Monday, September 19, 2011

My "magic" supplement list

Well, it's taken near 2 years, but I am hoping I have *finally* found the magic mix of supplements that has balanced my cycle and (God-willing) will assist in bringing me a sticky BFP! I thought I'd share this with you!

Now, I would just like to caution that because some of these supplements have worked for me does not mean that they will necessarily be the best choice for you. I try to talk to my doctor or at least my pharmacist before trying a new vitamin to see if there are any negative interactions with my Rx meds.

So, to summarize, my main issues that are inhibiting my fertility are:

  1. Lack of good fertile quality CM, or enough of it;
  2. Spotting before AF and/or short LP--my max on avg is 11 days and less than 12 gets to be a problem
  3. ???? Overall hormonal balance
The problem is that a lot of my stuff is unknown since I supposedly had taken care of the prolactinemia. So, I'm going to list the vitamins/supplements I take, the dosage and the reason(s) I take them. Also, any warnings or known interactions.

  • Royal Jelly
    • 1 tablespoon full (usually just a regular spoon, dip in gel and eat what sticks to it!) If you decide to take a capsule, try to hit 1000mg daily
    • Increase EWCM, overall hormonal balance--improve egg health and quality
    • Some WARNINGS==If you are at all allergic to bee stings or honey, think very carefully before trying this amazing supplement. Please check with your doctor. If you are unsure, or want to try it anyway, start with a small dose and wait 48 hours to see how you react.
    • Also, IF you take Clomid or another Rx med to induce O, double check with your doctor or pharmacist about whether Royal Jelly will counteract it. Although most doctors have no idea what it is, so just do your research. I would HATE for well-earned money to go towards fertility treatments that may be negated by this supplement.
  • B6 and B Complex
    • 200 mg B6; 50 mg Super B Complex
    • To lengthen my LP and hopefully increase progesterone in the luteal phase and diminish spotting before my period.
    • I take these together because most B vitamins go right through you if not all taken together. So to increase my absorption of B6 and Folic Acid, I am taking the B Complex with both.
  • Folic Acid (B9)
    • 4 mg Most recommend no more than 400-800 mcg during TTC. Because one of my Rx meds may deplete folate levels, I'm encouraged to take 4 mg, about 1000X the recommended daily amount. But B vitamins are water soluble, so whatever my body doesn't take in get expelled in my urine *this makes for some really BRIGHT Pee.
    • This is mostly to decrease spinal defects in the embryo once it implants. Although there is research that is starting to find an increase in fertility with an increase in Folic Acid
  • Prenatal--Multivitamin
    • Follow package instructions
    • I have been taking a vitamin pack lately that has daily doses of 4 different pills in foil wrapped packets for morning in night. It has:
      • 1 Multi Vitamin in AM/PM
      • 2 Calcium in AM/PM
      • 1 Antioxidant blend in AM/PM
      • 1 Probiotic in PM
    • I was slightly worried about the Antioxidant one due to negative ramifications of Retin-A use, but I checked a few of the components out and lately have seen a lot of reading that says anti-oxidants help support fertility in important ways!
    • I'm about to use the last of that pack, so I will be going to the Prenatal I had before 
    • Trimedisyn  According to www.prenatalvitaminreviews.org this is one of the best Prenatals you can buy! So, yes, a bit pricey, but it would really be the best for your baby.
Whew, that's a lot! But I finally divided my two pillboxes into morning Rx meds and vitamins and evening Rx Meds and Vitamins. I was using one for Rx and one for Vitamins before, and this is SO much simpler!!!!!

2 comments:

Jessica Fox said...

Hiya,
EPO works great for ewcm.
I take 3000mg with 90mg of GLA from cd1 to + OPK and it works amazing.
Good luck
xxx

Melissa @MotherhoodWantd said...

Jessica, Yes EPO is a great choice for increasing CM, and it is good you have found one with a high amount of GLA as this is the essential ingredient that aids CM production. I had tried it in the past, and it did help, but I may not have researched thoroughly the GLA content and had not taken much.
For ME, I prefer Royal Jelly because of other benefits in increasing egg quality and balancing my hormones.

Also I'm sure you are supplementing with fish oil in your LP to assist in good neural tube formation. I need to do that myself, I keep meaning to get on that or a DHA supplement, but I keep putting it off.

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