
When I was first realizing how my high FSH was a bad thing, I was scared pretty quickly from the information I found online. Some sites say high FSH means bad egg quality. Some relate it to early menopause. There are a lot of conflicting opinions out there. I read as much as I could and tried to focus mainly on medical studies over anecdotal stories. There is limited information available on most supplements but piecing together the info lead me to a solid list of – “might help, won’t hurt” supplements.
There are what I took leading up to my successful cycles. I do believe they made some difference for me. How much, we’ll never know, but I had success at 37, nearly 39 and 41. I had losses mixed in too, so clearly didn’t just have exceptional egg quality for my age. My list is below. These are just what I decided to take, and of note, my research was in 2014, 2015 and in 2017, so I haven’t stayed super up to date. I always advise speaking to your doctors and other care providers. This is the list. The actual products and brands I used are linked below.
- DHEA 75mg per day – prescribed by RE from a compounding pharmacy
- Wheatgrass 6 caps per day – SweetWheat brand
- L-Arginine 2000mg per day – Now Foods
- Ubiquinol 600mg per day – Now Foods
- Vitamin D 5000 iu per day – Now Foods
- Inositol 1500mg per day – Now Foods
- Melatonin 3mg per day – Now Foods
- Royal Jelly 1500mg per day – Now Foods
- Folic Acid 800mcg per day – Now Foods (eventually switched to Folate and cannot recall brand)
- Prenatal with DHA – I had a prescription for Citranatal DHA
Some things to remember, supplements are not regulated. It seems every other year or two we see news segments reminding us that many supplements don’t contain the actual active ingredient you are paying for, or contain very little of it. I purchased a report from a consumer watchdog company very early on, and while they didn’t test the exact supplements I was on, they did test many different ones from a lot of different brands. I noticed Now Foods was very high on the list for everything they tested. It is a US based company and pricier than many others but I believe the quality is worth it.
As I said before, it’s best to speak to your doctor about supplements but also remember that at the end of the day, you are the consumer as much as the patient and this is about your chance to hold a baby in your arms. Many doctors don’t believe in supplements but will give you their blessing. Some will flat out say no to them. It is often worth it to have the conversation and then do your own research. Did the supplements help me? I truly believe they did, which ones, who knows. I think the best data available at the time of my research lead me to believing in DHEA, Ubiquinol and Melatonin as the big winners.
Hi Amanda, could you please tell me at what time of the day you took the wheatgrass supplements? Many thanks.
Hello Kately,
Thank you for viewing my blog. I tended to take all of my supplements first thing in the morning, so I wouldn’t forget them. I took my melatonin and inositol at bedtime. Hope that helps.
Thanks so much, Amanda. I am going to give this a try. Thank you for sharing your advice and supporting women going through this. Best wishes, Katelyn.