Hi Ladies
Ive just got my BFP after 5 months of trying after losing a baby late on last year (the baby was fine, i had an infection). It took us a while to conceive the baby we lost so I was worried about now being a year older. I did a lot of research into supplements that improve egg quality and fertility and I thought I would post here incase it helps others. I had my AMH tested recently and it came back low - 4.3 p/mol. This worried me a lot. After that i had my antral follicles counted and this was fine (17). I'm really not convinced on the value of AMH personally after doing a lot of reading about it. I wish i had never bothered having the test. I also have a retroverted uterus which probably makes things a bit harder for us but i've conceived 5 times in total (2 children).
Supplements I took:
For egg quality:
DHEA (do you own research on this). Its supposed to take 3-4 months to work and i conceived after 3 months. I played around the with dose, starting on 25mg for 10 days, then 50 for 10 more days then 75mg. After 8 weeks i dropped back to 25mg as i had my DHEA levels tested (saliva test - £40) and they were the upper end of normal. I didn't want them higher than this. DHEA i supposed to increase antral follicle count, AMH and egg quality. I would definitely consider it if you are over 35 and have trouble conceiving. There is also evidence that DHEA reduces miscarriage by 50-80% which the impact being most dramatic in older ladies. The side effects i had was slightly greasy hair at first but nothing major, little spots but again nothing major, it made my hair go a bit limp but it didn't get thinner or fall out.
Ubiquinol - 300mg per day
Alpha lipoid acid - 600mg
PQQ - 100mg
N-Acetyl-Cystenine - 600mg
DHA
For general fertility:
Pregnacare multi vit
Vitamin D
B6
Vitamin E
I read the book "it starts with the egg" - i would highly recommend this. After reading it i stopped taking L-Argnine and Royal Jelly. Theres no evidence either way on Royal Jelly but there is evidence L Arginine can be harmful to egg quality and implantation.
After 3 months of taking the above i conceived, although i had only just started vitamin E, not sure if that made a difference.
I've had 2 chemical pregnancies (in the past, not recently) so I have waited to write this until i'm sure this is not a chemical. My tests are getting darker and darker and i'm currently 17dpo. I know there are no guarantees but so far its going ok.
Other things i did:
Gave up caffeine and only drank alcohol if i was out - maybe twice a month
drank wheatgrass powder
Started acupuncture in November - this helped me greatly with stress and anxiety after my loss. I would highly recommend trying acupuncture.
drank lemon water all day - helps make the body alkaline and detoxes the liver
soft cups
Ovulation tests
lay on tummy afterwards (supposed to be good for retroverted uterus)
pre-seed
Symptoms
I ovulated a little late CD 17 or 18.
4dpo - mild sore boobs, tired, a little thirsty
6dpo - night sweats - this is normal for me and i thought i was definitely out - its usually a sign AF is coming, mild headache on and off
7dpo mild cramps like period pain
8dpo - much stronger cramps in the evening, just like period pain
9dpo - night sweats again - expect to start AF very soon as i have a short luteal phase since taking DHEA (9 or 10 days)
10 dpo -mild hot flashes - usually a bad sign for me so was sure my period was coming. Some mild heart palpitations
11dpo - convinced my period is coming although its a little late now. I had period paid exactly like when AF comes. I went out and got drunk that night i was so sure i was out.
12 dpo - Couldn't sleep last. Nothing all day then hot flashes in the evening, gassy, a little reflux at the back of throat.
13 dpo - took a test and got a BFP pretty quickly. Then had some brown discharge and thought it was another chemical. Lower back ache, still feel like period is coming
14dpo - pink discharge when wiping - sure this is not going to last. Cramps, backache, slightly queasy in the morning. woke early again
15dpo - darker HGC test. woke early again, still got lower backache, slight queasiness. No discharge/spotting
16dpo - Struggled to sleep last night, aching legs and couldn't drop off. darker HGC test, mild night sweats, sore boobs, mild back ache. tired in the afternoon.
Currently 17dpo and praying this pregnancy is ok.
Hope this helps someone out there. Best of luck to you all.
x