My wife (38) and I (36) have done 4 IUIs and 1 IVF without a hint of success. We have had 3 different infertility doctors (2 from the same place). We were really feeling defeated until I asked the doctor if there was anything that could improve our odds. Apparently there is something. Supplements.
STOP:
Smoking
Drinking alcohol
Drinking coffee/tea.
Most Coffee and Tea contain Caffeine and Tannic Acid which is not helpful for female fertility. I have read that caffeine is helpful for a man's sperm mobility before intercourse.
START taking these supplements 3 months prior to egg retrieval (if doing IFV) and continue taking the supplements after egg retrieval. This was give to us by our fertility doctor to improve egg quality:
Inositol - 2000mg twice a day
CoQ-10 - 200mg twice a day
L-Arginine - 1000mg twice a day
DHEA - 50mg once a day, STOP taking once IVF meds begin
Folic Acid - 1mg once day
Melatonin - 3mg once a day before bed
CONVERT units from grams to milligrams to micro-grams so here's a helpful table:
1000 micrograms (mcg) EQUALS 1 milligram (mg)
1000 milligrams (mg) EQUALS 1 gram (g)
BUY the supplements (expect to pay $150-250):
As a side note, I know a woman who swears by Acupuncture for infertility. If you want to try Acupuncture, ask the Doctor if they are degreed and if they are currently treating patients for infertility. If it is a good clinic, then treating infertility is all they probably do. Don't go somewhere that isn't treating infertility daily.
I'll let you know if we have any success after the supplements, probably late November 2013.
Mid Nov 2013 - After taking the supplements, we only had 6 eggs retrieved this time vs 7 eggs from 8 months earlier without supplements. Our first IVF only had 3 embryos which were two 6 cell and one 4 cell highly fragmented. Our second IVF transfer and fertilization, after taking supplements, yielded only two embryos that were an 8 cell and a 4 cell with zero fragmentation. To summarize, we retrieved less eggs and less fertilization after supplements, although our embryos are higher quality after supplements with zero fragmentation and an 8 cell embryo. The 4 cell is promising to, but just slower developing.
End Nov 2013 - Although we tried very hard to improve our chances of becoming pregnant, my wife is not pregnant. We spoke with our doctor and he is going to take a look at the inside of her uterus with a camera and check for any issues. We do know that our eggs and sperm are fertilizing. We may do some IUIs or try naturally. It makes no sense to spend more money on IVF. We are going to stay on the supplements. The only change is that the doctor said to take 3mg of Folic Acid per day. Maybe we'll just get lucky.
Good luck.