High FSH and DHEA

[born2Bmom]

Hi, I am new. I am 34 and would love to have a family of my own.  Have been trying to conceive for 5 years.  Most recent Day 2 FSH count was 25.9.  Have used DHEA for 2 months now, but FSH still too high. Has anyone had success with DHEA?  Does DHEA have any longterm negative affects?  What els can I do to lower my FSH count?

[rumana1]

Hi,
My age is 30 and my current FSH is 45.9 and my period is stops. Previously doctor said that I'm in menopause, then started to take DHEA 25mg for 3 times per day. I took 3 months, then stops and my period was normal for 3 months after stopped to taking DHEA. But now again I have no period. Do you think I have to take DHEA again, if yes, then how long I should to take again can you give me any sugestion please?

[sherryN4]

I am taking DHEA and CoQ10 for 8 months and Chinese herbs for 2 months , last month my FSH was 27 and I start bee pollen, Wheatgrass pill. this cycle my FSH is still high (24) and IVF cancelled for third times. Is there any chance to lower my FSH level for next cycle. I am so depressed.

Thanks
Sherry  

[Azwoman]

I am 40, elevated FSH, very low AMH, TTC for almost 3 yrs, and I get headaches if I take more than 25mg of DHEA a day and I just can't tolerate the recommended dosage. I also haven't had a positive OPK since I started it 3 months ago so I am not sure if DHEA is affecting my ovulation.  I read it can delay it but my cycles are 28-30 days  and I test from day 12 to 21. I also have endo and I will get another laparoscopy on Dec 16 and I'm curious if DHEA has made it worst. DHEA raises estrogen and I can't really see how that helps fertility but I keep reading DHEA can't hurt. I may stop taking it here when my period comes to see if I get a pos OPK at all next cycle. DHEA has made my cycles more regular and I really haven't had any side effects other than the bad headache if I take too much. I am not doing IVF with my own eggs again, I think I stand a good chance doing IUIs and trying naturally. Good luck and keep us updated.

[Journogal]

I am 45.5 years old and two months ago started taking between 25mg and 50mg of dhea I bought on the internet. During that time my fsh went from 25 to 3! It is now slightly too low. My day 3 estradiol is now just outside the high end of normal. I plan to cut back to 25mg just once a day which should hopefully raise fsh a little bit and lower estradiol. We are hoping to start our very first Ivf in the next two months, depending on how my uterus looks in an upcoming hycosy (I have a history of sub mucosal fibroids). But dhea definitely lowered my fsh significantly in a short period of time. I also have one ovary and hypothyroidism controlled with meds. My ivf doctor didn't prescribe dhea but told me it couldn't hurt to take it. I await his reaction to my latest fsh scores.

[IRO12]

Hi How long did you take DHEA and reduce your FSH?

[alijof]

hi,

i was wondering if there was a specific day during the cycle to check fsh since i dont remember getting tested for that...

thanks
ali

[traync]

I have decided to start trying some alternative medicine and was really looking into wheatgrass, I saw that you use juice. I was wondering if pills or powder is just as good? Have you use either of them as well, also where do you find it? I think I am also going to try to find me an accupunture in my area who deals with fertility.

I wish you the best of luck.

[jorobaby]

I too had elevated fsh levels.  My last cd 3 level was 17 and my antral follicle count was 3.  My RE told me to just go home and hope we could conceive naturally.  I walked away, went and found me an acupuncturist and a month and a half later we conceived.  I was also doing a 1 oz shot of wheatgrass juice 6 days a week.  I lost the baby at 8w1d but we are trying again.  I will hopefully test this weekend.  I got back into acu and wheatgrass juice again.  I have just started taking dhea, but I had my levels checked and my dhea levels were low.  I believe in acupuncture the most though.  I swear by it!

[BabyJazz2010]

Many women have taken wheatgrass to lower their FSH (among other things).  I started taking it but got a BFP before my FSH was retested.  I had high FSH (17.6) and low AMH (0.2). Many women also believe in accupuncture.  I couldn't find an accupuncturists but started seeing a chiropractor after reading some interesting articles on chiropractics and infertility.    

[monsoons]

hi there
I saw these posts and felt compelled to respond. Ive been through 2 IVF's (failed) and 2 years of ttc back in 2005-2008. I went to my appt with my fertility doc after the 2nd failed IVF and he let me know about DHEA. We decided to do it for 3 or 4 months before the third (and final) IVF. I took it for 4 months and became pregnant naturally! I now have a 1 1/2 year old. It takes a good 3 months for the stuff to start working, so you can't just do it for a week or 2...
25 mg 3 x daily. also loaded up on b vitamins, did wheatgrass and acupuncture.
I also did it again recently and got pregnant a 2nd time after 4 months of DHEA. the stuff works (i think) - just patience... which is hard.

best wishes to you all...

[rumana1]

Hi,
My age is 30 and my current FSH is 45.9 and my period is stops. Previously doctor said that I'm in menopause, then started to take DHEA 25mg for 3 times per day. I took 3 months, then stops and my period was normal for 3 months after stopped to taking DHEA. But now again I have no period. Do you think I have to take DHEA again, if yes, then how long I should to take again can you give me any sugestion please?

[rubyinparadise]

I had my DHEA level tested after my miscarriage and it was very HIGH. Also had hormone levels tested for cortisol, progesterone, T3 uptake. All I can say is to get tested before you take anything-- don't assume that you have low DHEA. Many people do, but I was surprised to find that mine was off the charts! As far as I know, that doesn't create any symptoms so the only way to know is to get tested before you start supplementing with anything. Best of luck!

Acupuncture has been shown to have excellent results in lowering FSH and balancing out other associated hormone levels. I'd look into that too!

[hana70]

Opps you were the one that posted that link above :)

http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/premature_ovaries.html

[hana70]

Thank you Wendy, i am currently in canada. Is it like vitemans? do you live in canada? i just turned 39 last month and we have been TTC again the past 6 cycles but no luck.

I have 2 older kids from a previous marriage. started TTC with my husband May 2008 with 2 months break from TTC in (Sep n October of 2008). Feb. 13, 2009 I had the best surprise I had my BFP. Unfortunatly, lost my baby at 12wks 2 days on April 14. The pain was too much to handle, i still feel the emptiness in me sometimes.  My husband is a great prerson and he is a great supporter.

I decided to go to a fertility specialist to c why it is taking me 7 months and i still did not get pregrant and to also rush it adn take clomid or something.  all my test were normal, Progesteron, TSH,LH,E2,etc however. to my shocking surprise my FSH was soooooooo elevated it was 38 on CD4, she would not even tell me what is it equivelant in CD3.. just said " i wont be able to help you, i know you are ovulating and you still have your cycle that is good just it is better to try on your own. you have better chance getting pregnant naturally rather than using IUI or IVF  PLUS she mentioned that the injection and the treatments might not help me at all so it will be waist of money" she did not even let me re-test it in couple of months.. i know FSH fluctuate, i know some ppl had it in their 30's and it went back down to 10 or 7 and got pregnant again... but she did not even give me the chance to repeat it.

I mentioned to her that that i have been under so much stress lately from TTC, my diet is not that great and i need to do some kind of CARDIOVASCULAR activity bc i heard it will help with my blood flow.. she was soooo cold.. and said nop i can not help you....I know for sure they are not HIGH FSH friendly clinic.. they only worry about their clinic statistics and reputation.

she only gave me one option is Donor egg.. at that momment i am not excepting the idea since i just lost my baby 7 months ago.. obviously i had a good eggs during some cycles so why should i use a donnor egg now.

my plan is start excersising to let the blood flow move better, change the way i eat,etc.. do some kind of yoga bc i heard cardiovascular excersises help such as brisk walking and yoga..

so I am looking for all the help and the support that i can get from girlst that are going through the same experience. I know lots of girls on this site got pregnant naturallly after trying so many IVF and IUI...

I read so much also about DHEA which made me curious specially when some clinic used it  through their research and found that it does help produce more eggs and it does help reduce FSH.

I lost the link but once i find it, i will post it.

thank you so much wendy for your help and plz let me know if you know any success stories with DHEA

[TreeFrog7]

Hi! The answer depends on where you are. It's available on the shelf at pharmacies in the USA. In Canada, you need a prescription, but DHEA is on a list of supplements that are being reviewed by Health Canada, so it's possible it may eventually be available in Canada without prescription.

~Wendy

[hana70]

could you buy it from any pharmacy?

[TreeFrog7]

Hi, sorry it took me so long to follow-up. I didn't have my levels checked before beginning supplementation. I know it's a good idea if it's possible, though.

I began by taking 50mg a day, but after about 6 months I noticed I had oiler skin and a little acne, so I reduced the dose to 25mg. I've had no hormone testing done so that's all the info I can give.

My husband takes 50mg a day - in an earlier post I described how he decided to discontinue his prescribed testosterone shots, and how we researched supplements that might help him succeed and improve his natural hormone levels. DHEA is a precursor hormone to many other, so we included that one. His testosterone level is now in the normal range. Soooo, it seems to work for HIM, at any rate.  :)

[SharonG76]

Hi, I haven taken DHEA for about 2 months now.  Before I started taking DHEA I had my FSH levels checked and it was 72, but after one month it dropped to 16.  I am going back this week to get them rechecked and I will let you know.  I believe this hormone replacement really works if your levels are already low and I have not had any side effects from the DHEA, I am taking 50mg a day.

[rubyinparadise]

Silly question, but did you have your DHEA levels tested before you started supplementation?

I was doing a lot of hormone testing and supplementation while I was TTC, and for some odd reason my DHEA levels were naturally very high, about 3x above normal range, so DHEA supplementation actually would not have been a good option.

Acupuncture and TCM have also been shown to have amazing results on lowering FSH levels. Check out the work of Dr. Randine Lewis:
http://www.thefertilesoul.com/knowledgebase/diagnoses/diagnosisdetail.aspx?id=198

[sarahhoward]

To reduce high FSH take at least 25mg per day (you can take up to 75mg) and also drink a small amount of wheatgrass every few days.  It reduced my FSH from over 25 and I conceived twins at age 44.

[born2Bmom]

Thanx for the referral to the CHR web site.  I have used DHEA for 2 months now and have not experienced any of the bennefits listed on the CHR web site, on the contrary I have acne for the first time in my life, I have a lot of pigmentation and my hair is oily.  Do you think these side effects is an indication that the DHEA is not working so well for me?  Do you have any problems with it?

[TreeFrog7]

The New York/Illinois Center for Human Reproduction is at the forefront of research into DHEA for dimished ovarian reserve. Results have been impressive.

Here's the page from the horse's mouth:
http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/premature_ovaries.html

By the way, I am 44, TTC, and taking DHEA.

[40smama]

There was a woman on this forum, Mature Momma, I believe looked into the effects DHEA had on FSH.  I think what she found was to give it chance to work and the minimum from what I remember was four months.  Since you've only given it two months, I'd give it a bit longer and see what happens.  

One other thing - I'm not sure about all of this but did your re perform a clomid challenge test on you to see if your ovaries would respond?  Other than that, I'm clueless about how to lower FSH counts except to say they can vary month to month.  

To investigate long term effects of DHEA, google it or go to rxlist.com or drugs.com - something like that.  I hope the DHEA works and you can lower your score.  25.9 is really high - especially for age 34.  Does your doctor have any ideas as well?