DHEA?

[EmJay19]

Just had the worst round of IVF ever. Have read ‘It starts with the egg’ and taken a lot on board, taking ubiquinol.

Have been reluctant to start DHEA but really want to throw everything at it for the next round.

My treatment is in a hospital and I think they are strictly speaking not allowed to suggest / promote this (from a google search looking at NICE guidelines) so don’t think I’ll get much of an opinion there.

Opinions and experience welcome.

Thanks

Only take it under guidance of the medical team caring for you. It is a hormone, not just a supplement, and can interfere with other things. You might need blood tests to check/monitor certain hormone levels eg testosterone prior to starting it. I would speak with whoever will be overseeing your next cycle and go from there.

Agree with other poster / it's not just NHS clinic who don't "promote" it - it isn't licenced in the U.K. that's why it's hard to get hold of and can actually damage fertility rather than increase it if taken when you don't need to

You need to get your dheas and testosterone levels checked and reviewed by a specialist.
I took dhea and I couldn’t cycle as I didn’t need it and it caused a spike in my progesterone. Apparently that causes egg quality issues. So please don’t go rookie like I did and self prescribe without checking these and getting a recommendation for how much to take. At the least check your levels and then work out if needed.
I also took melatonin and all the supplements in it starts with egg as did my dh . Good luck !

I have been taking it for 7 weeks on the advice of my consultant. Felt a bit dodgy buying online from overseas!! It has given me teenage acne at 43. I suppose time will tell if it helps.

Thanks all for your responses.
I was thinking about going ahead with chatting to dr but will definitely follow advice of consultant and ask when I next speak to him.

@Abi47 is your treatment at a hospital or clinic?

Via private fertility clinic. Felt better about using it when I saw letter to my GP confirming advice to take. Saw consultant again on Friday., he wants me to keep on with it

Sorry you had a bad experience, but trust your doctors when they suggest meds. If you don't trust your hospital then please find a hospital, a clinic, a doc, that you can trust and get honest opinions from. And just like a previous poster has said, it's not just vitamins so be sure before you take it.

@Abi47 good luck with your treatment!

Thank you @IsabelHerna and everyone else for the advice. It was a bit of a knee jerk reaction on my part. I’ll see what dr thinks when I next go in

Thanks, back to see doctor today! Hope you get the help and advice you need and your next appointment

@EmJay19 it's totally understandable reacting like this, don't worry about it. I wish you good luck and keep us posted on what happens next.

Hi @EmJay19
My FSH was 15.2 in May and I was told ivf was not viable with those levels.
In July I started taking 50mgs of dhea along with ubiquinol, omega 3 and other vitamins and my FSH today was 6.6 and my AMH 5. The hormone profile included testosterone which was higher than my profile in May but still well in normal range.
I plan to reduce my dhea to 25mgs now. My clinic said they will do ivf with us if my FSH is less than 12... Yippee!!
Lots of luck x