Vitamin D for infertility

[xanzaba]

I hope my story goes out and helps some ladies. After 2 1/2 years TTC, I am (cautiously) pregnant. I never had a BFP until this month. My RE did a vitamin D test and I asked why and did some research. It turns out that implantation problems can be caused or worsened by vitamin D deficiency and, if you do get pregnant, can lead to issues during pregnancy.

Considering that vitamin D levels are also important for bone and breast health, it's good to understand vitamin D and find your numbers. Most vitamin D comes from the sun, and then from fortified foods. It is harder to get vitamin D during the winter if you are further north than Atlanta! But it is fat soluble so you can store extra vitamin D you get from the summer sun. Wearing sun screen blocks the absorption, and you only need about 10-20 minutes in direct sunshine (i.e.eating lunch outside). It's good to get supplementation if you are on the low side, especially in the winter

I had no ovulation problems, DH had good numbers, and we were labeled as having unexplained infertility. But this month, after 2 1/2 years, I got a BFP! I had spent a few weeks in the sun and took supplements. My levels were only at 33 (normal is 30-100), so I was probably pretty deficient before my vitamin D intervention. I wish I had known about this sooner, but hopefully this will help someone out there.

 

[messica]

I've not heard of that but congratulations!

It's an interesting theory to me. Our infertility issues were due to exclusively male factors. After our IVF/ICSI cycle we transferred two and both implanted. I didn't find out until week 7 I believe that I was severely vitamin D deficient (I was at 11 if I remember right?) and I've been on a very high dose prescription supplementation since (50,000iu/wk).

My deficiency didn't hinder implantation (obviously lol) but I will say getting caught back up into normal ranges did help me feel MUCH better overall. Physical and mental health is just as important to reproductive health as anything else so I can imagine getting tested and supplementing when needed certainly couldn't hurt anyone TTC!

 

[xanzaba]

Congrats to you too, Messica, and thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully we can help raise awareness

 

[HolisticDoc]

Congrats xanzaba!! Great information also. Im sure that will help a lot of ladies!

 

[CanadianMaple]

My clinic tests everyone and makes sure our levels are good before they let us start a cycle. They found that more than half of their patients were deficient.

 

[xanzaba]

Hi CanadianMaple- that's good to know that doctors are so savvy up in Canada! Good luck with your transfer, I'll keep my fingers crossed

 

[babyvaughan]

I discovered this in Nov and mine was at 14 in six months time I got it to a 36 she wants me at a 50, I had DH get tested he was at 10!!! We both just had ours rechecked today and will find out monday!

 

[Fruitee]

How interesting, someone was telling me the other day to sit out in the sun, she said she wasn't ovulating and was told to sit out in the sun and get vit d, and she now has a beautiful baby boy, so there must be some truth in it, definitely worth a try

 

[Irish_eyes]

This is interesting. I have an appt with my doctor for another reason this Friday and maybe I would ask him if I can get the test done.

xanzaba - did your doc prescribe the vitamins or did you buy them? How much did you take?

 

[xanzaba]

Hi Irish_eyes- I bought the 2000 IU soft gels, but found that it became hard to go to the bathroom, which can already be a problem in pregnancy. My pre-natals have 400 IU already, so for the summer I am sticking to that and sunshine, but in the winter I might reconsider the soft gels.

If your levels are really low, sometimes they give you 50,000 IU treatments, just to put these levels in perspective.

From what I understand, there is a very low risk of toxicity with vitamin D. Kidney stones are a rare side effect, so drinking plenty of water is good if you're going to take a high dose.

 

[Tink_]

Congratulations on your pregnancy

Also, thank you for the info! I've lately been spending a lot more time outside and it's funny because a lot of people kept telling me when I asked for holistic advice for different things that I needed to be doing that so I hope this well help and I might look in to supplements depending on what's about.

I don't think I can get my levels tested within the nhs unless they suggest it but no harm in boosting it naturally and before winter gets here! x

 

[CareBear]

Nhs will test your vitamin d levels if you have trigger signs for it being low, I was having pain in my knees and back which was indicating signs of arthritis. My doc ran blood tests one of which was vitamin d which came back low and was most likely causing my pain. I think if you went in and asked for it to be checked they might do it.

 

[xanzaba]

Tink- hope this is your cycle. Vitamin D is also important for sustaining a healthy pregnancy. So glad the info was helpful.

Carebear- thanks for sharing the information about NHS and testing. Hope the vitamin D helps you feel better and gets you closer to your bump.

I've also had bone issues in the past so I should have been on Vitamin D and, who knows, have had my BFP sooner. I'm just glad I did get a BFP and hoping it sticks. I have an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy on Friday (7 weeks). My HCG levels were rising well a couple of weeks ago, but it would be great to hear a heartbeat!

 

[Irish_eyes]

xanzaba - thanks for the info and congratulations on the pregnancy

carebear - I am going to my doctor on Friday to see about a pain that I am having in my back and my hips although this may be due to running, do you think I could then say about the Vit D. Would that cover as a possible symptom enough to be tested?

 

[CareBear]

Could be, it's worth asking if you could have your levels checked to be on the safe side.

 

[Irish_eyes]

Well he didn't see the point as I had a good diet and he knows I run a lot so I am always outside. I suppose it was worth asking.

 

[laurac1988]

My first vitamin D draw my numbers were 12. The second one a year later they were 33.

I now take 5000iu a day vitamin D3 in the hope that it will help. Getting my numbers dine again in a few months so let's see how it helps

 

[messica]

Well he didn't see the point as I had a good diet and he knows I run a lot so I am always outside. I suppose it was worth asking.

He sounds a bit uneducated as far as levels go. Can you go elsewhere to be tested?

I eat phenomenally well and was a daycare provider who spent hours each day outside. I was still completely tanked out - even on a prenatal vitamin. Diet and exposure don't have anything to do with levels in most people. To compare, they're found health guru types that have outdoor occupations that live on the equator with low levels. Anyone, anywhere can be low.


50,000iu once a week for 12 weeks took me from 11 to 33. My OB has now switched me to 5,000iu once a day preventatively. If the highest I could manage was 33 (which is the lowest of low acceptable levels) on that super dose, in the middle of summer, I'm likely going to need supplementation for the rest of my life. I'd rather take a pill once a day than deal with the permanent damage low D will do to your body!

 

[Irish_eyes]

I am not sure where I can go to get the test as that was my GP. I would even pay for it if they would do it in my GP surgery.

 

[xanzaba]

Okay, sorry for the rant, but i hate bad science...

While there are some studies that didn't find a link between vit d levels and sun exposure, there's still much evidence that sun exposure does affect vit d. Over interpreting a negative finding is something like saying that because you don't find your car keys, they don't exist. Personally, my levels ebb and wane with the seasons (low in winter, high in summer), similar to findings from a study that repeated tests monthly on the same people over several years. I stopped using sunscreen on a daily basis because it blocks absorption, which is often a confound in studies not finding a relationship (I still use it when I'm outside for long periods). And pregnancy rates in northern climates are highest 9 months after the summer and correlate with vitamin d levels.

Although there is variability between people for baseline levels of vitamin d, it's highly unlikely that sun exposure has no effect. Some people do not absorb vitamin d from supplements as well as others, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take supplements.