First things first:

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.

Psalm 127:1

Therefore, all the supplements and medications and treatments in the world will do nothing without God’s blessing. I recognize that. I also recognize Jesus told folks to go to the doctor*.

So….

I’m on nine supplements and two prescription meds. That’s over 10,000 mg of [usually] oral therapies per day. 

Yet, I refuse to get flu vaccines because “who knows what’s in those things”. *face palm*

I had one RE (reproductive endocrinologist, aka a fertility specialist) who was a lovely human being but she was indifferent about supplements. Since there is actual science behind a lot of these supplements and their favorable impact on infertility, I got a new RE. Except, at the same practice. And just last week while I was at the office for an ultrasound with my new RE, my old RE and I passed each other in the lobby silently and avoiding eye contact.

Awkwaaaaaard.

Anyhoo, my new RE is totally on board with supplements but not all of them. I’ll give you a rundown of everything but I’ve actually dialed some of this down. I also don’t endorse any particular brands or products.

Infertility Vitamins and Supplements, including the best stuff in the world: Royal Jelly

Prenatal Vitamin with at least 800 mcg of methyl-folate – This is an industry standard. I’ve used four different brands at least and I don’t feel any differently from one to the next. There’s debate about folic acid vs. folate. Supposedly, many people don’t actually absorb folic acid so the purer form, folate, should be consumed. My old RE said it didn’t matter. Soooooo I’m going with the folate.

CoQ10 (in the form of better-absorbed ubiquinone) – My dosage: 400 mg per day. Cells oxidize over time. Think of an apple turning brown. Those apple cells are oxidizing, basically spoiling. CoQ10 is an antioxidant. We eat foods rich in antioxidants and take supplements to slow down the oxidation of our cells. Eggs and sperm are cells. Therefore, CoQ10 + egg and sperm = improved quality (aka less spoiled eggs). I don’t feel like my energy has greatly improved on CoQ10 but I would take it regardless of the infertility since it’s also great for stress relief and reductions of free radicals. Whatever in the world those are.

Myo-inositol – My dosage: 4 g per day. I was taking this for improved egg quality because It Starts with the Egg said so but my new RE said this is primarily for the benefit of women with PCOS. Turns out she’s right. One supplement down.

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) – My dosage: 75 mg per day. This hormone is a precursor to the other male and female sex hormones. It also decreases with age so I take it in pill form. I feel no effects from this hormone though you’d probably have to ask my husband to be sure.

Royal Jelly (with bee pollen, propolis and raw honey) – My dosage: 1 teaspoon per day. I LOVE THIS STUFF. It’s supposed to increase fertility but fertility or not, I will never not take this stuff now. I’ve been taking it for three weeks and I feel physically fantastic every day. My energy is up, I’m optimistic about my days and that energy lasts pretty much all day long. So I’m sorry, bees. I need your bee queen food.

Vitamin D3 – My dosage: 4000 – 5000 IU per day. I assumed I was Vitamin D deficient because all women appear to be but after months of taking this, I had my Vitamin D level checked and it was a 58 ng/mL. Normal range is 20 – 50 ng/mL so I stopped taking that. There’s enough in the prenatal anyway.

Vitamin E – My dosage: 200 IU per day. Vitamin E is an antioxidant. See CoQ10 above.

R-Alpha Lipoic Acid (not to be confused with regular Alpha Lipoic Acid) – My dosage: 200 – 300 mg per day. Another supplement recommended by It Starts with the Egg to improve egg quality. Not as much science behind this one so when it runs out, I won’t be renewing.

N-Acetyl Cysteine – My dosage: 600 mg per day. Same explanation and outcome as R-Alpha Lipoic Acid. I feel no effects from either of these two supplements.

Baby Aspirin – My dosage: 81 mg per day. Makes the uterine lining more supple and welcoming to a fertilized egg looking for a place to set roots. Also aids in surprising your phlebotomist with a thumb-over-the-hose-style squirt of watery blood when she’s just trying to collect a routine blood sample. Yay.

Letrozole (Femara) – My dosage: 5 mg per day. A hormone that kick starts ovulation when my body has decided to not.

Progesterone – My dosage: 200 mg per day. Basically, a hormone that’s supposed to rise on its own after fertilization and keeps the embryo alive. With recurrent miscarriages, my body may be deciding to say “meh” on the whole production of progesterone thing. My RE isn’t as convinced that this is what’s happening in my particular case but she prescribes it because it certainly won’t hurt.

God bless my husband dealing with me and all these hormones. Speaking of my husband, he takes a men’s multivitamin with 400 mcg of folate, 1000 mg of fish oil, 1900 mg of maca root and 200 mg CoQ10. Even though he has no male factors, he’s on board 100%. *swoon*

As of today, that’s it. I promise, I started taking these supplements only after I’d read and understood them all. I’m just not explaining them at length here because the internet. Most, if not all, of these supplements have benefits that extend beyond fertility. I’m a health-conscious person anyway so I’m good with taking these but I’m also open to not taking them. For example, this month I’m off the prescription meds because of lab testing. I’m a proponent of food choice first, then natural supplements and then medicine.

But no matter what, unless the Lord builds the house…

*Mark 2:17, Matthew 9:12, since you don’t believe me. I thought we were better than this!