Is there a one thread or sticky with a list of supplement that help fertility?

[naturallyspeaking]

that I'm not finding LOL???

I've read many posts about supplements and got more than 10 supplement just browsing through but I'm still not sure what is good for what.  I was wondering if there is a list where it explains the name and the effects of the supplements and if someone could direct me, if not can we make a list?  These are a few things people mention of taking... What are these good for?  Are these safe during nursing or pregnant?  Any side effects?  Any other supplement that helps with fertility, enhance ovulation, egg quality, lengthening LP, regulate cycle, promote health?

Vitamin B6

FertiliTea

Fertilaid

Maca

Red Raspberry tea

green tea

Vitex

Flax seed oil

Femarprin

False Unicorn Root

Progesterone cream

Thank you.

[LitMama]

Greetings!

I would be happy to contribute to this. I actually just started a word document where I'm pasting in lists of what other mamas are taking (from MDC and other sites), plus any info I have on dosages, benefits, etc. It's pretty skimpy so far, but a start. I'd like to include links to articles, studies, etc. but if I promise that, I will never get the dang thing posted! I'll try to post it tomorrow.

I'd LOVE to hear from other wise women on this as well...

Peace,

[LitMama]

I created a Survey Monkey survey to collect info on the supplements other mamas are taking. I'll create a new thread for it as well and will post any and all replies here.

This is a non-scientific, quick and dirty list of all the fertility supplements I know of. There are checkboxes next to the name of each supplements, and also a text box for adding your dosages and listing any other supplements not on my list. I hope we can learn from each other!

Here's the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7ZMBQC6

Big thank you to any mamas willing to participate! 

[SilaMarila]

That was fun thanks for making a survey. Your results will be helpful!

[carmen358]

Red Clover

Oops, already on the list :)

[naturallyspeaking]

Litmama, thank you for the survey list.  Wow there are a whole bunch more supplement I haven't heard of yet.

One thing I want to add to my question is that is there any supplement that is not safe taking together? 

[LitMama]

Hi Naturallyspeaking,

You're welcome! There are 7 people who've responded so far. Once I have a few more, I'll post the results here. I need to post the survey in some other threads, too, to get more responses. I'd like to clean up my word doc as well and post that, but am behind this week due to a nasty bug! :-(

I have that same question... I have been taking probably 10 different supplements since November, and some recent (not good) changes to my cycle have me wondering if there are some that are working against each other. I also wonder what's not safe during the 2ww? Am I working against myself?

I'm actually thinking of trying to find a practitioner to consult with about this... someone who knows Chinese herbs, Western herbs, and all the non-herb supplements (such as L-Arginine) and could look at my protocol and give me some feedback. It's hard to find someone who has such a broad knowledge base, it seems most herbalists and nutritionists specialize in one area. I just spoke with Pulling Down the Moon in Chicago and they have a personalized package of 2 consults that includes info on supplements, but it's mostly nutrition.

I'll try to get some more info up soon!

Do you know how to create a sticky, once we have some good info going here?

[LitMama]

Big thanks to all who took the fertility supplements survey! I have 28 results so far and will past them in here. My apologies for the formatting! I have tried tinkering with this and can't seem to paste it in as a spreadsheet or table (even though there's a table function here). If I have time to play with it any more later, I'll try again.

After the name of the supplement is the percentage (i.e., 7.1 for Alpha Lipoic Acid) of respondents who said they are taking this supplement, then the total number of respondents (i.e, 2 for Alpha Lipoic Acid) who said they are taking it.

Alpha Lipoic Acid (for egg quality)    7.1    2
B Complex    57.1    16
Baby aspirin (for clotting issues)    21.4    6
Bee Pollen    0    0
Bee Propolis    0    0
Bromelain (for digestion)    3.6    1
Carrots (for eggwhite cervical fluid)    7.1    2
Chlorella    3.6    1
Chlorophyll    3.6    1
CoQ10 (for egg quality)    10.7    3
Damiana    0    0
DHEA (for egg quality)    7.1    2
Dong Quai (hormone balancer)    14.3    4
Evening Primrose Oil (for eggwhite cervical fluid)    35.7    10
Expecta (cocktail)    0    0
False Unicorn Root (hormone balancer + prevention of miscarriage)    3.6    1
Femarprin    0    0
Fermented Cod Liver Oil    14.3    4
Fertibella (cocktail)    0    0
Fertilaid (cocktail)    0    0
FertileCM (cocktail for eggwhite cervical fluid)    3.6    1
FertiliTea    0    0
FertiliTea    7.1    2
Fish Oil    39.3    11
Flax seed oil    14.3    4
Ginseng    0    0
Grapefruit juice (for eggwhite cervical fluid)    17.9    5
Grapeseed exract    0    0
Green tea (antioxidant and for eggwhite cervical fluid)    28.6    8
L-Arginine (for egg quality, enhanced blood flow, eggwhite cervical fluid)    3.6    1
Lemon Balm (tonic herb)    0    0
Licorice Root    3.6    1
Maca (hormone balancer)    14.3    4
Melatonin (for egg quality)    3.6    1
Natural progesterone cream (support luteal phase + prevention of miscarriage)    14.3    4
Oat Straw (tonic herb)    10.7    3
PABA    3.6    1
Pineapple (for implantation)    10.7    3
Prenatal vitamins    32.1    9
Pycnogenol    0    0
Red Clover Blossom (hormone balancer)    17.9    5
Red Raspberry Leaf (uterine tonic)    39.3    11
Resveratol    3.6    1
Rose Hips (tonic herb)    0    0
Royal Jelly (for egg quality)    10.7    3
Selenium (support implantation)    7.1    2
Skullcap (tonic herb)    0    0
Soy Isoflavones (for ovulation)    7.1    2
Spirulina    14.3    4
Squaw Vine (tonic herb + hormone balancer)    0    0
Stinging Nettle (uterine tonic)    10.7    3
Super Greens type powder    7.1    2
Vitamin B6    25    7
Vitamin D    39.3    11
Vitex (cycle regulator)    32.1    9
Walnuts (for implantation)    7.1    2
Wheatgrass    10.7    3
Wild Yam (hormone balancer)    0    0
Zinc    25    7

And here are the text responses for those who provided names of supplements not on the survey (I added some of those to the survey later), as well as their dosages and even some dietary info. Big extra special thanks to those who took the time to do that!

enodmetriosis

i didnt take all these in one cycle, iv tried the more 'dilligent; ones throught different cycles. (vitex, epo, baby asprin etc...)

taking a product with the ingredients above & a few more, vitanica's pregnancy prep is the name of the supplement i am currently using.

Not on list: Folic Acid Vitamin C

vitamin E Biotin

Bee Pollen Licorice Root

Pycnogenol, folic acid, chinese herbals from TCM provider. I have cut out dairy, try to reduce gluten, and eat eggs. I have also tried in the past DHEA, fetilitea, vitex, maca and probably a few others

herbs every other day half ounze walnuts sporadic with breakfast cereal greentea - after period 1 cup

guaifenisen, to thin mucous. the regular dosage for coughs i use a combination of the two fertility recipes listed here http://womens-place.com/ttc/vitex.php

prenatal vitamin

B Complex is Sisu's Supreme Multi Expecting 50mg extra of B6 1000IU Vit. D Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA

Rainbow Light Prenatal Petite - general health - 3 daily Folic Acid for egg quality - 2400 mcg Maca - 4000 mg Evening Primrose Oil - 1500 mg Aspirin - 81 mg Wheatgrass tablets - 3500 mg (reduced from 7000 mg because of stomach upset) CoQ10 for egg quality - 600 mg False Unicorn Root in "Fertile Garden" TCM cocktail Zinc - 50 mg Selenium - 200 mcg Inositol for egg quality - 200 mg Melatonin - 3 mg Vitex tincturefor LP/progesterone support - 120 drops from O to AF Grapfruit Juice - 8 oz from 5 days pre-O to 1 day post-O Guaifenasin (only if needed around O for EWCM) Pineapple - 2 servings daily around potential implantation Soy Isoflavones - 40 mg CD 4-7; 80 mg CD8

Bcomplex - just started today 100mmg Chlorrella/chlorrophyll - green smoothies & tablets (up to 10/day) Evening Primrose oil - 3000mmg/ day decrease after ovulation Grapefruit juice - 1-2glasses/day close to ovulation Maca- 1tsp/day Spirulina - 2tblsp/day B6- in complex Stinging nettle - 4-6 capsules/day though I take it for respiratory and allergies. But cool if it is helping my uterus

[Mosaic]

Originally Posted by LitMama 

Do you know how to create a sticky, once we have some good info going here?

Since the switch in platforms, the old "sticky" has been replaced by the much cooler wiki! This info would make an awesome wiki addition! Just go here and click on the button where it says "Add a site tutorial" to get started. You can go back and edit/update it any time, which I think is better than the old sticky that needed a mod to make any changes. Let me know if you need any help! BTW, this is a great list of resources that I think will come in really handy!

[ISISandOSIRIS]

Herbs can definitely get quite complicated as there are some that should not be taken in combination with others and there are many that should only be taken during certain times of your cycle for various reasons (i.e. some causing uterine contractions and should only be taken up to ovulation, while others should only be taken during the luteal phase because they actually delay ovulation, and still others that should never be taken during AF because they are blood thinners).  On top of THAT, there can be contraindications with other western medications.  

You should definitely be taking a high quality prenatal to start.  Every woman (and man) is different so one size does not fit all with herbals.  If you're not sure, talking to a qualified herbalist who is knowledgeable in fertility issues is best as you could actually do more harm than good.

[gozal]

Personally I prefer to get nutrients supportive of conception into my body through good-quality food. I strongly recommend doing your own research on all herbs, supplements, and medications, including consulting trainer practitioners. To give just one example, where I live prenatal vitamins are unquestioned as a healthy supplement for women wanting to become pregnant. However, most prenatals use a synthetic form of folate that some people cannot metabolize. There should be better information out there to help people make informed decisions, but too often there isn't, so it's necessary to do a lot of legwork.