thread: Has anyone used DHEA to improve egg quality?

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  1. #1
    Platinum Member. 2010 RAK Recipient

    Jun 2009
    455

    KitKat!!! I'm so slow at responding to this thread - I'm sorry! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! that is wonderful, wonderful news!!! Well done!! I hope you have a happy and healthy pg and wishing you all the very best for that day when you get to hold your bub - awww, you deserve it!

    KateM - sounds like we are on the same path. How are you going? Have you had a cycle yet? I've put IVF on hold for now while I get my body working better. I'm seeing a TCM specialist and having accupuncture every week. I'm down to 50mg of the DHEA until I know more about when the cycle will start (basically when I can get my temps up nice and high and stable on my own...whether this will happen or not, I don't know, trying to stay hopeful and optimistic). Every little bit helps but as my clock is tick tick ticking away, I'm also worried about loosing time. Guess you can only trust that things will happen the way they should.

    Hey Sevie! That would be so frustrating waiting for the donor...you must have the patience of a saint after all your trials! Big hugs to you - I hope it starts soon

  2. #2
    Registered User

    Apr 2010
    Gold Coast
    100

    Aw, thanks ladies! I appreciate the well wishes. All good so far -- I just pray it sticks! (And Alice, I'm so sorry to see you had an MC at 8 weeks. That must have been devastating.)

    Kate, your AMH really is barely lower than normal. Definitely "borderline" at worst, esp. since AMH is such a new test that they still don't know exactly what the numbers mean. (How do you know that you are in premature menopause, by the way? Your AMH number doesn't really sound like it supports that diagnosis, although obviously I don't know any of your other symptoms or indicators.) If it helps, my doc said that he didn't start getting really worried until a patient's AMH dropped below 3 -- that's when he found that it got a lot harder to have success even with IVF. (And he was right, in my case.) So I really hope that you don't let your number throw you. You are young and doing everything you can to maximize your chances. I wish you the very best of luck!!!

    XXKitKat72


    PS. Sevie -- the best of luck to you dealing with your donor. That just sounds like such a difficult situation.

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Sep 2009
    melbourne
    38

    Hi guys,

    kitkat- I'm hoping for great success for you. slow but steady wins the race!

    kate- honest, 12 is a good AMH result. My donor egg's result is 9...if you're worried, I'm even more so! but I'm not. I'm guessing we won't get amazing numbers but I hope for ok results (for over $9k!!!) I wish for great luck for you.

    Alice- Be hopefully. I wish we had crystal balls that we could look into and truly know our destiny...then we'd stop stressing!!

    steph x

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Mar 2010
    Brisbane
    37

    Hi all,

    Kitkat, thanks for your reassurance about my result, i guess it was just not what my Dr expected from a fit & healthy 27 yo. My Mum and her maternal relatives hit menopasue at 32 or just after, which is why I was sent to a FS. After looking at my test results our Dr warned us that I *may* run out of eggs within the next 6 months -2 years. He has seen so many people wait until its too late and urged us to start TTC "more aggresively"...ie IVF), especially as we hope to have a couple of children. So I am not going into menopause yet, but the FS said my tests &poor IVF response (&my family history) make it more than likely that I will have a premature menopause.

    When we tried IVF earlier this year it was a big disappointment. I didn't respond to the FHS as expected. 4 eggs were fertilised but none of the embryos were as good as they should have been. We had 2 tranferred but niether took unfortunately. The other embys were not "good enough" to be be frozen, so that was very dissapointing. The FS said my eggs are like what you would expect to see from a 45 yo female and that my chances of concieving naturally are pretty low. Im a "poor responder" in their words -not mine!! LOL! But that was only our first attempt, we can always try again one day.

    My Chinese "Doctor" has a completely different view point and really thinks he can help me, so Im going to give him a shot (for so much less $$ than IVF!) and see how it goes.
    Im still only 28 and in my mind still have all the time and options in the world


    Sevie, what stage are you at now? Your donor has obviously started her blood tests...that must be exciting. Does it still feel like its taking forever to get the ball rolling or are things coming together now?
    Hope you have a very successful cycle Best of luck!

    Alice, how are you finding the TCM? Are you taking the herbs too?!
    Are you having regular cycles?

    xo

  5. #5
    Platinum Member. 2010 RAK Recipient

    Jun 2009
    455

    Thanks Sevie, I'm trying...

    KateM, I'm finding it good...challenging, but good. She is much like a lot of FSs in that she knows what is good for you physically but not much of a bedside manner IYKWIM. But if she can help me, then I'll put up with her bluntness. And she is helping me. I'm on a super strict diet for digestive problems (no wheat, no dairy, no caffeine, no alcohol, no sugar, no yeast, no oranges, mushrooms, potatoes, tomatoes, no coconut cream, no vinegar/pickles/mustard/soy sauce .... you get the picture!). Unbelievably, I've been sticking to it (99.999% of the time!) for two months this week! And I'm taking herbs (different ones for beginning and second phase of the cycle) plus taking my temperature every morning. I saw her today and comparing my charts already I can see an improvement. Her belief is that until I can get my temps more regulated (I have a 28 day cycle that is pretty much like clockwork so I'm lucky there) then I won't be able to carry a pg to full term. I have fluctuations in my temp in the second half of my cycle which indicates my progesterone levels aren't strong enough so we're working on that. I was getting really frustrated with more waiting (given my age and wanting to try again after our mc) but I've just had to let that go and just keep on track with the diet and hope things improve soon enough to get going on IVF again.

    How are you finding it? What herbs are you taking? How are your cycles? How are you going with the DHEA?

  6. #6
    Registered User

    Sep 2009
    melbourne
    38

    Alice- lordy lord, what a STRICT diet! Do you feel very well for it...or shocking?!?? what can you eat??

    Kate- my sis tried Chinese medicine. Stinky stuff!...but I do think it can help sometimes. good luck, just keep a peg on your nose!

    KitKat- I hope all's still smooth-sailing AND times flying.

    My donor, myself and our partners have our joint counselling session next week, then we're right to go! but then my donor's going away on holiday so in won't be till August till we stim!! I'm a bit worried that the doctors playing too save and starting her FSH dose too low. 150units for a woman with an AMH result of 9????

  7. #7
    Platinum Member. 2010 RAK Recipient

    Jun 2009
    455

    Wow Sevie that's great that things are finally getting going. I guess they are starting her low to see how she responds but when you've been through it all before it must be so frustrating to have to go through it via your donor all over again! So hope it all goes smoothly for you and has a positive outcome.

    The diet is fine once you get organised for it and we already do a lot of home cooking because frankly there aren't that many options up here so we already make our own bread (in a bread maker) we just had to find a recipe that works without yeast and wheat flour (my DH makes it for me and it's very yummy by the way!) and then I've been having soy milk, I can eat as much meat as I like, cook brown rice instead of white (just takes more time and I had to get some tips on how to make it fluffy but getting better at it), plenty of salads, dips and brown rice crackers (yah for VitaWheat for making a new cracker I can eat that doesn't cost a bomb!), eggs etc so not that hard really and incredible how quickly your tastes adjust - sugar is just so extreme in taste now that it makes me feel a bit sick if I have it (that's just not right is it?!). I do miss cake but the bread is sort of cake-ish I guess.. Funnily enough it's the no tomato and potato thing that can be tricky because they are in so many things but that's more for the fact they have naturally occurring food chemicals that can irritate your stomach and I should be able to reintroduce them soon. Sounds worse than it is and with the internet, well, there's plenty out there - just google 'anti-candida' diet or 'wheat free' etc and there is HEAPS of info! Having said that, I'm looking forward to having a glass of red wine and a nice piece of cheese again one day! And yes, I do feel well for it - have lots more energy than before so damn! it's doing me good I don't have an excuse to stop!!