You can improve egg quality and outcomes

[Vassi]

I just thought I'd share a bit if my journey incase any one needs to read this today.

Today I got my results of my latest egg collection. 13 eggs were collected, 11 fertilised normally and 8 embryos were in culture on day 5 🙏 Four of those were high grade hatching embryos now in the freezer and 3 more showing signs but need to wait until tomorrow.

I am feeling beyond blessed as i now have 4 chances when i was so ready to give up.

In 7 egg collections prior to this and 13 transfers over the last 2 years, this is by far my best result.

After my last transfer at the end of Nov I found out on my 44th birthday it was going to be another loss. I decided to give myself a 3 month break to focus on improving egg quality. My diet is always 'good but could be better' but my main focus was supplementation and my mindset.

The main things I did differently was up my ubiquinol to 600mg per day, up my vit d to 5000iu, and add in nmn and resveratol at high doses. I really believe these supps contributed to our success this cycle.

From a medical standpoint we used icsi with zymot and calcium ionophore for this cycle. I also asked to used menopur instead of pergoveris as this had worked for me in the past.

I also did Acupuncture, Chinese herbs to get my gut right and reduce inflammation, womb massage and meditation. I was feeling much more positive this cycle and had no anxiety for the first time, I was almost excited to see if all these things would have an impact.

Altough theres no guarantees with ivf and I'm not getting my hopes up too much, I just wanted to share this with anyone who may be thinking about ways to improve quality and/or outcomes. It can be done so don't lose hope or get pushed into anything if it doesn't feel right for you.

Before I changed clinics, my last clinic told me de was my only hope. They transferred my 2 embryos on day 3 because they said I'd never get any make it to day 5. So i changed clinics and here we are. One thing I've learned is to advocate for myself and go with my gut. Regardless of what happens I've given it my all.

Sending love and prayers to you all on this journey xx

[Endofitall]

great news!! I really hope you have a good little one in there.

Thanks for sharing. This is so heartening to hear. I’ve recently upped my vit D and ubiquinol to these doses, and started Tru niagen NR so I’m hoping these help me too like for you.

Did you take any other supplements? I’m really trying with the mindset and I’ve added in womb massage and been doing acupuncture. My diet is very clean now but I realise getting a bit obsessive which isn’t good.

My day 5 report was not as promising today (10 eggs down to one blastocyst 5AA today, though one morula waiting to see tomorrow) so it’s nice to see your result and hope for the future. Xx

[Vassi in reply to Endofitall]

Thank you lovely, a 5aa is great 🙏 I always say as long as i get one, it might just be the lucky one. I am taking a bunch of other stuff, vitamin c, vitamin e, l'arginine, folinic acid, nac, zinc, omega 3, melatonin, inositol, magnesium. I literally have a schedule lol.

I think you're on the right track and doing all you can, that's all we can do right, the rest is out of our control.

Best wishes for tomorrow xx

[Endofitall in reply to Vassi]

Thank you 🙏🏼 you too xx

[Nabsal in reply to Vassi]

You doing really hard work, Please add optibac women as well!you can get from boots of Amazon Good luck.

[Elmo13 in reply to Endofitall]

Just wanted to send positive vibes your way and wish you the best. Xx

[Endofitall in reply to Elmo13]

That’s so kind thank you 🙏🏼 xx

[Elmo13]

Just wanted to say that it’s great to read a post like this.

I’m done with egg collections now but some of the changes I made were similar to you and I was happy with the outcome, but this is great info for anybody.

You’ve had so many collections and transfers which can’t have been easy in so many ways, so wishing you the best of luck with your transfer whenever that is!

Xx

[Vassi in reply to Elmo13]

Thank you ❤️ wishing you all the best xx

[Goldenfeather123]

Thank you for sharing! Great news. xx

[R1985]

Amazing news! could you please dm me the brands you used?

[DogMum7 in reply to R1985]

SO refreshing to hear this! Would also appreciate the brands, as I've never even heard of NMN and reservatol!! Xx

[Vassi in reply to DogMum7]

Done, here is a helpful post about nmn and resveratol xx

instagram.com/reel/C_kFnPyK...

[Vassi in reply to R1985]

Done xx

[HelzBelzUK]

Congratulations xx

I take most of the supplements you have mentioned but I switched from tru niagen (NR) to NMN for the last 3 months. Currently on day 5 of stims so i’m keen to see if the NMN has made a difference! Wishing you lots of luck for the rest of your journey xx

[Vassi in reply to HelzBelzUK]

Thank you so much. I was sceptical at first, but research is promising so I thought why the heck not. The anti ageing benefits are worth it anyway lol. Wishing you so much luck and all the best for your cycle. Keep us posted xx

[HelzBelzUK in reply to Vassi]

hahaha 100% the amount of grey hairs i’ve got is dwindling xx

[Vassi in reply to HelzBelzUK]

Same 😭

[Charlene21]

Wow - that’s so impressive after everything you’ve gone through! I can’t imagine how you feel right now 🙏🏼 wow!!!

Thank you so much for posting this. It’s exactly what I need to give me a bit of a much needed boost / ray of hope.

I had my first collection in 2021 (at going on 37). I supplemented in accordance with it started with the egg (Rebecca Fett) and followed the guidance in that book pretty much to the word.

That ICSI IVF cycle resulted in 4 embryos; 3 balanced / normal and 1 unbalanced. The embryos had been PGT-SR tested due to a genetic chromosome I carry (balanced translocation).

Our FET daughter arrived in March 2022 🙏🏼 unfortunately our second embryo did not survive the thaw in January this year and I’ve just had a miscarriage with the third embryo.

I have been really upset thinking about how healthy my 36/37 year old self was as opposed to the current 40 (41 in May) year old version.

As well as the genetic condition I also have PCOS (which I understand can affect the quality of eggs) so combined with age I’ve been so sad but we’ll go ahead with another cycle subject to testing.

I’ve started back on the supplements (with not a great belief in a positive outcome) and I’ve signed up to Gousto home delivery to help me get a broad range of healthy food into my body. Your post has really give me hope.

I am so hopeful for you and that this cycle will result in what we’re all looking for here. You’re amazing to have advocated for yourself and that you made the decision to change clinic…that’s daunting for most.

Whilst I wait to see when we can start testing for a fresh cycle, I wish you every success. Please keep us posted about your journey! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[Vassi in reply to Charlene21]

Thank you so much ❤️ I was actually kinda shocked at the results but feeling so relieved and grateful.I'm sorry to hear about your loss, I've been there too and it really hurts, I hope you're ok.

When I started ivf I was in that same headspace you describe and I was stressed I was running out of time. I did back to back cycles that first year, even after my miscarriage, I didn't take time to heal. Looking back now my body was in a state of fear, not an ideal state for conception.

So I just want to say don't be hard on yourself, your body is amazing and you are young enough. I had my son at 40 🙏

Wishing you every success also and here if you need to chat xx

[Endowarrior36]

This is incredible Vassi. Well done - it really is hard to be so consistent with diet and supplements. Would you mind messaging me the brands you used please?xxx

[Vassi in reply to Endowarrior36]

Thank you ❤️ done xx

[Bluemoon67]

Hi Vassi,

Well done on managing so well this time. I really hope everything will be fine and you can hace your little one soon. I am also taking Ubiquinol but only 400 mg. According to ‘It starts with the egg’ we can take up to 600 mg in some cases. But when I read the directions on the supplements box it says one capsule per day which is 100 mg. Do you think is safe for us?

Thanks x

[Vassi in reply to Bluemoon67]

Thank you so much x I think its totally fine. My acupuncturist who is really well educated got me to up it from 300mg to 600mg. I will check though how long it is safe to do so xx

[Bluemoon67 in reply to Vassi]

I think I will also start with 600 mg, has lots of benefits for those on IVF xx

[WishingOnABub]

What a beautiful post to read and giving myself and many others so much hope. I wish you all the best 💞

Would love if you could message me your brands of supplements and how much you take of each please 🙏🏼

With NMN did you check with your doctor first?

And same question with reservatrol and NAC?

With the Uniquinol did they recommend a dose for you first or did you just go for it? I am taking 300 but wondered if I should double up to 600 as have read many others are taking this much.

Sorry so many questions and I know everyone is asking lots of questions too so appreciate you are replying to a lot of people.

I have spent over £200 this month on supplements following an unsuccessful first round (2 embryos 6BB and 6BC both positive at PGT-A for chromosomal abnormalities 💔) so desperately trying to improve my egg quality and chances of retrieving more eggs. Any help would be much appreciated Xx