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For five years I went through hell and back to become a Mummy! I had three miscarriages from natural pregnancies, five IUI attempts, five IVF attempts, and three operations to remove endometriosis, a polyp and a fibroid. I have been with my 'almost perfect' Husband since 2003. We married in 2009 on Valentine's Day and we are extremely happy together. I decided to start a blog because I needed to write down my thoughts and feelings to show myself and others how I was never going to give up until we got our forever baby.

Since having my baby, I'm inspired to create: Baby Blankets by Me & Mum

Sunday 21 August 2011

New things to try - Part 2 : DHEA

Freshly ordered and it's way from the USA - DHEA!
DHEA is the hormone Dehydrepiandosterone that is created by the adrenal glands. DHEA is converted into androgens (male hormones) or estrogens (female hormones) depending on the person’s own sex, age, individual condition and other individual factors. Levels of DHEA can decline with age in both men and women. So by taking DHEA you could be helping the aging process. According to ironmanmagazine DHEA is "often referred to as the mother of all hormones".

What's it got to do with fertility? I like this explanation from www.centerforhumanreprod.com
DHEA Beneficial Effects
The investigators at CHR have been using the mild male hormone dehydroepiandrosterone DHEA now for a number of years very successfully in women with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), whether their ovarian impairment is due to advanced age or premature ovarian aging (POA). In doing so, we have been able to demonstrate that in such women DHEA supplementation has quite remarkable beneficial effects (see Table 1), which all can be summarized as rejuvenating ovarian function

Table 1: EFFECTS OF DHEA IN WOMEN WITH DOR
Increases egg (oocyte) and embryo counts
Improves egg and embryo quality
Increases euploid (chromosomally normal) embryos available
Speeds up time to pregnancy in fertility treatment
Increases spontaneously conceived pregnancy
Improves IVF success rates
Improves cumulative pregnancy rates in patients under treatment
Decreases spontaneous miscarriage rates

Table 2: POSITIVE SIDE EFFECTS OF DHEA
Improved overall feeling
Physically stronger
Improved sex drive
Mentally sharper
Better memory

But DHEA is a hormone and you should not take DHEA if you have any of the following - diabetes, psychiatric conditions, or liver problems, or are at risk for cancer. Some of the possible side effects can include:
  • fine facial hair
  • a slight deepening of voice
  • acne, particularly on the back
  • perspiration
  • hair thinning/loss

There is loads of information on DHEA but here are a few links I looked at:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dhea/NS_patient-dhea
http://www.lef.org/dhea/side_effects_of_taking_dhea.htm
http://www.dhea.com/pages.php?pageid=9
Posted by UK IVFer at 15:11

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