DHEA success? 40+

[CNizzle]

Hi all,
After our 1st round of IVF/ICSI ended in miscarriage at 6 weeks, the consultant has advised we start taking DHEA. I've managed to source some online (amazon usa) but I'm just looking to see if anyone's had success with it? Any hints for taking it?
For reference we are classed as unexplained infertility after trying for 5 yrs. 1 previous mmc last year, and one failed icsi cycle (mmc, last week) age 42, with pretty good AMH for age.
Thanks

Hi @CNizzle

Sorry to hear about your loss.
I can't talk about true positive results yet but since I started taking DHEA 6 weeks ago my FSH fell from 23 to 15.4 and AMH improved from 3 to 3.7
So I'm very hopeful we can conceive naturally for the next 3 months, otherwise we'll start IVF as advised by the consultant.
Do you mind sharing what clinic you are with? Interestingly mine (Create) advised against it while the NHS consultant recommended it (and NHS should not prescribe it as per guidelines).
I was very conflicted at first but glad it showed positive results for now, fingers crossed we're also lucky to conceive:)
How about you? What's your experience so far?
Take care xx

Hi @CNizzle and @Summerishere83 . I reached to this thread on a search, its been a while since your conversation i know.... !!! I have started to think more seriously about DHEA as well due to low AMH at my age (40 yo, AMH 0.6😔 ) and want to get pregnant either through natural or IVF. Did you have good experience so far? Also what was the downsides of it, did you experience any?

Hi @Aprilsunnyday
I have decided to stop taking DHEA as although it lowered my FSH (it is now 12.2) it also delays my ovulation (CD 14 as opposed to cd12 before). And since I haven't been able to conceive yet I thought the delay in ovulation might lead to be embryo missing the window of implantation. Also my AMH is back down to 3.2. But that's just me, no one has advised me on that so I can't either recommend it or advise against it. If you are considering IVF, turn to Create clinic asap, they specialise in women with low egg reserve.
Do you know how much your AMH was last year by any chance? I'm 39 and I wonder how quickly it depletes.
Best of luck and keep us posted! Xx

hi @Summerishere83,
Thanks for the very quick response!! I see you have stopped with DHEA now - I see although it raises your AMH, it doesn't necessarily give better prediction on egg quality.

I have just checked out Create clinic and think I should try a consultation with them first. ( I have discussed with with Care London before, and they were seemingly unwilling to help on IVF since my AMH is low). Have you spoken to other clinics for consultations?

My number when 37 was about 1.4, thus i had ruled out the IVF option for a pretty long time, I had a miscarriage (a MMC to be exact) early this year in Jan around 6 weeks, post which i had two regular cycles in April/May, followed by very irregular cycles.

I think if your number is about 3, it is still very highly likely a stimulation could work well for IVF if you choose that route? I don't know about an AMH of 0.6 though. I am scheduled to get some opinions from a gynaecologist because this seems like a peri menopause according to my fertility doctor... Life is just not easy is it!

Wish you luck too and hope you get a pregnancy soon through trying. xx

Hi @Aprilsunnyday

Yes I had a consultation with Create, I think they're excellent, they told me that if AMH is below 5 I should go straight away with IVF. However, I had a polyp removal in August and I blame it for the 2 chemical pregnancies this year. Sorry to hear you had a loss too :(

So since I got the polyp removed I'm hoping I have more of a chance to conceive naturally but we've decided if it doesn't happen by end of December to go ahead with IVF. I had a scan as part of the consultation at Create and a lengthy discussion with a consultant after it so I am confident with them (although they do not support taking DHEA and I still took it as advised by an NHS consultant). What they do is collect as many eggs as there are available at the time even if they're not mature because they mature them in cell culture in the lab. In the body these cells will degenerate as only one follicle will become dominant and release an egg. So to me that's the advantage of doing IVF, potentially harvesting eggs that would otherwise be wasted. The consultant also confirmed that there have been babies born from these initially immature eggs.

I have only seen Create and an NHS consultant, and I wasn't happy with the latter at all, she was very rushed and doesn't explain or talk at all, really unpleasant treatment.

Hope this helps and fingers crossed it all works out in the end!! Xx

@Summerishere83 , Thank you so much for the kind reply and pointing of directions. Following your advice I have booked a consultation with Create Fertility, after also signing up for a webinar. The session was very information and the advisor who called back was very good and thorough too. (that is my impression so far, fingers crossed they have got very good client handling all along). I also was diagnosed by one doctor of likely peri-menopause earlier, and managed to get my retested result back last night, things seemed to be in the normal range in September round, thankfully. Only Testosterone was slightly low. (and it does not seem to be a huge issue in fertility context in my understanding.)
Booked for next week with Create and hopefully the consultant will be thorough and excellent like yours!!

How are the natural trying going for you? Is your cycle quite regular these days?
It is not easy to go through trying, at all in my experience! 😅Need a lot of patience which i don't always have!🤐
x

Hi @Aprilsunnyday

Very glad to hear you are already booked for consultation! Best of luck!! Would be looking forward to hearing details if you'd like to share, perhaps even message me privately:)

I'm only on the second cycle since the polyp removal so hoping maybe this one will be successful, ovulation should be today/tomorrow so the 2 week wait starts now.

My cycles have been regular so far so hoping I ovulate every month too.

Which Create clinic are you going to? I'm excited for you!!

@Aprilsunnyday @Summerishere83
I wondered how you were both getting on?
I have just been diagnosed with low AMH for my age - 3.9 pmol/l at age 34. We've been told to go for IVF in the next 4-6 months but having read it starts with the egg I am now taking all the supplements and trying to be as healthy as possible. My DHEA arrived this morning so have started taking that.
Have either of you had any luck with either natural or IVF?
I attended the Create Fertility webinar last night and they look great.

Hi! @MrsD7 Welcome to this thread (not that you would wanted to in the first place i imagine!! but welcome !!

I am not sure if 3.9 pmol/l is that low to be honest, but i am a bit older (40) and my level was much lower earlier this year, but if the doc said so i would go with that. Just wondering, did you order DHEA at your own decision? I hear you need to check testosterone every now and then while you are on it, according to the book! I did not get recommendation to take DHEA so didn't go ahead with it!!

Yes Create is nice in the sense they offer a different treatment plan for ppl with reduced ovarian reserves. the staff were very nice when i was talking to them!

When do you think you might proceed to IVF? In 4-6 months time after trying?x

Hi @MrsD7 welcome from me too!
Have you had any other tests done? Like antral follicle count, FSH and LH? How long have you been trying?

I have mixed feelings about DHEA because yes, it did decrease my FSH, however, it also shifted my ovulation and I was concerned that the potential embryo and the implantation window might be out of sync. The main advantage of DHEA seems to be improving the quality of the eggs but in your case as you're still 34 might not be an issue. Create are against DHEA because women tend to produce empty follicles while taking it. Also, like Aprilsunnyday said testosterone levels should be checked too.

My partner and I have decided to try naturally until the end of the year and if unsuccessful will start IVF will Create.

Fingers crossed it works out for all of us!! Keep us posted:)

Hi @Aprilsunnyday @Summerishere83 thank you so much for your lovely replies.
We’ve been trying for 14 months so I question whether my eggs are that good quality. I have bought tones of supplements advised in it starts with the egg, and going to overhaul my diet and lifestyle for the next 6 months, and then review. I have bought some DHEA but like you both, feel undecided as to whether to take it or not. Really interesting that Create said women tend to produce empty follicles when taking it - I definitely don’t want that!
I didn’t have my FSH or LH tested, but my AFC was 6, which is also low for my age.
Im also now worried about early menopause too!
We’re very very lucky and we have a little boy who is 2, who we managed to conceive naturally. I think my dilemma now is whether one is enough for me, and if not, whether we can justify gambling so much money on IVF.
good luck to you both in the next few months. Keep me posted with how you get on. Xx

Hi all... I started this threada while back, thanks for your responses.
Just starting our 2nd round of ICSI, the first after starting DHEA a little over 4 months ago. I'll update in the next couple of weeks if we get more/better eggs this cycle. 🤞

Hi @CNizzle Thanks for starting this thread😊 I hope you have very good experience on Dhea, do you feel any different after starting?
Please keep us updated!

@MrsD7, sorry for late response!! Was such a busy week.
I see, 14 months of trying isn't easy, I am sorry to hear you haven't had luck yet. Have you also got your parter to do some sperm testing yet? I think it's important both get tested.
I didn't quite know what afc is, I ll search later!!
I see you are trying for your second! I think delivering the first child should give you some confidence overall? :)

Thanks a lot for the kind words, we ll try our best and see how things go! Xx

@Aprilsunnyday absolutely no side effects that I can see/tell! I've been taking 25mg 3x daily as recommended by the IVF consultant.

I keep fingers crossed for you on the result of egg retrieval soon. It's good thing to know you have had good experience and no discomforts while taking Dhea! Keep us posted and good luck!! xx

Hi there,

I am 42 with an AMH of 2.2. I felt like my clinic really didn't think I would have a successful IVF outcome. I read 'It starts with the egg' and decided after doing my own research to start taking DHEA , 75mg a day and CQ10, 400 mg a day. My consultant at my IVF clinic said if I wanted to take it I can, it wouldn't have a negative effect on my treatment but the evidence was weak that they worked. I have just had my second egg collection as I am doing 3 simulations back to back to bank, collect and freeze eggs. Both times I have only had three follicles, but produced two eggs on each cycle which are good quality, viable and mature. Who knows if its the DHEA and CQ10 but I will continue to take for my third cycle. I've had no side effects from taking either, in fact I feel more alert with higher energy. Even my consultant has told me to continue taking for my last cycle. Hope this helps :)

Hi @jojosumsion thanks for sharing!

Are you doing mild or natural or conventional IVF? That would depend on your FSH level and the clinic you are at I suppose. Well done for banking 4 eggs already! :) Have they been fertilised?

My plan is also to start 3 cycles in December, no success with trying naturally so far unfortunately.

I also didn't have any side effects when taking DHEA but it also shifted my ovulation so I decided to stop. But I'm considering restarting it ahead of the IVF, will discuss this later today with the consultant!

Please keep us posted and good luck, your results sound promising!! :)

Hi @CNizzle how have you been? Do you have any updates for us? :)
Thanks for sharing and starting this thread!
Good luck!! 🤞

Hi @MrsD7
Hope you're doing well too!!
It's great you have a little boy already :) Also, it seems that having had a child already helps with conceiving again so fingers crossed!!
Meanwhile, have you done any other tests?
Yeah we're all in the early menopause boat here 😅 that's something I'll think about later though, luckily apart from fatigue which could be due to anything I can't say I've got any symptoms.
Please keep us posted and all the best! :)

Hi @Summerishere83,
I am doing conventional IVF. If you decide to go down the conventional IVF route keep in mind your cycle is controlled with primers (usually progesterone) before you start injecting your stimulators, plus your clinic will scan and monitor you to ensure you are ready to start the cycle. So any worries about DHEA shifting your ovulation shouldn’t be an issue.

Wish you all the luck with your journey x

Hi @jojosumsion

That's interesting, many thanks!

I've decided to go ahead with mild modified so I start taking FSH on day 5 after a scan. Altogether 3 scans until egg collection, they are hoping to collect between 0 and 2 eggs

The consultant said he didn't mind if I was taking DHEA so I'm thinking of starting it again, looks like it works for you:)

Please do keep us posted, all the best! :)

Hello. I'm on DHEA too. My consultant said j need to be on it for at least 3 months before we attempt an egg collection. I'm also taking coq10. He said not so much evidence for that but by NHS consultant had previously told me to take it.

He also wants to me on 5mg folic acid and vit d

No side effects from it so far apart from maybe mild reflux occasionally. My clinic recommended a place to get it from online.

@IVFlife @jojosumsion thanks ladies for the sharing about your experience with DHEA, I wish doctors could agree with one another on how this medication could be used. But at least it does not seem to interfere with quality of eggs that our bodies would produce in the first place and little kown downsides, so that's a good thing. @Summerishere83 i wish all the good outcome in the efforts soon to start and that you prepare yourself to the best for it. X
Would be nice to know your progress and, I will not be too far behind hopefully. 🤗

Hi, just popping back on to say I had my retrieval today... they got 3 eggs, which, although isn't great, is 50% better than last time. I'll hear how they got on with fertilisation tomorrow, but looks like I produce follicles, but not many eggs. 🤞