Has anyone read ‘It Starts with the Egg’ and implemented the advice?

[Hopingfor1more]

Morning all,

I’m just coming to term with my failed cycle and would love some advice.

Our recent fresh round failed yesterday. We had a low quality Blastocyst (3BC) and a morula transfered on day 5 so I wasn’t terribly surprised I tested negative but I still felt crushed, I guess I was holding onto the tiniest of hopes.

As you can imagine, yesterday was tough beyond words but I do have a delightful 18 months-old daughter, so I have decided to count my blessings and move on.

This was our second IVF round and our odds weren’t too great from the start. I suffered from Ovary torsion during my pregnancy with my daughter and lost the use of my right ovary. So going into this, I went in relying on one ovary. As well as that, we discovered my AMH had dropped from 32 pmol/l to 5.6 pmol/l, most likely due to my right ovary now not working. My FSH is also slightly raised and I’ve just turned 40.

Considering the circumstances, my left ovary responded well to the short protocol. During my last scan before egg collection, there were 14 follicles albeit all different sizes. They managed to collect 8 eggs but 3 were immature and out of the 5, 4 fertilised. By day 5 however, I was left with a 3BC blastocyst and a morula. We were told our chances of a pregnancy were very low and yesterday that became a reality.

In comparison, during my first round with my two functioning ovaries and a long protocol, I had 28 follicles. 14 eggs collected, 11 fertilised and 3 blastocysts. 5AA miscarried at 10 weeks, 3BB turned into my gorgeous girl and 4AB failed a few months ago.

I have an appointment with my consultant in two weeks time but I am starting to suspect I have egg quality issues. What do you all think? Can anyone shed any light on this?

My suspicion lead me to come across the book ‘It Starts with The Egg’ yesterday. The book makes some very bold claims about how supplements such as CoQ10, Melatonin and DHEA (I know this is not licensed in the UK) can improve egg quality if taken 2-3months before an IVF round.

Has anyone read the book or had positive outcome by using such supplements?

I will speak to my consultant before taking DHEA and Melatonin but planning to buy some of the other supplements later today. Our next cycle will most likely be our last so I want to get the ball rolling. Positively looking ahead to the next round is the only thing helping me keep my sanity intact.

Sorry for the rambling post. Any suggestions, thoughts or feedback on my scenario would be greatly appreciated.

X

[Yve_Do]

Hey there!

I’ve just got the book myself and would be interested to hear what others have said. I’m new to this process and have not really start the ivf route but I’m sure the ladies here will share their experiences with you. Stay positive and have hope! ❤️❤️

[Hopingfor1more in reply to Yve_Do]

Thank you, hope is the only thing helping me fight on. Really desperate to hear people’s thoughts before I invest in the supplements which are not cheap.

[RhinoCat]

Mmm I’m just adding coq10 to my multivitamin so I’m not sure if benefit yet. What does it say the benefits of melatonin are?

[Hopingfor1more in reply to RhinoCat]

It says the below ..... I just copied and pasted two paragraphs to give you a snapshot.

‘One clue that melatonin is important to human fertility is that particularly high levels of melatonin are found in the fluid of ovarian follicles.’

‘Women with higher melatonin levels had higher anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) and a higher follicle count. There was also a correlation between melatonin levels and the results of IVF cycles, with higher melatonin levels corresponding to a greater number of eggs retrieved, and more high-quality embryos after IVF. The study also found that melatonin levels declined with age. A reduction in melatonin could therefore be one contributor to age-related infertility, but it is also a factor that can be changed. There is clear evidence that melatonin supplement can restore antioxidant defenses inside eggs and improve egg quality.’

That’s just a snapshot. It does say, you have to be careful with dosage though and you need to get permission from doctor before taking it.

[RhinoCat in reply to Hopingfor1more]

Mmm yeah , I just read it says 3mg before egg collection

[RhinoCat in reply to Hopingfor1more]

Uk don’t have over counter stuff but ya can order it online 🧐

[Hopingfor1more]

It all sounds very positive doesn’t it? The author’s own personal story is very inspiring but I need some mor anecdotal evidence from women who’ve improved their egg quality using supplements before throwing money we don’t have at these supplements.

[L2213]

Hey, Im sorry to hear about all you’ve been going through. I haven’t read it starts with an egg but was recommended by my clinic to take ubiquinol coq10, omega 3 and vitamin d along with folic acid (I take the pregnacare TTC multi vitamin for this) haven’t had success yet but we had 11 eggs collected 10 were mature and 8 fertilised and we were really lucky ending up with 6 embryos. We haven’t had success yet but hoping our next round will be the one!🤞wishing you all the best xxx

[Hopingfor1more in reply to L2213]

Thanks L2213, it's such a soul destroying process! 6 embryos is impressive. Have you done some FETs with them as well or did none of them progress? Wishing you all the best too hun. x

[L2213 in reply to Hopingfor1more]

Thank you, we have done an FET which unfortunately wasn’t successful but still have 3 embryos in the freezer. I think I have issues with progesterone so will be increasing this next time and hoping for the best 🤞 gearing up for another FET soon. Wishing you all the best with your next round and hope you are looking after yourself in the meantime sounds like you’ve been through a lot, good luck xxx

[Italy300618]

Hi there, I'm so sorry to hear what you have been through, it's so tough. I bought the book after my first failed cycle as I was desperate to help egg quality and also it made me feel like I was doing something as so much of this is out of our control.

Personally at the time reading up on it I didnt feel like dhea for example related to my situation but I did take plenty of other advice on board.

We went bpa free, so using all non toxic cleaning products and as natural as possible body products.

I added in ubiquinol and vit d to my supplements. I also changed my diet to more of the Mediterranean diet.

We had a much better 2nd round.

There were lots of tips for supplements for hubby too which we are now doing gearing up for round3.

I wish you the best of luck, and would definitely recommend the book 👍xx

[Hopingfor1more in reply to Italy300618]

Thanks Italy300618, I'be just bought all the recommenced supplements . Fingers crossed for us all. Wishing you all the best, please keep me posted on your progress. x

[WonderworldXx]

Hi! Sorry to hear of all that you’ve been going through, it’s such a tough process. I’ve listened to it starts with the egg on audible after our failed first cycle last year. I spoke with the consultant about it’s claims before our second cycle and her advice was to take co-q10, folic and multi vits. In terms of DHEA and melatonin she never advised it as our egg count was high it seems more of a quality issue which the co-q10 is meant to help. By the sounds of it you have no issue with egg numbers.

Just re other advice in the book i’ve been using natural hair shampoos, conditioners, body washes etc avoiding nail varnish and perfumes. Plus reducing any BPA packaging re foods. So i’ll know in next 3 weeks if any of it has actually worked at all 🤷🏻‍♀️ fingers crossed it has! But i’ll update you if you like, we should know quite quickly all of our 19 fertilized eggs never made it to blast stage due to quality last time. So fingers crossed 🤞🏼 the advice in the book has worked.

Best of luck on your next steps Xx

[Hopingfor1more in reply to WonderworldXx]

Morning Wonderworld,

It's so tough for all of us. 19 fertilised eggs - wow! It's so depressing isn't it? You'd expect at least one to be the one out of such a big pool of eggs. I'm so sorry to hear that love, I can imagine it would have been heartbreaking for you when none made Blasto stage.

Yes I agree, I suspect my issue is quality too. 8 eggs out of one ovary is probably not a bad outcome but I'd much rather have one good quality egg than a big quantity. Please do keep me posted on your progress. I'm wishing you all the best with your current round of IVF. What stage are you at right now?

I've ordered all my supplements and will hold off on Dhea and Melatonin until I see my consultant next month, I'm going to go through all my plastic tupperwares this weekend to and try to take a natural approach with household products, where I can.

I'll have my fingers crossed for you over the next few weeks. xxx

[WonderworldXx in reply to Hopingfor1more]

Hi, oh yes it was like being hit by a ton of bricks when I found out. The whole process is so draining but you’ve got to brush yourself off and keep going armed with whatever knowledge you have. I never knew the importance of egg quality until it happened now I read how common it actually is.

Yes best double check with your consultant everyone is so different so best get the right advice for you. But the way I see it anything that you can do to reduce chemicals, promote wellbeing, ensuring your body is supported by supplements it can only help surely🤞🏼 plus I felt like it made me feel a bit more in control of things during the wait.

I’m on day 3 of stimming today so feeling quite good in honesty! Keeping a positive outlook 💫 i’ll keep you updated on any changes, fingers, toes and everything else crossed 🤞🏼. Wishing you the best of luck with everything Xx

[Purplewitch18]

Hey hun, well ive not read the book but i know whats in it, my dr copied the bits i needed! I was however already toxin free at home, and i take all the suppliments relevant to me in the book. I decided against dhea and melatonin because i have endometriosis. I had a 2 day transfer so all i know is i had a top grade embryo, nice evenly split cells and no fragmentation. Im in my 2ww so i dont know how of if its progressed, but i honestly think if i hadnt changed my lifestyle i wouldnt have got that. Im 40 by the way, and was expecting to ser some raggedy average looking embryo. Xx

[Hopingfor1more in reply to Purplewitch18]

Hi Purplewitch,

I'm wishing you all the best for the next two weeks. I hope you're managing to stay positive, it's so nerve-racking isn't it? Really great to hear you had good graded embryos, I hope that's filled you with plenty of confidence.

Fingers crossed for you hun, please keep me posted on your progress. xx

[Purplewitch18 in reply to Hopingfor1more]

Thankyou Hopingfor. Yes it has given us hope, though this wait is horrible. I keep expecting my period to come as it would be due any day now, its awful not knowing whats going on in there! But im grateful our little embryo has a good chance and will just have to wait and see. But, i know ive done all i can do so there will be no what ifs and blaming myself if this isnt our time xx

[Hartley1]

Honestly I think it makes a lot of sense. I've implemented loads...I worked within retail and touched the plastic till paper everyday. I gave up working for 2 months to focus on fertility. I use glass for everything cut out a lot of plastic containers, and tinned tomatoes. Supplements I take 5000 units vit d pregnacare (includes folic acid) coQ10 200mg twice a day (i should take omega but i gag so stopped it).

Before egg collection I was taking selenium vits a c e too.

Hubby took CoQ10 200mg and male pregnacare.

First time round Aug 2016 I wasn't doing much different and had pregnacare that's it. Had ok ish quality embryos but this time Feb 2020 got much better quality and I'm a little older.

Good luck.

[Hopingfor1more in reply to Hartley1]

Hi Hartley1,

Great to hear you got better quality eggs this time Heartley, that's really fab news. I suspect that means, your focused approach this time has positively impacted the eggs. Well done you!!

I was the same, during my first (2017) and second failed round this months, I did nothing except take Pregancare prenatal. I wish I'd read more and known about taking supplements before hand. I keep beating myself up over it and a bit annoyed that my clinic have never mentioned supplements to me in all the years I have been going there.

Wishing you all the best with the current round. xxx

[Hartley1 in reply to Hopingfor1more]

Thanks so much..I know this time I hope is different...xx