Monday, February 1, 2010

ivf - day 21

This is the handful of pills I take every morning, and have taken for the past 3 months.

My last cycle of IVF, I only took one prenatal vitamin plus 800mcg of folate. This time, I did some research and found some vitamins that might be good for me to take to help with egg quality. Egg quality is the number one issue with IVF. You can harvest LOTS of eggs (sometimes up to 40-60) but if the quality is bad, your chance of success is low.

Even though my egg quality in the last cycle wasn't technically an issue, this time, I wanted to be more prepared and try to boost it. To be honest, the biggest factor in quality is age (which thankfully I have on my side), but I figured taking some extra vitamins wouldn't hurt either.

So, here's the list of why I'm taking what I'm taking:
  • DHEA - 75mg - some research suggests this helps with egg quality. It's mostly found in men's vitamins...not sure why, but you can buy it separately. I take 2 pills for this: a 50mg and 25mg.
  • Vitamin E - increased blood flow, natural blood thinner. It's imperative to have blood flow to the uterus for a good outcome, and again, even though this wasn't necessarily a problem in my last cycle, I thought it couldn't hurt.
  • Vitamin C - good for overall health and for some fertility reason I can't remember. I wouldn't know it was good for overall health at this moment, though because I'm hacking my head off and running a fever. But, it kept me healthy through CHA, so that was nice. Oh, and I've since switched to a chewable for that one because it's a whopper of a pill at 1000mg and doesn't have a good coating on it, so I was tired of forcing it down. (read: "gagging it down")
  • Selenium - good egg quality
  • Zinc - good egg quality
  • Birth Control - seems odd to take if you're trying to conceive, right? But, the purpose is for the doctors to control the cycle and to suppress during the first month. It's doing the job and I only have 2 more days to take that one.
  • Folate - I'm going to write in further detail about folate, but for now, let me say it's the best supplement in the world. It's great for uterine blood flow and preventing birth defects and therefore egg quality as well.
  • Prenate DHA - I used to sell this vitamin and it's the #1 brand in the country for a reason. I think it has about 12 vitamins one of which is folate and another important one is DHA, which I'll talk more about later.
So, that's my morning regimen followed by one more folate in the evening. Fun stuff.

13 comments:

stephanie howell said...

april, i tell you this all the time- but you are going to make such amazing parents. so proud of you and your strength. xo

Karen said...

the outcome is so worth all those pills. keep your eye on the prize (i know you are). xoxo

Keshet said...

I WAS wondering about that birth control pill! Thinking of you:)

Stephanie said...

It makes me sad that you have to go through this, but makes me happy that it's an option these days.

Prayers and fingers crossed. :)

Kimber-Leigh said...

so good to read these updates. you've been in my prayers...

Kimberly said...

I am excited for you both. I just know that everything will be good this time and you and "G" will be wonderful parents. Your nest is being prepared and it is time! You are on my daily TAWG list.

Christa said...

Crossing fingers and toes for you and Greg throughout your IVF journey. You are going to be such wonderful parents and I'm excited for when your little bundle comes along!

Sasha Farina said...

*hugs* I'll be thinking of you both... and what wonderful parents you'll be :)

Erika said...

So excited for you guys!!!!!!!

IVF Clinic India said...

Great Post.....

I found your site on stumbleupon and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!

Thanks for sharing....

Egg Donors said...

Great Post.....

I found your site on stumbleupon and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!

Thanks for sharing....

Anna Sigga said...

{{hugs}}} I'll be thinking of you both and sending good vibes your way!

kimmi said...

I am so thankful that you are sharing this process. Our doctor says we'll attempt with IUI three times, before moving on to IVF. I have no idea what to expect. eek. But, I'm glad and thankful that you're sharing your experiences.

I wish you guys the best.. you will make GREAT paretnts. I know it!!