Vitamin B6 and Vitamin D levels insufficient

[MazzyMuz]

Has anyone here had improved egg quality after taking supplements?

On our first and only cycle so far we got 5 eggs and had complete failed fertilisation, they stated this was due to egg quality and my age (I turned 39 the day egg transfer should have been), they also said there was nothing I could do to improve egg quality.

I have since found out I have insufficient levels of vitamin D and vitamin B6, i’m Hoping, probably naively that getting those levels up might improve egg quality? Does anyone have any thoughts or experience of this?

We were thinking that donor egg was the way forward but now are wondering if it’s worth another shot with my own eggs? Unfortunately they will only fund one round of icsi and that’s dependent on my partner stopping smoking which he is really struggling with and funds are totally wiped out from paying for the first round.

For the first round I only took folic acid 400ug, vit D 10ug and vit C 500mg

Currently I’m taking A loading dose of vitamin D 4000 IU daily for 10 wks

Vitamin B-50 complex for 2 months

Strong start MVM one a day

Omega 3

Co- enzyme Q10 100mg

Slow release vitamin C 500mg

Bio- Kult 2 a day as I have intolerances which I think have led to the low level of b6 and possibly contributed to low vit D Level, but I may be wrong.

I am intolerant to yeast, if I eat anything containing yeast I get very very sick 🤢 to the point I can’t leave my bed for a day and have to run to the toilet many times to either be sick or have bowels. Likewise for citric acid, vinegar, alcohol, anything that yeast is used in the process of making. Also intolerant to eggs and slightly to milk although I seem able to tolerate it up to a pretty high level.

My vitamin D Level was 39

Vitamin B6 was 216 (Should be 250-680)

Ferritin 42.5 (Should be 20-300)

TSH 3.4

Anyway sorry this is turning into a really long post! Does anyone have any advice regarding any of this??? Anything would be much appreciated 👍🏻🙂

Thanks for reading and very best wishes to everyone on their journey. ❤️

[Niki_B]

Hey hun for my 2nd round of ICSI we had a much better outcome and all I took was coq10 350mg daily with added vitamin D in it. But I also had my partner on a multi called blackmoores conceive well...1st round we had 11 fertilize but only 1 decent blast! None to freeze. 2nd round we had 8 fertilize and 1 decent fresh blast and 2 made it to the freezer on day 6! Was over the moon! Oh I should also add my partner had quit smoking 3 or 4 months before that round too. But I really do think the coq10 helped, aswell as him on a multi and the quitting smoking. So yes much better round 2nd time! Oh and I was on the coq10 and vit D for 3months right up until egg collection. So def wont do no harm and I hope your 2nd round is much better than your first 🙂 xxx

[Niki_B in reply to Niki_B]

Oh yes and I should add I was on a high protein diet as I had to lose a couple kgs so was eating very healthy with lots of protein and going walking daily 🙂 x

[MazzyMuz in reply to Niki_B]

Hi there, thanks so much for your positive reply and very best wishes with your upcoming FET x

I forgot to say, my partner is now taking well man conception, so hopefully they will help improve his low count too.

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Mazzy.

First of all with regards to your Vitamin D and Vitamin B6, they need to be monitored by your GP/specialist and treated accordingly. I would have thought that a good quality pre-conception multivitamin each day. Regarding treatment with Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Women with reduced ovarian reserve have been given 75 mgs of this drug a day, in divided doses of 25 mgs 3 times a day for around 2 months, been found to respond better to stimulation during IVF. A 41 yr old lady I spoke with recently has had treatment with DHEA after several failed attempts at IVF/ICSI and she has just had 8 eggs retrieved after apparently only ever managing 2-3 per cycle. She used it for 2 months. However what helps to make good potential eggs into good mature eggs, that can be fertilised and develop into good embryos and babies, is the environment in the follicles on the ovaries that contain the eggs. These follicles contain hormones and many other chemicals which help egg growth and maturation. The quality of follicles and therefore eggs can possibly be improved, by lots of different approaches including dietary by adding more protein and zinc to your diet. Acupuncture and hypnotherapy also have been known to improve blood flow to the ovaries. So there may be room for trying to improve eggs in any cycle, natural or otherwise. Hope this helps a little and good luck with your partner and his smoking. Diane

[MazzyMuz in reply to DianeArnold]

Hi Diane, thanks for your reply, I will look into DHEA further as the clinic have never mentioned it. I will also look into the possibility of acupuncture or hypnotherapy for the next cycle, not sure of availability in Aberdeen however. I’m just really torn between having another shot with my own eggs or going with donor eggs, which has a much greater chance of working. I guess if we only have one shot at it, it makes sense to go with DE but not sure I’m ready to give up on my eggs yet after finding out about low vit D and B6. Before finding that out I was ready to try DE route! But I’m probably just clutching at straws! Ta very much for your advice x

[Hidden]

Hi not sure if it helps but won’t do any harm trying I took supplements for 3 mths but we still Miscarried(3rd) I took dhea, ubiquinol,pow, zinc, royal jelly maca, vits,d omega 3 fish oil dha, folic acid was taking about 20 tablets a day. I was taking to improve egg health too.

[MazzyMuz in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply, oh my gosh it sounds like you are having a really hard time right now, very best wishes to you, your partner and family. Take care x

[Hidden in reply to MazzyMuz]

Hi were ok thanks, hopefully you'll have some better results than me good luck xx

[Kari55]

Hi MazzyMuz, I don’t think that your Tesco supplements are the best choices - sorry for being honest. I always use food-based, preservative-free, high quality supplements which can make a difference.

Also, has your doctor comment on your TSH? It should be below 2.0 for conception so might be worth asking about this. Best wishes x

[MazzyMuz in reply to Kari55]

Hi there, yes I think you are probably right indeed, thanks for your honesty, I will look into better quality ones, it just gets pretty expensive but maybe it’s worth it, who knows! I’m just back from getting a blood test for TPO thyroid antibodies. The clinic only want to put me on meds if I’m producing antibodies seemingly, which seems weird to me but hopefully they know what they’re doing! Very best wishes to you and thanks for your reply x

[Kari55 in reply to MazzyMuz]

I’ve been taking supplements for years and I’m not sure if they help as I didn’t get pregnant so far. I can definitely see a difference in my hair and nails so they must be doing something to the cells! I have been taking ubiquinol 300mg a day for egg quality and I think it can make a difference.

Great news that they are checking your antibodies. If you have them, apparently selenium helps to reduce them. I hope all goes well. X

[MazzyMuz]

Indeed, well I’ve been taking vitamin D supplements for a few years but my Level was still low, so I’m really glad that it was checked and now I’m on a high dose for 10 weeks it will hopefully come up to a good level, I’m booked in for more bloods to check in March so we’ll see. It’s a shame the clinics don’t seem to test for deficiencies, maybe it will come some day once more research has been done into their importance! Good luck with your journey x