The Book ‘It All Starts With The Egg’

[green121292]

Hello to you lovely group! I am currently reading It Starts With The Egg book after it being recommended by a few people here.

I wanted to ask a few questions:

1. did you end up taking all or some of the supplements and get much changed results?

2. Which supplements did you take/buy and for how long?

3. I have Diminished Ovarian Reserve, if you have it too, what did you take and did you see a big change?

4. my clinic told me not to bother with DHEA, but according to the book it’s one of the more important hormones to take with diminished ovarian reserve - what did your clinics say about taking it?

5. did you manage to avoid phthalates and BPA? If so, how? (Our biggest take away was not reheating plastic/Tupperware in the microwave)

6. I know it says you don’t necessarily need to give up all booze in the few months before starting IVF , but did you?

7. did you give up all caffeine too?

Loads of questions so apologies in advance, but the book has been absolutely fascinating and has kicked up so many thoughts!

Thank you all xxx

[Dinfertilitylady]

Hi green121292, I have indeed read ‘the book’ & decided to take a soft approach as I felt if you really did try to stick to all rules in it you would go insane! Plus it’s really not easy to keep up if like me you have been on this journey for several years. Really all I changed was not reheating plastic in the microwave, not touching receipts, stopped wearing perfume & changed some of my products to fragrance free. Ref supplements I have been taking all of the ones from the advanced plan for 2 years now & tbh haven’t found much difference although I am 40 so my age plays a huge factor anyway. But I have the money to keep paying for them so I figure they can’t hurt. Ref DHEA, it’s not licensed in the UK hence why most consultants don’t advocate it’s use, I would suggest getting your natural levels checked in case you don’t even actually need it! I don’t drink tea/coffee anyway so caffeine not an issue for me but I haven’t really drank for 4 years now. Having said that I do have the odd drink occasionally. I hope that helps 👍

[green121292 in reply to Dinfertilitylady]

thank you very much for your response, I really appreciate it!

[Lamagarden]

Hello, I haven’t read the book but I’ve heard lots about it! Recently, my consultant mentioned it, after I asked if I should take a 3 month break to boost egg and sperm quality. He asked if I had got that suggestion from the book and went on to say that a whole industry has grown around fertility/difficulties with fertility and that there is no evidence to support many ‘suggestions’. He said he (or his team) has collected eggs from very poorly women (cancer patients) and when they come back to use them, statistically, success rate wise, they have no difference with women that have been following ‘wellness’ programmes. He was definitely not a fan of the book.

However, I did consult with a fertility nutritionist, at the start of this journey, as I wanted to eat the correct foods, take the right supplements etc. I still spend a small fortune on vitamins 🤦‍♀️ His words made me realise, what I already knew really, that it’s largely out of our control. We do what we can, quit alcohol, caffeine, don’t heat plastic etc. but ultimately it is beyond our control. This gave me comfort somehow. Best of luck xx

[green121292 in reply to Lamagarden]

thank you very much! I do agree that most is out of our control, I’m just keen to work out where to draw the line with how much more to change or take on board. Thank you again!

[JustJane1234]

Hello. I asked my consultant about this book and I'll share what he said here, although it might not be what you want to hear, I'm afraid.

He said it basically depends how diminished your ovarian reserve is. If it's only slightly diminished, then taking supplements such as Ubiquinol etc. might make a tiny difference, at least psychologically, and this might increase your changes.

However, if your ovarian reserve is moderately or severely diminished (which was my case at age 32), then sadly there's very little that will actually make a difference. We're born with all the eggs we'll ever have, so once the quantity/quality is low, I'm afraid that's more or less it.

Cynically, I think that if all the stuff in the book worked, there would be evidence for it and it would be advised by clinincs. Some of it (e.g. not heating leftovers in plastic) certainly can't hurt. It's probably best just to live a generally healthy lifestyle and not stress yourself out too much trying to follow all the advice in the book exactly.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear. Personally, I found it a huge relief to be told that there was nothing I could do that would make a difference, but I know not everyone would take it that way xx

[troupe]

hi, apologies for joining this late but felt compelled to reply. I very much fell down the rabbit hole with this book. After nearly seven years of trying to get pregnant, too old for nhs IVF and no funds for private care and one traumatic loss I felt I needed to really focus a lot harder. We have always eaten healthy, exercised, rarely drank alcohol but I felt getting this book and following it was our punishment for ‘not getting it right’ in the first place. I chastised myself over everything, spent money - so much money on lots of supplements and was swallowing them until my throat was sore. It was a regime that nearly drove me insane. For educated rational people we were taken in by this so called bible and it’s only now with distance and giving the book away that I can see, sadly it was a prop to support a dream. This author, like many will know that crutches built from stern recipes of ‘you might succeed’ give couples like us hope. But ultimately it gives them huge revenue s of money. That book alone has set her up financially for life. We can actually gain more for ourselves by thinking logically about our lifestyles - simple diets, rest and exercise but mostly stress, that’s the biggest impact on our fertility. Anything, including books about eggs that add to the stress don’t help. Kindness and love to all of us on this journey.

[BlueWonderer83]

Hello green121292,

I have read the book and follow some of the guidance, but I 'try' not to stress myself out too much, such as having the odd glass of wine.

Regarding DHEA, my consultant recommended it after 2 failed rounds of IVF. Before the first round my AMH was 11, after the second it had dropped to 6. I told my consultant I wanted to try naturally for awhile, so he suggested 200mg DHEA 3 times per day for 6 months, or until I got pregnant. Also to take ubiquinol daily. I haven't fallen pregnant yet, but my recent AMH test showed it had increased again to 11. Praying that it will help us. Good luck to you on your journey.

[Marisa32]

I have DOR and the only change I made was avoiding plastic, pesticides, added hormones etc. The rest I kept the same. Didn't take supplements, had wine here and there. Just tried to eat healthy and organic and I also fixed my thyroid. Was successful in the end and had a baby at 42.

[ForABabyPanda]

I pretty much gave up all booze but I wasn’t a big drinker either. My big vice is caffeine and I struggled to get it under control even during my actual treatment!! I was very strict in the tww. For me I for a long time have refused to heat stuff up in plastic in microwave even to the extent of emptying ready meals onto a plate before heating (they often sadly dried out more). But I’ve been a bit lazy recently. I have moved to a metal canteen for water, and I mostly store my food in glass and metal containers in fridge and freezer.