Supplements for ivf?

somewhereinnyc · August 2018

hi ladies, did anyone WITHOUT diminished ovarian reserve take dhea or coq10? I’m 33, amh 1.83 and afc of 11. Wondering if any ladies with technically normal range numbers tried these supplements, if your numbers improved, and any side effects? We have to wait 4 months before starting ivf so interested in anything I can do now to improve the odds. Thanks!

zamoraspin · August 2018

Check with your RE about the DHEA - it does have side effects including hair loss. My RE only recommends it for DOR folks doing IVF.

I started using CoQ10 last June (my RE had me switch to NeoQ10 when we started seeing her last September. It’s an antioxidant so most RE’s recommend it or say it is not harmful (one person in our September group says her doc doesn’t like it but that is def an outlier). The rec is usually 600mg a day/use Ubiquinol which is more potent.

Last September/October I was 35 and my AMH was 1.93 and AFC was 11, in July this year (now 36) AMH was up to 2.48 and AFC was 13. My vitamin D was 28 last September and was up to 50 in July, so that may account for part of it - if your vitamin D is low it will impact your AMH, so make sure you are getting lots of vitamin D. But my AFC being a bit higher, idk, I’d like to think all my vitamins are helping. My regimen is: prenatal with DHA, vitamin D3, B12 sublingual, açaí berry, L-Arganine, NeoQ10, and baby aspirin.

somewhereinnyc · August 2018

@zamora_spin thanks for sharing your supplements! I’ll definitely do the coq10 and maybe the baby aspirin. I did not know that baby aspirin might help..

zamoraspin · August 2018

@somewhereinnyc Woops - should have mentioned the baby aspirin is because *TW I have had recurrent pregnancy loss, so it’s one I’d only add if your RE recommends. End TW* It’s not going to help your eggs, it’s just a mild blood thinner. I was just listing everything.

katie35 · August 2018

Hi @somewhereinnyc! Have you read "It Starts With The Egg"? If not, I would recommend it. It is very good at not only explaining the different supplements you can take and why, but also other life style changes you can make to help. I wish I would have found it prior to our first IVF round. We are still waiting to see if the suggestions make a difference but it was helpful just feeling like I could actively do/control something. Good luck to you!!

Bababatty · August 2018

@somewhereinnyc I’m taking CoQ10 right now in anticipation of a potential third IVF cycle. Can’t tell you if it will have any impact but my RE allowed it because it won’t have a negative impact on anything. FWIW my RE (who also read It Starts With the Egg because of patients like us who come in brimming with tests and supplement ideas, lol) noted that the only research done showing benefits of DHEA was actually done by the patent holders. This isn’t noted in the book, I believe. TL;DR run any supplements you propose by your RE.

mayflower513 · August 2018

I took coq10 but got a rash from it so had to stop. I did eat royal jelly just every now and then.

lillizzie3 · August 2018

I have DOR but thought I'd pass this on as it was a good roundup including DHEA and coq10 from CHR - https://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/fertility/nutritional-supplements-improve-fertility/

jazziep · September 2018

Yes. My doctor has DH and me on Coq10, vitamin B, fish oil and I am on a prenatal with dhea. They also have me on aspirin therapy.

They also put us on a ketogenic diet and they have my husband on theralogix motility and neoq10 supplements as that is part of our challenge.

We have been doing IUI (failed) and are just now moving on to IVF.

I wish you all the best in TTC

melania86 · September 2018

katie35 said:

Hi @somewhereinnyc! Have you read "It Starts With The Egg"? If not, I would recommend it. It is very good at not only explaining the different supplements you can take and why, but also other life style changes you can make to help. I wish I would have found it prior to our first IVF round. We are still waiting to see if the suggestions make a difference but it was helpful just feeling like I could actively do/control something. Good luck to you!!

I also recommend "It Starts With The Egg", very informative.

somewhereinnyc · September 2018

Just following up on my OP: I asked my RE at Cornell, and she said that coq10 and DHEA wouldn’t hurt but she doesn’t think they will make a huge difference in someone without decreased ovarian reserve under 35. So I will do coq10 and start with a lower dose of DHEA and up it if no side effects. I’m also going to avoid alcohol completely, start with weekly fertility accupuncture next month, and already taking vitamin D and levothyroxine.. my first IVF cycle will be in January and we want more than 1 child (no children yet), so the more good embryos, the better! I guess I’ll update this if my AMH changes.

I have now read it starts with the egg and I have to say that I personally did not find it useful. It’s basically a low quality review of studies that are already published in journals.

callingthestork · September 2018

@somewhereinnyc, sounds like you do a lot of reading! I was curious if you had run across anything about egg immaturity, like whether DHEA helps.
I have done 2 and 1/2 cycles, for the last cycle I added myo inositol and melatonin. I took D3, C, natural E, Ubiquinol, and Simply One Prenatal for all. The last cycle got canceled due to a cyst, so I am still on supplements til Nov. cycle.
I did find one study on PubMed where women without DOR, average age 36, took DHEA and it didn't affect number or quality of eggs, just raised testosterone levels.
50% of my mature eggs make great blasts, the other half stall out as morulas. Unfortunately, most of my eggs aren't mature (which I realize is a separate issue). 28 follicles, 6 mature eggs, 3 frozen embryos from 2 cycles. I'm 35 with severe endo.
Thanks for any insight you have. And good luck to you! BTW, as a rancher, I wouldn't put a bunch of cows on a low carb diet and expect them to get pg--not a fan of Keto as a fertility diet!

somewhereinnyc · September 2018

@callingthestork Hi! Yes I did a lot of reading being that I have to wait a few months for ivf (I am also a physician). I asked my RE about the data on DHEA, but said there is not as much evidence for DHEA as coq10. I plan on starting dhea soon.. my level is low end of normal.

For endo, there’s a clinic in nyc that suggests having surgery to remove the endo first and then do ivf- Braverman or Sher? The thoughts on endo and egg development are that the endo causes inflammation that negatively affects egg quality. I don’t know if dhea would necessarily help w that (the dhea studies seem to be in older women with low numbers of eggs). It seems more intuitive that anti-oxidants like coq10 would help more with that but who knows.

Oh, and I won’t be giving up carbs. A girl’s gotta eat!

JWatt5 · September 2018

@callingthestork - lurking from PAIF - If you have severe endo, I would suggest the Endo/Fertility diet. Stage 4 Endo here too. It'll help your pain and stabilize your body as it's an anti-inflammatory diet. Having "endo removed" at Stage 3/4 is risky so I follow the anti inflammatory diet and have gotten awesome results. Feel free to PM me. I'm getting ready for a hopeful #2 so i've started with the COq10 as well with prenatals.

callingthestork · September 2018

@JWatt5, yes surgery didn't look like a good option for me, the ob gyn who did my lap said it would be an 8-hour two-surgeon job since everything including bladder and colon is covered with adhesive scar tissue. I have a big endometrioma that I'd prefer be left alone--most of my eggs grow in that ovary. And surgical scars would just provide a great place for new, metabolically active endo to attach. I've never had any luck reducing my pain level with diet, except dairy fat and coffee seem to settle things down! I'm hopeful that someday soon there will be drugs that target the immune abnormalities, like cytokine-lowering drugs, or something that normalizes prostaglandin usage/production/sensitivity.
I will definitely look into the endo/fertility diet as you suggest. Thanks, and happy for the luck you have had.😊
@somewhereinnyc, I just read that myo-inositol lowers testerone levels (by half at least). DHEA works solely by raising testosterone, right? I was so excited by the studies that showed myo-inositol doubling mature egg numbers for ladies with a failed cycle, but now I'm confused!
I believe myo-inositol regulates blood sugar but it also helps women without PCOS. So should I take both? I grow eggs okay at the max dose of FSH, but I have very few mature eggs.

JWatt5 · September 2018

@callingthestork - our endo sounds the same. I'll be having the colon repair after fertility goals - I've never been able to stop that pain and its all the time. My endomitrioma grows and shrinks all the time but last time it was big enough to possibly need to come out and I'm hesitant! It look a few months on the diet to see the effects but after 4 months my body started responding really well and I think really helped with treatment. (lost some weight i couldn't shed either which was nice). Good luck!!

somewhereinnyc · September 2018

@callingthestork I haven’t really looked up the pre-clinical studies on these supplements that defines the mechanism of action. It seems like myoinositol is more commonly recommended for PCOS and DHEA for low ovarian reserve. I’m going w DHEA for my situation bc I’m in the lower half of normal ovarian reserve and my dhea is way lower than average for age. I don’t have PCOS or insulin issues so I’m not sure a supplement that helps blood sugar levels is the best choice. If I were in your shoes, I’d be looking for something that works on the likely problem (endo/ inflammation?).. antioxidants and the anti-inflammatory diet @JWatt5 suggested?

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