Vitamins & Supplements

For All Women

Folic Acid:

Start taking prenatal vitamins with 800 mcg (0.8 mg) of folic acid once daily 2 months before attempting to conceive. It is better to take vitamins with methylfolate or natural folate instead of synthetic folate or folinic acid.

Vitamin D3:

Take Vitamin D3 once daily.
Best to choose vitamin D3 formulated in oil-based drops or an oil-based soft gel capsule, rather than a solid tablet, and to take it with a meal containing some fat.

For women with diminished ovarian reserve (including those with endometriosis):

CoQ10:

Take 600 mg of ubiquinone or 400 mg of ubiquinol (absorbed better than ubiquinone)
Some brands of Ubiquinol include Jarrow Ubiquinol QH Absorb, Bio-Quinon and Qunol Ultra CoQ10 or Pharma-Nord’s CoQ10

DHEA
You can take 25-75 mg per day – The amount will depend on your DHEAS levels so please ask your doctor first since you can take too much.

Additional Vitamins for all women:

Omega-3 – Take 700-1000 mg per day
Melatonin – Use melatonin 3 mg at bedtime starting 1 week prior to IVF cycle

Additional Antioxidants for all women:

Vitamin E – Take 200 IU daily
Vitamin C – Take 500-1000 mg per day two months prior to cycle
Alpha lipoic acid – Take 400-600 mg per day (or 200-300 mg daily of “R” form) on an empty stomach; Do not take if you have hypothyroidism
N-acetylcysteine – Take 600 mg daily

For Recurrent Pregnancy Loss with Antiphospholipid Ab Syndrome:

Ubiquinol – Take 200 mg daily

For patients with PCOS:

L-carnitine – Take 3 grams daily
Myo-inositol – Take 2 mg twice daily to reduce insulin resistance – Start 3 months before IVF (Avoid D-chiro inositol)

Vitamin & Supplement Advice for Men

FertilAid – Take as directed – you can buy online at any major pharmacy
Omega-3 – Take 700-1000 mg per day

For more recommendations like the ones above you may consider reading the book:
“It Starts with the Egg”