Improving egg qualtity : Been for my... - Fertility Network UK

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Improving egg qualtity

19 Replies

Been for my review today and the consultant said that my egg quality wasn't great...... he said there is nothing we or they can do to improve qualtity but just wondered if any of you lovely ladies know of anything herbal ect that might improve egg quality for final round?

I know healthy eating , no alcohol, and taking conception multi vitamins .

Thank you in advance xx

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19 Replies
vic77 profile image
vic77

Mixed views on this...read it starts with the egg. .few posts on here about it and look into dhea and coq10 few posts on my profile about this and others xx

in reply to vic77

Thank you did you find it helped with quality? We have only ever managed 2 or 3 day transfer and never had any frozen.I'm not sure I'm brave enough to use the dhea does your clinic belive in it? think I will have to dicuss it with hubby.

I've downloaded it starts with a egg to my kindle ready to read.

Sorry for all the questions and thank you xx

vic77 profile image
vic77 in reply to

Not at all..yes mixed views on dhea but to be honest I was ready to try anything after our first bfn and egg quality and low Amh blamed..then took dhea and Amh more than doubled. Got slightly fewer eggs bit better quality and made it to day 5 with top grade blastocyst this time..still bfn tho 😢never had any frozen on both cycles. I don't know what made improvement on cycle 2 and not sure it relevant as still bfn but I am going to carry on with dhea and am discussing it next week with private clinics we going too..my husband wary too as you can't buy here..however I researched over in states and used there regularly. .you have to do what makes you feel comfortable..what cycle you on?xxx

We will be starting our 3rd cycle and always said I'd never do more than 3 as we don't really have the money but starting to think how to raise the money so it could be a possibility.

We are taking some time out first not looking to start till sept/ Oct really. They are doing implation tests and they have found my thyroid level isn't right so upping my dose.

My amh is ok for my age apparently, but it's just stuck in my head the consultant said quality not great but not really poor either ......... I did feel last time that they just stuck the last 2 embryos back in and hoped for the best.

Like you say anything is worth a shot and I think I'm at that point now

Xx

Linda78 profile image
Linda78

I've been doing regular acupuncture and then taking chlorella, high grade fish oil (solgar wild salmon), acidophilus and COQ10 as well as folic acid multi vits, listening to a hypnotherapy cd and trying to keep a high protein, high fibre, low fat diet as much as possible to try to improve the quality - don't know whether it will result in a BFP but feel I have thrown everything at it! My acupuncturist who is a fertility specialist definitely recommends high grade fish oil and COQ10 for improving quality and in the grand scheme of the cost of treatment anything additional such as these relatively simple things have got to be worth a shot if you're looking to try everything for your final round! Wishing you all the best x

in reply to Linda78

I did accupunture last time, but don't think it really did anything for me but wasn't a fertility specialist though.

I really need to loose weight and was going to look into high protein diet..... I always increase protein at stims but now everything I read I'm probably doing it too late lol.

I'm definitely going to try the coq10 and will look at the high grade fish oil as well thank you.

Linda78 profile image
Linda78 in reply to

Yes I lost some weight too - not sure whether it's the answer but I do feel slightly better for it!

Where do you live? I'm in London and was recommended an acupuncture specialist in crouch end - all the work she does is around fertility so I do think it is helpful to have someone who specialises in this - she has helped me with understanding my endo better, my diet, relaxation, syncs sessions with the hypnotherapy I'm using etc etc and she really understands the balance of Western and Eastern approaches - I would def search near you and see if you can find someone who has this understanding.

Zita West has a fertility diet book which looks in real detail at the stages of IVF too and we (have made my partner get involved too!) have been using a hypnotherapy CD called Belief by Helen McPherson - am not sure the hypnotherapy can improve the egg quality but it definitely improves relaxation and there are some studies that have shown it to help blood flow - she has 3 episodes, 1 for down reg, 1 for stims and 1 for transplant and the dreaded waiting period! Think all these things can't hurt and surely can only help! That's what I'm telling myself anyway! I also feel that if you have a plan you can believe that you have some control over this crazy situation! All the best x

kcc9993 profile image
kcc9993 in reply to

Hi, this is Katelyn from Qunol CoQ10. I am a registered dietitian nutritionist and wanted to provide some information on CoQ10 and fertility.

Studies point to the importance of healthy CoQ10 levels for female fertility: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/261.... There is also research on CoQ10 and male fertility: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/239....

In order to see the potential benefits of CoQ10, your body needs to be able to absorb it. CoQ10 is poorly absorbed, which is why it’s essential to choose a CoQ10 supplement that is both water and fat-soluble to be sure your body is actually absorbing it.

(Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?te...

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck!

-Katelyn Collins, RDN

Please remember that my comment is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read.

Yeah im loosing weight for myself mostly as I've put far too much on comfort eating lol lol.

I'm from teeside so along way from you.

I've already got zita west it starts with a egg ( just not read it as yet) will have to look at diet book too I think .

No your totally right they can't hurt and if it makes us feel better about it all its definatly a Bonous.

Thank you for your help and good luck with your treatment xx

Cinderella5 profile image
Cinderella5

Im a believer in DHEA. I had a miserable 1st round, all of my embryos arrested by day 3 so nothing to transfer. Second cycle after using DHEA I did much better and transfered two 5 dayers (they were 12hrs behind full blasts). Cant say for sure obviously but the consultant in my clinic definitely thought it was no coincidence and said to get back on them for my next cycle. You can have a nosey at my previous posts and see what you think!xx

Did you get side effects ?

I probably should of asked about it in my review but he admimently said nothing improves egg quality so I though wasn't much point in asking him, don't get me wrong he was lovely and very knowledgeable.

I will definatly have a nose at your posts thank you x

Cinderella5 profile image
Cinderella5

No I didnt really get any side effect apart from the odd spot and slightly increased breast tenderness after ovulation but, they're probably just hormonal anyway but no beards or deep voices etc! Lol I got told the same that there was nothing I could do to improve quality but when I said to the embyologist and consultant they said there were some small studies and they knew some private clinics were recommending it but there was no solid evidence. Pretty much just left it up to me and after my dismal first round I just thought it was worth a try! After my second cycle the consultant said the difference was astonishing and if she didnt know she would have thought my first chart belonged to someone else!xx

in reply to Cinderella5

Thank you, I think I will look into it more and pluck up the courage to ask my clinics advice, I guess no harm in asking after all what's the worst they can say they don't believe in it, at least that way they know I'm taking it.

It's amazing that something works so well isn't studied more but I suppose it's like everything it takes time to work out all the pros and cons and like everything things don't work for every one.

Thank you for your help 😊 and good luck with your next cycle xx

72cloud9 profile image
72cloud9

Hi Hun, like with this whole process so difficult to know for sure what works but I had much better results (bearing in mind I'm in my 40s) after taking dhea-sadly haven't had a pregnancy yet but got 5 day blastocysts which is pretty good for my old age!! worth a shot perhaps but check with your clinic first that they r happy for u to take it-my clinic didn't have any problem with it x

in reply to 72cloud9

Thank you, for your help I'm waiting for some blood tests to come back so when they phone with results I'm gonna bite the bullet and ask them 😊.

It is all very confusing, we have used 2 different clinics and in our experience they have completely different ideas to what works and what doesn't, which doesn't help us poor people on the journey understand it all does it .

Thank you for your advice and good luck with your next cycle xx

72cloud9 profile image
72cloud9 in reply to

U will find that with diff clinics-my London clinic insisted on natural cycle due to my age, my Greek clinic threw all the drugs at me. The 1st clinic I ever went to see tried to 'upsell' every extra they could like the panorama fertility scam programme.in the end all u can do is trust your instincts as to who u feel more trust with xxx

Our first clinic where amazing as the some of the nurses had been through ivf and really did sympathise so we really bought into them so to speak but the clinic closed 🙁 stupid nhs.

We do trust the one we are at now but we have also had some very open and honest conversations with them too.

It's awful that people or clinics are willing to upsell extras when we are so venerable and we just want anything that will increase our chances.

Xx

skatty profile image
skatty

Just thought I'd chip in - had 10 embryos on my first cycle but only 3 lower quality blasts on day 5 with gonal f. So this time I'm on menopur. First cycle I did take 25mg DHEA, coQ10 and 3mg melatonin. This time I'm on 75mg DHEA (with greasy hair and spots), switched to the active form of coq10 'kaneka ubiquinol' NOT unbiquinone, same melatonin and extra VitD. I'm also stimming with menopur which is meant to yield fewer but better quality eggs. Don't know what stimulation drug you're on but might be worth discussing? BTW unbiquinol I got from amazon 'Swanson' and melatonin and DHEA from biovea. Good luck!

Thank you, I haven't heard of melatonin so will do some research on that too lol 😊 what we have to do to try and get our BFP but it will all be worth it if it happened.

Best of luck on your next cycle I hope you get your BFP xx

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