Vitamins, supplements and diet recommendations for good quality egg&sperm plz

[Phoenix200]

Hi all.

I went through the first cycle of ivf. 8 eggs collected, only one fertilised had my bfn on 8 September 😔. The clinic said they might try icsi for the next cycle.

Trying to get ready for the next cycle and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what sort of diet, vitamins etc can improve the quality of eggs and sperms please. I have been taking just a recommended multivitamin tablet for conception.

[Purpledoggy]

I suggest, if you have time, to buy and read It Starts With The Egg for supplement and dose advice for both you and partner. It takes at least 3 months for these things to get working but even if the next round is sooner I would start anyway just in case the next round doesn't go to plan. If you're pushed for time time or don't want to buy the book, good starters-for-10 are CoQ10 (either ubiquinone 600 mg a day or ubiquinol 400 mg a day), N-acetylcysteine 600 mg a day, and omega 3 in the form of fish (not cod liver) oil or algal oil.

Multivits don't have enough vitamin D in them for a lot of women, especially going into winter, so if you can try to get your vitamin D measured (either through clinic, GP, or privately eg Medichecks). I assume you're taking a pre-conception one so it has 400ug folic acid in it (and no vitamin A) in it?

As far as diet goes, the Mediterranean diet is purported to be one of the better ones (as it is for everything!), but really as long as you try to avoid a predominance of junk food that is ideal - there isn't really any convincing evidence out there to say diet specifically helps fertility other than if you are deficient in macronutrients and important minerals like calcium. Also, it is best to follow NHS pregnancy food guidance when TTC just in case you do get pregnant unexpectedly (mainly avoid vitamin A/cod liver oil, things like pate and salami, moulded/unpasteurised cheeses, and eat no more than 2 oily fish portions a week). xx

[Phoenix200 in reply to Purpledoggy]

Thank you Purpledoggy. I have ordered vitamin D (spray) and N-acetylcysteine . Also, ordered coq10 200mg and Solgar Ubiquinol 100mg. My husband and I have been taking wellmen/women for a long time.I really appreciate your recommendations 😊

[Rex2021]

My husband took the wellmen conception by vitabiotics and I took the Terranova prenatal (2 capsules). The latter is not for specifically for conceiving but I think it helped. I know a case of another woman who had the same experience.

[Phoenix200 in reply to Rex2021]

Thank you Rex2021

[Milly2021]

Hi Phoenix, I’m on Zita west supplements & my husband is on a concoction of impryl, l-carnitine, pure omega 3 (bare biology), garden of life (one daily men’s), vit D, watercress!! & if he can take it spoon of organic tomato purée with sprinkle of sunflower seeds!!! Good luck x

[Phoenix200 in reply to Milly2021]

Thank you Milly2021All the best of luck to you too 😃

[Hanj10]

I went to a nutritionist and she recommended cutting out all the 'inflammatory' foods so dairy gluten and sugar (and caffeine and alcohol)- it's hard but after multiple losses and approaching the start of IVF I was willing to try anything! I also took omega 3, magnesium glycinate, vitamin d, ubiquinol, pregnancy multivitamin with methylated folate, probiotic and vitamin c. My husband took menevit supplement which is really high dose anti-oxidants (he had high sperm dna fragmentation). Who knows if all this helped our IVF cycle but at least I felt we had done everything we could - we ended up with 9 blasts and after PGT-a we had 5 normal. I'm now 30 weeks and although still doing the diet it's definitely not so strict with sugar and dairy now! It's worth noting that not all supplement brands are created equal so make sure you go with the better ones (sadly more expensive). Also we went organic with all our food too. Oh and definitely recommend reading it starts with the egg. Good luck x

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi Phoenix, A good diet to have at this time consists of variety, however, I have listed some of the “good” things to have: Carbohydrates - Wholegrain bread and wholemeal pasta, oatmeal, brown rice. All fresh vegetables especially raw or steamed. Over boiling rids them of vitamins and minerals, pineapple juice, apricots, potatoes, all fruit and honey, beans, chickpeas and lentils. Protein - Organic meat if possible, poultry, fish, Milk and hard cheese, nuts and seeds. Fat - Extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil, avocado and peanut butter, mackerel, sardines, nuts (especially Brazil and walnuts), seeds, sweet corn and sweet potatoes. The things to avoid are too much sugar, processed foods, ready meals, butter, ice cream etc. A little is OK, but not all the time. Drink plenty of water and only a little tea and coffee if feeling deprived. Cut right down or right out – alcohol and smoking. Oh and don’t forget the Folic Acid and Vitamin D! Hope this helps and all the best with the next cycle.. Diane

[Phoenix200 in reply to DianeArnold]

Thank you DianeArnold

[MrsOrangejuice]

Our first round we got a lot more eggs but on the day my husband's sample was poor motility and morphology - they'd always been great so that was a shock and they said do ICSI (hadn't planned to). The fertilization was then <50% even with ICSI that day and we only got two blasts, albeit top quality. The consultant said something as simple as my husband having had a cold two or three months before was enough to have made such a big difference to his results - I really wish we'd known that as we would have delayed a bit. The next round his results were back to normal and we got 100% fertilization and all made it to 5 day blasts. He refused to take anything but general/everyday vitamins although he doesn't smoke/vape and had been off alcohol for a long time, so maybe just bear in mind as well as diet, whether your partner's been ill (even a cold) and plan around.

For me, I was on all the usual vits mentioned above, tried to keep a healthy-ish diet but drank masses of full fat milk (mainly because I like it, so that was an easy one to add).

Best of luck 🍀

[Phoenix200 in reply to MrsOrangejuice]

Thank you MrsOrangejuice. I love my full fat milk so it was an easy one