Vitamins for One
I am officially on the vitamin wagon as I am trying a more natural approach to my BFP. Although my RE doctor gave me little to no hope for conceiving on my own, I feel as if I owe it to myself to at least try. I am hoping that within the next four months I will see two lines appear on a HPT, one can dream right. So here is the list of vitamins I am currently taking and why....
Royal Jelly= 2000MG (1 pill) Royal Jelly is rich in amino acids, lipids, sugars, vitamins, and most importantly, proteins. It contains high levels of vitamins D and E, and also has ample levels of iron and calcium. As all of these are essential to proper health and organ function, it is very easy to see how Royal Jelly can help with in assisting with fertility.
- To increase libido
- Support egg and sperm health
- Diminish and reduce the signs of aging
- To reduce inflammation caused by illness or injury
- To naturally boost the body’s immune system
Omega 3 Fish Oil= 1000MG (1 pill) Omega-3 fatty acids can help you with fertility in that there is some research that suggests that they help to promote natural ovulation. They do this by helping to extend the portion of your cycle in which you are the most fertile. There is also some evidence ro suggest that omega-3 fatty acids can help make a woman’s cycle more regular.
To be sure, Omega-3 fatty acids are not only useful for fertility. Certainly the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids for a woman once she has become pregnant have been sufficiently researched. Evidence suggests that Omega-3 fatty acids can help avoid miscarriage, as well as helping avoid certain birth defects and helping to reduce the risk that the woman will prematurely go into labor.
B6=100MG (1pill) Vitamin B6 has so many benefits. It helps to stave off depression that is a part of PMS. The main area that B6 helps with fertility is to treat a luteal phase defect.
The luteal phase (the time from ovulation to menstruation) ideally should be over 10 days long (11-16 days is the norm). If it’s shorter than 10 days it’s called a luteal phase defect. Normally a luteal phase shorter than 10 days cannot sustain a new pregnancy and can possibly end up in miscarriage. The good news is a luteal phase defect is one of the most easily treated and cured.
DHEA= 25MG (2 pills)DHEA increases IVF pregnancy rates, DHEA increases the number of eggs and embryos, DHEA improves the quality of eggs, DHEA improves the quality of embryos, DHEA reduces aneuploidy (chromosomal abnormalities) in embryos, DHEADHEA shortens the time to pregnancy, DHEA increases spontaneous conceptions, DHEA improves cumulative pregnancy rates in patients under fertility treatment
Just be careful with DHEA.... I too have AMH 0.16 with FSH 10.8.... i thought about DHEA until i found thid out from my specialist...
ReplyDeleteDHEA, a “mild” male steroid hormone (androgen) produced by the adrenal glands and ovaries, is involved in the production of androstenedione and testosterone (“strong” androgens) as well as estrogen in the ovaries. DHEA levels tend to decline naturally with age.
Since DHEA is metabolized to testosterone in ovarian connective tissue (theca/stroma) and is then processed by the granulosa (follicle) cells to form estradiol, it should come as no surprise that the question would arise as to whether DHEA administration could serve to enhance fertility by fueling follicle growth and by improving egg development. It was precisely this question that prompted a study to be conducted in Israel (published in July 2010) where 75mg of oral DHEA was administered to a group of infertile women for 5 months. The conclusion reached was that the group of women who took DHEA did indeed experience enhanced fertility.
I do not doubt that DHEA therapy is likely safe for women with normal or low adrenal and ovarian DHEA or testosterone production, and in fact, could even be beneficial in some such cases. However, by causing a “testosterone overload,” such therapy could be highly detrimental to those women who are susceptible to this happening. Since sustained exposure to high Luteinizing Hormone (LH) bioactivity leads to overgrowth of ovarian connective tissue (hyperthecosis/stromal hyperplasia), and LH also stimulates conversion of DHEA to testosterone, it follows that DHEA supplementation can actually compromise follicle and egg development and egg quality, thereby reducing fertility potential. Women who are prone to ovarian hyperthecosis (e.g. older women, women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve [DOR] and those who have PCOS) are most likely to have negative consequences from DHEA supplementation.
To date, none of the studies to assess for a benefit of DHEA therapy have properly differentiated between young healthy normal women and those who are at risk of having ovarian hyperthecosis as mentioned above. Let me further expand on this explanation: Indeed “some” (a relatively small amount) of testosterone is needed for estrogen production, follicular growth and proper egg development. However, excessive ovarian testosterone will enter the follicular fluid, cause exhaustion of granulosa cells that produce estradiol, and compromise egg development. Thus women with an overgrowth of ovarian connective tissue (theca) should not receive DHEA supplementation in my opinion.
One possible but unrelated advantage of DHEA therapy was suggested by a study conducted a few years ago at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. The findings, reported in the November 2004 issue of the “Journal of the American Medical Association,” showed that judicious (selective) administration of 50mg DHEA daily for 6 months resulted in a significant reduction of abdominal fat and blood insulin in elderly women.
In some countries including Canada, DHEA treatment requires a medical prescription and medical supervision. Not so in the U.S.A where it can be bought over the counter. Since DHEA is involved in sex hormone production, including testosterone and estrogen, individuals with malignant conditions that may be hormone dependant (certain types of breast cancer or testicular cancer) should not receive DHEA supplementation. Also, if overdosed with DHEA, some “sensitive women” might so increase their blood concentrations of testosterone that they develop increased aggressive tendencies or male characteristics such as hirsutism (increased hair growth) and a deepening voice. Also, DHEA can interact other medications, such as barbiturates, corticosteroids, insulin and with other oral diabetic medications. The best advice for those women seeking to use DHEA is to consult their health care provider or fertility specialist before starting the process.
Tags: DHEA, IVF Authority, testosterone
DHEA was the one pill I kept going up and down on, at one point I was taking 3, then went down to 1 a day, and then up to 2 a day.
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