DHEA, Ubiquinol & Supplements...any advice

[2019isouryear]

I am 41 and recently completed our 1st IVF cycle (NHS) which unfortunately failed as we did not get an embryo to ET. I probably started IVF very naively and with little knowledge. We are now considering our options and a further cycle (Private) and guess I want to try to come away with no regrets. I have impulsively ordered DHEA (not micronised) and having since read ‘it starts with the egg’ am now considering reordering the micronised version, but don’t know if I am again being a little impulsive. I wondered what others experiences are of using DHEA. I have also started to take Ubiquinol (200mg) but thinking of increasing this to 400mg on the advice of the book as well as taking on board some of the other recommended supplements, which would be quite costly, but worth it if they help. Again just wondered about others experiences with supplements etc.

Apologies for the essay.

DO NOT take DHEA unless on the specific advice of a doctor. It can impact on hormones in ways that could cause problems for any upcoming IVF cycle.

Ubiquinol is fine, though, knock yourself out!

Ubiquinol is good. Also vitamin B complex and bit B12.

But if you really want to put all the chances in your sides

• go and see a nutritionist before taking all sort of supplements (vitamins, minerals, Agnus cactus etc...) as some will be good for you but otter might detrimental. Don’t just rely on blog posts and Internet forums.

-think about seeing an acupuncturist. Research has shown it can increase pregnancy rate after IVF by up to 50%

• take your time. Supplements and any other therapy will need several months (at least 3 as it’s the time needed for the cell to develop into a follicule and then an egg) to make a real difference.
• look at your life and maybe think about changing things around. Being constantly exhausted and under stress doesn’t help fertility/IVF
• if you go private, investigate different clinics before jumping and don’t fall for their nice leaflets. Be careful about their claims AND about their costs, esp if different clinics tell you different stories (eg one tells you that of course you can get pregnant whereas the other says your chances are slim)

Good luck!

I think you need to remember

• supplements are only helping if you are deficient. If you have a good level of vitamin B12 and you are taking an expensive supplement with vit B12, you are just literally peeing money doing the drain.

• what will be good to take for some women (eg agnus cactus, macca etc...) might be good for you. It depends on your hormone levels and what’s going FOR YOU. You can make things worse by taking certain supplements.

• which is why, I don’t think that taking supplements wo proper professional advice is a good idea....

What is the reason why you couldn’t produce an embryo to transfer? Do you have high FSH / low egg reserve? I have a high egg reserve and still didn’t produce any high quality embryos my first cycle - but the consultant recommended further testing / meds / supplements in the second and it was far more successful. What did your consultant tell you?

DHEA isn’t something you play around with. It can harm fertility if you have certain conditions - which is why you wait for the consultant to recommend it.

@Teddybear45 we’ve not had our review with the consultant yet, but I’m assuming it may be down to eqg quality due to my age. We managed 9 mature eggs and 6 fertilised but problems with abnormal cell division and none suitable for ET. Suppose just looking at options for potentially improving our chances as we don’t have unlimited funds for private treatment. Will hold off on the DHEA until we’ve net with the consultant early next month.

Thank you for the advice I’m probably being impatient and jumping ahead of myself before we meet with the consultant again. You just read so many opinions about ‘it starts with the egg’.

Ok. Talk to the consultant about Level 1/Level 2 testing. It’s an expensive (but cheaper than a failed cycle) battery of tests that can help you identify certain issues that may impact both egg quality and implantation. I’d also ask if they think using different stimulation drugs would help (for example I responded better on high levels of Gonal-F than Menpur but some women are the opposite). But yeah def speak to the consultant.

In the meantime, I was told Pregnacare Max is the best routinely available supplement if you carry a MUHFR gene (testing can find out if you do) - that usually means you can’t digest folic acid and need a more active folate form. Pregnacare Max carries 50 percent of it’s folic acid in folate form, and you can top up with food sources. As you might not have had testing yet - there’s no harm in taking it. It has Omega 3 and other good stuff too.

Ditto for what others mentioned about ubiquinol and DHEA. DHEA is a hormone, and should be monitored closely by your doctor since it can affect hormone levels. For ubiquinol, a form that is what and fat-soluble absorbs better. Good luck!