# Diet & nutrition



## Hopefulshell (Mar 14, 2013)

Hi ladies

Hope you don't mind me asking a question 
After our third failed cycle at the weekend we're
now looking at diet/nutrition as a possible way
of improving egg and sperm quality. We've got 
a six month wait before starting round 4 so want
to use the time wisely!

We've got an appointment with a fertility
nutritionist in London in a couple of weeks to get
advice on how our specific probs can be helped
by changes to our diet.

I just wondered whether anyone had seen 
improvements in egg/sperm/embryo quality after
introducing particular vitamins or supplements
as part of their diet? 

Thanks  x


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## Cloudy (Jan 26, 2012)

My husband stopped drinking and started taking wellman vitamins and had a massive improvement (previously very very bad morph and motility). Basically in a few months his figures more than doubled!x


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## Bubbles12 (Aug 29, 2012)

So glad you said that cloudy as my OH is having SSR next month. He hasnt drank (apart from 2 occasions) in 5 months and is taking well being for men.

Really hopes it makes a difference 

Xx


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## Hopefulshell (Mar 14, 2013)

Thanks Cloudy that's really good news 
Sorry about your bfn - hopefully the big
improvements you've seen in your dh's 
result will soon translate into that BFP 

There's loads of conflicting info on the net
about what to eat and what to avoid I'm 
v confused so thanks for pointing me in the 
right direction re wellman 

Good luck on your journey 

X


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## Molly99 (Apr 16, 2012)

I would hate to add up the hours that I've spent obsessively searching for the answer to this  

The great thing is that you have 6 months and you need at least 3 months to see a difference, so you could see a big change.  I can only speak for our experience here but we did see an enormous difference in my DH's analysis.  His first test, with no supplements or lifestyle changes, was really awful.  I made him make lots of changes and by the second his count was up 5 fold and his morphology improved into the ok range.

Wellman are good, I quite liked the Zita West Vitamen too ingredients wise.  From what I read, zinc, maca, 1000mg vitamin C and lycopene are all really key building blocks.

If you're already pretty healthy with what you eat then you may be well on your way.  DH was a heavy and regular drinker and a light smoker, I'm sure that giving these up resulted in most of our improvements but I'm sure that the supplements did too.

Wishing you so much luck.  I'd be really interested in what your nutritionist recommends.  I wish that someone would just develop the perfect supplement or agree on the best advice sometimes! xx


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## Hopefulshell (Mar 14, 2013)

Many thanks Molly99 - that's a very encouraging 
outcome from your dh's experience 
I'm sorry to read from your signature the
tough journey you've been on  it's so hard
isn't it to keep trying to find that one answer
that could just make all the difference. When
I first started out on the ivf tx a year ago (feels
like a lifetime!) I think I just put all my faith in
medicine and trusted it to work. Now it hasn't I'm 
looking to myself and DH to see what we can do 
ourselves to give medicine and nature a helping hand 
(plus it makes me feel that I'm being proactive - the
waiting between cycles I always find soooo hard!)

I'm glad I'm not the only one obsessively surfing the net!!
I'm a researcher by profession so it's kinda ingrained
in me to search absolutely EVERYTHING thoroughly he he  

x

x


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## Molly99 (Apr 16, 2012)

Tee hee Hopefulshell, I work in evidence!  There's little hope that either of us can avoid OCD researching and not going crazy with the waiting & not knowing 

Thanks for your kind thoughts, that's so sweet.  I don't remember a life outside of this now, seems like foooorrrrreeeevvvvveeerrr  

I forgot to say that DH's third and fourth tests were really quite bad.  The third test, I had reduced his supplements by quite a bit and the fourth he wasn't taking any.  He had a cold on the fourth but I can only draw my own conclusions.  I really believe in them.  Shudder to how much it all costs though! xxx


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## Hopefulshell (Mar 14, 2013)

I know what you mean Molly99 about it
feeling like forever  I guess because by 
the time we get to the ivf stage we've already
been desperately longing for a baby for years 
beforehand that you just kinda forget what life
was like before you didn't have that longing!
I wish the drs could invent a drug to take that
longing away so we could all bear that bfn so 
much better!! 

From your own experience it certainly seems like
the supplements made a difference to your DH 
although I do understand about the expense of it
all. That's partly why I've bitten the bullet and
decided to see a nutritionist because otherwise I 
could be keeping Holland & Barratt in business
singlehandedly without any clue as to whether 
any of it actually works! Whoever produces folic acid
tablets are laughing - I've been on them for about 4 years!
I'm so in the wrong profession ... ! X


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