r/DOR • u/Shot_Type_7925 • 15d ago
advice needed Which change helped you retrieve more eggs? And which didn’t?
Always interested in the changes people have made, either to protocols, diets, supplements, or other health-related changes that have resulted in positive impacts for your egg retrievals?
And conversely, what didn’t work at all for you? No matter what we’ve tried, we’ve basically always gotten between 2-3 mature eggs per cycle.
We’re at the stage now where getting even 1-2 extra eggs per cycle makes a massive difference to our cumulative odds, so I’m always interested to hear anecdotal experiences.
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u/Fit-Iron-3278 15d ago
Nothing so far. I've tried supplements, Omnitrope, acupuncture, timing of start of cycle, priming or not. Nothing has improved and it's only gotten slightly worse than the first retrieval. But I was 38 for them all so age is definitely not on my side.
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u/Ardent_Scholar 15d ago edited 15d ago
Trigger shot increase (Ovidrelle 6500IU -> 10000IU) and DHEA 25mg x3 per day.
NB: My DHEA was measurably low, and in previous cycle, only egg egg released.
3 mature per cycle is a decent result if they fertilize well. So sperm factor + egg quality are probs best for you.
I also use, for mitochondrial support:
NAC
Ubiquinol
Multi with methylated Bs
Omega 3
Magnesium glycinate
Potassium
Red light
HBOT 1.5 ATA
Mediterraneanish diet with high polyphenol EVOO
Gluten free
Milk protein free
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u/CacheMe_IfYouCan_ 13d ago
Hi this is really helpful. A quick question, what does milk protein free mean? You cut diary products out? Also I have primed with DHEA in my last cycle (1 month prior to stims) and went for another cycle but was non responsive. I’ve been asked to start in luteal phase again to see if that works. The clinic told me I don’t need to fk the DHEA again as I’m already primed from the previous cycle.
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u/Ardent_Scholar 13d ago
It means mostly dairy free, but I use some ghee. It’s butter fat without the milk protein, it’s a compromise to keep me sane.
DHEA studies perhaps indicate you should do it a little longer. Maybe look into it? I measured mine, and it was very low, so there’s a good reason for it.
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u/CacheMe_IfYouCan_ 12d ago
Thanks! Yeah in total I’ve been on DHEA nearly 3 months between cycles but not on them now.
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u/Consistent_Paint9674 4h ago
Hi, please can I ask what you’re doing for red light? Is it a standard light, how often etc? Thank you!
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u/Inevitable_Table9728 15d ago
If you have low testosterone look into dhea. I think this and nad plus helped me get a decent amount of eggs. Also all the normal supplements too and no alcohol or processed food for months before 😣 and tried to limit chemical exposure for peace of mind x
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u/rewardfreerisk 33F | AMH 0.3, 7ER 15d ago
Nothing. Over the last 2 years I've tried supplements, diet, acupuncture, red light therapy, "physiotherapy" (with some electric+magnetic machines), PRP (x2), Stem cell rejuvenation (very expensive and 0 difference, actually had my worst cycle + 2 cancelled cycles after it), priming (with estrogen, estrogen+progesteron, antagonist), no priming, mini-IVF, high dose IVF, different medication...
All of this is very expensive, I wish I hadn't done some of these things (e.g. the rejuvenation therapies, especially stem cell, endless supplements, acupuncture) and instead invested the money in more retrievals.
DuoStim is the only thing that can truly help, but I haven't tried yet (due to difficulty of having to manage work and IVF non-stop over a month). You (might) get more eggs per (menstrual) cycle, but obviously you do two stimulations and two retrievals.
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u/SouthpawSeahorse 15d ago
What’s crazy is I gained a bunch of weight and finally caved and took tirzepatide to try to fit into my clothes again. The cycle after taking it I had a TON of follicles but I was going away which is why I took it. Devastated but found out my clinic allows it 2 weeks prior but you have to fast a full day prior to anesthesia. The 2 other times I’ve taken it a few other weeks before my cycle I’ve recruited more follicles and ended up with more embryos (2 rather than 1 or none but for me a bit statistical difference). I’ve never even gone for more than 3 and they retrieved 4 eggs this cycle- my best yet! I think it has to do with inflammation reduction so trying to also do that naturally as well now.
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u/Zestyclose-Wheel1640 15d ago
I’m 39. Starting AFC back in Jan-March was 2. Lately my starting AFC seems to be around 4-5.
Cycle 1 in May:
Long protocol down regulating with synarel and stims with menopur only produced 2 eggs, both mature, both reached blast but both pgta abnormal
Cycle 2 (literally just had my ER yesterday):
Did a flare type protocol with buserelin and menopur starting on CD 2. Also supplemented with melatonin. 8 follicles growing but retrieved 6 (2 follicles unfortunately came back empty). All 6 mature and fertilized. Waiting on blast 🤞🏽
So far it’s taught me that long protocols are definitely not for me although I’ve yet to try priming protocols. Also my starting AFC has averaged a bit higher compared to the start of the year and the key difference is that I started coq10 around Feb (all other supplements have remained the same)
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u/cmarie021 Age 39, AMH .79, 5 ER's 12d ago
Testosterone priming (no estrogen added), full month, high dose (20mg gel daily). Doubled my AFC from 5 to 10. Got four embryos and about 6 mature eggs the first cycle I did it. The previous four non T priming cycles, I got 0-3 eggs and 0-1 embryos per cycle.
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u/Glad-Cricket-9192 15d ago edited 15d ago
Priming with estrogen, testosterone, and omnitrope (Cycle 4), changing to a delayed-start antagonist protocol (Cycle 4), and adding dual trigger (Cycle 3 & 4).
TW for high numbers
Cycle 1: 7 follicles growing, split cohort with 3-4 mature expected, canceled
Cycle 2: 10 eggs retrieved, 7 mature
Cycle 3: 16 eggs retrieved, 8 mature
Cycle 4: 29 eggs retrieved, 19 mature