DHEA - yay or nay?!

[LouLou7864]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has had any success with DHEA supplements? I’m 36 and going into my 4th round of ivf in the new year and have been wondering whether to give it a go… I’ve got low AMH (5.2) and stage 4 endo (which I had excision surgery for at the beginning of the year, but sadly some has grown back 😔).

On my 2nd round of ivf our consultant at the time recommended DHEA, but then changed her mind because my baseline scan was showing a good number of follicles. However, I’ve only got between 2-6 eggs each time so wondering if DHEA could help? My egg quality could also do with a bit of a boost.
I had my testosterone tested in oct 21 which came back at 0.5 and my DHEA s was 3.8. Both seem to be within the normal ranges, but I’ve seen others with higher levels than me be recommended DHEA? Does anyone have any advice? I’ve ordered some, but been too scared to take them in case I mess things up! (Or go bald…!)

Hi @LouLou7864 I don’t have any experience of taking DHEA myself but my advice would be to not take anything without talking to your doctor first - I’ve read that taking extra DHEA in some people can actually make things worse and block egg development, and so once you start taking it you should ask for frequent DHEA monitoring to make sure your levels don’t go too high. Best of luck in your journey!

Hello @LouLou7864 ,

I had my first egg retrieval back in October and only got 4 eggs frozen from that cycle. I was planning on doing another retrieval this month but my consultant said that he would only do it if I went on 3 months of DHEA 75mg daily prior to next retrieval. Didn’t suggest a change in stims meds whatsoever which I thought was a very weird, nor did he ask for blood tests to check on my DHEA-S and other levels.

So I bought the DHEA as recommended and am currently taking it, but after much investigation decided to take matters into my own hands after all I have read about it. I did private bloodwork and know my levels prior to taking the supplement (there’s definitely room for improvement in my numbers even though they are within normal range) but I will do another bloodwork prior to starting stims, and keep monitoring numbers closely as supposedly DHEA can help, but it can also harm eggs. So I’m not as strict in taking the 75mg doses every day, most days I just do 50mg 🤷🏼‍♀️

it’s a tricky situation, but that’s what I would suggest, speak to consultant about it, if possible get bloodwork done, know your levels, do some research and make an informed decision. Furthermore, one must remember that this whole thing with infertility is that it can be a result of a combination of factors OR nothing that can be explained at all 🤦🏻‍♀️ Overall lifestyle / differences in monthly cycles / other health factors can impact fertility. It is important to make positive changes that can contribute to a positive outcome whenever possible, but ultimately, we need to remind ourselves that this is a bit of a lottery game and there are no guarantees despite all efforts 😏

best of luck to you!

As per pp. Definitely not without medical monitoring, it's a hormone and cause other imbalance issues. I asked my consultant about it and he said there is no decent evidence to support use and spending money on it and the required monitoring.

Hi. If you or anyone following this post would like them, I have 3 unopened bottles of DHEA which I don't need so feel free to DM me. Good luck with your fertility journey.