Sorry if this is a repeat question as we see this supplement mentioned quite often.
Just saw a video how DHEA is contributing to testosterone levels and how it can be out of balance when under stress. Also it was mentioned to NOT self prescribe.
Tbh I do not know my ovarian reserve numbers so am wondering:
1: do you take DHEA, self prescribed or on doctors advice?
2: what dosage do you take?
3: any good or bad side effects (less hair fall or better embryos etc).
I know we are not doctors but if we can pass the advice you got from your doctor that would be lovely. My consultant whom ive seen once doesnt believe in supplements.
1. my ivf doc recommend it to all patients with DOR. Did not do any test on me prior.
2. 75mg per day
3. acnee and hair growth on belly, neck and other areas, greasy hair
You can test your dhea level anf testosterone level. I did this but after 3 months of taking dhea as K was not aware before. That can help tailor dose.
Doctors don’t prescribe it in the UK as it is not available for sale over the counter (they can only recommend it).
Thank you lilly! Im not aware of having DOR but had issue with quality and implantation. 75 does seem high to start with personally so might consider lower dosage. Did it do anything for your thyroid xx
I asked my doctor about taking dhea and he said it's only for older women who have Dor. Otherwise if you have a good ovarian reserve it would be pointless.
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Thanks Eram. That is what i also heard only but im considering it more for egg quality and to balance the hormones. But perhaps better to test it first xxx
I used DHEA during my second round of IVF. I spoke to my consultant before hand and she encouraged this. I had a really poor response on my first round, only three eggs collected, one fertilised and didn’t make it to transfer.
I took 75mg for three months prior to starting the cycle. I think it is supposed to be good if you have issues with egg qualify or low AMH. Mine was at the lower end of normal.
They were expensive and need to be careful that you are buying from a reputable source. I have heard of some people not getting their supply through customs but we didn’t have any issues.
Our second round was much better - although changed protocol (short instead of long and different medication). I also did acupuncture so hard to know how much of a role DHEA played.
We got two good quality embryos (both 4aa) and I am now 7 weeks pregnant from out FET. So many different factors involved but if we do another round in the future, I would definitely use DHEA again.
I didn’t have any side effects, my hair have been slightly more greasy but wasn’t an issue. I had to wash it every two days instead of three.
My clinic didn’t check levels at all, I just took 75mg throughout. My consultant did tell me when to stop taking it, can’t remember when this was, I think I took it up until my trigger shot before egg collection but not 100% sure.
Aww congratulations 🥳!! So hopeful to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You are right im on a few supplements all ready and just considering all while we are waiting. Ive seen zita west capsules on amazon and its not pure dha and not very clear what amount dha it contains but seems to be recommended for all trying to conceive. Wish you a healthy and lengthy pregnancy 🤰🏻 🙏
Thanks 😊 Zita’s DHA capsules are not the same as DHEA. I think they are basically omega 3 fish oil with zinc. I bought a whole host of Zita West vitamins but not sure they are really worth the price tag. They also made me feel a bit yuk because you have to take so many. I didn’t take them for my FET, I just bought pregncare pre-conception vitamins from Tesco (I still had Zita ones left but didn’t take them).
If you do want to go ahead with DHEA, I can check with my husband whether or not he still has the details of where we ordered from. Our consultant directed us to a source in USA, you can’t buy them here. I think they cost a lot, maybe around £200 - mainly shipping costs.
Thanks again Countrychic for pointing that out. Im on pregnacare as well not for a year or so. Hope directed me to this website and for the 25 mg it can be affordable. Wish you the healthiest pregnancy mommy ❤️
I also took DHEA before my second round for 3 months. I self prescribed it going off my lower AMH levels and the fact I had 2 miscarriages last year which they put down to egg quality.
I had much better results from my 2nd round, 9 eggs collected and all fertilised. 5 made it to blastocyst. They transferred 2 and froze 3.
The 2 they transferred were 4BB and I’m now 8 weeks pregnant with twins.
This time round I was also put on a short protocol. Gonal f 225 and menopur 150 for 8 days.
Last time I was on long protocol of just menopur.
I also had acupuncture the morning of egg transfer.
Thank you so much twin mommy!!! Egg quality and the fact that we only got 2 average embryos on day 5 wich resulted in CP is my concern. Can i ask you what dosage you took and did you give it to tour OH too? Xxxxxx
Thanks again Hope x looking forward to that fuse getting even shorter 😅. I was thinking 25mg too. Need to shop around. Your story inspired me so much. I would move a mountain for getting two bubbas. Thanks alot for your help x stay safe
I didn’t really have any side effects of the DHEA apart from insomnia for a week when I first started taking it but that levelled out after and I was fine.
Hi, could someone recommend a reputable source to buy DHEA? I am based in the UK.
I have recently had my 4th miscarriage which they are also putting down to poor egg quality as I turn 42 in July.
I am waiting to start IVF but it is all halted due to the pandemic.
At the moment I have a PGS consultation arranged by phone in 2 weeks time. We are also waiting for the results of the fetus genetics testing from the last m/c in March which was surgical management so they could test the baby chromosomes.
I’d like to source DHEA as it may help the egg quality for when ivf starts.
dhea.com/ I ordered mine from this website as recommended by the Lister Clinic in London, the website in my opinion looks a little dodgy but it arrived quickly from the USA and it’s also the micronized form which I think is meant to be better for absorbing. Not sure how it compares price wise to other places though. I think you have to get it abroad regardless but I could be wrong, hope this helps x
Aww Paula im so sorry to hear this. I admire your strength to continue which is very uplifting. At the moment im just looking around too. Found one on amazon but it says 100mg which sounds quite high. Xx
Thanks Mimi. I’ll look on amazon too. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster - there is so much I don’t know about ivf and all the meds etc - it’s a minefield! I’m so glad I found this online community - it’s been a great source of information and support to date xx
THANK YOU for posting this. 5.5 years trying, infertility NOS, 3 euploid embryo transfers failed, too many iui to count, just this month my new RE says I have "hypoandrogenic PCOS" aka "lean PCOS" (never had cysts) and is recommending DHEA. I am hesitant. Looking forward to following this convo
Hi Abc. Bless you you seem to be through alot 😢. Im not diagnosed with PCOS but i have all the symptoms from cysts to hairfall to bloating feeling cold and driest skin. Can i ask if he considered this recommendation solely on your diagnosis or considered ovarian reserve too x
Apparently the recommendation was only following my androgen results. I have no problem with ovarian reserve, respond super well to ovarian stim and have never had any symptoms of pcos, so Im wary of the recommendation and tired of feeling like a guinea pig pincushion and getting my hoped up for no reason.
I know what you mean. If it is of any help, not receiving any advice or tailored treatment is also very frustrating. Its hopeful at least you have had your tests. All i hear from a blood work done ages ago when we started that all was normal but i dont feel normal and i always need to beg for a blood test or thyroid tests at gp. I heard i had normal reserve but after 7 days stims i just had one normal developing follicle i was fuming tbh when they told me on second scan it was 18 follicles that looked great and only had a few eggs retrieved. Anyway i know im not the worse case and im not unthankful but sometimes wish they would dig a bit further and give me something to work on rather saying unexplained. Sorry dor the rant and you are right we should be wary xx
Yeah I was recommended to take it and didn’t have any side effects. Took 3 rounds and a protocol change to work do not sure of DHEA helped or not but we did manage to get some to freeze also and I was 40. I’d take it again if I was going through IVF x
My consultant said don't bother taking it but I decided to give it a whirl anyway so have self prescribed 75mg a day. I am at the older end of the scale (43), I have had 4 rounds - only one of which made it to Blasto where we got a BFP but lost it at 9 1/2 weeks, I have had 3 natural MC also and a couple of chemicals. I have made the assumption its egg quality issues.
I havent done a round since taking it due to Covid I would say the only side effect I have which I hadn't realised until someone posted it above was greasy hair.. I have never had smelly/greasy hair but it is so much more now - other than that nothing
I got mine from Biovea
Good luck xx
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Thank you Daisy for sharing. I hope you get your break this time. At least you have prepped your body the best you can. I think i will start with the lowest dose as next step is FEt. Will need to research more though how long you are allowed to take it. The reason i posted was also it seems to counter act stress hormones and I definitely am the stressy worrying type. X
It’s really for women with low ovarian reserve (aka Diminished Ovarian Reserve DOR). You’ll know this by your AMH number combined with your AFC (antril follicle count...in other words the number of follicles you have on your baseline scan on day 2 or your period)
1. I took it, it’s very cheap and easy to get in USA ...available over the counter. I do have DOR and I took it after reading about the research done at CHR New York. centerforhumanreprod.com/do...
2. 25mg table spread out 3 x per day (total 75mg per day)
3. I was lucky and didn’t have any adverse side affects. My round without DHEA I got two eggs, after taking DHEA for 6 months i got 7 eggs on the next round. But...I also made lots of other changes such as diet. My doctor in UK didn’t like DHEA so he asked me to stop taking it. The next round I got 3 eggs. But...the round where I got 7 and the round where I got 3....both ended up with the same amount of blastocysts, so it may have affected numbers but quality remained the same.
Better for quality is:
Good quality dha fish oil with epa and omega 3
Good quality pre natal
Ubiquinol (Jarrow is a good brand)
Acai (Now is a good brand) CCRM, leading fertility clinic in the US swears by Açaí. I got the liquid form and it’s just a couple of spoonfuls a day of fruity medicine.
Thank you so much Winnie. It was through dr Gleicher of CHR that i started think of it. Also i have read some articles linking DHEA and stress levels.
Thank you so much for the information on the supplements. Im on most of them now but will think about adding acai as well as i dont mind anything natural.
I'm not sure if it helped but I discussed with my reproductive endocrinologist. Our infertility was male factor and I had no issues with ovarian reserve but wanted to generally improve the quality of the eggs. She advised over the counter low dose, I took 25mg daily for a month prior to egg collection on my 3rd IVF round.
First 2 rounds we had only 1 embro each survive and both failed (BFN) out of 9 and 11 fertilised.
On my 3rd round, I had 9 fertilised and 4 embryos (3 good quality, 1 didnt make the freeze). We transferred 2 but unfortunately did not take (BFN).
Our final transfer was our BFP (still early days).
In my mind, I feel, it improved the general quality of the eggs leading to better embryo quality. But that's personal views on this.
Thank you so much Rella. I know that no two women are the same but we had similar situation 8eggs and only two average rated embies of which one didnt take. To be honest my hopes are low for the second one too so im prepping for a fresh cycle. I was thinking to start on a low dose as well and just add it to my supplements cocktail 🍸
Thanks for sharing your story and praying that your baby will hold on tight and wish you a healthy happy pregnancy xxx
I went through 5 cycles but only a second one give me my baby girl. At that time I was 35 years old ☺️
I’m 40 in November and loosing 4 embryos last one was this feb my doctor told me that I responded on all meds well and all my blood test r good and no issues with lining and progesterone...but she mentioned that maybe because of the age....so we got only one left frostie but due to coronavirus all treatments r on hold so till they got “green light” she recommended that I can just stay healthy and take DEHA supplements 75mg a day .
I did order them but not sure when they arrive . She recommended from where to take them ....is web called BIOVENA .
Hi Olivia. So nice to read about your success in the past with your daughter im sure your journey wasnt easy. Im nearly 35 and i didn’t necessary respond well on the stims as they had to double it. I know i shouldnt be ungrateful as there are worse stories.
Its interesting that your consultant makes you take it for your fet. I didnt link it to building a better lining etc? Im waiting for a fet so will research this a bit further.
I'm afraid I can't tell you if it works yet but am interested in the stories here as I'm taking it at the moment for our 2nd round. Our story sounds identical to countrychic, low amh, 3 eggs and the only one that fertilised didnt make it....so I'm hoping we too have the same positive outcome this time!
What I can tell you is the side effects from it for me weren't good. I was taking micronized dhea for approx 2 months (3 x 25mg) before our treatment was cancelled (c-19) and I had greasy hair as others have mentioned but the worst thing was my skin. I had dreadful spots like boils around my nose and chin and down my neck. I looked awful and they were quite sore and it actually made me feel a little down.
I had a break whilst waiting to see what happened with c-19 and it took about a month to clear up.
I'm back on it now but have bought a different brand and although I have started with spots again they aren't as bad.
My new consultant recommended the dose and I also had read it in 'it starts with the egg'. He has also suggested we add testosterone gel to our treatment plan too. Not heard much about that but were going to give it a go.
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