IVF Cycle Failure/Fertility Diet

[Greenleaves1]

Hi - my first cycle of IVF has resulted in a negative pregnancy test.

I had 10 follicles, 6 eggs retrieved, 3 mature, 2 fertilised & 1 early blastocyst which was transferred. I was on 450iu Meriofert with Ganerilix.

If your first cycle failed what did you change for the second? I'm due to go again mid-March all being well.

I'm on 600mg CoQ10, Pregnacare, Vitamin D3 spray & Omega 3. (I only started CoQ10 in Nov so I don't think they would have benefited my first cycle of eggs). I'm not keen on trying DHEA as I don't want to take a 3 month break, additionally melatonin messed up my sleep.

Does anyone have any diet advice? I know I need to improve this - Mediterranean diet has been suggested in another group.

Thank you

[JA-fnuk Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

You seem to be doing everything you possible can to achieve your dream The Drs will now know how your body responses to the medication but may be able to tweak your protocol to your advantage Mediterranean is a good idea and reduce processed meals + sugar Plenty of fruit & leafy green veg Regular exercise such as walking swimming yoga Make sure have people around you for support

Thinking of you

Janet-Partner

[Greenleaves1 in reply to JA-fnuk]

Thank you xx

[Cuppppatea]

I cut out carbs and sugar ain’t aimed to eat high protein. I’m mostly pescatarian. Lots of beans and pulses and quinoa is a good one too. Loads of fruit and veg. Results remain to be seen!

[Greenleaves1 in reply to Cuppppatea]

Yeah when I asked the consultant he said nothing is proven diet wise so not to be too strict with myself xx

[Cuppppatea in reply to Greenleaves1]

It makes sense to control blood sugar / gluten to me. I think if you have a good diet generally just cut processed foods and include more fruit and veg and protein ? 😊

[Nabsal]

you are already taking enough

[Nabsal]

are you already taking or you just started ?? As I am also going for second round and really scared. First badly 😣 failed .

[Greenleaves1 in reply to Nabsal]

Been taking Pregnacare for around 9 months and the others 3 months. I don't feel my first round benefited from the extra supplements as I didn't start early enough xx

[Nabsal in reply to Greenleaves1]

But 3 months are more then enough

[Greenleaves1 in reply to Nabsal]

Not necessarily. Your eggs are prepared 3 months previous to being released so you need the supplement in your system at least 3 months before treatment.

[Foxglove_daffodil]

I read somewhere that going gluten free is beneficial if you have an intolerance already. Something to do with the immune response and implantation. I was willing to try anything so have gone gluten free while having IVF. I completely cut out alcohol and caffeine, started eating high protein meals and making all my meals from scratch to avoid anything processed. I ate a lot of chicken soup, omelettes and regular smoothies with fruits, spinach, avocado and live yoghurt. Also snacking on healthy things like almonds but I didn’t cut out chocolate as I started really craving it. No idea if any of this actually helped but it made sense to me to generally improve my diet. Exercise wise, I was running quite regularly before egg collection but then cut that out and just did walking a few weeks before starting meds. I have allowed myself little treats here and there as otherwise it was all just too strict and stressful and I figured the odd packet of crisps and ice cream wouldn’t hurt! x

[TryingToStayHopeful]

I just had my daughter 8 weeks ago at 40 years old after 8 years of fertility …I have PCOS I did all the things you mentioned which are great.. I would also suggest that if the entire cycle fail develop a more individualized IVF stimulation protocol for the next.. look into mini IVF stimulation..genetic testing is a MUST.. acupuncture .. hang in there .. Keep the Faith & do what makes you happy .

[Greenleaves1 in reply to TryingToStayHopeful]

Congratulations on your little one.

I have had acupuncture regularly as well. My clinic doesn't do genetic testing included - I'll ask about this on my follow up call on Tuesday though.

[Bee_86]

high protein Mediterranean diet. My mum makes me vegetable soup with chicken bone broth, which is full of minerals. I have the soup every day for lunch and in my first ivf cycle we got 5 eggs, all mature, and 2 blasts from them.

I also eat pineapple core and Brazil nuts and drink pomegranate juice pretty much every day.

Also, no caffeine and no alcohol.

Regular exercise too, I run/walk 5x a week.

Wishing you all the best 🤍

[Greenleaves1 in reply to Bee_86]

Ooooh my mum does good soup too just not as regular as that lol. I do limit my caffeine but I'm not a drinker or a smoker.

I need to up my steps too but sometimes it's hard fitting everything in with a 21 month old xx

[K_LNB]

The things our doctor has recommended are low/no alcohol, folic acid/general conception vitamins, Q10 and generally not eating rubbish. In her opinion, there is little strong evidence to support much else. I’m probably biased but with my first (natural pregnancy) I did literally nothing in this regard and all was fine, whereas now we are struggling for a sibling I’m not convinced that eating more vegetables is ever going to compensate for my age!!! Just my personal view though.

[Greenleaves1 in reply to K_LNB]

Funny you should say that - my son was the result of 4 IUIs. I took a break between IUI 3 and 4. Let me hair down and had some crazy nights out. Feel pregnant by IUI the following week. Makes no sense. I'm going to up my fruit and veg and make sure I'm eating enough foods with DHEA xx

[Vix12345]

I was told coq10 should be stopped before transfer as it can interfere with implantation, also it's simply no longer necessary after egg collection as it's for egg quality. I know many people seem to keep taking it tho so I think there is not much evidence either way. My clinic stated that the only vitamins or supplements we should worry about is folic acid and vitamin d, as there is little evidence regarding the rest.

[Greenleaves1 in reply to Vix12345]

So many conflicting things out there. I was told to keep taking CoQ10 until I get a positive test. I'll ask the question at my follow up though, thanks xx

[Lenley81]

My consultant said other than cutting out caffeine & alcohol, don’t worry too much about diet. She said changing your diet drastically is more likely to put more stress on your body as it’s not what it’s used to…or make you stress about what you are or are not eating. So much conflicting information out there though!