Fertility supplements: my experience

I mentioned in a previous post that I would write about the supplements I have taken.  I just want to first say that I am not a doctor and you may want to consult with your doctor before using any supplements (it’s truly at your descretion).  If you do go down a supplement route please be sure to take them for at least 3 cycles to see the benefits and stop after 3-4 cycles as your body can adapt to them and they can do more harm than good at that point.

I first tried Vitex (Chaste berry) back in 2012 before I had surgery and of course it did nothing for me as I had underlying medical issues (uterine growth, polyps and a cyst).  I took it for 2 months with no change in my cycle so then I stopped.  I started it back up again when I was referred to a FS and took it again from Jan-Feb (2 months again) and it seemed to bring on the sporadic bleeding more often.  I stopped using it.  I didn’t find any use for it nor did it benefit my situation whatsoever (I took 3 pills 3 times a day).  All the research I did prior to using it said great and wonderful things about it!  But it’s hard to say if it would have worked had I taken it for 3 full cycles..  Vitex works by regulating the pituitary gland and can help regulate your ovulation.

I disocvered Symplex F, off of a baby bump post.  A woman stated she couldn’t concieve for years (I can’t remember the exact number but at the time I remember it was longer than I had been trying).  She started taking symplex F and concieved her son after only 3 months!  Seemed like a dream come true.  I couldn’t find much information regarding it on the web.  In fact I was amazed at the lack of information out there.  Symplex F is said to help balance your hormones, more specifically your estrogen to progesterone ratio.  I started it in March 3 pills a day and noticed a change in May.  It seemed to help with my mid cycle spotting/bleeding and I began to notice a regulation in my cycle from 26-45 days to 35-40 days.  5 days off but from previous cycles, that’s not too bad.  After 4 cycles my ovulation had been right at cd 29 but unfortunately I didn’t stop and the next cycle my hormones were so off balanced the mid cycle spotting/bleeding returned.  With symplex F I received my first ever cycle with ovulaton and have thought to go back to it.  I had no sx with this supplement either.  It is pricey and can only be found online.

I implemented Maca Root into my regimen in Aug of 2,000mg a day and saw a difference with my cycle immediately. Maca helps with balancing of hormones and I figured it couldn’t hurt taking it.  It seemed to help stablize my hormones enough to stablize my cycles but it was short lived after another 3 cycles they no longer seemed to make a difference.  I experienced little side effects from Maca which was only a higher labido and energy.

While taking maca root I began taking Royal Jelly.  It was said to help mature and improve the quality of the eggs.  I took 2,000 mg a day in dried freezed capsule forms and have no real proof if it helped me but I always thought my energy was increased due to this and the maca root.  I had no negative sx on this supplement and it seemed to overal be a no brainer taking the pills.  I stopped the supplement when I stopped all the supplements in Oct/Nov.

I tried B6 (200mg a day) between July-Sept and didn’t see a difference in my cycles.  It’s said to lengthen your luteal phase (LP) and help increase your progesterone production.  It didn’t seem to have an effect either way on my LP.  I stopped it in Oct/Nov and had no noticable sx while taking it.

I had tried Soy Iso Flavones in the past with no induced ovulation and tired it again in Nov when I had realized I am taking far too long in my cycle to ovulate.  It is said to work like Clomid by tricking your body to produce more estrogen to mature the follicle faster and bring on ovulation sooner.  In the past as mentioned I had taken it each time 160 mg from cd 5-9.  It’s said the strenght is half of the strength of Clomid so to reach 50mg equivalent to Clomid you woul need to take 100mg of Soy Iso.  I took a little over that each time equivalent to 90mg of Clomid and it did not bring on a sooner ovulation.  It could be I didn’t take enough of it or Clomid and Soy Iso doesn’t work for me… hard to say really.  I had daily headaches like Clomid from cd 9- expected af.

Through all the research I have read and personal experiences I have come across Vitamin D3.  This is much different than the vitamin you gain from milk, so increasing your milk consumption will not benefit your vitamin d3 level.  It’s best to have this tested by your Dr. to see if your levels are low.  I as usual didn’t ask and just began taking the supplement in 2014.  I have to say once I started taking this supplement I noticed my hair went from a brown color to a reddish color.  Vitamin D3 does effect your fertility and if your have a deficency it could prevent pregnancy by messing up your homrones and preventing ovulation.  I had no undesireable sx by this supplement and have recently begun taking it again.

I have literally within the last 4 days discovered licorice root.  It is said to help move up ovulation and improve low progesterone in your LP.  The bottle clearly warns you to avoid taking if you have high blood pressure, insuline issues or have been diagnoised with diabetes or have liver functioning issues.  I do not so I have begun taking this supplement as the bottle suggests (2 pills 3x a day with meals).  It could lower your potasium so it’s recommened to eat a banana a day when taking this supplement. The very, very little information I have found on the web has stated you take this supplement as you would Clomid (cd3-7 or cd5-9) but take the amount as the bottle suggests and no more than 7 days total.  As I started spotting very early in my last cycle when the flow turned “light” I started the licorice root the next day.  I plan to take the licorice root from cd 2-9 @ 900mg 3x a day.  I know this sounds like a lot but after the first day of taking it my af had picked up.  I’m hoping it helps with my uterine bleeding issues.

Supplements and vitamins I have taken with each other are as follows.

-Vitex, prenatal and vitamin d3.
-Symplex F, maca root, royal jelly, vitamin d3, b6, prenatal and folic acid.
-Clomid, symplex F, vitamind d3, b6, prenatal and folic acid.

So these are the supplements I have tired and what my experience with each have been.  Again, please consult with your dr if you have any medical conditions.  Each supplement will affect you differently than it has effected me; it may work for you or it could cause further damage.  Please do your research, I recommened naturalfertility.com.  Smaller dosages are more benefical than larger dosages so for example with Soy Iso you should always start with a lower dose of 40mg.  Make sure you are drinking plenty of water while on any supplements which is half your body weight in ounces.

A light exercise regimen could help increase your pituitary gland function and help balance hormones.  If you have never been to a doctor and have no idea if you’re ovulating or not, please consider doing BBT charting through fertilityfriend.com before taking anything more than a prenatal or folic acid.  If you already ovulate some of these supplements could hinder your ovulation ability so be weary when starting any new supplement.  Do your research and seriously consider the pros verses cons aspect.  Good luck to all the women in their TTC journey.  May the lines be ever in your favor.