Hi lovely people,Does anyone in the UK take DHEA or have done? I am still awaiting an appt with the clinic (and will be forever I think!) but my blood test testosterone result was 0.5 nmol/L which converts into 14.421 ng/dl (the US measure I think) and guidance online says anything below 25 ng/DL and it should/can be taken. Apparently optimal level for fertility is 25-40.
I'm literally so desperate to try anything and everything but the side effects and lack of adoption of this drug in the UK is worrying me a little.
Really appreciate any shared experiences xx
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DogMum7
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Hello hun, I took it in the UK, following the advice in 'it starts with the egg' (although I took 50 daily instead of 75), after having my testosterone and DHEA-S levels checked. My clinic didn't recommend it, it was something I did myself. I took it in the run up (3-4 months) to the egg collection that gave me my son, I do feel it helped (possibly a lot), although it's hard to be certain of course. All the best of luck.
I’ve taken dhea for a few of my rounds. The longer I was taking it before egg collection, the more eggs I got so I think it did make a difference. My clinic abroad told me to stop at the start of my ivf cycle, which was different to the UK advice which said to stop from egg collection. I didn’t notice any negative side effects from taking it. I’m with you in the open to trying pretty much anything!
Hi, I took 25mg DHEA after reading It Starts With The Egg. I didn’t have any blood work to check my levels and my clinic don’t recommend supplements. Out of our 11 eggs, 4 fertilised and the 4 made it to blasts. I’m not sure if DHEA was responsible but I was eager to try anything to give us a good outcome.
I’m 37 and will be 38 in February. I took Omega 3, Zita West Vitafem, DHEA, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid, Melatonin 2mg and Bio me femme v probiotics. I took the DHEA for 4-5months right up to egg collection.
Yes my clinic in Spain agreed to me taking it when I suggested after reading that book and doing other research.I took 75ng per day, 50 in the morning and 25 before bed, as I bought it from BIOVEA in these amounts. I took it up to EC.
But I was nervous about PGTA results so I carried on taking 25 which I'm glad about as all 3 embryos were abnormal.
I think it's improved my energy levels a bit and I have some libido, whereas typically I have none! So I feel the positive effects have been noticeable. I also produced 5 mature food sized eggs but my age is working against the egg quality (I'm 43).
Yes from the UK but with Spanish ancestry hence having a donor there felt logical.I had to do PGTA testing so it was a bit cheaper to do so at this clinic.
Admin mess ups at every stage, lack of patient care at EC which has triggered my PTSD and the final straw was having to chase to get my PGTA results and discover all 3 embryos are abnormal and they've still not sent me the results, plus the doc never showed to our appt so I had to chase that also, to get the bad news.
Hence I cannot recommend Clinica Tambre as the unnecessary stress has been horrendous. I've written a whole list of Comms and admin issues which I'll share with my new clinic and emphasize I want to be treated like a person.
I'm researching clinics along the south coast to switch to.
Also the docs response to my abnormal embryos was simply donor eggs. He had no other suggestions to make despite me being totally fit and healthy.
Hi Dogmum - so I spoke to my NHS clinic about my testosterone levels of 0.14nmol/L just before my failed FET (one of 2 that made it to blastocyst from 11 eggs collected) and they didn't think it had any impact on fertility whatsoever ("that only helps your libido" was what I was told). However, I am also a follower of Rebecca Fetts so I started taking 75mg /day of DHEA anyway and as a result my skin cleared up and I had more energy (meh on libido!). I continued testing to make sure wasn't going beyond recommended levels, reduced to 50mg and then to 25mg over time and switched to a much more engaged private clinic who recommended that I take 50mg/day in the month prior to egg collection, stopping on day 1 of my cycle. I had a brief spell without it - after cancelled cycle in June and my testosterone fell back down to 0.20nmol/L by July. I started taking it again and stopped last week as am currently on stims for egg collection. So will hopefully know soon whether it's made any difference at all... Good luck with what your decision xx
I was also on in both Canada and the US and during my IVF treatment in the US I got pregnant at 44 and had a beautiful baby boy at 45. In the US DHEA is the most basic and common thing people are put on to increase egg quality next to.Co q10.
Another upcoming drug that I think is just starting to be analyzed for Canadian use, but I used in the US during the successful three months prior to my ER of my batch of eggs, that gave me my little boy. Is.NMN. There is a lot of subgroup in Reddit talking in regards to NMN and Fertility.. I feel like it was potentially a huge part of my success. I start reading more more of the research studies saying how it improves older female quality. Obviously my story is anecdotal, but on Reddit there are a lot of anecdotal couples talking about how their eggs were too old and then they went on an nmn / Nad+ and became successful. Hope that helps.
Thank you ☺️ Wonderful news I'm so happy it worked for you xx
I have been taking it for about a month (my idea due to low AMH) and no side effects. Consultant was happy for me to take it but didn’t specifically recommend it. I’m not able to access any checks on my levels, but have been told this is fine regardless. I am in the UK and found only a couple of websites where dhea was available to order. Chose Biovea as it dispatches from the UK. Hope this is helpful and god luck!
I asked my consultant about it, but she quite strongly said no and said I didn't need it, and that it's mainly for people with very low AMH/premature ovarian failure. I also asked about CoQ10, and although she said it lacks evidence, she said it also wouldn't do any harm, so to go ahead! Sharing the latter to demonstrate the difference in reaction to the former.
Similar to Hidden my consultant was initially happy for me to take it, but didn't specifically recommend it (I was 42 at the time). Then at our follow-up after our 2nd failed round, I mentioned it again, and he said there were some recent research (I think a study in Nederlands, I need to find it) that suggested good results with DHEA in natural conception, but not in IVF (in fact the opposite for some people). I watched a live with Dr Tim Child who seems very current with his findings/readings and he said the same. I am now 43 and taking a 90 day break before what will likely be our final round (financially and emotionally cannot afford more) and trying every dietary change and supplement change we both can implement to know we haven't left anything on the table...but have decided not to do DHEA afterall. I hope that's not the wrong choice but so much of this is guessing and hoping isn't it...and waiting!
thank you - very scary, and I am sure if it is not successful I will be doing lottery scratchcards like a crazy woman, but I'll know we threw everything - acupuncture, diet, lifestyle, supplements at it. All the best to you too, with whatever you try and choose x
From my experience of taking DHEA which was 25mg daily, as my levels were considered good I was feeling great for the first 2 weeks. Shortly after, I noticed mood changes and breakouts which I don't tend to suffer from. I also noticed that i wasn't ovulating. I decided to stop taking it, and all those side effects disappeared. I personally will not take it again, as I'm guessing that perhaps my body did not need it.
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