CoQ10 -- Ubiquinol? Dosage? Brand? Please Help!

Jewels292

Hello! I am preparing for a new FET this fall and I wanted to start taking CoQ10, which my RE and a nurse from the insurance company both recommended. I went to buy a bottle today and was incredibly overwhelmed by all of the options! Does anyone have any advice on which brand to buy? Is Ubiquinol better than Ubiquinone? How much are you taking? (I was told 600 mg daily, but that seems like a lot!) And information you can share would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much! 

wintersong555

I use costco brand CoQ10 300mg, one with breakfast one with dinner. Best price for my budget and there's a lot in a bottle

fivetimesnoluck

@Jewels292I was told by my RE (and I think others here have echoed) that the Ubiquinol is better for absorption. I bought these from Amazon and take one a day. I am obviously not an expert, but 600 mg seems like a lot.

ETA link.

ETA: this article actually says 600 mg is recommended, so now I am off to find out if I am taking too small of a dose. D'oh! It's so hard to keep up with it all sometimes.

JamieH2000

I have been taking the ubiquinol (active form) from Costco. The brand is Qunol. It's 100mg pills. It's more expensive than the regular CoQ10, but I figured it was worth it so I didn't have to take 400-600mg or like 3 pills of the regular coq10. It's also not that much $$ compared to all the other costs of treatment :0)

Jewels292

Thank you so much for your responses, @wintersong555, @fivetimesnoluck & @JamieH2000! There is almost TOO much information about this out there. It's so confusing!

@JamieH2000 -- Are you just taking 1 100mg pill a day? 

I just pulled this from the comments of that article:

 “The suggested daily dose of Ubiquinol for the average person is 100 mg per day. For those who are older, or suspect decreased levels of CoQ10 due to health issues, supplementation may be started at 200-300 mg per day for two weeks. After two weeks blood plasma levels plateau and dosage may be lowered to 100 mg per day, as maintenance.”

So, I think I am leaning towards taking 100 mg per day of the Ubiquinol (I'm still a little confused, but think the 600 mg/day is the dosage for the Ubiquinone?)

Still open to more advice if anyone has it! Thanks so much! 

dolcegirl25

I take 200mg a day...I have to check my notes from the nurse when I get home, I'm nervous I should be taking more.  We took a while to decide if we were going to move forward with fertility treatments.  We are starting IUI this month...just as excited as I am anxious.  

heather041413

@Jewels292 my RE recommended 300 mg ubiquinol or 600 mg of ubiquinone. I have also been taking the Qunol brand. Good luck! 

JamieH2000

Yes I'm just taking 100mg right now, but was considering taking 200mg once I start stims since that's when I'll be needing lots of that cell energy to produce hopefully a lot of high quality eggs 

kjplaza

@jewels292, can i ask why they recommended taking this supplement for an FET, doesn't it help with egg quality so what does it do once the embryo is already formed? Im just curious as im getting ready to prepare for another FET this fall and want to do everything i can. 

annebenton22

I take Ubiquinol 400 mg. per day. I also have MTHFR gene and that is why I take a little extra. I think 200 is what I hear the most. Oh, and I get the Vitamin Shop brand. 

JESSABER0414

My RE just confirmed the exact same dose today.  Both myself and DH are going to take it.  There's a little MFI here.  

7Kaby

Don't worry about whether you take ubiquinol or ubiquinone. They have the same potency and absorption. I have done a wealth of research and the ubiquinol manufacturer claims it is better based on their own research in the lab and in animals - not human studies. Also, ubiquinol is so unstable that by the time it reaches the intestines where it is absorbed, it has been converted to the oxidized ubiquinone. Honestly, there is no need to pay extra - spend the extra money on a higher quality ubiquinone instead. 
We used a dose of 3x100mg of pharmaceutical-grade ubiquinone. In the past two miscarriages at 9 and 13 weeks. This time the CoQ10 made everything take and stick and we had a beautiful daughter in June. I am a believer in CoQ10. Used Bio-Quinone Gold, which was recommended initially for migraines by our family doctor. 
I always believed that it pays off to buy a good and proven quality. And now that we have a beautiful daughter I wouldn't change a thing. Good luck and baby dust to you all - the CoQ10 market is a jungle

nirendoll

**pregnancy mentioned**

I took Co-Q 10 prior to my IVF cycle two months ago - not sure if that is what did the trick or if it was due to other things but I wound up with 6 blastocysts (out of 8 fertilized eggs) and I am now 8 weeks pregnant with twins.  I focused really heavily on preparing my body in every possible way and CO-Q 10 was mentioned again and again as helpful for egg quality and fertility.

After lots of research I went with ubiquinol - many sites and forums mentioned that this was a more bio-available version and while it is more expensive I figured I was spending so much money anyway a little extra wouldn't make a difference.  

The brands I used were Jarrow and then later I switched to Now Foods (I'm not sure why I switched but I think there was something in the Jarrow brand I wasn't a fan of).  I went with the 200mg dosage and took two per day - studies showed that 600mg of ubiquinone were helpful and ubiquinol is about twice as potent as ubiquinone so I figured the equivalent of 800mg of ubiquinol would work.  

I took it primarily to improve egg quality (I have endometriosis and a low amh) but it helps the energy level in all of your cells so I don't see why it couldnt help for a FET.  Wishing you all the best!  

babylonghorn16

Hi @Jewels292 !

I took CoQ10 for my 1st IVF cycle. I was told it helps with egg quality. Took 600mg daily - 2 300mg pills. Brand was Finest Nutrition (from Walgreens). They retrieved 21 mature eggs and all 21 fertilized! We ended up with 12 embryos, but one tested abnormal... so 11 total. I would say CoQ10 did the job well!

As for using during FET cycle... I haven't heard anything about this (other than the posts above). My nurse/RE have not mentioned, and my FET is scheduled for next thurs 7/28. I will ask! Good luck!!

LeanneB82

I also just started CoQ10 a little over a month ago to try and help egg quality also while we are taking a break from IVF. I'm on 100mg twice daily.