People think we become mothers when we give birth but the truth is we become mothers the moment we start calling our babies to us in our thoughts, dreams and prayers. Some paths are short and some are so long that you can easily forget where you were headed.
Re: CoQ10/other supplement results
In preparation for the second stimulation cycle-- I added CoQ10 and micronized DHEA along with the prenatal. For what it's worth, I also switched over all of my personal care and household products to phthalate free. There are a lot of studies on how phthalates affect fertility. I also saw a fertility acupuncturist. For the month before and during stimulation, I significantly reduced my carb and sugar intake.
that cycle resulted in 34 eggs retrieved. 27 were mature, 21 fertilized and 19 made it to blast, 17 tested A-OK at PGD testing time.
I don't know what accounts for the dramatic change--I cant say it was one thing or all things and my RE is totally amazing. But there was obviously a significant turnaround in egg production and quality so I wanted to share this with you. I read a book by Jill Blakeway in anticipation and I found it very helpful.
Good LUck!!!!
My 7 Year Journey ***Tw in spoiler***
IVF #1 - September 2018; Follistim, Menopur, Cetrotide & Lupron/HCG combo trigger; PGS; ICSI
Back on Levothyroxine
FET #1 - October 2018; cancelled, all PGS aneuploid
FET #1 - November 30th, transferred anyway
Wondfo BFP 5dp5dt, CB Digi 6dpt,
1st Beta on 7dpt 93
2nd Beta on 10dpt 510!
TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.
Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017
New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF
IUI
IUI #1 July 2017 w/100mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #2 October 2017 w/50mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #3 February 2018 w/5mg Femara+trigger; low P
BFP February; mc March; Subclinical hypothyroid started Levothyroxine
IUI #4 March 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Medicated cycle & TI April 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Tried several cycles on our own; all BFN
To answer your question - my first sim cycle, I ended up with 4 embryos that fertilized and made it to blast, but only 1 passed PGD.
In terms of the amounts of CoQ10 and Dhea, I will see if I can find my notes from that period of time as I don't recall dosage off the top of my head. One thing I do recall for certain is that it was important that the DHEA be micronized and the COQ10 be ubiquinol. There are a lot of garden variety versions of these supps that are not the same! and, to give you a boost of hope, at the time of that stim cycle and retrieval with the great resultsI was 37! So I firmly believe that you can turn around egg quality and production no matter what anyone says!
Any and all suggestions are welcome!
To the ladies in here, this book is well worth the purchase. It teaches you about egg quality, diet, sperm, environmental exposure, etc. all in one compact place with a lot of citations to read the studies she is talking about so you can fact check what she is saying along the way.
My 7 Year Journey ***Tw in spoiler***
IVF #1 - September 2018; Follistim, Menopur, Cetrotide & Lupron/HCG combo trigger; PGS; ICSI
Back on Levothyroxine
FET #1 - October 2018; cancelled, all PGS aneuploid
FET #1 - November 30th, transferred anyway
Wondfo BFP 5dp5dt, CB Digi 6dpt,
1st Beta on 7dpt 93
2nd Beta on 10dpt 510!
TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.
Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017
New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF
IUI
IUI #1 July 2017 w/100mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #2 October 2017 w/50mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #3 February 2018 w/5mg Femara+trigger; low P
BFP February; mc March; Subclinical hypothyroid started Levothyroxine
IUI #4 March 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Medicated cycle & TI April 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Tried several cycles on our own; all BFN
I know it sounds utterly insane, but I also switched my deodorant to a natural deodorant, same thing for body wash and lotions, dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent. I looked for products that were phathlate and paraben free and free of sulfates. I even bought five free nailpolish and used that for my manicures and pedicures. Like I said, I have absolutely no idea what accounted for the change...because I threw a lot into the mix at once, but it's relatively easy to switch the products so I figured if it could help why not!
For those asking, my RE said no DHEA post, but Coq10 is fine.
I wish everyone on this thread the best of luck in this journey to conceive. It's a very difficult road to navigate and sometimes it feels hopeless, but please hang in there. The reward is amazing...I promise.