Testosterone & DHEAS blood test results - can I take DHEA?

[PaulaDag]

Hi All,

I have been too scared to take DHEA supplements until now but I am 43 in July with 3 failed transfers after 2 cycles of IVF and I am now considering donor eggs if the next few months don't work with my own eggs so want to give it my very all. We are trying naturally and another package of maybe 2 cycles.

I recently got tested for DHEAS and testosterone so i know what my natural level is before taking DHEA.

The results were:

Testosterone has come back as 0.8 nmol/l

DHEA S has come back as 3.6 umol/l

Would you consider this low enough to be ok to take DHEA and hopefully increase egg quality? I have no PCOS or anything. Testosterone seems particularly low end of normal?

Thanks x

[Purpledoggy]

What were the provided reference intervals from the lab you were tested at? If you're in the upper half for your age you may not need to but I can understand wanting to try it after some failed attempts even if in the upper half. xx

[PaulaDag in reply to Purpledoggy]

Hey,

The ranges were:-

(0.3 - 1.7 nmol/l) for testosterone

(1.6 - 7.8 umol/l) for DHEA S.

It seems lower half for testosterone. And more in the middle for DHEAS.

Have you taken DHEA?

[Purpledoggy in reply to PaulaDag]

No not yet - my DHEA was 5.84 umol/L (ref 1.65-9.15, mid-point 5.4) so decided I didn't need it at this stage, although I did buy some as I will probably want it at some point! I will see how I get on with round 2 and then may get it re-tested. I think if mine was at your level I would probably try a wimpy low dose (eg 25 mg a day) and then re-test after a month, but I'd be willing to take the risk of the side effects and it would also depend a bit on the quality of the previous blastos/fertilisation rate etc. From the literature it seems it is a silver bullet for some and does nothing to makes things worse for others, which I am guessing is why we generally ignore it in the UK. I should suggest you could talk to your clinic but I wouldn't bother talking to mine - if it isn't spelled out in the NICE guidelines as being something they should definitely do then they don't want to know, and renegade behaviour when needed seems to be a necessity in some cases! xx

[PaulaDag in reply to Purpledoggy]

Yes lol that was what i was thinking re a wimpy dose and retest in 4 weeks :).

What was your testoerone level?

It's odd how different labs have different normal ranges even in the UK.

The last 2 cycles gave 7 eggs in total. Good fertilisation rates generally by ICSI (partner slightly below par normal forms). Ended up with 4 embryos - 2 from first cycle (5bc and a 5bb) and 2 from last cycle (5aa and 5ba). I guess this doesn't show chromosonal issues though as none implanted at all. No lining issues.

Yes thats my main concern, will it make things worse if i try it. I asked the clinic and they said yes if you like try it but this was prior to getting testoerone and DHEAs test at GP so clinic didn't even care enough to tell me to check levels first!

xx

[Purpledoggy in reply to PaulaDag]

I didn’t measure my testosterone as I had it measured a while back and was close to upper reference limit. I’m also not sure I’d take DHEA based on testosterone if DHEA was ok, but TBH I haven’t done much investigating into the relationship between them ie which is the better indicator.

All labs have different reference intervals due to using slightly difference reference populations, slight differences in method, and how they manage their data post collection etc. It’s a complicated business establishing RI (I do this as part of my job and it can be a headache!). Xx

[PaulaDag in reply to Purpledoggy]

Thanks Purpledoggy x. I might take the plunge on a low dose and retest in a months time xx

[Purpledoggy]

What’s your AMH and have you had a round or two already? Xx

[Miracolo2]

Hello PaulaDag, have you finally decided to take DHEA? Have you had a chance to discuss this with a consultant?

I am so conflicted as to whether I should take it or not.

I know that here in the UK they just test the total testosterone, whereas in order to understand whatever you need it or not, tgey should check the 'free testosterone', which what gives you an idea of how much testosterone is produced by the ovaries.

[PaulaDag]

Hi Miracolo2,

I have been procrastinating over DHEA for the last few weeks but I had an appointment with a fertility nutritionist Melanie Brown today and she thinks I should take 50mg micronised DHEA per day based on my levels so I may well start the this week and see how I go.

I am in the UK and had my GP test testosterone and DHEA S so I think thats OK. What is free testosterone? Have you had your levels tested yet?

x

[Purpledoggy in reply to PaulaDag]

Most hormones circulate in 2 forms-protein bound and free (unbound). Most assays measure total (ie both together) but the free form is a truer reflection of the status of that hormone, as it does not depend on protein levels and is essentially the ‘active’ form. It is usually technically harder to measure free which is why most labs measure total instead, as for many hormones they will approximate one another xx

[PaulaDag in reply to Purpledoggy]

Hi Purpledoggy, thanks thats really helpful.

If I order tests from Medicheck, would it likely be the total for testosterone and DHEA S?

My GP results just say serum testosterone and DHEA S so assume they must be totals xx

[Purpledoggy in reply to PaulaDag]

Yes usually total unless otherwise specified. There are specific circumstances when you might need to measure free (eg some thyroid tests) but usually total is fine. Xx

[PaulaDag]

Miracolo2 not sure if you've seen this article already but may help you:

itstartswiththeegg.com/faq/...

[Miracolo2]

Hi PaulaDag,

Thanks. That's helpful.

I had free testosterone tested some time ago but in a different country and the reading was a bit high, whereas the total testosterone was okay, more on the low side, hence my concern about taking it. My consultant here in the UK said that here they don't usually test the free testosterone beacuase it's too expensive (not idea if it's true). X

[BBHH1]

You might find this interesting

fertilitysupplementstore.co...

[PaulaDag in reply to BBHH1]

Thanks BBHH1 x