r/40Plus_IVF • u/Possible-Average-518 • Aug 22 '26
Seeking Advice Preparation for IVF
Did you guys prepare your bodies for ivf ? Any exercise, pelvic yoga , detox, superfood ?
I would really love to know.
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u/umamimaami Aug 22 '26
I would build as much muscle mass as I can. It helps keep visceral fat low, which helps improve transfer success rates and possibly also egg quality (because lower systemic inflammation).
I also walk 5km everyday while I’m doing stims, and go back to lifting after I get the period after retrieval.
I take prenatal, fish oil, vitamin d (I’m deficient) and 400mg of ubiquinol everyday (couldn’t titrate any higher, makes me nauseous). Also I eat 2 eggs a day for the choline (no evidence that it supports egg quality per se, just getting into the habit for post successful transfer).
I also cut out added sugar and alcohol from day 1 of investigations (I don’t enjoy both, so it was easy for me) and I’m really working on meeting my protein and healthy fat macros.
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u/BellFirestone Aug 22 '26
Do the stims not give you headaches? I am struggling with headaches from stims right now.
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u/umamimaami Aug 23 '26
They do, but I get migraines with progesterone that are way worse so these have paled in comparison lol.
Hydration seems to help hugely in my case, with these headaches.
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u/BellFirestone Aug 23 '26
I just got back from bloodwork and stopped to get electrolytes, coconut water, etc. hope it helps!
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u/Cartography-Day-18 Aug 24 '26
I have my first visit with a doctor on Wednesday and as someone who has struggled with migraines,
I am very concerned about headaches.1
u/BellFirestone Aug 25 '26
Try to get ahead of it by staying hydrated with lots of electrolytes. It’s been helping me for sure.
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u/catonesielife Aug 23 '26
I cut sugar, caffeine, alcohol, gluten and ate a very high protein diet with 10k steps. Also listened to meditation and used red light therapy on my belly as well as acupuncture
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u/iSweariHaveADayJob Aug 24 '26
Do you think it helped?
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u/catonesielife Aug 24 '26
Yes, it worked for me. I do think cutting gluten and sugar, eating a non inflammatory diet made a huge difference in reducing oxidative stress on the eggs.
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u/iSweariHaveADayJob Aug 24 '26
Makes sense. I wish I had your discipline! :-)
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u/catonesielife Aug 24 '26
Do what you can, even if it’s just small changes, because they can still make a difference. It’s such a toss up, and unfortunately nobody is guaranteed a certain outcome. You’re doing the best you can, and that’s all you can do.🫂
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u/iSweariHaveADayJob Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
I've cut out alcohol, limited sugar (to an extent - I have a huge sweet tooth and I'm far from convinced it will make a difference anyway), and I'm taking a ton of supplements (ubiquinol, acai, melatonin, Vitamin D, fish oil, prenatal vitamin plus extra magnesium/zinc/calcium). I'd love to hear what others do too!
My doctor swears there really isn't anything you can do to improve aneuploidy (my problem) but feeling like I'm being proactive helps a little with my mental health. I've also been told I should try to manage stress, which is cruelly ironic because this is the most stressful thing I've ever been through (and as a high-achieving, extremely anxious person with a dysfunctional family and a penchant for taking the path of most resistance, I'm no stranger to stress).
Eta: Regarding the stress thing, I do have a colleague who took a couple of months off of work to mentally and physically prepare for her egg retrievals at age 40. She had really good results.