I usually get cramps with mid cycle.

Fingers crossed for all of us!
If this doesn't work I'm getting a hycosy haha

@chutney1 haha I’ve had all of that done so really hoping the soy helps before looking at any other sort of intervention. I’ve had loads of scans all clear and hycosy was fine, everything on blood tests ok apart from the fluctuating pregesterone level on day 21 blood test (although I think before I was having this done on the wrong day re the 10 day Luteal phase)
really really hoping the soy helps. Never had a hint of a BFP.

Thank you for sharing, ladies very helpful💕

@TTCbaby1soph sorry if I've missed this, just to confirm, your cycle was a little longer after taking SI but prolonged your luteal phase? Was this the main or one of the reasons you decided to try SI? Also do you mind sharing which brand you're using? Ta X

@JS5 cycle was on the short end to start with so yes lengthened my whole cycle to 32 days and also my Luteal phase went from 10 days to around 13 days which I see as a plus. I started taking them as I wasn’t 100% sure if I was ovulating due to low pregesterone and also because of the high level of success I’ve seen on other threads. Im taking these from Amazon Healthspan Soy Isoflavones 100mg... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VFBQ53K?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share.

these are the ones im taking - I had no idea what the difference between them all was! I picked this one purely because I've got other vitamins from the same makers: https://amzn.eu/d/20ORM2f

@TTCbaby1soph thanks for sharing. Yes agree a lengthened LP is definetely a positive!

@chutney1 @itsLKtoday thanks for sharing also. Will do some digging and research before deciding on one!

Lets keep each other updated. Fingers crossed for us all! xx 🤞

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend.

I've ordered some SI. Question, if I'm going with 3-7days, is day3, tomorrow, as started getting dark brown light spotting yesterday? Or spotting doesnt count as AF day?

Also does anyone know much about taking SI and Agnus Castus/Coq10 together? Is it safe?

Good morning!

Lots of sources say spotting doesn't count as your period, I don't really understand why because they obviously it's the lining breaking away but he-ho 🤷 apparently it's full flow is day 1.
Probably no great shakes of a difference between day 2 and 3 for this objective. I started on day 3 before this time too.

I read somewhere that you shouldn't take the Angus Castus on the same days as the Soy Isoflavones or it'll cancel it out. The isoflavones are to do with estrogen at the start of your cycle and encourages ovulation and the Angus Castus helps progesterone in the luteal phase.

There's just not enough information out there on this is there!? There used to be an amazing website called Sister Zeus sisterzeus.com but it's really tricky to get into and navigate now.

@JS5 yes don’t take Agnus cactus and the SI together as said above. Don’t worry too much about the spitting / full flow I would probably go as day 1 of spotting if it’s quite heavy not just when you wipe.
also I was wondering if anyone knows @itsLKtoday my pregesterone is usually low so would it be good to take the Agnus cactus after ovulation ? I heard some people just take AC up until O day and not after

Thank you both, really helpful advice. I'll go with yesterday day1.

@TTCbaby1soph@itsLKtoday Just read this article hou posted earlier:
"Plus, says Blakeway, if you take soy isoflavones in the first half of your cycle to boost estrogen production, but take nothing in the second half to boost progesterone levels, you can end up with a hormone imbalance that hurts fertility. That's because the hormones involved in the menstrual cycle rise and fall in a finely coordinated dance. If you alter one, it can affect the others."
https://www.babycenter.com/getting-pregnant/how-to-get-pregnant/can-soy-isoflavones-help-me-get-pregnant10364266

So in theory taking Agnus castus in luteal phase would end helpful?

That's the article I'm going with for now. Seems to make sense doesn't it?

I think you can take Angus Castus for your full cycle if you're not taking isoflavones but i just cannot find a consistent message on it for dosage for fertility.

I think I might have tried taking it pre ovulation last spring (before I heard of isoflavones) because of something I read and that cycle I got an lh peak on day 26 so i freaked out and didn't try that again!!

Yes think I need to do more digging before committing to AC

Hows everyone getting on?

I've ended up buying the 64mg isoflavones same as itslktoday. And took my first dose today. Looking to increase it 3rd day, are you supposed to split the dose in the day or okay to take two capsules in the evening with meal?

That's a good question!
I was taking all of my dosage at night as I thought it might be making me feel a bit yuck but this month I've started an actual medication (citalopram/ SSRI) which has various side effects including d+v so this month I have been splitting it as I kinda thought it won't make a difference to my general queasiness anyway 🤷

This is my last day taking them for this cycle so I will take one in the middle of the day too then see what's what with the lh strips.

I moved to a low dosage (40mg) of Angus Castus which I start taking the day after lh peak or the day the lh goes down as I figure at least it's helping with PMS and potentially helping progesterone. I do think since taking it my spitting has reduced to almost nothing, my luteal phase is a couple of days longer and my period more...ehh.... concentrated (?), like, it's heavier for a shorter time instead of spotting for 5 days before and a couple of days after.
When I used AC last year I had 1000mg and probably took them pre ovulation 🤦 definitely not right for me for my current objective!!!

I can't remember where I got my current ones but I had to search the internet for 40mg.
Thankfully have found these on Amazon for this month
Natures Aid PremEeze Agnus Castus, Relief of Premenstrual Symptoms (PMS), Vegan, 60 Capsules https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00STMP68M?starsLeft=1&ref_=cm_sw_r_apann_dp_ATHAACSE6NMS24437WGF

@itsLKtoday okay so previous cycle you took them together but this cycle splitting them. It'll be interesting to know if it's any different. Also going back to your first message, you mentioned in some cycles SI brought your ov day forward and in one cycle it didn't, do you remember anything different that cycle, eg taking SI in the mornings instead etc

Is d+v diarrhoea and vomiting ? Sorry not so good with acronyms 😷

Thank you for sharing AC link 💕

I've been taking the soy isoflavones at night only - they seriously knock me out so i don't think i could take them in the daytime! my strongest dose was 120mg on the last 2 days and i think it makes me feel a little dizzy/lightheaded sometimes but not worryingly so.
I'm also on a different SSRI @itsLKtoday and i take that early in the morning, first thing as it keeps me awake if i take it too late. I had side effects with that in the first 2 weeks but it really calmed down after that so i hope it's the same for you xx

thanks for sharing the AC, i might try that too! I actually bought a progesterone cream to use (lol!) after ovulation, so might double up if it doesn't help on its own

@JS5 yes d&v diarrhea and vomiting 🤮 was trying to be delicate haha 😆 I don't know why as I'm not shy haha.

I have previously taken them all at once in the evening day 3 to day 7.
My ovulation had been around day 21 and first month I took the soy Isoflavones in September it came forward to day 17. I think i took them in October and ovulation was day 23. I think I didn't take them in November because they hadn't made a difference in October. Definitely took them December (I remember because I had to wear a tena lady to leave the house for security just in case of "d" 😅 ovulation was day 17 then haven't taken them again til now;
September - took them - forward 4 days to say 17
October - took them - day 23
November - didn't take them - day 17
December - took them - day 17
January - didn't take them - day 20
February - didn't take them - day 17
So who knows if they're working or not! My luteal phase has definitely improved though but may be combination of other things!?
Oh and I had covid in September for the first time! I remember testing positive for covid and getting an lh peak same day. I had it again in January but that was in the luteal phase

@chutney1 thank you for sharing re SSRI! I was prescribed it "to help get a good night's sleep" thing is I was sleeping fine. But I'm absolutely foul from around 9dpo when my hormones must crash + the general upset of being unable to conceive has been absolutely consuming me for the last 8 weeks or so to the point I'm avoiding social and some work scenarios. I have tried my usual feel better methods and can't shake it. Will continue to try them at night for this first two weeks then might swap to morning!

@itsLKtoday it's great that your ovulation has moved now, so is your luteal phase longer? That's got to be a good sign!

I'm so sorry you've had such a shit time - I'm exactly the same, since my last MC my PMS has been like another level, really really low before periods and feeling so upset about ttc. I think it's definitely the hormone imbalance and it's come with changes in my cycle that looks like low progesterone too (lighter/shorter periods and spotting). And like you I also tried my usual methods like running, meditating, having chill days etc, and it wasn't working any more. And now I'm back to my normal routine with the boost from the SSRI. I've noticed a huge improvement since I've been on the SSRI so I hope it helps you too! i went up in dosage after about 3 months to get the full effects and it really helped me - just mentioning this as i was quite anxious/reluctant to go up in dose. I shouldn't have worried as it helped so much, so don't stress if you need to do, but you might be absolutely fine xx

I've actually had quite strong side effects from the isoflavones - feeling quite head-rushy and sometimes warm, a bit spaced out. Apparently this can be an effect of estrogen?! it's so weird but at least I know something is happening. i don't usually use OPKs as i get ovulation pain, so hopefully i still do this month and i can see if it moves at all.

fingers crossed for all of us this month, sending you all lots of baby luck!

Hows everyone getting on? Sorry I've been abit quiet, I'm mindful that I get sucked into reading threads and start overthinking so took a little time away.

I'm now 3days pass last dose and I'm completely dry down there, like pretty much a desert, is this normal?

I'm hoping I can be more relaxed this cycle, so only going to do opk tests and not going to take temps until start getting rise in LH

Wishing everyone luck this cycle x

@JS5 hello!

I just realised that we are both on another thread when you updated there too ❤️

Yes I believe soy Isoflavones can dry you up a bit. I got guaifenesin capsules last month and am taking them again now. Guaifenesin is the active ingredient in Mucinex and other cough syrups that loosen up any mucus in the body.

I am also using lh strips just to monitor what's what and see if the soy Isoflavones have done what we hope x